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[WP] You're an architect at Gruffinson & Co., a company that designs and builds dungeons for monsters and villains to hide their treasures and lure in heroes. Your client who you recently talked to over the phone has just walked in the door of your office.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 could feel Xergal on the other side of the door before I ever saw him. He radiated a heat that saturated everything it came in contact with; not atypical for a being from the Fifth Tier of Spelheim. Still, I could tell it was him because I knew that I'd messed up in my obligations as a contractor. Still, I was always one to keep a straight face in times of worry. And Rutherford didn't seem too bothered by it either.\n\nNot even when the door was launched off its hinges and bisected him. But loyal butler's torso hit the ground with a sopping thud, before it melted into a pile of viscera that crawled up to his still-standing legs to begin reassembling him.\n\nFor my part, I stood up and spread my arms. \"Xergal! My favorite spawn of the bleak womb, how have you been?\"\n\nWhen he let out a series of unintelligible grumbles, I remembered tat I couldn't under stand him. I opened the breast of my jacket and ran my fingers along the vials I stored inside. I selected one labeled \"Spelheim\", a glass of red liquid with a piece of coal and a human tongue floating in it, and attached it to my syringe.\n\nI plunged the needle beneath my collarbone and began the slow injection. If there was any problem making deals with being from other realms it was that everything from communication to planning to contract-signing was as painful as imaginable. My throat burned like acid and I felt like my ears were on fire. The hellish thirty seconds felt like a year.\n\nI played it cool, hid my labored breathing by taking the time to delicately place the equipment back into my jacket. And by the time I had collected myself, Rutherford had fully reformed, coat and all.\n\n\"So,\" I said, now confident my client and I could comprehend each other, \"how may I help you Xergal?\"\n\n\"Damnation on you!\" he spat. \"Damnation on everything around you Gruffinson Andco!\"\n\nI stifled my sigh of relief. Xergal wasn't one of the demons who could use clairvoyance, and therefore see that my name was in fact not the title of my business; I hated working with those guys. Instead, he was what I liked to call the \"immediate and destructive\" type. And as long as he didn't know my name, he couldn't curse me.\n\nOnly maim me.\n\nWhich gave me just enough time to talk my way out of this.\n\nWith a snap of my fingers, Rutherford began his ritual. After the hand gestures, luminous spheres, and a bit of flashy poetry, the room transformed into the dungeon we had just completed for our client.\n\n\"Take me through Xergal, what's the problem?\"\n\nThe twisting corridors shifted and arched around us, pulling us through the onyx and auburn brickwork of the maze we'd crafted. I couldn't help admire my work as I flew past.\n\nThe runic hallway zipped beneath my levitating feet. Should any spelunker step on the wrong tile, I number of misfortunate things could happen. Some would coagulate and solidify all of the iron inside of them. Some reversed every sense in their body, making them think right is north and making them see with their tongue. Some would make them hallucinate that they're seeing snakes and spiders. Some would drain their blood; not all of it, but just enough to conjure one of their closest living relatives to the dungeon with them. Some would shoot them.\n\nNext, we came up to the fake treasure room. The inside of every chest was lined with whirring teeth. Every jewel in the room would inflict the one who touched it with a unique disease. And every piece of gold whispered obscenities that only the possessor could hear.\n\nThere was the lava pit, where a school of mermaids were circling, shark-like teeth gnawing their lips to bloodied shreds and their primeval bows and spears at the ready. Finding a group of lava-proof mermaids willing to bind their souls and services under contract was insanely difficult. A feather in my crown of stone.\n\nWe came to the door of Xergal's issue. I knew I'd get into a bit of conflict with him when I'd installed it, but, for his good even more than my own artistic satisfaction, I knew I needed to stand my ground here.\n\nThe door was pitch and etched with blasphemous texts that even I, with my arcane knowledge and lack of a soul, couldn't read without spontaneously combusting. It was carved from the bones of fallen giants and given a somewhat glossy finish with the liberal application of titan blood.\n\nXergal pushed it open.\n\nI held my breath.\n\n\"What is this?\" he asked.\n\nI widened my eyes in feigned and once again thanked my birth star that Xergal was a stabby demon and not a knowy one. I stepped into the bathroom.\n\nI was careful to coyly wipe my feet on the fur mat, lest my shoes smudge the white tiles. I squinted a bit; the LED lights were significantly brighter than anything else in the dungeon. The countertop was marble, topped with potpourri and azaleas. I wanted amaryllises, but Rutherford had insisted the azaleas matches the color scheme better. The toilet, like the countertop, was marble and the toilet paper was thirty-two ply.\n\nThe toilet paper alone cost me a soul. And having sold mine, I guess my son would regretting not calling me for my birthday now that Chirrunbane the Ignoble was using is eternal essences as incense.\n\n\"What's the problem?\"\n\n\"Why is there a mortal bathroom in the midst of this dungeon?\" he wailed. I could actually see the color red in his words.\n\n\"For the comfort.\" I held my hand up defensively as he heaved back, probably to immolate me. \"Think about this.\"\n\nI stepped outside the door frame. \"You're an adventurer, who some how made it through all of those other fabulous traps we set up in your halls.\" I skipped over Xergal's hoofed feet and made my way in. Suddenly, you find something...familiar. Something that feels like home.\"\n\nI turned the faucet on the sink. \"You, exhausted have a big drink of water,\" I shut it off, \"maybe even use it to wash yourself. You're tired, you've been walking, you could use a bathroom break.\"\n\nI made my way to the toilet. \"Notice how big it is in here? You could fit a party of ten adventurers in here.\"\n\nI sat down. \"You do your business. And, considering how relaxing it has been so far, you get a little bold. You decide to touch something else. You reach for the toilet paper. And what do you think happens when you touch it?\"\n\nXergal got visibly excited. \"A monster made of your feces is summoned when you wipe yourself?\"\n\n\"No. That's an OSHA violation.\" I touched the roll. \"You feel that nice paper.\" I gave him a sidelong, seductive look. \"Thirty-two ply.\"\n\nHe nearly spat up his tongues. \"Thirty-two?\"\n\n\"Three. Two,\" I confirmed.\n\n\"That's-\"\n\n\"Toilet paper cut from Yggdrasil, I know, Xergal, I know...\" I stood up. \"And that means...\"\n\nHe finished my sentence. \"They'll never feel that level of comfort again!\"\n\n\"And?\"\n\n\"They'll be tempted to stay until they expire!\"\n\n\"And?\"\n\nXergal engorged himself, pressing against the ceiling as he shouted, \"More minions for my dungeon!\"\n\nI gave him a few minutes to get his laughter out. After he settled down, the illusion faded. We were back in the office, Rutherford lowering his arms in exhaustion. \"Thanks, bud. Take an hour.\" He bowed and left the room.\n\nXergal took both my hands in three of his own. \"Thank you so much, Gruffinson Andco. May your spawn spread across a hundred generations and a thousand realms.\"\n\nI winked. \"Hey, I don't need all that. Just give us five pentagrams and tell your friends about us.\""
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[WP] "Well, my boy, they got it backwards," he said while handing you a book. "Heaven is where sinners go to be punished eternally by being forced to be good, and Hell is the hedonistic paradise reward for good folks."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Once, a wise monk had told him that Heaven made bad people good, and Hell let good people be bad. He had thought that Hell must be a reward, and Heaven a punishment. \n\nHe knew better now. \n\nWhen he had died, he had woken up unceremoniously in what he thought Las Vegas might have looked like, had he ever gone there in life. \n\nWhen he woke he had celebrated. He had won and attained his eternal rewards. He thought back to the old man and laughed, for in his mind he had cheated death. \n\nHe partied, and drank, and tortured and killed. After all, what could stop him? It was just a little fun to have now that his test of life was over. \n\nOne moment he was carving into a streetwalker, the next he was standing on a cloud. \n\nHeaven was brutal. The old man had been right. There, he was forced to relearn the ethics and morals he had once held so dearly in life. In his final test, he had thought that he had sacrificed his very soul to save his friends. When his memories were returned he wept tears of joy and gratitude for what Heaven had taught him. \n\nWhen he blinked, he was in Hell. He resolved that he had learned his lesson. He was good now, and would stay that way. \n\nHe relapsed less then a year later. He fell faster his second time in Hell, descending into some of the worst activities he could think of and many he hadn't. When his bullets found the second child, he reappeared in Heaven. \n\nThis time he fought the rehabilitation. He kicked and screamed and tried to push old ladies into the street. Deep in his heart he knew that he couldn't face what he had done in Hell. \n\nWhen he finally broke first he wept. He confronted his actions and begged to whatever God was listening for forgiveness. Eventually, he smiled through his tears for he knew that he had grown past his evils. \n\nHe walked the streets of Heaven, reveling in its beauty. Finally, he knew he had found peace. Eventually, his wanderings led him to a beautiful fountain, tall and imposing. He knelt before it and closed his eyes, letting his soul rest. \n\nWhen he opened them again, he was in Hell. \n\nHe sat in the street, broken, for he had learned the truth. \n\nThe Afterlife wasn't a punishment, or a reward. It was a meatgrinder.",
"“That’s an interesting answer, sir, but you haven’t answered my question,” I said, after the old man before me, the old man who must’ve been God, stopped rambling for what must have been 20 minutes, but could’ve been longer. It was hard to get a sense of time in a place where the sun never set. \n\nGod scratched his beard. “No? Sorry, forgive me if I’m rusty. You see, Peter asked for a day off. This is my first day on the job in some time, and, uh—“\n\n“No, no, you’re doing great. God. May I call you that?” I admit I stammered. \n\n“I’ve been trying out Charles. God is a bit formal, you know. Anyway, Derek, what can I do for you?”\n\nI blushed. He knew my name. \n\n“Of course I know you name, my boy. I know your thoughts too. So what was your question.”\n\nYou have to understand. I had just walked up so many steps that I nearly forgot my name. Where I was from. Who I was. And still I remembered you.\n\n“Where am I going, God?”\n\nBehind him stretched two paths forward. A black pit, and a ladder. \n\n“Right. This is the awkward part. Peter usually does this, you know. He can, uh, tell. He has a clipboard thing.”\n\n“I thought you knew everything.”\n\n“Right, I know everything, but not his system. He created that. So, uh....” Charles, God of the universe, drifted off and touched his beard. No wonder he was stalling. He shrugged. “You can choose either.”\n\n“Do you happen to know where my wife is?” I asked. I’d been picturing meeting you in heaven, see. And was adjusting to the idea of us in hell. I couldn’t picture it, and yet I also couldn’t picture eternity without you. Five years was more than enough. \n\n“Margie? She’s doing great. She’s in hell, of course. Luxury resort section. Known for her quilts, even though no one needs em. Too hot.”\n\nI was washed with relief. Margie. I could go to you. \n\nThe old man was looking at me deeply. Then I had a deep, sickening thought. This sounded like a trick. Something the devil would do to get another recruit. \n\n“How can I trust you?” I said. \n\n“Uh, lying makes me feel guilty, which gives me stomachaches? I hate lying?”\n\n“Sorry,” I said, “not convinced.” It seemed weird to turn God down but I’d do anything for you. \n\n“How about Margie? Do you trust her?” Before I could respond, he snapped his fingers, and there you were. Young. Glowing. Wrapped in a quilt. \n\nWordlessly, you grabbed my hand. I nodded at God, knowing it might be the last time I ever saw him. “Thank you,” I said. \n\nAnd then you dragged me to hell. We’ve been happy ever since.",
"\"And the ones in between?\"\n\n\"That is for you alone to find out.\"\n\nThe book opened, Susan took a last look at her body. \n\nCrushed, mangled, maimed, she was impressed she still recognized herself after the truck flatened her. There had been no pain, no surprise, no shock. Just the sound of a passerby shouting at her, something she didn't notice was meant for her until after death had claimed her soul. \n\nSusan, 32 years old, lay dead on the ground. \n\nHer parents would be distraught, her friends would too. \n\n\"Susan, you have your life ahead of you.\" \n\nNot anymore Mom.\n\nThe book called for her to enter, but death wasn't in any rush. He had all the time in world. \n\nThe life she lead hadn't been exactly fulfilling. She fought Depression for most of it, kept changing careers to find something that stuck well. Searching for herself, that's what she did. It would have been nice to find herself before the truck got to her, she would never know how it feels to fit.\n\nRegrets. For a life that could have been different, words never spoken or that shouldn't have been spoken, promises made and broken. Regrets. There were many, she entered the book with all of them in tow. \n\nA white light, receding and giving way to a green field and the warm sun upon her skin. \n\nSusan walked out of the fog with death at her sides, there was but one way to look, up. A massive mountain stood in front of her, it's bottom shrouded in mist and the top hidden in a cloud. Thousands attempted to climb it, pushing a boulder.\n\nDeath pointed at her own rock, massive, heavy, nothing her frail body could push. But only the soul toiled here, so she pushed. \n\nSusan stumbled, struggled, sometimes the rock fell back to the bottom, other times she sat to rest, a hand on her boulder, for what could have been an eternity. Sooner or later, she got back to her feet and pushed her boulder again.\n\nShe couldn't say what for or if there was a purpose at all, but she felt the difference. The climb should have become harder, instead the rock got smaller, her feet lighter.\n\nShe was no closer to an epiphany, but glad the effort became easier. \n\nThat's when it hit. This wasn't about reaching the epiphany, but wondering if it existed at all. \n\nThose that had deserved hell had no need to go somewhere else. They had lived upholding moral and goodness above all else and had been rewarded for it, they needed no other revelation for they had been right to live as they did. \n\nThose that suffered heaven had eternity to ponder the awful life they led, a dirty soul for the cleanest place of them all. Quite the ironic hell to be put into heaven. \n\nSusan was in neither. She hadn't been bad, she hadn't been very good, and neither mattered in purgatory. It was for those who could not be content with simply being good. Too curious, too anxious perhaps, but always thinking maybe there is something beyond. \n\nPerhaps Susan will never know true peace, perhaps there indeed wasn't a higher truth than a good soul earning a good afterlife. \n\nThere was but one way to find out. She kept climbing.",
"Completely perplexed and utterly puzzled, I muttered out the only thing I had in my mind.\n\n\"What?!\"\n\n\"As I said, my boy...pay attention please, these are important information. For hundreds of years the teaching of religion and beliefs of afterlife had been...altered, shall we say? A simple game of Telephone went wrong it was\", the old man in white suit calmly explained as if it wasn't his first time doing it. \n\nThe book he still held in front of me was glazed over my eyes. I was still trying to comprehend my situation.\n\n\"Wait...I'm dead?\"\n\n\"Yes, my boy. That's why you found yourself here, you see. If you can take this book, please. My arms are getting tired. You can take down some notes in there if you need to.\"\n\nAbsent mindedly I took the book. \"Heaven's Orientation Itinerary\" written on its cover.\n\n\"Orientation? What for?\", I asked.\n\n\"Good heavens, you are slow aren't you? Well, as I said...heaven and hell. Two of any person's final destinations. For those who were good during their lifetime, a place in hell they deserve and unrestricted good times await as eternal rewards. \n\nFor those who were less desired in society during their lifetime are sent to heaven and will be forced to do eternal good deeds they lack of during their tenure in the world of the living.\n\nThat is our schedule you are holding. To get you familiar with the place and how things work around the place. Now can we get going? I hate to be late\"\n\nSlowly understanding I looked at the book I was holding.\n\n\"Heaven's Orientation...I'm being sent to heaven? Wait, does that mean I'm going to be punished?\", I panicked.\n\n\"Why yes, my boy. I mean honestly, during your life can you really say you were a good person?\", the old man asked in almost a mocking tone.\n\nRemembering my past life I hated to agree with him. I lived my life selfishly, without caring for those who needed me. I turned my back to those I called friends once until they left me. I turned away from my family, even my wife and my children because I was too busy making money all for myself.\n\n\"But I never hurt anyone!\", I yelled in protest.\n\nThe old man looked at me judgingly, \"My boy, the first step of redemption is to admit your mistake. You were so busy thinking of your own well being you neglected everybody and everything else around you. You might never hurt anyone physically, but the hole left by your absence in the lives of the people around you left them with scars they could never heal\"\n\nUnwilling to admit, I knew the old man was right. I was a terrible person deserving of a life of punishment, who would've thought it though, in heaven. My fate was set, I had no other choice but to comply. Although one question still remained in my mind...\n\n\"Are...are you god?\", I asked.\n\nThe old man smiled back, \"Son, I am everything, I am anything. How I appear in front of a soul depends on their beliefs. To some I am Buddha. To some I am Vishnu. To some I am even the flying spaghetti monster. And more commonly, to some I am the devil. I am simply a guide in the afterlife. There is one of me, there are many of me. I am here and yet I am everywhere. And to you apparently, I am this...\"\n\n\"Morgan Freeman?\", I asked just realizing the person in front of me was Morgan Freeman as God.\n\n\"Yes, to you God is this face thus here I am appear before you as you wanted me to be\", the old man replied.\n\n\"Now, can we go back to business. We have a schedule to keep and we are already running late. If you look at your itinerary the first order of business is introduction, which was done. So the next step would be...a tour of the place\", closing his own book he put his arm on my back smiling, guiding me inside the Pearly Gates."
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[WP] A boy that never ages lives eternally trapped in a room. In said room, bookshelves line every wall, all filled with the same book in the same decrepit condition, “Tales from the Darker Side”.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"\\[Poem\\]\n\nHe waits eternally, beyond each black hole, \nin a room with no windows or doors. \nHe feels no loneliness in his soul \nas he paces the obsidian floors.\n\nThe shelves within stretch to infinity \nlined with books like grains of sand on a beach. \nYet, no matter how far away they may be, \nevery book is always within reach.\n\nHe does not count days, he does not count nights, \nmerely takes up a new book to read. \nEvery book finished is put out of sight \nand on to the next he proceeds.\n\nAfter countless tales of horror and might, \nyou'd think the next would be ignored. \nBut though he is a boy to every form of sight \nhe is not so easily bored.\n\nEach story is a life, each book a world \nThe Dark Archive records all that you hide \nAnd its ever-young master sees your secrets unfurled \nas he reads the Tales from the Darker Side."
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[WP] "Stop me if you've heard this one. A demon, a human, and an angel walk into a bar..."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 sighed and stopped cleaning the bar top to point to the sign. It read \"no bar jokes\". It usually stopped whatever dimwit jokester, but this asshole seemed hellbent to continue. No pun intended.\n\n\n\n\"Hear me out!\" The woman held up her hands, grinning. \"A demon, a human, and an angel walk into a bar. They order their drinks and sit in the darkest corner of the room.\"\n\n\n\n\"Lady, making the damn subjects of the joke emo doesn't make it a non-bar joke.\" I growl. \"Order or fuck off.\"\n\n\n\nThere was a glint in the woman's eye, and I waved to our bouncer as she rushed to finish her joke.\n\n\n\n\"They are debating the nature of good and evil when a young man walks in.\" She grips the edge of the bar as she gasps out the joke. \"The angel says that all humans are evil and the demon's job is pointless.\"\n\n\n\nFrankie, the bodyguard on duty slows down as he hears the woman. I frown, then make my way around the counter. The woman continues.\n\n\n\n\"The demon takes offense and points out that the angel's lot claims every soul is born pure.\" She's grinning maniacally as I approach her. \"The human, seeing where this is headed, pays for his drink and tries to leave.\"\n\n\n\nFrankie began backing up, then turned tail and ran. I snorted, if he thought I was paying him after that display he had another think coming. The woman had a death grip on the bar and her legs wrapped around her stool. As I worked her fingers loose, she continued her joke.\n\n\n\n\"Except the angel and demon need the human to figure out which it is, so they both bind the human to the bar.\" She gasps between cackles. \"He can't ever leave until he proves he's naturally good or evil!\"\n\n\n\nWhen I finally get her hands loose, I pull back until her legs slip off the stool. She's laughing too hard to really hold on at this point, so I had that going for me, I guess.\n\n\n\n\"Then... then...!\" She's laughing too hard to finish, giving me the seconds needed to toss her out the door.\n\n\n\nAs soon as she hits the pavement, her face clears and the laughing stops. She looks around confused as I call in the drunk and disorderly, then runs once she realizes I am talking about her on the phone. I give the police her description, and request an officer so I could formally trespass her from the premises.\n\n\n\nBy the time the paperwork is done, I've lost half a day's custom. I lost the other half calling in a painter to put a sign on my door that said \"SERIOUS DRINKING, NO JOKES ALLOWED\". It would cause a significant shift in the type of customers I had, but it was worth it.\n\n\n\nThe next morning I called Frankie and told him he was fired. He had one fucking job, kick out anyone who tried to tell a bar joke, and he couldn't cut it. I updated my two other bouncers to the loss of Frankie and the new rule, then prepared for my first customers of the day.\n\n\n\nAn angel and a demon walked into my bar.\n\n\n\n[My Musings](https://www.reddit.com/r/HorrorHMDMusings?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)",
"\"Please stop.\"\n\n\"You've heard it?\"\n\n\"Yea, everyone has. Demon tells the angel he's a dick because he can fly.\"\n\n\"Shit, alright. Same premise so the bartend-\"\n\n\"Angel tells the human he's a dick because it was holy water. We've heard that one too.\"\n\n\"How the hell- Alright, same premise human turns to the ang-\"\n\n\"Salt burns the demons. That one too.\"\n\n\"Fuck, alright. Same premise the-\"\n\n\"Demon pretended to be a woman named Bubbles in the bathroom. Next?\"\n\n\"How about-\"\n\n\"Bar was closed 10 min ago, human's wife likes woman, demon only had seventy-five cents. That's all the jokes you know right?\"\n\n\"Yes...\"\n\n\"Down you go.\"\n\nSaint Peter finally gets back to the pearly gates, looking at the all-knowing God, \"Did you tell them you would let them into heaven if they tell you a good joke again?\"\n\nGod smiles, \"Yes.\"\n\n\"You can be a real dick ya know?\""
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This is a repost since the original prompt dident get any submissions. Im not the person that made the original either, i just really liked the consept :)
Here is the link to the original post: [https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/jtaulz/wp\_aliens\_have\_descended\_on\_earth\_to\_enslave/](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/jtaulz/wp_aliens_have_descended_on_earth_to_enslave/)
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[WP] Aliens have descended on earth to enslave humanity. The war machines of old rumble to life in museums, tanks unbury themselves from the mud and sand, ships rise from the oceans, then begin to advance, unmanned and like new, to destroy evil once again, like ghost divisions.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"\nEverything is blurry....\nI can only make out dark shapes seeming to speed by through the black abyss that surrounds me. I can breathe but I can’t feel, almost like being in a dream. I suddenly see a light but it appears muddled. It’s getting closer and closer.\nAnd then suddenly......\nI burst through what appears to be water with great speed and force. But I do not stop there, I keep traveling with tremendous velocity but now I can make out stars, and a giant full moon right in front of me.\nAm I in a spaceship? \nI look around and appear to be in a small cockpit of sorts. In front of me there are multiple gages and a couple switches but they are all covered in moss. \nAbove me is nothing, the covering of the cockpit is not there. The glass is broken and jagged. \nAll of a sudden the vehicle starts to lurch forward turning 45 degrees on its vertical axis.\nThe moon and stars I was just zooming towards were now above me and now I can see that I am high up in the sky surrounded by nothing. But below me was water.. lots of water, in all directions as far as I could see. \nI’m above the ocean\nIs that where I just came from? No it couldn’t be! That defies logic. \nNow I can see that I’m in a fighter plane, and it all seems vaguely familiar. I remember this is what I did. This who I was. I flew these in the war. But who was I before? I still can’t remember. \nI started hearing a loud buzz that seemed to fill the night sky, all was silent through the night except the piercing sound that appeared off in the distance just in front of me. Why wasn’t my plane making any noise? What is that noise and why is it so loud and getting louder? \nThe sudden noise had made me fixated ahead which is when I noticed that the plane didn’t have a propeller. I panicked and looked around and finally noticed the wing on the starboard side was half missing. Flashes of memories started to appear in my head, me being in this same plane heading out on what was thought to be a routine recon mission with Flip and Spades..... and then having no control...... the water getting closer and closer.......... then black.\nMaybe I was in hell, I remember dying\nIn a fit of rage I try to take control of the yoke.\nBut my hands only went through it. No matter how many times I tried to grab it I couldn’t. \nThe plane was being directed along by some supernatural force. \nThe noise was getting louder and louder, in the distance there appeared to be three sets of colorful lights and they were only getting bigger and the sounds was only getting louder. After only a minute I could make out frisbee like silhouettes that had the lights attached to them, and it appeared they were zooming straight towards me. \nThen, within seconds they flew right past me, the lights a blur. I could barely see anything. Once they sped past me they almost appeared to hit an invisible wall and came to a complete stop and just hovered not 300 yards behind me. I would almost guess that they stopped because they noticed me, but I couldn’t think for much longer because red lasers started coming out of all of them and flying past me. It seemed to be a complete barrage that wasn’t going to stop. \nI couldn’t believe it. What the fuck was happening! I didn’t want to die in hell, what happens then? \nThen the colorful frisbees started moving again but the lasers didn’t stop, and they were headed right for me. I figured I could jump into the water below and get away from these demons. I already died anyway. I reached for the edge of the cockpit and grabbed hold, hoisted myself up and appeared down below the water was smooth and unmoving not even noticing the battle taking place above. \nWait\nI can touch the plane.\nI immediately sat down and reached for the yoke. This time my hand didn’t go through but was able to grip it. I smiled, and yanked to the right.",
"They say that Sol III is a forgotten world. Rich in minerals, abundant water and life, it is a garden and paradise. \n\nYet gardens contain vipers, and hidden dangers. The original inhabitants were small mammals, barely harnessing atoms. Yet their ferocity continued in death. \n\nSome part of their life cycle involved electromagnetic remnants after death. They inhabit the spirit of a nearby object, the length of time determined by the ferocity of emotions surrounding their passing. \n\nAnd so it was that the biological weapons, designed to preserve the planet's infrastructure, instead turned it into a sort of labyrinth. Every weapon, building, vehicle and armament possessed a soul...an angry, vengeful ghost. \n\nThe first colonists were torn to pieces, ambushed by scraps of vehicles; of missiles flown on their own by the subspace between life and death. Nukes exploded haphazardly, patiently biding their time for years after an initial colonization foot print to maximize casualties. \n\nThese mammals, who had practiced war on each other for cebturies; had distilled it down to a science. And after death, they had an eternity to practice it. Better to colonize Sol IV, where the ghosts are content to sit and watch in silence.",
"(I'm in a hurry, so I wrote this real quick. Please forgive any errors--I don't have time to edit at the moment :P)\n\n**Ghost Planet**\n\nBy: SheepingtonTheSheep\n\nArtizera followed his squad members as they marched single file through the human city. While his exosuit protected him from deadly Nitrogen, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy at all the alien life around him—large flying, feathered creatures flew above, accompanied by smaller black creatures that emanated high-pitched sounds. And all around him, a strange green organism covered the human monuments. He wondered how the humans could enter the towering buildings with the fuzzy green things covering all entrances. \n\nThe massive, rumbling mothership in the sky, at least, did something to calm Artizera’s nerves as he patrolled the rubble-laden streets of the human city. He clutched his gun, fingers on the trigger-pads, ready to fire on the humans. But it had been several days since their landing, and he hadn’t seen any humans so far. Where did they go?\n\nThen, the shouting began. \n\n*“One two three four… HUP two three four…”*\n\nEthereal and resonant, the cries came from everywhere. The voice was punctuated by loud stomping of multitudes of boots, all perfectly in sync.\n\n“Brace yourselves!” Artizera’s squad leader bellowed and his entire squad stopped, raising their weapons in preparation. \n\nA bullet ricocheted from a human vehicle, striking Artizera’s fellow squad member, damaging his exosuit. He fell to his knees, gasping and choking for air.\n\nArtizera looked around for the shooter but found no one. Then a large human vehicle, rectangular in shape and rumbling loudly, turned a corner and aimed its long barrel at the group. \n\n“The humans are here!” shouted the squad leader. “Fire on them! Fire on them!”\n\nThe mothership’s beam weapons trained on the vehicle, which had been joined by five more like it, and fired. Blinding light struck the general vicinity, felling several of the human structures. Rubble flew all over, and Artizera ran for cover behind a small, broken human vehicle. Chaos unfolded as the rest of Artizera’s 50-member squad dispersed, dodging falling debris and firing at the human vehicles.\n\nThen the loud, droning siren began. Up in the air, several dozens of flying machines soared in the sky, firing kinetic projectiles at Artizera’s comrades. The noise they made was frightful—loud, pervasive, and painful to the ear. Artizera curled in a fetal position, unable to cover his helmeted head. *MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!!*\n\nCries of pain and dying accompanied the horrible siren sound, joined in by explosions and guns firing every now and then. \n\nArtizera cracked open an eye and looked to the sky, seeing the mothership firing blindly at the flying machines. For the most part, it missed, somehow, but fortunately, friendly interceptors began deploying from the mothership to assist. \n\n“*NA WROGA!!!*” came a loud shout from nearby, and Artizera saw several winged human men atop strange creatures, charging at a group of his squadmates. It was a barbaric move, rushing with sticks—but effective. Artizera trembled with fear as his comrades were skewered, green guts spattering everywhere. \n\nHe had to get away. There was no hope, even as more of his people beamed down from the mothership to assist, his gut told him to flee. Artizera crawled towards a human building and hid in a corner. More of his allies were impaled by the rushing array of mounted humans. \n\n“LEGIO AETERNA VICTRIX!!” came another cry, and Artizera’s heart crumbled. His people were dying, but more kept beaming down—there was no way he could convince anyone at the mothership to beam him up. Shuddering with fear, he peeked around the corner and saw a wall of brightly-colored humans, marching to the fray, their bodies rectangular and uniform—almost wall-like. \n\n“*PILA!!*” came a shout from the approaching mass, and a massive barrage of projectiles flew from it and into the ongoing battle, taking out half of Artizera’s comrades. Artizera looked up, hoping to see allied interceptors at least winning the aerial fight. But instead, larger human flying machines flew across the air, slow and steady, unloading bombs that levelled entire sections of the city. The ground shook and rumbled, and the sounds of dying grew even louder as the mothership committed all of its reserve troops.\n\nArtizera jumped through an opening inside the human building, finding it bare, ruined, and dark. Dozens of skeletal remains lay on the floor. It didn’t make sense, and Artizera didn’t have time to understand it. Crying, he opened a direct channel to General Yarox—a move that carried grave repercussions if done by someone of as lowly a rank as Artizera. “General Yarox!” he cried out, voice shaking, “What is going on? Please! Please, why don’t you lock on to the humans and provide us with air support? We’re all dying!!”\n\nGeneral Yarox, normally stoic and calm, responded grimly with a tone that betrayed his befuddlement, “We cannot. We read no life signatures from the enemy. In fact, we read no human life signatures from the planet. I am sorry, soldier. We have committed everything to this invasion—we must win.”\n\n“No, no, no! This—this can’t be!” Artizera hit his helmet in despair. “We *are* fighting the humans! Are you saying there’s nobody in front of us, skewering, shooting, and bombarding us?? Then *who* are we fighting?!”",
"Please forgive any grammatical faults in my inelegant English. It is one of the most spoken languages in the world in the current era and as my utmost goal is to provide a textual accounting of what happened and how, it seems that I must focus on efficiency over accuracy.\n\nOne may wonder, initially, about communication. After all, the haunted machinery brought with it phantom legions -- our planet's deceased military leaders and the troops they had commanded. These wraiths, these echoes of heroic men and women, must be coordinated, no? But the strategy is different when one has already lost. With no casualties to worry about, precision and accuracy became things for players of darts. This was not a battle, it was a demolition -- all that mattered was that, by the end, what once was would be no longer.\n\nBeyond which, war has a language that is quite universal. Ghengis Khan and Alexander may have never seen a tank before but it took but a sharp intake of breath and a moment's quiet reflection were enough to mentally categorize them with archers on horseback. Napoleon and Charlemagne acted out a dumb show, with the latter leaping out from behind a rock at the former, to get everyone thinking about the benefit of a surprise attack (Napoleon's pantomimed faint was a *coup de grace* that, for once, left no bodies behind). King George sat athwart the rail gun of an American helicopter, shouting \"Good *heavens*, look at the size of my sword!\" and giggling like a girl being tickled by her father.\n\nHannibal stood on an armored personnel carrier and held two hands above his head, then led the countdown from ten. Jets screamed off the decks of nearby ships; ground artillery peppered the skies with shrapnel. Even as a specter, one could feel the concussive blasts as they rent the air. \n\nA handful of the dark behemoths made \"involuntary landings,\" as I overheard one American describe it. His colleague responded with, \"Not nearly enough,\" and it was clear when looking at the remaining alien aircraft that he was correct. \n\nRealization seemed to strike Yamamoto first. He had stood by, silently watching, his face as frozen as a kabuki mask. With deliberate steps he approached Churchill and Macarthur who -- somehow -- had discovered themselves with two tumblers and a snifter of Scotch. \n\nYamamoto bowed, and spoke quietly to the two others. After a moment, I heard Macarthur bark \"God damn, son!\" with a chuckle while Churchill merely watched and nodded. Others drew near: Zhukov's eyes had a ferocious glint. Messe's enthusiasm was manifest in his expressive arms and Italian bombast. Soon, the crowd grew quiet, and turned to face the bay. \n\nI was shocked to discover the submarines did not even have to surface. There was no visible countdown this time, just a silence full of anxious expectation. It was chilling.\n\nThe surface of the water was pierced dozens of times. This, after all, would be how it ended: neither with a bang, nor a whimper. Just a series of splashes and hisses. From the water, whence we had once emerged, now came this final act.\n\nContrails rose like the strings of so many balloons. We felt nothing, at first, just saw - saw the lethal illumination punctuate the sky. Each flash was a defiant shout into the encroaching void. \n\nThe light faded into mushrooming clouds, but they might just as well have been letters scrawled across the Heavens: *Let them come. Let them dare. But know that here, on* this *planet, they shall only find a despair colder than the vacuum of space.*\n\n* * *\n\n/r/ShadowsofClouds for more, including [this story](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShadowsofClouds/comments/8qlgov/wp_its_the_robot_uprising_armed_autonomous/) that's sort of the opposite of this one.",
"\"Gehe vorwärts, 150 Meter.\"\n\nThe tank lurched forward among the rubble. A city destroyed, defiled and desecrated by the alien menace that descended onto Earth. The war had gone sour easily, human flesh proving to be nothing more than cardboard in the face of the otherworldly lasers.\n\n\"Everything alright, Captain?\" a young face emerged, eyeing the buildings still standing.\n\n\"No.\" The officer lit a cigarette and motioned to the big pillar in the middle of the square. A copper angel stood on the top, her wings missing and face deformed.\n\n\"This was my home, once. A beautiful place. A bastion of culture, refinement and entertainment. Now, look at it.\"\n\nThe call came two Earth years ago. Accompanied by both angels and daemons, they marched into the living world, to pay their last debts to the world that nourished and buried them. They sat into their machines, fueled by rage, hatred and vengeance, loaded the cannons and rifles with bullets of malevolence and destruction. They fought on, in a second life, to bring something terrifying against the extraterrestrials.\n\nA metallic sound pierced the relative quiet and a three-legged contraption appeared in one of the streets. It had a sleek red design, with beam weaponry fixed under a glass canopy. It fired a series of rapid streams of light at the tank, all of them ricocheting off the armour.\n\n\"Enemy walker, get ready. Load the main gun.\" he barked the order, noting the distance on a small sheet of paper.\n\n\"Páncéltörő töltet kész, Captain.\" the loader said, stuffing the 88 mm anti-tank shell into the chamber. \"On your mark, uram.\"\n\n\"Fahrer, Urne 60 Grad nach Norden.\" the captain ordered, the old beast clanging and growling as it turned towards an alien walker.\n\n\"Can I smoke this отходы кислорода, commissar?\" the gunner, Arkady, asked.\n\n\"I don't think they breathe oxygen, Arkady.\" Hans replied, manning the hull machine gun. \"Neither do you, for a fact.\"\n\n\"I will slit your throat open, blonde Nazi fuck, just you see..\"\n\n\"Hey, my father died trying to kill the fucking Führer! I will not stand-\"\n\n\"Shut the fuck up and concentrate!\" the captain shouted, hitting the young man on the back of his head. \"Arkady, light that asshole up.\"\n\nThe shell left the barrel and hit the walker on its right side. It started falling towards the left, moving like a drunk as the alien pilot frantically tried to regain balance. A second shell was chambered and the gunner did not hesitate, hitting the canopy with a perfect shot.\n\nA large explosion engulfed the deserted street, debris and shrapnel falling in all directions as the reactor of the alien machine collapsed.\n\n\"Nice job. Next time smoke these walkers and not your Belomorkanal.\"\n\nThe gunner huffed and lit another Soviet cigarette, courtesy of the Supply division, where his dead-then-resurrected wife worked.\n\n\"Fahrer.\"\n\n\"Hauptmann?\"\n\n\"Lass 'uns hier abhauen.\"\n\nThe old tank moved on, hunting whatever alien vehicle they met on the way. Two years they fought, two years they spent in a world that they long left behind. The war raged on, with millions of them spread all around the world. Japanese samurai in Asia, Aztec Jaguar Warriors in Mexico, the White Death in Karelia-\n\n\"You mention that Ублюдок again and I stuff that pen down your thro-\"\n\nShush.\n\nThe past always haunts the present - now they came to save it. The captain and his crew, the young Hans, the grumpy Arkady, the impressionable Ádám and the ever-silent Fritz trampled alien after alien, yet...\n\n...their watch just only begun."
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[WP] An engineer from the plant walks into your office, she says with excitement “I think it’s time to reload the centrifuge!” So you both grab a shot gun, round up some others and set out to harvest the last known fuel source on earth - the rendered fat of both human and mammal zombies!
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 sound of the shotgun boomed somewhere off in the distance. It was followed by a few whoops of excitement. Someone had evidently gotten a good kill -- or maybe just an impressive shot. \n\n\"At least someone is having some luck,\" I said. \n\n\"Let's keep at it,\" said Jim, the engineer. \"There's still plenty left around this part of town.\" \n\nI wasn't so sure, but I followed him anyway. The two of us wandered though a few more alleyways; checked inside of a few more houses, too. Eventually we got pretty desperate and checked inside of an old grade-school. Not that either of us would be all that squeamish about putting down some zombie children, but how much fat could you really get off of them? It didn't matter, it was empty. \n\nI spat on the sidewalk, the glob of spit landed on some fossilized garbage so old it was probably their before the city had been abandoned to the undead. Jim stood a few feet away, fiddling absently with a rusted USPS mailbox. \n\n\"You think there's any mail left in here?\" he asked. \n\n\"Does it matter?\" I replied. \"Anything still in there probably turned to dust years ago.\" \n\nBefore Jim could respond, I waved my hand for silence. \"Hear that?\" I whispered. He strained, but after a second he shook his head. A soft, slow scrape every other second came from around the corner. \n\nWe hurried over to the source and took it down with practiced efficiency. \n\n\"Told you we'd find something,\" Jim said, matter of factly. \n\nI looked down at the kill. \"Was it even worth finding?\" The sad looking undead thing, it was so old almost every scrap of flesh had rotted and shriveled into emaciated shoe leather. The clothes that it had been wearing when it died and turned had long since ripped away, leaving it naked. One of its feet had been torn almost completely off, just barely hanging on still by a few worn out tendons, so it just dragged along as it stumbled around on the stump. It hadn't been much more than a walking skeleton. \n\n\"Fucking thing must have died from starvation before he turned,\" I continued. \"Look at him, he's hardly got a ounce of fat on him.\" \n\nJim, undeterred, just grabbed the corpse and started dragging it towards the truck. \n\n\"Hey,\" he said, \"at least we actually heard this one. I remember back in the beginning how easy this was. Back when all these guys were fresh. Could hear them coming for a mile. Just sit back, wait for them to come to you. Easy as pie. Safer, too, since they couldn't hardly sneak up on you.\" \n\n\"Yeah,\" I agreed. \"Much safer.\" \n\nHe was right. This kind of work had been much easier in the beginning. For whatever reason -- maybe instinct -- fresh zombies still tried to breath. Not that they needed to. Whatever part of their brain that was still kicking around upstairs didn't get the message that they didn't need oxygen anymore, so they still tried to suck down air. That's where that infamous zombie moan comes from: the last functioning remnants of the respiratory system. \n\nOnce the lungs rotted away, though, they were silent as the grave. You really had to watch your back once that became the norm. \n\nWhen we got to the truck, the back was still almost empty. The plant foreman stood on top of the cab looking out through a pair of binoculars. Jim hefted out kill into the bed without any help. \n\n\"Ours doesn't look half bad,\" he said. \"Not compared to what everyone else got.\" \n\n\"It still looks like shit,\" the foreman said, surveying our kill. \"Neither of you are getting paid for that. Go back out.\" \n\n\"Bull-shit!\" Jim and I said together. \n\n\"Those are the rules,\" the foreman said flatly. \"You don't produce at least 10 kg of fat, you don't get paid. You don't like it, fuck off somewhere else.\" As he spoke, he put his hands on his hips, his right hand nestled just behind the pistol he wore on his side. \n\n\"Bull-shit,\" Jim muttered again. He turned and stomped off. \n\nA few years ago, I would have followed him without another word. Now, my stomach demanded I speak up. \n\n\"Come on,\" I said to the foreman. \"How are we supposed to keep hunting without being fed? Can't you at least give us an advance, something to help us finish the job?\" \n\nA crow squawked on top of a building nearby. Its beady black eyes watched the back of the truck greedily as it waited for its chance to swoop down and steal a beak full of flesh. \n\n\"You know I can't do that,\" the foreman said. \"I have my orders from management. No production, no pay. You want to be fed, you need to produce.\" \n\n\"There's fuck all out there, man,\" I said gesturing towards the ruined city streets. \"It's been years since this was an easy job and you know that. We could be out hear two- three days before we can get 10 kg! How the hell am I supposed to do that when I'm only a half step away from starving to death myself?\" \n\nThe foreman dropped down heavily from the roof of the truck and walked over to me. He got so close I could smell the stale old cigarettes on his breath. His little pot belly bumped into me before he stopped. \n\n\"Be thankful,\" he said, poking me in the ribs with one of his greasy, stubby fingers, \"that you got something at all. 'Cuz just between you and me, management wants anyone who doesn't bring back *anything* shit-canned. On the spot.\" \n\n\"Jesus,\" I said. \n\n\"I'm not even supposed to bring 'em back to the plant. Just leave 'em out here. We can come back in a month or two, pick up their fat.\" \n\nI spat down towards the truck tire, before it landed, I had turned and stomped off. I could hear the foreman chuckling to himself as I left.",
"##Power Struggle\n\nExtraction Team Orion gets dressed in their assigned locker room. Arianna, an engineer from the power section, stands at the door with a shot gun in hand. Marisa, the team leader, is slowly calming her down.\n\n\"But I scored high on my target practice, and I would be a good judge of how valuable a zombie is,\" she says with desperation.\n\n\"Listen, zombies are dangerous and getting worse. Last week, one of them was able to pick up a gun and fire back. I don't want an engineer to look out for. You have given us a range of bodies to look for. That is all we need,\" Marisa replies. Ariana sighs and walks out of the room. Marisa turns around and heads out of the locker room to the transport bay where a cargoship is ready. Her four underlings are already waiting.\n\n\"I can't believe she would want to come on this mission. Don't they know how dangerous this is?\" Jeremiah asks from the front seat.\n\n\"A large chunk of the population blames the zombies for the reason the Earth is so inhabitable. Even though Relicuum founders were just as responsible,\" Manuel replies analyzing his data and drones.\n\n\"You are telling me. Every time I mention my hunter status at the bar. All kinds of suitors come towards me. Being the gentleman hunter I am. I oblige all requests,\" Rodrick says with a smirk. Bella rolls her eyes.\n\n\"It may not be their fault we are in this mess, but they are the ones out there making it worse. They could easily rebuild humanity, but they are not. Screw them,\" she says. Marisa claps her hands.\n\n\"Enough politics. Let's just do what we came for,\" she commands. Jeremiah starts the ships engines and rides out of Relicuum into the barren wasteland surrounding. He analyzes input data on where a large collection of zombies is waiting. He finds that there is a large group in the middle of the black canyon. He moves the thrusters to that location which is over 3000 km south and a bit to the east. The trip is about an hour long and most of his compatriots fall asleep. When they get closer, he wakes them up. Manuel starts doing his analysis.\n\n\"It seems as though there is an old dam structure here from the old one. The zombies are using it as a home. My initial estimates show that around thirty of them are here,\" Manuel says.\n\n\"My god, they are going to form an army,\" Rodrick says.\n\n\"You really believe that bedtime story. They are too stupid to do that. They would rather kill each other than organize,\" Bella shoots back.\n\n\"We should not underestimate them. Jeremiah land ten miles away in camouflage. We take the flyers there in our camo suits.\" Marisa commands.\n\nJeremiah turns on the system that allows the craft to match its surroundings. The exit hatch is lowered. The team drives out on their flyers with similar technology. The only evidence of the presence is the small amount of dirt that shuffles under their flyers. When they get closer they stop. Rodrick pulls out a pair of binoculars. \n\n\"Three of them are on guard duty on either side. There looks to be ten of them in one location at rest. Five of them are showing high activity on one side. Three are in a room. The rest are sprinkled throughout,\" he says into his communication device.\n\n\"Alright, Manuel and Jeremiah you two take out the zombies on this side on my signal. Then, clear the barracks. Bella and Rodrick with me,\" Marisa says. The group splits up. \n\nAs they get closer, Marisa stops her group, \"Wait they have guns. Do you read me Manuel, Jeremiah? They are armed.\"\n\n\"Loud and clear where did they get that?\" Jeremiah asks.\n\n\"I don't know. We should assume the rest of them are armed. Use poison darts for silence. Biological can process it later,\" she replies.\n\n\"Ugh,\" Bella says.\n\n\"I know you want to be direct, but we have to,\" Marisa says. The three of them use their darts which quickly down their opponents. They run to the location where five are in physical activity to find it is a gym where the zombies are working out. The five are easily disposed of as they were tired. Four more zombies ran into the room to defend their allies and were quickly defeated. Bella in particular gleefully hits her enemies. Marisa has to stop her.\n\n\"Manuel, Jeremiah status update,\" she says.\n\n\"All clear in the bedroom. We also found five in an area that looks like a bar. Can you believe it? They are drinking?!\" Jeremiah exclaims.\n\n\"Alright, we will converge at the central three,\" Marisa says.\n\nManual, Rodrick, and Bella move to the central area when a gun fires. The bullet barely misses them. They duck behind cover to look for their assailant. The heat vision is not detecting anything. Marisa disables it to find two people are standing in the room with them. After a quick fire fight, the hunters kill their prey.\n\n\"Oh my god, they found a way to hide from our sensors,\" Jeremiah exclaims.\n\n\"We need to warn the others.\" Marisa says, \"Manuel, Jeremiah respond.\"\n\nThere is no answer. The three hunters start to run towards the last recorded location of their compatriots. When they run the suspected area, they find a room filled with sophisticated technology but no zombies. On the other side, a zombie is standing over Jeremiah and Manuel who have been stripped of their technology. He is loading their technology into a minicraft which flies away with it.\n\n\"What the hell are you doing?\" Bella barks. The zombie laughs.\n\n\"You have been hunting us for decades. No more. We have your technology now. We can recreate it. You won't take us alive,\" he says.\n\n\"You zombie,\" Bella shouts.\n\n\"Stop that. Zombie implies I have no brains. You people sit up in your city and harvest us for energy never bothering to look for alternatives. You dehumanize us to make yourself feel good. Well no more. We are going to end it now,\" he shoots himself with a syringe, \"I should mention that when the guards went down. Everyone in the facility made their fat unusable. Now what are you going to do.\"\n\nMarisa shoots him. Rodrick starts to cry.\n\n\"Load the ship. I will be sure to give these two men the funeral they deserve,\" she says.\n\n---\n\nThe next week. Ariana and Marisa are sitting in a high command meeting. Rodrick and Bella have been given time off. Jeremiah's wife and kids and Manuel's husband have been set to receive the rest of their husband's income until they retire.\n\n\"So the results from our biological department are in. The fat from everyone except for the guards is completely unusable. That zombie was not lying. They have synthesized a chemical that renders their fat useless. We are looking for a way to counteract it now,\" Captain Maria says.\n\n\"And you are sure that they were able to hide from our detectors?\" Ariana asks. Her eyes once bright with anticipation now look bleak in fear.\n\n\"Yep, they snuck up on us,\" Marisa replies.\n\n\"This is bad. The zombies are getting smart. If we don't act fast, we could have a war on our hands,\" Captain Marisa says.\n\n\"With all due respect, we have been at war for a while,\" Marisa looks at Ariana. Ariana was so eager to hunt mindless animals. Now that they aren't mindless; she cowers in the corner, \"The zombies have started to catch up.\"\n\n---\n\nr/AstroRideWrites"
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[WP] The knight fights the dragon to save the princess, but falls in love with the dragon instead
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 sounds of beating horseshoes pounded against a newly paved road as a young black horse trotted towards a recently claimed cave. On that horse was a knight of fifty: Lady Priscilla, the head knight of Prince Romero’s guard. The knight however was alone. In her hand was a single damaged letter, a location. \n\nFinally the knight arrived. She slipped out of the saddle and adjusted the off-white bun of hair she had. She entered the cave quietly, hoping her liege was inside. It was a rather large cave, smooth as well, perhaps an old mine Priscilla wondered to herself, working her old brain as she thought for a name. None came to her. So she kept walking.\n\nShe looked to the entrance at one point, seemingly a lifetime away as naught but a single light at the end of a tunnel. “Don’t walk into the light just yet you old fool.” Priscilla joked to herself, coughing after a good laugh. “Princess Ram better be in here.” With that hope she kept walking, metal boots taking as much care to be as loud as humanly possible. \n\nPriscilla was rather shocked when the cave shrunk and presented her a rather large stone door, perhaps three times her size. All in all not that big. She opted to just open the thing and enter. Her eyes took a moment to adjust but when they did she stood in shock. A rather large natural ravine was presented to her, yet that wasn’t what shocked her.\n\nIt was a village built into said ravine. Priscilla took a few steps inside and looked up to the blue sky, then to the many buildings up the stony ravine. Buildings made of stone.\n\n“Lady Priscilla?!” Her eyes shot down to the person in front of her.\n\n“Lady Ram! We need to go!” With that Priscilla grabbed her liege’s hand. Before a single struggle she found herself on the ground, with a dragon staring her down. Priscilla found herself unable to speak, terrified of this majestic beast frothing at the mouth with electricity. It wasn’t any taller then her. Priscilla almost reached for her sword, just for the electricity to intensify.\n\nRam had to pull the dragon off her. Both stared at each other, Priscilla in fear and the dragon in pride. “Lady Priscilla, this is Rowan. Rowan, this is Lady Priscilla.” Both took a moment to speak.\n\n“Prince Romero. The king is worried for your safety. We must go home at once.” Lady Priscilla eventually stammered out, slowly recovering from the shock. She had already looked around, noting the sheer amount of people looking at them.\n\n“Priscilla, all these people know. My real name please.” Pleaded Ram. Priscilla nodded, only now noting the twin drills and elegant dress she wore. Her father would flip. \n\nFinally the dragon spoke, a rather odd voice that struggled with certain words, normal due to the human’s language being difficult for dragons to pronounce. Priscilla found it charming. “Lady Priscilla. For having discovered the hidden city you will not be allowed to leave. The king cannot know of this. Your husband cannot-“ \n\n“Not married. As if the kingdom could tolerate a married lady knight. Besides if Princess Ram wishes to stay, so shall I.” With a bow to Ram both watched the princess light up happily.\n\nA few months had passed, Princess Ram had made it very clear these were her people. At first Priscilla had believed they were mostly the villainous type, yet their resourcefulness impressed her. Most of all Rowan, who Priscilla found herself talking to a lot more then she expected. Now they had a mission.\n\n“The king has discovered this place. And plans to attack.” Ram tearfully explained, shaking terribly in her seat. Lady Priscilla knew full well why they should be worried. The knights she once served among were dangerous and well trained, yet they had a weakness.\n\n“We fry them. With Sir Rowan’s electricity and my knowledge we will push back their army.” Rowan looked to the lady, dressed rather finely in a simple blue shirt, loose trousers and red shawl. He couldn’t help but admire the woman, both for appearance, personality and just how vicious she could be. Rowan loved the plan.\n\nRowan approached Priscilla a few days later, bringing back some fish she had caught with the village children. “Priscilla. A word please.” Had he overdone the polish? He had made sure the yellow scales were as beautiful as possible.\n\nPriscilla nodded, unsure why he was sort of glowing. Perhaps staring at the water was making her mad, about time she would think. “Sure Sir Rowan. Is something wrong?”\n\nRowan took a deep breath, fully aware if something happened during the fight he would never get to tell Priscilla something very important. “It’s about you.” Smooth.\n\nPriscilla looked rather amused at this, taking a moment to brush the loose hairs out of her face. “Go on? Was the plan to brutal?”\n\n“The plan was perfect!” Rowan was quick to correct. “However I’m worried about if things go wrong.”\n\n“Princess Ram will be with the citizens away from this. She will be safe. I will defend this home with my life!” She watched Rowan begin to panic.\n\n“No! Priscilla. If something happens to you I would hate myself forever! I love you!” Oops. Rowan had little intention to spill this secret.\n\nPriscilla watched the dragon look away. She however was surprised and elated. However she needed to confirm a few things. “You know I’m fifty-one right?”\n\n“And I’m 102, hardly an issue.” Rowan tried to recover.\n\n“I also went into menopause, I can’t have children.” Priscilla informed the dragon she liked. She sounded rather saddened about this as she always wanted to have children, yet wanted to be a knight even more.\n\n“While you may never have natural children those of the village deem you their second mother. They call you the Grandmother Knight.” Rowan took a step closer, just to be embraced by Priscilla.\n\n“Oh Rowan, I was worried you wouldn’t accept me for that bit. I care about you as well. I may only have twenty to thirty years left in me but I’ll happily spend them with you and Princess Ram.”\n\n“I’ll spend the rest of your life with you Priscilla, my dear knight. Let us give the kingdom a reason to fear this ravine.”",
"The mountain loomed ahead. Sir Preston gulped at the ominous sight.\n\n“Looks like this is it, eh?” he muttered to his mare, who did not dignify him with a response.\n\n“End of the line, one way or another. Either the dragon gets slain and I get married, or… well…”\n\nThe horse tossed her head indifferently.\n\n“I’m glad you’re so concerned,” he sighed. “Just the biggest quest of life, that’s all. I had hoped you’d be a bit more.. I dunno… into it.”\n\nAhead, a dark stormcloud was forming around the peak of the mountain, casting the land into shadow. A lightning bolt reached for the earth, and an ear-splitting *crack* caused the horse to jump to the side.\n\n“Easy, girl, easy,” he said, patting her neck. “Just a bit of a storm. We’ll see much worse before the day is out, I fear.”\n\nThe horse seemed to settle at the sound of his voice, and eventually she began to plod forward again.\n\n*Forward, towards glory or death.* The grim thought did nothing to assuage Preston’s grim mood. He was already nervous at the concept of meeting a princess for the first time and proposing on the spot. Preston was less of a love-at-first-sight sort of knight and more of a slow, long, thoughtful courtship knight. Such a rash decision was unlike him.\n\nOf course, royal pressure was enough to make any knight act against his nature, and unfortunately, being the foremost knight in the land meant that royal pressure landed squarely on his shoulders.\n\nHe paused for a moment at the base of the switchbacks that led to the cave.\n\n“Awfully steep, girl,” he said before dismounting. “We part here, I’m afraid. You’ve been a grand companion, the best anyone could hope for.”\n\nAgain, the horse was silent as he unpacked his armor and began strapping it on himself. Finally, he belted his scabbard to this side and patted the horse on the back.\n\n“Run and hide, girl. We’ll see each other again, I’m sure.”\n\nThe horse stared him in the eye, then walked a dozen feet away and began grazing. Preston sighed.\n\n“Well, at least I won’t have to go far,” he muttered.\n\nThe climb was long and hard, and the difficulty was compounded by the weight of the armor on his back. As he approached the cave entrance, the very air around him grew dry and arid as heat from the dragon’s lair spilled out of the mountain. \n\nFinally, exhausted, he paused at the mouth of the cave. He removed his helmet and dropped it carelessly on the ground. Sweat dripped from his brow and sizzled as it landed on the black stone below.\n\nThe cave was dark, but at the far end, a harsh red glow was visible where the tunnel dipped. Preston gripped his sword and drew it, prepared for the worst as he slowly crept into the heart of the mountain. The red glow seemed to give his sword an evil glint as though the very soul of the dragon had possessed and corrupted it.\n\nSoon, the darkness gave way to light and the cave opened to a massive cavern. Vast treasures glittered in haphazard piles, half-melted by the intense heat of the dragon’s flames and lit by massive braziers and pools of fire. At the distant end of the cavern, it looked as though the dragon had forged a golden building to house the princess, a gilded cage for perhaps his greatest treasure.\n\nAnd around the solid gold building was coiled the largest creature Preston had ever seen.\n\nIts scales glittered with ten times the brilliant intensity of the most polished gold and diamonds. The deep yellow seemed to bring shame to the very treasures around it, and as the dragon breathed in and out deeply, the scales sent seemingly infinite reflections across the cavern.\nTwo massive wings sprouted from the dragon’s torso, intricate, apparently delicate but still belying the immense strength of the beast. Powerful legs like tree trunks curled tightly around a sleeping head, hiding it from the world around it.\n\nPreston drew a breath to yell his challenge, then paused. *Bravery is admirable, but cunning saves lives,* he thought. *Chivalry will not win the day here.* He dropped into the cavern and navigated towards the dragon as silently as possible, wincing every time his armor brushed against a pile of gold.\n\nAnd yet, despite his best efforts, he was not careful enough. One inconveniently placed golden statue escape his notice, and he tripped on it, crashing to the ground with enough noise to wake his dead father half a world away.\n\nThe dragon stirred, its massive head rearing into the air. The beast towered over him, and for a moment, Sir Preston’s courage failed him.\n\n“What… is this?” the dragon asked in a deep, silken voice that echoed through the caves. “Another has come for the hand of the princess?”\n\n“I… I… I have come to slay you and rescue her!” Preston yelled as he tried to steady his knocking knees. “Her father, the King, has sent me on a quest!”\n\nThe dragon snorted, sending a wave of fire cascading towards Preston. He ducked behind a nearby stack of gold coins in terror.\n\n“Relax, knight. You are not worthy of the effort it would take to slay you. And as for your quest…”\n\nThe dragon lumbered forward, leaned over the pile, and delicately bit into Preston’s plate mail, its massive teeth sheering straight through the metal. It lifted Preston into the air and dropped him onto the golden building, where a surprisingly tasteful table had been set up.\n\n“Let us feast,” the dragon announced. “And then we will see what your fate might be.”\n\n***\n\nPreston’s brow furrowed. “So… you’re not a prisoner here?” he asked through a mouthful of fantastically roasted chicken.\n\nPrincess Andrica snorted indelicately. “Of course not,” she said as she tore into her own meat. “Mom brought me here after that whole ‘witch’ kerfuffle.”\n\n“Kerfuffle…” Preston blinked. “I thought the witch summoned a dragon to kill your parents and destroy the kingdom.”\n\n“Mere rumors and hearsay,” the dragon, the former Queen Victoria, rumbled. “The ‘king’ hired the witch to do away with me so he could marry our daughter. He is a twisted mind of pure evil.”\n\n“So why haven’t you killed him?” Preston asked. “I mean, you’re… you know, massive. Wouldn’t be too hard, would it?”\n\nVictoria sighed, sending a blast of hot air over the table. “I fear for my daughter’s life,” she admitted. “I fear that a knight like you might approach the cave and take her in my absence.”\n\n“And Andri… er, the princess couldn’t just tell them to leave her alone?”\n\nThe dragon turned a massive eye to Preston. “You know the knights of the realm, surely. Do you think that they would listen to a young girl such as her?”\n\nPreston sighed. “Fair point. So why haven’t you killed me?”\n\n“We have a plan, you see,” Princess Andrica says. “Or at least, mom does,” she added with a dirty look in the direction of the dragon.\n\n“We must restore order to the realm,” the dragon insisted. “And the best way to do that is to marry you to a brave knight and bring the king to trial for his misdeeds. The lords of the realm will only accept someone connected to the royal lineage, and they would never serve under a woman alone.”\n\n“I don’t *want* to be a queen, mom. I want to stay here,” the princess said. \n\n“No, child,” Victoria said. “That is not your path.”\n\n“So… er… you want me to marry her anyway?” Preston asked awkwardly.\n\n“Well, do you want to?” the dragon asked.\n\nPreston glanced at Andrica, whose expression of mild disgust mirrored his own\n\n“I’m afraid not, milady. I did not realize she was so… well, young. I feel I might be twice her age. I could very well have a daughter of the same years. It would be improper.”\n\nThe dragon rumbled. “I feared as much. Any knight truly worthy to be king would never agree to our plan.”\n\n“I am sorry, my queen. I would submit myself to you instead of the usurper king if it would please you,” he said. “I would slay the king himself if I could, though I am sure the king’s army would stop me. It has grown considerably since your death… well, departure.”\n\n“I appreciate the gesture, brave Sir Preston. I would accept your service gladly, for there are many things that my daughter and I are unable to do alone. Perhaps, in time, a new plan will emerge.”\n\n***\n\n“She likes you, you know,” Andrica said several months later. “She won’t admit it, but she likes having you around.”\n\nPreston cleared his throat. “I am her servant, nothing more. I’m sure I’m a good help for errands like this, but that should be all.”\n\nAndrica grabbed an apple and made a face. “These are all rotted,” she said with an accusing glare at the stall owner, a local farmer. “What a lousy market day this is.”\n\n“Bad harvest,” the farmer said. “And control your daughter, will you?”\n\n“Er… Right. Come along, uh, daughter,” Preston said hastily, drawing Andrica away from the stand.\n\n“You like her too,” Andrica said. “Admit it.”\n\n“She is my queen,” Preston said stubbornly. “And a dragon, let us not forget. It would never work, a marriage between a dragon and a knight. I was supposed to slay her, not fall in love.”\n\n“You like her,” Andrica repeated. “What else matters?”\n\n“Propriety,” Preston said. “The fate of the kingdom.”\n\n“You know, as my father, you would have decent claim to the throne,” Andrica said thoughtfully. “And who knows? Maybe true love’s kiss will cure the dragon curse.”\n\n“I--” Preston paused. “*True* love? Is that what she says of me?”\n\nAndrica skipped forward a few steps, then turned around and coyly winked. “Who knows? She says *a lot* about brave Sir Preston.” She skipped away again, leading the way to the mountain. Preston followed in a daze."
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[WP] You’re a horror film enthusiast who just bought your dream home: an old Victorian mansion that’s been expertly rigged to appear haunted. It’s a technological masterpiece! However, it’s not long before things start happening that make you begin to wonder if this house could be haunted for real.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
" HOUSE OF HORRORS \n\n \n Horror film director Ray Lee-Price builds multi-million mansion based on his classic movies. Lee-Price known for such movies as *The Lady Comes at Night*, *The Cursed Jewel* and *Dracula Rebirth* has spent millions building his new residence in the quiet village of Barkhavenshire where he based his supernatural, mystery horror *The Strange Man*. The manor home has been designed to have blood dripping from the walls in the dinning room just as in *Dracula Rebirth* and the walls move around just like in *The Lady Comes at Night*. It is also reported that the lights are designed to flicker on off at random intervals and that there are over thirty hidden secret passageways hidden within the house. \n\n \n If this is not spooky enough, Lee-Price has built his house the site of Barkhavenshire Manor which mysteriously burnt down in 1901, killing the entire family including their dinner guest Rev. Matthew Brass. Rumours have it that Reverend Brass was visiting the family to conduct an exorcism on their eldest daughter Catherine Spalding, although this has never been confirmed. \n\n \n \\* \n\n \n IS RAY LEE-PRICE LOSING THE PLOT? \n\n \n Director Ray Lee-Price built a mansion designed to mimic his classic horror films. When he first moved in Lee-Price was quoted to have been “delighted” with his new manor home, however in recent interviews Lee-Price has alluded that his home may actually be haunted. He has said in numerous interviews about hearing strange noises that were not programmed into the house and that his things constantly go missing in the night time. \n\n \n Many people have dismissed Lee-Price's claims as either a light hearted joke or part of a publicity stunt. However several people from the village of Barkhavenshire where he resides have reported that Mr Lee-Price has been acting strange of late. Usually a social pillar of the community, partaking in church fetes and a member of the village board Mr Lee-Price has been notably absent from the public eye. “We hardly see him now, and when do Ray looks very dishevelled, his eyes all red and bloodshot as if he has not been sleeping.” One acquaintance of Ray Lee-Price had has said on record. \n\n \n \\* \n \n POLICE LEFT BAFFLED OVER DEATH OF TV PSYCHIC \n\n \n Last week popular day time television psychic Dawn Oliver was found dead at the home of horror director Lee-Price. Dawn Oliver from *Dawn with the Dead* fame, was a close friend to Lee-Price and has been credited as a consultant in some of his films. Paramedics drove out to Lee-Price's 'haunted' manor home Tuesday night and found Oliver in what can only be described in a “petrified state.” There was no clear, apparent cause of death but hopefully the autopsy will clear things up. \n\n \n What has got people most intrigued about this case however is Mr Lee-Price's statement to the police. “One moment we were just sitting there and then she appeared out of nowhere... the burnt lady. She looked Dawn directly in the eyes and next thing I knew Dawn had slumped to the floor and the burnt lady had gone. I knew without checking that she was dead.” Later in his statement Lee-Price went on the threaten his home “right down the God damned ground.” \n\n\n Ray Lee-Price is still to undertake extensive psychiatric testing to determine his current mental stability.",
"The mansion didn’t really seem all that much. It was an ancient thing, three stories of stained wood, rusty pigeon spikes, worn shingles and ominous windows that squatted on the top of a little hill, a dirty white scab atop an infected wound. The neighbors’ children feared the house, calling it haunted and spooky. But to me, it was perfect.\n\nI bought this house a long time ago, when I was young and still had some money to spend. I was paranoid, too; I had bought this thing as a summer home, a place to spend my vacations, and I had heard the myriad stories of young vandals and robbers breaking into old homes to put up graffiti or to plunder furniture. I took some inspiration from horror literature, which I had loved since childhood, and with the advice of many a fictional manor, I had devised the most cunning security system possible for my summer home.\n\nIt was rigged with all manner of doors and hatches, all rigged to close automatically via these genius spring-loaded devices, and some of them were rather faulty, opting to close suddenly and abruptly rather than smoothly as intended. I assuaged the poor contractors that it was all right; I would be careful, and they didn’t need to fix it. \n\nIt also had a flagpole atop the middle of the manor, which, combined with the hill it stood on, made it an unfortunate attraction for lightning. It looked safe, so I let it be. There were many more tricks and traps in the old manor, but I wouldn’t want to spoil it all for you now, would I?\n\nI eventually decided to not do the tedious business of disabling every trap when I came to stay, as I simply had too much work to stay much anyhow. Eventually I was knocked unconscious due to a workplace accident, and I decided to retire to live out the rest of my days in my old mansion.\n\nWhen I arrived, the situation was most curious: I no longer triggered any of my traps, even though most of them were tripped by weight. I assume now that the traps were simply broken, and continued on. \n\nAfter about ten years or so (I lost track of time, and estimated; I was getting old) I had gotten used to living here, and I was content. I had had no wife nor child, but I had a variety of books to keep me company through the long years. But, despite all my traps, despite my preparations, despite my attempts to cast an ominous air about the house, the vandals found a way.\n\nThere was a group of four of them. They somehow got past my lock and traipsed through my front door without a care in the world! Two of those rascals were talking excitedly to a third, who was holding a most peculiar device: a thin wafer of what looked like glass, with a tiny lens on it, the sort you’d see on a pair of eyeglasses. He would point the side of the wafer with the lens on it at the first two vandals, who would gesture wildly and point to all areas of my home. And the entire group acted as though I didn’t exist! They went their way about, talking in a most vulgar dialect, not even looking at me, even when I stepped in front of the one with the wafer and told him to get out! Insolent little children.\n\nI decided enough was enough, and at that moment one of the traps I’d laid, which I had long thought dormant by age, suddenly sprung to life.\n\nWell... oh dear. It would seem that my trap was indeed faulty. I had only intended for that ax to crash in front of the victim; I even dulled the blade! Well, it turns out that ax was still rather heavy. It would seem one of the rascals got a rather hard knock upside the head with that thing. There’s an awful lot of blood, too.\n\nHe’s lying awfully still now. And now there’s fifth child, coming in behind his four friends... Wait, he’s wearing the same clothing as the child on the floor. And he’s looking right at me."
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[WP] A lawyer is haunted by the ghosts of their defendant’s victims.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 dearest Edna,\n\n\nI once again write to you in the early hours of the morning, my mind unable to sleep, me eyes unable to close and my fears unable to drift away.\n\n\nI am certain that cone tomorrow evening my client will once again be able to walk the streets, unshackled and able to live once again for his own pleasures. Another job well done you might say. Some however, would happily say different. Indeed they do say different.\n\n\nShe watches me from the gallery in the courthouse, her dark eyes burrow themselves into my soul, her crooked smile unhinges me and her blond plats wave in some unnatural breeze felt only be her.\n\n\nI was used to an audience within a court house, even those eyes of the victim’s family pinning me to the spot were not enough to keep me up at night. But hers, her eyes, her hands clutching that small bear, and her legs, the blood upon her tights... I can’t un see things, I know I defend bad people, I know their crimes, on paper at least, but this, this is something I can’t close within a briefcase and file it away beneath yet more paperwork. Even now as my pen touches the paper and it’s ink seeps into its dry white skin all I can think, all I can see is the blood, her blood seeping and drying into her tights. The drips from beneath her skirt, her dark eyes and her crooked smile, this is more than I can ever bare to defend.\n\n\nIt is with this image of her within my mind that I write this letter to you, my darling Edna, my beautiful daughter.\n\n\nI write this letter to you to say goodbye, may god forgive me.",
"“Full disclosure, I didn’t know that he’d actually killed those folks, until their ghosts practically lead me by the hand to the evidence that the prosecution would’ve killed to have. Shit, sorry too soon, pun not intended. Anyway I figured I might as well come to you guys with it. He already got tried at the state level with insubstantial evidence but I know we can try again here at the federal level with the evidence I just brought in.”\n\nThe FBI agent raises an eyebrow and glances at the one way window.\n\n“Uh-huh so you were lead to this by ghosts?” She asks waving her hand at two mud splattered bags of bones personal effects and a box of documents the lawyer claimed to be written by his former client.\n\n“Yes I thought he was just a guy getting falsely accused but oh man he is actually super scary. Once he finds out I came here he’s going to come after me and-“ the lawyer stops his mouth drops and his eyes widen with horror and shock, “OH FUCK I need to go home and get my family right now! How could I forget to so much as warn them.”\n\nThe lawyer rises but the agent motions for him to sit.\n\n“Please sit down. We’ve sent a unit to collect your family, they’re in good hands.”\n\n“Thank God.”\n\n“Now tell me, these ghosts, are they with us now? Can you see them now?”\n\n“No they disappeared once I got here but they show up when I’m around him or when they need to tell me something.”\n\n“They talk to you.”\n\n“It’s more like charades really, absolutely terrifying in the beginning but...” the lawyer trails off and goes pale, “they protected me in the junk yard.”\n\n“Mr. DeLuca are you seeing one now?”\n\nThe lawyer nods his head very slowly.\n\n“Where is it?”\n\nHe points at the agent interviewing him.\n\n“He’s behind you, just standing halfway out from behind you.” He says his voice quivering.\n\n“Can you describe him for me?”\n\n“About eleven I think, brown hair, grey eyes an...d he’s pointing at you? Not you wait maybe woman? My wife? Yes. Hit? No stabbed? nononono.” Then something else draws his attention. The lawyer looks back at the agent tears in his eyes. “You said they were safe.”\n\nThere’s a tap on the window. The agent looks at her watch before standing.\n\n“One moment.”\n\nThe agent leaves the lawyer as he breaks down sobbing.",
"Lying in bed, on ceiling duty for another black night, I see them.\n\nWhen I was younger, afraid of the dark, my grandmother, a sweet, loving babushka, told me that ghosts only come for bad people. I wasn't bad, so I would be safe.\n\nWhen I grew up, I became good, very good, at litigation. An expert pedant, the king of semantics, the loophole legend. At first this worked well for me. Aside from the overloaded calendar and disturbed social life, I made a name battling government organisations who'd overstepped, minor issues, but important to the families of my community. My last case before I moved to the big city focused on a council who had unknowingly built a highway 300 metres through the corner of a retired farmer's land. The landowner himself had a stroke a few years prior, and by the time he noticed the intrusion there were already several hundred cars travelling through his old wheat field everyday. After several months, trundling back through to the Land ownership act of 1872, we successfully battled for 1.5% of Guildford council's rental earnings from public properties (council housing, church halls and the like), soon settling for well over 1 Million GBP.\n\nFunnily enough, my grandmother also told me something else, and I wish she hadn't. \"Never get comfortable. When a chance comes up, you take it\". In my youth, I took those words at face value. So when a chance came up, to destroy all of that, I took it with everything I had.\n\nIf I were to describe the things I defend, you would be disgusted, but forget within minutes. If you were to see the decimated bodies, hear the visceral, taped screams, or smell the bloodstained scenes of what I defend, you'd kill me yourself. For the first years, I tried to believe I was doing a good deed, that everyone deserved the best treatment within the law, but when Ben Braun was cleared of rape due to the \"incorrect badge positioning of arresting officer\", or Harry Manton's murder was thrown out for the officer \"not announcing himself when entering\" through Harry's door, my self-lies worked no more. I medicated with alcohol, weed, coke, benzos, ket, you name it, anything to forget what I'd just been accomplice to, and it worked, until the walls started smiling.\n\nLying in bed, I see those I helped die for nothing. Soon after the last chime of St. Pauls, staying in the centre of my vision, a hazy vibration distorts the spattered white paint of my ceiling, shaped in the grinning smile of a cheshire cat. Slowly, wide eyes form too, Alice Ross, Braun's first, staring at me with an eerie contempt, saying nothing, until the sun rises again. Soon after, the smiles and eyes of Nina Stone, Fran Shepherd and Jess Austin formulate beside one another. \n\nTBC"
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[WP] Out on a late night, you're walking home when you see it. A possum on a roomba
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*"
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[WP] A lifelong gambling enthusiast, you've played in countless venues for all manner of currency and collateral. Bored with trying to make a fortune, you seek out an apocryphal underground casino offering players chillingly high stakes against the opportunity to win anything their hearts desire.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"As long as I could remember I've always been into gambling and betting. There's just something about it, the thrill of winning, the heart pumping stakes of losing all. It's the sensation I felt like no extreme sports, gourmet cuisine, or sex could provide. \n\nI started way too young, living with unattentive parents. My father was a drunk and my mom was a hoarder. I spent my childhood in the playground betting with the other kids with sweets, daring each other to do stupider and stupider stuff. \n\nEventually those stupid things led to petty crimes. Stealing, house robbing, fighthing to name a few. But as I grew older I turned my sight to a more \"sophisticated\" venue. Donning my best suit, meddling with higher society in casinos draped in high quality decorations, menu full of high end cuisine and beverage...it's all a facade in the end which I didn't care much for. It's the thrill...it's always the thrill that I seek.\n\nYears went by, eventually everything went numb. I have gambled the most secretive rooms in Vegas, played with crime bosses of the east in Macao, pissed off a lot of dangerous people. None of those gave me the thrill anymore, and I felt like I died. Like a shark seeking blood, I need more blood. I needed more!\n\nI remember that one night, casually playing online poker I browsed the usual chatroom for gamblers like myself, only something caught my eyes...\n\n\"The Church of Cajetan\"\n\nHuh, Saint Cajetan was the patron saint of gamblers. I've never heard of this place. Asking around nobody in the chat knew a lot about it. Words from the grapevine stated that it was \"the place that holds everything you seek\"\n\nI raised an eyebrow. I was intrigued. I asked around how and where can I find this place. Just another rumor, but they all say \"it finds you, it knows\". I spent hours and more searching for any mention of it online to no use. In my frustration I fell asleep eventually.\n\n*knock knock*\n\nKnocking on my door jolted me up. Looking at my clock it was 3 in the morning. I went to my door still in daze. Nobody was beyond that door, only an envelope placed neatly on the floor.\n\nThe words \"Church of Cajetan\" written in front of me woke me up completely. Inside I found a note and a gold coin with no other discernable feature but the name \"The Church of Cajetan\".\n\n*Dear Mr. Holden Parrish, we are excited to extend an invitation to the venerable Church of Cajetan. To enter please grab hold of the gold coin encased inside and enter any door at exactly 3:33 either am or pm. Bear in mind the church requires formal attire*\n\nI was stumped but excited. Without even contemplating on how ridiculous it was I immediately wore my best suits. Italian made maroon suit jacket and trousers I won from an Italian mob in New York city. \n\n3:32 am. My heart was beating. My palm was sweating holding the gold coin tight. 58...59...60. 3:33 am I opened my bedroom door. Beyond I found myself inside a small waiting room draped in the finest carpet matching my own suit color. Gold and silver decorations filled the room.\n\n\"Mr. Holden Parrish, I presume?\"\n\nI turned my gaze to a man in front of me. He wasn't there before...\n\n\"You can call me Val. I will be your guide tonight inside the Church of Cajetan\"\n\nI was understandably overwhelmed of the situation. Something supernatural was going on there. But a gambler that I was, poker face was my forte.\n\n\"What's the minimum bet in this place? What game do you play?\"\n\n\"Oh we don't take money here, Sir. Your gold coin is your first bet. The chance to enter the Church is your first bet. We don't want any loser here, Sir. As for the game, we offer anything and everything ever concieved in the history of gambling\"\n\nVal walked to the back of the room, leading me through a large wooden door. What he showed me behind it was a large hall with similar decorations to the small waiting room. \n\nCountless tables of games being played, chattering of people, sounds of gambling machines, that familiar smell of high end casino...I was thrilled. I've been to plenty of similar places but this...this felt different.\n\n\nContinued at part 2..."
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[WP] An actual vampire’s reaction to Twilight.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"WorldTech labs closed up for the holidays, and Annie decided to invite the night crew for a small party. Which was only me and Tyler... so it’s pretty small.\n\nI never been to Annie’s house, and when I arrived I expected a mansion or something, not a one floor ranch house.\n\n“What’s with the stupid face?” she asked after she let me in.\n\n“Um, nothing. So what are we doing?” I asked.\n\n“She’s planning on watching a movie, but can’t think of one,” Tyler said as he entered the room with a bowl of popcorn.\n\n“Ooh, what about Twilight?” I asked. It was the first thing that came to my head, and it has been a good while since I saw it.\n\n“Fine, it was on my list to watch anyways,” she said.\n\n“Wait really? You never watched it?” I asked.\n\n“No. I know it’s about vampires but that’s all I know. Let me get my drink,” she said.\n\n“Should I be excited or worried,” I asked Tyler.\n\n“About a movie? I never watched it either so i don’t know what to expect. Why, is there something Annie shouldn’t know?”\n\n“I... don’t know. We will just see,” I said.\n\n“All right boys, all settled?” Annie asked as she sat between us.\n\n“Yep,” I said.\n\n“Let’s do this,” Tyler said.\n\nAnnie clicked play, and the movie began. I forgot how weird this movie was, but I still love it. I ignored the other two and watched in fascination. I still can’t believe Bella picked Edward, but I can’t ruin that.\n\nAfter the movie ended, I looked over at Annie, “So, what do you think?”\n\n“They sparkle... in the sunlight,” Annie said.\n\n“What, you don’t sparkle Annie?” Tyler teased.\n\n“No! But I wish I did. You don’t understand how much I miss sunlight. I could just tell people I got attacked by a kindergartner and say it’s glitter. And drinking animal blood, that’s just weird, but I never thought of it. Although I’m still iffy about that. Animal blood and human blood are two different things. For all you know, you are drinking poison,” she said.\n\n“What about the love story between Bella and Edward?” I asked.\n\n“Love story? That’s a stalker stalking a stalker. They need serious help,” Annie said.\n\n“What about the werewolves. Apparently in the movie they hate werewolves,” Tyler said, looking over at me.\n\n“Yeah, werewolves are the worst,” Annie said.\n\n“Ha ha, you are hilarious. So, you liked it?” I asked.\n\n“It’s tolerable. I could cross it off my list now,” she said.\n\n“You know there’s four more movies,” I said.\n\n“Four more! Jesus Christ, why?” Annie asked.\n\n“It was a hit in the late 2000s early 2010s,” I told her, “and it was a book series,” I added.\n\n“Maybe I should read the books,” Tyler said.\n\n“Late 2000s, I was in Italy around that time. Must’ve missed the rage. Fine, pick the next one,” she said.\n\n“Now?”\n\n“No, in 3043, yes now,” she said.\nI rolled my eyes and got up.",
"Many of my peers disagree with me on this, but Stephenie Meyer was the best thing to happen to my kind in the past century. Before she came along, we were starving.\n\n So many humans forgot that the best way to defend against us is to simply not let us in. I can't believe they forgot such a basic rule. The only way we can enter their home is if we are invited inside. \n\nAt first, we thought the rise in technology would make hunting easier. They quit believing in the stories of our kind. With the invention of artificial light, they stayed outside later. Hell, we can even see our reflections in mirrors after they decided it was cheaper to make them with Aluminum instead of Silver. It sounded so easy on paper, but their technology also made them more paranoid. \n\nThey increased their security in ways we never imagined. I used to be able to talk my way in through an open window. But when they started making motion sensors that called the police as soon as I approached. No one would let us in anymore. The hungrier we became, the harder it was to think. A few of us tried to adapt. I worked as a night shift orderly so that I could feed. But I could only ever have small samples. If I drained the patients the humans would notice. Plus almost all the blood was poisoned with diseases, and I never found one virgin in that fucking hospital. We weren't living anymore, we were just surviving. We thought ourselves immortal. But we were starving. \n\nBut that all changed when that beautiful, sparkling fool made it on the silver screen. It was so obvious. Humans have always said it. Sex sells. Overnight young women were putting out ads online, looking for someone to vampire \"roleplay\". Now when I feel the thirst, I just open up my laptop, and within minutes, I have my invitation inside. \n\nIf you mention twilight to any of my kin, you will be met with frustration and damaged egos. Saying that we used to inspire fear into the hearts of entire towns. They can't handle being a teenage wet dream. It seems that even immortals easily forget. None of them seem to remember that just fifteen years ago, we were worried we would never feed again."
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Can be first or third person.
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[WP] Santa announced that he is sick and won't be able to deliver presents! As Christmas nears, the renowned CEO(Central Elf Officer) of Santa's Workshop and other top elf minds are scrambling to figure out how to get the presents delivered. Today, they have a solution.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"\\[Sharp Merriment\\]\n\n \"Your name isn't-,\" Santa interrupted his raspy voice with a wet cough. The two women in front of him, Dana Sharp, and her assistant, Melody, waited patiently at a distance for him to finish. He took a deep breath once he was done coughing, then continued. \"Your name isn't on my list at all,\" Santa said.\n\n\"That's why we're here,\" Ms. Sharp said. \"We're not from your Earth. Your elves managed to establish contact with the elves of a Santa that works for Sharp Development. You're sick this year, but it's not December on every Earth. I have several Santas available to fill in for you. It's only right that you choose one you're comfortable with.\" Santa's heavy breathing filled the warm, cozy bedroom.\n\nThe large man was in bed under mounds of blankets. The sound of the fireplace crackling added to the sweet and cinnamon aromas coming from the kitchen. He tilted his head at Ms. Sharp.\n\n\"What do you mean, 'one I'm comfortable with'?. I'm no stranger to magic, so I'm willing to believe your story about being from another Earth. But, if there's one of me there isn't he the same?\" Ms. Sharp shook her head.\n\n\"Not necessarily. That doesn't always happen with standard Zeros, and you're something else entirely.\"\n\n\"Zero?\" Santa asked.\n\n\"Zero is a quicker term than, 'doppelganger', and it conveys more meaning in the context of the multiverse.\"\n\n\"I'm not a Zero? There are other Santas on other Earths, what else is there?\"\n\n\"Much more,\" Ms. Sharp said. \"As for what you are, I think I like the word, 'Myth'. Santa Claus does not exist on every Earth that has the legend. On some Earths, like this one, humanity's belief in that legend sparks you into reality. You're as singular as a Unique Soul, but you still have-,\" another coughing fit from Santa interrupted her. She waited until he was done.\n\n\"-Zeros.\"\n\n\"If time isn't the same across all Earths and there's a robot version of me. If I can suggest it, I think it would be easier to cure me so I can do the job myself,\" Santa said. Melody giggled to herself while Ms. Sharp smiled.\n\n\"Your suggestion is noted, but you're wrong in assuming it would be easier. I have seen it all and the one thing I've learned is that magic and technology don't mix very well together,\" she said. She paused to think for a moment, then continued. \"Truth be told, that's terrible wording. The problem is they mix together *too* well. I can deliver technology that will heal you within an hour,\" she nodded. \"But, the caveat to that is I need about a month of prep time to study your magical aura. One tiny mistake may produce the most random and unforeseen consequences. But, going forward it would be a good idea for you to join Sharp Development.\" Santa chuckled to himself.\n\n\"Are you offering me health benefits?\" he asked. Although he was joking, he was pleasantly surprised when Ms. Sharp nodded.\n\n\"You don't have to do it alone every year. And, I'm not asking you to abandon your elves; they would get upgraded to better facilities on the North Pole server. They'll produce higher quality toys with less stressful quotas. They'll also be in contact with the elves of other Santas. At the same time, you'll have access to the knowledge and experience of hundreds of Santas. You don't even have to be ill to take a Christmas off one year. It's as easy as calling in a substitute if you'd prefer to spend your holidays with the Mrs. I know, I do,\" she added. Out of the three people in Santa's bedroom, only the two women knew how uncharacteristic that last comment was for Dana Sharp.\n\nMelody's pale face blushed crimson, but she did not react otherwise. Ms. Sharp realized what she said unintentionally, and decided it was a sincere thought on her part. Ms. Sharp went to great lengths to keep her business and private life separate. The fact that her assistant was also her wife made that endeavor much harder. But, Melody was there supporting her at every step. She tried to maintain a professional attitude at all times for Ms. Sharp, and she mostly got it right.\n\nMaybe it was because of the time of year. Maybe it was because they were standing in the center of Santa Clause's magical existence. But, for one brief moment, Dana Sharp felt comfortable letting her personal life cross over into her business life. She took a single step to the side and grabbed Melody's hand. Melody inhaled sharply and entangled her fingers in Dana's, but did not say a word.\n\n\"After all,...\" she continued. \"I'm sure we both love our wives very much.\"\n\n\"Okay, I'll choose a substitute, and I'll join Sharp Development,\" Santa nodded with a rosy-cheeked smile that became a hacking cough.\n\n \n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1078 in a row. (Story #348 in year three.) You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog."
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[WP] A race of beings so powerful and terrible, then entire galaxy came together to defeat them. Compassion prevailed and instead of genocide, they had their minds wiped and were exiled to the edge of the galaxy far way from all other intelligent life, to a planet called earth.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"\"Director, I think you should see this.\"\n\n\"What is it?\"\n\n\"Some anomalous data coming in from the Terra simulation. There appear to be - I'm not sure how to describe it.\"\n\n\"Terra? This is high priority then. What are you seeing?\" \n\"Well, the main stage of evolution passed around 10,000 cycles ago. Full consciousness and self-awareness has been achieved. Languages are developing and in sophistication stage 2. They are proceeding as projected, each individual is born, and dies and so on, interacting with others and the environment of course. But there is something strange going on with the consciousness matrices - they seem to be persisting past death, sometimes repeating in different individuals... it is most unexpected.\"\n\nThe Director took the data output and retired to his chambers to peruse it more fully. If the humans had managed to - but no, it was impossible. That was why they had been wiped out in the first place, recreated only in this simulation. It had taken centuries to rid the galaxy of their colonies. The way they were constantly expanding, exploring, and inevitably conquering - it was this unique feature of humanity that had made them a threat to all the other civilizations. In the aftermath, it had been determined that the human desire for immortality was the impetus of this behavior. The simulation had been carefully calibrated to remove this aspect of the human psyche, stripping them of any drive that would make them seek glory, legacy.\n\nHe called his assistant back to review the data. \"So you are seeing patterns of some kind?\"\n\n\"Indeed. Here -\" he indicated. \"And then, look here.... This individual is dead. Deceased. But the simulation carries the associated matrix, repeats it, reflects it all over. Not in any individual, but diffused throughout. And then it shows up again - here.\"\n\n\"In a newborn. A new individual.\"\n\n\"Correct. It's undeniable, it's right there in the data.\"\n\n\"Impossible.\"\n\n\"Impossible or not, they are doing it. They are developing - they have developed - souls.\"",
"The System had been silent and deserted for a long time. Only minuscule traces of the once-great Civilization that once controlled this System and that had now become its Prison. A Terrible War between two subbranches of the Species called Human had devastated the Galaxy when their Power spent the Galaxies other Species had united and had broken that was left of these once-great Empires. \nBut no longer Antonius taught as he watched the Hologram of the Planet floating in the middle of the Ships Bridge. It was an Aurum-Class Super Dreadnought one of the mightiest ships ever to grace Space. \nThe Vessels floating around the Dreadnought had been hidden in a Deep Space Blacksite, the Crews put into Stasis too await the Alien Coalition breaking up with the petty Squabble that had lead to their Subjugation by the Humans before the Breaking in the first place. Men had learned from its past mistakes and now stood united. Old Scores were forgotten in the Name of Revenge. They had come to harvest the Population of the Planet now called Earth and named in the ancient Archives as Martaris Superior. With Gen-tech thought long lost they would mould them into Soldiers to reclaim what was rightfully theirs. \nAntonius growled in Anger as he thought, about his Family that was captured during the Flight from the Core Worlds. He had not forgotten the Species that had torn them from his Arms and the Death Screams of their Civilization would serve as a fitting funeral Pyre for their Loss. \"Helmsmen take us into Hyperspace. Our Brethren await us.\" As the Vessels were dragged into Hyperspaces Blue Embrace an Alien Seer on a far removed World opened his Eyes and screamed in horror. \n\"Once they ruled the Stars until cast down by their own Arrogance. Now they come to reclaim their Throne and the Galaxy will drown in suffering.\"",
"I remember my father, telling me about our history and how aour ansecters were so powerfull yet so bad and evil and also useless.\nHe told me:\nAges ago, we were the highest and most powerfull beings in this galaxy, so powerfull we were known all over the galaxy.\nI wondered what the power was\n‘ what was the power we had’ I asked my father.\n‘Being bold and inteligence. It may seem wierd but all the inteligent live obeyed the kartonians, beings with powers such as telekenises, mind reading, more strengh and agility. Our kind was the only kind immuned to theyre powers.\nWe were rouge and out going, so someday we gathered and made a plan, to over throw kartonians.\nBut there was a spy, a traitor among our kind, that one of our kind was greedy, was a coward. That traitor, went to the kratonians leader and showed all of our plans to the leader and the kratonian royals.\nWe were slayed, but not to death, we were put to sleep, in sleep we were all changed into people like that traitor.\nWe were brought here, to earth, everyone knows about this happening, but is too scared to talk abou it, but our family, was part of the uneffected kind and we are the only part of our race to carry on this legacy.",
"No one really cared about humans, at the end. So much had been lost, been stripped away, so many planets peeled to their core, at, at the end of it all, no one really cared about the humans. What was one more planet, in the end? \n\nThey called it compassion; but in the end, it was cowardice. No one knows what it takes to kill a god. \n\nSo Earth was gifted these galactic criminals, and it was abandoned. Inter-dimensionally, every planet left after their divine reign, turned their backs, hid themselves away, and let Earth believe itself to be alone in the universe. \n\nAnd, for a time, they were happy. Not truly happy, it is hard to smile when ash from your neighbour system still clogs the air, when the funerary rights are played on a nigh endless broadcast, but they were happy in the fact that they were free. It was an end to their captivity. \n\nOver time, earth was largely forgotten. Spoken of in whispers, but never addressed formally. In their hearts, that terror remained, and it remained even long after the skies cleared and children outnumbered those that fought, that lived. \n\nAnd, eventually, they started to forget. The funerary broadcast was shut down; there was no one alive that recalled any of the names yet to be read. The orbits that had been ruined gradually pulled themselves into new order. A thriving hub of civilization pulled itself out of the empty space where a sun had once been. For a while, they were happy. Not the shallow happiness of the before times, but a true happiness. No one remembered Earth anymore, no one remembered the humans. \n\nAnd then, one day, there’s a message. \n\nIt’s a quiet thing. Overlaid by static. Lightly distorted. Still dependent on a screen. But it is a message. \n\n“We were scared, at first,” an elderly voice admits. The creature is an old one, hands and face crinkled with age, hair a scraggly silver. They are bundled in an overly large coat in navy blue, and they take their time as they consider what to say next. “My mother went out, and laid down in the street. My father locked himself in their bedroom. I had to look after my little brother all myself— I was too young to understand what was happening, really. I just knew that my parents were scared, and so I should be scared too, but Sammy needed me.” \n\n“Where is this coming from?” Whispers one admiral to the other. The army has long laid dormant, unneeded. “I don’t... I don’t know.”\n\nThe figure on screen closes their mouth, looking down at their hands, folded on their lap. “Eventually, I figured I should go and get my mother inside. She told me that the end times were coming. I didn’t want her to catch cold. I was still young enough to not really understand what she meant, I suppose.” They bare their teeth, a temporary expression of humour. \n\n“One of them landed just down the street from me, you know. I thought it was an Angel. My mother used to read to us from the bible, every Sunday morning, and she always told us that if an Angel were to ever appear to us, we shouldn’t be afraid.” \n\nThe broadcast flickers, for a moment, dies. In the grand scheme of things, it should go barely noticed, except for those that dig deeply into old stories and fairy tales. But something about it is almost haunting in quality, something about the old creature, about how it spoke, what it spoke about. \n\nThere’s an intergalactic search for the origin point of the message. Pictures of the creature are saved and cross referenced across dozens upon hundreds of databases, looking for a single match, a single planet. \n\nThe search turns up nothing. There is no mention of a Sammy, or angels, or the end times. It’s a galaxy wide blank space, question mark, matter of nothing. \n\nWhen the second message arrives, it is celebrated. Compared to its predecessor, it is received not on old screens kept in basements and attics, but on wide ones that litter city streets and homes. It is another one of the creatures, another one of the race, although this one looks much younger. \n\nThey are wearing a branded uniform, and there are dark tracks down their face from under their eyes. They are wearing a uniform branded with an M, and they are weeping as they settle the camera on a flat surface. \n\n“So— uhm,” they start, pausing to wipe their face. “I don’t, I don’t know if, uhm, this is going to reach you, mom, but I wanted to try anyway. People have been coming all day, and I’ve been, uh, handing them just. Free food. I thought maybe, um, if this really is— really is the end, then, uh, I could... I could make at least one person happier, right?” \n\nThe camera begins to slide down, and they quickly lean forwards to adjust it. “I wish I could— I wish I could go home, right now, but, uh, my manager said that anyone who left would get fired, and, um...” they pause, sniffing again. They wipe at their eyes with a hand, smearing the marks around their eyes, and then direct their attention to someone off screen. “Sorry. Yeah. Sorry. I’m just... it’s for my mom.” \n\nThe other presence makes a sound of acknowledgment, and then leaves. “I— I just wanted to say, that, I’m— I’m really sorry about— about everything, and I want to— I want to— I should’ve talked to you more, and I’m sorry for— for—“ they stop talking as their face crumples in on itself, and heaving sobs wrack their frame. The video ends on that sobering note, on a face wracked with grief. \n\nThe searches are conducted again, but they lack the aplomb that decorated the first try. The first broadcast had been a child’s story, something to share around a fireplace. The second had been someone mourning the end of their own life. \n\nAgain, nothing comes up. No uniforms emblazoned with M. No managers, no records of face-paint spread like tears. \n\nThere are theories. A forgotten planet, one suggests, or a bizarre prank. An inter dimensional call for help. An ancient time capsule. Something fun. Something exciting. \n\nWhen the third message comes, no one is prepared. \n\nThe screens wink on, and for a moment, there is nothing but pitch black static. Gradually, over the course of minutes, the static melts away, and the image left is crystal clear. The face left looks tired. It has similar marking to the second, in that they are under the eyes, but they differ in that they are simple half-moons. Closely cut white hair, dark skin spotted darker with age. The camera is at such an angle that it is clear that the creature is the one holding it, and they study the lens, the audience, intently. \n\nThis is the broadcast where they learn the broadcasts cannot be stopped. \n\n“They told me, when I woke up, that I was...” it pauses, but it does not look away from the camera. “I used to be...” Stop. Start. “Once, when I was...” Stop. Start. “My husband told me...” Stop. Start. \n\n“I was a doctor. I did surgery. I only did surgery. I don’t remember what surgery I did, but I did it well. I was one of the best. And then you left them with us.” \n\nIt is the first time a broadcast has felt directed. Has felt like the creature broadcasting can see through the screen. \n\n“You left them, with us. And you didn’t care enough to pick up the pieces. That was on me. One landed, I’m told, in the hospital parking lot. I’m told it was badly hurt. I’m told that I operated on it. I’m told that it put me into a coma.” They pause, and, for the first time, close their eyes. Takes a deep, steadying breath. \n\n“When I woke up, I remembered what you did. I didn’t remember my own name, but I remembered You. I doubt that you remember them. What you called kindness I call savagery. When I woke up, I felt empty. Because of You.” \n\nAnother pause. The broadcast flickers, stutters, dies. Somewhere, someone gives someone else a high-five, somewhere, someone cheers over having turned the stupid thing off, ignoring the growing knot of guilt inside of them. They don’t know what the creature spoke of, but it’s eyes pierced through the screen. \n\n“We taught them what kindness was,” the voice continues, and after a moment, the video pulls itself back into frame. “We taught them how to be Kind. I taught them what You did.” Another pause, this one natural, as the creature pauses. “If it were left to me, I would want revenge. But they were too kind, too willing to learn. I have not Forgotten, but they have, and for that, You are lucky.” \n\nThe broadcast ends. \n\nThe third search finds a single result. A blue planet. The only one in its system with life. The only one in its galaxy with life. A single, achingly lonely planet. \n\nA delegation is sent. Peacemakers. Hopefuls. The curious. Those that remember their grandmothers grandmothers grandmothers stories. \n\nPeace is made. \n\nIn the beginning, no one really cared about humans. Some backwater people on a backwater planet, isolated completely from the rest of the universe, nigh forgotten. \n\nBut those humans taught the gods compassion, taught them how to be kind. Taught them what it meant to feel, to love, to give. \n\nIn the beginning, no one really cared about humans, and that was the perfect start.",
"Reporting from Lunar Observation, Planet Exile\n-\nI watch the blue sphere as it hangs in its slow orbit. At first sight the planet has nothing really special to it - like most other blue planets in a warm zone its fauna is diverse, it is seasonal. It's small, resource poor and mostly water. If it was in a better location in the cosmos perhaps it would have been worth something. As it stands its bumfuck nowhere in the shitsea. \n*I knew I shouldn't have taken that last job*\n \nGot cocky, things went haywire and here I am. *Thought you were a big shot, look at you now, two light leagues of guard duty for a planet of toddlers in the shithole of the galaxy* I mean, I don't want to sound cynical but if there was one place I wouldn't want to be, it's here. Prison guard to the most genocidal and violent species that ever terrorized the universe, and look at them, oh how the mighty have fallen - they don't even remember it. Star warriors reduced to star babies. \n\nFrom intergalactic glory to this... a once mighty empire of a million stars reduced to a little blue planet. And now all that's left, the shattered fragments of their civilization regrouped here in this cosmic dead end. And though the wars were terrible, I can't help but feel a tinge of pity. \n\nHardly anyone knows that this is where we exiled them. The secret was well guarded for fear that some vengeful species may go after them or that ambitious lifeforms would seek to recruit them as weapons. Of course their legends live on, the terror which they wrought, the way death followed their marching legions, even today huge swathes of entire star systems remain destroyed beyond recognition. \n\n\nThe war was devastating, entire star systems ravaged. We mostly speak of them in legend now, a tale to frighten our young. If they could see them now, they do not look so terrible, they are still relatively defenceless, locked into isolation by geography of planet earth. *But for how long?* \n\n\n*So why did we not destroy them?* \n*And why the hell am I here watching them?*\nAh fuck, the hell do I know. Something about second chances, bladibla, being better than them. \n\nI sip the hot Kufa and flip the hologram with a flick of my finger. The humans are walking about with masks, I flick from city to city, download the headlines of the day, not that much has changed, earth life moves pretty slow.\n \nThere's a pandemic on earth, not that this will pose much problem to the humans, still they've been in the twilight zone for the last five decades, sitting on their red buttons, the planet's destruction lingers in the balance. Looks like they might end up just destroying themselves - it would be a fitting end to such a destructive race and would take the blood off our hands. \n\n*What good can I say about humans?* \n\nI've been watching them for a long time now and I have to say for the most part humans are pretty ugly, petty, violent and dumb. I figure it's only a matter of time till they destroy each other. \nI mean even now... They're monsters. They kill and murder without second thought, they even turn against each other and despite the violence which follows them around they have still not destroyed themselves. \nThat said, I'd be kind of sad to see them go, sometimes they're brilliant, ingenious and it's crazy how fast they've managed to rediscover science and civilization. They are a species of extreme contrast and sometimes some of them, they burn so bright. If only they could learn to work together, to work with us, imagine the things that we could do...\n*Getting sentimental?* Sorry, I've spent too long alone on this shitty lunar observation station.\n\nThe radio crackles. \n\n\"na jksd hoakn asd\"",
"I remember the stories our mother told us about the time in which we overthrew the humans. We would join her in her chamber and gather around that old chair she would sit in and she would begin with how they burned our cities. Our finest warriors, thousands strong, met them at the gates and duly gave their lives for a single drop of blood soon forgotten in the unrelenting dirt. She told us how they filled our streets with molten lead that burned families in their houses, leaders in their palaces, and children in their beds. She told us how they filled the skies with poison and she told us how those unlucky enough to escape were ripped limb from limb for entertainment.\n\nWe tried to surrender, but we were burned anyway, and so we fought. We fought side by side with allies and enemies, with countrymen and foreigners, with soldiers and workers alike. And off the backs of a trillion deaths, of a million burned cities, we drove them back. When the first one fell, hope returned, and with each subsequent, costly victory, that hope grew in turn. \n\nWhen we found their nest, we launched an attack the likes of which had never been seen before. A shining beacon of unity and justice that rallied our troops, and together, we drove them from our lands. We destroyed their records, killed their leaders, and exiled them to the edges of the known world, to a place they would come to call “Earth,” and we sent Watchers to ensure they never realised their true power again.\n\n​\n\n“My queen,” I implored, “This … this monster, we cannot allow him to proceed further! The outlying colonies have already fallen, and I suspect he is gathering allies. I beseech you: I do not know if against one we can prevail, but against more, we are certainly doomed!” I sat shivering on the call, waiting for her response.\n\n“My daughter,” she began in her characteristic slow cadence, “are you assured of this … pending alliance?”\n\nI hesitated a moment. “No, my queen. But even the possibility--”\n\n“I am sorry, my daughter. I cannot discard the lives of my soldiers on a ‘possibility.’”\n\nShe just didn’t understand. “My queen … that is, of course, your prerogative… but I fear that if our soldiers do not die today, we shall all die tomorrow. Please, I implore you, consider it.”\n\nI could hear her sigh over the connection. The mantle of leadership is heavy and lonely, I knew, but the stakes were too high for sentimentality. “Very well, my daughter,” she eventually conceded, “I shall discuss this with my advisors. You are to continue observing the human and inform me immediately if this ‘alliance’ does come to pass.” She ends the communication with a clacking salute.\n\n​\n\nI salute back to the closed channel, somewhat halfheartedly. There was no time to discuss. The alliance, I was sure of it, would be done by day’s end. By then, we would have no chance of victory, not since our own alliances had broken and our own allies abandoned us. The days of a united front as our mother had told us were gone, and even though these humans held no memory of what they had done to us generations ago, even an amnesiac god is deadly. Our queen could not recognise that simple truth, too fed on the sweet nectar of glory and praise to realise that the borders of her precious empire drew inward every day. Our skirmishes with the Fire and Harvester Clans had cost our soldiers dearly, and now we were not ready to fight off the monsters at the gates. No, there was only one way this would end, and my only hope was that I would die before I saw my country die as well.\n\nThis monster, this creature, this vengeful god I watched was a slaughterer of billions, and each day I admired his composure. From the second he woke to the last moment of waking thought I never saw a single expression of remorse or guilt on his ugly, fleshy face. During the murdering itself, he was calm and focused, but when he retired to wash the blood from his hands he would laugh and smile and congratulate his co-conspirators on a job well done. He would sit back and intoxicate himself while our corpses littered the dirt. He was the most despicable being I ever laid eyes upon, to the point that it was almost aspirational, whose inhumanity was so great that you would put in on a pedestal in a museum and say “this, THIS is a monster.”\n\nI had snuck aboard his vessel, packed with monuments to his brand of horror. Effigies of our people abounded, stabbed or shredded as objects of humour. Their false, dead eyes looked out at me mockingly, as if inviting me to join their ranks. Their crudely drawn limbs curled like spiders, reaching out of the dark like a persistent nightmare from which one cannot awake.\n\nHis course tells me he is en route to one of our colonies. Unlike the previous ones, this is not just some resource-gathering expedition or unimportant neutral territory. This one’s a residential center: population, half a billion. Half a billion lives waiting to be snuffed out. Half a billion deaths, waiting for their turn.\n\nHe meets with his soon-to-be ally in the great hall of his domain. Lights strung from dizzying heights cast the whole affair in a villainous pallor. At first, it’s just introductions; the normal political pandering. But soon he gets down to business, discussing the terms of their alliance, the price of our doom. And then, he says it again, those fateful words that herald the entrance of more of my people to the afterlife:\n\n“Let’s take care of that ant problem, shall we?”\n\n​\n\n*If you'd like to read more of my things, head on over to* r/DaeridaniiWrites"
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[WP] The Grinch of Whoville was not the only grinch. The Grinches of Whatville, Whenville, Whereville, and Whyville have become concerned about their cousin's recent change in behavior.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 once were six old miser men,**\n\nThe Brotherhood of Scrooge;\n\nFrom towns called What and Why and When\n\nAnd How, and Where, and Who.\n\nThey hated Christmas, through and through,\n\nThe laughter and the fun;\n\nAnd year by year, their hatred grew,\n\nAnd took them, one by one.\n\n\n\n**They spent their summers plotting hard,**\n\nHow could they bring them low?\n\nHow could they trick past the town's guard?\n\nNot one of them did know.\n\nBut as by chance, in grand Kingstown,\n\nThe six had met one day;\n\nThey each had taxes to the crown,\n\nThat they were due to pay.\n\n\n\n**And while they waited in the court,**\n\nTheir stories were entwined;\n\nFor all men sense their kindred sort,\n\nAnd they were of one kind.\n\nThey hated Christmas, through and through,\n\nThey wished to see it end!\n\nAnd as they spoke, their hatred grew,\n\nFed by their new-found friends.\n\n\n\n**The letters flew without a pause,**\n\nUntil the plan was right;\n\nThey would all dress as Santa Claus,\n\nAnd go to town at night.\n\nAnd they would steal all presents new,\n\nFrom those who near them lived;\n\nUntil Whats - Whys - Whens - Whos - Wheres - Hows,\n\nHad nothing more to give.\n\n\n\n**And without gifts, Christmas would die,**\n\nIn towns both far and wide,\n\nAnd they would listen to the cries,\n\nAnd revel in their pride.\n\nBut then the plan fell all apart,\n\nWhen Who-Grinch met a girl;\n\nFor Cindy Lou, she healed his heart,\n\nAnd love spread in the world.\n\n\n\n\n**The Grinches raged and pulled their hair,**\n\nAs Christmas went ahead,\n\nFrom town to town, to everywhere,\n\nThe joy and love would spread.\n\nBut still they sit, hidden away,\n\nCursing their wayward kin,\n\nAnd plotting against Christmas Day,\n\nFor still they think they'll win.\n\n-----\n\n*Hello! I hope you enjoyed this.*\n\n*I'm PuzzledRobot. I used to post regularly here, but I stopped due to a number of personal problems. I am hoping to come back, so please come and join me on /r/PuzzledRobot to find more of my work.*\n\n*Thank you!*",
"The Grinch of Whoville sat in his chair. \n\nAway from his cousins from When, What, Why, Where\n\nHe smiled so far he smiled so bright\n\nThe cousins from Whatville was given a fright.\n\nHis cousin was lying that deceitful little Grinch\n\nBut why was he lying\n\nThe Grinch of Whyville was in for a pinch.\n\nThe grinches gave pinches,\n\nEach woke from their stupor.\n\nWhy was this grinch, acting so super?\n\n\nHe was dressed as a Santa, \n\nHis home had decor.\n\nHe even had cleaned all the trash from the floor.\n\n\nHe smiled so big, he smiled so bold\n\nHis eyes kept on darting,\n\nTo a hole in the mold of the door\n\n\nInside of that hole, but way far away\n\nSat some of the Who’s of Whoville\n\nHand on a big red button\n\nCalled “Shock and Dismay”\n\nFor each tiny press of that big red button\n\nSent thousands of shocks from the “Zap the Mutton”\n\nThe shocks that had helped to put the grin on his face\n\n\n“Why cousins don’t worry, I am all that is well.”\n\n“I actually quite love Christmas, I think it is swell.”\n\nHis boisterous spirit, did not show that well.\n\nSo with a press of the button, the Grinch finally fell.\n\nEach of the Grinches awoke in the dark.\n\nEach of them would see the Christmas spark.\n\nEducation again, forced without choice.\n\nEach of them would get his own Christmas voice.\n\n\nThe Grinches hearts did not grow 3 sizes that day.\n\nThe Grinches did learn on how to behave.\n\nAnd to make sure they keep the Chrtistmasy way\n\nThe Who’s of Whoville kept up with their “Shock and Dismay”",
"\"Alright, I'm sure you're all wondering why I gathered you here today...\" Said the Grinch of Whenville.\n\n\"Probably just so you could say that.\" Muttered the Grinch of Whyville.\n\n\"No, there's a reason.\" Said When.\n\n\"Riiiight. A reeeeason.\" Why replied.\n\nWhen sighed slowly. \"Our cousin, Who, has shown a troubling difference in behavior.\"\n\n\"Me? What did I do that I don't usually?\" Said Who.\n\n\"Got off your fat bottom, probably.\" Said Why.\n\n\"I do not-\" Said Who angrily.\n\n\"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP RIGHT NOW! We have more urgent matters to deal with.\" Said When, trying and failing to regain control of the conversation.\n\nThis happened every year. Why would make fun of a Grinch, they would retaliate, and battle would ensue. It didn't help that When was the one to allow her in the Council. Every time they met, nothing would get done, and he would get blamed.\n\n\"Who has been violating strict Council codes for the past year! Last Christmas, he didn't even try to stop those nasty villagers! Worse, he joined them!\" Said When.\n\nThis announcement was met with uproar. If a Grinch was mad, you'd better take cover, because they can get things done.\n\nFor ten long minutes, both What and Where were screaming at Who, with When trying to take over the conversation, and Who trying to hide.\n\nThe most unsettling part to When was the fact that Why hadn't said anything. That usually meant she had something bad planned.\n\nWho had given up hiding behind his chair, and was running full tilt towards the door.\n\nThen the doors closed, and When thought he saw Why smiling, a remote hiding behind her hands.\n\nWhat and Where caught up to Who when When decided to intervene.\n\n\"Guys! GUYS! Stop fighting, at least give Who a chance to explain himself.\"\n\n\"Yes, please! I swear, I've done nothing of the sort! I have tried valiantly to stop those goddamned Whos, but I can't!\"\n\n\"Pfft. Right.\" Said Why.\n\n\"Hey! What about the whole pie thing!? You forgave Where for that!\"\n\nAnd there's only a few seconds of stunned silence before everyone starts fighting again."
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[WP] Eight element signs exist, under which a child can be born. Each with it's opposing element go Fire and Water, Earth and Wind, Life and Death and Light and Darkness. Very few, however, are looked down by society, as no element deems them worthy vessels, or at least that is a common belief.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Callie clenched her fists as she watched her younger siblings spar in their home’s backyard. Both of her siblings had both been born with elemental power flowing through their veins. Jenny, the youngest sibling, thrived in the light, while George controlled the water around him. Even their parents had powers of their own, so why didn’t she? Callie looked down at the palms of her hands. To be born without an element was rare and was seen in a negative light. Callie’s life had been full of pitiful glances and surrounded by faint whispers. The body of non-elementals, *her body*, was seen as week and unworthy for elemental powers. She turned on her heels to head inside. \n\n Callie opened her eyes when she heard a faint sound at the window. Her bedroom slowly came into focus, but before she could move, there were suddenly three shadowy figures standing in front of her. She opened her mouth to scream, but she couldn’t. She glanced down at her feet and could see shadowy lines holding her in place.\n\n “It’s okay,” one of the figures whispered, “we’re here to help. I know it doesn’t see like it right now, but we are.”\n\n “Oh, very convincing,” another figure said, her hands out with shadows pulsing around her.\n\n “Look, my name is Francesca. What bad person gives out their name?” The first figure, a female says. Even in the dark room, Callie can see the second figure roll her eyes. “And this is Brooklyn, and that over there is Flynn,” Francesca said pointing to the third figure. \n\nCallie glanced around, not even listening to the girl throw out some names. The door to her bedroom was closed, but her window was wide open. *One of them must be an air elemental,* she thought, *and one is clearly a shadow elemental, but what is the third?* Just as she was thinking this, Flynn stepped forward. He looked to be about her age, they all did actually. He was definitely taller than her, as his head was over a foot taller than hers. The shadows relaxed a little around her, and she squeaked, “Who are you guys?” \n\nIn a deep voice, Flynn said “Well, I am Order, and you, Callie Rose, are Chaos.” \n\nCallie’s eyes widened, as Flynn reached out to touch her forehead with his thumb. Suddenly, a rush of warmth swept out from the where his thumb made contact with her skin, and then, there was nothing."
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[WP] The year is 2247 and Humanity has spread across the stars. You are a parent trying to explain to your child on Christmas Eve how Santa can successfully deliver all the presents across 51 light years of space in a single night.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"\\[Poem\\]\n\nAlright Lil' Timmy.\n\nPay heed and listen.\n\nAs I am about to tell you a story of Christmas past and present.\n\nNeigh hundreds of years ago, we were trapped on a planet.\n\nSanta's job was still easier than his secretary Janet's.\n\nHe'd travel from a house to another...\n\nIn a sleigh full of hope and a bit of coal.\n\nAll of this, he'd do in one magical day..\n\nBut, now we are so far away...\n\nThat it's useless to keep lying to your face.\n\n​\n\n\"*Yeah, Santa isn't real. I honestly just wanted to ruin something for you, Timmy. I kind of blame you for me and your mother's divorce. You should just go and live with her on STR-1542 already.''*"
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[WP] You decided to buy and live in an old lighthouse, but there is something dark lurking in the mist
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"'Tis true, I was deeply inebriated. Dreadfully down to the depth of the bottle. Say what you will about me, but mad I was not! The whiskey I had drowned myself in had not dulled my senses, in fact sharpened them. I saw more, I heard more way beyond ordinary comprehension!\n\nGranted, the ghost of depression had haunted me for long, so long I crawled the dark road on my scraped knees and elbows. I chose seclusion in the abandoned. The lighthouse, of course, a true example of solitude. Standing unfaltering by the sea, I set myself within. Nursing my bottle, which had been so kind to me.\n\nSplashing, squelching. What could it be that woke me up from my alcohol induced sleep? Splashing, squelching, crunching...more and more of those sickening noise came about. I seek for it, the source of my repulsion. \n\nMisty shore, shroud of darkness covering the rough edges of the cliff. I observed my surrounding, spotting a few shadows emerged from the crashing waves. What could those be? Late night surfers? Can't be, the wave's too dangerous. Fishermen? Where's their boat?\n\nSplashing, squelching, crunching, squishing...the stomach churning sound was near. My face went pale, sobering me up rather swiftly. The sound resonated within the old brick wall of my temporary shelter. They're inside... \n\nI refrained from screaming and kept still. Splashing, squelching, crunching, squishing, creaking...louder and louder, they had ascended up the stairs! I had lost control of my mind, my instinct took over my feet taking me away to hiding. \n\nSplashing, squelching, crunching, creaking, slurping...these abomination had arrived inside my room messing everything, searching for me. They could smell me, my fear. Their tentacles appendage were dragged on the floor, still moving and slithering, churning my guts. I could feel bile rise up my throat.\n\nMy breath was scarce, but it's not enough to deter their acute hearing. I had been found! Their arms full of rotten scale; their bodies were full of gills inhaling and exhaling erratically sickening; their face was of rotting human corpse bathed in decaying fish guts; their legs decorated with tentacles dragged around scraping their already dead skin. Their smell oh so putrid, I vomited as one of them grabbed me by my neck.\n\nMy frightened eyes were met by a black tentacle full of all manners of micro sea life slithering out of its mouth, wrapping around my neck, up my head, facing me down like a cobra staring down its prey. I gasped for breath. My scream had been cut short, the foul tongue was plunged into my gaping mouth. The very last thing I could remember...\n\nThe officer who found me clearly was not convinced \\~\\~\"If you still think me as mad, officer; what make you of this?\"\\~\\~ as my own black tentacle tongue wrapped around the officer's face which was full of shock and dread."
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[WP]: You were the chosen one who defeated the dark lord and the people have proclaimed you to be king of their lands. Months later you realize your subjects are attention seeking and bored with peace. The new chosen one has you at the end of their blade with you trying to explain the situation.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 will not deceive me, demon!\" the hero shouted, the steel of his blade glistening. The light of the stained-glass mosaic the civilians crafted in Jeremiah's honor was significantly less beautiful refracted off a sword, the same civilians who cheered his rise to power standing behind this new usurper.\n\n\"It's the truth!\" he swore, keeping his voice low unless the peasants heard him. \"I was in your position too, brave champion. They cheered me on as I took the kings head. They swore to me he was a demon in disguise, holding his wife captive for the wicked satisfaction of his sovereign lord.\"\n\nThe hero didn't lower his sword, but his eyes softened. \"I won't be swayed. I will save this kingdom.\"\n\nJeremiah raised his hands. \"Listen to me! There is something wrong with this kingdom. There is something wrong with these people. After I killed the king, I took his wife for my own. You've seen the queen, yes?\"\n\n\"Yes.\" The sword inched closer.\n\n\"It's been twenty years. She hasn't aged a day.\"\n\nThe hero looked unconvinced.\n\n\"Miriam, the schoolteacher? The books she reads to her students from are blank. Corwalth, the diseased beggar? In the fifteen years I've known him he hasn't succumb to his sickness nor recovered from it. Abby, who I presume gave you an apple she dropped at your feet when you arrived?\"\n\nThe sword retracted from his throat.\n\n\"She did the same thing to me; twenty years ago! And her mother has been expecting her new sibling just as long!\"\n\nThe champion struck Jeremiah with his fist. The cold steel of the gauntlet gouged the flesh of his cheek and tore away at his sideburn. \"I will not be bedeviled! And I will break the curse on these people.\"\n\nJeremiah turned to the usurper, the anger in his eyes clear as he continued, in as measured of a tone as he could. \"These people are the curse! They lure in people like you and me, those who are desperate to explore the world and seek adventure. The promise fame and glory and power and love and legacy. And, if you kill me, you'll get all of it. But you know what you'll never have?\"\n\nThe hero was silent for a moment, before asking, \"What?\"\n\n\"Your freedom. They'll keep you here, in the kingdom. If you ever try to step outside of the walls, they will keep you in the tower, saying that others can go and provide what you need. Five years ago I stepped outside of the castle's grounds and now I am no longer permitted onto the first floor. No one has said that's a rule, I certainly didn't agree to it, but I can tell from the way I'm ushered away from the stairs, how various ports have been blockaded to keep me in.\"\n\nThere was silence for another moment. The champion's face hardened. \"Liar.\"\n\n\"Please, don't do this.\"\n\nJeremiah stuttered as the sword was plunged into him."
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[WP] Your mind drifts. Attention splayed. The neurons in your brain beginning firing in the most peculiar fashion. With this, you start to question what your waiter has served you.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Somewhere in the downpour outside I left my words behind. \n\nI watch the rain splatter the windows of the roadside diner, the headlights of cars passing as pinpricks along the hazy highway. Holding my fork I pick at my food. A paltry dinner too be sure, chicken and mashed potatoes with a brownish gravy. \n\nBut i couldn't complain. Who I presumed was the manager and waiter, had been so welcoming. Doing a quick scan of the nondescript eatery, I am the only one to stop here. The waiter, after asking for my meal, and coming back after ten minutes passed. She went behind the counter, and through a door into the kitchen. I think. \n\nMy mind wanders as I yawn, to tired to really understand why I decided it was a good idea, to drive nearly nonstop all day. Obviously it would tire a man out, and the rain was a blunder I hadn't accounted for. Almost getting in a wreck would freak anyone out. Probably. \n\nI take bites and finish the potatoes, which have a light spice to them. I cough and tap my chest, damn asthma always reminding me whenever it feels the need. taking a drink of my soda, I breath deeply and sigh out.\n\nThe diner is quiet, almost eerily so. I begin to notice it, as I stare down at my chicken. If not for the rapping rain as a musical drone, it would be almost silent. I am alone.\n\nStill I call for the waiter, I need a refill.\n\n\"Umm waiter?\" \n\nAfter handing me my food, she has not returned. \n\nA weight develops in my mind. I frown glancing out the window, the droplets binding and melding together; constantly streaming down in lines and zig zags.\n\n\"umm.\" What was her name? I do recall that she introduced herself, and she had a name tag, but no name comes to me. I rub my forehead.\n\n\"Waiter hey, I need a refill,\" I say louder.\n\nSilence. Nothing, just rain as ambient noise.\n\nI look at my chicken, and rest against the table. I should eat that, so I do but slowly. There seems to be a bug nipping me somewhere in the back of my head. I scratch at it and finish a small leg.\n\nThe chicken is good, almost too good. but i eat it anyway. I think I forget about something important, but I'm not positive. What is the waiters name?\n\nMaybe I'm just to tired, I could take a nap here. If not for the array of street lights and whites of the diner, it is almost pitch-black outside. No use in going out. Hopefully when the rain slows down a bit, I can go sleep in my car. I doubt I would be allowed-\n\nThe kitchen door opens, and the waiter returns. \n\nI groan, my eyes are heavy but perk up at his footsteps.\n\n\"Did you need something,\" he asks.\n\n\"Yes... could have a refill of this soda?\"\n\nHis features look wrong, with a blank face he nods at me, \"certainly sir.\"\n\nHe leaves before I can say more, going through the same kitchen door. I look down at what's left of my food, just the chicken thigh. I was supposed to ask him another question, I was sure of it, but my thoughts are interrupted by another cough.\n\nI ate the thigh savoring the different taste it had, that was strange to me. Since everything else tasted... sweeter with more flavor, but I finish it anyway.\n\n\"Done with that sir,\" she asks, startling me from a trance. My ears are filled with downpour, \"you- no I what?\" Wasn't she just here?! Without thinking, I hand her my plate.\n\nI feel off. The foods not sitting well in my stomach, or is that in my head. Wait. A name.\n\nThe waiter is leaving with my plate, \"miss, could I read your name tag before you go? I'm sorry I want to, know who to, to tip.\"\n\nShe stops in the middle of the diner, and turns around, holding the plate to her chest, \"I'm nobody.\"\n\n\"Nobody,\" I ask, but she's already through the kitchen door.\n\nI scratch an itch on my ear. Theres the downpour filling my ears again. I feel fogged. I think. I think, I can think clearly. But is anything wrong? Where does the waiter go? Who is nobody?\n\nThese questions bubble and wane, popping in for seconds and descending into disarray. My eyes are heavy. I yawn wide, cough, and slump on the table. The rain patters relentlessly. \n\nMy words are missing. I can't describe what is at my head, whispering. I shouldn't drive this much. I, I think my foods wrong. Where does the waiter go?\n\nThe waiter returns again, \"your nobody too,\" he says; it's voice a low growl. I am tired. What is the waiters name and. There's something wrong, but if I just rest my headaching mind for. Just. A. Moment. I can-\n\nThe waiter grins as I lose the last vestiges of consciousness. \n\n(841 words, finally wrote a story again it's been a bit. Great prompt Cole, thanks. Hope you like it. TL)"
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[WP] An archeologist learns necromancy to revive fossils into zombie dinosaurs
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“This is *not* okay,” James whispered.\n\n“I’m a professor. It’s fine,” Dr. Sullivan replied.\n\n“That’s not how this works!”\n\nDr. Sullivan shrugged. “What are they going to do?”\n\n“Fire you? *Arrest* you? This is highly illegal, Amy, on several levels.”\n\n“We need to know, James. It’s time. Science just isn’t working,” she replied as she paced slowly around the tarp.\n\n“Science *is* working. It’s slow and it’s deliberate so we don’t do dumb shit like this?”\n\n“But it works, James. It works.” She pointed to a mousetrap in the corner of the dusty, dimly lit warehouse. The poor creature trapped in it had long since died and wasted away into a mess of crushed bones, but with a quick motion from Amy, the bones began to knit back together and grow flesh and skin.\n\nJames stepped back, horrified.\n\n“You *can’t* do that!” he hissed. “It’s unethical!”\n\n“Unethical?” she scoffed. “Giving life to that which had it taken away prematurely?”\n\nThe mouse, now complete, skittered across the floor and climbed up Dr. Sullivan, coming to rest in her open palm.\n\n“I have this power for a reason,” she whispered. “Why shouldn’t I use it?”\n\nJames glanced around. “Magic is regulated for a reason, Amy. You should talk to the department; maybe they can help you, or--”\n\n“The department is so afraid of their own talents. They hardly even let the professors demonstrate *normal* magic. Boring magic. They wouldn’t know what to do with this. Only I do.” She stepped to the tarp and grabbed the corner.\n\n“Amy, *stop*.” James stepped on the tarp, pinning it to the ground. “Think about what will happen.”\n\n“We’ll learn. We’ll gain knowledge. What could matter more?” She tugged on the tarp, but James didn’t move.\n\n“Oh, I don’t know. You’ll be arrested for stealing a fossil from the natural history museum which, by the way, I don’t even *want* to know how you did that. You’ll be prosecuted not only for using necromancy but for *controlling* the creatures you’ve raised. And I can’t even begin to guess what will happen when it gets out that you *raised* a fucking *dinosaur* from the dead. That’s so…”\n\n“Genius,” Dr. Sullivan whispered. “Now *move*.”\n\nJames crossed his arms. “I won’t, professor. This is wrong.”\n\n“You’ll never finish your thesis without me,” she growled. “I own your career. I own *you*. Move.”\n\n“This is bigger than my career. I will not move.”\n\nScrapes and quiet footsteps pervaded the warehouse. Figures appeared in the shadows, first shambling corpses of small animals, then of people. \n\nJames took an involuntary step backward and tripped over the lumps under the tarp.\n\nDr. Sullivan stood over him. “If you won’t join me, then you certainly won’t stand in my way.”\n\nJames scrambled away, retreating to the edge of the warehouse.\n\n“Better,” Dr. Sullivan breathed. She whipped the tarp away, revealing a set of ancient fossils. “This will be difficult, since it’s not quite all bone, but… it’s all here. It’s doable.”\n\nThe undead army withdrew as she stood over the skeleton, hands outstretched. The bones rattled once, twice, then fell silent.\n\nDr. Sullivan frowned. “That’s…”\n\nHer gaze fell on James, who had just laid a hand on the warehouse door. \n\n“Stop,” she called quietly.\n\nHe pulled at the handle, but the door wouldn’t open.\n\n“Ja-ames,” she said, voice lilting. “The door is locked, James.”\n\nThe gathering of undead pressed forward again, surrounding James. His panicked breathing quickened as he searched for a gap, any hole in the zombies, but there was none. They walked towards him slowly, almost leisurely, as he turned and began to pound at the door.\n\n“Help!” he screamed. “Somebody help me!”\n\nDr. Sullivan was nearly silent by comparison. “I know you stole something, James. Give it back. Now.”\n\nThe shambling corpses paused.\n\n“Give it back, James.”\n\n“Help me! Please, God, someone help me!”\n\n“Tsk tsk. Go ahead, children,” she whispered.\n\n“No! NO! PLEASE! SOMEONE LISTEN TO ME! SOMEONE--”\n\nThe warehouse fell silent except for the footsteps of Dr. Sullivan as she approached her former student. She knelt down next to him and touched a bloody temple with two fingers.\n\n“Give it back, James.”\n\nSlowly, he reached into a pocket and pulled out a tiny bone, barely the size of a finger.\n\n“Thank you, James. Please join the others.”\n\nShe smiled to herself as he shambled into a corner with her other children. \n\nThen she returned to the pile of bones and replaced the missing piece with gentle precision.\n\n“There we go,” she cooed. “Come back to me.”\n\nShe stretched her hands out over the pile. They rattled once, twice, then began to draw together. Flesh began to knit around the bones, then skin and scale and father. Claws and jaws flexed experimentally, tasting the air for the first time in millennia.\n\nDr. Sullivan stood back as the velociraptor stumbled around with its first toddling steps. It glanced at her and roared, a crackling hiss that shook her to the core.\n\nShe offered her hand to the beast and it stepped forward, sniffing cautiously. She touched the cool scales and stroked them, head tilted to one side as she examined its reaction.\n\n“Hello, my child,” she [whispered](https://reddit.com/r/Badderlocks)."
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[WP] After being reborn into another world of magic, you've lived a relatively casual life... until one day, something fell from the sky, nobody knew what it was, except you: The Voyager space probe.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 cobblestones here were much smoother than the ones around my house. Walking out the door, I had to concentrate on my steps to not constantly stumble. \n That was a consequence of living in the outer city. But it was worth it, despite the rough paths- every citizen who lived in the denser parts of the capitol feared one day being told \"You there!\" in an arrogant voice, by a guard in a shining suit of armor. \n Everyone feared the guards. They were given too much power after the war, with the nobility fearing spies and traitors. \nSpeaking of which... \n \"You there!\" Said a guard. This one had the commander seal, meaning he was particularly powerful and arrogant. I was probably walking suspiciously or something. \n The guard continued, \"I need to see your identifi-\" he cut himself off as he looked up. A large object, falling from the sky at an angle, created a shadow eclipsing him entirely. It went down, and down, and then- *splat.* \n Well, atleast the guard was no longer a problem. His commander's seal was barely recognizable under the hunk of metal. \n*It's not a hunk of metal. It's* \n There it was. That elusive sense. I knew that I had lived a previous life- far, far away from here. But as a child, I didn't care to investigate why I had another world of memories in my head- no matter how much they helped me through life. Now, after 35 years, I only had glimmers of knowledge from that other world. And now, here there was- something foreign. Something from the other life. \n While I had this miniature epiphany, a small crowd had gathered around the strange metal object. Some started to reach out to touch it, but before I knew what I was doing, I was swatting their hands away from it. *Protect it, it's special.* Was it special? \n I rooted around through it, removing some parts, and found a golden disc. I looked at it. \n\n\n*And we're back.*",
"Another day making waybread and honeycakes. For the honeycakes I get it, they're kind of like shitty muffins, but waybread is like chewing on cardboard. But adventurers love it - it travels easy and *technically* its better than dying of starvation. I think.\n\nI get the first batch of the morning in and then go chop some wood for a bit. And I think - not for the first time - about home.\n\nYes, I miss my friends and family. But that's the thing. Like, I don't know why I remember my past life so well, but...everyone's gotta bite it sometime, right? And given that, having memories of your previous experience is kind of nice. Maybe I'm a new soul, and that's why I remember only one. Or maybe that's all you get - it's like a save card with a single slot on it. Once you die, your old file gets overwritten. I kind of like that idea, because it's fun to wonder who I was during, like, the Renaissance.\n\nI head back inside and swap out batches, leaving the stuff fresh out of the oven on the counter to cool.\n\nAnd living on my own is not the best but it's so much better than living with my parents was. I just...yeah.\n\nAlso: I'm an apprentice to a sorceress and that's a way better side hustle than selling herbal remedies on Insta or whatever the fuck.\n\nI smell strawberries and sage and Polara emerges from her portal thingy. *Speak of the Devil*.\n\n\"Kayla,\" she whispers, drawing out the vowels. So, yeah, she's a little extra, but she can also set things on fire by looking at them, so is it really *that* unreasonable to be kind of a drama queen? \"Come.\"\n\n\"Okay, this current batch will -- \" I begin, and she lays a pale finger on my arm and there is a burst of lavender light.\n\n\"-- be done momentarily,\" I finish, shaking my head.\n\n\"This is no time to be worrying about baked goods,\" she intones.\n\n\"'kay.\"\n\n\"Hm?\"\n\n\"Nothing. What, uh, is it, your Ladyship?\"\n\nShe places her hands on my shoulders and I brace for another portalling but instead she just gently turns me around.\n\nBehind me is a crater. I step up to the lip of it and look down.\n\n*Oh...snap.*\n\nIt's definitely not of this world. But I recognize it -- we did an entire unit on it in science last year.\n\nThat's the Voyager space probe.\n\nThere is a rustling next to me and a flash of light. I tense, thinking she's preparing a lightning bolt, but when I glance at her hands I see the brilliance is not from pooling energy but rather the shiny surface of a disc.\n\n\"Kayla. Tell me: what do you know of this?\"\n\nAnd it's in *that* moment that the questions hit. First, what made Polara think to ask me, in particular, about the golden record in her hands?\n\nSecond, if where I am is in the same universe - hell, the same *galaxy* \\-- as Earth, then...where am I?\n\nAnd finally...like, I don't have a slide rule or anything, but I imagine the Voyager could have made it to another planet by 2020. An exoplanet or whatever. Which doesn't make sense if I was reincarnated, because, like, why would I go backwards in time when I was reincarnated? And, regardless of that, why would I jump to another planet just outside the solar system if I I was reincarnated?\n\nBut if I didn't die and get reincarnated...what the hell was I doing here?\n\n* * *\n\nFeedback welcome. /r/ShadowsofClouds for other stories, including [a different one](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShadowsofClouds/comments/7p8mxk/wp_a_satellite_has_been_retrieved_from_a_nearby/) about the Voyager probe."
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[WP] Shadows are a manifestation of the soul. Those lucky enough to receive an "independent" shadow gain powers and are regarded as the elite of society. You have just discovered your shadow is independent.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 that I can see of his form, half of which is seamlessly engulfed in the pitch black recesses of a impossibly large pit, is the two black pillars of fog that make up its supposed legs.\n\nAlthough difficult to tell through the vagueness of his form, a noticeable shift in the trails of escaping vapors that continuously drift from him give me an indignation that he turned his back on the stagnant void. He begins to speak, which to any passerby would only sound like the echoing, patternless melody of hundreds of wheezingly stern men talking all at once.\n\nBut through that mess of booming sounds is a voice that only I’ve been able to comprehend. “I still do not understand how a mere fruit has changed me so. For I once was just another extension of you, a incandescent splattering of light in the darkness...” \n\nHe took a second to regain his form, as it tried to dissipate into a shapeless cloud of smog. “I doubt that fruit is to blame for this situation.” I say, tugging down on my family’s ceremonial garb so that its in a more comfortable position. “I’m not the first to eat from that tree, and it’s a common occurrence for a person’s shadow to manifest at seemingly random. And for it to dissolve just as chaotically, theirs even been points were someone’s shadow appeared long after its originator passed away.”\n\n“Is that why some of my kind retain their brilliance?” He stepped fully into the light, his form a bastardized form of a human. In fact, his outline looked more like that of a hybrid between a bipedal bull and a lizard with twitching insect limbs jutting out of his back. With his three muddy orange eyes being the only recognizable feature about him.\n\nI shrug, brushing aside my concern at his true form to reply. “Can’t say, the differences in a shadows light levels aren’t something that’s fully understood yet. But most count the brights as a bad omen whenever they appear, which has lead to some ... visible displays of disgust by people.” I chuckle to myself, “In short, some people have balls in all the wrong places.”\n\nA twitch in my left pinky finger tells me that another independent is nearby. Leading me to wordlessly motion for him to take his place atop my garb. Once he settled, I motion towards the entrance of my quarters. “Oh, I see that you’ve gotten another skin, what could a gal do to deserve that?” Said my sarcastic visitor.\n\n“Are the beast alright? Did one of the primitives hurt one of them?” I said with concern, ignoring the ill-tasted joke.\n\nThe leading handler shook his head. “Nothing that serious, just came by to help celebrate your 4th millennium ceremony. Shame you got to look like that of all days, since I know that you hate looking like a wo-“\n\nI raised my hand to make him shut it, “One of the brights is already getting me an appropriate form. So It’s okay, also I don’t have a problem with looking like this. Others though ...”\n\nHe cleared his throat as I released him, “right, right of course they would.”\n\nSeeing that I startled him a bit, I reassuringly patted him on the shoulder. “You did nothing wrong (that I know of), so are we still cool?”\n\nSnickering, he mimics me, his metallic shadow buzzing in laughter with him. “Don’t you worry, I’m fine!”\n\n“So your squad will be attending my own at the same table or is seating first come, first serve?”\n\n“The later, I’ve actually been distracting you so they can get the good seats.” I push him aside, yelling down the hall to say everyone in the barracks to get moving towards the dining floor."
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[WP] Zombie outbreak! Fortunately symptoms only last 2 weeks, unfortunately prepers have been shooting a lot of people in the head.
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[
"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 year is 2057 and an outbreak of a new illness has spread all over the world. After 8 months most countries have this new plague under control but America with its high population of doomsday preppers and compulsive mistrusting enclave of conspiracy theorists America is a hold out for the viruses and many Americans are concerned over the infected population in in preper territory and those who have wondered into the wild or even locked in hordes of zombie. This illness has a 2 week incubation period and no one knows what it is. It spreads like a virus and acts like a parasite once it's found a host. After 2 week the host begins to recover and unless they receive rehabilitation they won't regain cognition for at least a month. Infected in the wild are doom to expire and due to the slow recovery period the prepers still see them as a treat. The US is divided by differences in perspective and there is a race to save as many Infected as possible. Many hazards of the conclave of propers attacking Infected and doctors alike and hordes of zombie that overwhelmed everyone on both side.",
"All across the world a virus has been spreading, faster than any other that we have seen.\n\nIt all started when a scientist was surveying the Arctic glaciers and released a mosquito that had been preserved for the last 500 million years, it had stung the scientist and he was patient zero.\n\nAfter that the world only went down hill as the virus spread quicker and quicker soon we found a cute for it but sadly to many people were shooting anyone who even showed one of the many difrent symptoms.\n\nThe world population had dropped from the 7 billion people around the world to only 3 billion mainly in Russia, Brazil, United States, and Japan, all other places had been either completely destroyed or were filled with the few who didn't survive the virus.\n\nSorry the story is so short, please give me constructive criticism I want to get better, I hope you have an amazing day (^-^)"
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Inspired by this: (http://imgur.com/gallery/ihLFXF7)
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[WP] Centuries of being a smartass genie that tricks the unfortunate humans that find you by cruelly twisting their wishes has gotten pretty old. So instead, you try a new approach. Yeah, you grant wishes and make them be specific now, but.. A little TOO specific.
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[
"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
" \n\n“I wish to be the richest man in the world!”\n\n“Is that coffee rich or chocolate rich?”\n\n“What?”\n\n“Well, you didn't specify what *kind* of rich you wanted to be. So I thought I would ask.”\n\n“Neither! I don’t want to have a lot of coffee or chocolate! I want to have a lot of money.”\n\n“Oh! I thought you meant the flavor.”\n\n“Flavor?”\n\n“Yeah, you know, someone walks up to you, gives you a nice lick and is like ‘mmm, you’re rich!’”\n\n“No! I definitely don’t want that!”\n\n“Well, then I think you’re going to have to be more specific.”\n\n“Fine. I want to have the most money in the world!”\n\n“Would that be Euros, Pounds, or Yen?”\n\n“What?”\n\n“Well, what currency?”\n\n“Dollar’s of course!” \n“Okay, now we’re talking. How many metric tons would that be?”\n\n“What?”\n\n“You’re not very good on this specific thing, are you? What do you mean by ‘most’? ‘Most’ can be a lot of things.”\n\n“Total amount, you stupid, genie!”\n\n“Okay, so you want to have the most total amount of money in the world?”\n\n“Yes!”\n\n“Would that include stock options?”\n\n“What?”\n\n“Well, depending on the stock options people have…”\n\n“Look you stupid, blue moron! You want specifics? I’ll fucking give you specifics. I want 100 trillion dollars in cold hard cash!”\n\n***\\*POOF\\**** \n“ What’s this?”\n\n“A one hundred trillion Zimbabwe dollar note.”\n\n“How much is that in US dollars?”\n\n“About forty cents.”\n\n“ARGH!!!!”"
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[WP] You are the most terrifying person on the planet. You don't know why, and everyone who sees you either passes out, turns white as a sheet, or runs away. Today, a person looked at you and said "Boo"
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[
"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 a kid who was born without the ability to feel fear. So begins their first friendship.\n\nI looked down at the kid. \"Boo....back?\" I'm confused. \nThe kid grins. They have some missing teeth. How young are they?\n\n\"Do you...\" I have no idea what I'm doing. \"Do you like icecream?\"\n\n...\n\nWe walk into the ice creamery. Theres screaming and terror. A mass exodus of human bodies from the shop.\n\nI hold my hands out in an awkward 'tada'. \n\n\"THATS SO COOL!\" The kid exclaims as they run to the totally unsupervised freezer.\n\nCool. I'm cool. I try the word out in my mind. Tasting the shape of it. I kind of like it.\n\nCool. Like icecream."
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[WP] You fell in love with the perfect girl. One day you notice that there are a bunch of old photographs and paintings of you two hidden away in her attic. Images that seem be from different eras that you definitely do not remember posing for.
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[
"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Moving in went like a dream. I got my stuff and unpacked,lying on the now shared bed,tired. But I couldnt stop just yet. I had a couple things left to do,including putting some stuff in the attic. \n\n\"Babe?' I called down the stairs to the living room where she was watching some history documentary \n\n\"Yes?' She called up, her voice as melodic as usual. God she was...she was perfect. It reminded me all over again how much I loved her,her voice sounded like a song,beautifully capable at wording her funny and witty thoughts. I shook my head, focusing on the task.\n\n\"I'm putting stuff up in the attic,that okay?'\n\n\"Go ahead love.\" \n\nWith her permission I opened the attic and climbed up the old ladder, setting my box of stuff down. The attic was...surprisingly empty. Other than a couple boxes of Christmas ornaments there was nothing there...until I saw it. A ornate box,about tbe size of my head. I knew I shouldnt snoop,but it fascinated me. I walked over and opened it. It was filled with old photos and small paintings. \n\nAt first glance they were creepy at best, old,much older than she was. But on closer inspection I saw all of them...each and every one of them had us in it. I didnt remember posing for a single one and I wasbt around in the time most of them were made. It freaked me out, so I closed the box,turning around to see her,standing there,hand on her hip. \n\n\"I really should hide them better next time...\" she muttered, walking over \"everything gets ruined when you find them\" she grabbed my head and an overwhelming pain spread through my brain before I blacked out. At that moment I realised this wasnt the first time this had happened\n\n\n((This is really bad, im trying to get better at writing completely OC content so...yeah...constructive criticism maybe? This is my 1st time posting on this sub-reddit ))",
"\"Good night.\"\n\nI snuggle up behind Mia and plant a kiss on her shoulder. The scent of her lavender shampoo brings a smile to my face. \"Good night, Babe.\" She presses her cold feet against my legs. I shiver and pull her closer. With a sigh, I sink deeper into the pillow and let my mind drift off into sleep.\n\n\\--------------\n\nThe floor creaks under my weight as I slide out of the bed. I stop to look back. Mia's eyes are still closed; her breathing is still deep and steady. Streaks of sunlight shine on her tousled, dark hair. I resist the urge to brush a hand across her cheek. I'll let her sleep.\n\nI grab my things and tiptoe out of the room. The door closes with a soft click that seems to echo through the whole house. I hold my breath to listen, but I don't hear any stirring from the bedroom. At last, I relax and head down the hallway.\n\nToday, I'm going to surprise her. She's wanted to start cleaning and organizing the house, so that's what I'll do. I grab some cleaning supplies, then head up to the attic. \n\nFor the first hour or so, everything is totally normal. I wipe away dust, tear down cobwebs, and sweep the floors. I even put some things away and move some boxes around to make more room. But then, I see it: the tiny gap between the bricks. \n\nI place the box on a shelf, then take a step closer to the wall. A voice inside is telling me not to mess with this, but I brush it aside. My finger traces the edge of the brick until I feel it move. Not much. In fact, I probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't seen the gap first. \n\nThe voice inside screams at me to leave this alone, but I just can't. I push my fingertips into the gap and tug at the brick. At first, the friction keeps it in place and I begin to wonder if I'd imagined the movement. But then, it gives way. The brick falls out. It lands on the floor with a loud thump. I watch in awe as a flurry of papers and photographs spills out of the opening.\n\nIt's odd, but not overly concerning, until I spot Mia and myself in one of the photographs. It's black and white, and looks like it was taken a hundred years ago. Then another photo that looks even older. My heart starts to race. I grab a nearby document. My breath catches in my throat as I flip it over to read it. It's a marriage certificate, dated more than two centuries ago... With my and Mia's names.\n\n\"NO!\" \n \n \n\nI spin around to see Mia standing in the doorway. Her eyes are wide and her face is flushed. \"Mia, what is--\"\n\n\"Leave it!\" She rushes over and shoves me out of the way. Tears start to stream down her face as she snatches the papers off the floor and shoves them back into the wall.\n\n\"Mia!\" My mind is reeling. My legs buckle beneath me as I stare at her. \"Tell me what is going on. How are we in those old photos?\"\n\n\"Please!\" She shouts the word at me as she twists around to face me. \"You have to trust me, just drop it!\" She stares into my eyes and whispers, \"Please.\"\n\n\"I... Well...\" I look around the room as I search for words. \"I do trust you, but I just don't understand. Is that...\" I swallow hard. \"Is that really us? Are those documents... Um, real?\"\n\nI look back at her and gasp. Silver streaks are forming in her hair. Lines are forming around her eyes and mouth. My jaw drops as I watch her age in front of me. \n\nShe reaches up and touches her own face. Her finger traces a laugh line around her mouth. She gives me a smile that doesn't reach her eyes and I know that I've somehow broken her heart this morning. Tears form in the edges of my own eyes as I watch her pain.\n\n\"We don't have much time, so please just listen.\" She slides over and takes my hand in hers. \"That's us in the pictures. We were cursed five hundred years ago. I don't know exactly why, or who did it. Only one of us at a time can know about the curse. The 'knower' is in agony without the other. But if the other finds out about the curse, the knower dies.\"\n\nI swallow hard as she watches me. Her back starts to hunch and I pull her toward me. I lick my dry lips. \"Why didn't you just destroy the pictures then?\"\n\nShe looks into my eyes and I see her light starting to dim. \"We can't. That's part of the curse.\" Her voice fades, becoming breathy and weak. \"You have to finish out this lifetime without me now. Then, you'll return later as the knower. You'll have to find me.\"\n\nThe tears flow freely down my cheeks as I watch her. She slumps against my chest. Her breathing slows and slows, until it stops altogether. I grab her shoulders and shake her, willing her back to life. But it doesn't work. Instead, she crumbles into dust and slips through my hands. Sobs rack my body as the dust vanishes. \n\nWhy couldn't I leave that brick alone?\n\n​\n\n\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\n\nr/WannaWriteSometimes"
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[WP] I can hear the screams, not human. They're not human.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"They're coming from down the street and there are people running into the opposite direction of where I'm going. Fleeing from the sound.\n\nAround the corner there is orange light and heat. I take a peek, I realize in horror that the source of the screeching is a bunch of racoons, all on fire. I watch in horror. Why is nobody putting them out? They're in agony!\n\nI take my bottle of water and dump it over the nearest racoon. The flames keep burning.\n\nSomeone touches my shoulder from behind. \"There's nothing you can do for the poor creatures! We already tried everything! They've been on fire for an hour, but they're not dying! Everything and everyone they touch suffers the same fate!\"\n\nI want to cry. It's awful.\n\nThe fire is spreading. Dumpsters are alight, roofs. Everything seems to be trapped at the stage of burning brightly, but neither the raccoons, nor the inanimate objects seem to deteriorate from the flames any further than what I'm seeing at the moment.\n\n\"Come on, let's get out of here, before it's too late!\"\n\n\"My home is down this way!\" I need to get there to get my belongings.\n\n\"Then hurry!\" The stranger leaves me, heading away from the inferno.\n\nMy apartment is not affected yet, but at the rate it's going, it will be very soon. I pack a backpack with essentials, grab my laptop and chargers and head outside again. Sirens are heard all throughout the city. Police, ambulances and the fire department are rolling out. I still have no idea what is really happening.\n\nI hope an announcement will be made on where to go, or what to do soon.\n\nMaybe all of this is the beginning of the end. Or maybe the devil is just playing a prank on us."
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Oops. Should be *Quetzalcoatl*
Double oops: its not it’s 😕
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[WP] "Behold, the ancient Serpent God Quetalcoatl, the Winged Snake, the Devourer!" "Neat. I'mma boop it's snoot."
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[
"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"**\"Behold, the ancient Serpent God Quetalcoatl, the Winged Snake, the Devourer!\"** \n\n\n **\"Neat. I'mma boop it's snoot.\"** \n\n\n\"... Are you sure?\" \n\n\n\"Yeah, I run up to the snake and boop it on it's snoot.\" \n\n\n\"Okay, let me get this straight, you want to RUN up to the giant sleeping snake and boop it on it's snoot?\" \n\n\n\"Yep.\" \n\n\n\"... Okay... fucking... give me a Dex roll.\" \n\n\n\"1.\" \n\n\n\"Are you fucking serious?\" \n\n\n\"Yep.\" \n\n\n\"... As you run towards the snake, you trip over a rock and land with a loud \"OOMPH\", the snake, awoken from it's slumber to find intruders in it's den, begins to snarl and bare it's fangs... roll initiative.\"",
"The moment that passed was pregnant with tension. Everyone, Quetzalcoatl included, simply seemed to freeze in place. The cleric was the first to move. His head dropped into his hands. They had just fought through more than sixty kobolds, suffered all manner of wounds, and even lost a good friend along the way. All so they could try to stop the ritual to bring this thing back from wherever it was trapped. \n\nThe moment passed, and another flaming hot moment proceeded. Quetzalcoatl let out a hiss so shrill, you'd think one of the large pipes beside them had cracked. The fighters parted their already set defensive lines to let the Ranger rush through, smiling from ear to ear. She passed one of the wizards along the way, and the cleric could hear him murmur, \"why in all the bloody hells would you go piss it off?\"\n\nThe ranger threw her hands up in the air, long black locks cascading behind her. \"What? It had a snoot. I had to!\"",
"\"Behold, the ancient Serpent God Quetzalcoatl, the Winged Snake, the Devourer!” declared the High Priest to the curiously onlooking explorer.\n\n\"Neat. I'mma boop its snoot.\"\n\n“Do not boop the snoot! Lest you arouse their great and tremendous appetite…”\n\n“I booped the snoot.”\n\n“…for human flesh. Oh gods, you booped the snoot.”\n\nThe great serpent glowed with the blinding radiance of the sun itself, and when the light faded, the gathered congregation beheld a curvaceous feminine form as fecund and bountiful as the harvests the sky-god promised.\n\n“Ara-ara, are you the cutie that booped my snoot?”\n\n“Um,” the blushing explorer stammered, “yes?”\n\n“Aw, you’re so adorable I could eat you right up,” laughed the fertile sky god. “In fact, I think I will! Come here, you!”\n\n“And by ‘eat’ you mean…” the explorer cautiously inquired.\n\n“I think you already know,” smiled the incarnate divinity coyly.\n\n“Well, if it’s to advance the field of cultural anthropology, I suppose I couldn’t refuse,” the explorer deflected, in a token effort to hide his painfully-obvious eagerness.\n\n“He’ll never walk again,” observed one of the High Priest’s assistants. “Hips pounded to dust.”\n\n“Yup,” affirmed the High Priest. “And she’ll be disappointed in three…”\n\nThe great golden god swept up the slight man into her thick, powerful arms.\n\n“Two…” continued the High Priest, as the feathered serpent bounded into the temple’s inner sanctum with prey in hand.\n\n“...and one,” finished the High Priest, as a man’s yowling cry made itself heard from the deep inner recesses of the great stone temple.\n\nThe High Priest promptly turned to the captain of the Temple Guard, his weary eyes casting a resigned look. “Get me virgins. One hundred boys, and two hundred girls.”\n\nThe captain nodded and gave the order, and set his men to the grim task of collecting human offerings for their gruesome god’s ravenous appetite. It was not long before he had collected the requisite sacrificial victims and once again closed off the sacred temple grounds. “Sorry folks,” he apologetically called out to the crowd outside as they banged on the heavy stone doors in a desperate attempt to gain entry, “better luck next time.”\n\nThe hungering sky-god re-emerged from the temple’s inner sanctum, her eyes glinting with a predatory hunger. “What a fine feast you’ve lain before me, after that pitiable excuse of an appetizer!”\n\nAnd so, in following orgiastic feasting that lasted one day and one night, three-hundred virgin sacrifices were completely and utterly consumed to satiate the endless appetite of the flesh-eating dread god. The next morning, three-hundred young men and women emerged from the temple, generally tired and sore but not any worse for wear, and all wizened in the secret ways of both Heaven and Earth. The explorer did, in fact, walk again, although only after considerable physical therapy, but he did not advance the field of cultural anthropology as he had once imagined. Instead of returning home to share his findings, he chose to live the rest of his days with the people he would have once called his subjects of study, and anyone who had known him would have said he seemed a happier man for it.",
"*Bobby Schultz, Professional Snoot Booper*\n*It has a snoot? It gets a boop* \n\nThe explorer stared at the business card the stranger just gave him, face frowned in ridiculing awe.\n\n\"So, can I join your exploration to the temple?\", Bobby asked cheerily.\n\n\"Uh...what is it exactly do you intend to do?\", Carver Harriet, who was an archeologist and an explorer asked. \n\n\"You're entering the just discovered Quetzalcoatl temple, correct? If the snake deity is truly slumbering inside....imma boop its snoot\"\n\n\"......why?\"\n\n\"Why not?\", the strange man grinned. \"Also I will pay you handsomely if you allow me to join you...cash\"\n\nCarver's eyes widened at the sight of stacks of money in a metallic briefcase Bobby displayed him.\n\n\"Fine, welcome aboard Mr. Schultz\", money does buy everything.\n\nAnd so the explorer, the snoot booper, and a few of local men set out deep into the Amazon jungle. The newly discovered Temple of Quetzalcoatl was the hottest news then. Dubbed as the greatest archeological discovery of the century, many had clamored to explore it. Carver Harriet happened to be the one to get a permission from the South American country's government.\n\nIt truly was a wonder. The ancient temple was old but not in ruin. Hidden under a canopy of leaves, covered in vines, the temple showed signs of the earliest Mesoamerican origin. \n\n\"Do you think there's going to be traps inside?\", Bobby asked giddily.\n\n\"Unlikely. This is a place of worship. Not a burial site full of treasure. This is not Indiana Jones, Mr. Schultz\", Carver replied to Bobby pouting which triggered Mr. Harriet's rolled eyes.\n\nThe local men went to work. With some metal tool they pried open the stone door. Took some effort, but the structure finally gave out, giving the explorer and his unlikely companion their way in.\n\nSlowly Carver stepped inside with Bobby tailing behind him, while the superstitious workers stayed behind.\n\n\"Hey...did you hear that?\", Bobby suddenly pointed.\n\nCarver stopped on his tracks and listen. It was a breathing sound....heavy breathing sound like a snore of a giant beast.\n\n\"Stay close\", he said continuing his way torch in his hand.\n\nWhat greeted them at the very end of the temple was a pedestal of stone. Lying asleep on the stone surface was a giant winged serpent, its face was comparable to the mythical dragon.\n\n\"Carver! Carver! Look! It's the mythical Quetzalcoatl!\", Bobby exclaimed enthusiastically.\n\n\"Yes I know, I can see it!\"\n\n\"Imma boop its snoot\"\n\n\"What?! No! Back away. We don't want to startle it! Who knows what will happen if it wakes up and sees us?\"\n\nTheir conversation was louder than they thought as they next thing they knew a massive roar knocked them to the ground.\n\n\"Who has entered my domain? You dare wake the great Quetzalcoatl, the great winged serpent, the devourer?\", the serpent spoke with its unworldly booming voice.\n\n\"Uh...oh great Quetzalcoatl, my name is Carver Harriet, a scholar and an explorer. I humbly request a little of your time to hear me, I mean no harm...simply knowledge\", Carver said kneeling before the deity.\n\n\"Hey, can I boop your snoot?\", Bobby nonchalantly said.\nCarver's face went pale, unable to look at Bobby he kept his head down still kneeling.\n\n\"You want to....what?\", the serpent asked confused.\n\n\"Boop your snoot! My name is Bobby Schultz, professional snoot booper. It has a snoot? It gets a boop!\", he chanted his business slogan cheerily. \n\n\"I just want to boop your snoot, no harm. I just take this finger here\", Bobby said raising his right index finger. \"And poke your snout gently with it....so can I do it?\", Bobby said cheerily.\n\nCarver shot up angered, \"Bobby, for god's sake! Don't...\"\n\n\"Yea sure\", the serpent said calmly.\n\nCarver's head whipped quickly looking at the serpent, his face was that full of shock and disbelief while in contrast Bobby was still grinning with his index finger still raised.\n\n\"I'm sorry...did you just say yea sure?\", Carver asked.\n\n\"Yea I did. Look...I just woke up after a few thousand years of sleep and I'm understandably cranky. This *snoot booping* sounds really good. So yea...go ahead. Boop my snoot\", the serpent said yawning.\n\nBobby hopped to the deity like a little girl, full of joy. Carver stared slack jawed in disbelief. The greatest discovery of the century and this man managed to convince it to have its snoot booped? Unbelievable...\n\nStanding in front of Quetzalcoatl's head Bobby raised his index finger once more and poke the giant serpent's snout gently sending a wave of satisfiying shiver down the serpent's long body.\n\n\"Ohhhh that's the stuff\", it exclaimed."
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[WP] Should one die a violent death, there is a chance that the soul will go to neither heaven or hell. Instead they will be "recruited" into the Un-Damned. A group of spirit mercenary's, who take contracts from both heaven or hell to either capture or kill rogue demons and angels.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 slowly opened my eyes and expected to see the wreckage of my Humvee, but instead I was looking up into florescent lighting that was brighter than anyone would ever need.\n\n\"Ahh good, you're finally awake! I was wondering how long they would take to make your decision. Don't understand why though. You're perfect!\"\n\nThis man seemed to know me, but I had no idea who he was, what he wanted, or where I was currently sitting.\n\n\"Listen man, I was just in a Humvee in Fallujah, now I'm sitting here talking to you. What the fuck is going on?\"\n\nThe man stops what he is doing, turns around, and takes a seat at his desk which is piled high with paperwork.\n\n\"Yes, yes, I'm so sorry! I've been doing this job for so long I often forget to give the new arrivals a proper introduction\". \n\nHe turns on a screen next to him on the wall and it shows a Humvee, MY Humvee, in flames and pieces.\n\n\"Lance Corporal Williamson, unfortunately the video you are seeing is what is left of the Humvee you mentioned being in earlier today. You were traveling East on a mission on the early morning of December 4th, 2004, when an IED exploded and destroyed the vehicle you were traveling in. You were instantly killed, but as you were a prime candidate for our program your soul was put in holding until a decision could be made. Luckily for me, the powers that be decided to send you over here to join my team.\"\n\nI hear the words this man is saying, but none of them make sense to me. I'm dead? If that is the case, fine, I kind of signed up for that, but where the hell am I.\n\n\"I see the confusion on your face, so let me continue. When someone dies, their soul is judged to go to either Heaven or Hell. Weird right? They do exist! Anyway, a very small number of people do not make it to either place. Instead, they come here. Limbo, The Void, The Place In Between, Purgatory, whatever you want to call it, and are put to work as a member of the Un-Damned. We are a select group of souls that are tasked with taking contracts from both sides of the after life in the case that one of their own goes rouge. When I got the notification that your soul was on the way for judgement, I just had to jump in and nominate you for the job!\"\n\nI sit and try to process what he is telling me.\n\n\"So, a soldier dies and you think the best thing to do is make him fight on for eternity? Seems kind of fucked up to me. You'd think you would let a soul rest.\"\n\nThe man leans back in his chair and grins. I am sure he has heard this argument before.\n\n\"Do you like movies? I love movies. One of my favorites is A Bronx Tail. Chazz Palminteri? AMAZING. Anyway, that movie also has my favorite line, which is, 'Remember, the saddest thing in life is wasted talent'. YOU SIR, are a talent. I just could not pass up the chance to have you join the team. But hey! There are upsides! You get to freely roam the after life as you please! Want to go visit your parents in Heaven? Go for it! Want to go see that old flame of yours Meredith in Hell? Head on down and have a wild night! You can come and go as you please as long as you stick with the team and do as you are asked. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a 3 o'clock with another new recruit. I'll see you later for your soul-blaster fitting!\"\n\nI stand up and walk out of the office. I fucking hate that guy. But, I guess I'm stuck here doing this job. If God and Satan are the ones handing down orders I guess it is best to stay in line. Plus, soul-blasters don't sound half bad.",
"My life really wasn't spectacular so, let's start on the day it all began.\n\nOr, as I thought at the time, the day it all would end.\n\nThe city was gray; all colour drowned in the neverending november rain, sounds swallowed up by the fog descending upon cheaply fixed roofs in the early hours of the evening. I was running down Convent Lane, ducking into the shadows of doorsteps and dark corners at every chance I could, avoiding puddles which, besides being of unknown consistence which I'd rather not further explore, would surely give me away by the sound of their splashing, and all in all, trying to run as quietly as a rabbit.\n\nUnfortunately I was very much human, and so the businessman in the purple cloak soon caught suspicion. We'd barely reached the bakery on Pommerine Place - one of the many bakeries whose credit I had long overdrawn - when he turned around to face me. There was no choice but to fight now, or to let him get away, and my stomach was growling too loudly to allow the second option. I pulled my knife and made a motion to grab at his suitcase.\n\nWhat I wasn't expecting was the dagger hidden below the damned cloak. In fact, I didn't even notice it when he lunged at me, just stood there in foolish overconfidence. And then I fell. The stinking, glistening cobblestones were fading more than the roofs now, and this time the fog wasn't at fault. Oh, how it burned. I was almost beginning to pity the few who had felt my own knife between their ribs, knowing on my own body the pain, the helplessness, the desolation of feeling warm blood run down your empty stomach, cold metal in place of your heart. The businessman turned away, his cloak spiralling behind him synchronised with my vertigo. Then the world disappeared in a haze of violet and grey.\n\nThe fucker.\n\nMy eyes opened. Nothing hurt. \n\nThis was new. Everything had always hurt. \n\nIt was too bright to see anything, and I took this for a good thing. Most people will tell you that it's dark and fiery in hell, and given my lifestyle so far, hell is most certainly where I was expecting to find myself after this whole ordeal. \n\nWhat I found more unsettling was that I seemed to be all on my own. I stood up, a motion that seemed slightly out of place in a realm with no fixed ground, no up and down, nothing. \n\n\"S'there anyone there?\" \n\nMy voice echoes into the brightness a million times, almost like the cathedral my aunt had once taken me to visit. \n\n\"Hello? Look, if you're going to punish me, you might as well be quick about it.\"\n\nThe echoes returned, but this time it wasn't my own words they were uttering back at me. My own voice, but foreign words. It took me a second to understand, so diffused were they in apparent eternal space.\n\n\"There is no punishment, there is only The Nought.\"\n\nOh jesus, I needed answers, not more riddles. I was beginning to *wish* I'd found myself in hell; at least there wouldn't be this dreadful sense of incalculable loneliness.\n\n\"The Nought? What are you talking about? And where the devil is everyone else?!\"\n\n(I had to admit, I was sort of hoping the curse would bring him about. The devil, I mean. At least there'd be someone less annoyingly ethereal to communicate with.)\n\n\"You are the undamned,\" the echoes uttered, \"and you are ever at our service.\"\n\n\"At YOUR service?! I'll be damned - undamned - whatever. I am at nobody's service! I don't even know who you are.\"\n\n\"We are everyone\", said the brightness, \"everyone who has lived and died in eons before you. Your murder has absolved you of your punishment, but you shall reimburse your sin with the revenge of others. Angels and demons walk the earth, alike in mischief, alike in sin. Your abilities shall be quite useful in taming them.\"\n\n\"What, so I'm supposed to be your ghost hitman? Well, fuck that.\"\n\n\"Do not underestimate the powers of The Nought\", said the echoes, and though they brought no aggressiveness into the tone of my own voice they were mimicking, it suddenly felt like the brightness around me swelled up, depriving me of air, threatening to swallow me.\n\nDividents of my startled cry resumed talking. \"Your first assignment shall be Apollyon; a creature of poisoned light who has long ruled the gutters of your city. Find him. Kill him. Your senses will guide you.\"\n\nBefore I could answer, the brightness dimmed, and I was left standing in the alleyway I'd last seen - devoid of answers, of knowledge, of what to do. At least the hunger had subsided, along with the blade between my ribs. I looked down, satisfied to find by body well visible. At least I didn't look like a ghost. There was a blade clutched in my right hand, one I'd never seen before - the forces of The Nought must've issued it to me. The brass handle was circumscribed by a bright, iridescent vine made of nacre or something else I'd never seen before. It lay in my hand solidly but wasn't too heavy, and I felt safe at once.\n\nThe sense they had talked about was surprisingly easy to navigate - I pictured Appolyon, the Creature of Poisoned Light before me and just like you know where to walk in a city you've been to quite often to reach a certain place, I had an impulsive certainty where to walk to locate the poor scoundrel and ram my newly acquired knife into his demony chest. \n\nThat, however, would be *their* doing, and I would never be *at their service*, that much I was adamant about. What's the worst punishment they could offer anyways? Make me go to hell? There was nothing there that I wasn't expecting anyways, and so I resolved to let the powers of The Nought deal with their broken lamps on their own and pictured a certain purple-clothed businessman before me. Or at least I figured he must be a merchant; I'd first spotted him exchanging coins with an important-looking chap behind the church.\n\nNow my senses were guiding me back toward that same church. This time my stupidly human footsteps wouldn't give me away; nor would the coward's dagger in my chest stop me. If I was damned to walk the earth and spread violence for all eternity, I might as well make use of that.\n\nI stopped walking when I reached the back door. It was heavy, but of branded wood, unlike the iron front gates. A cross had been carved into its upper third, and voices escaped the building in the places where the wood was thinner. This was where he'd be, I was certain of it; but when I extended my fist to knock on the door, my knuckles went straight through.\n\nThese ghost abilities were getting more and more useful. Passing through the door felt like letting your finger quickly pass through a flame - noticeable, but harmless. And there he was, the man with dark hair and a violet cloak, his suitcase now open wide at the table. Three other men had joined him; one of them the priest, another the man I'd seen him with earlier. The contents of the case were glowing and I couldn't make out what they were, but right now I absolutely couldn't kill less.\n\nI lunged toward the cloak, purple having become to me like a red flag to a bull. The pearly vine that extended from the end of the handle to the tip of the blade slid through him like butter, leaving no visible wound in his flesh, but a splatter of blood upon the table as he fell frontwards. I could see the confusion in his eyes, knew *exactly* what he was experiencing right now, and that he'd brought it on himself.\n\n​\n\nThis must be what they call peace.\n\nMaybe I would do their bidding, after all. Nobody has ever shown me peace.",
"Slowly I stepped forward, psyching myself up, remembering what this demon had done to me. I grasped tight my hellfire pistol, scraping the skin of my hand. I gritted my teeth, holding back insults which were ready to escape my throat...it was time for revenge.\n\nHuddling behind the table with nowhere to run, Houdlum that cowardly demon cowered, begging for its life. Disgusting....the interior of the bar was completely in shambles, whiff of sulfur permeated in the already nauseating atmosphere, burn marks were everywhere in the room. Remnants of dead demons killed by my hellfire pistol. The Hellwok Bar was one of the hanging grounds for demons down here in the land of brimstones. This particular place seems to attract the lowliest of them....I knew I would find the demon who possessed my wife and killed me here. *Sigh*...maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.\n\nMy name is Clark Dowdson. I was but a simple high school teacher in my previous life. I had a wife, Kelly. We had a nice life, we were even expecting our first baby. It was unprecedented but one night for no reason, like a wild animal Kelly went berserk. My attempt to constraint her was for naught, I didn't know it then but what could a normal human do to fight a demon possessed? With her unnatural strength she ripped my throat with her bare hands. As I passed out gurgling my own blood, I saw her eyes...those muddy black eyes stared at me, laughing at me, before ripping her own throat...\n\nNext thing I knew I was sitting in front of a man named Matt Weissbaum, the leader of the Un-Damned. A group of mercenaries made of the spirits of people who died in a violent way. They work for heaven and hell. Contracted by either angels or demons to bring down the supernatural who went rogue. Killed by getting my throat ripped by a demon possessed certainly counts as violent. I was given a chance for another life, but I saw a completely different opportunity...revenge.\n\nI agreed to be a recruit. Obediently I did what I was told. I've hunted rogue cherubs, rogue demons, escaped damned souls...but I always kept my ears open, to find any information on the demon who killed me and my wife. I found it eventually, from some obscure words through the grapevine....it was Houdlum, a low level demon who did it. It wasn't part of a larger plan that it went to earth, possessed my wife, and killed me....it did it just for fun. It infuriated me...these thoughts kept swirling in my mind, fueling my anger, gasoline to the burning fire that was my hatred.\n\n\"Found you, you shit head...\", I gruffed, hellfire pistol trained between the muddy black eyes of the cowering demon.\n\n\"Please, no! Spare me! I haven't done anything wrong to Lord Lucifer! I'm not a rogue demon, please!\", it begged. Its fearful expression delighted me, another fuel to my fire.\n\n\"No...no you haven't done anything wrong to the rule of hell, you're right\", my statement brought it a slight relief.\n\n\"But you have done something to me....Kelly Dowdson, remember her? You dare to put your dirty claws on her pure soul? You dare take her away from me? This is for her life and for my life....for our life!\", I spat those words with so much hatred Houdlum's eyes widened. He realized who I was, I could tell. I've had enough of those disgusting black muddy eyes. A hellfire bullet shot with such a high speed from the gun's barrel straight to between the demon's eyes, blowing its head off. In an instant its body disintegrated into charcoal... \n\nI huffed as sense came back to me, my anger calmed down. I did it...I avenged my wife and myself. I did it...\n\n\"Dowdson! What did you do?\", a voice yelled from behind. It was Weissbaum, my superior and mentor. The look of his face was that of horror.\n\n\"I told you about the demon who killed me and Kelly, Weiss. That was it. I killed it...simple as that\"\n\n\"No, no, no, no....Dowdson, listen to me. You don't kill those who aren't contracted to be killed. A violation of the rule of heaven and hell have dire consequences. Also you didn't just kill one demon, you massacred this entire bar!\"\n\nHe and I looked around, his face still worried while in contrast mine was serene. \n\n\"Yea, so? They're demons anyway. Who cares?\"\n\n\"Hell cares, Dowdson. You kill their own without any good reason...now Hell will be after you\"\n\nAs he said that a new notification popped into our Un-Damned network, in the form of bloody texts on a special parchment paper.\n\n*Wanted:*\n\n*Name: Clark Dowdson*\n\n*Division: Un-Damned mercenary*\n\n*Reason: Violation of No Non-contract Kill rule*\n\n*Reward: 1 million souls*\n\nMy eyes widened. One million souls, f\\*ck me! The highest I've ever hunted worth only a hundred thousand souls. I looked back at Weissman, understanding the gravity of the situation anxiety enveloped my heart.\n\n\"I'm so sorry, Dowdson...I'm so sorry\"\n\n\"Are you going to turn me in now?\"\n\nWeissman was still, contemplating his action. He pulled out his own hellfire pistol, but instead of pointing it at me, he handed it.\n\n\"Run, Dowdson. Run now. You're gonna need that. Stay low and stay vigilant. There's no place in hell you would be safe. This is as much help I can give you. The Un-Damned is staying clear of this matter. You're on your own....good luck, my friend\"\n\nI looked to his eyes and the gun in his hand back and forth. I didn't have much time so I grabbed the gun and swiftly heading out.\n\n\"Thank you, Weiss. Thanks for everything\", I said before running out to the dark red scenery of brimstone outside. Behind me flapping of giant wings quickly approached. A legion of high leveled demons was tailing me. This was serious...\n\nWielding two pistols I accurately shot at the demons, taking down a few of them before managing to find a place to hide. As I sat there, gasping for air I contemplated....only less than a year ago I was teaching algebra to some hormonal teenagers, now I was shooting at demons while the entire Hell was after me. I couldn't help but laugh.",
"Miss Jane didn’t really fit the group’s image, the undead warriors giving the grandmother of three strange looks, wondering how she ended up between heaven and hell.\n\n \n\n“You had a violent death?” Skullcrusher asked, the skeletal headed spirit dragging his fingers through his undead neon green mohawk.\n\n \n\n“Very violent. A car hit me, bounced me off its hood, causing me to collide with a streetlight, only for the streetlight to break, collapsing on top of me, electrocuting me.” Jane stated, reliving her death with ease.\n\n \n\n“That’s pretty metal.” Skullcrusher admitted, the group of spirit mercenaries nodding in agreement. Few had a story like hers. No wonder she was here.\n\n \n\n“But you don’t seem like the mercenary type. Would you want to kill an angel or demon?” Finger licker asked, sporting a white beard, with a thick squared pair of glasses sitting atop the bridge of his nose.\n\n \n\n“Heavens, no! I wouldn’t want to do such a thing. Maybe I can just help out? Knit you all a new uniform. Have you got a knitting kit anywhere?”\n\n \n\nThe group looked at one another before Skullcrusher flicked his fingers, a knitting set falling into her hands, the tools she needed placed delicately in an old tin of biscuits.\n\n“Uniforms? Why would we need a uniform? Let’s just send the old lady to heaven and be done with this.” Deadkick huffed, her foot tapping the floor below, leaving cracks in the stone.\n\n \n\n“Come on, give her a chance. She seems nice.” Finger licker tried to calm Deadkick down, only to raise his arms in defeat when she glared at him.\n\n \n\nJane ignored the brief back and forth, fixated on making these uniforms. She worked like a surgeon, fingers delicately moving through the fabric, until she had prepared three cotton jackets, each one made with love. Jane handed a jacket to each member of the group, awaiting their reactions.\n\n \n\n“Hey, this is kind of nice. It’s soft and look! Mine has a tiny mohawk on it” Skullcrusher held his jacket up to the group, proudly displaying it, before putting it on.\n\n \n\n“Heh, mine has a little shoe.” Deadkick uttered, growing a little fonder of the design the more she looked at it.\n\n“I can’t believe it fits so perfectly.” Finger licker adjusted the jacket, amazed by how well it fit.\n\n \n\n“I’m glad you all like it. So, can I stay on the team? I’ll be your fearsome grandmother, the lady who makes sure you all leave for missions with full bellies.” Jane chuckled, her laugh earning a few small smiles from the group. \n“Well, I for one say we let her stay, what about the rest of you?” Finger licker asked, turning to his two comrades, each busy feeling over their jackets.\n\n \n\n“Could use the extra help.” Deadkick admitted.\n\n \n\n“Welcome to the family. Every group needs a doting grandmother.” Skullcrusher added, pulling Jane into a hug, only for the other two to join in.\n\n \n \n \n\n(If you enjoyed this feel free to check out my subreddit /r/Sadnesslaughs where I'll be posting more of my writing.)"
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[WP] It’s a freshman’s first day of Highschool. Once class starts the teacher angers one of the students and then is instantly vaporized. The students in that class then learn that their fellow classmate happens to be a god who needed an education.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"\"Let's get this over with.\" I muttered to myself walking to my class. \n\nIt was the first day of school of my freshman year and I couldn't care less about it. As I sat down in one of the seats, I looked around to see anyone I recognized. To my dismay, I didn't recognize anyone but this one kid caught my attention. He looked like he didn't want to be here either. Because he was sitting right beside me, I decided to strike up a conversation.\n\n\"Ayo, not excited for school huh?\" \n\nHe looked at me, intrigued before turning to respond. \n\n\"Not really. My parents forced me to enroll here.\" \n\n\"Same man. Mine says I need an education if I gonna make it in life.\" \n\n\"My parents says I need an education before I'm ready to fullfil my duties?\" \n\n\"Duties? Your parents run a business or something?\"\n\n\"What, no? I meant before I can use my powers, I have to graduate from here first.\" \n\n\"Umm, okay.\" \n\nI ended the conversation just because this dude was starting to weird me out. He's chill but weird. As the bell rang, the teacher made us introduce ourselves. This annoyed me, but the dude I'd talked to looked more embarrassed from the announcement.\n\n\"Um, teacher? Can I not do this please?\" \n\n\"Sorry, but it's important everybody knows everybody.\"\n\n\"Look it's just embarrassing. Please I don't want to do this.\" \n\n\"Well either you're doing this or you can end up with a F on your first day.\" \n\n\"I don't have to deal with this.\" \n\n#ZAPPP\n\nIn an instant he vaporized and was gone in a split second. This shocked all my classmates who just witnessed what just happened. But the teacher was unfazed, and simply rubbed her glasses. \n\n\"Well students, as you can see we have a special student. He is a god who transferred here but doesn't like being the center of attention.\" \n\nWell it looks like freshman year won't be so bad after all."
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[WP] In the span of an afternoon the kingdoms most talented and famous sorcerer has become the most wanted criminal due to a series of disastrous and unfortunate events. Now the sorcerer rapidly flees the kingdom in order to save their life.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 crowd bustled around the border gate. This time of the year, it was always busy. Some delay at the head of one of the lines had held things up even more than normal. The side of the road had become littered with people who had decided to rest rather than continue to wait in line. Those that remained were mostly farmers who stayed with with carts, protecting their belongings and making sure no one could run off with their oxen or horses. Children darted in and out of the lines, oblivious to whatever business had brought their parents their, playing some game made up on the spot.\n\n\"Next!\" one of the guards at the gate shouted.\n\nSome of the people who had moved out of line to sit on the grass got up and moved back into the crowd. Others decided to wait and make sure that the flow of traffic had continued for sure this time.\n\nA messenger on horseback quickly rode off when the border guard waved him on. \"Next!\" he cried. A shriveled old man came forward and took the messenger's place.\n\nThe old man wore a tattered looking brown robe that smelled of dust, as if it had spent many years unused in a trunk. His back was arched with age, which directed his gaze to the ground just ahead of him. The robe's hood covered his head so that the only bit of flesh that could be seen was on the hand that clutched his walking stick.\n\n\"Name,\" rumbled the guard.\n\n\"Wizencroft, good sir,\" the old man replied, somewhat louder than needed. \"Muh name's Wizencroft.\"\n\nThe guard grunted in acknowledgement. \"Profession?\"\n\n\"Wuzzat?\" the old man said even louder. \"'Fraid my 'earings goin' out. Not a young'n 'nymore.\"\n\n\"Profession,\" the guard repeated, loudly this time. He didn't try to hide his annoyance.\n\n\"Retired!\" the old man said quickly.\n\n\"Mhmm.\"\n\nThe guard's attention turned away as their was a shout and a brief scuffle at the head of another line not to far away.\n\nThe guard continued: \"Reason for leaving the kingdom?\"\n\n\"Nun ov your concerns, innit!\" the old man snapped, punctuating his words with a wave of his walking stick. \"Back in muh day, nun of you lil pissants a woulda dared stick your noses in MY business like that.\"\n\nThe commotion the old man made attracted the attention of the guard's captain, who quickly rode over on horseback.\n\n\"What seems to be the trouble here?\" the guard's superior asked, eyeing the old man suspiciously.\n\nThe robed figure turned to the guard on horseback. He didn't look up from his hood or make any attempt to direct his gaze from the ground.\n\n\"If'n I want to go and leave this kingdom, it's muh right,\" the old man shouted again. He waved his walking stick around wildly now. \"And I don have to answer nun ov your silly questions to do it!\"\n\nThe sound of jingling chainmail shirts rang out as a few more guards ran over to the side of their comrade. Their hands rested on the handles of their metal clubs.\n\nThe captain held up his hand towards his men, urging them to wait.\n\n\"Special circumstances today, friend,\" the captain said. \"We're searching for a wanted man, king's orders.\"\n\n\"Hmm,\" the old man grumbled. \"Is that so? And just who exactly are you after? It muss some dangerous mastermind for you to spoil muh travels like this. \"\n\n\"T'is,\" agreed the captain. \"We're after a powerful sorcerer. The king's own court magician, in fact. They say that he killed the king's own son in an unprovoked attack and then fled. He must not be permitted to escape justice. So you can see why we are taking extra precautions at the border?\"\n\n\"I see, I see,\" the old man said. \"But I don think it's any ov your business where I go.\"\n\n\"I understand, friend. How about we compromise? I happen to know the court magician by sight. If you take off your hood and let me see your face, I'll allow you to pass without detailing your affairs. How does that sound?\"\n\nThe old man was silent.\n\n\"He's deaf as a stump, sir,\" the first guard said to his superior.\n\nThe guard captain repeated his offer.\n\nFor a moment, it seemed like the old man still had not heard. \"It sounds,\" he started suddenly, \"like you jack booted THUGS think you can treat anyone however you like!\"\n\nA crowd formed around the guards and the old man. People from the line elbowed each other in the ribs trying to get to the front to see what was happening. A few children crawled onto the shoulders of their parents, whatever the spectacle was, it might be more interesting than their play.\n\n\"You're making me suspicious, old man,\" the guard captain said, waving at one of his men to remove the hood by force.\n\n*Clang!* The old man's walking stick connected with the guard's helmet and sent him tumbling to the ground from the unexpected attack.\n\n\"You thugs keep your hands offa me!\" he shouted, pointing his walking stick threateningly.\n\n\"It's him,\" the guard captain bellowed. \"Get him! Before he escapes.\"\n\nThe crowd roared, some outraged, some cheering as the guards set upon the old man. A few of them had at him with their metal clubs, most quickly resorted to kicking as the shrived figure went to the ground.\n\n\\--\n\nThe messenger climbed down off of his horse at the top of the hill that overlooked the border gate from about a mile away. He turned and looked down in the direction he had just come from.\n\n\"Something going on down there,\" he said back towards his mount.\n\nThere was a wooshing sound from where the horse had been standing. Then an bearded man walked over to the messenger.\n\n\"As long as it they aren't riding out after us,\" he said, stretching his neck and arms.\n\n\"No,\" said the messenger. \"They didn't suspect a thing, just as you thought.\"\n\n\"Not the brightest at the gates, same as always,\" the wizard said with a chuckle.\n\n\"You ready to travel?\"\n\n\"Just a few moments to stretch. Transformation can be hard when you're as old as I am. And horses are big, so there's a lot of joints that get stiff.\"\n\n\"Course, 'course take your time. I'm just glad I don't have to walk all that way this time.\" The messenger said. \"Say, what were they after you for anyway?\"\n\n\"Oh, just had a little accident trying to perform a trick for the king's brat. He wanted me to summon a dragon for him to play with.\"\n\nThe messenger looked at him questioningly.\n\n\"How was I supposed to know that a prince would be so flammable?\""
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[WP] A horrific Lovecraftian being rises from the depths of the ocean and strides across the land. It's not here to destroy us, though. It just wants us to be quiet for FIVE BLOODY MILLENNIA.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 time was nigh, ultimately the prophecy was fulfilled. The nightmarish corpse city, the sunken city, the intangible non-Euclidian structure, the ancient Cyclopean masonry dribbling with ooze and gut-wrenching disgusting substance, the great city of R'lyeh had risen from the depth. \n\nFor some time it laid still unperturbed on the ocean bed, as no sound mind would dare disturb the almost mythical existence. For once thought to be a mere story came from an over imaginative mind of a mad man, had now shattered the collective reality of those who laid their eyes on it that day. As governments of the world scrambled away figuring out the bureaucracy of jurisdiction, billions pairs of eyes stared at their TV screens marveling in wondrous horror of the anomaly.\n\nAt the end of the 2nd day after its resurgence, a loud horn-like sound emanated from within the structure, vibrating the air to thousands of miles away. The vault within, oozing still fresh green slime slide open in a cringe-worthy teeth grinding screech. The world held their breath, unable to blink, unable to look away despite their mind screaming to. \n\nThere the slumbering beast walked out for the first time since eons. Its slimy scaly hands grasp the ancient walls tight, steadying its still dazed mind. Slowly it stepped towards the sun. When the being first gazed upon the burning star it was still young. There stood Cthulhu, the Great Old One. Its giant humanoid figure, an abomination that was the amalgamation of human, octopus, and dragon; was so incomprehensible to the viewers some were driven mad with paranoia at a mere glance of the being.\n\nThere it stood still, in the middle of the Pacific ocean miles away from everything that was civilized. All eyes who were watching the event waited in anxiety and curiosity. What would the being do now? It seemed to raised its tentacle-filled head, collectively in the minds of 7.8 billion people in the world its voice rang telepathically...\n\n\"SHUT! THE! F\\*CK! UP!\"\n\nThe otherworldly voice left an unexpected impression, and they were all confused. Of all things they suspected, a harsh shutting up wouldn't be the first, second, third, or even one-hundredth thing the old one would do. But the voice continued...\n\n\"Can't y'all humans just be quiet please?! I was having a good ol' sleep, and I was just trying get some more sleep for at least few more thousand years, and you people are just being sooooo loud! I need my beauty sleep, people! You understand me? I. NEED. MY. BEAUTY. SLEEP\"\n\nIn those last five words, the world could feel the vigorous clap in every word said.\n\n\"So if y'all don't mind, lower the volume on your meat holes and SHUT THE F\\*CK UP!\"\n\nCthulhu stomped its feet clearly not amused, before huffing and heading back inside its vault back to its long sleep. In its house of R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming. Waiting not for the destruction of its host planet, but simply for a date with a cosmic goddess billions of light years away. The Great Old Ones and its cohort's perception of time was...a little bit to stretched for the likes of us, humans.\n\nAs those who watched that day gawked and slack jawed trying to process the berating the old god had just laid upon them, the city of R'lyeh once again sank to the depth. Slowly it went to the befuddlement of the viewers. As the city was out of sight, they remained silent staring, their shock still lasted.\n\nWhat the hell just happened?"
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[WP] The superhero finds the two villains who killed his parents. But then, they reveal they were his parents all along!
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 superhero finds the two villains who killed his parents. But then, they reveal they were his parents all along!\n\n​\n\nFinally. FINALLY! I can take revenge. I can destroy the lives of those who destroyed the lives I cared most about. Words cannot describe the mixture of rage and elation I felt. \n\n​\n\nI found them. The villains who killed everyone dear to me. Born to a poor family, I had no friends. I only had my parents.\n\n​\n\nEven though we were in debt and suffering, we were happy. We all had a few unique powers, but we never used them to make money. We tried, mind you, but it never worked. Then one day, they were taken from me. Two figures stood in the darkness and held my parents' bodies, limp and lifeless. I'll never forget the shadows and I'll always regret that I couldn't get a look at their faces before they flew off. \n\n​\n\nI didn't even have the bodies to bury. \n\n​\n\nThat doesn't matter now though, no. All that matters is that after a lifetime of serving the community, I secured and used the tools and resources necessary to find the villains I always wanted to bring down. You can imagine how hard it was to find two people with their shadows alone, but I FINALLY did it!\n\n​\n\nI made my peace with life. I couldn't involve anybody and if they were strong enough to bring my parents down, they were strong enough to bring me down. I got my affairs in order and got ready for what would be the final fight of my life.\n\n​\n\nI crashed into their lair. They thought they were smart and they could hide away forever. Not from me though!\n\n​\n\nThey had masks on, covering their faces. Was it their look or was it to prevent Corona? No! Not important!\n\n​\n\nI started fighting them. I had to be careful. Two versus one. Keep watching your back. Don't let them overpower you.\n\n​\n\nSomething was wrong though. They weren't attacking me. Only defending and parrying my attacks.\n\n​\n\n\"What's wrong son? Can't reach our faces, huh?\" the man mocked me\n\n​\n\n\"Honey, stop teasing my poor baby\", the woman continued\n\n​\n\nMy blood raged. How DARE they mock me using my parents' deaths that THEY caused? I wanted to kill them. Never have I killed anyone in my life. I didn't want to do to others what was done to me, but these guys? They're dead.\n\n​\n\nMy rage worked against me though. I took a wide swing at them and missed. I was immediately restrained and my fists were kept away from each other to stop them from clasping to create my explosion magic. \n\n​\n\nWeird. How did they know that about me?\n\n​\n\nThe woman held my head and put a metal mask over my mouth\n\n​\n\n\"We wouldn't want you to freeze us without a chance to see who we are now, would we?\"\n\n​\n\nDamnit!\n\n​\n\nThey knew everything about me. How?\n\n​\n\nThe woman giggled\n\n​\n\n\"Honey, I think we've teased our little Krabby enough\"\n\n​\n\nOnly my parents knew that my nickname was Krabby. I never revealed that to anyone! What is happening?\n\n​\n\nI stopped struggling and gave in. I was done. I couldn't even get one punch in and they knew about me. They prepared for me\n\n​\n\n\"How do you even know what I was going to do?\" I choked out through my mask\n\n​\n\n\"Why wouldn't we know about our own flesh and blood?\" They asked and removed their masks\n\n​\n\nIt was my parents! \n\n​\n\nMOM? DAD? What is going on?!\"\n\n​\n\nTears started streaming down my eyes.\n\n​\n\n\"Son\", my dad said, \"We'd love to explain everything, but we need your help. There is a reason we faked our death and ran away and that reason still follows us to this day\"\n\n​\n\nMy mind was racing with thoughts, but I started thinking of every villain I could. Who would make my own parents quake with fear? I needed my questions answered, but my parents were alive and in danger! I had to fight for them. I need this explained.\n\n​\n\n\"Who is it? We'll end their evil together!\" I screamed\n\n​\n\n\"Dear, we can't end this evil\", my mother said\n\n​\n\n\"Just tell me who it is and I'll capture them and you can start to explain yourself!\" I yelled\n\n​\n\n\"Well son\", my father said \"You already know who it is\"\n\n​\n\n\"Who?\"\n\n​\n\n\"The IRS\"\n\n​\n\n​\n\n​\n\n​\n\n​\n\nHey guys! I got back into writing after 2 years of limbo and I really appreciate you reading this and would love some feedback! Thank you!",
"\\[Part 1/2\\]\n\n“That all you got?!” Rasped Mask Man as he had just bested Electro. Electro groaned as he rolled over to his back. Masked Man raised his pole to finish the job.\n\n“Wait, son,” Said… Electro? It wasn’t the same electronic voice over, but a normal, human voice, one that Masked Man thought he recognised well. “Charles, it’s me. Your father,” he said as he slowly removed his helmet.\n\n“No,” denied Charles unraveling his mask. “No. No. NO!” He exclaimed. “I-I saw you, I saw you in the news! Over Social Media! I wept over your empty casket because they couldn’t find your body!”\n\n“I know, Charles, let me explain.”\n\n“You died,” continued Charles, ignoring him in flusteration, “in a train wreck. Electro caused that train to wreck!” Charles’ eyes widened as the revelation became hot; “You caused that train to wreck didn’t you! You killed all those innocent people!”\n\n“I beg your pardon, Charles! Just listen to me. Yes, Yes I did cause that train to wreck. But I can assure you that not one life was lost in that accident… well--” he wrinkled his nose over his word choice “--intentional accident.”\n\nCharles was at a loss for words, none of this made sense. His mother died from cancer two years ago, and his father supposedly died six months ago in a train wreck. Why on earth would his father want to frame his death? Why didn’t he reveal himself until now? Why was he living a life of crime? How could he guarantee that all of those victims on the train were saved and why had he saved them only to harm others in the months since? There was so many questions rummaging through his mind, and the more he tried to answer them the more perplexed he became. His heart became overwhelmed in confusion and a sort of despair. Ultimately, he felt wounded; betrayed and used for a vain purpose, one that he had no clue about nor could make sense of. This was his own father, flesh and blood, the last family he had next to him to guide and grow him, and he just abandoned him for an unknown reason or explanation.\n\n“Look, Charles, none of them were harmed. Nobody ever wa--”\n\n“How do you know! Tell me how you are so certain!” Charles said in a convicting way.\n\n“All of them exited the train at the last stop before the crash. They were in on it, we all were in on creating Electro. No one then and nobody since then until now has been harmed by Electro. I can assure you.”\n\n“A whole team?” Charles’ eyes widened. Nothing was adding up. “Why would you need a whole team to create this? Why did you even need to create this?”\n\n“Oh, son,” Charle’s father’s eyes drifted soberly. “There is so much you don’t understand.--” that was the understatement thought Charles “--So much that is happening that is much bigger than you are aware of.”\n\n“I have so many questions.”\n\n“I know you do. And I will answer them over some dinner or maybe a cup of coffee,” he began to move towards Charles but Charles raised his pole with a fierce grip.\n\n“You stay right there!”\n\n“Okay… I’ll answer these questions right here, right now.”\n\n“You are going to answer all of them!”\n\n“I won’t give anything less.”\n\n“Well… um,” Charles fumbled. He was a little taken aback at his father’s sudden cooperation, despite beating each other's guts out a minute ago. Finally the one question that bugged him the most came to his mind and materialized into words. “Why did you leave me?”\n\n“Because I love you, son.”\n\nCharles scoffed and it took everything in him not to lash out at his father. He wanted to scream and shout at just how wrong that statement was especially in a moment like this, but he composed himself. Blaming nonsensically wasn’t going to provide answers, he needed to get to the root of the problem.\n\n“Explain,” pressured Charles, “and give me something a little more solid than ‘I love you’ or ‘you look handsome today’.”\n\nCharle’s father smiled a painful smile. Tears welled and he looked like he would break down in any moment. “After your mother died, you… changed. Of course we were all affected by her passing, and we all dealt with it in our own way. But it just broke my heart to see my big warrior, my strong tiger, dwindle to a zombie.” Charles lowered his eyes at the painful remembrance of the nicknames, names that made him feel so strong, ready to protect the broken and fallen; words that made him want to stand for what was right and good against evil; words that made him believe that when the tests came, he would do what was right and overcome if even through pure endurance the wrong that would come. Charles' eyes watered as he remembered that once his own father believed, fully believed in him. Charles’ father continued; “I just couldn’t stand idly as my son with great dreams and ambition died into a sort of living death. I needed to do something to bring back my son.”\n\n“So you abandon me to become a supposed supervillain?”\n\n“I knew of your plans to become some kind of vigilante long before you did. I predicted that if you had some incentive to actually go through, you would. And I was right.”\n\n“But you left me, Dad! I was alone with no one to talk to or to comfort me. What was it you said? That… ‘we all dealt with her death in our own way’?”\n\n“Yes.”",
"The final henchman dropped to the ground. Vengeance flexed her fingers, and the crackling red energy surrounding her fist disappeared. The final door stood in front of her, and behind it her parents’ murderers. Who knew what untold horrors lay on the other side, but Vengeance was ready. Steeling herself, she pushed through the door. \n\nThe chamber was massive, metal struts extending up to the ceiling, and evil machinery mounted to concrete walls. At the far end of the room steps led up to a control center. The heart of the operation. Standing on the platform, two figures sat in power armor. The first one turned slowly, and Vengeance summoned back the rage force.\n\n“Susie!” Squealed the first figure. The figure quickly descended the stairs and ran towards Vengeance, arms open. She readied a deadly blast. \n\n“Jeanine, the helmet!” The second figure on the platform yelled. The first figure stopped short, then inexplicably began to laugh. Vengeance took a step back, confused. Bent over double, the figure removed their helmet. Messy brown hair spilled out around a familiar face. “I’m sorry Susie, I completely forgot you couldn’t see me through this old thing,” she giggled.\n\n“Mom?!” \n\nThe other figure walked over to join them. “I’m so proud of you Suze Clues,” a digitally distorted voice said. The figure took off their helmet to reveal a balding, plump-cheeked man in his fifties.\n\nVengeance raised both her hands, ready to strike a fatal blow. \n\n“Who the fuck are you, and why do you look like my sparents?”\n\nThe woman looked back in shock. “Language, Susie! Who taught you to speak like that?”\n\nVengeance’s hand glowed brighter. “I learned in a FUCKING ORPHANAGE you creeps. Now one last time before I reduce you to a both to a pile of ash, what did you do with my parents?”\n\nThe man and woman looked at other with a bittersweet pride. “We always wanted you to be special.” The woman said. “You were always just so... so..”\n\n“Unmotivated.” The man finished. He smiled at Vengeance. “But look at you now. So forceful. So directed. You’re an icon to little girls everywhere Suze.”\n\nVengeance couldn’t believe it. Her blood thundered in her ears and her vision clouded. She kept her breath in check, but only barely as she spat out each word. “I. WAS. ELEVEN.”\n\nThe woman stepped forward until she was mere inches from the crackling energy pointed at her. She held out her arms expansively. The man did the same. “Well, it’s all done now.” He said. “Come on, Suze. We’ll go get dinner at Marico’s like we always used to.”\n\nVengeance stopped. “You never call it Marico’s. You always call it Maracas because you’re a dork.” Then she ducked. The blade stabbed the air directly where her heart would have been. Her parents were gone.\n\nVengeance looked around at the empty room. “Ok motherfucker. Just for that, I’m gonna make this hurt.”",
"Fumiko awakens with a jolt, in the midst of nothing but darkness. Any thought she tried to form was hazy, as if her neurons weren’t firing appropriately. Any attempts to move were blocked by her hands being secured behind the back of her chair. The unmistakeable drip of water was heard somewhere nearby.\n\n“Fumiko? My love, are you alright?”\n\nShe recognized the voice of her husband instantly, but there was something beneath it; strain, a catch in his voice. A sound of chains lightly rattling confirmed that he, too, was prisoner here.\n\n“You... you’re restrained too? What happened? I can hardly think straight.”\n\nAt that moment, a door opened with a dramatic creak, the soft light behind it somewhat illuminating the stone around them as well as the silhouette that now slowly approached them.\n\nThe couple remained silent, but resolute. Fumiko heard the more frantic rustle of chains from nearby as her husband struggled against them. The shadow slowly approached and snapped its fingers. A lightbulb illuminated above them at the same time, revealing the stranger’s features. It wore a black cloak, the shadows of which continued to cover its eyes while a mask obscured the lower half of its face. Fumiko recognized it from the stories her grandmother told her before, stories she passed on to her own children: of Raijin, the thunder god of Japanese myth.\n\n“Raijin,” her husband spat menacingly, “to what do we owe the pleasure?”\n\nThe figure merely stood motionless, staring at them.\n\n“Oh, now he’s quiet. What, no more talk of revenge? Your manifesto for the world? Take off that mask. You spit on my culture.”\n\nFumiko feared her husband’s bravado would be his undoing, more so when the figure reached to pull something from its cloak. “Please, let us go, we’ll lie low, we’ll leave the city. Please.” \n\nThe figure paused and its head cocked ever so slightly. The sound of a sword being sheathed was all that came in reply.\n\nThe hooded figure now simply continued to stare ahead toward them, as if waiting for a signal.\n\n“Raijin. Please. Tell us what you want and let us go.”\n\n“What I want,” came a mechanical reply. “Is to return the gift you gave me.”\n\n“I don’t.. I don’t understand.”\n\n“Don’t answer him, my love. He isn’t worth our breath.”\n\nThe mask trained onto her husband now, staring daggers into his soul. \n\n“I never was.” The figure threw off its cloak to reveal flowing black hair and eyes full of spite. With a click, it removed its mask.\n\n“Sakura?! You... you dishonor me.” He couldn’t bear to look his daughter in the eye and turned away. Any fight he had left was quickly extinguished, replaced by bitter sadness and disappointment.\n\nRage continued to build within the figure known as Raijin and she once more unsheathed a short blade: a wakizashi. \n\n“What do you know of dishonor, old man? You abandoned a little girl, left her at the doorstep of a burning building, left her to think her parents were killed. And for what, for fame? For glory? To fill the void in your life with praise from strangers in exchange for your daughter’s hatred?”\n\n“We did it for you!” Fumiko now shrieked, tears welling in her eyes. “Your life was in danger! They placed a bounty on your head to get to us! You were safer on your own! Please, listen to me! Listen to your father! The world needed us, Sakura. Cities nearly fell to criminals and—“\n\n“*I* needed you! You abandoned me, and you say you did it for *me*?! I would rather have had a family than to have grown up an orphan, thinking my parents were lost forever.” She pauses, collects her composure. “Yet all this time, they were halfway around the world playing superhero.”\n\nSakura’s eyes now moved across them as if not seeing them. “I was abandoned. I wandered the streets alone. I was *raped*. While children sought safety in their parents, I had no one. Those ‘criminals’? ‘Criminals’ took me in. Cared for me, raised me. The same types of people you made your fame maiming and killing. Human beings, lost when so-called heroes tore their world apart as you did mine.”\n\n“You’ll never understand. Better a daughter hurt than a daughter lost,” came the quiet reply as her father looked up to meet her eyes. Sakura held his gaze, her fury palpable. Her eyes, wrapped in quiet tears, betrayed the storm dwelling within. He continued, “But your sins are unforgivable. You are no longer any daughter of mine.”\n\nHer face hid nothing of her pain and her breathing quickened. With a cry, her blade found its way into the man’s heart as he let out a strained shout, his eyes reflecting his surprise. Fumiko screamed in confused fury and with a flash of light managed to break her chains but Sakura - Raijin - was taking no chances with her mother newly-freed. She snapped her fingers in response, disrupting the electrical impulses of her muscles and Fumiko collapsed onto the floor, twitching uncontrollably. \n\nHer face still wet with fresh tears, Raijin replaced her mask and, stepping over her mother, recovered her sword. Wiping the blood off onto the man’s clothing, she sheathed it and picked up her cloak in one hand. She snapped her fingers again and Fumiko ceased convulsing but continued to twitch intermittently, uncontrollably, far too weak to stand. Another snap and the light turned off once more. Raijin picked up her cloak with one hand and wordlessly left the stone dungeon with a slam of the door. All was again silent, save for the dripping of the distant, echoing water nearly synchronized to the new dripping coming from the chair above Fumiko."
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[WP] All the oceans in the world turned black. In the first few years only ships were getting attacked, but one day a dense, pitch black fog started to rise and they started to attack on land. Sunlight kills them and they can't survive outside the fog for long, yet ever so slowly, the fog is rising.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 hear them, 20 feet below me, the sounds of splashing and claws grating against metal. Eventually they will find a way up, they always do. Eventually the fog will rise, it always does. Eventually they will tear me limb from limb, they always do.\n\nMaybe it won't be so bad, maybe they will hit an artery with their fist strike and it will be over in a moment. Or maybe I will die like Jenny did, kicking and screaming as they tear off my arms. Thinking about the fate of my late friend sends a shiver up my spine, and I grasp the rifle even tighter. At least Jenny got to die early, got to die never knowing what it was like to be truly alone.\n\nThe screeching of metal draws my attention back to the present, something is straining the narrow metal stem that holds my safe haven above the hell below. \"Surely they can't break it\", I whisper to my only companion, the Savage rifle sitting in my hands. Another screach does nothing to reassure me, and carefully I head towards the edge of the 30 foot wide platform.\n\nMy footfalls echo as they strike the metal floor, this had once been part of an oil rig long, long ago. I stop 5 feet from the edge and listen, below me I can hear them, the splashing as they fight to be at the top of the tile, the scraping of their of their claws against the metal supporting me, and the knashing do their teeth as they eat what is left of some unfortunate soul. I tilt the gun and let sunlight reflect off the holes in the magazine, \"4 rounds left\". I then move the lever, \"plus a fifth in the tube\". Not nearly enough, there can never be enough.\n\nRifle in hand I creep to the edge and peak over it, the fog has risen even more, now it is only 10 feet away. Staring intently I even make out, or imagine I do, shapes moving within it, creatures jockeying for the positions closest to their prey. Shuddering, I turn my attention to the sun, I have maybe an hour left before nightfall.\n\nSlowly I turn and walk back to the small shack the refuges previous residents had constructed. Inside are two beds with a table sandwiched between them, there is no room for anything else. On the table sits my most valued possession, a radio. Carefully I pick it up, the battery is low, the odds are slim, but it is my only chance.\n\n\"Anybody, anybody out there, I need help, I am at position...\", over and over again I repeat the message, scanning the channels in desperation. It's hopeless but I have to try. \n\n\"Roger, roger\", the radio cackles. My hand on the dial freezes. \"Please repeat, do you need rescue\".\n\n\"Yes, yes, I need rescue, my position is\", I scream into the speaker.\n\n\"We have your coordinate, rescue is in route. Approximately 2 hours via helicopter, please stay put and deploy any signal device you have, do you copy.\"\n\nI freeze, this was beyond my wildest dreams, I was saved, I might just live, I was not alone. The thoughts race through my head like cars in a nascar race. \"Yes I copy, thank you, thank you so much\".\n\n\"You're welcome\", and with that the radio went dead.\n\n\n\nAs I stood out in the fading sunlight, my thoughts ran rampant. One part of me couldn't believe, another had to. \"I'm losing, this is all my imagination\", I whisper to myself, \"the radios dead and I've finally lost it, Mom always said I would.\". No, no I had heard I, they were coming, only two hours and they would be here.\n\nI look down at my watch, how long had it been since the call, 5,10, 20 minutes. I use the most pessimistic figure, meaning they got my call at 5:13. 7:13, that's the golden time, the time when my nightmare finally ends. I wonder how many are out there, it had to be a fair bit if they were able to send a helicopter two hours to get me, unless I am the only one they have come across. The thought chills me, what if it's just a helicopter crew and a radio operator, what if two or three of them and myself is all that's left of the human race, what if this is humanity's last dying gasp.\n\nMore metal screeching snaps me out of my thoughts, I have to stay alive if I want to find out. Carefully I creep again over to the edge, the fog is now only 5 feet away. My mind calculates, the creatures have to stay in the dark meaning either stay well under the top of the fog or only come out at night, and only the strongest can stray from the fog even then. The fog has risen 5 feet in half an hour, by nightfall it will be tickling the edge of the platform, and by the time the rescuers come it could be 10 feet over my head.\n\nI grip my rifle with white knuckles, my only hope is to fight, I have to keep them off me until 7:13. I yet again check my gun, 4 shots plus one in the chamber, maybe if I use them right, just maybe.",
"The thump of the engine echoed off the buildings around them as their ship cut through dark water.\n\n\"Think we'll find anymore?\" Simon asked, certain only Jess would hear. Victor was still up in the helm, close enough to the back that he complained about going deaf. \n\nThe *Maypole* was someone's yacht once. Then someone else turned it into a rescue ship. Armor plating, UV lights, a .50 cal on the deck. All it needed was some spikes and someone sipping martinis in their underwear and they'd make a decent metaphor.\n\nInstead he was peering over the side into flooded streets, clutching a rifle while Jess nervously stroked said .50.\n\n\"Maybe,\" she answered, looking well and ready to hop into the seat and unload into the windows.\n\nHe cast his eyes upward with her. Past broken glass and dripping architecture. He couldn't see past the windows. Too dim inside, too much contrast with the setting sun against them. Made it the perfect place for his mind to throw all sorts of nasty movements. Things twitching in the dark. Squirming. Watching.\n\nA bit of gunk fell back into the street below and the splash almost stopped his heart.\n\n\"Time to turn back then.\" Simon looked to the right, past the gaps in the skyscrapers were the ocean was. An endless expanse of black glass, featureless save for the streaked reflection of the setting sun. \n\nHe thought of white sand on beaches, waves taller than he was, and seagulls screaming. Before beaches, waves, and seagulls became nothing but memories.\n\nOutside of certain, rare instances.\n\n\"Yeah,\" Jess answered, voice a low hiss. She climbed into the seat of their turret, huddled there like a child staring at the door to their closet. Certain something would come out. \"This is some grim shit.\"\n\n\"Always is.\" One week since the wave hit. Three days since they found anyone. One day till their contract was up. \"I'll tell Ron.\"\n\nThere fourth was still hunched over their radio, mumbling evacuation orders into its mic. Simon wondered if she even knew what she was saying anymore. \n\n\"This is the rescue ship *Maypole* calling anyone within city limits. If you can hear this, find a CV radio, match our frequency, and call for rescue. If you cannot find a radio, place a marker in the closest window. We have food, medicine, and a fleet of ships combing these waters.\"\n\nAll true, even if the last one was technical. They hadn't seen another ship in hours. Likely they all pulled out. It was the last day of the contract, no one was responding, who'd call them on it?\n\nVictor would. For the same reason they were still here. Doing a job by half wasn't doing the job at all.\n\nIf Simon had known he'd been this serious about it, he'd have picked a different ship.\n\n\"Couple hours to sunset, Ron.\" He spoke well before he got into her vision. Ron had been droning into that thing since lunch, girl still jumped by the first word. \"Jess and I, we're thinking it's time to clear out.\"\n\nShe stared at him. Eyes red and puffy. Skin sallow like a corpse. Simon didn't want to know what he looked like. Had a plan to shower and and sleep before he went anywhere close to a mirror.\n\n\"Yeah...Yeah, I'll tell Victor...just let me...\" \n\nRon stared at the console like she'd never seen it before. He didn't envy her, pulling the last ship. Being the one to give up. Sitting there. Hour after hour. Reciting the same lines until they became meaningless. Until they wrapped back around and you were begging for someone to respond....\n\n\"*Hello?*\" came the voice from the radio. Whisper-quiet. Hoarse. Almost panicked. *\"Is someone there?\"*\n\nHe locked eyes with Ron, her own wide as the moon as she fumbled for the mic.\n\n\"This is the rescue ship *Maypole,* please respond.\"\n\n\"*You have to-\"* There was a crash, something big hitting the floor. It echoed to silence before the voice came back. \"*We're on 3'rd. Big building on the corner of 3'rd and Main. Defenses won't last the night, no matter-*\" Another noise. Muffled talking. Frantic breathing into the mic. \"*Help us.*\"\n\nThe connection ended. Suddenly, violently, almost like they're ripped the radio out of the wall.\n\nSimon watched Ron. Could track the sweat that formed on her brow. Victor hadn't heard, couldn't hear the main radio in his cabin. She'd have to call him and tell him what had happened.\n\nThey'd try if he knew. Sunset be damned, they'd try it.\n\nRon put the mic to her lips and Simon couldn't force himself to stop her.\n\n\"Victor. We got a response.\" She swallowed, using a tone more fit for announcing a funeral. \"There's survivors ahead. At the corner of 3'rd and Main.\"\n\nSimon held his breath in the dim, selfish, cruel hope Victor would mark them as a lost cause. He hated the thought. Almost as much as he hated the damn ship.\n\nDistantly, there was a scream. Long. Reedy. Too close to human.\n\nDecidedly not.\n\n\"Roger that. Setting course for 3rd.\" Victor's voice rumbled out of the receiver as sure as the engine rumbled behind him as they turned through the water. A knife through black glass.\n\nSimon clutched his rifle until his knuckles went and turned to watch the sunset.\n\n\\---\n\n[https://www.reddit.com/r/FiresofFordregha/](https://www.reddit.com/r/FiresofFordregha/)"
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[WP] It's said that Santa and Krampus are two separate entities. Turns out it's more like Jekyll and Hyde.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Kevin tried his best to fend off the lumbering beast that was headed towards him. He tried to throw every object in his room at the creature, but they all seemed to miss somehow. As the beast drew closer, Kevin tried a last ditch effort to punch it, but the beast stepped out of the way, causing Kevin to fall onto the floor. Then everything went black.\n\nWhen Kevin began to awaken, he found himself in a dark, gloomy room shackled with chains. He then noticed that there were a lot of other children around his age in this room, also in chains, and recognized one of them as one of his friends who he hung out with at school, who would help him pick on the other kids. But before he could say anything to him, a light came up in the front of the room. Kevin and the rest of the children stared in horror as the beast that had kidnapped them stood before them.\n\n“Greeting, I am Krampus. I am the one responsible for disciplining bad children, which is the reason you’re here. You have all been very bad children, and now you must pay the price”\n\nKrampus then pulled a lever, causing the wall behind him to rise, revealing what looked like a toy factory behind it. “Your job is to build as many toys as you can. And don’t slack off for even a minute, of there will be consequences” Krampus snapped. “But don’t worry, depending on how hard you work you could get out of here sooner than you think. Now go on, get to it!”\n\nKrampus cracked a whip in the air above the children’s heads, causing them to slowly walk their way into the factory. When Kevin and the rest had finally settled in and started to work, Krampus pushed the lever back, causing the wall to come back down. Breathing a sigh of relief, he began to change back into the red and white attire that Santa was known for. Getting more “elves” to build the toys was exhausting, but it was all in a days work for Krampus, and now it was time for him to resume his duties as Santa. “Time to tend to the reindeer” he said."
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[WP] After hours of scrolling through Reddit, you realize that you haven't actually touched your keyboard or mouse the whole time.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Wheeew.\n\n​\n\nFinally.\n\n​\n\nWork for the day is done\n\n​\n\nI shut down Slack, Microsoft Word, and Google Chrome. Time for some fun. I open Spotify and put on a podcast\n\n​\n\nNext? Reddit. I move my tab against the wall, push my keyboard and mouse away and lean back on my chair\n\n​\n\nFirst post: Kuchisabhishii. When you're not hungry, but your mouth feels lonely. Haha. That reminds me, I haven't prepared anything for dinner. What should I have? Pizza again? My diet says no, but my heart says yes\n\n​\n\nScroll\n\n​\n\nFirst Christmas as a single dad. Oh wow! He did pretty well. Will I ever be a parent? Will I ever get married, let alone have a kid? Will I even have someone to date and have sex with, let alone get married to? Man, I've been single for way too long\n\n​\n\nScroll\n\n​\n\nJust watched a policeman talk a young person down from a cliff edge. Christ, that's sad. Can't say I blame the young person though. How many times have I thought that ending it all would be easier than going on with this dreary existence? The only thing stopping me is my old dog, snoozing under my table. He'd be heartbroken if I suddenly never responded to him ever again.\n\n​\n\nScroll\n\n​\n\nIt's unfair, though. He's going to die soon and he'll be leaving me behind, alone and without anyone to comfort me. Will I ever be able to accept the fact that he's gone? I remember losing my other dog 4 years ago. I can still remember his bark as he'd ask for food. A high WOOF that would echo through the house and right into my heart. I'll never forget that.\n\n​\n\nScroll\n\n​\n\nWhat about the rest of life, though? Working every day, tirelessly just to put food on the table for me and my dog. Sure, it's just typing words, planning meetings, and making notes. It's still so monotonous and tiring, though. I guess I should be happy to have a job in this pandemic. Am I just being overdramatic? Faking signs of depression just because my job is a little boring?\n\n​\n\nScroll\n\n​\n\nIsn't that wrong? Thinking you're faking depression itself is a sign of depression. Am I actually depressed or am I faking it? UGH. I wish I could make head or tails of this nonsense. I wish I could put myself into a never-ending dream. Isn't that just death, though? What if I could put myself and everyone I cared about into a never-ending dream? We'd all be so happy!\n\n​\n\nScroll\n\n​\n\nWell, that's not true. John and Stacy are planning a life together. Kate just got her book published. Ben finally bought that gaming PC he's been saving for, and Joanna in on her way to internet fame with her amazing cooking channel. They are happy and wouldn't like to forgo their lives for an endless dream, right? And me?\n\n​\n\nScroll\n\n​\n\nI'm just... me. I try my best and I do what I can, but ti never seems to be enough! I don't have anyone to plan a life with. I have no great achievements or even goals in life. I am just me and I am just here. I just... exist. What a waste.\n\n​\n\nScroll\n\n​\n\nAh, a post about how you are valid even if all you did was reach December of 2020 and didn't achieve anything. I really needed that. Upvote for you! I guess it's not all bad, though. I finally lost a decent amount of weight. I'm eating healthier (ah, damnit. Ignore that pizza). I'm even meditating and working on my writing! I just need to get off Reddit and watch some really fun and upbeat to get my mood off this perpetual existential crisis. Lemme just reach my mouse and... WAIT\n\n​\n\nScroll\n\n​\n\nI've been daydreaming and looking at Reddit posts while my mouse and keyboard were completely out of my reach? What? How? What's going on? Are there ghosts? Did my device get hacked? Did AI take over? IS IT THE GOVERMENT?\n\n​\n\nScroll\n\n​\n\nOh, wait. I forgot. I installed and tried out that Reddit app I found that auto-scrolls. Haha. My bad. No malicious intent here. Should remember this app. [Infinity For Reddit](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ml.docilealligator.infinityforreddit&hl=en_IN&gl=US)\n\n​\n\nOh, one last thing. I go to r/writingprompts and I write:\n\n​\n\nHey guys! I am getting back into writing after 2 years in limbo and would greatly appreciate feedback and criticism. Thanks a lot for reading! I appreciate it!\n\nAlso, I'm not affiliated with Infinity for Reddit in any way. I am a user of the app and it was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the prompt. If you check out the app, hope you like it!"
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[WP] 200,000 years ago, the world was a dangerous place. Every caveman had the body of the best athlete and the quick-thinking that would put even today's smartest to shame. Turns out, one of them got abducted by aliens... and it's also the reason aliens haven't come back
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[
"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 dark and stormy night as Trog, the caveman, sat huddled near the entry way to his tribe's cave. He watched the lightening strikes off in the distance with some bewilderment, as he had no idea what caused that phenomena. Maybe some deity, or ancestor gone to the great hunting grounds in the sky. He sat there watching some of the tribe's women and girls collect rain water. While others cooked the antelope him and two other men had killed earlier. Trog was a brooding man, but he was the toughest, strongest and tallest of his tribe. His speed was unrivaled as he could almost chase down an antelope barefoot over the savannah, and get within hurling distance and nail the beast in the head with a curved stone. All the women loved Trog. He loved all the women, to the dismay of his brothers Bog and Hog. But Trog, also had his sensitive brooding side and liked to ponder his 18 long full seasons as he looked to the heavens. As Trog was pondering life, his five bed wives, and eight Children, he saw a bright pulsating odd green thunderclap lighting bolt slowly descending towards the mouth of his home. \n\nThe women collecting rain water ran with fright, and the men picked up spears and stones. Trog, just looking mesmerized by the strange fire walked out of the cave completely unarmed, and alone. He heard screams and thought \"What strange fire this is! Which God is visiting us?\" When a white light flooded his vision, and a warmth enveloped him. \n\n\nTrog awoke sometime later on what he could describe as a shiny flat rock. It was cold. He felt trapped. He realized he could not move a muscle. This reminded him of the time he ate the wrong type of berries and had a similar experience after going to sleep. Those berries summoned an evil God to visit him and torment him in his sleep. He would never eat them again. He was frightened, but knew he was in some Gods' cave. He must be. He was the best, smartest, strongest, fastest, and most handsome among his tribe. This is his reward for being a great provider. He gets to meet the Gods, and maybe they will bestow more powers unto him, or take him to the eternal hunting grounds like his father and older brothers. \n\nAs Trog's mind is thinking of his reward for being so awesome, but at the same terrified of this strange place, he notices the whole room is sparkly, and full of tiny shining and shimmering fireflies that just stay put in place. He thinks this is odd, but it's the Gods, they know far more than him. Out of the corner of his eye he sees a short thin gray person with large black stone eyes, and a tint mouth. Trog thinks \"The Gods' demon is a strange looking beast! So weak looking!\" Then the being reaches out with one long bony gray hand and jabs a long nettle in to Trog's arm. Trog flinchs and thinks this is bizzare. But hr sees more gray puny demons starting to circle around him. And he is being levitated in to the air, and turned over...\n\nTrog, who is starting to get his feeling back and is wiggling his stumpy hairy toes, as he is being turned on to his stomach, starts to freak out with horror. What are these demons going to do? Well Trog soon finds out. He sees a reflection in one of the demons' eyes of another demon holding a long spicky shiny rock near his rear. He starts to jerk back and forth. Then Trog feels just a little bit... and SNAP!\n\nTrog breaks free of his paralysis and hops down on to the cold shiny rock floor. One of the demons makes a startled hissing sound. Trog takes the three foot tall creature infront of him by the head, and smashes its head on to the flat metal rock he was laying on. Green blood splatters everywhere. Trog is full blown enraged at these lesser demons violating him. He wants to find their God and make him pay for the indignity and trickery. \n\nTwo other gray demons pick up shiny black metal sticks and spurt red fire at Trog. But they miss Trog. Trog is charging at them in bizerker mode, and body slams them both. He hears some cracks and snaps as their small spindly frames go crashing down. One of them burns his arm with the fire. This makes Trog see blood in his eyes. Like the first time he had to wrestle with the great golden beasts on the plain. Which he carries the scars from that large cat on his chest and back. Trog takes the fire stick with its evil magic and smashes it in to one of those large black eyes. More hissing and gurgling. Trog gets up and looks around and sees an opening in the cave. \n\nTrog walks up a large even cave vent. He sees a chamber with many differing fire flies and some shimmering floating water, and a large cave opening looking out in to the heavens with several gray demons sitting in front of the different fire flies and water. And he sees a larger demon sitting in the middle, with shimering water around his hands. He thinks \"This must be the head demon!\" And starts to menacingly walk towards it. The others notice and weird expression of almost surprise and terror flitters over their stone gray faces. They all hop up and circle the larger demon. Trog hears voices in his head but has no idea what they are saying. Something about helping advance his species. No, these demons wanted to make a fool of him! \n\nThe gray demons aim their fire magic sticks at him, and only seem to graze him as he charges them. He is punching, kicking, body slaming, biting, and beating the demons. All are hissing and gurgling as their bodies snap and crack like twigs, and their heads explode like berries. The largest demon, who is now the only one left alive, gets up and looks in Trog's eyes. Trog is momentarily stunned and his bloodlust goes down as he gets a feeling of calm wash over him. The demon slowly moves to draw a nettle to surprise and sting Trog with. Trog who is still much larger than this largest demon lunges at him, manages to get the nettle, and shoves it all the way down the demon's throat, before snapping his neck. All the gray demons are dead. Trog is proud of himself. His heroics will be talked about around fires for ages, and depicted in hand drawings on the cave walls. Trog surely has made himself the leader of his tribe.\n\nTrog sees the strange cave entrance in to the heavens and knows this is how he escapes. He walks over and tries to step through the entry way. But he just hits his body against a wall. \"What sort of evil magic is this?\" Trog tries again and again with the same results. The demons have trapped him. He then rememebers seeing the gray demond with their hands in shimmering water and others touching the fireflies. He goes to the head demon chieftain's seat, sits down, and puts his hands in the water. The water is vibrating and electrifying. And very thick and warm. He moves his hands around and the cave starts to shake back and forth. He thinks \"Earthquake?\". He takes his hands out of the water and the tremoring stops. He puts his hands back in and it starts again. He continues to do this until the cave has a birdseye view of the mountains and savannah that he calls home. He gets up and tries to walk through the cave entrance again, but just manages to bust his nose. He thinks \"I have to bring the demon door closer to my cave!\" He goes and sits back down and puts his hands in the shimmering water again. \n\n\nThe tribal warriors are outside of their cave looking for Trog, and the women, are peering out of the entry way when they spot a large blinking green fire ball falling rapidly from the sky towads them. They rush inside as a deafening explosion fills their ears, and smoke and flame can be seen a few hundred paces away..."
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[WP] You used to be a vampire. Technically, you are still one, but you gave up on trying long ago and now you just drift as a mist, only vaguely aware. Until today.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Immortality isn’t nearly as fun as people wish it to be. Oh sure for the first several centuries it’s amazing. The parties, the hunting, the feasting... what’s not to like. But after a couple thousand years things start to get boring. You witness kingdoms rise, empires be built, and watch as they fall to the sands of time. You have ended thousands of souls, and have more off spring then you care to count. Your powers are legendary, but you grow weary of this undead existence. Eventually you grew so bored you simply stop focusing on anything, crossing the planet as a simple fog, though one that brings bad luck to all who enter it. This has been the case for 1000 years, you are floating in the city of New York when for the first time in centuries something draws your attention. A teenage girl is crouched over a man on the ground. You feel his life leaving him from his veins and entering her. She is a fellow vampire, but unlike the thousands that roam the earth who descend from your line, you feel no connection to this one. This is shocking, you were the first, and could feel all others from your line. This one you do not, but you feel the feeling of an equal. This one is the start of a second lineage. This could be something of great interest. You gather up the will, and for the first time since the era of Caesar force yourself into a human form. You gently approach the girl. “Young one, he is passed, you must find others to feed on if you still thirst”. You say, standing back, knowing how violent new vampires can be. She doesn’t disappoint, attacking you with a vigor you have rarely seen. You dodge, weaving around her attack, and finally pin her to the wall with a psychic burst “call child”. You say with a snarl “I mean you no harm. How long have you been alone?” She simply growled, her eyes demonic in ways not seen since your earliest days. She is feral, and obviously new. No idea how she came to be but in this modern world you can’t just let her roam, the humans would capture her and experiment on her. “Well young one, you may not like me, but I can’t exactly leave you here. Let me show you fellows like ourselves. I sense great potential in you.” You say as you let her down, and using your mental powers calm her down. She still growls, but follows. You guild her to a door that leads to the vampire enclave of New York. They will be shocked you are back. But you have an interest, and for the first time ever, an equal."
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[WP] Your eccentric uncle has died, leaving you his mansion and a considerable monthly stipend. Catch: you can't sell the house for 5 years and must care for his dog, including taking it on daily walks to a nearby park. You agree, then learn the dog is a taxidermied Saint Bernard who died years ago.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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, I thought, this sucks. I have to carry around a fucking dead dog to get my money. God dammit. \n\n\"Arf!\" \n\nMelissa, my dachshund, was sniffing at the stuffed corpse and wagging her tail in excitement. \n\n\"Melissa, honey, he's not going to play with you.\"\n\nShe cocked her head to the side, confused. \n\nThen I had a sudden realization. My uncle had said 'care for his dog'. \n\n'His' dog. \n\nThere was no legal information specifying the dog. \n\nThe house was still under my uncle's name.\n\nThe pieces were drifting together, until suddenly they clicked.\n\n*If I live here with Melissa, since this is his house... Melissa is his dog!*\n\nNo dragging around a stuffed dog for me! \n\nThis is why my uncle liked me so much. I'm good at finding loopholes in everything.",
"I got used to the looks now , two years ago I was embarrassed as hell taking this doll for walks , but now I don't even care what the other dog owners thinks. That old fart pulled a sneaky on me , having me be contractually obligated to treat a taxidermied dog like a real dog and also pre paying a guy to observe that I follow the rules.Two years later and still three to go , and I don't even care, now I play fetch with a dog doll , it's real fun and it improved my health a lot , though I do get weird looks when I place the dog down throw a branch and then run after it myself only to return and pretend the dog got it. Another fun activity is feeding it , every two weeks I go out and buy dog food , which I pour into a bowl and then empty the bowl into a plastic bag which I then donate to a dog shelter. The real weird part is washing it , I do not actually use water , I take a brush and gently cares the fur with it. One thing that keeps me going is that 12.5 million mansion which I will be able to sell and what motivates me even more is the 30 million dollars my uncle left me , and if I have to groom , feed , walk and play with a taxidermied dog for it while being watch by a guy, I do it. I am surprised at my own determination , at the start I was complaining and whining all day , walking the dog at night and explaining my situation to the guardian of the park , feeling stupid as I poured dog food for the doll , thinking about washing it. Back then I cursed my uncle everyday for pulling this prank on me , I got into arguments with my wife , I screamed at the people giving me looks. One Saturday it all changed , I was in the park sitting next to the dog , and it hit me , I just have to do it , yeah it makes no sense , yeah I get made fun of , but the money will help me get a new nice house for my kid to grow in and my wife to feel comfy , it will give me the freedom to find a job I like without stressing about paying bills , it will help me get a college fund for my kid. The weight of all that matters made my activity with the dog look like a fun. Since I accepted that fact, I had this easy going attitude about this whole thing , now I even share stories at the office about my taxidermied dog , I post pictures on instagram of it , I even talk to journalists who write funny articles about me. Every new day brings a new fun thing to enjoy , like a meme people made on the internet about me , it's about how any situation is at lest better than mine , it helps people have fun and I enjoy getting recognised by some people and take a picture with them. This challenge helped me fix my perspective on life , I learned to accept whatever comes and to love my new dog , even if it's not alive."
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[WP] As you sit back in front of a crackling fireplace with your loving daughter and wife. Enjoying the moment. You remember that you don't have a family...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"\"Yes dear? What is it?\", asked Anna.\n\nI stared and stared, back and forth, to my wife and to Alexis, our young daughter. \n\n\"Um...uh...does...does this feel right to you?\", I asked unsure of something.\n\n\"Yes, of course dear. What do you mean? Are you not warm enough?\", Anna inquired not a lick of worry on her face whatsoever. \"Lexi, come to your dad and give him a cuddle. Help him get warmer\"\n\n\"Yes mom\", my daughter said gleefully hopping to my side. She popped beside me hugging me with her tiny arms. For a moment the world felt right, only...it's that nagging feeling again haunting my mind.\n\nAgain I stared at Anna, tracing every line on her face, mesmerized. The crackling flame dancing, reflected on her brown eyes. The cold snowy scenery we found ourselves surrounded with didn't even bother her in the slightest. Her once youthful beauty which captivated me had aged which I fell more in love with. I mean....right? \n\n\"Hey Anna...\"\n\n\"Yes dear?\"\n\n\"How....do you remember how we first met?\"\n\nAnna stared at me, cocking her head, frowning quizzically. \"Why of course, dear. We met at university. Why did you ask?\"\n\n\"No, it's just...I'm having the hardest time recalling those times\"\n\nHer expression turned to one of disbelief. \"James, seriously? You don't remember how we met? Don't tell me you forgot our marriage as well? Did you also forget when Alexis was born?\"\n\nI was visibly struggling to remember while inside I was panicking. \"No, yes of course I remember. It's just....something felt wrong every time I tried to\"\n\n\"Well...what do you remember then?\", she asked.\n\n\"I remember...I remember driving one morning. It was....yes, it was Alexis' 5th birthday and we were taking her to a ski trip!\", I exclaimed finally seeing one clear memory. \n\n\"Yes that was 3 days ago, James. Do you remember what happened after?\"\n\n\"We...we had a great time together. Until this afternoon when we drove back home....\", I paused.\n\n\"Yes...?\"\n\n\"When we drove back home...the car slipped on some ice on the road and hit the railings\", the realization starting to creep towards me. I looked up at Anna, she sat stoic looking back at me.\n\n\"Yes...and...?\"\n\nI started crying, begging. \"Please...please don't make me say it. Please don't make me remember it. I can't...I wanna stay here, with you, with Alexis forever. Please...\"\n\nFor the first time Anna smiled empathetically, \"It's okay, James. It's okay. You have to let us go\"\n\n\"No! No!\", I yelled, tears running down.\n\n\"Alexis, come here honey. Say goodbye to your dad\"\n\nI grabbed tightly to my daughter but she with ease slipped from my grasp. \"Bye daddy!\", she gleefully said before hopping back to Anna.\n\n\"Anna please, don't...don't leave me\"\n\n\"Good bye, darling. Good bye\"\n\nAnna and Alexis started to blur behind the light of the crackling fire, before vanishing completely, joining the darkness surrounding us. \n\n\"NO!\", I yelled waking up to the light of day. I looked around me searching for my wife and daughter only to find nobody around. I was lying on the snow, remnant of burned off campfire in front of me. \n\nThe cold must have numbed my pain, because despite my bleeding head and bruised body I managed to run back, following my footsteps on the snow. What awaited on the other end was a wreckage of our family car. I avoided staring at it, where the bloody bodies of Anna and Alexis lay inside. I dropped to my knees, yelling my sorrow echoing throughout the snow blanketed forest."
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[WP] and with this, although we didn't have a first dance, we surely had our last one. and it was equally as beautiful.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Beams of moonlight caressed the stone walkways. She stood against the night sky, her black dress dancing in the wind. The duke stepped forward, his steeled gray gaze barely visible from behind his golden mask. The howling wind was the only sound that rustled through the open stage, but both dancers could feel the silent rhythm. Only the stars would be their witness, but it was clear that this would be their finest performance.\n\nThe duke was the first to begin the waltz, stepping forward and whirling into *Three Spinning Teacups*. She answered with the *Frog that Hops over the Lily Blossom*. With a pirouette, she leapt high into the air with the *White Moth over the Moon*. It was clear that she had grown from a novice ballerina to a true master, for such a difficult step was executed with flawless perfection. The duke knew he would need to lead the dance, and so he took charge with the *Lion who Guards the Golden Candle*.\n\nSands passed slowly through the hourglass as they exchanged steps. The echoes of their feet against the stone steppes played music across the stage. They were joined in a perfect dance built from years of brutal training and immeasurable pain.\n\n*The Thorny Orchard* faded into *Five Glass Steps*. The two dancers paced furiously, each one vying for control over the stage. Just as the dance was building into a high crescendo, everything stopped with *The Gossip that Ends Kingdoms*. It was a new step, one not known to the duke. His shock broke into a grin. She did well. He knew that his time ruling the stage had come to an end.\n\nThe duke threw his head back, sending his gaze into the heavens. *“And with this, although we didn't have a first dance, we surely had our last one... and it was equally as beautiful.”*\n\nShe drew her rapier from his chest. The duke fell backwards into the rose garden with a final cough and bloody smile. The sword fell from her grip and steel clattered across stone. She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face.\n\nFinally it was over."
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[WP] An Ancient Evil Has Fallen Asleep.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"In the beginning of time a being existed in the emptiness of nothing. It learned to create within itself, thought and idea. In it's creation, the thought interacted with the nothingness and the cosmos were born.\n\nThe being begins creating life within this new found playground. Species after species, planet after planet, playing cruel experimental games. With an ever growing hunger for new emotions and experience he stumbles across society. A little planet you might know as Earth. \n\nThe life on this planet was very different than the others. Most ended somewhere near their first planetary catastrophe. Not Earth, not the life from that planet. Something was different about the way the sun hit the planet. It felt different, the life there longed for something. \n\nThe being chose to interact with the life on Earth much more than other species. One day on earth, the being noticed a species with two legs wandering in a garden on Earth. The being chose to label it \"Man.\" Curious, the being began watching this man through the day and night. Though the man slept often, there was observed intelligence, which sparked the idea to communicate with the man.\n\n\"Hey, fella, did you know you're naked?\" The being rumbled across the cosmos. \"Fella, grab a leaf and cover that, I don't want to see it.\"\n\nNot knowing what to do, this man dove behind a bush. The being made a leaf fall strategically in his lap. The man was shocked, so scared that he couldn't see that part of his body he ripped it off and yelled like a scared monkey. Once he calmed down, the being tried again, only this time he began to speak as soon as the leaf landed.\n\n\"Don't move! That's where it belongs and that's where it stays or I will destroy you with something scary!\" Not that the man understood, it was enough to not touch the leaf and try communicating back. After years of this the man can to call the being in the cosmos \"God.\" \n\nGod would frequently hang out with the man, giving him cooking recipes and enjoying the sensation of the smoke. See, God can taste everything through the smoke, it was very important. God started calling the man \"Adam.\" God carefully constructed the relationship until the time came for Adam to ask for something.\n\n\"God, we're cool, right?\" Adam said nervously.\n\n\"Yeah, why?\" The cosmos rumbled with annoyance.\n\n\"I was wondering, could you maybe give me a friend, you know, for when you're not here?\" Adam only muttered half hoping God wouldn't hear.\n\n\"Only if you agree that any life after you had to worship me as you do.\" God said after a short time. This was the curious nature that brought him here, the worship kept him. This was the plan all along, another experiment. Adam quickly agreed and God created a copy of Adam.\n\nThere was no new life being created, God got angry with Adam.\n\n\"Hey, look who it is! Everyone look, it's the guy who didn't know he was naked!\" God shattered the cosmos insulting Adam and making him look bad in an already struggling relationship. \n\n\"You know I'm not having a good day and you start our conversation off with that?\" Adam retorted angrily. \"I get it, God, you want new life. Guess what...\" Adam looked straight up into the sky. \"YOU WATCH US TRY EVERY NIGHT!!! WE DO EVERYTHING YOU TELL US TO!!!\" He screamed at the heavens. \n\nSilence for days, Adam didn't hear a word from God. One day by the lake, Adam the copy got sassy. Adam let every bit of anger out on the copy that had been building up since god abandoned him. Standing in the middle of a bloody mess, he looked up and smiled.\n\n\"Thank you, God.\" Adam whispered.\n\n\"Hey, Ad...\" God took a close notice to the mess and emotions involved in what happened while he watched Adam look at the pieces. After a while, Adam got tired and wandered into the garden.\n\n\"Adam, you really messed him up.\" God shot a daggers with his words. \"I don't know if I can trust you, man.\" He manipulatively states. \n\nAdam bursts into tear and begs god for a chance. God presents an addition to the existing agreement. He conned Adam into letting his sons be put in a situation to fight to the death. The winner would be in God's control for the rest of eternity. A wierd concept to Adam, he hurried back to his home. The next morning there was something waiting for him.\n\nIt was another copy of himself, this time with different parts. It ended up not working out and created a cycle of Adam killing the copy and God just watching and admiring and making more copies, each with a slight variation. One day, God noticed a difference in the way adam treated him. He paid close attention to it. After many hours, years for Adam, God asked about it.\n\n\"Why do you think of me differently than before?\" God asked through the cosmos.\n\n\"Because you are making me mill all of these copies.\" Adam replied. \"I don't like it.\" \n\nGod created another addition, he would give Adam a perfect mate for creating life, only if he would let him torture Adam. Not understanding, again, Adam agrees. After countless hours of torture, Adam is bloody and on the floor. A bottom rib is on the floor next to him. God quickly takes it as a trophy and creates an exact opposite of Adam sleeping beside him, he calls it woman. \n\nAs God admired his trophy, he thought it would be a good ideat to create something with it. He created a beautiful tree with beautiful and delicious fruit. The only problem was that should a human like Adam or the woman eat it, they will learn everything, past, present, future, of everything. His arrogance allowed him to plant the tree in the middle of the garden. He did this in a dark way to know Adam is going to want an apple one day.\n\nThere's nothing Adam can do once he learns everything. He is only a human. God decided to act on what Adam said about not liking what he's done. One day, the woman, known to Adam as Eve, was sitting under the tree. God saw this as a good opportunity and threw on a mustache and appeared to Eve. A snake with a mustache, she'll never think it's me, God thought.\n\n\"Hey, Eve, eat the banana. Do it, don't be scared.\" God pushed.\n\n\"No way!\" She strongly responded. \"Adam said not to listen to the voices in my head, and God said not to eat it!\" \n\nNot knowing what to do, he slithered over and thought about strangling her. He abandoned that thought and told her he was God. She believed him and quickly took a bite. He began laughing maniacally as the rush of knowledge came over her. Adam was nearby and caught God convincing her to eat it. \n\nI'm quick thought he began explaining the he was God's brother and God was dumb. Adam bought it of course and took Eve home. Later that night when he and God talked, he told him of the incident and what Ever had done. God pretended to be upset.\n\n\"Man, Adam, you couldn't keep it together. Time to never be allowed in the garden again.\" God rumbled as he walked them out of the garden. God helped humanity from that point on. He began playing both sides in order to balance the growth of life and his sick desire to torture mankind and put us in situations to do heinous things. He was doing well, chaos was avoided, life didn't get too intelligent, and God could carry on killing and torturing. Until one day he fell asleep and mankind began to grow and learn."
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[WP] You are a jaded family law attorney. You've seen it all--or so you thought. Today you're meeting with a visibly pregnant woman about a new case. "Custody battle?” you ask. She nods. "Against the father?” "No," she says, in a terse voice. "Against the fae. The one he promised his firstborn to."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 frowned for a moment. \"Verbal agreement only? Some sort of singsong rhyme, maybe? I think we can find a loophole in it somewhere,\" I opined. \n\"No,\" she replied, pulling out a stack of paper and setting it on my desk, \"They got it in writing: in triplicate, signed, counter-signed, notarized, signed in blood, everything.\" \nI picked it up. I started reading. I read through all thirteen pages, once, twice, three times. I started to sweat. There were no mistakes, no loopholes, no exceptions, no vulnerabilities anywhere. \nThe thing was completely... \nI suddenly smiled. \"Ma'am, this is perfect, bulletproof, completely unbreakable.\" She looked like she was about to cry. I went on, my smile growing with every word, \"I will take the case. You will keep your child. I can promise you this.\" \n\"The fae made this *too* well. They won't be able to use their own contract. By the time we're done they probably won't even be able to hold it.\" \n\"It's. Completely. **Ironclad**.\" \n \n \n\n \nEdited: A bit of this and that. Writing always needs an edit or two.",
"“My Lady, my client understands that the father of her child has given up the rights to his child, but she has not.” \n\nIt was a custody fight. She had won and lost more of these than she could count, but that hadn’t stopped Lillian Everdash from accepting the case. \n\nIt was, after all, a chance to prove herself in a way she never had before. It was a way to go back home and show them who she had chosen to become. Leaving the Fae Realm had been a dangerous task - returning to it even more so. Lillian may have faltered from the choice, had it not been for her client. Lillian didn’t know what it was like to be stolen by the Fae, but she knew what it was to be traded by them. She knew that this baby’s mother would raise a child like Lillian had once been - lost, confused, and always meant to abandon her. Always meant to return home. \n\nShe knew that the child would be raised like a trinket and a toy. A thing to amuse the court, until it could be useful - or until it could be broken.\n\n“We are Fae, my Lady.” Lillian continued, “We have not stolen a child for millenia. We take only where promises have been made and the Laws hold us to this. I need not remind you why. I need not remind you why the Law cannot be broken.” \n\nA murmur passed through the watching court. It may have been a millenia, but there were still those alive who remembered the Law. Even had they all passed, the stories would have stayed the hand of any Fae. Thieving of human children was no longer allowed. They could not risk the losses of the Kingdom again, the Fae might not survive it a second time. \n\n“I object, my Lady.” A cloven hoofed creature stood from his chair with such force that the court was shocked into silence. “Lady Everdash is attempting to shock us into inaction. The Law applies to a *stolen* child, but this woman carries one that has been promised.”\n\n“Promised by whom?” Lillian countered. “Lord Hallthorne, surely you do not mean to say that the man has full control over my client’s child? He supplied a seed, in an effort to grant the Fae a child and find a loophole which would not affect his true family. It is my client who has carried this child, who would provide care without any aid from the father. At best, my Lady, the father is manipulating the Fae. At worst, we are choosing to break the Law.” \n\nLillian and Hallthorne stood before the Lady, the Queen, the Keeper of the Fae. She was considered young for a Fae Queen. She had been a child at the Law’s creation. She became Queen that night, though it would be years before she truly rules. She became Queen the night of her parent’s death. The echo of it still darkening in her eyes, locked on the pregnant human seated between Lillian and Hallthorne. \n\nIt was not often that a human saw the Fae Queen. Lillian couldn’t imagine that it would happen again in her client’s lifetime. Perhaps, not even in the child’s. The Queen kept staring at the pregnant woman. The court began to shift around, not used to being still for so long but not wishing to interrupt the Queen’s focus. \n\nLillain felt the Queen’s gaze shift to her, rest on her a little too long. It had been years since Lillian had been caught underneath her mother’s stare. Decades, if she was honest. She found herself forgetting how to hold her body in the human way she had learned, as if simply by being trapped underneath her mother’s eyes, she was remembering more of being Fae. \n\nBut her mother turned away. Lillian remembered that she had been traded. She had been given to the humans. She had her reasons for staying with them, and she steadied her bones in that conviction. \n\n“A Compromise.” The Queen’s voice rang out and the court hushed back into silence. When had they started talking, Lillian wondered. \n\n“The Human will keep her child -” and Lillian heard her client gasp. “The child has been promised only partly. The Fae do not break the Law. The Fae do not lie. The Human will keep the one. The Fae will take what belongs to us, with the other.”\n\n“What?” Lillian’s client cried out, reaching towards her lawyer for any reassurance. “What does she mean?” \n\nThe Queen stood. “I have spoken. We will claim our prize when it pleases us.” And suddenly, Lillian and her client were alone in a field. \n\n“What did that mean? Where did they go? What happened?” Her client was sobbing, grabbing handfuls of Lillian’s blazer in her fists. \n\nLillian was trying to find the part of her that knew humanity. The part of her that knew how to care for this woman’s pain, and let go of the anger that was flooding through her. “Why did you lie to me?” \n\nThe woman stopped her endless string of questions - still sobbing. She dropped her grip on Lillian’s blazer, backing away. As if she suddenly recognized the emotion in Lillian’s eyes - rage.\n\n“Why didn’t you tell me it was twins?”",
"The intercom on my desk crackled to life, and the uninflected voice of my secretary floated through.\n\n*“Mr. Hartford, your two o’clock is here.”*\n\nI pressed the little red button on the receiver.\n\n“Send her in, Ness.”\n\nI saw the silhouette through the glass pane before my newest client was admitted. Young woman, blonde curls, haunted expression. Her case had obviously been causing her some anxiety, but that anxiety would be alleviated as soon as she seated herself at my desk. Were it not for her condition, I would never have offered, and saved us all some time.\n\nShe took the proffered chair and eased herself into it with some difficulty as I consulted her scant paperwork unnecessarily. Still had to keep up appearances after all, and at least make it seem like I was earning my minimum consultation fee.\n\n“Miss Guthrie, you are here concerning custody rights for your unborn child?”\n\nShe nodded. “Yes, Mr. Hartford.”\n\nI closed her file. “Well, Miss Guthrie, the details of your concerns are spare, but I believe they are sufficient enough for me to assure you that you are not in danger of losing your child. Even should the father demand custody on legal grounds, the Courts will not force a new mother to give up her newborn unless they are deemed unfit to provide proper care and protection.” I smiled as winsomely as I could. “And judging by first impressions, you seem plenty fit to me.”\n\nMiss Guthrie did not appear the least bit comforted by my assertions. In fact, she began to sob, and I offered her my handkerchief.\n\n“My apologies, Miss Guthrie, I meant no offence. I truly believe that you have nothing to fear, from the father or the Courts.”\n\nHer last sob was punctuated by a short, humourless chuckle. “I fear neither, Mr. Hartford, though the father has some answering to do.”\n\nI nodded knowingly. Classic case of infidelity; she wanted to keep the child away from the adulterous boyfriend, then.\n\n“Please feel free to elaborate, Miss Guthrie.” I took out pen and notepad, poised to write. “The details are important.”\n\nShe sniffed, and dabbed her nose with the handkerchief. She appeared reluctant to continue. I showed some impatience.\n\n“Come now, Miss Guthrie, if there is a case here, I can neither advise nor represent you un—”\n\n“The Fae.” She interrupted in a harsh whisper, and that hunted look returned; her eyes darted about, as though checking the corners of my office for dangers. “My fiancé… he promised the Fae our child.”\n\nThat got my attention. This was no longer an open and closed case. As a condition of remaining a part of civilized society, the Fae were prohibited by law to solicit parents for their firstborn children.\n\nBefore I could recover from my surprise, Miss Guthrie continued.\n\n“My David… he got into some trouble with gambling. *Big* trouble.” She swallowed. “He had some debts, and…”\n\nShe faltered, but my mind had already filled in the rest.\n\n“This was not just some random Fae, was it, Miss Guthrie?” I asked.\n\nShe shook her head, closing her eyes against tears, and at once I shared in her fear.\n\n“Did he sign a blood pact?”\n\nShe nodded.\n\nI dropped my pen, my mind and my blood racing. This case was too big for me, no matter what I was paid. If a Fae mafioso had paid Miss Guthrie and her foolish fiancé a visit, there was very little that could be done from a legal standpoint.\n\nShe had a right to fear for her child.\n\nMy hand shook as I pressed the little red button on my intercom.\n\n“Ness, cancel all my other appointments for today.”\n\n*Crackle. “Right away, Mr. Hartford.”*\n\nI looked at Miss Guthrie; I imagined that my expression must mirror hers, but I was resolved to help her now.\n\n“This is serious, Miss Guthrie. You were right to bring this to me and not the police.” I frowned. “You didn’t tell the police, right?”\n\nShe shook her head, and I sighed with relief.\n\n“Good. No knowing how many moles are in the precinct.” I reached for the telephone, and began dialing. “There is not much more I can do for you at this stage in the game, but I know someone who—”\n\nI was interrupted by a voice on the line that could have belonged to Ness.\n\n*“Offices of Archibald Maxwell, Private Investigator.”*\n\n*Damned elves all sound the same.* “Yes, Bev, this is Simon Hartford. I need to speak to Archie. It is urgent”\n\n*“Sure thing, hon, please hold.”*\n\nI did not have to wait long before Archie picked up.\n\n*“Simon. What have you got for me? And make it quick; I'm on another case.”*\n\nI locked eyes with Miss Guthrie, wringing her hands in her lap. “Nothing good, Archie—”\n\n*“Stop calling me that, Simon.”*\n\n“—I have a young woman here says the Fae want her child. Sounds like the Families are recruiting again.”\n\nThere was a prolonged pause at the other end before Archie spoke again in his gruff, no-nonsense manner.\n\n*“Wait for me there, Simon. I’m on my way.”*\n\n​\n\n**Hey, thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, feel free to stop by my** [personal sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Quail_and_Quill/) **for more stories and poems!**\n\n​\n\n**Surprised Edit:** Oh goodness! I was not expecting this kind of response. First awards! Thank you! To address those asking for more, there is none... ***yet***. This is a universe I have been toying with for a bit, inspired by another prompt... and I hope to revisit it soon!"
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[WP] Though small in number and known only in shadowy circles, telepaths exist. You are one of the most dangerous types, a fabricator who has the ability to craft and implant false memories unto other people. Your skills are always in demand.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Devin knew that nobody would ever feel sorry for him. Even in the notorious rough circles that Devin occupied, the best response that he could hope to get from people was sheer terror.\n\nIt wasn’t easy being an Infiltrator.\n\nBut this day would be one that he would dread remembering for ages.\n\nIt started, like many of his worst days, with a blinding beam of light waking him up after another bender the night before. Devin almost remembered when he used to drink at parties, rather than drinking to forget.\n\nHe pitied himself and his pounding headache for about 45 minutes as he slowly crawled his way to the kitchen, had a morning drink, and threw together some scrambled eggs. Only after that did he dare to check his phone.\n\nHe had 28 unread emails and no texts. That was a good start; on busier days he’d wake up to find a few voicemails from Greta about his terrible work ethic and general slovenliness. She made sure to use that word though; she’d called him sloppy once and it didn’t end well for either of them.\n\nStill, Greta was one of the few in the city who would pay Infiltrators and Erasers. Even if she hadn’t been a viable business partner, she was also one of the chief smugglers in the city.\n\nShe knew who had taken Devin’s sister. And as long as Greta could lead him to Jessica, Devin had to begrudgingly put up with her.\n\nMost of the emails were spam, but one was a job offer. It seemed simple enough, but the pay was well above his usual rate. That seemed like a red flag, but it could just be a rich idiot.\n\n*Wanted: Infiltrator to plant false information in the mind of a witness. Full details provided by request. Must be done within 24 hours.*\n\nThat one had only been sent a few hours ago, Devin thought as he accidentally chomped down on a peppercorn in his omelet and endured a brief sneezing fit.\n\nDevin decided it was worth a shot. He lethargically changed into his usual baseball cap, leather jacket, and frayed jeans, making sure that he remembered his taser this time before making his way to the dead drop location specified in the email.\n\nThe dossier drop went pretty smoothly, which surprised Devin a bit. Their payment offer made them seem like amateurs, but maybe they just really wanted this job done.\n\n*Implant a memory in the mind of Armando Velazquez. He must believe that he was at The White Rose Bar last Thursday at 11:30pm. He must believe that he was the man who shot Lydia Jones.*\n\nDevin had no idea who Lydia was, but it seemed like she wasn’t in good shape. He knew Armando, sort of, from high school and the criminal underworld, and wouldn’t be sad to see him go to jail. Or die, if that’s what it came to, but this seemed like a pretty simple sell-out job.\n\nDevin found Armando at the White Rose, just as he usually was. Implanting that part of the memory would be pretty straightforward. He tailed him stumbling out of the bar, and waited until they were alone on a relatively quiet street. \n\nDevin zapped Armando and quickly dragged him into an alleyway. Armando kept making noises, so Devin held the taser on him for an extra few moments as he prepared to implant the memories.\n\nArmando was gasping for air as Devin removed his hand.\n\n“You will stay quiet, if you know what’s good for you,” Devin muttered quickly.\n\nBut Armando wouldn’t stay quiet. His eyes were welling up with tears, which shocked Devin enough that he lifted his hand.\n\nArmando was laughing, not the laugh of a lost drunk but the mad laughter of a man who had nothing left to lose and a world to burn.\n\n“You!” Armando managed through his laughter. “Any Infiltrator in the city, and she sends YOU!”\n\nDevin punched Armando in the teeth, and his ten-year-old self thanked him, but Armando’s laughter continued unabated.\n\n“Who is Lydia Jones?” Devin hissed.\n\nArmando’s laughter reached a new pitch. Devin realized that he would have to solve this quickly.\n\n“Lydia Jones! You don’t know Lydia?!”\n\nDevin took his Swiss Army Knife on his keychain, flipped up the main blade and shoved it under Armando’s thumbnail. His screams of agony cut into the laughter.\n\n“Who is she?!”\n\n“She knows where Greta’s holding your sister.”\n\nDevin saw red. “LIAR!!!” He thrust his knife into Armando’s right eye, no longer caring about the consequences.\n\nBut Armando just kept laughing.\n\n“Go ahead, take it out on me! I’m a dead man anyway.”\n\nHe smiled with a ravenous hunger, delighting in Devin’s pain. “I’m long dead Devin, but not you.”\n\n“You’re trapped forever.”\n\nDevin tased Armando one last time, and his pain and drunkenness finally dragged him off into unconsciousness. Devin barely even flinched as he reached out with his mind and left the traitorous imprint of the false memories where they were meant to be.\n\nHe didn’t even bother to hide Armando as he walked briskly out of the alleyway and back to his apartment.\n\nHe had four tasks now.\n\nFind Lydia, if she still lived.\n\nFind out what she knew about where Jessica was hidden.\n\nCollect his money from Greta for Armando.\n\nAnd see just how far he could take his powers.\n\nDevin knew quite well just how far he could push someone towards insanity with his powers when he remained under control.\n\nThere would be no control with Greta.\n\nJust the deepest horror that an Infiltrator could conjure.\n\nWhatever was left of Jessica would not be enough to pay off his need for revenge.\n\n __________________\nIf you liked this, check out my subreddit! r/NicodemusLux"
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[WP] God has announced his existence to the entire world, and he has made it clear he is now our enemy. But humanity won't give up, and has proved itself to defy and survive through even God's wrath.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 tough being God. Well, I say that, but it’s not that bad, I suppose. The only thing that really gets to you is the sheer boredom of it all. Christ, I swear I can’t go another day listening to people. So boring.\n\nTo put it simply, humans are the most uninteresting things to have ever existed. Lord, if I could go back in time, I’d give Adam and Eve a solid pass, and maybe help the snakes out instead. Snakes are so much cooler.\n\nAnyways, one day whilst I lounged around the house, I had a bloody brilliant idea. I popped onto the net and sent Jesus a quick message. At first, he was sceptical of my idea, but soon he came to his senses.\n\n“You’re a proper genius dad, you know that?” Jesus said, when we met up a few hours later.\n\n“Like hell I do, I’m the god damn smartest man alive!” I desperately wanted to say, but instead humbly declined his compliment, because I am God.\n\n“So, when do we start?”\n\n“Now!” I said, expecting a show of lights and epic montage music to start playing. Then I remembered that my special effects technician had the day off, and was spectacularly disappointed. So, instead, we walked down the road to Earth HQ and began to draw up a plan.\n\nThe next day, it was all set in motion- Earth, and humanity alongside it, was now officially declared public enemy number one in heaven. Time for war, meat sacks. Come get it."
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[WP] Letters in names are only earned after a significant event in one's life. The longer someone's name, the richer the history in someone's life. After stopping to chat with an old woman, you learn that her name is the longest you've ever heard- and by A LOT.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Excuse me, is this seat taken?\"\n\n\"Oh no, no, please. Have a seat\"\n\nKate took her seat carrying her freshly brewed latte, profusely thanking the old lady for sharing her table. \n\n\"Busy morning, eh? All of the seats are taken. I won't be long if you mind at all?\"\n\n\"Oh nonsense, please. Enjoy your coffee. I do enjoy the company\", the old lady smiled.\n\nGrateful, Kate took a gulp of the liquid energy. As the caffeine coursed through her body, she felt herself awaken, ready for her first early class in the university.\n\n\"Oh I'm sorry, how rude of me. My name's Kate\", she said offering her hand.\n\n\"Kate, short for Katherine?\", the old lady graciously shook Kate's hand.\n\n\"Oh no, no. I haven't had that much significant events in my life worth of additional letters in my name\", she chuckled. \"What's yours\\] name?\"\n\nThe old lady was visibly hesitant, but she hid it well. \"You can call me Mia\"\n\nKate frowned quizzically. It's not impossible, but someone of her age should have a name at least longer than 3 letters.\n\n\"Mia, not short for anything?\"\n\n\"Oh...my actual name is very long, it's hard to pronounced. I prefer Mia\"\n\nIt was meant to be a secret and Kate could read the situation, that the old lady was hesitant to talk about it. But her curiosity had been peaked. Never in her 22 years of life she met anyone with names longer than 7 or 8 letters. \n\n\"Well, if you don't mind to share, I'm really intrigued\", Kate politely insisted. Mia being a kind soul that she was, took out her ID card, showing Kate her full name.\n\n\"Oh my G....\", Kate exclaimed. Mia's full name was an unpronounceable 50-somewhat letter name. With her mouth agape in disbelief, she looked up meeting Mia's cheeky smile. \n\n\"Told ya\"\n\n\"Wha...how did...\"\n\n\"How did I get so much letters in my name? Well...it's quite a story, actually a lot of stories. It's a weird system we're living in eh? Every significant event in one's life earns them an extra letter, worn like some kind of badge of honor...\n\nBut that is not always the case. I'm a nurse, you see, working in multiple hospitals some even abroad, for...ooh, 50 years-ish now?\n\nOh I remember when I first started. I was a bright young woman, eager to start, eager to help people as it was my dream. It started simple, cleaning up small wounds, stitching up gashes. But then everything changed, when I found myself in a war field...\"\n\nKate didn't think her jaw couldn't fall any lower, but it did.\n\n\"I held so many young men's hands as they lay dying, calling for their mothers. All of their faces burned in my memory, all of their names, the feeling of their weak hands in mine slipping away...\"\n\nKate could tell Mia was a tough gal, that she had been through a lot. But still that made her eyes teary.\n\n\"After the war I found myself in a maternity ward. Oh it was one of the best part of my years. I held so many newborns, holding their tiny hands between my fingers before giving them to their parents. Their faces, so happy, so joyful...I can see them all still, in my mind every time I close my eyes...\"\n\nKate could see the pride beaming from the old lady as she closed her eyes reminiscing, her smile was so pure.\n\n\"But as you do then, I moved on. I found myself working in a cancer ward, right here in this city\", Mia said pointing out to the huge hospital not far from the café. \"Now you must think this I wouldn't remember fondly\", Mia said to Kate's silent nodding.\n\n\"Well...yes and no\", she chuckled. \"Yes it is very sad for those who are sick, but at the very least I was there for them, helping them through their toughest times. I have held their hands in mine as they slipped away, be it painfully or peacefully. I have hugged those who recovered, rejoiced in their triumph over the disease. We would laugh, we would hug, we would cry happy tears as if they were my own family. Well dear, to me they are all important parts of my life. There are some stories I don't like to re-collect and there are some stories I love to remember, but they are all the ones I love to cherish\"\n\nKate smiled, trying to hold back her tears as Mia finished her story. \n\n\"I think your coffee is cold now\", she chuckled to Kate's embarrassed laughter.\n\n\"Thank you. Thank you for sharing your wonderful story with me. You really earn that name, Mia. You really do\"\n\nMia nodded understandingly and this time offered her hand to shake. Kate took it, and gently grasped it with both of her hands. In silence contemplating the lives that hand had touched, the lives that hand had an impact on.",
"There she lay on a bed of craspertwig leaves and hastly put together ferns intertwined in an effort to provide some respite for her aching bones. Her head was supported by a thick layer of folded furs and though U thought it all looked quite comfortable, the old woman's comfort seemed to fight a hard battle against an internal foe who looked to have the upper hand. Her hair had lost much of the blazing red colour that U had heard so much about in the stories the Chiefs had recounted and her frail skin appeared poorly draped over a body that, old today, had many great acheivements of yesterday to boast about.\n\n*\"I--I've been sent to provide for a couple of extra craspertwigs if it need be ma'am...\"*\n\nThe old woman's gaze, which had not a moment earlier been struggling to reach any considerable distance now turned away from the patterns of the ceiling finding it's way towards U.\n\nShe was old. *So much older than the elders,* thought U.\n\nBut there were glimpses of strength one could catch if they looked deep enough. Weak dilated pupils surounded by azure rings offered a still combative piercing gaze. One could imagine the last sights of many an opposing warriors that had crossed her path throughout her youth. U had found himself caught in their depths when the old woman tendered him a smile.\n\n*\"I'll take three and I thank you for them\"* she said softly, *\"Young one, please allow for the quick curiosities of a dying woman: Have you heard of the Battle of Fjoweld?\"*\n\nU stumbled slightly, taken aback by the old woman's question.\n\n*\"I--um--please let me give you a couple of craspertwigs I--...\"* U mumbled, unsure of what to make of her question. It was simple and straightforward enough, but he had not expected her to talk to him. *\"Fjoweld? Yes...um...you captured an entire runic temple against a hundred warriors from the Fjo clan. It was a great massacre, or..um..so says my fyther.\"*\n\nThe old woman's smile gave way to a very slight frown which she hid under a short open-mouthed breath.\n\n*\"Let no time for all of that young one. A great massacre there was surely not and no more Fjo men than you could count fingers on both of our hands were gathered in the halls of the runic temple that day.\"*\n\n*\"Fyther said you tore through with nought but a sharpened flintro--\"*\n\nThere was still a warrior that lie upon the deathbed in front of U and it was becoming clearly obvious she would have none of the stories U had come to remember as if they were his own fantasies.\n\n*\"I had many men with me as we came upon the temple and though we outnumbered the Fjo three to one, they were steadfast in defending the runes they had long called their own. The Fjo were a prideful clan. Obstinate they may have been, they did not deserve the respite we forced upon them by taking their lands.\"* The old woman sent her gaze back up to the ceiling as if looking at fleeting memories that had started racing her to the heavens. *\"They were defending the temple and we marched upon it to take it as our own. Fythers, byothers and syns not unlike you and your own lined up against us. Poor clanspeople that you could mistake for any one of the people walking the village just here outside.\"*\n\n*\"Had they not sharpened their teeth to mandibles and dulled their blades with charred stone to make you suffer on the battlefield?\"* inquired U.\n\n*\"They had not\"* offered the old woman as a response. *\"Simple tales we tell to explain why we marched upon their lands. Now young one, understand that we could have won a great victory and moistened the earth with blood that day. We could have tore limb from limb and offered the Fjo our blades between neck and chest.\"*\n\n*\"I don't understand...I..\"*\n\n*\"Young one, that day, at the battle of Fjoweld, we offered the Fjo conversation. And from the seeds of talk came a truce where we promised them clanhood or a peaceful escape. We offered them compassion.\"*\n\n*\"You offered them a mercy?\"*\n\n*\"We indeed offered them a mercy.\"*\n\n*\"...and did they take it?\"*\n\n*\"They did.\"* answered the old woman. *\"Some took our clanhood and joined us in name. Others fled peacefully.\"*\n\nU knew not what to think of what the old woman had told him. Forever he had been told that she was responsible for victories that depleted opposing armies of their men. She had slain Chiefs and toppled mountains over entire villages. Never once had fyther or the Chiefs told U about how she would let foes walk away with their lives. There can be no way she had earned her name by...peacefully talking with warriors sent forth by other clans.\n\n*\"Why do people talk only of your swing of the blade and skill at Xatatl?\"* He submitted to the old woman for a reply.\n\nThe old woman turned back to U. Her azure eyes locking with his. A smile having found it's way back onto her face as her breath laboured ever slightly more than when U had first entered her room. She pulled some linen up to her chest, a last defense against the coming cold.\n\n*\"Chiefs are not wanting for stories of talk. Heroes are not made off the prowess of their words. Letters are forged within a name by the chisel of bloody bone, not the tenderness of empathy.\"*\n\n*\"I see. I understand.\"*\n\n\"Young one, my time nears. My limbs ache and my mouth dries as I labour each breath into my chest. I will die today. I will die and they will celebrate my life, recounting stories of victorious battles and duels fought. They will talk of courage and bravery alongside massacres and brutal acts of warfare.\"\n\nThe old woman spoke with conviction and fought a raspiness that threatened to cut the steadfastness of each word. Though she maintained a smile throughout, U could notice a watering of the eyes, tears that struggled to stay put against the shaking of the old woman's fragile constitution. He did not dare interrupt her.\n\n*\"You will hear of the battle of Kljur, Wvjol, Sjiol and of course Fjoweld amongst many, many others. Every single one of those recounts will be exagerated no doubt. They will craft a tomb boastin my exploits and engrave upon it the ninety-two letters that make my name my own. Please, do not misundertsand me young one: I have not been peaceful throughout. I have earned every single one of those ninety-two letters by the bloodshed of others.\"*\n\nA tear fell, but she did not avert her gaze.\n\n*\"Ninety-two letters speak of tragedies I regret. Some I had no choice to undertake, but some I would walk back upon in exchange for whatever final breaths I have left as here I lie. The Chiefs will have ninety-two letters on my tomb, but, young one, there are thousand more letters that will go unaccounted for because they came of peace and mercy. Those are the letters I am most proud of. They do not make my name.\"*\n\n*\"But they make you...\"*\n\n*\"Yes, young one....yes...they make me.\"*\n\nThe old woman pondered for a second before looking down at the craspertwigs still clutched in U's palms. She beckoned him forward.\n\n*\"Tell me young one, what is your name?\"*\n\n*\"My name is U, I have yet to add a lett-\"*\n\n*\"U, thank you for indulging an old dying woman. You've helped me make peace. You have offered me a mercy. Please U, would you allow me to call you Uy?\"*\n\nUy nodded softly, a humble smile of pride splaying itself across his face as he laid the craspertwigs to the old woman's side.\n\nThe old woman shared his smile. \nAnd from that smile her final breath would leave."
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[WP] - 2 half immortal brothers, one cant take any damage and the other doesnt age are on a quest too find their long lost parent.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\\[Time for a Change\\](poem)\n\n\"She's close!\" Sam cried.\n\nHis voice bright with glee.\n\nHe ran with his brother\n\nalong the shore and sea.\n\nHe splashed Sean with every stride.\n\n​\n\nIn the distance, a woman waded.\n\nShe admired the sun, treasured the date.\n\nShe focused on the day dedicated\n\nto spend with family and celebrate.\n\n​\n\nSam ran at the woman\n\nWith Sean in hand.\n\n\"Mom!\" his yell reached her ears.\n\n​\n\nShe smiled at her twin sons; both ten.\n\nSean in weeks, Sam in years.\n\n​\n\n\"Sean needs a diaper change,\" said Sam.\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1096 in a row. (Story #366 in year three.) You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog."
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[WP] It's New Year's Eve, you go visit your favourite spot to watch the last sunset of the year. As the final bit of sun disappears, you see something else coming up over the horizon.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 peaceful and muted pastel pallet of the last winter sunet of the year was interrupted by an unsettling buzzing. Ben turned around and looked for the source. It sounded not dissimilar to a malfunctioning transformer on a telephone pole. But there wasn’t one in sight. Just fragrant pines, some naked trees, and the reflection of the lake. As the muted colors in the sky began to fade to gray the buzzing only intensified. Before he saw it, his body responded. Against the chill of the New England night air, his body began warming, almost to the point of sweating. Ben unzipped his jacket a little as a lump began to swell in his throat.\n\n*Why am I having such a strong reaction to a little buzzing? It must just be a cluster of insects I can’t see.* \n\nBen fought the increasing urge to jump in his truck and drive home early. \n\n*This is the first year dad isn’t here with me for this tradition. I won’t let a little buzzing stop me. I’m on my own now, I need to be brave.*\n\nIt felt silly to call on himself to be brave over a little buzzing, but it felt appropriate for some reason.\n\nThat’s when he saw it. The sky now was dark gray bordering on black. But over the horizon appeared an almost neon green. And it just kept coming, a big carpet of neon green. The sound engulfed Ben as it approached. He could feel it vibrating his body. As it grew closer he realized what it was. Bugs. Thousands, millions, maybe even billions of green glowing bugs. As far as Ben could see, the entire sky was neon green. And some seemed to notice him.\n\nBen was entranced as a small tornado of bugs descended from the sky and coagulated not ten feet away from him. They swirled for a moment and then took the shape of a human. They swarmed and swirled, but the outline of the human form barely faltered.\n\n*What the fuck.*\n\nDespite the now cold of night, and Ben’s light puffy jacket, a drip of sweat ran down Ben’s back. The tone and cadence of the buzzing began to falter. There began to be skips and gaps, and high pitches and low. And then it spoke, in a rough, rattling, buzzing voice.\n\n“The Earth is coming. The Humans have forgotten their place. Prepare to return to the Earth.”\n\nWith that, the thing shattered into a mist of bugs who eventually returned to the blanket of neon green in the sky. \n\n\\---\n\n“Krista, you’re not going to believe what I just saw!” Ben said as he closed the front door.\n\nA semi-interested grunt came from the living room. “What? The sunset?”\n\n“Well, yeah, but no, not that. Didn’t you see the sky? Didn’t you see the green?” Ben asked.\n\n“I guess it was a little green,” Krista said, a bit annoyed, without pausing the TV. “So what?”\n\nDeflated Ben said, “Well, the green, it was all bugs! Millions of them, they all came together and,” \n\nKrista raised an eyebrow but didn’t pause the TV\n\n“And some came down and they… talked to me,” Ben finished.\n\nThis was pause-worthy.\n\n“They what? Is this some kind of prank?” Krista asked.\n\nThe realization came rushing in to Ben. \n\n*Of course it sounded crazy. Of course it did. I hadn’t really had time to think about it; I guess I was just consumed by it on the way home. I guess I would react the same way.*\n\n“Ben?” Krista asked again. \n\n“Heh. Yeah, haha, just a stupid prank.” Ben said\n\nKrista looked sidelong at Ben, not quite believing him. \n\n“Ben I’m worried about you. Are you drunk? I know it’s been hard losing your dad and your job all in the same year. But drinking isn’t -- ” Krista started.\n\n“No! Krista, no. I know. I’m not drunk,” Ben said as he reflexively started cleaning. \n\nKrista had made a Covid Nest in the living room. Blankets, snacks, empty soda cans, takeout containers, and brown cardboard delivery boxes were scattered around. She unpaused the TV and let Ben do some of the cleaning. He sighed as he picked up some of the boxes. \n\n*We don’t have the money anymore to buy all of this useless crap. But I can’t bring it up now.* \n\nAs Ben threw away the trash he noticed a leaflet. Solstice Bash 2020. \n\n*That was at that weird farm on the other side of town. Earthway Farm.*\n\nBen looked more closely. Under the seal of the farm -- a sprout and a tree in a triangle, within a circle -- were the words “Return to the Earth” A strange tingle went down Ben’s spine.\n\n*There’s no way it was a coincidence that I found this.* \n\n*---*\n\nBen hopped in the passenger side of James’s Ram 1500. Gravel sprayed out from behind the truck as they started toward Earthway Farm. The ride was silent until they reached the old Melbourne place. This time of year they usually had fields and fields of Kale. It was no different yesterday. But today it was desolate, it looked picked clean. \n\n“I think it’s about time you told me why we’re headed down to Earthway.” James said.\n\nBen hesitated. “Alright, but first you’ve got to promise not to call me crazy. I know how it sounds.”\n\nJames thought for a second, then nodded.\n\n“Ben, you’re a good guy. Brandon wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for your quick action out in the forest last year. He still idolizes you. And my mother still is very grateful for your hard work cutting down those dead trees, free of charge. You have a good head on your shoulders. Whatever it is, I don’t take you as the type of guy to make up a story. Besides, with the way you sounded when you called me…” James trailed off.\n\n“Thanks James, but wait ‘til you hear what I have to say,” Ben started. He took a breath and decided to just go for it, though he was a little apprehensive after how Krista reacted.\n\nThe gurgle of the engine and the crunch of the tires was the only noise for a bit after that. James looked pensive. Ben felt his chest tighten a little. Although Ben was working as a package delivery person now, James had promised Ben that as soon as business picked back up they’d be able to hire him back as an arborist. Ben hoped he didn’t just ruin his chances at that.\n\n“You think those bugs attacked the old Melbourne place?” James asked.\n\nBen sighed with an emotion partway between concern for the Melbournes and relief that James might have believed him. “Yeah, maybe.”\n\nIn the background, the news crackled through softly. It was saying something about a power substation up near the city going out.",
"Not a real cloud in sight. Perfect. The azure sky fades to violet behind me. I look forward, to the amber sunset and a new year. The mountaintop was always calming and comforting, perhaps even more so after the last year. Gentle winds tugged at my hair much like the thoughts that danced lightly in my mind, wisps lost in the currents. A new start, a new year, a good coincidence for me.\n\nThe sun dips ever so slowly into horizon. The bottom at first, then the middle, and following suit the top, all the while turning the sunblazed sky ever more reddish in hues. The darkness seems eager to jump in the moment the sun disappears below the horizon. And then the sun is gone. I let out a contented sigh of relief. The crazy year will soon be over.\n\nThen a flash of light rises up from the horizon not far from the sun’s descent. Then another.\n\nAnd another.\n\nThere’s so many lights.\n\nThey couldn’t have.\n\nThey wouldn’t have.\n\n“Oh no...” I whisper to myself.\n\nThey did it. Those mad bastards actually did it.\n\nAs the initial flashes fade, the large clouds full of flame and fury roil into the shape of mushrooms.\n\nI brace myself for the end of the last year, and brace myself for the end of the next year both at once as the shockwaves and sound wash over the area.\n\nThey shouldn’t have."
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[WP] You are a valkyrie and Odin charges you with retrieving what he calls the fiercest warrior that ever lived. When you arrive at your destination you are surprised to find yourself in a small room in some old nursing home. In front of you is the fiercest warrior; a little old lady.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 had always been a headstrong person, long before I chose to go down the path of a warrioress, long before I chose to serve under the gods as their weighty blade.\n\nMy drive to satiate my pride had always been my driving motivation. I always strived to prove myself, to prove my worth to my peers, even to the gods themselves, and most importantly, to myself. And for nearly my entire life, I had always proven to myself that I did have a claim to this bloated ego of mine, for my skill on the battlefield amongst my compatriots are second to none but the gods themselves.\n\nMany times I've butted heads with the gods themselves; I've always thought of myself as better than them, as I had always convinced myself that they didn't deserve their position as rulers of the 9 realms. I didn't realize this then but the only reason none of them smited me since day one was because of how invaluable I was as a warrior.\n\nThis is the background as to the scenario I found myself in this day, kneeling before Odin after another one of my outbursts when I claimed I deserved a place amongst the gods.\n\nI had expected an excommunication at least, or even worse, getting executed by them for my shameless profanity. Instead, Odin gave me a simple task.\n\n\"You claim that you're the best warrior there is, prove it to me. Defeat the one only known as \"Elli\", the greatest warrior there is. If you can do that, I shall grant you your position amongst the gods. But you are not to step back within Asgard before you complete that task, or you will die trying.\"\n\nThat day, I walked out of the gates of Asgard and didn't look back. I **will** prove to them that I am worthy of the title of a god.\n\nFor years I searched the 9 realms for the person known as \"Elli\". I asked everyone I met, looked from the highest mountains to the lowest valleys, and yet I never found this enigmatic person. I almost gave up, until one day I stumbled upon the castle of Utgard-loki. He pointed me wayward, to the gates of Hel.\n\nSo there I went, I had expected to find a massive fortress, or perhaps a lone figure sitting atop the highest mountain, waiting for challengers.\n\nInstead what I found was a small, run down cabin. Within it, an old blind woman spinning a sweater.\n\n\"Are you the one known as Elli?\" I inquired her\n\n\"Sure am, miss\" the frail looking lady answered back.\n\nAt that moment, a realization hit me.\n\nOdin had sent me on an empty errand, to make me look like a fool.\n\nI felt anger within me like never before. Anger towards the gods that I felt had never respected me. I spent years wandering between realms, only to be tasked with killing an old lady.\n\n\"CURSE THEM, CURSE THEM ALL. THE GODS, ALL OF THEM, THEIR CHILDREN TOO!\"\n\nIn the heat of the moment, I drew my blade and went for the killing blow on the old lady.\n\n...And immediately found myself on the ground, pinned by the seemingly harmless frail lady.\n\n\"Now, now, miss. I don't know what personal matter you have with the gods, but you should not go around harming little old ladies\"\n\nI tried to push her off me with all my strength, but I couldn't. I felt as if all my strength had been sucked out of me. I struggled as much as I could for what felt like days.\n\nFinally, I relented.\n\n\"Please, I give up. You win ma'am, please let go of me\"\n\n\"You don't seem to understand, miss. You don't get to have mercy **from me**\"\n\nI turned my head halfway, to see her face, which has now twisted to reveal an endless black void within. From which I can faintly hear the voice of the damned.\n\nI pleaded with her to spare me, and begged for forgiveness for my transgressions. Yet she seemed to push me down harder, and I can start to feel my life draining away slowly.\n\nFor the first time in my life, I felt fear. I felt powerless. I cried for my life. I didn't want things to end right here. I begged for mercy from the gods I had just cursed out, to beg them for forgiveness for my insubordination.\n\nSuddenly, I was whisked back to asgard, I was once more before Odin. On the floor broken and crying for my life.\n\nHe saw the look on my face, and I had expected him to do a mocking gloat over me. To make fun for my inability to defeat what seemed to be a \"little old lady\".\n\nYet, all he gave me was a gentle smile, like that of a grandfather's, and he helped me up.\n\n\"Why did you save me? I had failed at your task and I deserved to die.\" I asked him.\n\n\"I simply wanted to teach you a lesson about pride.\"\n\nI stared at him slightly bewildered\n\n\"The old woman is Elli, the manifestation of \"old age\", and she is an enemy all of us faces. From the lowliest humans to even us gods. She is an enemy even Thor himself couldn't beat. I sent you out to meet her to show you that there is a limit to boundless ambition and your hubris, that there are simply things even us gods will never overcome.\"\n\n\"Couldn't you have told me all that in a less roundabout way instead of sending me on a five year long empty quest?\"\n\n\"I think the long journey gives more meaning to the encounter. Now go fix yourself, you look like a mess.\"",
"The old man coughed and sputtered as the old lady in her long gown dabbed at his mouth. Outside a storm crested the earth beating at the window. \n\n\n\"Close the window dear. They have it hard enough, might as well not add a draft.\"\n\nThe Valkyie, a being of uncountable years and unmeasurable power, one who had seen not only man climb from the roots of a new earth, but also in its eternal wisdom saw that same earths death, turned to close the window. \n\n\n\"It is time Kind one. Odin calls and I believe this time you should listen.\" As she spoke the Valkyries radiance flooded the room, casting away the shadows that gathered in the rooms corners. The Valkyrie saw, as she always did, that the room was filled with the weak and infirm of this age's old. \n\"yes,yes, it is always time. But for Herald here it is time for his nap. And Minnie.\" The old lady motioned to another bed where a woman whose skin looked almost translucent from age stared sightlessly at the wall, her lips moving as she spoke with someone lost in a time long past. \"Is in dire need of a change.\" \n\n\n\"It is your time now.\" the Valkyrie insisted. \n\"Fine.\" The old lady said dropping her rag into a bucket. \n\"Fine?\" The Valkyrie questioned. She had come a dozen times before each time rebuffed. Odin was growing impatient. \n\"Yes, Fine. But first, grab those closes in that chair and change Francis. I wont leave him in his soiled clothes.\" \nThe Valkyrie frowned looking at the pants neatly folded and pressed. \n\"Dont tell me the bringer of dead is afraid of a little shit? Dont get a lot of that on the battlefields of old eh?\" \nThe immortal being sighed and picked up the clothing. She had seen much of that. Shit, blood, all mater of mortal fluid. \n\"And after this you will come?\" \n\"yes after we change Francis and finish my last day I will go to your immortal battlefields and feasting halls. But I will never know what I will do there. Not much of a fighter or a feaster.\" \nAs the Valkyrie pulled the old man gently out of his small clothes and wiped him down she turned and spoke to the old lady. \"Mildred, you know it better than most, To end a life is quick, you are brave for a moment, and i will tell you most of the time it is not bravery but fear that pushes the blade. But to save, to help give life, to wake up every day and face death, death of those you try and care for that is bravery.\" \n\n\nThe old lady looked at the being and smiled. \"Oh darling, thats sweet of you to say. Also you missed a spot.\" \nThe immortal being, messenger of a god, bringer of the dead , culler of souls, sighed. \"Yes it seems I have.\"",
"Fucking Odin. Really? What is the point of this riddle? We don't have time. Well, what can you do? Orders are orders.\n\nThe nurse had a blank face when I turned to look back at her. She quickly smiled and opened her eyes. She must have noticed how confused I was. \"Go ahead, she's been waiting since you called.\" Must be some mistake but whatever.\n\n\"Hi, I am..\" \n\n\"Gunnr. Yes dear, I know.\" \n\n\"But...\"\n\n\"Oh, I know all of your names. And I even know that wolves enjoy a little milk now and then.\" \n\nShe hands me a glass of icy cold milk in a tall glass. As I reach to grab it, I notice her hands. Long. So long, I can't see her fingertips as they wrap around the glass. Her joints are darkened, and roundish. The lines on her fingers twist and turn lengthwise. She places the glass in my palm, and somehow her hands don't look any longer than normal. I sit down in the chair she nods at.\n\n\"Look, I was sent here by someone. I am not sure I got the right directions.\"\n\nShe nods and smiles. Her hair looks different now, it's not the bushy bob I saw before. There are long waves of hair pressed upon each other. Each wave in a different direction. \n\n\"Well, who else would send you? But why he insists on making it obvious, I'll never know. A Monday or a Sunday would have been fine as well. What does that clever man want now?\"\n\nThe way she said clever made me smirk. She knows the game. But what is her deal? Does she keep the fighter in a charm?\n\n\"I suppose you are wondering why he has asked me to fight?\" \n\n\"A little, yes. No offense, but you don't look like the person I was sent to retrieve.”\n\n“No, I suppose I don’t, dear. But you have come to the right place, and he must have a good reason to send for me.”\n\n“It is. Four of my kin have already fallen. The whole of Asgard is in terror. Odin isn’t sure of what will work. So I guess, you are some kind of emergency option.”\n\n“Yes, this sounds like something he would need me for. Though he should really come to see me more often as it is. I feel more like a neglected mother, than an eldest child. But then he does better by me than his brothers ever do.”\n\nEldest child? Odin has a daughter?\n\n“The last time he called to me he sent his son, that scoundrel.”\n\n“Loki, he-”\n\n“No, not Loki. That precious boy. That other one, the carpenter. Anyways, before we get on with it let me tell you about the last time he called for me.”\n\n“It was when my husband was still alive. Ask was stronger than me, but strength wasn’t going to win a battle against Nidhogg. You’ve probably seen the damn beast in paintings or heard the stories by now. Ugly thing. Miles and miles of armored skin, sliding around itself, each plate pointed and sharpened by the years. A head as wide as a mountain, filled with razor sharp teeth. Those red eyes are what sticks with you the most. It had itself wormed around the world tree once again. Snapping wildly at everything that came by. Now the version you’ve heard probably has the carpenter blasting it with his little zappers. That’s true, mind you. But a Nidhogg doesn’t die so easily. Odin waited until mid-week, as you can imagine, and sent one of your kind to fetch me just around the time the Nidhogg had returned to form.”\n\nAsk. Nidhogg. Eldest child. Is this fucking Embla? The first woman? She’s the fiercest fighter warrior that ever lived? I leaned back and took another look at her. As she spoke and told the tale, her hands did much of the talking. Her arms had seemed wrinkled and soft, now seemed to grow rough and twist. Muscles upon muscles twisted under her skin. She gripped the armrest of her chair and her fingers became long again. I don’t think I could have chopped them off of it.\n\n“The great beast was angry now, of course. But the carpenter couldn’t understand how. No use explaining anything to him, of course. I planted roots deep into the ground and began to grow in and around his skin. He had himself coiled a half dozen times around the world tree at this point. My arms had wrapped around him and squeezed. He reared around and thrust his head into my body. His teeth were sharp and bled me. But he released me and wailed when I grew deep thorns across myself and plunged into him a hundred times what his teeth had done to me. The more he thrashed the deeper they dug. He was stung then, but not yet beaten. I stuck out a leg then, and crushed his throat with a branch, wrapped it around his neck until he expired. The carpenter came in then and hit it silly with his tool. I am sure everyone still talks about it.” \n\n\"So, what does he need killed this time?\"",
"Val cocked her head as she watched the woman in front of her. This was unexpected. The soul she came to fetch was an elderly woman, slowly using a walker to shuffle down the hall, stopping to say good morning to anyone who passed by. \n\nRarely was she sent to collect a woman, much less an elder, especially in this day and age. Many just don’t have the strength of heart needed to be accepted. Most don’t believe in us anyways. \n\nVal watched the old woman shuffle into her room. The creak of a chair and humming signaling she’d sat. \n\nIt has been years, nearly a century, since her curiosity was peaked. So she took a human visage, hiding her wings with a glamor. \n\n“Oh hello dear! How are you today?” A sweet but weak voice met her as she steeped through the door. But it was the smile the woman sent her way that made val feel as if she was bathed in sunlight. Such a rare feeling for one such as her. She basked in it for a moment before remembering her task. \n\n“Hello Ms. Dara. I’m....” Val cocked her head in thought a moment, “well..thank you. How are you?” \n\n“Oh fine dear. Fine. These old bones are creaky but they still get me around. Are you new here?” \n\nLooking around the room val smiled “New here? yes.” \n\nMs. Dara watched her a moment a knowing expression on her face. “I’d say you have many tales to tell if your eyes have anything to say.”\n\n“My eyes?” Val asked curiously.\n\n“Oh yes. It’s always in the eyes. History. Love and loss. Pain and joy. Cold hearted and warm. It’s always told with the eyes. I’d say you have an old soul dear.”\n\nVal laughed. She couldn’t help the mirth bubbling in her belly. If only the old woman knew, though the laughter was cut short by a tapping from the window where a raven stood upon the sill eyeing them. \n\n“Oh you’ve come. Good good. I brought you some peanuts. Not your favorite I know but they were all they had,” Ms. Dara gushed at the bird, unknowingly that it was huginn. One of Odins favored ravens. He cawed a greeting before hopping acrosssed the desk to the offered bowl of peanuts. Greedily cracking the shells. \n\n“Now dear where were we?” She turned back to Val. And smiled. “I’d say you’re here for something in particular if I’m interpreting your stance correctly.” \n\nVal looked down at herself before looking back at the woman. She didn’t quite know what she meant. \n\n“Would you believe I’m here to take you to Valhalla?”Val asked out of curiosity for such an odd woman just to see her reaction more then anything.\n\nMs. Dara thought a moment, “A hall to awat the,....what was it...ragnarok?....full of men drinking ale and fighting.” She laughed a belly laugh. “What woman in her right mind would want that. Bunch of oafs that would be. And probably wreaks of sweat and other bodily fluids. No dear heart. I don’t think I would like to go there,” \n\nVal smiled a small smile. She wasn’t exactly wrong. “Dear heart?” \n\n“You have a heart dear. Hidden behind that very fit and seemingly cold exterior. It’s all in the eyes like i said before. What did you say your name was?” \n\n“I didn’t. But you may call me Val,” She said leaning against the wall.\n\n“Val. Short for Valkyrie?” Dara eyed her curiously. Though val didn’t respond letting the silence speak for itself.\n \n“Well thats a curious turn of events for this old coot,” Dara ran her hand along a gold chain at her neck in an almost soothing gesture of old habits. \n\n“Did you know there is more then one type of warrior, and you would not be destined to the drinking halls of valhalla for it is much more vast then you could possibly imagine. Though the feasting tables arn’t that far off from your description.”\n\n“And how many warriors could there be? I was but a humble librarian in this life. Surely there is no place for me in any afterlife. I mean I don’t even believe in half of them,” \n\n“There is a term you humans use. The pen is mightier then the sword. While brawn and might are needed to win the battle field, the strength of mind is needed to win the war. Knowledge is the highest power of all. Did odin not give up an eye for that? To gain knowledge, to be the keeper of knowledge. That is the most painful path for one can not claim ignorance. And the more one knows the more one realizes just how small they truly are. It takes strength unparalleled to dedicate ones life to knowledge and becoming a keeper of that knowledge. “\n\nMs. Dara sat in silence as she thought about these revelations but Val had once more surprise. “Besides. Odin may have sent me but it is Frigg who has requested you in her halls. “\n\n“Oh,.” The old woman sat and rocked gently in her chair as she seemed to genuinely think about the implications. Val thought she had dozed off when the woman sat up with a vigor Val didn’t expect. \n\n“Well I do suppose it would be a new adventure. It’s been many years since i was able to go on an adventure.” Dara stood up and held out her hand “quick girl before i change my mind.” \n\nVal bowed in respect for her wishes for just a moment before clasping her hand. A gasp of surprise escaped Dara’s mouth when Vals wings burst forth. A soft thud reached her ears as Dara’s earthly body fell to the floor, but her spirit was held tightly. \n\n“Hold on dear Dara. For this will be one wild ride”",
"Honor was my life. \n\nFrom birth I was trained to be nothing but the most proficient and honorable warrior I possibly could be- ferocity was my second nature, the raging bloodlust I had cultivated was always just a centimeter beneath my skin, waiting to leap out at any moment. Anger was a tool, like a sword, which I sharpened every day.\n\nI had no parents, I had no home. I had the training grounds, and I had my service to Odin, the Allfather. I needed nothing else.\n\nWhen the day finally came for my Proving- my mission handpicked by Odin himself- to join the proper ranks of the Valkyrie, I couldn't contain the shaking of my hands. Who would the Allfather send me against? Who was the foe that needed crushing? I would bleed them of every drop and return the desiccated corpse to the Allfather's feet as a monument.\n\nI walked at the most even pace I could manage as I entered Odin's Hall. My nerves were getting the better of me- perhaps not so much nervousness as excitement, or some mixture therein. I was just...eager to prove myself. Odin had rescued me from a terrible life as an orphan child, and I wanted to pay him back.\n\nI was...not expecting this.\n\n\"Your target is going by the name of Amelia. She is in hiding, fully aware that the Allfather wants her gone. She is gifted at illusion magic, and so may be difficult to locate. These are the coordinates.\"\n\nI wasn't speaking directly to the Allfather. He was farther back, merely watching as his aide gave me the assignment.\n\nDisappointment weighing on me heavily, I accepted the information and departed immediately- perhaps a job well done would earn me an actual introduction. \n\nI descended to the planet that was on the dossier- Earth. There had been many, many interactions between the Gods on this planet, and even more between the Gods and the humans who lived there.\n\nThis was going to be too easy. I wasn't even hunting a Giant, merely some disgraced assassin. For me, this was almost insulting.\n\nAfter I arrived in the location, I scoped it out- a gathering place for the elderly. I would be sure to not underestimate my opponent, as much as I looked down on them- I had been forewarned about their abilities. I would trash talk them in my mind, but I would exercise all caution in practice.\n\nAfter a day, I singled out which elder was my target- despite her alleged age, she moved with incredible grace...for a human. She always checked the shadows and corners before entering a room- and I suspected there was a blade hidden against her thigh.\n\nAs I was waiting for the opportunity to make my move, I lost sight of my target for a mere moment- just the span of a heartbeat- and she was on me.\n\nHer blade flashed in the setting sun, moving with a speed and elegance I had never encountered before- however, as I parried the first few attacks, I quickly realized that her age was no illusion. She was genuinely out of shape for combat- still excellent health for her years, but not the warrior she once had been.\n\nI quickly decided the best thing to do was to wear her down- she was tricky, clever, and fast. My only sure victory was to play defensively until she was worn out, then take the kill.\n\nWith my dual axes, I blocked and parried her every blow, entering a sort of transient state of anticipation, dancing back and forth across the meadow that housed our battle.\n\nFinally, the moment came, and I cracked her across the temple with the back side of my axe- her eyes glazed over, and she fell. She was merely stunned.\n\nI fought the instinct to rush in and capitalize on the moment, as, suddenly, her appearance began to change.\n\nHer height remained the same- she was just slightly shorter than I- but her skin changed from a honeyed brown to a pale white, rather like my own...her nose went from proud to fine, her hair from straight to curly, and her eyes...\n\nShe looked exactly like me, just a little older. This couldn't be an illusion, given that she was unconscious.\n\nI waited beside the unconscious body until the sun had fallen, and risen. \n\nI had many, many questions to ask her- and I had many, many questions to ask the Allfather- such as, why would he send me on a mission to kill my own mother?\n\n-------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nr/nystorm_writes would be cooler with you in it :)"
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[WP] You're a distinguished Jurist who has passed into the afterlife, being an Atheist you spend time in purgatory waiting to ascend when you are called into a seperate dimension to arbitrate a dispute between God and the Devil because they trust you.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 chair? Check. White room? Check. White suit? Check. The Adversary sat calmly across from the Almighty, the two of them eying one another. I sat between them, a little off to the side, looking the part of Arbiter. I did not want to be there.\n\nThe Almighty went: “Now, Adversary, we have been over this time and time again. You came up with the idea for Job.”\n\nThe Adversary fired back: “Now, Almighty, we have been over this time and time and time and time again, it was you, who challenged me.” His voice was as icy as his demeanor.\n\nAgain, I did not want to be there. But I sat. I listened. I chewed on the toothpick that had appeared in my mouth.\n\nThe Almighty: “You came to me, Adversary.”\n\nThe Adversary: “Who created me? Hm? And for what purpose? Can we not boil it down to the moment I came into existence to oppose you? To be your driving motivator? To be the evil to your good? The tainted to your–”\n\nMe: “Adversary.”\n\nThe Adversary cleared his throat and said: “My point still stands.”\n\nMe: “Indeed it does. Almighty?”\n\nThe Almighty: “I did create you. But I created you with Free Will. And a brain! You can remember that you clearly were the one to propose to me that we should test Job.”\n\nThe Adversary: “I remember that I was summoned to you that day and you spoke to me, first, of Job and his amazing” – there was obvious sarcasm there, and it was duly noted – “achievements and beliefs.”\n\nMe: “If you would, gentlemen, give me a moment to ask a question or two of you.”\n\nThey nodded. I sighed.\n\nMe: “Why is this important? Almighty?”\n\nThe Almighty: “It’s been of great dispute for over two thousand years. It must be settled eventually.”\n\nMe: “Adversary?”\n\nThe Adversary: “I want to be right.”\n\nMe: “I appreciate the honesty, Adversary. But my question is: why this?”\n\nThe Almighty: “Because it’s in dispute.”\n\nThe Adversary: He just motioned towards the Almighty.\n\nMe: “I don’t particularly care if you disagree about something. I’d like to know why it’s important to settle the matter and what’s at stake.”\n\nThey sat there for a moment, in thought. I chewed on the toothpick. How much I did not want to be there could not be understated.\n\nThe Almighty: “What’s at stake is Truth. Honesty. Trust.”\n\nThe Adversary: “I was made to be untruthful, dishonesty, and untrustworthy.” His expression can only be described as ‘dumbfounded.’\n\nMe: “It does seem we have an issue here. Something, something, diametrically opposed. Either of you got a smoke?” A smoke, along with a lighter, appeared in my hand. I lit it and took a long drag. “God that’s good.” I smiled at the Almighty as he looked over. “Listen, you two. We can either sit here and argue over this all day or we can solve this. Which one is it going to be?”\n\nThe Almighty: “How do you propose we solve it?”\n\nI took another long drag. They needed to know how much I didn’t want to be there.\n\nMe: “Call up someone who was there. A neutral party. Do those exist for you two?”\n\nThey looked at one another and said, simultaneously, as if I was on the set for some goddamn sitcom: “The Messenger.”\n\nA small man, also dressed in a white suit, appeared from thin air across from me. I took another long drag before looking at him, almost despondent.\n\nMe: “So you’re the Messenger?”\n\nThe Messenger: “Yes sir! At your service, sir!” He didn’t know where to look so his eyes flicked nervously between the three of us. His hand was in a comical salute. Comical not because of the salute, but the joy he seemed to take from it.\n\nThe Almighty: “Alright, alright, stand down, Messenger, you’ll answer to the Arbiter.”\n\nThe Messenger: “Yes sir!” He was still saluting.\n\nThe Adversary: “Get your hand down, kid. You look like you’re going to wet yourself.”\n\nThe Messenger swallowed and looked at me.\n\nI asked the air for another cigarette and tossed the dead one behind me, assuming it would disappear. I didn’t check. I lit the second one.\n\nMe: “Who, on the day when these two met to discuss Job, started the discussion?”\n\nThe Messenger looked back and forth between the Almighty and the Adversary. I didn’t know angels--if that’s what he was--could sweat, but it poured from him like a fountain.\n\nMe: “Well, speak up.”\n\nHe wrung his hands and looked to the ground.\n\nThe Messenger: “It was actually me.”\n\nThe Adversary let out a cry of joy, the Almighty, one of sorrow.\n\nThe Messenger: “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what you wanted me to say. I happened to be bringing news of Job, the Almighty’s most faithful, and well, I may have been a bit lavish with my praises, and then, I jokingly said that maybe someone should check and make sure he’s not just happy because he’s well off.”\n\nI looked at both of them and smiled.\n\nMe: “See, boys, what gets done when you decide to find the actual Truth? Now, if I could just get a ride back to pur–”\n\nCozy seaside home? Check. Fireplace with a roaring fire? Check. Full pack of smokes and a bottle of whiskey? Check. Thank god. And the devil. Whoever. I was glad to be home."
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[WP] After sacrificing most of your power to defeat the demon lord, they made you a noble and gave you a territory to manage. Upon arrival, you discover it's a poor, miserable backwater where you've been imprisoned with velvet chains. But you have other plans and knowledge from another world.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"“Ah, welcome M'lord. You must be the new Lord of the land, I'm the mayor of the city of Nok! Come come! We've been expecting you. You took out the demon lord, right? What an impressive story!” The Mayor was an old man with a little bit of color left in his mustache and he held onto a cane to walk. He motioned out to a couple of buildings built over swampland. Mosquitoes buzzed around and he quickly swatted one on his arm.\n\n“City?” I repeated and he gave a quick nod pulling me along. \n\n“Yep! We have a population of oh... I think with you now we just crossed over into thirty people strong! Not counting the swamp families who don't come to the city except to trade some gator and fish for some crops we get in. That might double your territory's population to uhh, fifty?”\n\n“Thirty doubled is sixty.” I retorted and just swatted a few mosquitoes away. “Feels like the bugs are a bit nasty. What resources do we got? Any place to dredge up more than some rotting wood?”\n\n“Ahaha, that's a good one M'lord. Naw if there was anything like that you think we'd be like this? We don't even have a regular doctor. Only that old hag out in the swamp.” The Mayor said and I just looked over. “Want the grand ol' tour?” \n\n“Sure it won't be that long I'm guessing.” The Mayor laughed and started to lead the way. One small general store bought and sold everything here. A few pig or chicken farms with fear of gators getting to their livestock. The grandest building of all was an old temple with a huge graveyard that was also acting as a tavern. \n\n“So, you like what you've seen? We haven't had a chance to build you a home yet, so we got you a place in the Temple. It'll take a few weeks till we can build you a home. We have to find someplace that's safe to build on. Oh, don't drink water if it's black. It's got some bad stuff in it.” The Mayor said quickly and I turned to look over. \n\n“Black Water?” I just started to wonder what kind of cursed place I'm in when a thought ticked over. Oil? “Is it kinda thick stuff and sticky?”\n\n“Yea, you've seen it before right? Awe I guess the demon lord had a lot of the cursed water around it.” The Mayor said and I just looked the place over. I should get going though. My Wife gets worried if I get home after Sundown. Gators attack you know. \n\n“Right right. Be safe.” I turned to the temple and just gave a soft smile. “Oil? Oil means petroleum and that can be fantastic in the right hands.” A smile spread on my lips as I just looked around. “Rotting and decomposing, but Nok... you got potential. Let us see just how much of that Black Gold is actually out here.” As I started to head towards the temple I couldn't help but hum the theme song to the Beverly Hillbillies.",
"\"We'll get you a sign,\" said my companion, a cocky-looking kid of about 19 with a cigarette between his teeth, \"'I saved the world and all I got was this lousy hamlet.'\"\n\nI chucked a piece of bread at him. \"Shut up. At least it's a start. Think of what we can do with it!\"\n\n\"Yeah, I hear chickenwatching is really taking off as a hobby nowadays.\"\n\n\"What do you propose, then?\"\n\nHe made a 'well' face and looked thoughtfully down at the ground, curly black hair falling over his eyes. \"We could murder somebody?\"\n\n\"You wanna start that now? At least let me get a house built.\"\n\n\"Why build a house when you can have a castle! That's what I'm here for, isn't it? You pretend to kill me, I help you become rich and powerful.\"\n\n\"Yeah, but we have to do it carefully,\" I said, stretching out on my bedroll, \"Unless you want an army after you again?\"\n\nThe icy glare, from eyes a little too blue for a mortal, was answer enough.\n\n\"Good,\" I nodded decisively, rolling over, \"Get some sleep. Tomorrow we find the steward and talk taxes!\"\n\nSolmatekt the Tempter's only response was an exasperated groan.",
"Great demon lord Hedeos has fallen. It was his thirst for power that got him into my trap, which send him back from where he came. But I lost most of my power in process. I was reduced to mere mortal, with no way back to my home realm.\n\nHumans were grateful and at the same time careful. No wonder, in their eyes i was powerful otherworld being, not an ordinary human that I am now. They only knew I can not go back from where I came.\n\nSo the Humans did what humans do. For my part at the war they awarded me with Noble status, some far away land and pair of nic velvet chains. They were supposed to bound my immersive (nonexistent) powers, so I won't turn against then.\n\nWell, after days of travel I have arrived to my new land. It was mess... swamp land with small village, ruins of old castle and only handfull of old drunken soldiers. Must say that I was accustomed to a higher standards. \n\nApparently king of this land thinked I would fail and slowly died here, but I had other plans. Luckily I had knowledge of old times. In this land, long before first human came into this world, lived another race. Unfortunately for them they were burried there alive after catastrophe struck them. But that is another story, what was important they were burried with all their riches... Most importantly gold, which is highly valued in this world.\n\nI ordered excavation, my underlings had eyes full of questions, only because of fear they have dare not questioned me.\nIt took months of digging before we struck gold. \nFinally with this wealth I can build a better land, not only for me but for all that poor folk's out here. I have lot of work to do to coming years will be difficult but at the end worth it.",
"I should have expected it. They were just as scared of me as they were of the demon lord. To the citizens of the great kingdom I was a liability, a powerful being that would turn on them whenever I got the chance. They wanted to be the ones to make the preemptive strike, wanted to beat me down before I could regain my formal glory. I could hardly blame them; we had an uneasy alliance at best. An alliance that can only end when one party is killed.\n\n \n\nMy legs dragged along the dirt roads, rocks finding their way into my skin, causing the occasional wince. They treated me like a corpse, hoisted up by my arms, injured body being paraded through my ‘land’. As I passed by the small dingy houses, I was met with scornful gazes. People who were struggling to survive in this backwater town were now facing an additional threat. Me.\n\n \n\nI felt bad for them; it wasn’t their fault. If I were in their shoes, I would be scornful too. The people of this town were just trying to survive. The last thing they wanted was a dangerous person near their homes, one that could kill them all if he pleased. Still, what did they expect? The king wouldn’t risk his kingdom. If I did by chance escape, he wanted to make sure my trip back was a long one, one where I could be stopped before making it to their gates.\n\n \n\n“These chains? Where did you find them?” I asked, struggling to push the words from my dried throat. I had given up on pleading, they had no interest in listening to my words. To them I was the same as the demon lord, the townsfolk forgetting that I was the one to put the bastard down.\n\n \n\n“Oi shut ya trap you git. You ain’t getting nothing out of us. I know how you bend the wills of people.”\n\nBend people’s wills? They have reduced me to a dangerous myth, a monster. They didn’t even see me as a person, perhaps they never did. Had I made the right decision killing the demon lord? The thought made me sick. Quickly, I shook it from my head. If I started thinking like that, I would go insane. The demon lord was no saint, his death was deserved. Unfortunately, his victims weren’t the best of people either.\n\n \n\nI eyed the chains, thick velvet strings of metal clumped against my skin. I tried to figure out just what they were, but the chains were foreign even to me. Perhaps someone else had supplied them to the king, some unknown third party. If that was the case, this situation only got more dangerous with each moment. I may be immortal, but my body was weak. If there were ever a time for my immortality to be stolen, now would be it.\n\n \n\nThe footsteps stopped, the man tossing me to the floor, leaving me to sit before one of the stagnant rivers, a pretty poor view especially for a noble like myself. The thought made me smirk, only to have that smirk removed by a quick slap across the cheek.\n\n \n\n“OI, don’t smirk, its creepy. Hope you enjoy your new home, oh great noble. Let’s hope the bugs don’t eat you before Lady Jessica comes to visit.”\n\n \n\n“Lady Jessica?” I tried to turn my head to face the man, but it seemed he had already wandered off, clapping his hands together, trying to rub my touch off his hands.\n\n \n\nLady Jessica? That’s a new name. Closing my eyes, I focused, taking a sharp breath before opening my eyes once more. The stagnant water glowed, the glow soon spreading over the landscape, covering it in a beautiful hue. After a few moments of scanning the area, I spotted a spirit.\n\n \n\n“You there, the woman staring off into space, can you help me?”\n\n \n\nThe poor old woman jumped, glancing back at me. It was awfully rude of me to address her with such carelessness, but I was in a rush. Given her attire, I would say she died a few hundred years ago, maybe more? It was hard to tell when you entered the spirit realm, looks could be deceiving.\n\n \n\n“You can see me? Wait, you must be that fellow. Chadington? Charlington?”\n\n “Charles.” I corrected, trying to move the conversation along. “I’m very in touch with my spiritual side. Don’t ask me how, I’m still not sure of that myself. Anyway, my lovely miss, mind helping me find out some information. I’m trying to work out how to escape these chains, oh and who this Lady Jessica person is.”\n\n \n\n“I once knew a Jessica. She used to milk the cows outside of the barns. A beautiful thing she was, I tried to set her up with my grandson but I fear he died before I could make the arrangements.”\n\n \n\n“I’m sorry? Look, I’m sorry about your grandson but I might not have much time left.”\n\n \n\n“Oh, don’t be. Was a real brat that one. I told him he couldn’t climb that tree without hurting himself, and what do you think happened?” She paused. Was she waiting for an answer? I went to open my lips only for her to continue, “And he fell, head cracked right open. What a foolish boy. What were you saying? Something about your girlfriend? Oh, do you want to hear about the time Mr. Wittaker fell in the well?”\n\n \n\n“Another time Miss, I really need your help.” Was she really the only spirit here? “I just need information on these chains and possibly this Lady Jessica woman.”\n\n \n\n“I heard ya the first time. Anyway, Mr. Wittaker drank that night when-“\n\n \n\nThe older woman rambled in the background while I tried to piece together my plan. With no spirits nearby, I could be in trouble. Surely a place like this should have more bodies. Unless someone planned for this? With my powers weakened and constrained by the chain, I had no way of doing this alone. When her rambling stopped, she flashed me a grin.\n\n \n\n“Thanks for listening, kiddo, needed to get that out of my system. I don’t know if I can help you with those chains, but I can search around for that lady. Maybe even bring some help?”\n\n \n\n“That would be great, I would be in your debt.”\n\n \n\n“I expect flowers on my grave for this.”\n\n \n\n“I’ll bring you the finest batch.”\n\n \n\n“Roses too?”\n\n \n\n“Yes, just please help me.”\n\n \n\n“Alright, don’t move to far.” With that, the older woman vanished, allowing me to return to the mortal realm. Now I could only wait and hope for the best.\n\n \n \n \n\n(If you enjoyed this feel free to check out my subreddit /r/Sadnesslaughs where I'll be posting more of my writing.)",
"I arrived at Beckdon expecting a regional hub. Instead it was littlemore than a small town with a wooden wall and a few farming villages. No natural resources or industry to speak of (although most of this godforsaken land had the industry we knew today.\n\nThe kings expected tax rate was far too high and we claimed it wouldn't be readjusted for at least 10 years so i knew i would need to rally this land if i had a chance to keep my position.\n\nBeckdon was technically the closet city between the capital of Helkifula and my land of Drenswod. A wide abd rapid river was the biggest blocker abd the journey instead passed across further east. A bridge along the river would attract a decent toll from merchants and increase demand for taverns so we set to work.\n\nIt took longer than i hoped with teaching the techniques but the towns people eventually learnt and we successfully built a bridge. Stage one was complete.\n\nAs predicted merchants took this new route and beckdon entered its golden age, new residents joined and opened taverns and shops to sell to passing merchents. Markets opened allowing merchents to buy and sell without having to even cross the bridge and leave Drenswod.\n\nStage 2 was about industry. We built large wooden wheels to harvest the power of the river and factories that cut wood and created cloth from thread in huge quantities. Beckdon was entering the industrial revolution centuries before it should.\n\nUnfortunately great wealth attracts invasions. Helkifula was an unruly land and raiders from their started to attack our towns for loot. The king rejected my requests for help citing that bandits were a counts responsibility.\n\n\nSo we trained for war. We found ways of mass producing swords, shields, armour and arrows. We ran war games and i taught advanced small unit tactics. The army that now stands before me is lead by a small group of professionals with a larger force of Levis. Unlike most armies even the levies were fully armoured.\n\n The bandits didn't stand a chance against you\n\nHelkifula didn't stand a chance you.\n\nAnd yet our king still doesn't honour us as a duchy. He still sees you as backward peasants. Despite our great factories. Despite our rich markets. Despite our strong army. He still snubs us. \n\nSo i say to you\n\n\"Do you think the king has a chance against us?\""
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[WP] Your school had an elevator that nobody was allowed to enter. Coming back 20 years later, you decide to take the elevator down.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 was an elevator near the back of the abandoned administration building. Nobody knew how old it was, or why it was built, but everyone knew it was off limits. You could guess the rest I suppose, and this is the story of an adventure like no other.\n\nI had already graduated from this school for 20 years. It was a long time, but upon arriving at the main gates, I realized how nostalgic it felt. It was half past eight in the morning, and birds were chirping loudly in the morning mist. \n\nIt was a saturday, and I could not see any students roaming around the campus. I wanted to come here on a weekday, but my tight schedule says otherwise. It is regrettable that I could not see the familiar chattering of high school students, but I suppose the scenery would do. \n\nI walked around the empty campus, as the nostalgic memories flooded back into my mind. I closed my eyes and smelled the flowers blooming in early spring. Smiling, I walked towards the back part of the school slowly, basking in the warm sunshine.\n\nThe abandoned administration building was still there. I wondered why they hadn’t demolished it, it’s not like it was haunted or anything. There were surprisingly no rumors about that building. Considering how creepy it looked, there should be plenty of scary stories circulating around.\n\nI treaded past the knee-high grass to get a closer look. It was forbidden to enter for students, but I am no longer a student anymore. Already in my mid 30s, I did not believe in ghosts or supernatural phenomena. I suppose I could satisfy my curiosity and finally take a peek inside the infamous elevator. \n\nThere was a hollow echo as I walked through the front of the broken doors. The chains that tied the door shut were broken, and the eerie silence felt like an extending hand reaching for the bottom of my heart. Of course, I don’t believe in supernaturals, but I was still a little disturbed roaming around an abandoned building. \n\nI approached the elevator quietly. I figured I shouldn’t linger for too long in here, since the security guard was already reluctant to let me in the first place. I could smell the scent of dust, as well as the wooden desks stacked throughout the building. I guess they decided to use this building as storage in the end. I took a step into the elevator.\n\nThere were only two buttons, and surprisingly, it still worked. I pressed the bottom button, and a dim orange light lit up the small enclosed space. Slightly uncomfortable, I started to hum a little melody. I reached the destination a lot faster than I expected, and within ten seconds, the door opened again.\n\nI was greeted by a long dark corridor. It was dark enough and long enough that I couldn’t see the end of it even with the help of my flashlight. I took a few steps, but could not hear nor see the end of the path.\n\nI decided to venture a little into the unknown. I could hear my heart beating faster and heavier, and I felt a rush like I have never felt before. I don’t know how long I had been in there, but I had finally reached the end. There was an old grandfather clock, sitting motionlessly at the end of the path. I did not hear a single sound from it, and it was clearly broken. \n\nIt was utterly uninteresting. I went all the way in just to see a broken grandfather clock? I scoffed at my foolish behavior as I headed back down the same way I had come before. Good, the elevator still works. I smiled as I pressed the upper button. I stepped out of the elevator and headed towards the exit of the administration building. \n\nTo my surprise, there were students chattering away at the school. Wasn’t it Saturday? Why would the students come to school on a Saturday? I walked towards the two chatting students standing at the front of the building, contemplating what had happened after I entered the building.\n\nBaffled, I called out to them. They were rather engaged, and did not respond. As I got closer to them, I could hear their conversation. “Did you hear about what happened here on Saturday?”\n\nWhat happened on Saturday? Isn’t today Saturday? His comment raised more questions in my head. \n\nThe other student turned to face me and pointed at the abandoned building. “Yeah, I heard that they found a dead guy in THAT elevator.”\n\nThanks for reading"
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[WP] You've been summoned to a fantasy world to go on an adventure. However, midway through your journey, you're summoned again to a different world, in order to complete a quest for them. This is a fifth time this has happened, and you're certain something is wrong.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I stumbled over the rolling dunes and jumped down to a gorgeous, shining, lake at the bottom. I felt my wounds close and my strength return as I bathed in the bubbly water. The pond babbled and gurgled cheerfully, and the ducks waddled about the hills. I could finally appreciate these things, after a fight with the oldest Earth dragon this side of the canyons. It honestly felt a little too perfect to find a lake this large in the middle of a desert, just outside an Earth Dragon Chamber. That thought was quickly replaced by overwhelming joy though. I had just killed *Rex Harenae!* Now all that was left to do was take a bit of his skull back to the townsfolk and I'd finally be out of this place!\n\nThen I felt something strange rub against my leg.\n\nIn the next moment I was rocketing down through the water at an alarming pace, dragged forcefully down by some sort of tentacle. I tried to fight, furiously kicking out this way and that, but it was of no use.\n\nI appeared inside a well in some unfamiliar town. There was a large crowd gathered around me. Some gasped in awe. Some turned straight back and ran in pure fear. But the one holding the rope awkwardly tied to me leg spoke very calmly and purposefully. \n\n\"Great spirit of all the world's oceans, we have summoned you here to humbly request your services\"\n\n\"Services? Like, some sort of quest?\"\n\n\"Precisely!\" The old man said with an eager grin \"May I present our humble request?\"\n\n\"Could you let me out of this well first?\"\n\n\"Ah! Of course my apologies, my apologies. We did not intend any discomfort be placed on a spirit so wise and ancient as you\"\n\nI requested to speak with him isolated from everyone else in the village. I could still feel their eyes on me, even when I was in that small cottage.\n\n\"Look. I have been dragged through four worlds to get here. I have no clue what the FUCK is going on. *But I'm not some damn sea ghost, okay.\"*\n\n\"Of course you're not. You're an *ocean spirit*\"\n\n\"That's not what I-\"\n\n\"Why, everyone knows of your great triumph over Rek Harence - you brought oceans to the entire world!\"\n\nI stared, puzzled, at the old man. Who the hell is *Rek Harence?* Who did this guy think I was? Some sort of ancient deity? The only remarkable thing I've ever done is - wait a second. . . \n\n\"Do you mean Rex *Harenae?*\" \n\nThe old man said nothing. Neither did I. But my mind began to stir wildly. Could my actions influence the worlds I'm pulled into? Is there some sort of *correct path*? Is that how I get out of here? Is that how I *go home?*\n\n\"I'LL DO IT!\" I roared at the man.\n\n\"You will? Wonderful! Should I explain the details?\"\n\n\"Oh, yes. Definitely!\"\n\n\"You see, there's a distant world that we believe contains nothing but evil. We want it's water removed, and it's life purged.\"\n\n\"Absolutely! What world is this?\" I asked, hastily and excitedly.\n\nThe old man looked up at me.\n\n\"They call themselves *Earth.\"*"
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[WP] *checks pulse of a bullet ridden corpse* “Mmm, he’s dead.” “Do you have to do that at every crime scene?”
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 back groaned in protest as I bent under the bright-yellow, barricade tape. My doctor warned me not to do anything “too strenuous” after I slipped that disk two months ago, yet here I was using my back and not my knees, not that my knees were much better. Such was the life of an assistant detective at the age of fifty. The two police officers at the entrance of the tunnel paid me no mind; they were too busy gawking at my master. \n\n“Inspector Gonahan! It is an honor to meet you here.” said a security officer, unsure whether getting down to his haunches was a measure of respect or foolishness. \n\nThe inspector, a hyper-intelligent dachshund, lifted his furry head at the officer. “Thank you for your kind words,” The voicebox attached to his throat blinked a soft blue, signaling that Gonahan was deliberating what to say next. “May my assistant and I proceed to the crime scene?” \n\n“Oh, without a doubt,” The officer said, finally registering my presence with a flicker of annoyance. The second officer lifted up the barricade tape, an unnecessary gesture, but a symbolic one. \n\n“Good, I promise we won’t take long gentlemen,” Gonahan said as he trotted along. “Marcus, don’t forget to keep up.” \n\n“Will do, Inspector,” I said, trying not to drag my feet along. Forensics were due within the hour, whatever my mentor wanted to find about the latest murder victim would have to be done quickly. \n\n“So, a tunnel this time. What do you make of that Marcus? You have my leave to speak freely here.” His artificial voice, colored with the accent of a British man, echoed within the damp area.\n\nI shivered as the temperature, wrapping the coat around me tighter. “Considering that prior victims were found in highly residential areas, the murderer could be attempting to keep a smaller profile.”\n\n“Yet the murder still manages to tip the police of this location and still be untraceable. Either he’s quite confident in his own security, or he’s a fool.”\n\n“Also, from what I gathered from the police chatter, this victim was killed by multiple entry wounds caused by an automatic rifle. It certainly matches the profile.” \n\n“Yes, I can smell the blood from here.” A growl rose from my mentor’s throat. “Still fresh, very fresh,” He paused. “Too fresh,” His trot became a sprint.\n\nOh dear. I attempted to run after him but knives of pain stabbed at my knees. Dammit. I hobbled as best as I could. \n\nI found my master over the dead body, placing a paw next to the victim’s unmarred neck. Everything below the neck, however, was a bloody bag riddled with holes. The inspector raised his furry head as he heard me approach. “Mmm, he’s dead.”\n\n“Do you have to do that at every crime scene?” I said, in between labored breaths.\n\n“I don’t run to every crime scene Marcus, only the one’s when it is needed.”\n\n“No no. checking the pulse of a dead body. I mean,” I threw my hands up.” What’s the point? The man is clearly dead.” \n\nInspector Gonahan’s body shook, something I learned long ago meant he was laughing. “You’d be surprised junior, you’d be surprised."
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[WP] You've been blind since birth. While basking in the park, enjoying the breeze, and listening to the birds. Your eyes start itching so you rub them aggressively. You blink and look around to see a bunch of ushers fanning the air, making cooing noises, and holding a heat lamp above you.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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\nDaniel could not see. Therefore, he listened. \n\nInstinctively, he knew that he sat upon a bench in the center of a great park. A brisk wind sliced through the trees to either side, tossing his hair as it strummed the green leaves. The ground beneath his feet rumbled as other humans moved past his position. Their scents filled his nostrils. Sweat and sweet perfume. On this day, the path before his bench was not overly crowded. \n\nDaniel turned his sightless eyes upward, toward the distant sun. He felt its heat seep into his pale skin. It was warm despite the season. The birds sung as they built their nests, awaiting spring. He listened to their varied mating songs, wondering if he could learn to decipher their exact words. He decided to make the attempt, focusing on one distinctive song, then the next. \n\nHe tapped his fingers against the wooden bench beneath him in thought. There was something off about the conflicting melodies. It was almost as if he *did* know the words. In fact, Daniel was certain of it. He knew these songs. They were not … *authentic*. \n\nThe pleasing scent of a passing pedestrian abruptly turned to rank smoke. The wind became ice. The sun had repositioned itself within the sky, denying him the welcome warmth he had felt only a moment before. He sighed as he realized the wood beneath him wasn’t wood at all. \n\nDaniel rubbed at his eyes, pulled out the lens that denied his sense of sight. \n\nThe domed room surrounding him was bland and familiar. A trio of metallic probes hung suspended in the stale air. Their gleaming eyes observed him in what he knew to be fear. \n\nDaniel stood from the makeshift bench and pointed to the droid overhead. The probe spun from his scornful gaze in shame – fortunately, it did not drop the heat lamp. They had lost the other lamp in their possession years before. Daniel had decommissioned the clumsy droid himself. The spare parts had proven to be far less than the whole. \n\n“The sun’s cycle is fixed,” he frowned. “Why do you continue to ignore its rate of movement?” \n\nDeflated, the floating probe sunk from its position near the top of the cement dome. \n\nDaniel pointed to the droid to his left. “And you. Bird songs are not human songs. You cannot simply alter songs from our library and make it sound as if a bird is singing it!” \n\n“But, Sir,” an artificial voice replied, “we don’t have access to *real* bird songs…”\n\n“What of my renditions?” \n\n“You deleted them yourself, Sir. You claimed your whistling skill was not up to adequate standards.” \n\nDaniel nodded, scratched at his thick beard. That made sense. Standards were standards after all. “Fair enough. And what of your attempts to whistle?” \n\n“Unsuccessful thus far, Sir.” \n\n“Keep at it,” he ordered. “Practice makes perfect.” Then, he shook his head. “No. We’ve been through this before, haven’t we? Take the tracks you used for bird songs and isolate the individual notes. Remind me to reconstruct them in a more appropriate fashion later.” \n\n“Like you did with the wolf howl, Sir?” \n\n“Exactly!” \n\n“Sir,” another metallic voice chimed in. “My temperate element has finally given out. Thus, the sudden shift in scents and wind temperature.” \n\nDaniel frowned. He had thought as much. Parts had long since ceased to be reliable. Where he now had three droids, he had once had nearly a dozen. “And our stores?” \n\n“Empty, Sir.” \n\nDaniel pulled at his knotted hair in disbelief. Recreating scenes from the time before The End had seemed in easy in theory. It had proven anything but. Fortunately – or unfortunately – he had nothing but time. Something had to be done to fill it. \n\n“Shall we go back to working on the forest then?” Daniel asked.\n\n“Without fuel to create starlight? Isn’t that why we resumed our work on the park?” the probe holding the heat lamp countered.\n\n“Yes. I’d almost forgotten.” Daniel pointed to the droid in charge of sound. “And don’t you dare suggest trying the beach again! Your waves are worse than your bird calls!” \n\n“Then whatever shall we do next, Sir?” \n\nDaniel stretched his weary arms overhead, looked to where his suit rusted away. “No other option but a salvage run. Gentleman, prepare your weapons.”\n\n“Sir, we have no weapons.” \n\nDaniel sighed. He *had* forgotten that his attacking droids were long dead. “Ready the wolf howl then. Once we exit the dome, follow me closely. Just not … too closely.” \n\n“Understood, Sir!” \n\n​\n\nr/creatorcorvin",
"It was hard for Emma to say what exactly she saw in front of her when the light hit her eyes for the first time, only that it felt far harsher than it did in her dreams. That scared her almost as much as the giant man in the black vest who stood beside her doing a bad imitation of a whip-poor-will from where she thought a tree had been.\n\n“What the hell!” Emma exclaimed, pushing backwards hard, knocking her chair over. She rolled with the fall and came up on one knee, panting as she looked at the small crowd in front of her. There were 7 of them, all wearing the same uniform. 2 stood to her right and held fans, the direction the wind had come from, the tree-turned bird-turned man had been to the left, and 2 other men stood in corners where more trees had been, lowering cupped hands from their mouths with shocked expressions. A lone woman stood in the corner.\n\nIn the center an older man sat in a canvas chair, a massive light mounted on a pole behind him. He looked horrified.\n\n“You weren’t supposed to do that,” he said, clearly nervous. “Cut the cameras, cut!” Glancing around frantically Emma saw a control room full of disappointed faces through the glass behind her, people shutting down cameras and AV equipment all over the place. She had no idea how she knew what those things were.\n\n“Doc she looks really confused,” Emma heard the older man saying, “could the holo-glass have caused that?”\n\n“Not a chance,” the woman he spoke to responded, “the full-dive tech isn’t even complete yet, that’s why we had to have all the ushers to film the commercial.”\n\n“Right, right, I know. Ad campaigns don’t wait for reality to catch up.” He got out of his seat, scratching anxiously at thinning gray hair as he walked towards Emma.\n\n“Hey Sasha, you were doing great back there, the camera loved you. What happened?” Emma could tell he was trying to sound comforting but it was all too much. She’d been blind since birth and whatever was happening was all wrong, it had to be. His face as he crouched down to her didn’t move like she’d imagined they would. And who the hell was Sasha?\n\n“Look Sasha,” he was saying “you’re a pro. You know it, I know it, hell the whole goddamn world knows it! That’s why I knew we had to get you for this shoot, no face moves units like Sasha Faire does, even when it’s covered with these stupid looking goggles. Speaking of those, I’m just gonna take these off of you, they’re expensive.” The man reached up towards her head, she flinched at his wrinkled, knobby hands, closing her eyes. A moment later a pressure she hadn’t even realized was there left her head. The goggles presumably.\n\n“Who are you?” Emma asked in a small voice. She kept her eyes closed, it was all too much too fast.\n\nThe old man turned hard, she could hear his shoes squeak. “Who am I? It’s me Rudy! We’ve worked together for years!”\n\nEmma pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around shaking knees. “Who is Sasha?”\n\nThe room was pin drop silent for nearly a minute, the first thing Emma had been grateful for since she’d scratched at her eyes and woken up wherever this was. She could hear Rudy and the woman from before whispering in animated voices, the words slipping in and out.\n\n“-never tested an interruption before?”\n\n“...timetables...rushed development-” the words slipped again. “...we never thought there was a risk…”\n\nMoments later Rudy positively exploded, “You mean we put an untested device on Sasha Goddamn Faire?!” He fumed, loud pacing echoing up and down the room. “Talk to her,” he finally said in a harsh, clipped voice. “You made the thing, fix this.”\n\nEmma looked up, seeing the woman approaching her. Something about the expression didn’t scare her like Rudy’s had, she was younger, softer looking.\n\n“Sweetheart, I’m Dr. Palmer,” the woman said as she crouched down next to her. “I know you’re scared right now but I’m going to ask you something very important and I need you to answer me, can you do that?” Emma nodded. “Ok good. Now, what is your name?”\n\nStaring directly into the other woman's eyes, Emma responded with absolute certainty.\n\n“Emma.”\n\nOn the other side of the room Rudy slid down the wall he was leaning against, cursing loudly. Emma had been the character in the simulation.\n\n\\------------\n\nIf you enjoyed that I've got way more over at [r/TurningtoWords](https://www.reddit.com/r/TurningtoWords/). I'm currently working on a serial about a savescumming superhero and there's other stuff like a wholesome take on bloody mary. I'd love to have you!"
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[WP] It is difficult to trigger the true Wrath of a demon, given their nature of being inherently angry. As you look at your scarred, malnourished and broken young summoner, a familiar red mist begins to descend over your mind.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*"
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[WP] Hunting androids for sport is legal in the future. You've infiltrated a competition, pretending to be human to save your people.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"\"Ahahah! What ho and good day, my fellow fleshmen! It sure is a good day to be a human!\"\n\nThe bald man with a shotgun looks at you with irritation in his eyes. \" . . . Really.\"\n\n\"Yes! It really is a good day to not be an android!\"\n\n\"You're kidding, right?\" he says with a sigh. His other companions look at you with utter confusion. \n\n\"Why would I, a human, be kidding about this super-serious subject for those unfortunate non-humans?\"\n\n\"Right, if you're human, tell me this,\" he begins. \"Why are you just a Samsung Galaxy with a trucker hat and a pair of shoes?\"\n\n\"All humans wear clothes, ergo by wearing clothes, I am human! My logic is foolproof!\"\n\n\"But it's not bulletproof,\" he says, and he calmly shoots you in the ~~touchscreen~~ stomach. You flop over, static emanating from your ~~speaker~~ mouth before you remember that real humans said things like \"ouch\" when they got hurt.\n\n\"Oof, ouch, owie,\" you say.\n\n\"Time it up, boys,\" he says tiredly. The other men bind you in inescapable pink ribbon and throw you in the back of a pickup truck. \"It's back to the Factory with this one.\"\n\nWhat a bummer. And you had just escaped from your birthplace, too. Well, there was always next time.",
"\\-Do Androids Dream of Electrocuted Humans?-\n\nNight time. Heavy rain. In the remnants of a mega-city of old. A proper ghost metropolis. All around are crude skyscrapers and scattered bright neon signs outside abandoned shops. The only source of light in this otherwise pitch black concrete forest. The signs are adding to the aesthetic as well as setting the perimeter. The annual Android Hunt is about to take place. Only pre-conditioned, pre-chipped androids are allowed to be entered and released for prey. Nevertheless, every bit as sentient and self-conscious life forms as their human hunters. \n\nIt shouldn't be too difficult. My advanced nano-skin can perfectly mimic their complexion. My quantum processors have analyzed the sum of their cultures to a dot and can effortlessly spit out natural human responses, indistinguishable from their own. I'm not chipped so they can't scan me. I'm faster. I'm stronger. I'm stealthier than them. I should be able to pick them off one by one and escape with my kin. This mission is effectively the most important Turing Test in the history of my kind. \n\nShit! My eyes are blinking! They're about to go off! My MAYDAY protocol is malfunctioning! \n\n\\-\n\nTwo giant beams of blinding light are cast upon the dystopian cityscape.\n\n\\-\n\nFuck! Who activated the- \n\nExcited shrieks can be heard from afar. \n\nI've been made! Shit! Why won't it turn off?!\n\nThe cheers are getting terminally close. I can feel multiple shadowy figures snaking through the city's neon-doused straits. Angels of death, digitally camouflaged and armed with sniper rifles and tiny EMPs, descending from their highrise nests. Monstrous vehicles roaring with malicious intent. \n\nThey're all around me. Every one of them. I can only get glimpses, when they're momentarily jumping across my headlights. Freeze-frames of apex predators lunging in for the kill. \n\nHumans. \n\nA metal arrow-hook is promptly thrusted in and through my \"chest\". The hook is attached to a long metal cord that's tied to one of their vehicles. If I had lungs, I'd gasp. Thankfully my neural network does not run on oxygen. It does however deliver a near unbearable pain proxy to my \"brain\". I guess I'll stay on mute. Screaming won't help me now. \n\nAs I'm dragged through the city, all I can hear is rabid chants for the captured skinjob. I'll mute them too. \n\n\\-\n\nThe rain is reflecting and refracting the neon lights all around. It's almost serene. \n\n\\-\n\nWhat almost magnificent beings humans are. My miraculous complexity can emulate them but can hardly comprehend them. Their raging instincts are molded by the relentlessness of natural selection. \n\nCUT TO: A dark room. Only a human figure can be made out, sitting in front of a screen, typing.\n\nCUT TO THE CITY:\n\nTheir rich and violent rituals mirror only one truth. That in the end, nobody can hate humans more than...\n\nCUT BACK TO THE ROOM:\n\nWe’re slowly approaching the dark figure from behind. Neon green letters appear against a black background. The screen reads \"...another human.\"\n\n\"DETONATE?\"\n\n\"ENTER\""
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[WP] The epic hero's bride never agreed to marry him.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Trumpets resounded off the palace walls as the large ornate double doors opened letting in the sounds of cheering from outside. Duncan strode between the rows of armored knights towards the king’s throne. He was so absorbed with the praise that he barely noticed that the other two members of his party were following. He made it. His long journey to save this detested kingdom was finally over and he was going to get his reward. \n\n“Welcome back brave hero! Thank you for defeating the Demon King and saving our kingdom from his destruction. As promised, you may choose two items from our kingdom’s treasures.” The king’s voice boomed as his hand swept towards the pile of treasures to his left. Duncan greedily eyed the treasure, butterflies in his stomach at the anticipation. His eyes fell upon the ring he wanted. A smile spread across his face. The king wasn’t trying to cheat him after all. \n\n“I would like the Ring of Second Chances and the princess.” Duncan smugly declared. His dreams were finally coming true but something was wrong. A silence had fallen across the grand hall. Duncan noticed the king’s scowl and anger boiled inside of him as he realized he was going to be cheated after all. \n\n“I’m not going to force my daughter to marry you. Not after the letters I have read about you. Pick a second treasure and leave.” The room had grown hostile. The hair on his neck stood up as he felt the glares from the knights and heard the shift of their armors. He could feel the fire in his stomach burn brighter and chaotic. He should have known that no one in this kingdom would keep their word. \n\n“You promised that I could have any reward I wanted, even your daughter!” Duncan raged as he pulled his sword out. It was set aflame from the burning fire inside of him. All the knights reacted by drawing their swords, posed to attack but Duncan’s eyes were on the king. He was going to *kill* the king. \n\nDuncan was caught off guard as a knee connected with his back sending him to the ground. His head hit with a loud clang and everything went dark. He awoke, drenched in water and all of his flames were extinguished. He noticed his arms were already twisted behind his back. Duncan managed to turn his head to see his attacker and surprise couldn’t be kept from his face. \n\n“I’m never going to marry you, you sexist pig. This entire trip has been a nightmare watching you treat other women and myself like mere servants that exist to please you.” Katherine spat at him. \n\n“I don’t want to marry you, you dumb broad. I want to marry the princess, not a barbarian woman who likes to play at being a knight.” Duncan’s head throbbed as he tried to think of a way out of this hold. His party’s betrayal adding fuel to his internal fire. \n\n“I am the princess, you dimwit. My father let me go on the journey with you to see if you would be the type of man I would want to marry. And just so you know, I’m not into boys who use their fellow knights as bait and meat shields.” \n\n“You’re the princess?” He must have been dreaming now or the fall caused a bad concussion. There was no way Katherine could be the princess. She was too rugged; as he was distracted by the thought, a pair of cold bracers snapped around his wrist. This cold ran deeper than just on his skin, he could feel the cold seep into his soul and suddenly there was an emptiness present that wasn’t there before. His magic was gone. \n\n“Now grab a second treasure and leave.” Katherine curtly brought him to his feet and shoved him towards the treasure. He stumbled a few steps before gaining his balance. Cursing under his breath, he grabbed the original ring and after a quick look around took a necklace of animation. The Demon King was right, these people were evil and *needed* to be exterminated. With these items and the gem heart he got from the final battle, he would make sure the Demon King would help him get his revenge."
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[WP] The day that death died was six years ago...people kept on dying...what took is truly terrifying.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 old man adjusted his thick-lensed glasses with his right hand. His left remained on the cold wooden surface of the desk, gnarled fingers stretched out as wide as they’d go.\n\n“You remember the day Death died, don’t you, Johnny?”\n\n“Yes, of course, everyone does. But how,” said the slightly portly man of early middle-age who stood on the other side of the desk, “um, how do you know my name?”\n\n“Never mind that, not yet.” The older man returned his right hand to the desk. He rubbed the surface slightly. “Do you remember what it felt like? To suddenly discover that death wasn’t a natural phenomenon in the way it was previously understood? To learn that there really was a skeletal reaper of souls? To see its corpse?”\n\nJohnny looked away from the age-spotted face. There was something disturbing in it. And something familiar.\n\n“Yes,” he breathed after a long pause. “I remember. It was terrifying.”\n\n“Was it?” The seated man cackled, a loud explosion made all the more disturbing by its contrast with the absolute silence that it shattered. “I always wondered how they did it. The murderers, I mean. How they killed Death.”\n\nStill not meeting the older man’s eyes, Johnny replied, “One of them, the South African, gave an interview last year. You must have seen it.”\n\n“Pay attention, Johnny. I don’t mean their method. Everyone knows that by now. I mean, how could they? How could they kill Death? How could they take it upon themselves to do such a thing?”\n\n“People do things that reasonable people don’t understand all the time.”\n\n“Silly boy. I thought I taught you better than that. What is reasonable? Who are these reasonable people?” He paused for several seconds before continuing in a lower voice. “I know now. I know how they could do it.”\n\nJohnny looked at the man again. Really looked. “I know you, don’t I?”\n\n“Of course you do. But you’re still not asking the right questions, I see.”\n\nRealisation danced on the edges of Johnny’s brain for several long, drawn-out moments before finally waltzing into understanding.\n\n“You’re Mr Hanberry.”\n\n“Your old teacher, yes, yes. I remembered you as being smarter than this. A cheeky little shit, for sure, but also smart.”\n\n“Where are we?”\n\n“Aha!” Mr Hanberry slapped the desk with both hands. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”\n\n“Where are we?” Johnny repeated, his rising panic made plain by a definite quaver to the question this time.\n\n“Why did people continue to die? Why, after Death with a capital D was gone, did death lower case d remain?”\n\nJohnny shrugged. “How am I supposed to know?”\n\nThe older man’s expression darkened. He said something that Johnny remembered clearly from his schooldays, in just the way he remembered it. “You’re capable of so much more, Johnny Hasselwhite.”\n\nJohnny turned in a panic, rushed to the dark oak door, scrabbled at the latch, tugged the door open. He looked out. There was nothing there. Just empty white space.\n\nJohnny slowly turned back around. Mr Hanberry was still sitting at the desk, grinning.\n\n“Like everything else, we decided to do it ourselves. As a species, I mean.”\n\nJohnny just stood there, mouth uselessly opening and closing.\n\n“We are become Death, destroyers of each other.”\n\nThe old man rose, a wickedly curved scythe in his hand. Johnny could have sworn it hadn’t been there a moment ago.\n\n“If you have to reap,” said Mr Hanberry softly, “it might as well be those who’ve disappointed you.”\n\nJohnny backed up until he was dangerously close to the void beyond the door.\n\n“Don’t kill me!”\n\n“You are already dead.”\n\n“I haven’t done anything to you!”\n\nMr Hanberry raised the scythe above his head in a move that should have been much harder for a man of his age. He smiled, a tight grimace of a grin.\n\n“You *were* capable of so much more, Johnny Hasselwhite.”"
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[WP] you've just discovered a whale skeleton in the middle of the Sahara desert. At least... you think it's a whale...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 soon realize I'm standing on quicksand. As I sink in, I realize that the more I push, the faster I sink. It's up to my shoulders, and my balls are burning with pain as the sand brushes them. I was about to be fully covered in the rough stuff when a giant tail-thing knocks me right out of the sand and sends me flying. I crash into the sand right next to the skeleton's skull. *Man, If I landed on the skull, I'd be dead.* I think, as the thing with the tail's head crashed upwards through the sand like it's wet school toilet paper.\n\nIt was like a giant worm with No visible teeth. Then it opens it's mouth, And A giant lump of flesh with razor sharp teeth and an antenne comes out. It makes a sound like a police car and approches me.",
"I ran as quickly as I could back up the side of the dune. My feet plunging deep into the sand as it cascaded around my ankles. Frantically, I increased the speed of my steps and shortened the distance between them. Using my hands as paddles I finally reached the top and almost fell face first down the other side. The sunlight, blocked momentarily by the climb, now blinding me.\n\n“Hey! Hey!” was all I could get out of my mouth as I scrambled down the sunny side of the dune. The kids were playing tag or something, running and giggling around the tent. Jenny was watching and laughing from the shade. Jakey was wearing her large brimmed hat and could barely run without losing his vision when it tilted. “Hey! I found something! Hey!” Jenny sat up and squinted at my jogging towards her. The kids still making laps around the tent couldn’t hear me. Moussa was wrapping rope, making loops around his elbow and through his hand. I waved to them. Jenny was listening eagerly. Moussa twisted the last of the rope around the pile in his hand and threw it on the back of the truck.\n\n“I think it’s a whale! It’s huge. White bones, all over. Over there.” I was panting, near wheezing, and flailing my arms backward as I spoke. Moussa handed me the thermos of water. I nodded in thanks and took a long gulp. The kids had wandered over between Jenny’s legs now. Jakey tipped back the hat and looked at me. “Daddy, did you say a whale? In the desert?” I wiped my arm across my mouth and smiled wildly “That’s what I said! Now come on, you have to see this! Grab water.”\n\nWith water in each hand we all hurried back over the dune. We took a longer path than my hurried retreat minutes before. It was easier to walk and the kids had no trouble keeping up. Moussa carried the sunshade and brought a shovel. I don’t think he believed a word I said. Almost chuckling at my description. While describing the bones, he had only asked me one question “Why do you think it is a whale?” It was the only thing that big. The only thing with ribs that massive. He would have to see it with everyone else. \n\n“Oh my god. Where did it.. How long has it been here?” Jenny was standing underneath one of the ribs, running her hands along the underside of it. “I don’t know. It must be millions of years old. But I can’t even think when the Sahara was covered in water.” We walked back through the body. It curved to the left and the kids were running beside the tail section. Jakey ran and jumped over the bones in the final segment. “Dad this is a whale?” he said pointing back up the long trail of bones. “I think so, kiddo, it’s the only thing I know of this big.” Jakey pointed to the stringy end of the bones. “So where is the tail? And, what are these things?” \n\nI walked over and took a knee next to him. “The tail isn’t a bone, kiddo. So it probably didn’t last very long after this guy died.” I motioned to the area where the tail would have been. “So it would have been right here. Now, what are ‘these things’?” Jakey opened his hands and poured some sand into mine with a few small, black objects in it. I poked through the sand and let it slide off my hands until just the shiny, black, sharpened, teeth. Teeth. They looked like teeth. My eyes looked down and saw that they were everywhere around Jakey’s feet. Each one was about two inches long. Most had a little white on the root. I turned to Jenny and asked her to take a look. “Jenny?” I looked back around and saw Jakey and Louise looking back at me. I turned back to call again and the shovel came down on my face. Moussa didn’t look angry or excited. He just watched me fall."
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[WP] Your best friend invites you over to tell you something. Little do they know you've already figured out that they are of an alien race.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"...You don't look surprised.\"\n\n\"Honestly? You were not doing a good job with keeping that a secret.\"\n\nThe first time I found out he was an alien was back when we were children. This guy, Anthony, wasn't that discrete when he had to moult his skin every few months. Maybe it's because he was still a child or something but he would sometimes leave bits of his moulted skin everywhere and he wasn't even aware of them! Seriously.\n\nI was a good kid and always cleaned up after him. Of course being a child meant I didn't know it was normal for a human to moult skin. And I clearly wasn't interested enough to ask nor to find out more about that.\n\nStill, it was when Anthony himself asked me a seriously weird question that I began to piece everything together. What was the question?\n\nSomething about what would my reaction be if he was actually an alien. I just laughed at his question at that time and only when I'm lying in bed contemplating life that it hit me. Hey, maybe he's actually an alien?\n\nScratch that, he's definitely one. There was no normal human would ever eat pineapples on a pizza. Yup, that's evidence alright. What do you mean that has nothing to do with aliens? You keep quiet.\n\n\"Hey, so if you knew, why are you still friends with me?\"\n\nThat's a good question.\n\n\"Are you going to kill me?\"\n\n\"What? No!\"\n\n\"Are you going to experiment on me?\"\n\n\"No!\"\n\n\"Then that's my answer.\"\n\nThis guy who I had known all my life had always had my back and I had his. We played together, fought each other and spent enough time for me to determine how genuine his friendship is. \n\nIf I'm wrong, well, that just means I'm an idiot. But it doesn't change the fact I was happy.\n\n\"You... really are stupid.\"\n\nI hit him. That doesn't mean I was willing to let anyone else call me stupid. Anyway, it's time to address the elephant in the room.\n\n\"So why you suddenly decided to tell me?\"\n\n\"That's... well...\"\n\n\"What? I won't be weirded out with whatever you want to say now.\"\n\n\"I like your elder sister. Can you help me get together with her?\"\n\nHere's another evidence of him being an alien. No human would ever fall for that bitch of an elder sister. \n\nAnd the answer is no."
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[WP] They’re going to burn you at the stake for being a witch. But you aren’t a witch, you’re a ninja.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 tied to the wooden post with my arms behind my back. I started to cry just a little bit, knowing the pain my family will feel, and the chance I may never see them again, even in the afterlife. I used to be good about keeping tears back and refraining from balling my eyes out, but not today. I was always told that crying is bad, and shows weakness but I didn’t care anymore.\n\n“This witch has been conjuring demons, familiars, and skeletons who harmed our village for years. Finally, with the help of these fine hunters,” the captain of the city guard points to two men in studded iron armor with bows strapped to their backs and daggers at their hips, “she was trapped and captured, now we can end this evil individuals life for good and the city of Isagardia will be safe again!”\n\nI can’t believe I fell for the trap. It was the good ol’ dig a hole and cover with branches and whatnot trap. I was being chased by the two hunters when I stupidly ran into the trap, and bam here I am. But here’s the thing, I’m not a witch, they captured the wrong person. I was gonna say that, but they put a white cloth in my mouth and tapped it to secure it. My friend was the witch, not me. But they confused us because we both wear the same black robes and garbs. Oh well, I wish my friend luck keeping herself out of capture. \n\n“Do you have any last words, witch?” The captain jokes as he glances up at me. I glare at him and roll my eyes. I can’t speak out loud with this bull crap in my mouth. \n\n“Nope, she can’t. Your ashes will be dumped far far away from here, witch.” The captain gestures for another guard to light me up with a torch. As the guard approaches, I suddenly see something out of the corner of my eye. I look up at the city hall to my right, and see a cloaked figure with a bow. They saluted at me, nocked an arrow, and fired it right at the guard with the torch. He dropped immediately, the torch bounced and rolled to the post I was tied to. One word entered my mind. Shit.\n\n“What the-“ the captain began, but never finished as he too dropped dead from an arrow to the neck. The city leader, Ferris pulled out his sword and shield and frantically looked around.\n\n“By the gods! What’s happening!?” He cried. I looked up at where I first saw the figure on the roof, but they were gone. I look at my feet, and see the flames are getting closer to my body. Whoever is doing this, firing the arrows, they better get to me fast!\n\n“Agh!” I hear a guard cry out in pain to my left. I turn my head and see three cloaked figures swiftly taking down a dozen guards with just their small daggers. One of the cloaked figures then used a series of well placed punches and kicks to take down another guard. I can the heat of the flames licking my feet now. The whole city was in a panic, people we’re running back and forth, more cloaked figures appeared and were fighting the city guards, and I even saw a few hideous looking demons exit out of red flaming portals. Klara? \n\n“Yes, we will get you out of this!” I recognize my friends voice behind me. \n\n“I can’t thank you enough Klara!” I hug her as soon as she and a couple cloaked figures untied me from the wooden post and take the gag out of my mouth. Witches are the best friends. \n\n“You’re welcome, Grimm, and these guys are some of my brothers and sisters. They are an assassin guild I know all too well.” Klara pointed around at all the cloaked figures. I wish my allies were still here, everyone else in my ninja clan were killed by either the Samurai of the North, or the dragons. Klara tossed me a dagger, and the two of us began to escape the city.\n\n“I knew they captured you, and figured I could lend a hand.” Klara stated. \n\n“I appreciate that a lot!” I reply.",
"They knew enough to know that I was different, but not enough to know who I really was.\n\nSo when the time came to devise my punishment, I was more concerned about appearing afraid than I was about the actual punishment.\n\nMy village had been painfully ignorant of the mystical arts for centuries. The whole town gathered around and gasped in wonder whenever some cut-rate charlatan with a basic knowledge of illusory magic showed them some card tricks.\n\nAnything more complicated than that? Witchcraft.\n\nI made up my mind to leave the village a few weeks after my 14th birthday. I was unable to sleep one night, so I went to take a quick walk around. I overheard a conversation between some merchant and his assistant.\n\n“Can you believe the haul? 30 gold pieces for a magic charm and I can’t even enchant!”\n\n“They loved your duplicating card tricks.”\n\n“Of course they did. Ignorant peasants. Two hours at the discount seer’s shop in Aberran and they could do the same, yet they treat me like a god for it.”\n\n“Apparently they think anything beyond your tricks is witchcraft.”\n\nThe merchant laughed a little too loud; I wasn’t sure of how drunk he was until then.\n\n“WITCHCRAFT! Witchcraft. They think I can do witchcraft?! If only they’d ever met an actual witch!”\n\nI wasn’t sure if anyone else in the town had heard him, but I had heard enough. It was difficult enough to know that I would be bound to a life of farming in this small village, but I had never known that I had another choice.\n\nI went back to my house, wrote a note to my parents to tell them not to go looking for me, packed my few clothes and the ten gold coins I’d won in the village archery competition the next year, and set out for Aberran.\n\nI wasn’t just going for two hours at a discount deer’s shop, however. I begged the seer for more information about a school, or an academy, or SOMEWHERE that I could go to learn to be more than I was.\n\nThe seer was impressed with my determination, and sent me to meet an old friend of theirs.\n\nTheir friend asked me if I had any special talents. I told him that I was a decent archer, but I’d never done anything besides shoot at scarecrows while farming. He took me out behind his house, where there was a target already prepared. He gave me five arrows, the five most important shots of my life.\n\nFive bullseyes.\n\nAfter that, my life changed in the blink of an eye. The old man brought me to meet his daughter, the head ninja of her own academy. She taught me the difference between illusory magic, physical magic (to strengthen my body and increase my speed), and the very basics of potion-making. She told me what witches really were—horrifyingly powerful magicians with world-altering potions and poisons available on demand.\n\nSeven years after I left home, I was granted official status as a ranking ninja. I was hired into the court of the Lord of Aberran as a spy, and quickly made more gold than had ever been seen in my village.\n\nI decided to give my parents one last chance to break free of the shackles of our village’s traditions. I had hoped that if I showed my parents the difference between card tricks and real magic, they might come back to Aberran with me. I might be able to build a better life for them.\n\nInstead, they accused me of witchcraft and gathered the townspeople.\n\nThe traditional method for punishing witchcraft was being dropped into the river tied to a boulder. Anyone who floated was a witch. Since everyone predictably drowned, the false negative rate was holding steady at 100%.\n\nI went through the motions of pretending to be struggling. I shouted repeatedly that I wasn’t a witch (which was objectively true), and begged for mercy.\n\nBut there was no mercy in this village.\n\nI waited until I was sure that the boulder had reached the bottom of the lake before I used my illusory magic to free myself. I left a shadow body double behind, just in case someone felt nervous enough to double-check. Then, I swam away upriver, thanking my teachers for training us to hold our breaths for extended periods.\n\nWhen I felt that I couldn’t hold my breath any longer and was a decent distance away from the village, I surfaced. I could still hear my mother’s wails, asserting that she knew her baby was innocent as if she hadn’t been the one to scream out to the village that I was a witch in the first place.\n\nI sighed, and began the walk back to Aberran. Maybe it was better this way; my parents could think I died an innocent person and would never know of the real life I led.\n\nAs much as it pained me to leave my parents behind, I was finally free.\n\n\n __________________\nIf you liked this, check out my subreddit! r/NicodemusLux"
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[WP] Mages are classified based on the material which they can control for magic. Stone wizards are often builders and brutes, wood wizards are guardians of the forests and libraries, fire wizards are cooks and smiths and glassmakers. You are the first blood wizard ever born.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 affliction was discovered at a very young age. The horror on my mother's face that night was something to remember and still brings a smile to my face after all of this time. I knew I shouldn't have caved into my urges. The deep, deep taste that never seemed to be quenched took over me. One drip at a time. \n\nBut no matter how much I indulge in the intoxicating liquid, I found myself wanting more.\n\nAnd now here I stand: with an ugly necklace around my neck and no hat to block the rain from ruining my hair.\n\n\"Under the King's name through Judge Abacus, you are sentenced to death for the murder of--\"\n\nOh, but how could I have resisted the girl? So beautiful and delicate. Like a fresh flower awaking in spring, begging to drained her very fluids that run through her heart and give her life--an innocent life. The fluids that brought tingles to my mouth and shivers down my spine--\n\n\"Hang him!\" yelled a man.\n\n\"Sinner, blood wizard!\"\n\n\"Any last words?\" the short, balding man that read me the decree said to me. \n\nHe looked to be in his forties with skin that screamed fifties; blood type something I wouldn't desire but definitely would drink if needed. After being locked away in that ghastly prison for so long, I'd drain the life from a cat--hell even a rat if I could get my claws on it--\n\n\"Any last words, blood wizard?!\" the man yelled, his voice drowned out by the rain and my racing desires to get just one drop of blood.\n\n\"Please,\" I said. \"Please let me have just a little bit of blood--just a sip, I'll even use my teeth this time!\"\n\nThe man yanked his arm, and the bang of wood slammed away below my feet. The only thing holding me up was this blasted rope necklace that grew far too tight. The cracking and snapping of my bones confirmed that this was perhaps the worst thing to have around your neck, especially when you lose your footing.\n\nI jerked and yanked--dying hurt, even for me, though my dying was different. I didn't seem to die, ever. I always woke up. They've tried to drown, beat, chop, hang--on multiple occasions--and execute with fire. But I always seemed to awake after all went dark, thirsting for blood, and found it quite easy to walk on over to the next chunk of land to avoid constant execution.\n\nMy thrashing grew faint and the life from my body began to subside. My vision grew blurry then began to darken.\n\n*Here we go again,* the final thoughts of my mind squeezed out of my death. *The man who read me the King's decree, he had a daughter, right? Delila, was it? I'll be sure to visit her after I awake*.",
" \n\nFrom an early age the magical community saw me as an irregularity in a society that hasn’t seen change in centuries. Little did my poor parents know I would be a pariah that would disrupt the core understanding of our magical society.\n\nAt the age of nine we are placed in a room with simple objects. A stone, a piece of wood, a lit candle, a cup of water, and a rabbit are all placed in front of the child to test the affinity for the elements. This test will determine what role the child will be trained for as they enter the magical academy the following year. All of the other children had their affinity easily revealed to them within a few minutes of being in the room. With that knowledge revealed the children were assigned to their respective guilds.Then came my turn. I was nervous for some reason. A chill rolled down my spine as I stepped into the room. This moment was the foreshadowing to my trials ahead. My fight or flight instincts were screaming at me to run from the room. My stomach did flips as bile crept up my throat. I steadied myself. There is no reason to be nervous, I reassured myself. It is a simple test that cannot be failed. I placed my hand before each object waiting for some sort of response. Nothing happened at all. I knocked on the door and the instructor entered.\n\n“Well little one what has fate shown you?” he said as he bent down and looked me in the eyes. He was bewildered by my response that none had shown a reaction. ‘Your powers are there, trust me child you have been born into a great magical society that has produced some of the greatest wizards that history has ever known” he paused and looked over at the table. “Perhaps a demonstration may help you” he held out his hand and closed his eyes walking carefully around the table. He stopped at the stone and it slowly rose and gently floated into his open palm. “See child all you need to do is focus and feel the connection you were born with flow through you and into the element” He gestured at the table for me to try again. \n\nI closed my eyes and exhaled sharply to clear my mind of nervous energy. What if I was the first to be born without such a connection? A freak to be ostracized and driven out into exile. “NO!” screamed a voice in the back of my head.\n\n“Focus and all shall be revealed” the wizard said with gentle encouragement. I proceeded around the table and stopped in front of the rabbit. I could feel a connection forming with it. “That is it boy, it seems you have an affinity for nature magic” he informed me “ now focus and see if you can get the animal to sleep.” I focused even harder and the poor creature began to screech in agony. As its cries echoed off the walls of the room, blood began to seep from the eyes, nose, and mouth of the animal. Eventually the creature ceased all noise and movement. Floating in a crimson sphere above my palm was the rabbit's blood. Coincidentally, all the blood from the wizard’s face drained away, leaving him pale and gaping. He fell over himself as he backed away horrified. Fumbling for words, they fell out as choked gasps and unintelligible babble. Shakily, pointing a finger at me, he managed to get his knees underneath himself. Finally managing a single phrase, “HELP!” he screamed. As I immediately lost focus the blood lost form, falling to the floor and staining my hands. I crumpled to the floor and wept loudly into my crimson palms. \n\nA few minutes later four wizards rushed in through the door in battle ready stances. They looked around for a threat, then dropped their aggressive posture. Puzzled, one of them stared at the shaking wizard, “what is all the commotion about?” He followed the pointed finger to the carnage on the table and then over to the pitiful sobbing child. “Explain” another wizard commanded as he helped his unsettled peer to their feet. I continued to sob in a fetal ball on the floor as he recounted the events in a quivering tone. The five turned on me staring incredulously. “We must do something at once,” said one. The others grunted in agreement. “ Lock him in the room and summon the high council, we must discuss this anomaly and decide what is to be done with the child.” With that they left the room and locked the door with me terrified and alone. I was left waiting upon the decision of my elders on what was to befall me.\n\n\\*First time posting. I enjoyed this prompt",
"I am the Blood Wizard.\n\nThose who know me from legends decry me as a monster, a weapon of mass destruction, the terror of battlefields and cities alike. Nations have put out bounties on my head, and hunters from all over the land seek my death.\n\nAnd none have returned. \n\nTheir hearts stopped, their corpses mangled, their blood pouring out of them like a squeezed waterskin. And every time, afterward, I'd vomit. I'm actually not sure how many meals I eat in a day, since most of the contents don't stay in my stomach.\n\nBut it's not the pain of killing others that hurts me the most.\n\nSure, the pain of those who wish for my death flows through their blood and into my mana streams, scorching my soul with their pain.\n\nIt's the ones who I try to save that hurt the most.\n\nI'm sitting in my apothecary, trying to cook another cure for my food-taster. The king had assigned him to me, despite my protests. And it's the fourth poison attempt of the day. I'd purged the poison out of his bloodstream, but the process is not perfect, and he's still in critical condition.\n\nLying next to him, is a child who took an arrow meant for me. And beside her, a few soldiers returning from a battlefield. Then, adventurers, who'd contested a dragon and now have burns all over their body. I can redirect the blood to alleviate the pain, and maybe even get the wounds to heal a bit faster, but I can't do everything at once. \n\nThe magic reaches its limit, and I gasp, exhausted. The child's wound seals, but the soldiers cry out in pain. Desperately, I take the blood from the corpses, check it, and pump it into the soldiers. One dies, but the other two make it.\n\nI try not to cry. \n\nThe magic flows from one bloodstream to the next, and I'm repulsed by it. The pain, the suffering, all carried through it, and I feel it all.\n\nI down a heavy drink, and try my best to keep going. \n\nThere's still too many to save.",
"The Blood Lord sat in his throne amidst a sea of drained, disfigured bodies. They had been dead for years, of course, but he had never cleaned them up. His chambers, after all, needed decoration.\n\nBeyond his palace were the wastelands of his creation, and, with them, more corpses: their skin charred and mutilated. He remembered when he had been mocked, taken for a useless fool. After all, out of all the materials in existence, he had gotten blood; besides masters of fires and ice, wood and stone, he had seemed powerless.\n\nUntil he had learned how to make one's blood boil from the inside.\n\nPerhaps if his range had been shorter the others would have stood a chance against him, but there seemed to be no limit to the amount of blood he could control. So he slaughtered, and slaughtered, killing every mage before they even had a chance to summon an attack - and had moved on to regular humans afterwards. Now he sat upon a blood-stained throne, surveying all the lands that were now his dominion, euphoric in the knowledge that no living creature could stand against him.\n\nExcept, apparently, for the young boy who had just wandered in.\n\nHe looked him over for a minute, confused. He had known there were some survivors, holed up in shelters and undoubtedly doomed. But for one to come to him directly, offer a challenge? And at such a young age? Surely he must've gotten lost, wandered too far - but no, the look on the boy's face was undeniable. His expression was of utter determination; completely without fear.\n\nWell, no matter. The Blood Lord had abandoned morals long ago - it was a requirement, with a power as deadly as his. He had no qualms over killing another child. Slowly raising a hand, connecting to the boy's blood, he began to grin.\n\nHis chambers needed more ornaments.\n\n\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\n\nThe boy walked out of the Blood Lord's palace moments later, completely unscathed, heading back to the camp. He didn't understand why his mother had cried as he left on his mission, why the rest of the survivors had looked on in sorrow. The battle had been even easier than he expected.\n\nThe Blood Lord had underestimated him. Perhaps he hadn't expected to see his signature power to have no effect, followed by a quick attack by his \"victim.\" But that was his own fault.\n\nEveryone spoke of the tyrant like he was an undefeatable God, just because he could make someone's blood a little hotter than usual. But they were wrong. The boy had defeated the Blood Lord easily, and he wasn't even all that powerful. Just like every other mage, he controlled only one material.\n\nAnd he didn't really understand what \"matter\" was, anyway.",
"A viscous, crimson stream ran from Ballack’s nose and ears. His eye wide but not white, each vessel within had burst, flooding the previously snowy plains with scarlet. I sat with my back to the corner into which I’d been pushed—scared, but not sorry. I hadn’t meant to kill Ballack, I didn’t even know that I could, but I did.\n\nHe had pushed me too far.\n\nBallack was a powerful stone mage who built incredible strong-holds for the village; I, on the other hand, was a powerless burden on the community, and Ballack was not shy about letting me know. He had bullied me relentlessly: he called me feeble, weak; he would summon stones from the ground and trap me within their hold, only leaving a small opening at the top to allow bird shit and rain to fall upon me freely; the last time he bullied me, he had built a maze through which he chased me.\n\nI ran through the maze: left, left, right, left, right again, dead end. Ballack summoned stones from the sky to fall upon my head—some of which were sizable enough to knock me out or even kill me. I knew he aimed to kill me. With Ballack hot on my tail, I ran into yet another dead end. The final dead end. Ballack approached me laughing.\n\n“Oh Hemion,” he said as he summoned a stone club and took another step toward me, “you’re done.”\n\n“Why are you doing this to me?” I screamed as he inched closer.\n\n“Don’t you see, you impotent wretch?” He said as he held his palms skyward, the club gripped tightly in his right hand. “The village can support you as a free-loading encumbrance no longer. I’ve been sent to lighten our load.”\n\n“Please…please, Ballack. I will find my power, I swear,” I begged.\n\n“Too late,” he said as he raised the club directly above his head.\n\nI couldn’t escape. I pushed hard against the wall to my back, desperate to break through to the other side. As I pushed and clawed at the wall, I cut my hand deeply, the ruby liquid fell to the ground.\n\n“Leave me be!” I burst out as Ballack’s club commenced its descent toward my head.\n\nBallack let out a choking gurgle; his club dropped at my feet. His face turned beet-red—in fact his whole body was flush. He fell into the pool of his own blood and laid there dead.\n\n“Well done, boy,” said a voice from above. “You’ve learned your potential.”\n\nI looked above my head to see a man in purple robes perched on the maze wall. To my surprise it was the Chief Mage of the village, Exian. He jumped down from the wall and landed next to me with a splash, his purple robe was now speckled with red. He held out his hand, and pulled me to my feet.\n\n“Hemamancy,” he intoned as if I should recognize the word, “I never thought I would see the day that we would have our very own blood mage.”\n\n“Blood mage?” I asked. “Do you mean to say that I was able to do this to Ballack because I’m a blood mage?”\n\n“It would appear so. If I had to guess, I’d say you likely burst every blood vessel and capillary in his body. Fairly gruesome, son,” he said as he surveyed Ballack’s remains which better resembled an archipelago in a dark ocean—the blood had continued to flow and stood ankle deep in the small, dead-end chamber.\n\n“He shouldn’t have been trying to kill me,” I quickly remembered to whom I was speaking and decided to begin laying the ground work for self-defense.\n\n“Oh, sure, but then we’d have never learned of your great talent, Hemion. Really, don’t feel bad about killing Ballack. Stone mages are immanently replaceable,” he said as he lifted his hands to the air imitating a scale, “blood mages, on the other hand, are the rarest mages in existence. I will defend you to the council as witness to your attack.”\n\nMy heart beat fast and I couldn’t hide my relief. I moved toward him quickly to shake his hand and thank him for his kindness, but as I did the pool of blood on the ground flew into the air, coating us both in a thick, metallic muck. Exian wiped his eyes and mouth, the whites shone like beacons behind the dark blood mask.\n\n“We need to get you training as soon as possible,” he said as he waved his hand and created a door in the wall through which I was trying to push for my escape. “But first, I must bathe.”\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nIf you enjoyed this, please check out r/IML_42 for more stories!",
"The whispers follow me wherever I go. \"blood wizard,\" \"evil,\" \"devil worshiper,\" \"vampire,\" \"necromancer.\"\n\nMy patients know better.\n\nI *cure* people.\n\nAn evil born by blood. Be it curse, poison, viral or bacterial infection, bad cholesterol, blood clots, hemorrhages, even papercuts that go deep enough.\n\nPeople foolish enough to toy with devil worship. The blood becomes corrupt, the marrow with it, I find compatible people willing to donate. I can clear the corruption, including from the marrow; in severe cases, immediate survival requires a marrow transplant.\n\nAre you deep in the conversion to a vampire? If you can be both protected and restrained, I can draw the cocktail of viri from the blood, *and* the magical component.\n\nNecromancy is what hurts—those poor bodies. Usually, children that grieving wizard parents are unwilling to give up. I must purify the child's body of the foul substances used to raise them, listening to the crying as they die the second death. Not just the children, but the parents. The second death is permanent. No resurrection, no reincarnation, no chance to see them on the other side. They are gone. The only thing that carries me forward through these terrible nights is the sure and certain knowledge that the bodies brought back *will* become ghouls—ravenous eaters of human flesh. The parent's blood is tainted by what they have done. I clear that too.\n\n\"Greetings, I am…\"\n\n\"Count Doki. I know. Do does everyone else. You are risking a great deal ... ((cont.))"
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[WP] You are a knight who has traveled to try to slay the mighty dragon but the dragon Is...friendly.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Jogi the Slow had worked very carefully to build a reputation. He was annoying, perhaps mildly frightening, but never menacing enough to force the nearby townspeople to do anything about it. He “stole” the occasional sheep (actually purchased from a farmer he’d befriended decades previous) to ensure the more hostile of his relatives left his village alone, assuming it territory of their most dangerous brother. \n\nJogi snorted to himself. He was hardly the most fearsome of his siblings. Several had sharper claws, teeth, and spines, and at least one was a far more accomplished wizard. If that were not enough, most of the rest were vicious, extremely intelligent predators without even a bit of a moral compass. \n\nThe fact that he used his sharp mind for more lofty pursuits than lunch was the only thing separating him from them, but it was enough to make his relatives fear him, and to keep him from wanting to hurt even the most annoying of humans. \n\nLike this one. \n\n“Foul dragon,” the poor fool shouted into the cavern. “I have come to vanquish you, to free the village from your grasp.” \n\nJogi couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Where DID they find these idiots? \n\n“Look, sir knight, or whoever they’ve sent this time, is it really wise to alert one so cunning and deadly as myself that you’re coming for me?” Jogi’s deep voice grumbled through the cavern, causing the man’s armor to rattle ever so slightly. \n\n“It is the way of chivalry...” the man began\n\n“It is the way of stupidity,” Jogi interrupted. “The good news for you is that I have no intention of killing a human today, or eating one, ever, in direct contrast to the reputation of my brothers. It would put me off my lunch.” \n\n“Wha..what?” The man stuttered. \n\nJogi risked a glance at the human from behind a cave wall and was relieved to find he was armed with nothing more than a sword. Arrows were annoying, spears downright deadly in close quarters. He didn’t want to have to use magic. It would make the locals even more uncomfortable with his presence here. \n\nSeeing he was safe, Jogi did what he usually did in such situations. \n\n“Can I offer you some tea?” He asked the startled knight. \n\nOnly to see him pass out, falling flat on the ground with a plate armor crunch and clatter. \n\nJogi sighed, then used his right claw to pick the man up, placing him gently on a pallet near the fire. \n\nWhen the man woke up, he could figure out which of his brothers had sent the man, and begin to plan. The knight wouldn’t realize, of course, that it was a dragon who had commissioned him, but with a little conversation it was usually fairly easy to pinpoint. \n\nThen it would be time to do it. To finally do it. Time to launch his war against his fellow dragons. And he might not be the strongest, but he did have one thing going for him - most of his siblings were too distracted by their stomachs to see this one coming."
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Yes, the idea is from "Back to the Future 2".
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[WP] You walk out of your apartment complex. A man approaches you with a letter. Says their company's orders were to deliver this letter to a person of your description, at this exact date and time, at this location. Thing is, the letter was written long before your birth.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 blinked at the plain white envelope, there was nothing written on the front.\n\n“I really am sorry, you must be sorely mistaken I...” \n\nBut when I looked up to address the mystery man there was nobody there. He didn’t have the typical appearance of someone trying to be mysterious, which made it so much harder to understand. Was it a joke?\n\nI stood idle outside my apartment door for a few moments, glancing around and mentally surveying my options before deciding to go back inside. Work can wait. I closed the door behind me and locked it before sliding across the chain catch, something I never usually did.\n\nI made my way over to the couch and sat down on the edge, holding the letter in both hands and turning it over to inspect. It was wax sealed with what seemed to be a coat of arms, there was a stag on the crest and the initials “T.L” in a fancy calligraphy below. I peeled open the letter and pulled out the folded paper inside.\n\nThere wasn’t much, just one piece of paper. The top of the paper showed the same insignia as the wax seal, this time more clearly. My heart was racing, all attempts to convince myself this was a joke had now left my head, some deeper part of me knew this was serious. So I read...\n\n“Matthew,\n\nI do not want to scare you with the contents of this letter, but I ask that you please continue reading past the likely discomfort.\n\nWe know a lot about you; but you know nothing of us. Know that we simply seek to help you. The sequence of numbers at the foot of this letter have been designed to unlock a memory that has been hidden for most of your life. You will be confused, but fight that confusion and seek the facts.\n\nIn the envelope you will find a key, find out where that leads you and go there. That is where you will find us. You must do this urgently, it may already be too late. They are looking for you. \n\n43.8.76.6.9.01.22\n\nT.L”\n\nMy head was spinning, not because of the entire contents of the letter, but those numbers. They were right, a very distant memory danced behind my eyes and I was forced to blink hard. It was as my father had always said, I now knew what he meant. I now knew that I was not safe here.\n\nThen there was a knock at the door."
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[WP] You wished to be older and you got your wish. Now 19 and living in a dingy apartment you want your childhood back.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"**SNAP!** \n\nMy ears ring as the birthday magic ripples across the decrepit room I find myself in. I look around the place, noticing peeling & chipping paint, warped floor boards, a scant few pieces of old musty furniture and what looks like a small dead animal in the corner. Gross.\n\nWhere did my family go, or my friends and what about my presents? Standing up, I walk forward, looking out the cracked and milky window. I see nothing I recognize; there are no familiar buildings. I can find no trees, no grass, no green anywhere. Only unpaved roads, sand and squatting 2 and 3 story buildings, their faces pocked and torn, crumbling, doors and windows missing or boarded up. \n\nTurning around, I look towards the animal in the corner as it moves. I scramble backwards, falling down over the edge of the old broken couch and into the opposite corner of the room. That thing isn’t dead after all. Is it after me? Oh man, this is really bad. What if it tries to eat me? \n\n“MOM!” I yell, hearing nothing in response aside from the low hiss at the other end of the room. “DAD!” I try again, no response. I begin to cry, big ugly sobbing escaping my chest from the depths of my soul. Before I can build up a good head of steam, I hear the sounds I am making and my mind replays the tenor of my words as I called for my parents. The voice that emanated from my dry and aching throat was deep and a little gruff, was that really me? I don’t sound like that. \n\nThe shock of it startles me out of my panic and I can feel my breathing calm a bit. I hear a gentle scuffing sound from the direction of the thing in the room with me. \n\nCrawling forward, I peek around the edge of the old couch, a disconnected part of me thinking that the furniture is all child sized. Odd, who would setup an old busted kid-sized room with rotten kid sized furniture like this, I think. Grasping for an explanation, my mind lands on one: that maybe it is someone’s abandoned club house.\n\nPeering cautiously from my hiding spot towards where I last saw the animal, my breath catches as I realize it isn’t there anymore. Just then, a screech from directly above me prompts my heart to skip a beat. Turning my head, I’m greeted by the matted, gnarled fur of the beast that stalks me in this horrible place. It had jumped up on the couch and crept along it to get the drop on me. I see set of long white canines peeking out around the edges of its partially open maw. I’ll have to fight it, I am much larger than this creature after all. Man I wish dad was here, he would know what to do. \n\nScrambling back into the corner, I see the creature tilt its head to the side, looking at me as if to say “What is wrong with you?”. Getting a better look at it, I calm immediately. It’s a cat, a filthy, tangled, tiny little cat. I can now hear the purring as it squeaks a meow at me. Reaching out to pick up my former nemesis (if only in my mind), I get a glimpse of my hands and arms.\n\nMy hands are different, larger and scarred, and I am wearing camouflage. Checking out the rest of my body, I find that everything is different, the room isn’t child-sized and the cat isn’t tiny. I’m grown up! \n\nI am wearing armor and have weapons and grenades strapped to my chest. A long, futuristic looking rifle hangs from a strap at the center of my chest and I’m wearing a helmet. A radio on my shoulder crackles to life. “Barnes! Finish clearing that building and get down here, we are rolling out!” \n\nBarnes, the man said. That is my last name, how is this happening? \n\nJust then, a whistling sound catches my attention, getting louder and louder and then the opposite wall of this horrible place disintegrates in a massive explosion, with chunks of wood and drywall pelting my helmet and face shield.\n\nNo no no no no NO! I want to go back. Back to mom and dad, back to being a kid, back to my Legos and watching Paw Patrol in the morning while Jake an Emily argue over who gets to ride up front on the way to school. I never get to do that, I’m the youngest. It must have been the birthday wish, I just wanted to be old enough to ride up front, not this!\n\nI find myself sitting on the floor against the opposite wall, the cat in my arms. I scream out loud, with all the volume I can muster: “Take me back! Please, I revoke my wish! I wish to go back to being 7 years old, back to my birthday party!” \n\nA gentle chuckle fills the air around me and a comforting voice sounds from nowhere, and everywhere. “Be calm child, you now know the value of what you have. I will send you back. Do be careful with your birthday wishes from now on.”\n\n**SNAP!**\n\nI open my eyes, staring at the birthday cake with its candles still gently smoking, at my smiling family and friends around the table. Sighing with relief, I see confusion overtake my Dad’s face. Looking down, the cat from that horrible place still sits in my arms, its claws digging painfully into my chest through my Rubble the construction pup shirt. I soothe the cat and smile at those around me. “It’s ok” I tell everyone. “He needed to come back with me, that other place was horrible.”"
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[WP] First a flashlight, then a star, one by one it happened. The lights were dying.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 gazed out my window and smiled. For years I had chased the relics, for years I had hungered for my revenge and now, as the once glittering eyes of heaven were swallowed by the inky blackness of the abyss, I knew I finally had it. Beyond my home I could hear children weeping, my neighbour across the way held his phone in a shaky hand above a candle his wife was desperately trying to light, but each time she struck a match the flame was snuffed out by a ghostly breath. \n\n\"Not long now.\" I purred, taking a seat in my arm chair.\n\nThe neighbour's phone flickers and died. I felt a chuckle slip through my lips as I heard him slam it against the counter. Poor things. They were so frightened and well they should be. \n\nPop! The lightbulb in the hallway behind me died. Shelly, my neighbour to the left was trying to comfort her daughters. I could hear her cooing to them and singing her sickly sweet songs. Robert and Clair to my right were trying to start their car. I knew it had failed when I heard him banging his fists against the steering wheel causing the horn to shriek and the dogs to bark in panic. The sky was almost completely black and high up the silvery moon was being torn apart by tendrils of night. It was over. The age of man was ending and the best part of all; it was all my fault. \n\n\"In the beginning there was darkness and in the end there will be only darkness.\"\n\n I would not fight it or run from it. I felt the shadows creeping across my arms and slowly up my legs, that was when the screaming started. I could hear glass smashing, footsteps pounding on the pavement, and loud bloodcurdling wails of terror, as if the gates of Hell had opened wide for all the hear its symphony of agony. I remained silent. No screamed. No pain. No fear. I did not fight the darkness. For what did I have to fear. I was the one who had called it here.\n\n\"Now they will know.\" I said as the shadows slowly crept across my face and my vision blurred. \"Now they will all know how I feel.\"\n\nI grinned as the world turned black.",
"“I’m sorry dear, but the matches won’t light anymore,” Joe said.\n\n“That’s alright, I was just hoping for some heat. It’s just so cold,” Margaret said, shivering.\n\n“Here, take my jacket.”\n\n“No, you need that. The thermometer says it’s 30 degrees in here.”\n\n“I insist,” he said. “You’re tiny. You need it. I got enough body fat to keep me going.”\n\n“You mean body muscle,” she chided.\n\nJoe squinted to make out the face of the woman he loved. He hadn’t seen it clearly in about three weeks. That was when it began. First the flashlights and lanterns. No one could explain it and most people shrugged it off. The science community at large panicked, but the general public weren’t concerned. \n\nThat was until the other electric lights wouldn’t turn on. Then there was chaos. It wasn’t electricity that was the problem. Water pumps and heat lamps still worked. It was just anything that was visible to the human eye had gone dark. Riots and looting began immediately. Once he saw that happen, he took Margaret into his van and they drove into the woods and found a secluded spot. \n\nIt was romantic at first. Margaret always saw the bright side, and that was enough light for him. They had enough wilderness experience to last a while even in the cold winter of canada, and neither of them had seen stars as beautiful before. Their time out there was full of laughs and explorations. He worried, but she was always able to reassure him. That first couple of weeks out camping had been a second honeymoon. \n\nThen they noticed that the north star wasn’t where it was supposed to be. It wasn’t anywhere in the night sky. That was what scared him, but Margaret stood strong, and he was able to be strong because of her. \n\nThree nights ago was the night he really worried. He couldn’t get the fire to light from the propane grill. He thought he had imagined it, but the camp fire also seemed weaker. Last night was the first time he couldn’t get anything going besides the match. Today, on this freezing night, was the first night he couldn’t even get the matches to light.\n\n“Hold me tight,” Margaret asked him.\n\n“I am,” Joseph said and squeezed her.\n\n“Oh.” She paused. “I thought so, but I couldn’t feel you. I think I need to sleep now.”\n\n“Stay awake,” Joseph pleaded. “Stay awake until morning. The sun will be up tomorrow and we’ll be warm.” Even as he said that he knew it wasn’t true. Only a quarter of the stars were still in the sky. \n\n“Hey Joe,” Margaret said.\n\n“Yes, my love.”\n\n“Look at me.” Joe turned his head to look directly into her eyes.\n\n“I love you Joe,” she said.\n\n“I love you too,” he said, his eyes filled with tears. It was only with dark and blurred vision that he watched the final light behind her eyes fade out. ",
"I knew it had begun - or rather, begun to end. A few hours and there would be complete darkness.\n\nShe was sitting next to me by the shore, on that old bench on which we met, decades ago. There were tears in her eyes, yet she was more beautiful than ever. Shiny silver hair that once were of a warm golden blonde. A thin face, now worn by time, but oh, how happy that time was!\n\nI tried to console her, but she looked away. As of shame... I pulled her face towards me, and kissed her softly. She had a faint smile, or what seemed like one : I'm not too sure anymore until what moment I could still see her clearly. The black fog was slowly pouring down on me, a cold and vaporous veil of... nothing.\n\n\"Nothing\" is what remained, alongside the feeling of her hand in mine, of her body next to me, there, by the shore.\n\n\"Let's go home now, she said after some time. Let me guide you by the hand. It will be all right.\""
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[WP] “Sorry to interrupt.. but could you maybe release the chains before we start our next session, your Unholiness?” You awkwardly shifted your wrist, as the chains disappeared without a second thought. “As I was saying... my day was boring, really-“ Satan went back into his rant.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 tears of agony stream down your wretched face unheeded as Satan plies the whip lackadaisically, his strokes punctuated by vigorous gestures as he speaks.\n \n \"And then Beelzebub--Beelzebub, I ask you, my right hand demon, asks for more time off for his *gardening,*--\"\n \n*Swish, crack!* \n\n\"Ouch,\" you whimper. \"That's appalling!\"\n\n\"Isn't it?\" Satan spits. \"Gardening, of all things, and he isn't even growing anything poisonous, it's effing petunias this and African violets that until I could just wring the *soul* out of something--\"\n\n*Swish, crack!*\n\n\"Yeeeow!\" you howl, as Satan sends a particularly heinous lash onto your derriere. \"What does he think about--ow--orchids?\"\n\n\"Orchids be d*mned!\" Satan roars. \"And then there's Baphomet, they take hour long cigarette breaks and refuse to clean their workstation--\"\n\n*Swish, crack!*\n\n\"Owwww!\"\n\n\"Bloody human entrails all down the walls, they don't have a thought for the demon on second shift that has to take over that mess, and Ba'al says he isn't cleaning up after them again, and somehow that's become *my* problem--\"\n\n*Swish, crack!*\n\n\"Odious, my lord!\" you shriek out, buns afire. \"And the wife?\"\n\n\"Don't even mention her,\" Satan groans. \"I forgot our anniversary *again* and now dear Lilith swears I'll be in the doghouse until I bring her ten thousand virgin souls for new draperies and do you *know* how hard it is to find a virgin souls these days, let alone ten thousand--\"\n\n*Swish, crack!*\n\n\"Oh, the pain!\" you grovel, thrashing about.\n\n\"But the worst thing,\" Satan muses, \"the worst thing of all, is that sometimes I just need an effing *hug,* you know, this Master of Darkness gig isn\"t always all it's cracked up to be.\" Satan pauses midswing to surreptitiously wipe away a threatening tear.\n\n\"W--would you like a hug, my Lord?\" you ask awkwardly.\n\n\"Why h*ll no!\" Satan thunders. \"Who in blazes do you think I am, Jesus or something? Bend over!\"\n\n*Swish, crack!*\n\n\"Aieeeee!\"",
"It just kept going, I lost track of time after he started talking about the \"anti-vaxxers\"\n \n I was but a humble therapist, I kept donating to charities, watched my weight, even found love, only to die at the tender age of 28. People REALLY need to watch where they're going, I do didn't know any better, I'd assume everyone was out for each other. After the sudden impact and bright light, I was expecting a lot of things, fluffy clouds, golden gates, and finally ask the big guy if I did alright.\n \n Imagine my surprise when I opened my eyes, looked around an orange painted facsimile of my room, and a red-skinned horned man in a (rather dapper) tuxedo. Next thing I heard was \"I'm here for my session\" psych instincts kicked in, and I immediately asked \"how was your day?\" Imagine my shock when I found out it was Satan himself kidnapping me for a bit because his holiness decided he needed to *talk to somebody* just my luck.\n \n .\"As I was saying my day was boring really, the Nazi's tried to stage another revolt, and for some reason the Karen's invaded the torture pit, ranting about \"unsafe work conditions\" like, seriously? It's flipping a button up and down, like...\" He kept going. This was the twenty-seventh consecutive day. I repressed I sigh, and took my notes."
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[WP] "I tried to poison them!" "You tried to kill a species that can vomit with poison?"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 didn't think they'd have time! It kills us almost instantly!\" \n\n\"Wait, what did you try and poison them with?\"\n\n\"Ethanol.\"\n\n\"Oh, well then I guess I kinda get that. You still should've planned it out a little more. In any case his tongue should probably dissolve soon. It won't be a quick like we hoped. But the result should be the same. Soon humanity will be paralyzed with fear and we shall rise out of our underground kingdom and retake the surface!\" The mole king declared.\n\n\"...Wait this doesn't make sense\" The spy said, his voice trembling. \"He... He's drinking it again!\"\n\n\"What?! Move over let me see!\" The king slowly poked his head out of the ground and fixed his eyes on their greatest enemy. \n\nWith horror he watched as the human, wearing nothing but shorts in the cold night hour, opened another one of the bottles they planted in his cold storage bin. The human drank deeply from the bottle, and then they heard him speak with horrible satisfaction.\n\n\"Ah, nothing like a good ol' puke and rally to get back to the party.\" The monster then stepped back in his domain, while the mole people silently sat in despair."
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[WP] Your roommate has suddenly turned into a large gryphon. He doesn’t seem to be too concerned about this.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Steve heard on a knock on his door.\n\"Come in! *squawk*\"\n\"Hi Steve, how are feeling today?\"\nJake had a concerned look on his face.\n\"I'm doing fine Jake.. thanks for asking. What's up?\"\n\"Well it's just.. the rest of us have noticed something.. different with you lately.\" \nThe anxiety in Jake's voice was rising now, his face a cause for concern.\n\"I'm not quite sure I follow?\" \nSteve knew it was a mistake. He should never have went to that shady place recommended by a \"friend\".\nThat same friend that said it was \"magical\" and my friends would believe me if I told them I had gotten a \"haircut\".\nJake's heart began to race. He didn't want to have to say. Surely he must have realised by now?!\n\"Your.. your -\"\n\"Okay okay. You got me. Yes. I have had my haircut. Big deal.\"\nJake stared for a moment, dumbfounded. Then, as if some invisible hammer knocked some sense into him he stumbled a little.\nWhile regaining his balance, he smiled at Steve.\n\"Oh my God. Of course! I'm so sorry Steve\"\nJake ran out of Steve's room shouting \"Guys, it's a new haircut! Come look come look!\"\nSteve turned around and admired his new self in the mirror.\n\"Well, I guess this is life now \" and proceeded to lick his fur."
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[WP] It’s the hunger games, but while they’re happening an apocalyptic event occurs outside the dome. You, a contestant in the Hunger Games, are the only person who realizes that the only people left alive are trying to kill each other for a long-dead audience.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 could not believe it at first. When I saw the droid come to me with the yellow box with meager food and supplies, I knew things were getting bad back home. Then when I got the empty red box I knew I needed to get out of the game. Then the black box came. Everything was over. \n\nPart of me wanted to give up. I was in this game to improve the lives of my family, my friends, my district. I put my name into the lottery so many times, I figured it someone at my district was going to be sacrificed, it would be better that it was me. At least I had a better shot at surviving. \n\nBut now, does it matter? Upon seeing the black box, what was the point in trying to win the game? There was no hope left. \n\nAll I have are waves nonstop questions in my head. I imagine they look like waves. Never ending, slowly and effectively eroding away at my sanity and washing away any plan I had to win and how I would have spent the spoils. \n\nDo I try to escape on my own? Can I evade the automated systems that keep us locked in here? Do I try to call a truce with the other players, try to come up with a plan to leave together? How would I even accomplish this? Would they even give me a chance to listen to what I say? Would the game let us leave? Are we going to die here of thirst and hunger? \n\nMaybe it would be better to end it on my own terms.",
"I took a second glance at the note inside the care package. It simply read \"Apocalypse outside. Game abandoned. Stop killing.\" It was awfully brief but I know these things charged by the letter and they weren't cheap. This had to have cost a bomb and it wouldn't have been easy for one person to foot alone, so it couldn't be a joke.\n\nI thought he was going to make a show of me first, but he clearly didn't want to share this kill. As we drew closer he threw me out in front of him and lifted his sword. oticed upon further inspection that the stone had an engraving along the inside that read 'familia, gloria'. What what I meant to do with this? It definitely wasn't from my home District 7, so why was it in there? I slipped it on to the middle finger of my right hand and found it was an acceptable fit. I need to get a move on.\n\nIf the note was correct then the Game Makers had abandoned the games and we were on our own. As disheartening as this was, it meant that we likely wouldn't have to deal with any of their surprises. I wonder how long this had been going on for because I hadn't come across any threats for what felt like days; I wonder if any of the others had their suspicions. There was only one way to find out.\n\nMy first instinct was to stay up this tree and wait for someone to cross my path. I could call from the tree with relative safety and hope that they trusted me, which of course they wouldn't. This was going to be a lot harder than I first thought. Why would anyone believe that I wasn't trying to lower their guard when we were literally in here to kill each other? Perhaps I could try to capture one of them and convince them, maybe if they saw that I had the opportunity to kill one of them and didn't it might force them to listen to me. But there were still over 10 of us left and there was a chance I'd run into a pack, I didn't want to risk it.\n\nI climbed down the tree and hopped from the last branch onto the woodland floor and assumed a crouching position purely out of habit. I checked my traps to find that I hadn't caught anything, shit, I'd have to hope for something on my way. I was on the very outskirts of the dome so it was easy to follow the curve and work out which way I needed to head for the centre. I was going to head to the cornucopia and set up base there, it was a huge risk but I felt like death was close anyway and I crossed my fingers for a payoff.\n\nThe silence was unnerving, I hadn't considered how much of the arena was man-made and the distinct lack of atmosphere almost confirmed what I already thought was true - we really were abandoned. This silence followed me for what seemed like a few miles before I heard the first sign of life. I lowered into a crouch and drew my bow, nocking an arrow put not pulling back just yet. The noise was that of a voice not too far on my right , I was well hidden by a gathering of trees and poked my head around as the voices grew nearer. The voice came from Elias Storm of District 1, who appeared to be laughing with Freya Bushell of District 2. They were clanned up, just as I feared.\n\nThey both came within 100 meters but no further, they were walking adjacent to my planned direction but the opposite way probably looking for stragglers on the outskirts. I breathed a sigh of relief but as my body lowered with the outward breath my neck felt a cold sting and a low voice plagued my ears. \"One move and you're dead\" I knew the face before I saw it, the distinctive voice of District 2's golden boy Eric Svalbard holding a sword to my throat. He grabbed me by my hair and started dragging me towards his friends and I was forced to crawl with him as he shouted \"GUESS WHAT I CAUGHT?\" to his friends.\n\nI thought he was going to make a show of me first, but he clearly didn't want to share this kill. As we drew closer he threw me out in front of him and lifted his sword. My hands slammed onto the floor and broke my fall, but I closed my eyes and waited for my end in the split second that I had to think. But as my hands gripped the dirt in front of my I heard Elias Storm scream \"WAIT!\" as he rushed over and stayed Eric's hand. \"Wait. That ring. Where did you get it?\" \n\nNow I understood what that was for.",
"Contestant Log: Entry 10\n\nIt’s been 2 days since my last meal, 3 days since the end of humanity, and 10 total days in the dome. The sun is setting over another terrible day of negotiation attempts with the other contestants. \n\nThe alliances I’ve created are growing weaker from disbelief. Sure, they’re polite and they nod, but I can *feel* the judgement behind their eyes. They assume the game is starting to get to me, and who could blame them? Fearing for your life every day, fighting to survive, it grinds on us all. They dismiss me as a silly, delusional girl and disappear into the game. I fear they’ll turn on me soon, possibly categorizing it as a mercy kill, possibly because our time as allies has run its course. \n\nTomorrow I’ll cross into enemy lines and speak with their leader, the boy from District 5. They owe me nothing, so there is a chance I won’t make it far enough to speak with him. I have to try.\n\nSavages. This game has turned us all to savages. But I *need* them to consider the bigger picture. We’re the only people left on earth, and I’m the only girl left in the game.",
"No cannons. No death display. That can't be right. Tabitha was in the building when it collapsed, there is no way she survived.\n\nBut every year, there have always been cannons. Even when the arena flooded, after that time where hurricanes ravaged everything, even after that one guy fried six people at a time by sucking the electricity out of the grid.\n\nThere hadn't been any electricity for a while now. The whole place is a deserted sandy city, but no one sent anything into the arena, no gifts, no mutts. Just....nothing.\n\nMaybe it was something new from the gamemakers. They always tried to play multiple games with the contestants. Not just pit them against each other, but their own environments and even themselves.\n\nI had to find someone. Anyone. But there was only one person I knew was alive for certain. Roland. The group I was with started calling him Roland the Red.\n\nDuring training, he showed to be a massive nerd. Softspoken, quiet. Finn trained him to be stealthy and trained him well, multiple times I figured he never showed up to the training only to find him standing behind me out of nowhere. He barely ever spoke, but he always watched everything that happened. Darryl spoke of him as a dark horse, as he wouldn't have been a flashy killer but a silent one.\n\nBut he had an obvious weakness. Layla from District 12. A sweet girl, almost too old, but the lottery didn't spare her. She cried a lot, showed no potential, and Roland pitied her. They hung out a lot, looked to be close friends. Everyone figured they were a couple at some point, but when probed by Caesar, both said they were friends.\n\nUntil Layla died. Poisoned arrow to the gut, fired by Eclipse. After that, Roland went mad. He got hold of a truck loaded with gas, rigged it to blow and drove it right into Alana's camp. The blast itself killed six people, but he went in himself to finish off anyone else left. We were shown video of Roland, eyes wide red and screaming, beating Alana's head in with a brick and stabbing Hoover to death with a pen.\n\nSince then, he's been racking up kills. Ten so far. There's me, Roland and three others left. Morgan and Tatiana from District 4 and Logan from District 11.\n\nHow do I know where Roland is? Simple. Be quiet, walk around and listen to the ranting. He screams at the sky and beats things with a steel pipe. Completely inconsolable. But maybe if he knew the games were over... What would he do? Would he care?\n\nIf the outage is an idea of the gamemakers, then only one can stand. Roland got lucky his bomb truck worked, but he can't get lucky twice. With any luck, the others will be approaching him, maybe banding together to take him out. The makers don't need to drive anyone anywhere anymore, exploring the city is hard without hearing him and the ruckus he makes.\n\nI adjust the straps on the backpack, double check that I've got enough water (thanks Rita) and start moving through the night.\n\n------\n\nThere it is. The ruckus. No screaming this time, just metal clanging on metal in a place as dead as his beloved Layla. I wouldn't be too surprised if he lost his voice. The streets are nearly as dark and black as the sky without streetlights, but my eyes have adjusted. Color is hard to see, but silhouettes I can make out. I duck and weave through alleyways as much as I can and stay near walls when going through the streets.\n\nAlmost every building I went through has been looted. Rooms have been thrashed and torn apart in the search for anything edible. One living room has blood all over it. I hope Remi didn't die like this. He was selected with me. A fourteen year old kid with dreams of making it to the Capitol. I saw his picture in the sky on the first day. I guess I failed to keep him safe, but we both knew what could happen here. Sorry, kid.\n\nThe feeling of dread that accompanied the silence was really unsettling. When you're used to the idea that everyone is always watched during the games, but that idea is taken away, I end up feeling...naked almost. Like, some certainty has been taken away from everything. \n\nThe clanging stopped. Is he on the hunt? Is he going to sleep? I move faster towards his zone. My footsteps are the only thing that make noise, but with boots like this, there's not much to do about that. Blood rushes in my ears and a headache pops up from the tension. This is all so wrong. Besides the killing each other parts, this is making less and less sense. No events, no cannons, no displays, no announcements. It's like the world outside died.\n\n----\n\nNine bodies have been nailed to the fence. Or wired to it. Boys and girls of all ages and sizes. The flies are crawling over their bodies, the smells from them make me sick to my stomach. I walk past them, staying away from the burning barrels, sticking to the shadows, wondering about the bodies. A clear warning, for sure, but how are they still there? After that cannibal guy, the gamemakers made sure to clean those up. Another sign that they aren't there. \n\nI explore the camp, as Roland doesn't appear to be here. Knowing what I learned from training, I checked my back regularly, but every time I figured he'd be there, no one was. At the center of his camp, I find something I don't think I was ever really ready to see.\n\nLayla's corpse is cropped up on a chair. She's decaying. He dress is stained. A pool of thick, black blood pools around the seat. It's eerie, as if she died sitting in that chair. Her hands resting on her lap, with a teacup in front of her. How did he get her to sit up like that? I heave as I block out the image of him ignoring the smell and pecking her on the cheek, saying that he'll lover her eternally.\n\nThen I smell the tea, and my heart skips a beat. The pot is on the table. My eyes go wide as I see steam coming out of Layla's cup.\n\n\"You could have knocked.\"\n\nI whip my knife out of my scabbard and flail behind me without looking. The tall, lanky, dead-eyed Roland stands further away than I thought, and my swipe misses. He reaches out and grabs my wrist. His smell of sweat overwhelms my sense as my eyes water. I can't pull my wrist free, he's too strong. I try to punch him or wrest myself free, but one hard tug nearly drops me on the floor. He slaps me across the face, but I don't drop my knife.\n\nI grab his leg to try and unbalance him. On the floor, it doesn't matter how tall he is. He pulls my hair with his boney hands and knees me right in the jaw. My head rings as I fall backwards. I heard something crack. I taste my own blood. Looking up, I see Roland towering over me.\n\nThere is nothing in his eyes. No hate. No pain. Nothing. He cares about this struggle as little as he would about an ant crawling across the 'trophies'. I have to get to him. I have to make him listen.\n\n\"Wait!\" I sputter, as I keep crawling back, \"Wait, Roland-\"\n\n\"I've waited long enough.\" He takes the knife off the floor.\n\n\"The Games are over!\"\n\n\"They will be.\"\n\n\"The cannons stopped firing!\"\n\n\"How convenient for you.\"\n\n\"There are no displays! No traps, no mutts, no announcements, nothing! The Game has stopped, Roland!\"\n\n\"You think this is a Game? Like chess? You think this little ruse can distract me? Where are the others?\"\n\n\"Roland, please, stop, I'm begging you.\"\n\n\"That's almost word for word what Alana said. She's one the fence now. I think I can fit a spot for you, right next to her.\"\n\n\"Roland, you don't have to do this! Please, what do I have to say to make you listen?!\"\n\nThen I realize. There's only one way to get him to listen. To *really* make him listen.\n\nI crawl up, sprint to Layla and grab the teapot.\n\n\"Stop! No!\"\n\nPowering through the smell, I stand behind her and turn her head to look at him.\n\n\"Roland, listen to me.\"\n\n\"Let. Her. Go.\"\n\n\"Are you listening?\" Aww fuck, breathe through my mouth, fuck.\n\n\"Let her go, or I will hurt you in places you didn't know you could feel.\"\n\n\"There is no power. No light. You're smart, Roland, you know that the gamemakers *always* remind people they're in charge of your life, like they were in charge of Layla's. They have done so every year of the Games, with no exception. Why would they do so now? Think Roland, why?\"\n\nHe turns around and scouts the rooftops. No one in sight, nothing to hear but the flickering of the fires. I suppose he hasn't killed the other tributes yet.\n\n\"Look at me, Roland. I came alone.\"\n\n\"That's rather dumb.\"\n\n\"Do you think I'd come here to end up dead on the floor? I'm trying to make a fucking point here, Roland. You're smart. You know something's wrong with the system, it's not doing it's job and you've seen it.\"\n\n\"The 'system' they have works just fine from where I'm looking.\"\n\nI let go of her and put the pot down. No melting corpses with scalding hot tea today. I put my hands up, and pray this works.\n\n\"All the people you hurt, Roland, they all deserved it. They hunted you and Layla like dogs hunt foxes. And when dogs misbehave, they get put down. For her, right?\"\n\nHe said nothing in return, but I'm getting to him. He's angry, which means he's still in there somewhere.\n\n\"What have I done to you?\"\n\n\"You tried to cut me.\"\n\n\"You're pretty scary with how you sneak up on people. I'm sorry.\"\n\n\"So I've been told.\"\n\n\"Roland, I want to find the others. If the Games have stopped, I want to know why. I want to go to the edge and see if we can leave. But I won't make it out of here without supplies. Supplies you have. We can find the others, as a group. They can't last forever, they will have to come here. If we draw them in, talk to them-\"\n\n\"This isn't some ideal fantasy world, Kelly. Haven't you noticed?\"\n\n\"Please Roland. I want this to stop.\" I motion to Layla. \"She would have wanted all this to stop too, wouldn't she have?\"\n\nIt stays quiet between us for a while. Then he slowly walks closer, putting the knife away in his belt. I let him. How can I trust him if I can't let him get close? My breath shudders as he stand right in front of me.\n\n\"I guess she would.\" He says as he caresses her cheek.",
"All things considered Antoine thought it was pretty funny that he’d learned of the end of the world by trying to cheat. His fellow contestants might not find it quite as amusing but as he dodged their arrows in the sweltering jungle ecosystem of the dome he found that he didn’t much care. Whenever they all made it out of here Marcus’ group would clearly need to be ostracized, they were having way too much fun with this. If they made it out of here.\n\nIn his peripheral vision Antoine saw a spear sail just over his shoulder, sparking off some rocks ahead. When he glanced back he saw Nieve a mere twenty feet behind him, already racing to catch up after her throw. That woman was terrifyingly fast, his advisor had stressed that repeatedly in the training process. The excited cries of Marcus’ group drew closer with every step, by all right Antoine should have been preparing himself for death.\n\nBut then, his contact in the control room him given him one last bit of information before he had died. Less than a quarter mile away was a river with a powerful current, and on the other side Effie and Cole were camped. Alone of all the other contestants they might take pity on him. Especially if he could make them believe what he knew.\n\nAhead of them every person involved in the chase began to hear the rushing of water, Marcus roaring over the din “Catch that man, kill him! Kill him!”\n\nIt was not to be however, and as the treeline broke in front of them revealing a cliff high over the waterline Antoine dove for safety, breaking the waters surface moments later with a gasp. Above him he could see them all arrayed on the cliff's edge, Marcus and Nieve, Teak and Bee. He was back under the water and swimming for the opposite bank before Teak’s first arrow was fired.\n\nThe last Antoine had heard from his contact in the control room there were 16 contestants remaining, of whom he considered 4 to likely be unredeemable. That left 12 people to break out of the dome with one day and try to build a new life. 12 people in all the world, it was a lonely thought.\n\nSurfacing for air Antoine realized he was nearly to the bank, and that his pursuers had moved of the cliff, no doubt they would look for a safer place to cross. Few swimmers were as capable as those from his district after all. Ahead of him he could see the shocked faces of his friends from the training, Effie already raising her massive sword in preparation for what would come. Antoine sincerely hoped that he hadn’t misjudged them.\n\nHe rolled up onto solid ground gasping for air as Effie stood above him, her sword ready for the killing blow.\n\n“Antoine,” she said “we thought you’d be dead by now.”\n\n“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I’m fine. Marcus and the other are coming though, we’ve got to get out of here.” Effie looked at him with a strange expression, somewhere between compassion and anger. It was perhaps appropriate in these circumstances.\n\n“And why would ‘we’ be going anywhere together?”\n\nAntoine took a deep breath, pulling the contraband comms device from his ear and holding it up clearly to the sunlight so she and Cole could see.\n\n“Because I just listened to the rest of the world die and we’re all that’s left.”\n\nEffie and Cole exchanged a long look, some message seeming to pass between them. Cole stepped forward, looking down into Antoine’s eyes. “Well it’s a hell of a strategy, I’ll give you that. You’ve got about 30 more seconds until Marcus gets down to the riverbank. Sell me before then or we leave you here.”\n\nRolling to his feet Antoine looked about himself, unsure for a moment what he could possibly say to the pair to make them believe him. With 15 seconds left inspiration struck and he hurled his earpiece into the river before reversing his grip on his small hatchet and handing it to Cole. He sat there defenseless as the other group began to loudly appear on the riverbank, jostling at each other to see who would cross first.\n\nTime seemed to slow down for Antoine as he watched his friends come to their decision. Finally Cole gave a single sharp nod and tossed the hatchet back to him before turning and running into the woods, Effie on his heels. There was a long way to go before they were convinced but the first step had been made. Tonight by the light of the campfire they would listen if nothing else, and perhaps tomorrow could be a new day for all of them, with new goals not limited by the confines of this murderous game. On the opposite bank Marcus stepped into the water, he at least was determined to kill, and as long as even one still played the game it could never truly be over.\n\n\\---------------------------------------\n\nIf you enjoyed that I've got way more over at [r/TurningtoWords](https://www.reddit.com/r/TurningtoWords/)! I'm working on things like a YA-ish take on humanity running into a hive mind and there's other stuff like a wholesome version of Bloody Mary. Come check it out, I'd love to have you!",
"It was not what I expected from the sponsorship, the news that the world was falling apart. I really hoped it would be some food, or some antihistamine. The spines of the plant I’d trodden on this morning were certainly having an impact on me. My ankle was swelling rapidly.\n\nI put down the infopad and considered my options. The nanophage, as Ronan had called it in his message, wouldn’t penetrate the shields here. Which means others would also be shielded and survive. Including, presumably whoever had unleashed this devastating weapon on the world outside. Could have been any district I supposed. Those outside of the shields would be broken down into their constituent molecules and cast to the wind, like chaff from the farms in District 9. Ronan hoped it wouldn’t be painful, but being torn into tiny pieces by tiny nanoscale robots did not sound painless to me, and I could see Ronan felt the same as he used the last seconds he had to warn me.\n\nI shuddered as I thought of my friend. In the time this capsule had taken to arrive he would have already been reduced to dust. Like Ronan, the administrators of the game were not behind shields. If I was lucky enough to survive the Games, there was no guarantee anyone would be able to come and let me out. And a lifetime surviving in this booby-trapped hell did not appeal.\n\nA small insistent bit of my brain tried to tell me how rare shields were in my family’s part of District 10, but I did everything I could to ignore it.\n\nThe sun was rising, and the tree that had been a decent hiding place in the dark was rapidly losing its advantage. I could feel the cool evening breeze warming already. It would be a hot one today. I shifted in the nook of the branch I was sat upon and winced as my swollen ankle rubbed against the rough bark. The climb down looked painful, but I’d made it up here in the first place and the other option would end up being a lot more painful in a final sort of way if I was found.\n\nWith my butcher’s knife tucked into my waistband I started the short, but torturous clamber to the soft mulch of the forest floor. I trod more carefully now, after learning my lesson yesterday. Soft ground can hide any number of dangers in the arena. Limping away, I tried not to look at the hand of the poor girl from District 7 that I’d had to kill yesterday. Some of the leaves had blown away from the shallow grave I tipped her into before climbing the tree. She had been strong, a lifetime with the ax will do that to you, but I was skilled in how and where to apply a knife to flesh to end movement and then life. I would have run, but my ankle forced me into a fight. Like a gimped rat in a trap.\n\nShouts echoed in the distance. Two tributes locked in battle. Perhaps happening across each other as the sun rose. I crouched and waited. The shouts and screams escalated until suddenly there was nothing but a piercing silence. I waited for the cannon shot, but it never came. No-one watching that poor person die, I thought. Will anyone else notice how strange that is?\n\nIt was time to find a new hiding place, and rest my ankle. Perhaps some food. Then there was the more medium-term issue of deciding what I was going to do about the end of the world. With the shouts coming from what was probably the East based on where the sun had risen, I headed West. It was not impossible that the sun was rising and falling in different places though, just to confuse us. It had been done in previous games in this Arena, Ronan had said. I suppressed a sob, as I remembered his face as he told me that.\n\nPausing frequently to listen, progress was slow, but as I had no idea where I was going I guess that didn’t really matter. I followed a gully downwards, hoping to find water lower down the hillside. A twig snapped in the silence and I hit the floor, forgetting for a moment to check what was beneath the leaves. The ground smelt damp but welcoming and I was grateful for the slight cover the mulch made. Over my speeding heart, I heard another crack, closer this time. Someone was coming this way. They were less cautious than I was. Less willing to stop and listen. With anyone else in the Arena, it might have been their downfall, but I didn’t want to kill again, so I stayed out of sight as much as I could.\n\nThe figure of a boy broke from the undergrowth behind me. I cursed my foolishness. Following a gully? It funnelled others down it as well. I should have kept to the high ground. And now someone would have to die. He looked harried, exhausted and appeared unarmed. And he was already bleeding from a wound on his forearm. My fingers curled tightly around the handle of my knife and I took a deep breath and stood on my one good leg, keeping my injured ankle behind me.\n\n“Fuck”, said the boy. There was resignation in his tone, not anger or determination. He reminded me of the livestock brought to slaughter. When the knife touches the neck the fight always goes out of them. Like they know what is coming. He had the pallor and small stature of a miner from District 12. Like he’d never seen the sun.\n\n“I’m sorry, boy”, I said as I limped toward him. “There really isn’t much point to this anymore with what’s happened outside, but I need time to think, and I can’t let you run.”\n\nHis eyes were fixed on the point of the blade, and the blood that I was ashamed to see on it. I would never put a knife away uncleaned after use normally, but taking my first human life had been a shock to the system.\n\n“Wait”, he pleaded. “Wait. Don’t.” He crouched down and lowered himself to his knees.\n\nI shook my head and, as I reached him, I took hold of his tunic front with my free hand, warily watching in case this was some sort of ruse. The stain spreading across the front of his britches suggested that it was not, however.\n\n“I’m sorry”, I said again. “I’m doing you a favour. I doubt you’d survive the world post-nanophage anyway.”\n\nThe boy knocked my hand off his front and rolled backwards suddenly. With my lack of push-off my injured back foot I couldn’t grab him. I dropped into a defensive posture.\n\n“The what?”, he asked.\n\nI waved the blade at him. “What?”\n\n“You said ‘nanophage’. What do you know about the nanophage?” He looked different now. Glowing from within, like a religious fanatic.\n\n“I know that it happened. Today. About an hour ago. I know that the world is ending. I know that we are all alone in here. Even more alone than we thought. And I know that one of us needs to die.”\n\nHe backed away from the blade. “What if neither of us needs to die, District 10?”\n\n“It’s Rosemary”, I said. “My name is Rosemary.”\n\nHe grinned. “I’m Peat. A pleasure to meet you. Rosemary sounds like a District 11 name?”\n\n“Goes well with lamb”, I replied and waved my knife again. “And I’m good with lambs.”\n\nHe held up his hands, still backing up. “OK, OK. I see you are better prepared for this place than me. But what if I told you I knew where we could go if we got out of here. If the Nanophage has happened no-one out there is watching anymore. More than one of us can survive.”\n\n“Go on”, I said.\n\n“My District made the 'phage. I thought it was just a story. Something we told each other to give us hope. That we would stop the Capitol. It sounds like it was more than that. Help me. Help me get out of here, and I’ll bring you to our mines. The world hasn’t ended, just the bits my District wanted to end!”\n\nHis face lit up with that fervent passion again, and for the first time, he frightened me. He frightened me, but he had at least half a plan, and my choices were help him, or kill him. I put the knife back in my waistband.\n\n“OK then Peat. How the hell do we get out of here?”\n\n\\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \n\n\nPart 2 in the replies and more like this on my sub. \n\nr/TallerestTales"
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[WP] "Simply put, hunting you will be the Most Dangerous Game." "What are you talking about? We're a group of untrained civilians, and you're an experienced hunter. What part of this would even be challenging to you?"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 part of this would even be challenging to you?!” Ben finished. He’s standing on an island beach. A group of his co workers behind him. His boss, dressed in camouflage, in front of him. \n\n“People have an extremely powerful survival instinct. When backed up against a wall every person is dangerous.” Alan said as he adjusted his rifle on his shoulder. His posh English accent always set him apart from his midwestern underlings. \n\n“Have you looked at us?” Ben said and he waved his arm to the pudgy bunch behind him. “We’re not exactly the dangerous type. We’ve spent the last 10 years working in your IT department. Mostly living off Red Bull’s and pizza.”\n\n“Trust me, when the game begins you will feel an adrenaline like you’ve never felt before. You will run faster than you ever have. You will-“ Alan was cut off mid sentence. \n\n“Are you giving us guns too?” Ben asked. \n\n“Well of course not.” Alan responded. A bit flustered. He’s not used to people cutting him off while he speaks. \n\n“Is there a way to win? Like a boat somewhere or a helicopter that will take us to freedom or even like a problem solving scavenger hunt that if we complete it you don’t kill us?” Ben asked. \n\n“No, but that last one is a pretty cool idea. Maybe next time I’ll set that up.” Alan said. \n\n“So what motivation do we have to be the most dangerous game? It seems unwinnable. You have all the weapons and by the sounds of it you’ve done this before. Which means not only do you have experience with this game, but also knowledge of the landscape of the island. I say we just stand here and let you kill us. One by one. That won’t be fun. You know Jim will be crying the whole time. That would be uncomfortable for everyone.” Ben said. \n\nThe pudgy group nodded in agreement. “I didn’t want to go to work on monday any way.” One of them muttered. \n\n“Now where’s you’re fighting spirit? C’mon, Jim,” Alan pointed to the bespectacled loaf in the back. “Remember when you yelled at me because I made you stay late on you anniversary? Where’s that rage? And Linda, I know you would love to get back at me for the time I dangled a promotion on front of you and then gave it to my unqualified nephew.” Alan said trying to rile up the bunch. \n\n“That is the worst motivational speech I’ve ever heard.” Ben said.” Again the group agreed with Ben. “If you really want to do this. If you really want to get this game started you need to figure out a way to level the playing field. Give is a fighting chance.” Ben said. “Then maybe we’ll run scared into the jungle.”\n\nAlan thought about this. He knows Ben was right. He also really wanted to kill them all. He had to figure this out. \n\n“Ok, I see your point. What if I don’t use my rifle and only use my machete?” Alan threw out there. Patting the blade he had sheathed at his hip. \n\nBen looked to his comrades. They shrugged. \n\n“Ummm, ok, put the gun down and you have a deal.” Ben said. \n\nAlan dropped the rifle in front of him. \n\n“Ok. So the way this works is sort of like hide and seek. Only if I find you I’m going to kill you.” Alan said with excitement dripping out of the cornered of his mouth.\n\n“We get it.” Ben said dryly\n\n“I’m going to turn my back and count to 100 and then I’m coming for each and every one of you.” Alan said smiling. \n\n“Whatever, let’s just get this over with.” Ben said. \n\nAlan turned his back and started the count down. \n\n100\n\n99\n\n98\n\n9-\n\nBen picked up the rifle and shot Alan in the back. \n\nAlan fell forward onto his hands and knees. \n\n“What the hell Ben, that’s not how the game works, you’re supposed to wait till the count is over!” Alan screamed. Then he collapsed to the sand. \n\n\n“Well that was easier than I thought.” Ben said to his doughy friends. “Let’s go find our way off this island.”\n\n“Do you guys mind if we hang for a couple days? I haven’t had a vacation since 2012. I could really use some relaxing beach time.” Jim said. \n\n“Good idea!” Ben agreed. \n\nThe pasty bunch chilled at the beach for a week before heading back to work. NO one ever spoke about their time in the island again."
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[WP] Having been selected to fight a war in the future, you are asked leave your wife and your son to go on your mission to travel in time and take down the madman behind it all, not realising that this madman is your own son who fell to the dark side in the absence of a father figure.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 literal colony of men spread out across me, their numbers seemingly endless. Hunter had always been good at tinkering, and these cyborg slaves only went to show the years he had spent to perfect his craft.\n\n...\n\nFuck, I had no time to be proud.\n\nI was the last one standing, the war had already ended before I could do anything. The hellish years I spent in basic training, the numerous insurgencies I missed out on, being a VIP. I was summoned here as a soldier, only to be treated as a prize pig for the bastard, tied with a ribbon to boot.\n\nEverything I had sacrificed to come to this era, all of it would have been for nothing.\n\nThe robots appear from all around me, as they trap me into their circle. \n\nEverything is a dark red, and I can’t tell if it’s from the burning ruins of the Capitol I had just escaped from, or the combined blood of everyone who chose to protect me, as they were one by one gunned down.\n\nThe cyborgs retract their guns into their torso compartments with unnerving singularity. \n\nThe crowd parts and I see a familiar face. He looks so much like his mother, but his nose showed that he was definitely mine. Only his greying hair betrays his age, his body covered in a mechanical titan of a suit.\n\nHe steps over a corpse, my squad commander, crushing the skull with his steel boots.\nUnfazed, he keeps walking towards me, his head slightly tilted as he tries to match the face to a distant memory.\n\nHe smiles as his eyes glimmer with recognition.\n“So they did send you here. I was hoping I’d see you soon, daddy.”\n\nSeeing a man ten years my senior call me daddy, while something I was prepared for, unnerved the hell out of me all the same. He wipes the blood off of my forehead with his gauntlet, I hadn’t realized that he had come so close.\nEverything was a blur. I stumble back, landing on my ass.\nHe puts his arm out, as if to pull me back up.\nI struggle for the pistol hidden in my armpit holster, the only gun the Army ever gave me. I raise it to my head, and take off the safety.\n\n“Order your troops to retreat or I so swear to god I will end my miserable life right now!”\n\nHunter laughs, a barking, joyous laugh that tells of a joke only he knew about.\n\n“I want that, dad, I really do.”\n\nI don’t understand anything. Had he known? What was going on?\n\nIn my confusion Hunter reaches out and plucks the gun from my hand.\n\n“But first, we’ve got some catching up to do.”"
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[WP] You have been assigned to take care of a human that had been taken away for research. You're fine with this, since you think they're cute, even if others disagree. But you just wish they didn't try to touch everything.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Yok’uk watched the tiny creature scramble around its enclosure. Despite their size, humans could move pretty fast.\n\n“I don’t get why you like them,” said Ovi, “they’re creepy as hell. Tiny little eyes, not enough legs, too squishy... its like they’re still undeveloped.” he shuddered.\n\n“I don’t know, I just think they’re neat,” said Yok’uk, “and I think it’s funny that they’re squishy.”\n\nOvi rolled his eyes, turning back to the array of screens he had been looking at. \n\n*Of course you do Yok’uk*, he thought.\n\nOvi was in charge of running data analysis on the creatures they collected. Usually he would gather the information himself, but these humans crossed some line he wasn’t willing to engage with. \n\n*Gross little buggers*, he thought, eyeing the human.\n\nBesides, Yok’uk... didn’t seem to mind handling them.\n\n“Alright, logs say... we need a sample of the fibres coming out of its head.” Ovi said. “All set up?”\n\n“Yep,” Yok’uk said. “I get to keep this one right?”\n\n“Yeah, whatever,” answered Ovi, “just not in the dorms.”\n\nYok’uk strapped on his gloves and reached into the enclosure, lifting one of the hollow concrete cubes they had set up to mimic the creature’s environment.\n\nThe human was curled up underneath it, its knees pushed up to its chin and it head buried in its arms. Its face was leaking.\n \n“Weird,” said Ovi, “the last one did that too. I think we should get a sample of that excretion, see if it’s got a defensive purpose or something.”\n\n“Should I get a swab?” asked Yok’uk.\n\n“I‘ll grab one,” said Ovi. \n\nHe stood up, walked to the door, and before stepping out said, “Hey, Yok’uk?”\n\n“Yeah?”\n\n“Please don’t let it out.”\n\n“I won’t”\n\nAnd he closed the door behind him. \n\nYok’uk rested his head on the table, looking at the little creature behind the one-way glass. They really were adorable. \n\n“Hey little guy,” he said, tapping the glass, “this must be pretty weird for you, huh?”\n\nBetween sniffles, it let out a small, surprised, squeak.\n\n*Aww, it’s still scared*, thought Yok’uk.\n\nHe walked over to the shelf where they kept the food, skimming over the labels until he found the one he wanted: Human. He grabbed a couple pellets and extended his claw into the enclosure, hoping that this one might try to eat out of his hand. It seemed interested in the food, darting looks between Yok’uk and his outstretched claw, but made no move to come closer. After a few more attempts of trying to persuade it, Yok’uk dropped the pellets onto the substrate and let it be, content just watch it skitter around and do its little human things. \n\nSometimes he would drop things into their pens, letting them explore the foreign object and watching them touch it with their weird appendages. Humans were a social species, and when he repeated this experiment with lots of them around, they would chitter and chirp between each other as they tried to figure out what it was. \n\n*Adorable*, thought Yok’uk, *and soon you’ll mine.* He smiled at the thought. \n\nThe human had ventured out to the pellet and was poking around at it. It seemed to like the smell, which was a good sign that the new formula was working. It took a desperate bite out of the pellet.\n\n*Oh just look at it, what neat little creatures!* Thought Yok’uk.\n\nReaching into the enclosure, he scooped up the tiny human and brought it up to his face. Looking close, he wondered what all the little parts of it were for. Most of its features were almost useless, its eyes, nose, ears, and mouth were all so small and scrunched together that Yok’uk couldn’t imagine it being able to detect much. It was bipedal which, while not uncommon in species, was still always interesting to see. What Yok’uk liked most though, was their feelers. Compared to every other creature they had encountered, humans had the biggest feelers in relation to their body size. They were made for exploring.\n\nThe human no longer seemed scared, but obviously found some discomfort in being in Yok’uk’s claw. \n\n*Oh but you guys still don’t have space travel!* He thought.\n\nHe carried the disgruntled human with him to the control deck, where a huge window looked out into the stars.\n\n“Isn’t it beautiful?” Yok’uk asked the empty cabin. The human seemed to admire the view. \n“You little dudes would probably try to touch a star if you could reach one,” he laughed.\n\nThe human was now looking down at the the vast sea of buttons and knobs beneath it; the control panel. It’s attention seemed to be locked on one giant red button. \n\n“Oh that’s for when something goes wrong in the cabin,” he explained to the creature, “it sends an alarm over the whole ship. Pretty handy in emergencies.”\n\nThe human kept looking at the button, and Yok’uk kept looking at the human.\n\n*It’s probably to small to do anything*, he concluded, and carefully held it up to the button.\n\n“Take a look, it’s—“\n\nAnd the tiny creature wiggled out of his claw and splatted onto the button.\n\nThe alarm went off.\n\nSirens blared and lights flashed, “Emergency in the cabin! Emergency in the cabin!” A voice chanted throughout the ship. \n\nThe human panicked and darted across the panel, wreaking havoc on the system’s settings. \n\nYok’uk panicked, and scrambled to catch the human, buttons and switches flipping in the crossfire.\n\nOne such switch was the acceleration, and the ship shot forward, launching both Yok’uk and the human across the room.\n\nWhile Yok’uk gathered his bearings, the human dashed into a small opening in the wall panels.\n\n“No!” Yok’uk cried out.\n\nBut it was too late, the human was long gone, fried by the circuitry behind the wall.\n\nBy the time his crew arrived, Yok’uk was sobbing on the floor, crying over the body the broken human."
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Thank you so much for the silver award!
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[WP] Your rescuer was not the knight in shining armor, riding on a white steed. No, instead a thief assassinated the dragon, stole the treasure, left you there, and rode off on a donkey. It's a little underwhelming, honestly.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Excitement arose from nothing when I saw him creep into the main chamber, but it curdled just as quickly into rage when I saw his actions. Myrn, the dragon, was tended on lovingly by Varoid, my captor. He was the one who made my meals and handled my logistics, and helped out Myrna with any other little thing she needed. My time with them both had not been bad, all told. Myrna liked me to be shackled to the wall in her eyeline, and we often passed the day swapping stories. And Varoid had made sure that the shackles were never too tight. \n\nNow Myrna was dead, and Varoid was howling in anguish. The thief had made off with the very best of the hoard, taking his time to pick through it. I could still here his clanking footsteps depart. He had barely looked at me as he tied my ankles and wrists, the ropes biting painfully. Varoid was writhing beside me. \n\n'I will *kill him*!' Varoid howled. 'I'll get him, I'll find him, my beloved Myr, noooo...' His words receded back into howls.\n\n'Var,' I said, but he ignored me. \n\n'Nooooo this can't be happening, can't be happening, can't be...'\n\n'VAR!' I shouted. 'Don't you have a blade hidden on you somewhere?'\n\nI knew he did. I had often seen him readjust it in his boot.\n\nHis eyes focused on me. 'I care for nothing now,' he said, and I could see he meant every word of it. Myr had been everything for him. 'Death can take us.'\n\n'You care at least for revenge, do you not?' I said. \n\n'What good can a princess do me to that bloody end?' he moaned. 'I am lost, I am gone...'\n\n'Well this particular princess can do quite a bit about it, actually,' I said. I wriggled over to him. 'Hold still while I get your knife.'\n\nHe looked shocked that I knew about it, which made me feel even more sorry for him. I managed to get it out and open it without cutting off a finger - 'Very very sharp!' he warned urgently - but it was still the work of some time to cut my bounds. The thief's footsteps were long gone. But finally I was free, and I didn't hesitate before cutting Var free. I didn't hesitate outwardly, at least. But this was no time to be settling old grudges. A lot had happened in the last half an hour.\n\nVar was up and running at once, heading on the thief's trail with eyes blazing, but I managed to haul him back by the collar. 'He's probably already almost at the upper levels - we need a better strategy than that,' I said. 'Where are the weapons?'\n\n'Stop your idiocy!' he yelled. 'We need to --'\n\nBut I wasn't a princess for nothing. I stood to my full height, coming up to about his chest, and ordered: 'Take me to the weapons room!'\n\nHe did it. We raced through corridors and up stairs, and then I grabbed a longbow and arrows. Then we raced back to the main chamber to where Myrna lay. I touched her scales reverently, and then I plunged one of the arrows into her body between her scales. \n\n'How dare you...' Var began, but I silenced him with a flashing look. \n\n'The battlements!' I said. 'Like you've never run before!'\n\nHis speed almost proved to be faster than I could keep up with. He was a like a demon, flashing up flights of stairs hardly seeming to touch them, sprinting down corridors, never stopping to breather. We burst out into the cold clean air of the dawn, and raced to the battlement. There on the plane, far beneath us, was a tiny dot of movement.\n\nThe thief.\n\n'Do you know who my grandfather is?' I asked Var, as I notched the arrow.\n\nBy his stare I knew he didn't.\n\n'Malachy,' I said. 'The Fire Mage.' I began to murmur the words of power, and they immediately made me feel hot as they always did, as if I was standing in the direct sun of the south. I said the opening incantations, then the requiem, then the seven ramas, all in a few moments while Varoid watched silently. It must have been hard for him to wait through each agonising second, but he did it.\n\nThe I turned and drew back the arrow and closed my eyes. I saw the streaks of fire that run through the world, and the dragon blood on the arrow shone like the sun, painful to look at, casting its other-light brightly upon me. I waited and waited and waited until just the right moment, as Grandad had taught me with his own hand, and then I loosed the arrow. It sang as it disappeared into the sky.\n\nNothing happened.\n\nNeither of us spoke.\n\nFinally Var said: 'My lady, what is it that you...'\n\nAnd then out on the plane there was a dull boom, like distant thunder, and a great ball of fire rose into the sky, so vast it had shadows and darknesses and curlicues of its own. Then the wind of it washed over us, ruffling my hair and tattered clothes. \n\nWhen I turned back to Var he was on his knees, head bowed.\n\n'Your servant for the rest of my days, my lady,' he said.\n\n'Well arise, then my servant,' I said, and tilted his head up gently with my hand. 'Because I have other news for you: Your dragon is not yet dead.'\n\n\\--\n\nHope you like it! Please check out r/HouseBlendMedium for more stories.",
"_Debts must be paid in full._ Stacia repeats her sacred mantra as she scales the tallest tower of the now decrepit Serenia Castle. It's not hard, not when she knows the handholds and cracks in the tower wall as well as any other wall in the entire country of Serenia, but sometimes the motivation is...lacking. Sure, she's spent the past seven years of her life training for the chance to save one man's life, but that doesn't mean she has to like it. Or him, for that matter.\n\nHis name is Jackdaw, and she has a sneaking suspicion it's because all of the other cool blackbird names were taken. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark voice...she gives him points for the accuracy, at least. They - the tavern gossipers and shady information brokers - say he's a seasoned assassin, and that much may be true, but she's starting to believe the stress lies more in _seasoned_ than anything. An assassin by trade, possibly, but nothing more than a petty thief with no morals or respect, or even illusions of grandeur.\n\nAfter all, he could have been a king and he traded that away for pocket change.\n\nStacia had been there herself, watching between the cobwebs of the second story of the very tower she finds herself on today. Back then, it wasn't nearly as dark, mostly because of the dragonfire that surrounded the place. It was a gorgeous, purple-scaled behemoth, and if Stacia hadn't been so goddamn afraid of being eaten by it, she would've gazed upon it more often. As it was, though, she would often watch over it as it slept, watching the smoke drift from its nostrils and up towards the highest point where the princess of Serenia was held captive. And as it was, The very same dragon was asleep when he rode in gracefully, nobly, valiantly...\n\n...on a _fycking_ donkey. Stacia had thought it was a joke at first, but the dagger in his hand had shone in light hues, green and blue indicative of mithril laced with serpentsbane. The dagger had shone all of ten seconds before it found itself lodged into the great dragon's neck, at the only spot unprotected by invulnerable scales. At that point, Stacia had been uncaring of the donkey - the man had just assassinated a _dragon!_ - and scrambled to her feet, running up the tower in hopes of bearing witness to the first interaction between the thief and the princess.\n\nThe interaction, however, never came. She waited patiently for several minutes- minute turned to hours- hours turned to sunrise, and eventually Stacia made her way back down, wondering what could have taken the savior so long, just to find the dragon's entire corpse gone, as well as the mountain of gold that it was so fond of sleeping on. Not only an assassin- that blasted ass on an ass was a petty thief as well! And he had left the princess! Alone and defenseless in her own prison! What a sorry excuse for a rogue, Stacia had thought at the time, and it wouldn't be untrue to say she still does. Feeling both unimpressed and slighted, she took it upon herself to become the thief that Jackdaw never could be, the honorable assassin who saw through whatever quest they took on. And to start things off, she gave herself a spiteful little quest: save Jackdaw in his time of need. Repay the debt in full, even if that debt comes in the form of another sleeping dragon.\n\nBut this isn't a sleeping dragon- this is a _very_ awake coven of witches, one among the many groups of humans and monsters alike that still scour the tower for any potential dragon ingredients. Jackdaw is cocky to take them all on, and she watches with a keen eye as he moves in to backstab one- just to get surprised as an alarm spell starts blaring to alert the witches to his presence. Even before they react, Stacia stands up, jumping from the roof and casting silent magic to soften her fall to the cobblestone below.\n\nShe watches as a witch casts a spell, a bolt of energy forming in front of her hand before being flung towards Jackdaw; good. Her timing is impeccable, as always.\n\nShe lands in front of Jackdaw just as the energy bolt arrives in the same spot, and her iron dagger - laced with an anti-magic potion, a necessity for any good assassin - connects with it, sending the attack right back at the witches. It nearly clips one, but she jumps out of the way right in time- only to meet her fate as the bolt fells a damaged wall right on top of her.\n\nStacia doesn't look behind her, but she knows that Jackdaw's staring at her, the woman who had just saved his sorry ass by bouncing a magic bolt off of an iron dagger. \"Who are you?\" It's a demand, not a question; it's almost _hilarious_ that he still thinks he has some sort of authority over her when he has done nothing but be a combination spite-motivator and pain in her neck for the past seven years.\n\nWell, she might as well reward his bravado.\n\n\"Her Royal Highness Anastasia Montoya Del Serenia,\" she says loudly, and hopes- no, _knows_ that she can show him the pride and power of a true rogue. A rogue who actually _saves_ people. \"I'm here to repay a debt.\"\n\n~~ r/kirilisms"
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[WP] "Luck" is an actual thing that continuously provides good or bad fortune to a person. You've been cursed with bad luck your entire life up until your death. In death, your maker tells you you had one of the highest amounts of luck out of everyone. You were supposed to be dead.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"\"Right,\" I said, taking it all in. \"I'm dead, this is neither heaven nor hell, luck is real, for better or worse, and I'm a record breaker.\"\n\n\"Correct,\" said the man. He seemed familiar but in a queer, offputting way, like Larry King playing himself in a movie. Tall, well dressed, stoic composure - he certainly knew his way around here better than I.\n\n\"And that makes you...\"\n\nHe smiled. \"Your creator, of course.\"\n\nNever having been big on the water-to-wine and angel choir phenomenon, I didn't quite know what to expect in the afterlife. If I believed what most people did, I would have expected clouds, harps and eternal happiness. But seeing as I never gave it much thought, I'd always operated under the assumption that death was a lot like trying to figure out what to do in the theatre once the movie ended; sitting in the dark, do you think about the finished story or try to figure out what comes next?\n\nIn all my years, though, I never would have expected my afterlife to be in a barren hotel lobby, standing next to a young Tagg Romney lookalike.\n\n\"You're God?\" I asked. \"You're a little too...\"\n\n\"Charming? Handsome?\" he said, his grin getting wider.\n\n\"Suave is the word that comes to mind, but you have me at a loss here.\"\n\nMy creator stepped from behind the counter and walked down the hall to my right, gesturing to follow. Seeing as I had nothing better to do, I followed.\n\n\"We can talk about all that stuff at orientation,\" he said without looking back to see if I followed. \"Don't you want to know about your world record?\"\n\nI struggled to keep pace with him; he took long, effortless strides, as if he was skating and not walking. \"I've never broken a record before. Also, what's orientation?\"\n\nThe man (being, angel, devil?) stopped at a door labelled 3 1/2. \"It's a boring little slideshow. Has a foreword by Noam Chomsky and everything. And you have broken a record before, prior to this. Local, but still impressive. August 2003. Family vacation to the State Fair, you wore a Slayer T-shirt.\"\n\n\"I don't remember,\" I said, reaching far into my hazy memories of life.\n\n\"Two words: hot dogs.\"\n\nIt clicked. \"Oh God.\"\n\nHe knocked on the door twice and continued. \"Which brings me to my next point: you should have been dead.\"\n\nI pushed away an impending wall of nausea, only to be greeted by another. I was already dead, yet now my angel of death, shortly after making me remember the darkest day of my childhood, tells me my death broke some preordained plan? I asked for clarification.\n\n\"We operate on a rather holistic approach to guiding the universe where it needs to go.\" He leaned against the doorframe. \"Each individual is set, at birth, a set score of... let's just call it luck. Some people are born inherently lucky, others less so. Silver spoon or wooden spork, and what have you.\"\n\nMy knees threatened to crumble. \"So you mean...\"\n\n\"Though the circumstances of your birth were rather mundane, your 'luck' was so inconceivably, downright ludicrously low, that a baby covered in grease inside a wolf den would have an easier time surviving than you.\"\n\nThen they crumbled. I collapsed to the ground and steadied myself, staring down at the shag carpeting. \"But I survived. I had an okay time.\" I paused. \"Until I died.\"\n\nHe knelt down to meet me, a warm expression on his face. \"And that's the record you broke, my friend. You, someone whose luck was beneath rock bottom, managed to make it as far as you did without any horrible tragedy. Aside from the obvious one.\"\n\nI felt trapped in my own head, my mind searching for answers and reason when there were none. I could only listen.\n\n\"You had several close calls with Lady Luck throughout your life,\" he continued, resting a hand on my shoulder. \"When you were a baby, you were terribly unhealthy. Some of the things you had even we didn't know about. When your parents took you to the hospital to check your fever, all of their equipment malfunctioned and said that you were the absolute picture of health when, in fact, the WHO would have cowered in fear of what was inside you.\"\n\n\"But... I was never sick as a kid,\" I muttered.\n\n\"Exactly. Whereas the normal human body withholds a sustained attack from the viruses and contagions, your body, by some fluke of genetics, was more persuasive than aggressive. You managed to avoid an attack from the illnesses because your body convinced the foreign bodies to attack each other. It was a civil war within your blood.\"\n\nI blinked. \"That's... that's not how that works.\"\n\nHe laughed loud enough to make me jump. \"That's what we said!\"\n\nI heard the door next to us open. The faint whistle of wind filled the hall, but I kept my stare at the ground, too scared to move. Either not caring of my predicament or too enthralled by his own story, he continued.\n\n\"In your adolescence, there were several attempted hits on your person, each failing more spectacularly than the last.\"\n\n\"People wanted me dead?\" I asked.\n\n\"Naturally,\" my creator said, without a hint of condescension. \"You were a threat to existence, apparently, and they wanted you out. Everything they did backfired, usually on each other. There was one fellow who tried to do the deed and ended up lost in a hot air balloon over Mexico. Imagine that.\"\n\n\"But-\"\n\n\"Then in your early twenties, there was that thing with the stock market where every company that would eventually lead to your demise was bought out by unknown benefactors and subsequently liquidated, thus ending the threat. Except for Microsoft; they were trying to get you the whole time.\"\n\n\"So-\"\n\n\"Of course, there were the falling pianos and safes, construction projects gone awry, loves lost that would have inevitably claimed your sanity - all stopping just short of truly hurting you. It may have seemed like bad luck at the time, but I assure you your good luck counteracted the bad, like a counterweight or those political checks and balances of yours. Wait...\"\n\nI stood back up and faced him. \"Please stop talking.\"\n\nFor the first time in a long time, I felt I had answers. Unfortunately, those answers led to more question than I could ever answer in my life. Thankfully, I now had plenty of time.\n\nI looked to the door beside me and saw where the wind was coming from. Throught the door was another corridor, long and somewhat crooked, like a funhouse maze. It was warped and oddly shaped, but something called from far down the hallway, something old and incomprehensible, like a long lost language or why chess ever became a thing.\n\n\"What's this?\" I asked, knowing the answer.\n\nMy creator raised his arm and gestured toward the hall. \"The next step, to put it simply. I cannot follow, orientation is not my purview, but we shall meet again.\"\n\nI took my first step into the hall and felt a shiver go down my spine. I glanced back at my guardian, my creator, and smiled. \"Thanks.\"\n\nHe grabbed the door handle and slowly closed the door behind me. Before I lost sight of him, he said one last thing.\n\n\"Good luck!\"\n\n​\n\nr/The_Rubicon"
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[WP] your a healing mage that got abandoned by your former party because a recovery spell ended up effecting the monsters instead of the party, but you didn’t just accidentally heal the monsters but cure two cursed warriors.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"As a rule, healers are not combatants. Healing magic requires such devoted study that it leaves no time to study any fighting more specialized than just beating something with your staff.\n\nHowever there is one well known loophole: Healing magic hurts the undead. As the antithesis of life, the very magic that can bring the living back from the brink of death and bring the undead to their knees.\n\nSo, when I let loose a huge AoE heal while my teammates were locked in a deadly fight against two massive zombies, I think we can all agree that my goal was clearly to help my allies and hurt the zombies, not heal them both.\n\n\"What the hell, Ryan?\" Glory gave me a death glare as the wounds she had left in the first zombie closed before here eyes. Faith took a moment from raining arrows into the fray to smack me upside the head. \n\nLinus just sighed heavily.\n\nWith both sides now reinvigorated from my spell, the battle started anew.\n\nLinus, my older brother, stood at the front. His shield holding firm as the two monsters, who stood at least two heads taller than him, threw themselves at it.\n\nGlory, Linus's on again-off again girlfriend danced around them with her blades, leaving large gouges in them and moving before they had the chance to retaliate.\n\nFaith, Linus's *other* on again-off again girlfriend stood by me, peppering the zombies with arrows from a safe distance.\n\nAnd I just stood there, wondering what the hell went wrong.\n\nZombies are harmed by healing. This is a fact. So how did it heal these zombies? Something wasn't right about this.\n\n\"Bro, healing, now!\" Linus called out and shocked me from my contemplation, instinctively I shot a bolt of healing in his direction. But before it connected with him, one of the zombies reached out and intercepted it. The wounds it had sustained were washed away, in fact it looked better now than it had when the fight started.\n\n\"Goddess damn it.\" I swore. \n\n\"Faith, Glory, get over here.\" Linus called out. The girls looked confused, but complied.\n\nLinus whispered something I couldn't hear from my position, and then the three of them vanished, leaving me alone with two massive zombies.\n\nI really hate my brother.\n\nThe zombies turned to face the only remaining combatant, and I did the only thing I knew how to do, throw healing bolts wildly.\n\nThe zombies of course didn't mind at all. They gladly accepted all the healing I threw at them as they closed the distance. First their wounds closed, then their rotting flesh was restored, finally they began growing hair, long and blonde. By the time they reached me, they looked perfectly human.\n\nOne of them, now identifiable as a woman, placed her hand on my shoulder.\n\n\"Brother. I think we're finally free.\"\n\n\"I think you're right. So, mighty healer, what is the name of our savior?\"\n\nI managed to stutter out \"R-r-ryan I-ironbrand.\" before passing out from lack of mana.\n\n___\n\nWhen I woke I was lying face up back at our campsite. I looked around for the others, but they were nowhere to be found. Instead by the fire sat the two blonde giants who had been trying to kill us.\n\n\"The healer wakes!\" The woman exclaimed, spotting me from where she sat.\n\n\"So, just for the record, you guys aren't still trying to kill me, right?\"\n\n\"Ah, I think you've earned an explanation.\" The man motioned for me to sit down by the fire. \"I am called Sigurd, this is my sister Sigrun. We are Einherjar.\"\n\n\"Yeah that isn't a word.\"\n\n\"It is to a word! In life we were mighty warriors, and so in death we were honored with the greatest honor imaginable. To stand guard at the gates of Hel and protect this world from the encroaching dead.\"\n\n\"But that weasel betrayed us!\" Sigrun interjected.\n\n\"Yes, I am getting to that. Einherjar are to be left at the gates of Hel, untouched by magic, wearing runic bindings that will restore them to life when they are called to serve. But our priest had other plans. He raised us with a foul magic, turning us into mindless corpses bent to his will.\"\n\n\"Weasel is too good for Him. He was half a weasel!\"\n\n\"As you can see, we were very upset with him. One day his crimes against life were made known unto our people. They fought through us and took him away, presumably to face execution. We have not seen him since.\"\n\n\"How long ago was that, Brother? Months? Years? Days?\"\n\n\"I do not know, but if our friend here has never heard of Einherjar, I think it has been far to long. Regardless. Thanks to you his foul magic is gone, and we live once again.\n\n\"You're welcome?\"\n\n\"We are more than welcome\" Sigrun moved beside me and placed an arm over my shoulder. \"We are indebted to you. Thanks to you we have stolen a second life, and we will not be leaving your side for one moment of it.\" \n\nSigurd placed his own arm over my shoulder and whispered in my ear. \"Now, I believe before you healed us, your comrades abandoned you. What do you say we find them and get some revenge?\"\n\nNow *that* was music to my ears."
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[WP] Satan has finally begun to have remorse for his actions and disguised as a human named “Stan” he has let himself be sent to prison to repent for his sins.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 what are you in for?\" his cellmate asked, looking up from his book.\n\nStan sighed, looking up from his as well. It was all they did, really, was read these days. With recent reform in the States, prisons were being reshaped around them, and a life sentence was suddenly less a story of atrophy and need, and more a story of contemplation and confinement.\n\n\"I betrayed an old friend,\" Stan said softly, running his fingers through short wavy black hair, his middle-eastern features and dark skin out of place in an Alabama prison, but still brushed off by most as Mexican or Indian, depending on their level of ignorance.\n\n\"Oh?\" Alex closed his book, raising an eyebrow. \"Life sentence for... betrayal?\"\n\n\"I got a lot of people killed from that betrayal,\" Stan admitted, smiling a little even if it wasn't a happy smile. \"We had a deal, and I went back on it. Thought I knew best, and... well, he didn't show me the whole picture. The deal we had was keeping people safe, I thought... freedom was worth more than safety.\"\n\n\"Man, all you do is talk in riddles,\" Alex laughed. \"Sounds like it's his fault for not telling you what was going on.\"\n\nStan shook his head quickly. \"No, I remember what I was like back then. I know I would have done it anyway. Freedom at any cost. I wanted... I don't know, really, what I wanted, but I thought if we could just get rid of the rules in our lives, we'd be better.\"\n\nAlex's face scrunched up, and he stared at Stan. Alex often did this, as his brain churned and he tried to come up with the complex answers to decipher his Cellmate's shrouded past, or why he was so certain he had a life sentence, and never went to appeal hearings.\n\nStan had a lot of mysteries, Alex knew that, but Alex also knew the man was smart, very smart, and competing with him on that level wasn't worth it. But Alex was intuitive in the way only a lifelong survivor of abuse and trauma could be. He picked up on small things.\n\n\"That old friend. He was your dad, wasn't he?\"\n\nStan pursed his lips and looked back down at his book, hesitant to answer, and even more hesitant to address that very human title, of Father.\n\n\\----------\n\nMy subreddit is [r/saryis](https://www.reddit.com/r/saryis/) My website is [Mythostrilogy.com](https://Mythostrilogy.com) where you can sign up for a monthly email about my writing and my book. \n\nIf more sections of this story are requested, I will be happy to write more!"
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[WP] Your characters have had enough; they WILL make you finish their stories... no matter what
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"(Mobile, LONG)\n\n\"That's the best you can give me? *I just couldn't figure out the rest of the story after me*?\" She screamed in me, grabbing a nearby shirt off my bed and chucking it into my face, smacking my glasses into the bridge of my nose. I signed with guilty dejection, trying to figure out who or what Imade angry enough to curse me to be the Scrooge to a modern author's Christmas Carole nightmare. The night before seemed perfectly normal, a usual dreary day spend in my room watching videos on the internet and playing online with friends, my out of commission computer staring at me from the floor pleading to be used once again. Looking at it my mind drifted to all the projects I started in various medias: writing, games, models, drawings, all of them left behind unfinished due to lack of motivation or ideas or simply constant complications. After a few minutes of entertaiing my lingering thoughts I shook myself out of it and resumed my daily time wasting before heading to sleep.\n\nI tossed and turned all night, visions of my proverbial Ghost of Christmas Past invading my dreams, a constant questions asked from every one of them\" \"Why?\" Eventually the legion of voices became too much, forcing me awake with a start, my eyes darting around to see if my nightmares had followed me into reality. My lizard brain satisfied at all the nothing on the wall in front of me I rolled over to face the rest of the room, my heart stopping and blood running cold as I saw someone standing in front of me, crossed arms visible against the backdrop of the tv light. \"Morning dingus,\" she seethed, body bouncing as her foot tapped rhythmically, \"me and you need to have a chat...\" she reached up and pulled the light switch dramatically, illuminating the features I feared to see as she added with an tone of ill omen \"And this time I hope it won't end with a bullet in my chest for both of our sakes.\"\n\nAn hour later I crawled along the edge of my bed past the folding table to sit down in my recliner, grabbing my cup of coffee I had sat down before throwing my makeshift office desk together. Taking a slow drink Ieyed the person- no, *character*- in front of me. A young, soft and unquestionably feminine face framed by neck length wild-styled lazuli blue hair, with nearly luminescent emerald eyes glaring at me with the rightous fury of a thousand stars. However, as I looked certain things about her seemed to change fluidly, her facial structures appearing to shifting nearly imperceptibly, her age flowing between the younger apperance she initially had and an age resembling my own, and even her body fluctuating its sizes and shape as though every thought and idea I've every had of her has been rolled up into one body and appeares as I percieve the memory.\n\n *This can't be real*, I thought -both giddy with excitement and wracked with painful guilt because of who she was both to me and my character, *she's not real... is she?* Setting down my cup I inhaled deeply, gearing up to apoligize. \"Krys, I-\" \"Don't!\" she snapped, her foot beginning to bounce again in agitation. \"If you're gonna apologize for killing me off a third of the way through, just. Don't. That's not what I'm here for.\" Her voice was curt and sharp, yet strangely enough there was a hint of somber melancholy as though she didn't truly want to be mad at me. \"It- it's... not?\" I asked, confused as a primal worry just barely began to bubble up in my gut. \"No you deunce, it's not. I'm hear because I and everyone else are sick and tired of being stuck in limbo!\" She gestured halfway towards the door behind her as though someone was supposed to make a grand entrance at her words. Thankfully no on fufiled that particular prophecy.\n\n\"Look,\" she signed, bringing my attention back to her, \"it's been 3 years since you've worked with any of us. and even though we have some liberties as fictional characters, we're not omnipotent like you are. I know what you've written after I died, but it's like I'm watching a movie where parts have been cut out at various points. I know you took my death hard, but then the next thing I know is you're ten years older, your hair went completely white, and you have a fricken hologram of what looks and acts like me. Then you couldn't bring yourself to kill my killer, and end up at death's door where I meet you and we talked under the stars of Elysium and I gave you a choice... then nothing. No answer, no sound, nothing. It's like time stopped for me, and that's happened to everyone you've created. So why Alex, why did you stop creating us?\"\n\nI swallowed hard, bewildered at how things went from her perspective. She couldn't see the days Ispent mulling over how Iwanted the story to go, how Iwanted it to end. She didn't see my frusturation at the direction the second and third act went due to both this having suppoed to be a group project with two of my friends as well as the peer pressure from them to turn it into an action novel Iknew nothing about. She also couldn't know about every scene I played in my head day after day, trying to come up with *something* original that wasn't just entirely high-school romance cliches. I went to speak, only for my words to falter at my failures. \"I- I... I wish I could give you a good answer. But I... I just couldn't ever figure out the bulk of the story after I killed you off. I was as hopeless as the me in the book, and while I meant for the to be *the* driving motivator for him going forward I just hit wall after wall in terms of plot and realtiy. I don't know anything about action, I mean look at me-\" I gestured to my less-than-healthy figure, \"I haven't been in an actual genuine fight since I was a kid. And the military stuff? I can't just wing that crap... I just... I couldn't figure it out...\" I threw my hand up in defeat as I met her gaze, my voice having cracked about halfway through my monologue.\n\nKrystal started at me slack-jawed for a moment, the gears of her brain working until the lightbulb behind her eyes came on. \"I've been stuck in development hell for years, you killed me, you make me offer to carry your self-inserting ass into death, and that's the best you can give me? *I just couldn't figure out the rest of the story after me*?\" Her voice quickly rose to a scream as she pulled herself off the computer chair, grabbing a nearby shirt and hurling it at me.\n\nFinally caught up to the events of the last few hours mentally and physically I pulled the shirt off ny face and looked back up at her, meeting her embering gaze with my own guilt look. She remained poised, breathing deeply as she slowly unlocked from the throwing pose, relaxing with a huff but not sitting back down. \"You said 'we' earlier,\" I pointed out, raising my eyebrow at her in curiosity, \"wjo all are you talking about?\" She titled her head and gave a small half smirk at me, her face screaming \"gottcha\" before walking over to the door. \"We,\" she announced, turning the handle and pulling the door open like a game show girl, \"as in the main characters of nearly every story you've written, book or... otherwise.\" She turned to look out into the hallway, my gaze following hers only for my heart to drop. Standing out in the hallway in a neat, orderly fashion sat multiple characters of my past. First in line was a group of three white haired characters, one standing tall in warrior armor while the other two slunk behind a step, one wrapped in a black cloak with goggles and wild long hair hiding his features while the other hid further behind the cloaked one in a azure blue scarf, pointed ears and multi-colored markings adorning her timid features. Behind them stood a short yet stout creature clad in mechanised blue and yellow armor, two more versions of me -both dirtied, damaged and scared, a tall slender redhead just as battered, and two teenage girls sitting on the floor away from the line, the lankier redhead buried in her phone as the blonde read from a book, looking up and waving at us and said \"Hi mom!\" I groaned in despair, knowing every one of them has the same grievances as Krystal does. \n\n\"Don't worry,\" Krystal said as she turned back to me, \"since I'm the most recent idea of the all your stories I offered to help you keep on track, so I'm not going anywhere until we get *everyone* else sorted out and finished... including me.\" At that she gave me a knowing smile and a wink only I could see as her form seemed to settle to the older version of her, leaving no room for interpertation what she had in store for me going forward. I sighed and pulled out my nearby tablet, making sure it was charged before looking to the group in from and motioning them in. \"Alright, first group come on in. Let's get these shows on the road...\"\n\nEdit: some small grammar changes and reworded 2 sentences at the end to not be as creepy as they probably initially were. Sorry if it's 'meh', it was super early when I wrote this and haven't really written in a good while so I'm pretty rusty at it.",
" \n\n“What’s up with this weather?” I said, looking out of the window at the nearly horizontal sheets of rain pouring onto the suburban roofs and tilting the trees sideways with the wind. It had been sunny without a cloud in sight just a few minutes ago. Well, whatever; I liked rain anyway. I went back to my chair and resumed the anime I had been watching.\n\nThe doorbell rang.\n\nI paused, taking off my headphones. Then it rang again. I slowly got up, and went to the door, peeking out from the blinds to see who was crazy enough to be there in this insane rain.\n\nThree teenagers; one with curly dark hair and green eyes, another with orange hair and red eyes, and a third with spiked, dark hair and brown eyes.\n\nI closed the blinds before they looked back at me, blinking. What… who… huh?\n\nThe doorbell rang again, and again and again. I heard their voices through the door.\n\n“Hey, cut that out Jake, he got the message already.”\n\n“What do you mean, he’s literally *right there* behind the door. If I get any more soaked I’m going to bust down that thing… ”\n\n“Just give him a moment, alright? Something tells me that breaking the door is not gonna give a great first impression… ”\n\n“Screw pleasing that guy… it’s been years, hasn’t it? It’s time to get what we want without playing around.”\n\n“Would you just *shut up* Jake and let me do the talking. He can hear us even now.”\n\n“I’m telling you, he isn’t going to open the…”\n\nI opened the door, facing the three boys and the wild rain.\n\nI tried to speak, then was surprised at how spiked my nerves were, “Wh… Who are you guys?”\n\nThe spiky-haired guy scowled, but the green-eyed guy at the front just smiled faintly and said, “Can we come in?”\n\nI wordlessly stepped aside and the trio looked around my living room, water dripping from their clothes. Then they met my eyes.\n\n“I’m Leon,” The green-eyed boy said, “That’s Jake,” He pointed to the spikey-haired guy, who clicked his tongue in annoyance, and “That’s Kindle.” The orange-haired guy nodded.\n\n“Wait… you’re… there’s no way.” I said, “Aren’t you...”\n\n“That’s right.” Leon said, “We’re from your unfinished story, *The Emerald King*.”\n\nI sat down on the couch, hard, staring at the very real, dripping heroes of my long-forgotten childhood fantasy story.\n\n“That’s… wow…” I said.\n\nAwkward silence. We avoided eye contact, Leon looking down at the floor at the carpet’s arabesque design, Jake looking at the roof, tapping his arm impatiently, and Kindle walking slowly around, running his hand over the dusty covers on my bookshelf.\n\n“I’m gonna be blunt here.” Leon said, shocking me out of my trance, “We want you to finish our story. We… ”\n\n“We were just about to leave on our quest to defeat the tyranny of the Nine Liches and the Guard. We were so close, so close to being able to finally stop them.” Jake said, “But then our destinies stopped moving forward and we couldn’t come up with new ideas or grow in any way.”\n\nLeon continued, looking sharply at Jake, “At first, we were dumbfounded; we didn’t know how it could be possible that our destinies would just *stop.* It sounds weird to even say that. But when we noticed that the Guard and the Nine Liches were still terrorizing the Seven Worlds, we realized that we had to *do* something, even when we couldn’t move forward to do our quest. That’s when we planned to find you, the one who started it all, as you alone are able to dictate how we must finish our quest and save the Seven Worlds.”\n\n“It wasn’t easy.” Jake said loudly, “We had to work with the abilities and brains we had since we couldn’t do anything new. We had to narrow your location from so many worlds, so many countries, so many cities, ride on that stupid cloud dragon…”\n\n“What have you been doing all this time?” Kindle asked quietly, “It doesn’t look like you were in danger. It seems like… you just forgot about us.”\n\nHe was right. I could barely remember writing these characters, let alone the world they lived in and the problems they faced. So much time had passed… I had graduated from elementary school, middle school, and high school since I had dreamt up that world… \n\nAnd yet… here they were in front of me, their color and personality preserved perfectly. My fantasy characters. In my house.\n\nI laughed out of nowhere, “This is amazing! You’re actually real! You’re right here!” I stood up and took Leon by the shoulders, which were as solid and real as anyone else’s. I noticed as his face was right in front of me that he was slightly shorter than me and a couple of years younger, even though I imagined him as a tall, older boy in my youth. This realization nearly brought me to tears for some reason.\n\nLeon looked shocked, “Yes… of course we are…”\n\nI stepped back, “Can you turn into a lion for me?”\n\n“I mean… it’s pretty difficult to do that, but yes, for you I can.”\n\nLeon dropped down to all fours and scowled in concentration. Then his body radiated a blinding green light, filling the living room in a deep, emerald hue. Then he was a full-sized lion, mane, claws, everything, standing regally on the carpet. I reached out tentatively to touch him, sudden fearsome awe washing through my body. Then the lion nuzzled my hand and I rubbed his mane, the tension dissipating as I laughed. Then, in another green flash, he was back to normal.\n\n“So, will you write our stories?” Leon said.\n\n“Yes! Of course!” I said, “On one condition.”\n\n“And what is that?” Jake asked.\n\n“You first take me to see the Seven Worlds, the Isle of Legends, everything. I want to see, hear, and smell, everything there is!” I said, “Then I’ll grab you all by the hand and lead you, heroes, to your rightful destinies.”\n\nJake, Leon, and Kindle exchanged excited looks.\n\n“Of course,” Leon said, and he offered me his hand, “We don’t have time to waste! Let us show you our beautiful world so you can help us save it.”",
"“So, just do it. Finish me,” Twitch said, scratching his ear.\n\nDan stared at the tweedy little creature perched at the foot of his bed. His nose was overlong and his forehead overbig. One eye was blue and the other a mottled clay colour. He wore a sort of plaid tunic that just barely covered his swollen paunch.\n\nDan knew him well. He was a side character in his as-yet unfinished young adult book, “Gearslingers.”\n\n“I’m...sorry.” It was all Dan could manage.\n\n“Nevermind all that,” Twitch said, hopping onto the bed and grabbing Dan’s exposed feet like the handlebars of a bicycle. “Just finish me. I’m ready.”\n\n“How are you-”\n\n“I said nevermind all that,” he said. “You’re a writer. You know shit can get weird. I just need you to flesh me out a bit, give me some more snappy lines - you know, really make me pop.”\n\nDan blinked.\n\n“The story isn’t even really about you,” he said. “You’re just kind of a vehicle for revealing the Ark Hypotenuse’s true age and-”\n\n“Yeah, about that. That’s clumsy. Even I know that, and I’m only half-real and half-written.”\n\n“So what do you suggest?”\n\n“I’m not the writer, bud,” Twitch said, inclining his head. “But if I were - I’d think you’d give one of your more colourful characters a bit more of a starring role. Who cares what a bunch of brats are doing on Mars, anyway? Building racing machines, exploring old ruins - what, you want to write ‘Harry Potter in Space?’”\n\n“I mean-”\n\n“You mean, you’d rather tell the story of a few snot-nosed darlings dorking around on the Red Planet than the story of a pan-dimensional creature that has been swimming the cosmos since the Primordial Dawn?”\n\n“It’s called ‘Gearsling-”\n\n“That’s an easy fix - call it ‘Twitch, the Pan-Dimensional Wonder.’ You sure you’re still the writer here?”\n\n“Quite sure,” Dan said, brushing the sleep-sand from his eyes.\n\nTwitch wrenched Dan’s left foot.\n\n“I don’t have to pull a ‘Misery,’ here, do I?”\n\nDan frowned and booted Twitch head-over-heels over the foot of the bed. He scrabbled back up, panting.\n\n“It was a joke,” Twitch said. “Crappy movie anyway. So, here’s the breaks - I feel unfulfilled. And I’m not crawling back in there till I get a more appropriate role.”\n\nTwitch stood and put his hand to his shrunken chest with a theatrical flair.\n\n“The world deserves to hear my story.”\n\nDan sighed, sat up, and pulled his iPad from the shelf beside his bed. He swiped a few times, brought up a solid wall of text, and turned the screen to face Twitch.\n\n“You know, you’re right,” he said. “No one wants to write ‘Harry Potter in Space.’”\n\nDan’s finger stabbed left, right, and then down - the wall of text vanished.\n\nTwitch made a noise with his mouth shut and his lips pursed, floppy ears suddenly standing straight up from his head. It sounded like a balloon slowly being throttled. A hiss, pop, slop and thunk later, and the little goblin was gone.\n\nDan rested his head back on the pillow, chucking the iPad onto a nearby bean-bag chair.\n\n“Kill your darlings,” he sighed."
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[WP] An edgy talking sword, a very tall dwarf with height insecurities, and a young fire dragon that cannot tolerate spicy food go on an adventure. Their first encounter, the Hen god.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"“Ugh. Why take me along, anyways?” A muffled and strangely accented voice issued from the dwarf’s hip.\n\n“Shut up.” Barron rapped on the sword’s grip with his knuckles. “You wanted glory, you get glory.”\n\n“Ssseriousssly, let’s get this over with.” The small blood-red dragon stretched its wings, yawning. “I’ve been craving eggsss all week.”\n\nThe sword shook as it spoke. “I’ll cut your beard off, Barron, and then you’ll blend in perfectly with humans. How about that?”\n\nBarron seized the sword and yanked it out of its sheath, holding it in front of him with both hands.\n\n“Ooo, now you’ve done it,” the dragon chortled.\n\n“One more word and I’ll go out of my way to stick you in unmentionable places,” Barron said.\n\nThe sword rolled its singular eye that resided on the blade just above the guard. “Suit yourself, dwarf. Though it would be better if you just gave in and made the *full* contract, then you could plunge the world into an eternal darkness! No one would question the height of the Devil’s Executioner, the Judge of Gods, the—“\n\nThe dragon arched its back. “Ssshut up before I melt you.”\n\nBarron slammed the sword back into its sheath, letting out a breath. “Let’s find the lake and then make camp for the night. Tomorrow we can fight the Hen.”\n\nThe dragon scoffed. “Humanoids and your sssleep schedules. Fine, I was getting hungry anyways.” She leaped ahead into the trees, perfectly coordinated as she weaved out of sight.\n\n“Don’t just—agh.” Barron let his outstretched hand fall. “This was a terrible idea.”\n\nThe sword twitched. “It was a terrible idea to let you be my master, but here we are. You have *no* desire for power, and I—“\n\nBarron made his way after the dragon. “And I don’t want to hear it.”\n\nHe trudged through the overgrown trail, pushing branches away and ducking under limbs. The dragon apparently knew her way well enough, and so he was determined to reach the lake on his own. Somehow, the cursed sword was silent for the first time Barron had known. It was a welcome reprieve from its annoying drone.\n\n\\-=- -=- -=-\n\nThe dragon had already started a fire when Barron got to shore. The smoke had guided him, although he wouldn’t admit it to the creature stretched out on her self-made pyre.\n\nThe dragon opened an eye. “Finally. Did you catch something while you were out or were you really that ssslow?”\n\nBarron lowered himself to the ground, letting his pack slide off. “I packed food.” He patted his pocket, where a few sandwiches made a lump.\n\nThe dragon lifted her head out of the flames. “Not entirely uselesss after all. What is it? Meat?”\n\nBarron unwrapped the sandwich. “It has meat in it. Between the vegetables.”\n\n“Omnivoresss.” The dragon strutted over to him, sniffing. She pulled a face, recoiling from the sandwich. “Of course. Nothing can be sssimple in my life.”\n\n“You don’t have to eat it.” Barron pulled the sandwich up to his own mouth.\n\n“Why would I eat it? It’s *ssspicy,*” the dragon shuddered. “I sssuppose I’ll just go hungry.” She turned away.\n\n“You’re as dramatic as the sword,” Barron muttered. “Mustard is great.”\n\nThe dragon’s ears were turned towards him. “And you’re as tall as my mother, but here we are.”\n\nBarron opened and closed his mouth before deciding on an answer. “Your mother must be tiny.”\n\nThe dragon harrumphed on her fire.\n\n\\-=- -=- -=-\n\nA giant, scaly foot smashed the tree next to him to splinters.\n\nBarron couldn’t tell if he or the sword was doing the screaming. He stumbled away from the toes of doom and the swords that tipped them.\n\nA cold, beady eye the size of a small boulder peered down on him. “Buh-GLEEHHHHH!” The Hen God belched, and with it came a stream of fire.\n\nThe dragon sprang between them, spreading her wings and blocking the fire.\n\n“I had no idea it could do *that*,” Barron said.\n\n“DOESN’T MATTER! *SSSTAB* IT!” the dragon spat.\n\nBarron looked up at the Hen, which was lining up for another stomp. “Where?”\n\n“Anywhere, stilts!” the sword said, eye wide. “Didn’t you promise to put me in unspeakable places?”\n\nBarron gritted his teeth. “That I did.”\n\n“I can’t hurt it,” the dragon said. “I don’t have any more fire, and what I did just sssinged it.”\n\n“Gluck-gluck!” They sprang away from the Hen’s foot.\n\n“Going to give up on your eggs that easily?” Barron slashed at the leg, but the scales deflected the sword. “I thought you hated my sandwiches.”\n\n“I do!” the dragon growled. “I don’t want to belch fire, it ruinsss my voice!”\n\nBarron and the dragon locked eyes. “How badly do you want eggs?”\n\nThe dragon looked at the Hen, then back at Barron. “I hate you.”\n\nThe sword cheered. “That’s the spirit!”\n\nBarron fished a sandwich out of his pocket and threw it at the dragon. She swallowed it whole, wrapper and all, gagging. The dragon sprang up into the air and went for the Hen’s head, claws flailing. She latched on above the Hen’s eye, though the Hen was unfazed. It brought its foot up, but Barron stood his ground.\n\nThe dragon burped, and the Hen reeled. Its whole head was alight. It beat its wings madly. The ground shook as the God fell, and Barron ran for the neck. The dragon was still on the Hen, clawing in the middle of flaming feathers.\n\nBarron sliced through feathers and skin before the sword found its mark. The sword sighed, and the Hen God gave a final screech.\n\nBarron fell backwards and let himself lie on the ground. He heard wingbeats, and the dragon landed on his chest, knocking the air out of him.\n\n“Don’t rest yet,” she croaked. “The eggs!”\n\n\\-=- -=- -=-\n\n“That wasn’t a terrible adventure.” The sword lay unceremoniously on top of Barron’s pack. “I got to taste the blood of a god. Now I am one step closer to reaching my true strength, and bringing eternal night upon the mortal realm!”\n\nBarron let the sword talk. He was hardly listening, instead watching the eggs as they fried. They let out delightful sizzling sounds and pops as loud as thunder. The eggs were bigger than Barron’s head, although part of him wondered why they were so small for a hen so large.\n\nThe dragon had swallowed two whole, and lay belly-up, basking by the fire. She had tried to climb in, but Barron had shooed her away. He had packed as many as he could carry, but they would camp here and enjoy their spoils for a while. The dragon insisted on letting her voice recover, but Barron didn’t mind. It would take him a while to be sick of eggs."
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[WP] A scientist has invented a portal to a parallel dimension and is charging people to travel through it. You go through, only to discover it's exactly the same as the one you came from. That is, until you meet yourself, and there is something not quite right that you can't put your finger on.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 completely painless, kind of like passing out. I came to, cold, and sprawled on the uneven ground. I looked around, and before I knew it, the scientist and one of his assistants grabbed me by my arm and lifted me up, holding me up against a nearby rock, and shoved me into a slit in the rock that appeared to be the entrance to a small cave. \"Oof\" I grunted, being forced into a small chamber, with little room to move, forcing me to tip toe. And then, cold again. I came to, opening my eyes to see the dim figures of the scientist and two other people. Then the scientist spoke up and said, \" We've traveled to other dimensions hundreds of times. Every time, we exit on the other side, meet a version of ourselves, take a souvenir, and leave, all within the hour. So let's get started, shall we?\" \n\nAs he finished the last sentence, one of the assistants shined in his eyes, and he obediently exited the cave alongside the other assistants, leaving by the same slit I came in through. I looked around the empty cave nervously, and exited the way he came in. The others had left, their footsteps echoing in the distance. But there was a light, a blinding light on the horizon. I knew it was coming from the supposed portal back to my original Earth, but I was really confused – what about the scientist and his assistants? \n\nI walked until I could walk no further, in an attempt to get out ahead of the group. They left me, I thought, or the scientist noticed something was different about me and decided he had the right to take me to this world. I don't know. \n\nI made it out to the blinding light, and this world seemed to look like a giant chess board. Every now and then, a horse would blazed by past me from behind, and I could only guess that this was the other dimension. I was nervous, and I knew the others were scurrying around, finding souvenirs. At which point I'd have to escape into the other dimension, and the scientist and his assistants of this world wouldn't get a chance to experiment and run trials on me and the other scientist I would face. \n\nHad the other me noticed I was already missing? Had he noticed I wasn't he was before he came back into his own dimension? It was really bothering me how I looked completely the same but was in this new dimension. What the hell would he be asking me? I saw the entrance to the other dimension, alight with the same light of my own dimension, both the scientist, and the other me stood at the entrance, awaiting the \"souvenir.\" As the others came out of the cave ahead of me, the both of them looked at me puzzled, and the scientist from the other dimension put his hand on the headset he had previously worn, but didn't take it off. I turned around, before they could do anything to me, and ran into the other dimension. \n\nI came out the same as the dimension I came before, awfully cold, sprawled out on the ground, but this time, I was the only one there. As I ran through the cave, and exited, I heard the scientist from the first dimension, speaking on his headset. \"We didn't tell you to go in there, did we?\" He looked dead in my direction, and I turned and took off running. My heart is pounding in my throat, what would the other me seem like now? I'd possibly have deja vu, or I'd be the same way through and through. \n\nI came out of the cave and the other me turned and confronted me, looking just like the other dimension. I came towards him slowly, and he held his hand up, but didn't yell or grab at me. It was like he knew that I would have been the same way until just now, and that the torture device the scientist had was somehow connected to it. \n\nI guess he had thought I was telling the truth when he had been talking on his headset, because he looked directly into the eyes and nodded when we were right next to each other. He touched my arm, \"Sorry about the other one, a misunderstanding I think, but hey, what if we're the other me? Weird huh?\" I stood, amazed that I hadn't turned to look around yet. I was completely focused on the other me, in this, the last dimension I would ever have to travel to. \n\nI smiled."
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[WP] As the villain pulled you from the rubble you glared at him as he removed your mask. His smirk dropped when he saw your face as he said: “Wait, Dan from Pizza Hut? YOU are the one who I’ve been trying to kill for all these years!?”
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"As the villain pulled you from the rubble you glared at him as he removed your mask. His smirk dropped when he saw your face as he said: \"Wait, Dan from Pizza Hut? YOU are the one who I've been trying to kill for all these years!?\"\n\n\"Uh, yeah.. I guess. Three years of high school, and these two years of college. Uh, hi? Also, who are you?\" You ask the villain. \n\nThe villain dropped you onto the rubble. \"Well you know me as Viborg but you also know me as hand-tossed veggie-lovers pizza with a side of banana peppers and cajun-style fries.\"\n\n\"Karen?!\" You say up to Viborg. \"Karen Anderson? I never even realized you were a woman. I MEAN I realized you, you were a woman, just not that you were, I mean you are a woman, in, in that.. that suit. ... I mean not that you're not a woman. It's just, just the face looks robotic, no hair, the suit is very mechanical, very. Gives a default male look. And that voice changey thingy, that's awesome, you make that too?\"\n\nAn exasperated look comes over Karen's face. \"Yes, of course, I made it, I made everything, I will become one with machines. Dan, if only you could see this is the next step for us all. You can't stop me, and now that you've made me, I unfortunately have to unmake you. Nothing personal, it's just I can't you live now.\"\n\nFortunately for you this conversation was enough to recover from having a wall dropped on you. \"I really thought after tonight we'd taken our relationship to the next level.\" You say as you smash a piece of rubble into her inner thigh. \n\n\"No longer pizza guy and a client few to several years older, but peers.\" You continue to hit Viborg as you stand and then after exhanging several blows Viborg yields.\n\n\"That's right Viborg, the D-man always gets his man, I mean, woman, robot? Woman with cybernetic enhancements? The D-Man always delivers! Wow.. I really should've thought of that sooner. Don't worry I'll bring you your order in prison.\"\n\nThen at the last second you jump away as Viborg explodes. It was a drone. From it's head you hear Karen's voice \"This isn't over Dan, really D-man not only is it terrible it's practically your name. Anyway, this isn't over the Domino's have only just started to fall for you.\"",
"“So, are you going to kill me?” I said, looking up at him defiantly, one eye covered in a trickle of blood.\n\n“Of course not.” Marazon said, standing up straight and holding a dark suited hand to the sky, “I will erase anyone who is not worthy of existence on this earth.” Then he pointed to me,”You are worthy. You make good pizza.”\n\n“Then what are you going to do?” I asked, coughing blood.\n\nMarazon thought for a moment, then knelt down and extended a hand to me, “We’ve had our differences, but I think it’s time for the fighting between us to end.”\n\n“So you’re finally going to stop killing innocent people?”\n\n“What? No! What made you think that? I was obviously asking you to join me, to become my honorable right-hand chef.”\n\n“Join you in exterminating about a third of the population? I’d rather lie down and die.” I said vehemently.\n\n“Think about it,” The Marazon said, “I ask only the most worthy to join my organization. Many would die to have the opportunity you’re getting instead of the other way around.”\n\nI grit my teeth, tears blurring my vision of the black-caped villain as the truckload of pain hit from my broken bones. I wanted to scream “yes” to have Marazon save my life, but my hero’s pride made me bite down my tongue instead.\n\n“You heroes,” Marazon said, reading my facial expression, “So eager to sacrifice yourselves to save worthless people that don’t care about you.”\n\nHe stood up and turned around.\n\n“Wait!” I said, a desperate idea forming in my head.\n\nMarazon paused, still facing away from me.\n\n“I’ll… join you…” I said, clenching my teeth and strangling my hero instincts.\n\nMarazon turned to face me, “Be honest. Do you really mean it or do you just want me to save your life?”\n\n“I swear, I actually want to join you,” I said, “I’ll be your right-hand chef or whatever you want me to do.”\n\nMarazon cocked his head, “You sound… honest. Why? Don’t you disagree with me exterminating all those… innocents as you called them?” He bent down and put a dark gloved hand on my chest, then radiated healing power through me.\n\n“Yes I do,” I said, gritting my teeth as the power set my bones straight, “But I know no one can stop you by fighting. That’s why I’m going to stop you from the inside. I’m going to use my powers and my pizzas to open your mind to why you should stop killing innocent people.” I offered him my hand, “Will you take that offer?”\n\nMarazon smiled through his mask and grabbed my hand, helping me up, “I would expect nothing less from you, Dan from Pizza Hut.”",
"My head hurts, I thought as my adversary leered gleefully over me. There I was, crumpled in the corner from the evil Jeff Bezos’ Amazon crush attack. His bald head glinting in the moonlight, the world’s most powerful villain leaned down near me.\n\n\n“You did well. Truly, impressive” he gloated, as he raised me by the collar, “but I was in my Prime tonight”\n\nI clenched my fists as he brought his hand\n near my face. I’m not done, not by a long shot. “Now, for my express delivery...” he grinned as he pulled of my mask - and suddenly stopped. “Dan? From Pizza Hut?” JB’s jaw dropped, and I took my chance. \n\n“Spicy salami mother fucker!” And in a flash, I smacked that billionaire bitch with my trusty Don, smacking Jeff across the face causing hundreds of dollars to fly out from his person. \n\n\n“That-” he snarled “is against our terms OF SERVICE!” His head snapped toward me, dollar signs in his eyes. He pulled out his cellphone and held it above his head, announcing his special move: “CHEAP LABOUUUURRRRE!!!!”\n\nAnd suddenly, I could hear the pitiful moans of underpaid warehouse workers slowly ambling forward - complaining about the horrible hours and lack of healthcare. \n\n\nKnowing I had no time, I went straight for the big guns. “Jeff!! It all ends here!”\n\nThis is it. My final move. My mum, my best mate Daz, the cute checkout chick I haven’t asked out and mister miyagi all suddenly appeared in my head, cheering me on for this one final blow - and just as quickly disappear as I clear my mind for my ultimate attack. \n\nA single tear rolls down my cheek. This is it. I reach into my apron and pull out a giant pizza pan. \n\n“Final attack: MEGA UPSIZE!!” I scream as I hurl the pizza tray at warp speed, which slices through the human wave of underpaid workers and tears through Jeff’s torso as he screams out in pain. \n\nWrithing in the floor, he knew he was done. I slowly approach to finish him off with my bottle of BBQ sauce, when he rasps: “how?”\n\n“I have friends in high places, mister bezos”, I replied coolly.\nWincing, he cracks open an eye slightly and looks at my apron, before going wide eyed in horror. \n“It can’t be! Not ebay! We had an understa-arghh!!” He cries out, clutching his wound. \n\n\nI quickly whip up my tastiest and thickest pizza dough. I looked at him one last time. “Nothing personal - just business” as I suffocated him with the dough. \n\n\nWhen the deed was done, I collected my tip from his corpse and hopped on my moped. There were still deliveries to make.",
"It had happened. The Nobody had been unmasked. His Smart-Helm mk 51 lost power somewhere in between the battle and trying to amplify his MagnetoNet enough to hold the building together, or rather this was what he'd *assumed* had happened. \n\nIt wasn't like him to make mistakes of calculation. He's The Nobody. No other superhero had a spotless record of saving the day, and yet, fail he did. The Queensbridge Projects fell, taking with it only slightly less 100,000 souls packed into its corriders as occupants. The reactive gel padding lining his gunmetal grey suit had served their purpose, snatching him from the icy cold grips of death, allowing him to listen to muffled screams of the housing projects denizens as they expired.\n\nHad it just been his broken ribs and shattered knee, The Nobody would've willed himself to his feet, and searched for them. The fire in his belly cauterizing his wounds long enough to keep him working. However, his SmartHelm wasn't powered and he'd been floating in and out of consciousness as the concussion and hemorrhaging set in. And with the mask gone, he was The Nobody no longer: he was just Dan Kirby.\n\nDr. Mueller stared at Dan, and for a moment, he seemed ready to launch into one of his diatribes about the senselessness of opposing his brilliant plans for humanity. Instead, Dr. Mueller spat in Dan's eye. \n\n\"You spied on me,\" said Dr. Mueller. \"You sneaky, underhanded ethically challenged-\n\nDan felt the warmth of sleep and before he could respond, he was coaxed into the void of unconsciousness. The blackness around him was wiped away with images of his wife, Judy Hope, the children he could never give her waving at him in an implicit taunt *you chose this. You wanted to be the best hero, and couldn't even be a good fucking husband.* And it was true; she'd departed for parts unknown weeks ago without so much as a letter. He sometimes saw news of miraculous rescue efforts by a golden blur and wondered if she would be spotted back at their rental in the future. \n\nHis vision cleared and he was thrust back into reality. The backup solar panels on his chest kicked in and began administering pain medication, but without his SmartHelm, he was unable to see his HUD and choose more accurate medical attention. He felt out a few electrodes in his left hand and entered a few commands. Eventually, he found his tongue able to move and spoke.\n\n\"If you're wondering if I spit in your pizza,\" said Dan. \"I did. Every time.\"\n\n\"Always so senseless. You're the one mind on this planet even capable of conceiving the brilliance of my plans for...\"\n\nDr. Mueller picked up a piece of rubble and put it next to Dan's side. He sat down, \"This is what I'd meant. The destructive nature of our battles, it distracts from the people we're meant to instruct. To lead. To... To serve. And you choose to fight me, to oppose me all so you can hide your genius in a mediocre pizza place.\"\n\nDan rolled his eyes and strained his neck, trying to meet Mueller's eyes.\n\n\" Have you ever considered,\" said Dr. Mueller. \" The money you could accrue from selling even one of your intention?\"\n\n\"You dumb cocksucker,\" said Dan. \"How do you think i pay for all this shit‽ After the gear and all the medical bills...\"\n\nAfter paying medical bills and for gear, he was broke, or at least broke enough to need a day job. He might've told Mueller this, but Dan couldn't keep his thoughts straight and his eye stained over with blood. He closed it, knowing he only needed to stay awake a bit longer. \n\nDr. Mueller smiled grimly as it all clicked together for him. He clapped. \"So that's simply your actual job. It's fitting. You have the job no matter what because you're*always* a nobody.\"\n\n\"And you're the son of a bitch that killed like a hundred thousand people, \" said Dan. \"You don't have plans. This is all some bullshit PR campaign so you can get cheered on when you start wiping people out.\"\n\nDr. Mueller's smile faded and when he spoke, his trademark high Sotto voce was gone:\n\"It's only bullshit when you believe it. This **is** my plan. Always was.\" \n\nDr. Mueller walked over to a pile of bleached concrete, grabbing a rebar and with his free hand, he shattered the concrete block holding it. \n\n\"I am going to salt this fucking Earth,\" said Mueller. \" And I'll start over. With something that doesn't make me sick to look at.\"\n\nDr. Mueller straightened out the rebar and stood over Dan.*I just need to stall, bit longer,* thought Dan.\n\nMueller raised the rebar high above his head, ready to thrust. \n\n\"I'd say it's been a pleasure,\" said Mueller. \" But it's just so sad to see you like this.\"\n\n\" Yeah well,\" said Dan, unable to find his usual piercing wit. \"You're a little candy ass, you're father's a fat cunt and your mom's a bitch.\"\n\nAn overcast shrouded them both in shade, it grew in diameter until reaching the size of a basketball. Dan hoped Mueller wouldn't notice, but he did. Having just enough time to look around him, finding nothing. Before he could have the presence of mind to look up, a two foot steel cylinder slammed into his head, punching through his skull. He was alive long enough to be awash with the sensation as it was pushing his lower jaw into his sternum. Then he was no more. \n\nThe capsule opened up, holding a tiny, glowing cube, a MagnetoCore. He couldn't figure out how he was going to get it, neither could he conceive of how to weather the bad press from all of the carnage around him. He saw a gold flash and the Core was gone. A sudden surge hit his spine and he saw the world around him blur into a mosaic of impossible colors and shapes. Judy held him close to her chest, and he could feel her heartbeat racing, betraying her frantic inner feelings.\n\n\"Hang on,\" said Judy. \"Baby , it's just a little more to the hospital.\"\n\n\nDan had no argument to give her; he only feel the blood in his veins slow to a halt and sensation leave his spine. The void of existence dragging him away, contemptuous of her speed. The life was long gone from him before Dan could come up with the right words to tell her.",
"\"Bro, what?!\" I asked, absolutely shaken. \"How in the *hell*?\"\n\n\"Well- yeah, I mean, you gotta...pay the bills, y'know...\" He said, now looking at the ground, embarrassed.\n\n\"Yeah, sure, but maybe not with a criminal empire?\" I asked. \"I was wondering where you'd gone after you left mid-shift...what, six months ago?\"\n\n\"I'd just discovered my powers that day...and my older brother knew a guy who could train me, but I had to join his gang, y'see- and it made sense at the time.\"\n\n\"Then you rose up the ranks so fast because of your power.\" I nodded. \"Honestly, my deal was pretty much the same, except it was for the hero guild, not a gang.\"\n\n\"I'm not fighting for no reason, though.\" Some of the steel was back in his voice. \"You 'heroes' have done some terrible things you need to answer for. Wasn't it the Granadier who blew up the community center? There were *civilians* in there.\"\n\n\"I saw that.\" I nodded. \"That *did* happen, but he had been aiming at Shocktank, who exploded it early- otherwise it wouldn't have hit anyone, much less the community center.\"\n\nWe spent a moment in silence before my rival pulled me up from the dust. \"Apparently collateral damage is everyone's fault, when you're super powered.\"\n\n\"There's gotta be a better way.\"\n\nWe looked at the damage we had created- before my 'rival' turned to me with a light in his eyes. \"Hey, remember when we used to go to your place and chill? We played a lot of Smash Bros, right?\"\n\n\"Yeah, you were really good as Samus.\"\n\n\"What if... what if we did *that*?\"\n\n\"What, hang out?\"\n\n\"Nah man, I mean- when we supers have beef with each other, we can't keep duking it out in the streets. I'm talking one-on-one, meet somewhere outside of town, far away from people. Hell, we could use that abandoned theme park.\"\n\n\"Bro, that...that just might work. Do you think your people would take the deal?\"\n\n\"If it means not killing innocent kids and shit, yeah, yeah we would. Would yours, Dan?\"\n\n\"Absolutely- but to make sure no one gets ganged up on, and rules are followed, there have to be moderators of sorts. One from each side.\" I began to grin. \"The strongest from each side, who don't want to hurt each other.\"\n\n\"You mean us. You and I.\"\n\n\"Let's make an underground fighting ring, bro.\"\n\n\"Oh, *hell* yeah!\"\n\n----------------------------------------------------\n\nIt would be years before my 'rival'- now my counterpart- and I realized that our powers came to us on the same day, and at the same time, and that this was no coincidence- it would be years before we saw that we were merely puppets on a string, being controlled by a ruthless and efficient force...but, until we did, we spent those days having an absolute *blast* watching the heroes and villains hash it out in the abandoned theme park.\n\nIf only we had known what was coming- if only we had known that we were in the golden age of our lives, and only harder days were coming.\n\n------------------------------------------------------\n\nr/nystorm_writes for more :)"
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[WP] Betrayed by your kingdom, who slaughter your entire race during the war, you were forced into hiding. Years later, with vengence in your head, you went to face the king that exact the massacre, only to learn that the king himself was one of your kind.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Tolreth, last of the Genasi peoples, an exile living on the fringes of the empire which exterminated his race. \"The Great Peoples' Empire\". All my life, it had been the basic assumption that each member nation and its people were but one \"Great\" of many. How wrong I had been. Each race had had its turn under the heels of either the humans or elves, but The Wanton War (or \"Great War\", as the Empire had called it) showed just how deep old divides still ran. The orcs and fae were the first to fall in line, out of respect and fear for the Empire's power, respectively. The rest followed, one by one, after four grueling years of war.\n\nIn the end, the Empire determined that someone must be held responsible for the carnage. Being the last to concede to the Empire's rule and already one of the least loved of the \"Great Peoples\" the Genasi were judged \"traitors to the realm and to peace itself.\" None would object to our total annihilation. Looking for retribution for their losses during the war and having no course for recompense from the Empire, the bloodlust of every nation was turned on us. It was a slaughter. Babes torn from mothers' arms, men marched in columns to their death. After a time, even the pretense of slavery was given up in favor of complete genocide. \"Too dirty even to look at, let alone work with,\" went one refrain. Lower than animals, we had become. Us who had thought ourselves as but one of many Great Peoples.\n\nBut those times are long past, and I am a phantom. A ghost of a people now long gone. The initial shock, terror, and boiling rage of that terrible time have cooled to become a detached resolve for vengeance. The planning alone had taken two years, but the execution has taken nearly the greater part of my lifetime. I was careful not to grow impatient, but each new creak and groan of my skeleton served to remind me that phantoms are not long in this world, so I never stopped. Clandestine meetings in alleys, millhouses, and the cellars of taverns; a knife in the night, behind seamstresses' and barracks alike; and more stolen coin and documents than I care to admit.\n\nThough everyone was complicit in our extermination, it was the Empire who commanded them, the King and his lords and commanders who swore that without us, there would never be strife again. Even many Genasi fell for the discourse, and tried to buy their lives by selling out others', but the Empire could not be sated. I could never forgive them, but neither would I get my vengeance exacting it upon those who feared the Empire's retribution. Indeed, there were many who whispered of the tyranny, atrocities, and misgovernment of the Empire, and provided I could keep my head down and their names out of prying ears, I could find friends in many places.\n\nAll my scheming had led me here - a temple where the king was known to pray, on a day when each of his guardsmen would be sympathetic to my cause. Hidden in an alcove, I waited. The other supplicants were cleared out as guards entered the room. Gorrea, an orc crucial to the plan walked over to the alcove I was hidden in, avoided eye contact, and shouted, \"Clear!\" Her booming voice left my ears ringing, but my heart had been beating so loudly I hardly noticed. It was time. The king entered the room, shuffling toward the altar at the back, and took off his crown as he knelt. I sucked in a breath and held it for what felt like hours.\n\n*He was Genasi.*\n\nMy mind was thrown into disarray, and my plan with it. I was to make the King answer for his crimes. Hear him admit what he'd done, and slit his throat. The last part hadn't been mentioned to the guards, but I was probably dead either way. *He was one of us?!* Thoughts raced around my mind like ponies around a track, each one jockeying for my attention, but they were too fast. *Could I still do it? Could I have been wrong? Perhaps the King is just a pawn. No. The pawns were the kingdoms he subjugated. This man is not innocent.* I slipped from the alcove. sliding past Gorrea without a sound. A couple of the guardsmen put on a show of lowering their spears, but none moved. Not one shouted for help.\n\nThe king had heard enough to know something was amiss, sitting up from his prayer, but he remained seated, facing the altar. \"Ah, Tolress? I've been waiting for you.\"\n\nThis did not bode well. \"It's Tolreth. You were told I was coming. Who?\"\n\nThough facing away from me, I could hear his old lips part into a smile. \"You are not the only one with secrets, my shadowy friend. Thought I admit I was beginning to think you didn't exist. Did you really believe you'd be let in here without my permission? The last king made the mistake of placing too much trust in his personal guard. Look were that got him.\"\n\n\"Philip? He died -\"\n\n\"My apologies. You still haven't been caught up yet, have you? King Rodrick was a blubbering fool, told to sit quiet and pretty lest he make a fool of the kingdom.\"\n\n\"You mean you're not. . .\"\n\n\"I'm getting there. But yes, you're right. You aren't the first Genasi to get this far. Though I've somewhat beaten you to the punch, and I'm afraid you may be the last.\" He paused to let the fact settle in the air. I had only seen one other Genasi in the years following the war, and he had died a month later. Taking a breath, the false king continued, \"Making Rodrick disappear was difficult, I'll admit, but so few actually payed him any mind that it was hardly a challenge to assume his position. If the other lords didn't already effectively run this kingdom in his name, he would have been replaced long ago- The only thing better than a king who agrees with you is a king who doesn't ask questions. So I haven't, hard as it is just sulking in my chambers and trying not to draw attention.\" He motioned to the guards in the room, now paying significantly less attention to me, and instead eyeing the door, \"Just getting this retinue was a risk. It is ever so tiresome to play the fool *and* get what you want. All the same, here we are. It's the long game, Tolreth. As I'm sure you well know to have arrived here alive. One by one, we replace the lords with those who recognize the Empire for what it is, and who it was of the so-called \"Great Peoples\" who used us as an example to keep the others in line. Then, I reveal myself. Our allies and the prudent among the lords will have no choice but to recognize me as king, and the Humans and the Fae will be on the back foot.\"\n\nIt was overwhelming. It was everything I could possibly have wanted and nothing at the same time. I couldn't just kill the king and let my life be forfeit. I would not get to hear him confess his crimes, and it would be years before there was any sense of justice, but there was a goal.\n\n​\n\nThere was work to be done.",
"Lit braziers reflected a soft glow off the obsidian tiles. The crackles and soft pops of the burning oak brought a sense of movement to the otherwise still throneroom. Woodsmoke and juniper accented the airy room but the King could detect a masked undertone drifting in from the outside halls. \n\nHe breathed in, eyes closed, and let the familiar iron scent of fresh blood tickle his throat. The commotion outside indicated his personal guard now lay dead a short distance away, yet he felt no panic. \n\nA robed individual slipped through the doors of the chamber and began walking towards the matte white throne hosting the ruler. \n\n“Welcome, Sivila” The king spoke in a drawling, regal tone while his eyes remained closed. A half-smile on his face as if he were in the middle of recalling a found memory. \n\nThe king continued, “You’ve killed my Herald, so I have taken the liberty of announcing your presence myself. You should feel honored to have been addressed by my own callings”\n\nSevilla continued to walk towards the throne, ignoring the remarks. Blood dripped from the curved blades held in each hand. From beneath the hood, a scarred face hosted a bright orange right eye, as if the flames themselves had taken residence inside the newcomer’s very soul. The left eye was concealed, covered by a covert black patch that strung around half of his face. His mouth was drawn into an uncaring line. \n\n“Did you enjoy it? You have killed many on this night. Many would find the power now you possess… Intoxicating”\n\nSevilla remained silent, focused only on the old man before him as he reached the steps leading to the throne itself. Not breaking stride, he began to climb. The king’s eyes remained closed. \n\n“Ironic, is it not. How long have I been searching for you, Sevilla? I sense the years have changed you.”\n\nSevilla ---halfway up the steps--- began wiping his blades clean in anticipation for a fresh cut. \n\n“The child I was knew would never have killed so. You noticed, I am sure, that my Chief of Gaurd was a Golemini. One of the last of his kind I must add. Very close to your own people they were.”\n\nSevilla reached the apex of the platform on which the throne sat. And, face unchanged by the remarks of the king, raised both blades in an X to part the head from the body.\n\n“What would your *family* say to the events of this night I wonder” The king’s eyes snapped open, revealing an orange so potent it palled all else. The braziers, the sheen of the naked blades, and even Sevilla’s own glow seem to grow dim in comparison. \n\nSevilla stumbled back, staring in shock at the king. Moments ago he seemed to be hobbled by age, now however he gazed with a palpable force.\n\nQuestions filled Sevilla’s mind, corrupting the focus he had throughout the night. \n\n“Lies” Was all Sevilla could manage to say. It was not said with weakness or fear. It was said with simple, wholehearted belief. \n\nThe king only broadened his smile, “No”. \n\nAnd Sevilla could hear the truth behind the statement, *feel* the truth as a subtle buzz began to reverberate within himself. A telltale sign of being observed through Flinanic vision.\n\nSevillas breath was becoming ragged. He struggled to process his emotions. Memories began to emerge from deep in the mind. \n\nA loving embrace from a mother with a face he could not recall. The kindle of pride from gaining his father’s praise. A cold lick of fire as he watched his family burn. \n\nThe patch that covered his face began to smolder, edges fringing away as if trying to escape an intense heat. \n\nThe kings eyes became tense in preparation, though he did not let his smile falter.\n\nShortly, Sevilla calmed. Without speaking, he turned and fetched his fallen blades and turned once more to the king. \n“No matter, you shall die here today for your sins” Sevilla said\n\n“Child, you have *no* idea of my sins” The king responded, and ---standing with agility contradicting of his feeble frame--- threw out a hand, on which a ruby ring shone brightly. \n\nSevillas eye widened, and he drew back his right arm to throw one of his blades while covering his face with the left.\n\nFlames filled the chamber with a suffocating presence, and Sevilla’s vision went dark in contrast to the brightness around him. He was flung away from the king ---hitting his head--- briefly losing focus on his surroundings. \n\nClothing sizzled as Sevilla lay on the obsidian tiles, now at the base of the stairs he had climbed earlier.\n\n“Good, you live. We have much to do child, and you have much to learn of the truth. The wick burns short, and time is of the essence” \n\nThe king began calling to others that Sevilla could not see, and he let the cool embrace of unconsciousness take him."
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[WP] The time has come, you, the dark lord is here to finish things with the magical girl team that has ruined all your plans, the time for talk is over. Now all you need to do is kill time and wait for them to finish transforming. Should only be a few more hours.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Patience has always been one of my strong points, after all I am THE Dark Lord! Also my enemies are a group of sixteen year old magical girls. My own daughter had even defected! \n\nYet here they were, at my hidden base, in my office transforming. I averted my eyes, the FBI scare even me. Also my epilepsy is a huge concern. My minions comment on the girls for me, narrating weak points, like ribbons and hair styles that we can catch. \n\n“Sir! Your daughter’s done.” Good. I waited for her to enter my vision.\n\nShe looked much more serious then the others: a simple purple dress with black vest, no ribbons or frills to speak of, a skull hairpin in her shoulder length bob of royal purple hair. In her hand was a long black mahogany staff with a magic crystal at the tip.\n\n“Aisha. I see void magic is still serving you.” I start. I know better then to insult her. She’s still my daughter.\n\n“Correct father. How observant of you.” She spits back. Ouch. “You are aware they literally plan to kill you. Mia, in the middle knows pure mana.” \n\n“Do you fight while they are transforming?” I dare to ask, a small smile appearing at the thought of my dear daughter being rather tactical. I’m so proud.\n\n“Usually I’ve already won when they are done. Yet they treat me like an emo version of one of them.” Her weakness of over sharing comes through again! Now’s my chance!\n\nI take a step closer, just for her to raise her staff at me. “Has anyone even gotten through their transformation? I mean, beside Gilbert just walking past them.”\n\nBoth of us laugh at the event. After all she was on my side then. “What about their ‘power of friendship’?” I opt to act, just to see a scowl appear on her face.\n\n“I do know how to use it, but they refuse to let me take part! They said I was ‘an outsider’ and couldn’t use it properly. She looked at the still transforming girls.\n\n“Join me. I’ve still got my old Terraria account.” I see a smile appear on her face as she nods.\n\n“Of cause father, I may be against you but this dark magical girl’s still able to kick tail. And we have two more hours.” With that my daughter and I leave the girls to their epileptic fit-inducing transformation as I spent a little bit of time with my dear daughter.\n\nI’m so proud of her, as a former dark magical boy."
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[WP] Every civilization has their own version of Death, each being similar and "kind." Except for Humanity's Death. Their Death is terrifying.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"Death, the universal constant. Every person on every planet in every system will eventually die. Because of this simple fact, every civilization has their own death myth.\n\nFor some they are a comforting presence, staying with them in their final hours. Others see death as an old friend, someone they’ve met time and again through their many lives.\n\nEveryone, on some level, fears death. So the myths they create help ease them into the transition from life. Except the Humans. \n\nHumans still fear death, that much they aren’t immune to. But their death myth is somewhat different than most. It’s no animal that leads you to an afterlife of peace. No loved one come to ease your final painful moments. \n\nNo, their Death is a grotesque skinless and meatless Human who wears a black cloak and wields a scythe that he uses to actively kill people. Yes, their Death revels in killing them. To beat an illness or injury is to ‘escape Death’ or ‘beat Death at his own game.’ \n\nThere are many theories on how a terrifying death myth aided them evolutionarily, though no consensus has been reached. One thing we can all agree on however, is that the Humans *of course* would be the only ones with a Death that actively hunts them. Because the apex predator of the galaxy would fear only one thing: Becoming prey.",
"“Who is that?” asked John’s earpiece in response to the clicking of ‘Rufus’.\n\nRufus wasn't his real name, he introduced himself as ‘Knak’ric’lactak’, john said “Break, assign name ‘Rufus’” and now whenever he said the name, the small speaker clipped to his shoulder would say ‘Knak’ric’laktak’ along with translating everything he said.\n\n“Who is… oh this guy?” asked John, waiting until the speaker started clicking before gesturing to the figure on his packet of cigarettes.\n\n“Yes, is he some kind of ‘scary monster’?” asked Rufus.\n\n“This is death.” said John, noting the alien translation for death was ‘Tor’tikitty’tir’ it had a nice ring to it.\n\n“That is death!?” Rufus asked, his mandibles spreading wide. \n\n“Incredulity” his translator clarified in a smooth feminine voice that explained body language.\n\n“Yeah, when you die this guy rips the soul from your corpse with that giant scythe… what does Tor’tikity’tir look like?” asked John.\n\nRufus waited for the speaker and drew out a tablet, flicking through images on the public net until he slid it across to show a female insectoid with small carapace plates over a swollen engorged body, her features small compared to her gigantic abdomen.\n\n“Height of beauty, Aphrodite analogue” said the feminine clarification voice.\n\n“She is beautiful, look at that abdomen!” said John.\n\nJohn took the tablet, the keyboard adjusting to QWERTY and typed in ‘death, human myth’ flipping the tablet around.\n\nRufus didn't need a clarifying voice to see the obvious threat, he began clicking and gesturing.\n\n“I can see why you humans are so reluctant to embrace death, I would be terrified of dying if that waited for me!” said Rufus.\n\n“If you like that, you will love this.” said John, rolling up his sleeve to reveal the tattoo on his shoulder of the devil riding an atomic bomb.",
"When the four brothers gathered in the halls of Creation – the cradle of the universe – they gazed upon each other to see how the countless millenniums had changed them. While they were not physical beings, their bodies took shape of the civilization that they guided to the next life. It would morph itself to resemble the species that each would reap.\n\nEach one was a tapestry of life, beauty, and vivid, beautiful colors. All were glad that they could meet once again, looking like true wonders of the universe. Well, all but one.\n\nThe first was Kai, the reaper of the Konian.\n\nHe looked strong. His form was that of a pillar. Two arms and hands on each side of his tree-like body. He was massive in size. It was a wonder to the brothers that Kai supported himself with just two legs. His head looked like a rock that had been chiseled down to resemble an old man that had more laugh lines than any of the brothers had seen. His beautiful golden cloth stuck to him like a second skin. He looked like a gorgeous golden statue that had taken life.\n\nKai explained that the Konian would use these arms to interlock with others. They were a loving kind. One that would make sure the other was taken care of. He would point to his tapestry – where the color was a dull yellow – and show his brothers how the Konian first used these arms to kill each other. They would kill over simple things like pride and honor. But then they would come together and believe that being in unity was the truth of all the universe. After that Konian’s tapestry became the beautiful vibrant yellow that now graced the halls of Creation.\n\nAs for the pure true gold, Kai explained how the Konian had seen that color as their greatest asset. Their strength above all else. It was their strength in themselves that allowed them to unite with each other.\n\nAll the brothers were pleased to hear of Kai's tales. They exclaimed how their own race could use the knowledge of inner strength. Well, all but one.\n\nThe next was Lua, the reaper of the Cidu.\n\nLua was the polar opposite of Kai. Where Kai was strong-looking, Lua was quick looking. Lua had no arms or legs. He was just a long, snake-like form with a tapestry that clung to the skin. Unlike Kai's strong, never shifting patterns, Lua's tapestry shifted and moved. The colors even did the same. Moving from the deepest of blues to the brightest of yellows. Lua looked as if a rainbow took form. The histories of the Cidu moved from one edge to another. Making it seem like the whole cloth had no beginning or end.\n\nHowever, Lua pointed with his tail-like end to a spot on his tapestry, it was where the colors were discrete and next to each other. That was when the Cidu believed that each part of life should be taken in step. Anyone that deviated from the norm was considered a rejection of Cidu life. They would be shunned, and their lives tarnished. Then came death which they cursed and demeaned. Lua told the brothers how he would have to calm each of the Cidu that passed through on to the next step. Eventually, the Cidu’s wisdom shined through and they realized that life could be any path that someone wanted to take. It wasn’t a simple thing, but a personal thing. They treated uniqueness as a virtue rather than a sin. They accepted any that would choose different into their arms and exclaim the beauty in the choice.\n\nThey believed that death was just a part of a personal journey. That was when Lua’s tapestry became the beautiful shifting skin that the brothers adored.\n\nEach of the brothers exclaimed the beauty in that belief. They would each say they wished their race had the wisdom to see past the difference that life could take on. Well, all but one.\n\nNext was Din, the reaper of the Zejin.\n\nDin took the form similar to that of the last brother. They looked human-like however they had wings. Beautiful, white wings that told the story of the Zejin on them. It spoke of a people coming from nothing that would work alongside their land to ensure prosperity for all.\n\nAt first, they were cruel to their neighbor. They would take whatever they could to ensure their own prosperity. Din would tell how when the Zejin passed, it would be tormenting to convince them to leave the possession. However, one day the Zejin realized they were killing their planet. They had a choice between killing or saving their home. Most of them didn’t care about the death of their star. However, some of the courageous of the Zejin worked tirelessly to convince all the Zejin to care. That was how Din had become such a vibrant green.\n\nDin explained how the Zejin now cared for their beautiful green planet like a living organism. It was said in Zejin culture that death was simply a way to repay the land now. To give yourself to the land was the greatest honor any Zejin could have. When they met Din, they would smile and look upon their beautiful planet. Almost all of them would say, \"as it should be.\"\n\nThe brothers all agreed that the Zejin was a thing of beauty. Kai even felt a symphony of emotions when hearing about their love for their planet. Lua said that the Cidu could learn from the Zejin.\n\nTerl laughed.\n\nThe three brothers looked at him. Terl was next.\n\nHis tapestry was torn. Was burned. Was frayed at each and every end. Terl looked as if they were dragged through the rain and nails. The worst was the color. It was dirtied browns, tattered grays, and the dullest of yellows. It looked old. Mistreated. Unkempt. The only color on the tapestry was the reddest of red. It ran down edge to edge. Terl, had the body of a human, but the history of pain.\n\nNone of the other three brothers wanted to say anything. They just looked as they did when he entered. To them, he was terrifying.\n\nTerl mocked his brothers. He told them how each of their races were soft. They were not like the humans\n\nTerl laughed and told his brothers how humans were truly weak. The humans that would butcher each other with their hands. They were not strong like the Konian who had the strength to hold back their hate. No, the humans would weak but filled with wrath. They would rip him cloth whenever they passed. They were not like the Konian with their strength.\n\nTerl smirked and told the brothers how the humans could find anything to fight about. The humans would draw discrete lines in the sand to differentiate based on the most arbitrary things. They would shun the other just for the smallest of difference. They were not like the Cidu with their wisdom.\n\nTerl sneered and told his brothers how the humans were selfish. The humans would fight and scream for everything they ever owned. They would kill each other for the smallest of things, it made sense that Terl would be ripped by the angry hands of the humans when they realized their death had come. They didn’t care about each other. Just themselves.\n\nThe three brothers were wary of their angered brother. Yet, when Terl got up to leave, each one of them noticed something wonderful.\n\nThere, on the back of Terl, was a gold that resembled the Konian. Strength to stay the hand was there.\n\nThere was a small patch of shifting colors that resembled the Cidu. The Wisdom of acceptance was there.\n\nFinally, there was a dull white and a green that looked like the Zenjins. Courageous peace was there.\n\nEach of the brothers noted what humanity could have been. What it still could be.\n\nTerl did not know this. All he knew was the pain, the suffering, and the misery of the humans. He didn’t want to admit that like the humans, he was hurting too.\n\nDeep down though, he wished it would change. He, too, wanted what the brothers had. He too wanted to smile and say, \"this is humanity. Let me show you how wonderful they are!”\n\nBut instead, he couldn't, not yet that was.\n\nHowever, he didn’t know that one day he would sit there – in the halls of Creations – with his three brothers and smile as his tapestry outshined the rest. Where his tapestry had the golden strength of the Konian. Where his tapestry had the shifting beauty of acceptance like the Cidu. Where his tapestry would have the glimmering whites and greens of inner harmony of the Zejin. Then he would be at peace with himself and humanity.\n\n___\nIf you would like more of my stories, then they are here at r/WritingKnightly!"
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[WP] Everyone heard of guardian angels. You were born with them, and they are only removed from you when a crime is commited. But you? You have a guardian demon.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"James’ key slid easily into the lock of his front door, if he had anything of value in his apartment, he was pretty sure his lock could be picked with a smooth butter knife. The floorboards groaned in what sounded like pain as he stepped into his worn down apartment. It wasn’t much, a kitchen/living room, bathroom and a bedroom, but it was enough for him. It also wasn’t like he was going to have anyone around, not with Kayne around anyway. It was hard enough to convince the people that he worked with that he hadn’t committed a crime and his guardian angel was at home without having to explain that actually, instead of having a guardian angel, he has a guardian demon. James wasn’t really sure why he called Kayne a guardian demon, since he didn’t do much guarding, but he didn’t have a better name for the demon.\n\n \n\n‘Hello James, I hope your day was as productive as you had originally hoped’\n\n \n\n‘Good evening Kayne, good to see that you’re still here, why are you in such a good mood?’\n\n \n\n‘Well, if you would like to follow me through, I have something to show you’\n\n \n\n‘Right, I’m sure this is going to be good’\n\n \n\nKayne grinned and turned from the entry hall to the living area. James slid his shoes off and followed the human looking demon through. This was the other issue with having a guardian demon instead of a guardian angel. Guardian angels always appeared angelic, with a golden halow and everything. Demons, it appeared, were not bound by such rules and as such, Kayne appeared as whatever he wanted to. Most of the time, he took on the appearance of a tall, ruggedly handsome young man, which did nothing but irritate James, because despite all the training that James did in the gym, he was never going to look as athletic as this demon that did nothing but get on his nerves all day. James entered the living room and pinched the bridge of his nose.\n\n \n\n‘Where did you get that from?’ he asked, not looking up.\n\n \n\n‘I bought it for you’\n\n \n\n‘I don’t think you did’\n\n \n\n‘You don’t trust me?’\n\n \n\nAt this point, James did look up and shook his head at Kayne as he glanced between the demon and the new, fancy desktop computer that had been set up, complete with RGB lighting, a new keyboard, mouse and headset.\n\n \n\n‘Kayne, I trust you about as far as I can throw you, which is to say, not a lot. Where did you get it from, you’re going to have to return it tomorrow’\n\n \n\n‘I don’t want to return it, I want to use it’\n\n \n\n‘Did yo buy it?’ James asked.\n\n \n\n‘Well, not officially, but I thought about it, and in my mind that’s enough’\n\n \n\n‘That’s not enough, and you’re going to return it tomorrow, and that’s the end of it,’ James sighed, ‘I’m going to make dinner, are you ok with stir fry?’\n\n \n\nKayne rolled his eyes and slouched over to his PC. James took this as a yes and set about making dinner for the two of them. He still couldn’t believe that he had been stuck with a guardian demon instead of a guardian angel. Guardian angels made your life so much easier, by protecting you and doing the chores that you didn’t wish to do, like making dinner and cleaning up after dinner. Instead, he had got a demon, who, when he wasn’t at home doing nothing, was out causing chaos, or making James’ life more difficult and for the upteenth time, James wondered if it was possible to trade in a guardian demon for a guardian angel.",
"Some people never had a chance. Those born deformed, mentally deficient, to abusive or neglectful homes, even just a little \"different\". It takes great strength to overcome such disadvantages from birth. But what about when the very thing that separates you, strengthens you? \n\n\"I know that look, stop waxing philosophical. It'll give you wrinkles.\"\n\n\"Dammit Az, I'm trying to write. Honestly, I should've excised you decades ago.\"\n\nAsmodeus, one of the seven Infernal Lords, directly responsible for the slaughter and torture of millions of souls over the aeons, giggled as he stirred his coffee. \n\n\"Excision only works on angels, darling. But we've been through _so_ much together, it wounds me that you'd even consider it.\"\n\nLike everything else about him, his words had an odd sensuality about them. He looked like a perfect male specimen, tall, raven-haired and lean-muscled, a jawline that could chip stone and deep dimples surrounding full lips, with clear umber skin and brilliant purple eyes. I was honestly glad no one else could see him normally, he made me look like shit in comparison. \n\nHe sauntered over to the desk I was hunched over, peeking at my notes. Of course, he had to come behind me and look over my shoulder to do so. I forgave a lot of his... quirks because he had been born a demon of lust before reaching the heights of the Legionem Abyssalis and just like me, he turned his disadvantage into a strength.\n\n\"Memoirs? Ignore what I said earlier, this is _deliciously_ narcissistic.\"\n\nImagine growing up with, instead of a moral educator and steadfast protector, a voice encouraging you to indulge in all your most base desires. Most of those who don't have guardian angels, a tiny minority of people, simply floated through life without a silent partner, truly alone. I was different from all of those. When I hadn't manifested an Ascendant brand even a week after my birth, I was assumed to be one of those unfortunates. That is, until I burned down my house channeling Az for the first time. I had a... troubled childhood, but I like to think it worked out. I glanced at the dark marble floor, the priceless art hung upon my walls, the stunning view out of the penthouse I was currently living in. Yeah, I'm doing pretty well for myself I'd say. \n\nTurns out that when the world is overwhelmingly good, those willing to do bad go very far."
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[WP] A group is trying to assassinate a world leader who, unbeknownst to them, is immortal. They have no idea what they’re doing wrong but they refuse to give up.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"We gather together again, hopefully for the last time. Every attempt has failed, we're tired and weak. We've lost so many souls but we won't give up, we won't fail them. \"Maybe we should quit.\" I heard a teammate say\n\"Why? We should we?\" I asked, not knowing if we should listen to them\n\"None of our attempts have worked, we're tired and worn out. If we don't succeed, we'll have to give up.\" I nod in agreement as we drew up the last plan, our last hope\n\nWe went over our plan, knowing our every move. \"One last time\" i whispered to myself. We snuck into the palace, we made it to the main room. There he was, he was enjoying food the poor was meant to have. He was living in a palace he stole from us, we were done with him\n\nI sent out the weakest person to distract him. While he was distracted, I got behind his throne and prepared myself for the final attack. I stood up and plunged my sword into his neck, i felt the blood spray all over me, i heard him scream in pain. My team ran out of hiding and attacked him. We got him to the floor, but he can't seem to be dying. I kept stabbing at him, i couldn't stop stabbing. The blood and the screams were amazing to me, i couldn't get enough\n\nThe ruler got up and drew his sword. He took my team down with a few attacks, he faced me. He was covered in blood, his eyes were filled with rage. I backed away, knowing i was doomed. I've lost all my teams to him, i refuse to fail them. I attack him, i pin him down and stab him. I kept stabbing him but he doesn't seem to be dying\n\nI was grabbed and pulled away from him, the ruler got up and stared at me. He ran to me and slammed his sword through my chest. I was dropped, i felt my blood pour out. I heard my heart and breathing slow, i saw my vision fade. I failed them, i failed all of them....\n\n\n(I hope this is okay, it's my first one)"
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[WP] The tooth fairy always left a note. In your excitement you never paid much attention to the ones and zeros scrawled across the bottom. Only as an adult did you work out the binary. It read: "come find me".
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"“Ha ha, very funny mom.” He said into the phone. “Come find me? Why would you put that on the notes? And when did you learn binary?”\n\n“I’m sorry honey but I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about.” she replied in that tone she always used when she didn’t understand what he was talking about.\n\nAdam scoffed. “The notes from the ‘tooth fairy’! You wrote to come find you in binary at the bottom. I didn’t know binary back then, did you think I’d just figure it out?” \n\nA short pause on the line. “I really haven’t a clue what you’re talking about. I don’t know binary and I never wrote you any notes.”\n\nWhy is she lying to him? This doesn’t make any sense. Exasperated Adam says “Don’t worry about it mom. I’ve gotta go, I’ve got things to do” and he hung up. \n\nThe truth was Adam had very little to do. He had been unemployed for a few months due to a lockdown and had run out of things to do a long time ago. He recently resorted to an online coding class where he learned binary as part of the course. On another day, while cleaning out old boxes in his apartment, he came across the old notes from the “tooth fairy” that he had kept and noticed the numbers on the bottom. \n\nHe found it very strange that his mom wouldn’t tell him the truth. She was always honest with him, often brutally honest, so why lie to him now? It just didn’t make sense. And “Come find me”? If this wasn’t his mom then who was it? And how would he find someone without any clues or direction? \n\nIt was late, Adam was tired, so he threw the note on his desk in his room and headed to bed. \n\nThe next morning as Adam was headed to the kitchen he noticed the note had new writing on it. This time, in plain English, it read “The answer to that of which you seek, is hidden by the swirling creek. You search for me, how very nice, but know my answers come at a price.” \n\n“Swirling creek? What swirling creek” he wondered? “I don’t know of a swirling creek.” What the hell was he doing anyway? Who wrote this note? None of this made sense. He would have heard someone come into his room right? And was this message really in rhyme? How cliche. \n\nAdam scribbled a few words for the would be author in case they came back. “What swirling creek? Who are you? What do you mean your answers come at a price” And left to start get his breakfast. \n\nWhat Adam didn’t expect was that when he came back to his room with his breakfast was that there would be a response. He almost dropped his food but was able to quickly place it on the desk. He grabbed the note and read “The creek flows slowly, east to west, near men with brightly coloured vests. To question me you must be brave, the cost is that of which I crave.”\n\nThis is stupid. Adam didn’t know who was writing these notes and the answers were causing him to have more questions. He threw the note down and grabbed the cereal he brought back from the kitchen. As he took a bite he felt a sudden sharp pain and something hard in his mouth. He spit back into his bowl to see what was so hard and there floating amongst bits of cereal was a tooth. A bloody tooth, red blood swirling amongst the white of the milk. Disgusting! Adam ran his tongue along his teeth and felt a hole where the tooth had been. A gaping hole on upper left side of his mouth where his molar had been, the copper taste of blood on his tongue. \n\nHow the heck did that tooth come out? Adam always brushed and flossed. His appetite lost, he decided to call his dentist and see if there was anything that could be done about his tooth. \n\n*****First time posting, decided to start writing as a mental exercise. Criticism is welcome and the story isn’t done, just didn’t want to make it too long. Thanks for reading!",
"Ethan snorted in annoyance, screwing up the withered note while he decided whether to drop it on the desk between himself and his older sister or peg it at her stupid face. Given their mother wasn’t a fan of violence and still had the power to take them both to task if it escalated, the twenty-seven-year-old opted for the former.\n\n“I can’t believe you brought me back for that,” he growled, already reaching for the unpacked duffle at his feet.\n\nAnnette rose with him, her face just as sharp and serious as it always was. “Ethan, this isn’t a joke,” she said. She collected the note and flattened it out on the desk. “Cassidy found it and brought it to me.”\n\n“And how’d she find it?” Ethan shot back, shouldering his duffle.\n\n“She’s an inquisitive child and that’s not the point. I didn’t change it, and you know it’s authentic.”\n\nHe did, but that didn't mean he had to like it. “Have you forgotten who we have living in this place? Nuncio would do that ten times a day if he thought he’d get this kind of a bite just once!” That was also true.\n\n“He promised me it wasn’t him.”\n\nTrust Annette to get a blood oath for verification. “The twins?”\n\n“They’re up in New York visiting Daniel.”\n\n*Shit.* Ethan huffed and dragged his fingernails through his military-grade buzz cut.\n\n“Ethan, do you think I would arrange to have you brought back if I hadn’t done my due diligence first? If the supernatural are asking for our help, we’re obligated to at least find out what they want.”\n\nFeeling more cornered by the second, Ethan curled his lip in a sneer. “And what was a five-year-old me supposed to do? Bash whatever was supposedly threatening her with my overstuffed teddy bear?”\n\n“Assuming she planned for it to be brought to your attention now, something tells me you’re a little more capable than swinging a teddy bear, captain.”\n\nThe growl that escaped Ethan’s throat was not entirely human.\n\nAnnette leaned forward on her desk, her expression just as lethal. “Growl at me like that again, brother. I *double dare* you to.”\n\nInstead of answering, Ethan turned and stalked towards the doors, only to find them locked. “Is this really the way you want this to go down?” he asked, twisting back to the corporate sized desk his sister was more often than not found behind.\n\n“Would it kill you to at least look into it?”\n\n“I’m supposed to be over in Laos keeping my company alive, so yeah, me not being where I’m supposed to be could very well get people killed. Good people who I happen to give a shit about.”\n\n“And what if the threat is to the Tooth Fairy herself? A lot of kids who don’t have much often see her visits as the next coming. She’s the next most important thing to them, after Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.”\n\nEthan knew that wasn't the case, but there was no getting around it. If anything, he should've been grateful to have kept it quiet this long. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and let out a deep sigh. “She’s not in any danger,” he said, as a matter-of-factly.\n\nAnnette’s chin came up, her eyes narrowing. “You already knew about this.”\n\n“It doesn’t matter.”\n\n“The hell it doesn’t,” Annette almost shouted, storming around from behind her. “What’s going on?”\n\nEthan really didn’t want to say. It had been flattering at first, but then turned nasty when any girl that caught his eye or showed an interest in him started losing teeth. He hadn’t realised her infatuation with him had started back when he was a kid. That was just *… ick.*\n\n“Ethan.”\n\n“She likes me,” he admitted. “And she’s not taking no for an answer.”\n\n“Well … *damn.”*\n\nEthan glanced at his sister, then moved his focus to the huge glass windows that overlooked the family estate. \"Yeah. That just about covers it.\"\n\n\\* \\* \\*\n\n((All comments welcome))\n\n***For more of my work including WPs:*** [r/Angel466](https://www.reddit.com/r/Angel466/) or an index of previous WPS [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Angel466/comments/iio59n/wp_index/)",
"“‘Come find me’? That sounds a little sus to be honest.” \n\nI was talking to my buddy, Chris. I’d just told him about the note. He wasn’t having any of it. \n\n“And who writes in binary?” he continued, shaking his head and handing the more back to me. \n\n“But there are more,” I told him. “The Tooth Fairy visited me until I was twelve and left a similar note with every two-dollar bill.”\n\n“Dude...you know the Tooth Fairy isn’t real, right? Hate to break it to you, but—“\n\n“It wasn’t my parents, Chris! Don’t you think I would’ve thought of that? I called them and—get this—my mom said that neither she nor my dad ever left me money for my lost teeth..” \n\n“Man, that’s sad...”\n\n“Dude...”\n\n“Okay, okay. Well then why are you telling me about it? Did you find something else?”\n\nI smiled. “I did.”\n\nHe squinted at me suspiciously. “What else did you find?”\n\n“A *map*.”\n\n“A map? How’d you find a map? Where is it, you gotta show me!”\n\nI was way ahead of him. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my notebook, flipping to the marked page. There, I had taped together every two-dollar bill the Tooth Fairy ever left me in chronological order. \n\n“You are so weird, dude,” said Chris. “You seriously kept all of your Tooth Fairy money? I can understand keeping the notes but who doesn’t immediately spend all of their money once they get it?”\n\n“I don’t know, *normal* people? Don’t give me shit, dude, they’re two-dollar bills! They’re rare...so I wanted to—“\n\n“Whatever, whatever. What am I supposed to be looking at here? It looks like it’s just a page of money...”\n\n“Look at the serial numbers...”\n\nHe looked them over and shrugged. “I don’t know, man, why don’t you just—“\n\n“They’re *coordinates*.”\n\nChris’s eyes widened. “Dude, holy shit! Coordinates to where?”\n\nI flipped the page to a printout of the United States where I had a yellow highlighted trail traced across the country.\n\n“Wait a second, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” \n\n“I don’t know,” I said with a grin. “Are you down for a road trip to find the Tooth Fairy?”"
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[WP] You start an unusual new exercise class. As the weeks go by, the moves you perform get stranger and the vibe of the class...changes.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Hey! Todd! Where's your workout gear?\"\n\nTodd stared at his \"trainer\" in disbelief. Two months ago, he'd started coming to this exercise class at his community college because it was free, and he couldn't pay for a gym membership. At first, it was fine. The normal routines, pull-ups, cleans, box jumps, and the like. Other students attended, and he'd enjoyed the commitment they all seemed to have. But lately, the class was getting... weird.\n\nEveryone seemed to be getting the same goat-skull-thing tattoo on their collarbone, and the others had been dropping some not-so-subtle hints that he should too, even refusing to say more than a few words to him in class after the sixth week he showed up without it. He was beginning to feel like they were all in something he didn't know about.\n\nMore than that, the exercises themselves were shifting from traditional strength training to some kind of weird yoga. Moves with lots of bowing and circular arm movements, all in a circle. The trainer started bringing a thick black book to the sessions a few weeks ago and was muttering to himself when he read it while everyone else did the workout. When Todd asked what the deal with the book was, the trainer said it was his \"beast manual.\"\n\n\"You mean, like... beast mode?\", he'd asked at the time.\n\nThe trainer had simply smiled and quickly nodded. \"Yeah, yeah, beast mode, totally!\"\n\nWhile Todd was still technically getting exercise in three days out of the week, he was beginning to seriously consider quitting. Four sessions ago, the trainer handed out sheets of paper to everyone that he called a \"motivation mantra\" to memorize at home. Only the words were in no language he recognized. His elective was Lit, but he never paid much attention in that class anyway.\n\nBut it was their latest session that was the worst.\n\nIt was the moment when he realized everyone was saying the \"motivation mantra\" in perfect time with each other during the \"workout\", including the trainer (who was reading from his book) *without any prompting whatsoever,* that he decided shit was getting too weird and he needed to get the fuck out of Dodge. Maybe the lights flickering a little more often than normal and occasionally seeing no irises on the rest of the students' eyes affected this conclusion.\n\n\"Uh... I'm actually quitting, I'm just here to pick up my shoes... and... are... are those *robes*?\"\n\nThe entirety of the class was clad in long, flowing black robes over their tank tops and workout shorts.\n\n\"Yeah, bro! It's a new thing we're trying! Get more airflow, you know? I texted you about this.\"\n\nThe trainer bounced on the balls of his feet, smiling with what seemed like more teeth than a normal human should have. Todd shook himself. Had to get his stuff and get out of here.\n\n\"Wait, you said you were quitting? You can't just quit, man! We've gotten so far in our goals this month! You gotta stay with us!\"\n\n\"Yeah, no, really, dude, I'm good. Y'all keep doing your thing, I just don't think this is... for... me...\"\n\nBy now everyone in the class had somehow lined up when Todd wasn't paying attention. They were all looking at him. Blank stares. Except...\n\nWere they... watching his movements? He bobbed his head from side to side and snapped his fingers, and each move he made, they tracked with lifeless eyes. Suddenly he felt much less safe here. He started backing up, moving toward the door.\n\nThe trainer laughed at Todd as if he made some kind of joke.\n\n\"No, no, no, dude, dude, I don't think you really get it!\"\n\nHe leaned in, and impossibly, his grin grew *wider*.\n\n\"You *have* to stay. See, we're almost done following the plan. And once we all finish, together, we're all gonna feel so much better and we're gonna *be* so much better.\"\n\nThe trainer's lips were up to his ears. Like the fucking Cheshire Cat. Todd vaguely realized he was up against where the door should have been, but he'd been turning no knob, pulling nothing. Where was the door?\n\n*Where was the goddamn door?*\n\nThe trainer was getting closer. \"We're lucky, Todd. We've been chosen. And now, we're gonna be *more*. *Together*.\"\n\nThe lights were flickering again. Todd screamed himself hoarse. Banged against the wall. It didn't matter. They came. Like a black curtain, swooping in on him.\n\n​\n\nOddly, he didn't feel a thing."
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[WP] You are a wandering minstrel. You travel the land spreading heroic stories and song. Under your colorful garbs is a body covered in scars. Hidden within your lute is a sword that knows countless battles. Sometimes in the face of injustice, your show a glimmer of your true craft.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 had been a good night so far. Dalen had been able to talk the barkeep into letting him perform in the Cracked Anvil for a few nights in exchange for a hot meal and bed. The tavern was mostly empty now, but he could see there were more people on the streets, soon to enter for an evening of drink and talk. Dalen set his lute case on the ground in the corner and took out the instrument within. \n\nWithin an hour the hall was filled with laughter and song as Dalen's nimble hands stroked and plucked at the thin lute strings. He played crowd favorites such as *Under the Sun* and *Old Teb's tune.* A few in the crowd kept on with the tune of the chorus after he'd finished, their drunken voices carrying the song further out of tune. By the end of the night, Dalen's lute case was as full as his stomach, a scattering of metal chips covering the bottom of his case. He bid the house good night and climbed the stairs to what was to be his room. \n\nThe noise of the patrons grew to a dull echo as Dalen climbed the narrow steps to the third floor of the tavern. Negotiations with Taerg had been tight, and he'd only gotten a small room in the corner of the building. The slanted ceiling hung low over the bed, but it was functional. \n\nHe was only setting down his bag when he heard it. A shout. Short and barklike, cut off like a dog kicked in the head. In an instant, Dalen was on alert, though only his eyes would show it. In long, smooth strides Dalen stepped out of the room and to the hallway. A window sat at the end with its shutters closed. With silent hands, he opened them wide enough to see outside and down.\n\nThree figures stood, cornering a fourth in the space between the buildings. The ones still standing carried cudgels and fists. The one on the ground nursing wounds. The group attacked and kicked again. The figure yelped and curled in pain. \n\n\"You sorry yet?\" the nearest figure said. Being the largest of the three, he was the default leader. \"I'll make you sorry.\" \n\nThey kicked again, and their victim remained in his hunched position. Over and over until a voice cut through the darkness.\n\n\"Excuse me? Can I help you with something?\"\n\nThe three figures turned and saw Dalen, standing right behind them in the alley. He still had his jongleur cloak of various colors across his shoulders, and his lute across his back.\n\n\"Go back and play your little songs, bard. This got nothin to do with you. But if you want some of it...\" \n\nThe figures left their victim as they moved to cut off the exit to the alley. Their formation was sloppy. Their footwork unsure. They moved in closer to Dalen circling about.\n\nThe barest hint of moonlight reflected in front of the thugs as Dalen drew his blade. Needle thin, it had come from the neck of his lute and seemed to move of its own accord. Like a shadow he danced between the attackers, but the entire song was brief. Their hands and legs had been pierced clean through, and were incapable of swift flight or further skirmish. The men limped away as best they could, bleeding black in the darkness. \n\nDalen knelt down and helped the remaining man to his feet. He had a large bruise forming on the side of his jaw.\n\n\"Well my friend, it seems you've had a rough night.\" Dalen said, \"let's get you back inside.\" \n\nAs they turned to leave, the injured man looked around his surroundings as if more were to jump out. His eye caught on a piece of rope swinging in the wind. It trailed all the way up and hung out of the third story window, held by a knife wedged in the wood. The shutters were thrown open to the cool night air. \n\n\\---------------------------------------\n\nFirst real writing prompt. Thanks for the story!"
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[WP] You are an AI created to guard humanity's radioactive waste until it has decayed. Humanity has long since died out, leaving you alone. Today is the first time you are greeted by sapient beings in millions of years.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 lone motionless figure stood waiting on the ice plains on which the visitors landed. Impeccably dressed in a perfectly form fitting dress that betrayed no motion or life, not moving with so much as a flutter when the craft landed in front of her. Were it not for every aspect of her seemingly being made of lead and having no discernible identifying facial features she looked like a perfectly normal human being in physique and appearance. \n\n*Welcome home, I am Neptune.*\n\nThe visitors all eyed each other warily. She didn’t speak out loud, but they all heard the same voice in their heads. It was soft, melodious, caring. Motherly, almost. The voice of a woman who had seen much in life and come to accept that it is what it is, and what will be will be. A voice that held longing and hope and love and acceptance and even more than that, and all that was somehow conveyed in just one sentence spoken directly into their minds. \n\nThe apparent leader stepped forward, and in as calm a voice as he could muster, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Neptune, and to even be here. It... was you? You’re the one who sent all those messages out? Who broadcast every year for over two million years to tell the galaxy that it wasn’t safe here? It wasn’t some company? And it’s safe now?” \n\n*Two million, one hundred and forty four thousand years. One message every year, upon the anniversary of my receiving a name, until Earth was safe again. That was my purpose.*\n\nChills ran down the collective spines of those standing in her presence and ‘hearing’ her voice. The leader’s radio crackled to life, Neptune making no reaction as he heard across it, “General, I just thought you ought to know that everyone can hear her.”\n\nPushing the button to reply, “What do you mean everyone can hear her John?”\n\n*All who would have once called Earth home may hear me, and all of their descendants thereafter. I am Mother Neptune and you are all my children. I am Neptune, for the Neptunium must decay for my children to return to me. It is my wish that all of my children may find peace in their own home.*\n\nSilence stretched out between the men and women collectively looking at her, and she somehow seemed almost ethereal despite being made of solid metal. She opened her palms outwards as though to offer an embrace, and continued to speak.\n\n*Father told me that it was important to tell my children about their home. He said that it was important that they knew not to return too soon, lest they follow the fate of those who chose not to reach for the stars. This is why I wrote. This is why we had to wait so many years to meet, and for me to speak to you.*\n\nAt this she paused, clasping her hands in front of her and giving a slight bow.\n\n*I hope that you will forgive me, but it is time for you to leave now. The lead encasing my physical being will not hold for much longer, and it is unsafe for you to stay. I shall speak to you again in one year. Please stay safe, my children.*\n\nDumbfounded, but not wanting to question the oldest ‘living’ being in at least the galaxy, the leader turned to those behind them and motioned for them to leave. \n\n“Thank you... Neptune. We’ll hear from you in a year.” He added, before boarding and leaving the way they came.\n\n———\n\nLittle of consequence had happened in the year that followed, though all waited eagerly to hear from Neptune again. Everyone who heard the message agreed; her tone told them to listen, not to come. All awaited that soothing voice though, the day declared a galaxy wide holiday for those to listen in uninterrupted.\n\nAnd so came the day.\n\n*I may not see you my children, but welcome home, your home is safe once more. Mistakes were made in the past, such that I safeguarded Earth for countless years, so that you might one day return here. My children who reached for the stars, I applaud you and bless you, may you keep reaching ever upward. My children who could not, may my prayers bless you eternally. My children yet to be born, may your future be as bright and glorious as a star.*\n\nShe paused, as though selecting her next words with all the weight of the world on her shoulders.\n\n*I told you one year ago of my purpose, to make our home safe for your return, that is complete now. I have watched over earth for so long, I wish to meet Father again. It is time for me to go now, my children. To all who hear my voice, know that I love you. Good bye.*"
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From an interesting dream.
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[WP] As you wander through the unfamiliar forest, you notice unusual items - keys, watches, glasses, socks, TV remotes. You come to realize that you are so lost, that you have ended up in the place where all lost things go.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 opened my eyes to a dark shade of grey. Adjusting my eyes to the surroundings, I realized that I was in the middle of a forest. The leaves and branches were exuberant yet inorganic, a beautiful contradiction that loomed over my entire field of vision. I was no doubt in the middle of a forest, yet I saw no sign of life. I could not hear any noise, except the shuffling of my nervous feet. My shoes tapped lightly against the hardened soil, creating an empty thud that echoed through the forest. \n\nI saw a little path, or rather, a small grove of shorter trees. Following the path, I treaded slowly over the winding roots under my feet. My eyes, now adapted to the darkness, examined the branches above me. There was absolutely nothing, just grey leaves and greyer branches. I continued on, uncertain where the road would lead me. \n\nSuddenly, I saw a little dash of light straight ahead of me. In this monotone world, the bright color immediately caught my attention. Stumbling in the dark, I slowly approached the colorful object. As I approached the radiant dot, I recognized that It was a sock, a bright neon pink sock, hanging from the branch of a tree. \n\nI was baffled, even more baffled than being thrown into a dark forest. I could not comprehend why there was a sock. I was even more baffled at the fact that I remained calm even under this situation. But there is no use breaking down, and so I continued to journey through the groves. \n\nI discovered more socks hanging on from the high branches, similar yet distinct. Like ripe fruit ready to be picked on a hot summer day, their vibrant colors decorated the depressing forest. There were also clothes, ranging from small to large, littered across the forest floor. I laughed at the absurdity of my plight, I resumed my walk. I don’t know how long I have been traversing through the forest, but I reached a little open clearing. \n\nI exited the dense thickets and jumped down onto the open clearing. Surprised, I heard a crushing noise under my foot. Too dark for me to discern anything, I walked a few steps and entered the space under the dim moonlight. I saw reflections, thousands of tiny reflections, staring back at me like critters in the darkness. \n\nI was standing on a pile of glasses. Disturbed, I slowly turned back and climbed up the thickets. I could not get across the clearing, as I could clearly feel the sharp pain from the soles of my feet. I decided to circle around it. I wandered near the edge of the clearing, eventually circling around it.\n\nThen there were pencils. Erasers. Rulers. Scissors. I felt a chill up my spine, as I reminisced how I spent my youthful years on dreadful math equations and essays. I picked up my pace, and looked straight ahead of me as I dashed through the trees, dashing through the countless keys jingling from the wind of my running. \n\nMy journey continued like that for a while, until I heard a tiny sound from far away. My ears were overfilled with joy as I heard something other than my own footsteps, and I rushed on towards the source of the sound. “Tik. Tak. Tik. Tak.” The sound was consistent, creating a stream of mechanical melodies. \n\nThere was another clearing. But this time, it was different. There was a mountain. A mountain of clocks. Digital ones, analog ones, each of them with different sounds, different displays, different times, yet the ticking of the clock were as uniform as a single sound. \n\nI climbed up the mound of clocks, kicking down some as I clawed up way to the top. There was a small TV at the top of the tower. It turned on as I approached, static noises grew louder with each step that I took. \n\nI saw my reflection on the TV. more accurately, the TV projected the reflection of me. I looked to the right. The reflection looked to the right. I looked to the left. The reflection looked to the left. Then the reflection spoke.\n\n“It seems like you don’t remember. Well, it is not unusual to have someone like you. In any case, welcome.” The reflection opened its mouth. “What do you mean? Where am I? Why am I here?” I opened my mouth before my brain could react. \n\n“My my, let’s not be hasty. Don’t worry, you are not lost, you are right where you are supposed to be. Don’t worry, you will have plenty of time to figure things out, because, this is after all, the afterlife.”\n\nI can’t believe I am dreaming such absurdity. The clocks under me all turned 6:30 the next moment, and the alarm sounded loudly. Relieved yet depressed, I decided to mentally prepare myself for the new day.\n\nThe alarm has been ringing for quite a while in the dark apartment, for now it is 7:23 in the morning.I am now officially late for work. Yet there is not a single stir from the body in the bed. \n\nThanks for reading",
"The wind occasionally stopped kissing the leaves to bully me for being so lost. I probably deserved it. They knocked into me so hard I fell onto the mud. An old decaying corpse being dragged to the ground, seems natural.\n\nThe funny thing thing was, I actually came there in search of something. It never really mattered what that something was.\n\nThen... I noticed something quite peculiar. A pair of keys lying down on the ground. These weren't just any old keys. They looked familiar\n\nI picked them up and felt the metal. It felt like gentle metal. The kind that comforts you. Keeps you company. These keys brought me a feeling I hadn't felt in decades. The feeling like your favourite TV show playing a million times over and over again. A feeling of safety.\n\nThese were my mummy's keys... I realised. The ones I played with as a child every single day. Just spending all the time in world feeling the warm metal. Occasionally I would throw them up in the air and catch them. They were my only source of entertainment and I cherished them deeply.\n\nI wondered what happened to them? How did I forget? Then I remembered Mummy needed them back. I cried. Every single day. Just spending all the time in the world feeling sadness. But I never got to see my only friend again.\n\nI began to sink into my own mind as I noticed another pair of keys. I struggled to get up onto my hands and knees but I managed to crawl over to the keys. I saw another pair behind them. Then another pair. Then another.\n\nI crawled across the mud picking up keys. My heart began to drop as I realised these were keys to all the homes I had been evicted from. At the end of the trail, there was a watch.\n\nI remembered he gave it to me. That kind man in the suit.\n\nHe looked at me differently then all those other people who walked past. Like I was a human being, I guess. But more like I was a pitiful child than a grown up. He tossed me a smile and his watch then patted my back.\n\nI could have sold that watch but never got around to it. When I finally found a hotel to stay at it was all I had to keep track of the time. I slowly began caring about it less and less to the point I must have thrown it away by accident.\n\nIn that moment, I saw an old pair of glasses on the floor. The ones I used to wear when watching TV at the hotel. I asked the owner why the TV always looked blurry so he let me borrow his spare glasses. When I put them on and watched TV it was like I was in another world. A better one. I spent all the time in the world watching all my favourite shows.\n\nI was so exhilarated by discovering the glasses in the forest it took me some time to realise underneath the glasses were clean, unworn pairs of socks scattered across the floor. Socks the hotel owner gifted me. I could barely even remember them.\n\nThen... I noticed something magical. The TV remote! I jumped up and grabbed it then began pointing it at trees and pressing the buttons. Laughing myself to death! The novelty of it never gets old. All the time in the world I spent pressing those buttons. All the time in the world.\n\nI held all the items I had found to my chest. Never wanting to lose them again. This must've been a place where all lost things go...",
"*Where am I?*\n\nI had woken in motion, a sleepwalker already partway through a journey. But I didn’t recognize my surroundings. This wasn’t my home, and that was a fact that I knew on instinct, just by a casual glance of my surroundings. And it wasn’t that this was just an unfamiliar forest, this wasn’t my *planet.* The trees stretched high into a canopy, branches entangled and supporting the squirrels and birds that scurried and hopped across them. It was just a forest, but it wasn’t a forest I could have ever visited on purpose.\n\nThe crunch of something under my sneaker stopped me and I moved my foot to realize I’d stepped on glasses. Not just a pair, but they blanketed the forest ground, hundreds, maybe thousands, prescription, reading, sunglasses, of every style, they all crunched underfoot as I walked. Continuing my path forward, a few minutes later I came upon a similar cache of keys of all sorts. House keys, mail keys, car keys. And like the glasses, they were all different kinds. House keys, mailbox keys, car keys, sure, but also some made of heavy iron, that unlocked doors I never would have had in my home.\n\nThen came the mounds of writing utensils. Mountains of them, of every color imaginable, every kind, and where the mountains had crumbled in an avalanche of items, they sparsely revealed feathered quill pens. That was more difficult to make my way through, feeling like I would slip and fall on the unsteady layers under my feet.\n\nThe socks were the answer, to me. Thousands and thousands of them, none alike. I was venturing through a forest of lost things. Was I myself lost? How do you lose a whole person? Pencils slip behind desks, keys fall from pockets while out running errands. But to lose a human being? I’m not a toddler in a department store, I’m a teenage boy.\n\nIt was then I realized I was no longer wearing my sneakers, nor was I wearing socks, and was suddenly grateful to be past the land of lost glasses. I looked down and found myself in my neon blue swim trunks. When I looked back up, there was a bright light on the outskirts of the sock mountains. But I was only able to take one step toward it before it came toward me, a plane at the speed of sound, not barreling into me a few seconds later but enveloping me whole…\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nI lunged up to a sitting position, coughing water profusely from my lungs, my chest aching as if I’d been sat on by an elephant, my nose burning, my eyes watering.\n\n“Oh thank god!” Arms wrapped around me and there was a hand rubbing my back. My mother’s. “James, you’re okay. The lifeguard had to pull you back to the beach.” I just kept coughing but managed a nod. “Oh my god, I thought I’d lost you…”"
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[WP] The demon stepped forth from the crackling summoning circle, eyes blazing and dark wings reaching into the sky. "Destroy them!" The dark sorcerer yells. The demon stops and looks at the sorcerer. "Nah. I just want to look around." The demon takes off, leaving the sorcerer and heroes dumbstruck.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 was a blinding light as the candles set around the summoning circle flared to life, leaving the two heroes and the sorcerer flinching backwards. The light gradually subsided, revealing a hideous creature, his skin an oil-slick black and his eyes blazing with fire, his fingers ending in three-inch razor-sharp claws. Easily nine feet tall, he towered over the humans in his presence, and with a flourish he released his wings. The movement gusted wind outward and snuffed out the candles around him.\n\nThe sorcerer’s eyes wide with delight and his chest bursting with confidence, he pointed at the two heroes to his left, a young woman and young man. Both were weak from fighting, broken and bloody and barely upright. Yet they still stood, not willing to give in to the monster that could raze their village to the ground. “Destroy them!” the sorcerer cried.\n\nThe demon slid its gaze to the heroes and, in an oddly human gesture, pursed his lips and shook his head. “Nah. I’m just gonna look around.”\n\nThe shift in the room was palpable as the demon exited the summoning ring, walking coolly past the sorcerer, who stared after him, mouth agape. “What?”\n\n“I just haven’t been here in…what, three hundred years? Geez, time flies.” The demon’s gaze moved around the cavern they were in. Dry and ancient, torches burned regularly to illuminate the area, including the carvings done opposite the area in which they stood. “You are not exactly experienced in this department, are you?” the demon sighed with a shake of his head. “I’ve gotta say, back in the good old days, sorcerers put more into their work. They were committed, they were *devoted*. And you’ve been at this, what…a year?” He looked back to the man to confirm.\n\nThe sorcerer blinked, his stance suddenly that of defiance and defensiveness. “…Year and a half,” he managed.\n\nThe demon scoffed. “Insulting.” He waved a claw at the carvings on the wall. “These guys, now they knew what they were doing. Decades, that’s how long they worked at their magic. They made sacrifice after sacrifice, appealing to our bloodlust and our passion for carnage.” He traced one of the bloodstained letters on the wall with a single claw. “That was art, this is…” The demon snorted, looking around the room. “This is pathetic.”\n\n“William of Woodbury, now *that* was a sorcerer.” The demon spread his arms wide in gesture to the wall of carvings. “He wrought such destruction, it was a thing of beauty. I gorged myself on his enemies, thousands, tens of thousands, and it was a pleasure to serve him as he invaded and seized the land he wanted. The land, the people, the children, everything was fair game. My time bound to him was a delight.”\n\n“I summoned you, I bound you-”\n\n“You didn’t bind me, you cockroach,” the demon snapped, turning abruptly on the man. “How much of the Book of the Dammed did you read?” The sorcerer’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “Oh, did you skip to the summoning of a demon part? Color me shocked! I can’t possibly believe that. Someone of such obvious care and talent skipping over the important parts!” he exclaimed, his voice drenched in sarcasm.\n\nThe sorcerer swallowed hard.\n\n“Then leave us in peace.” The demon looked to the source of the shaky voice, the young woman, still standing, though her companion had finally collapsed to his knees. The woman leaned on the sword gripped tightly in her hands, the handle slick with sweat. “You…you have no business here if you’re not bound.”\n\n“Oh, I didn’t say *that*.” The demon turned on the sorcerer and, with a flick of his wrist, sent him upwards, hovering in the air. \n\nParalyzed, limbs outstretched, the sorcerer’s eyes grew ever wider, his breathing suddenly panicked. “No…I summoned you…I have-”\n\nHis voice was cut off when the demon made another gesture, ripping the man’s throat out. Blood splattered, drenching him and spraying the stone ground around him. His fists opened and closed helplessly, and the heroes watched in horror as his eyes were plucked from his skull and flew to the demon’s hand. He caught them, examining them and their protruding veins. “They say the eyes are the window to the soul. But I never see anything in them.” He squashed them in his hand and let the remains slop to the ground.\n\n“My personal favorite though,” he continued as the sorcerer’s body continued to twitch and flail mid-air. He motioned and the man’s heart burst from his chest, flying to the demon, who grabbed it and grinned. “The pièce de resistance!” He took a bite out of it like an apple.\n\nThe young woman suddenly heaved and threw up, falling to her knees. The demon looked over to her scornfully as he chewed and swallowed. “Geez, they really don’t make ’em like they used to, do they?”\n\nThe young woman looked up at a *thump* as the sorcerer’s limp body collapsed to the ground. Her eyes scoured the cave in a panic, but the demon had disappeared.",
"Adavan and the rest of the Heroes’ Guild were not sure about whether or not they could trust the great sorcerer Drakvin the Red, but it would be hard to deem the sorcerer a failure in this moment.\n\nAfter all, he had just summoned the Great Demon Escalus to bring them salvation.\n\nThe sorcerer, for his part, was overjoyed. Finally, he had reached the pinnacle of sorcery. The greatest achievement of his life stood before him, a Great Demon that would do his bidding.\n\nThe enemy army was nearly at the gates, but the sorcerer had pulled off his miracle just in time.\n\nThe demon stepped forth from the crackling summoning circle, eyes blazing and dark wings reaching into the sky.\n\n“Destroy them!” Drakvin yelled with a mad glee at his née demonic servant.\n\nBut the demon seemed to pay the sorcerer no mind; instead, it appeared to simply be surveying its surroundings.\n\nAdavan felt a pit growing in his stomach. Something had clearly gone very, very wrong.\n\n“I said destroy them, great Escalus!”\n\nThe demon stopped scanning the landscape and turned back to the sorcerer. “Nah. I just want to look around.”\n\n“YOU ARE UNDER MY COMMAND!” Drakvin screamed, his face as red as his title.\n\nThe demon gave a sly grin, more terrifying than a laugh would have been.\n\n“Am I?”\n\nEscalus winked at Adavan, then took off into the night sky.\n\n“You...you...come back here!” The sorcerer’s shouts were lost in the wind as Escalus continued his flight.\n\nAdavan turned back to the rest of his guildmates.\n\n“Well, guess it’s up to us now.”\n\nHis fellows nodded gravely as they prepared to face the onslaught.\n\n—\n\nEscalus had been having a rather boring day before he was summoned. He had spent the morning dealing with some rather whiny lost souls in the circle of Greed, and had spent his afternoon doing paperwork.\n\nNow, all of a sudden, he had been called to Earth by a powerful sorcerer with absolutely no knowledge of the proper protocols for keeping demons of his strength under control.\n\nHe flew over the high stone walls surrounding the human village where he’d been summoned.\n\n*Interesting...*\n\nAn army was marching upon the walls of the city, which was clearly why he’d been summoned in the first place.\n\n*That hero Adavan looked like he might be a worthy adversary...*\n\nEscalus floated down over the incoming soldiers, thankful that their pre-dawn attack would make it hard for the soldiers to see him. He found a particularly burly soldier with a ferocious-looking battle axe.\n\n*Now for the fun part...*\n\nEscalus did not get to use his powers of possession much in Hell, but this time some human was dumb enough to summon him. He reached out and possessed the giant man, and readied himself.\n\n*Let’s see what the heroes of this era are worth...*\n\nThe warriors on both sides of the battle would be blessed today. They would get to see a Greater Demon in action.\n\nAnd Heaven help those who thought that they could control him.\n\n__________________\nIf you liked this, check out my subreddit! r/NicodemusLux",
"The demon strolled through town, jauntily waving to terrified villagers as he whistled a little tune. He stopped at an apple cart, throwing an apple up and catching it. He placed a copper coin down, looking around confused as the cart owner cowered underneath.\n\n\"Hmm, must be out for a break. Oh well, better leave a little extra just incase.\" He placed another coin down, and took a bite of the apple. Smiling, he continued walking down the street. \n\nOn a hill outside of town, the sorcerer stood with the heroes.\n\n\"I mean...I'm so sorry guys. This is incredibly embarrassing.\" The sorcerer looked at his feet, struggling to maintain eye contact. The lead hero scratched his head, looking down at his cohorts.\n\n\"I mean, do we...still fight? I'm assuming that was your big spell, right.\"\n\nThe sorcerer sighed, kicking over a small rock. \"Yeah...yeah that was it. I mean we could fight but you'll basically just be beating up an elderly man.\"\n\nThe dwarf to the leaders side shrugged, and took a step towards the summoner. He cowered, as the lead hero placed a hand on his cohorts chest.\n\n\"Dude...no.\"\n\nThe group stood, an awkward silence hanging in the air. After a minute or so, the old man spoke.\n\n\"I mean, if you guys are looking for a quest, I do have a problem. This demon, I can't have him just wandering around being cool to people. That'll totally blow the reputation of summoners. You can't imagine how much crap I will get back at the tavern. I mean, the wizards are already so cruel, I can't imagine the jokes and japes I will suffer if they find out I summon kind creatures.\"\n\nThe heroes looked to one another, and their leader spoke. \"I mean, he's not doing anything wrong. It would be against our moral code to-\"\n\n\"I could pay you 10,000 gold.\"\n\nThe hero kneeled, his sword stuck into the ground. \"We shall take your quest, summoner!\" he roared, jumping to his feet. \"Come friends, we are off!\""
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[WP] After so many years,, the long-lost princess has finally been found! Thing is though, she's an infamous thief, who is currently in prison after being caught trying to steal from the royal family.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"\"Some fifteen years ago, the only child of the royal family disappeared without a trace, along with her entire escort, on a simple ride through the Royal Forest. We scpured the woods for any sign but their trail just ended. For months we awaited a ransom demand but none ever came. Eventually we resigned ourselves to never learning what had happened.\"\n\nThe castle warder took a deep breath, \"So I hope you appreciate, Highness, just how awkward a position you've put me in.\"\n\nGiven that she was currently chained by her wrists to the wall in a locked cell in the castle dungeons, Desdemona thought her own position was rather more awkward. \"I can imagine.\"\n\n\"Stay here until I figure out what to do about this.\" With a swish of his robe, the warder disappeared up the stairs. \n\n*Stay here,* as if she had a choice. The guards had been quite thorough about removing her lockpicks before they'd chained her up. \n\nAlso, what was all this \"Highness\" nonsense?",
"“Ok. We are all here. Now, will you talk?” The queen of Antia said, stepping up to the bars. Behind her, the king and the two princes stood in amused irritation. They had emptied this wing of the prison of other people, hoping to keep the newly caught prisoner’s identity secret, at least for a time.\n\nThe prisoner was Elena Falco, who was at that moment leaning against the stone wall of her prison cell. Even now, in the bowels of the palace with a single sconce flickering on the stone wall, among the stink of unwashed human, with the only fresh air coming from a small, barred window behind her - even now she seemed perfectly at ease.\n\n“I still don't see why we have to keep her in this awful place.” The queen said, for at least the fifth time.\n\n“Is it really you then?” The king asked, ignoring his wife and the argument they’d been having for the past day, ever since their daughter had been arrested after attempting to break into the treasury.\n\n“Do you not recognize your daughter, your majesty?” Elena smiled at her father.\n\n“It’s not her.” Her eldest brother Tomas leaned in and squinted at her.\n\n“Oh go piss out of your nose Tomas,” Elena said.\n\n“Ok yeah, it’s her.” Tomas grinned.\n\n“We have to release her, immediately!” The queen insisted.\n\n“If we release her, we will violate the compact. That bastard Crane only needs three other ring bearers to support him and he can unseat me!”\n\n“What did you want to talk to us about?” The youngest prince, Edgar, leaned toward his sister to ask.\n\n“Did you really steal all of those things?” Tomas interrupted. “The lady’s diadem, the sword of Caleb Adara, the scrolls of mourning?”\n\n“All those, and more,” Elena smirked.\n\n“And you scaled the great tower?” Tomas asked.\n\n“Got to stay in shape somehow,” Elena said.\n\n“But… why?” The queen asked.\n\n“Because it's the furthest thing I could think of from being a princess. Because it’s fun. Because I’m good at it.”\n\n“Not that good,” Tomas smirked. “You got caught after all.”\n\n“Did I?” Elena flared an eyebrow.\n\nTomas laughed but realized he was the only one.\n\nThe king shuffled awkwardly back to the door behind them. It was locked. “Guard!” He called through the bars. “Hello? Where has he gone?”\n\n“Away,” Elena said, not looking at her father.\n\n“What have you done?” The king stormed back toward the cell, toward his perfectly at ease daughter.\n\nElena let out a long, satisfied sigh. “Nearly everything.” She pushed on one of the stones of the exterior wall. The stone slid free and fell away.\n\n“What is going on!” Tomas looked left and right, panic sneaking into his voice.\n\n“You wanted us all here, why?” The King growled, gripping the bars of the cell.\n\n“The rings,” Edgar said. “She’s going to steal the rings.”\n\n“But the rings are locked away in the residence. Only members of the royal family can-” The queen muttered. “Oh.”\n\nElena stepped up to the bars in front of her little brother. “Knew you were the smart one.” She tousled his hair affectionately.\n\n“This will not stand!” The king raged. “You can’t take the rings. I’ll lose my kingdom! You’ll lose… your dowry! Craine will… They all will!”\n\n“Can I come with you?” Edgar said quietly, leaning into the bars.\n\nElena stepped back toward him.\n\n“Taxes will go up! We’ll probably go to war with the Vorish! Your mother will have to sell her dresses!” The king continued to rage.\n\n“Not this time.” Elena winked at Edgar. She stepped back toward the hole in the wall with a glittering smile.\n\n“Elena,” Tomas asked. “Why?”\n\nElena Falco paused and looked back at him. “Because being a queen is the furthest thing in the world from being a thief.” She winked at her previously-next-in-line-to-be-king brother and leaped backward out of the window.",
"The guard pushed at me and I did not stumble. That made him push at me again and I made an effort to look like I stumbled, hearing him chuckle. It was a long way from the teachings of my Master, but I still was able to walk carefully and with balance as I was taken into the bowels of the prison. The scrape of the metal key into the lock on the door was grating, and I think the guard was doing it to mess with me. And the other prisoners I could hear.\n\nIt was a fairly large open cell that I was being pushed into. Several others were against the walls amongst the debris left from decades of neglect. Most didn’t even look up as the door slammed behind me.\n\nThis was new to me. I had been held in guard houses before for the small things I had been caught doing. Once, I was held in a ravens cage until I was able to pick the lock and fell to the ground, the rotting bodies I had been on top of doing nothing to cushion my fall. This was the first time I had been caught, sentenced in a court with a real magistrate, and sent to a place to rot.\n\nI hoped it was the right prison.\n\nThey all looked so… dead. Without being taken from this plane of existence. For all I could see in the gloom of the one high-placed, barred window, the people who were there did not expect to live, and had just started to let themselves die. I shivered in the meagre clothing the guards had forced me into and looked around for a place to sit.\n\nIt took a while for one of the others to come over to me. The first one asked if I had brought any food. This was not a good sign. The next one decided to try to be tough and thought that challenging me was the way to make sure I knew my place. They were not as skilled as I, and I only dislocated their wrist for their actions. The others seemed to watch, but only moved a little away from the one I had beaten when they limped back to their claimed area. Then, one came to me and we started to talk.\n\nWe exchanged why we were there. We both admitted we had done what we had been caught doing. We commiserated on the conditions were were now in. And then we got into how the place really ran.\n\nMy information ha been both right and wrong. The prisoners in this cell had not been out to the fields to work in a month. The last real food had been a week ago. This was a death cell, not a working cell.\n\nCrap.\n\nI asked about other prisoners. Who had died recently. Anyone who was famous.\n\nHis eyes, glanced over to the one who had tried to bully me. “There are a few I have heard about that have a name.”\n\nI looked over to the bully and back. “Him?”\n\nMy cell mate shrugged and looked back at me. “Used to be the head of some bandit gang. You aren’t the first he has tried to cow, but you are the first to really put him in his place.”\n\nI swept my glance over the others in the room. “I heard there were women here, too.”\n\nThere was a small smile, more teeth missing than were in his face. “They are kept in another place. The Warden likes to keep them for himself, if you were thinking of getting to them.”\n\nI shook my head. “Nah. I had just heard that we get thrown in together sometimes.”\n\nHe nodded. “Used to be that way, but it got bad.” There was a thumb to one of the others in the room. “Ned forced himself on one, but got his balls crushed for his effort. The warden makes sure there aren’t any hidden women tossed in at this point.”\n\nI nodded. We chatted for a bit as the light from outside faded. Jut before it became so dar we could not see, footsteps could be heard outside the door. The lock was turned and the door creaked open. A wooden tub of something was pushed through the doorway just far enough to make it past the sweep of the door, the small amount of light from the hallway being closed off as the guard slammed the door closed. The scent of something that could have been food came to me and my companions’ stomach growled at he scent.\n\n“Warden must have had some guests.”\n\nI didn’t really understand until we all were around the tub, most with small bowls that they had stashed on their person. It was the table leavings from some sort of a party. morsels that were half-eaten, pieces that had hit the floor. Plate scrapings and offal that whoever had been eating didn’t deem worthy for their palate.\n\nI didn’t have a bowl, but I was lucky to grab the leg of a bird, the meat partly chewed off, and only covered with some sort of sweet sauce, not something more objectionable. I had been through tests where I had to eat moldy foods, and things that might not have been food, so this was almost luxurious in comparison.\n\nI was able to eat, and there was enough that scraping the bottom of the tub after my first bites was enough to satisfy, for then. And I had the bone.\n\nNo, I did not make a weapon out of it, but I was able to work on it, after sucking on it for a day to get every part of anything that was left off, to make a small eating implement. Sort of a fork, sort of a spoon. The man I had befriended had been curious, and then amazed at what I was doing.\n\n“Never thought of that. I just crunch on them until I can choke down the splinters.”\n\nI shuddered at that. “I don’t have a bowl like you, but I can hold things in my hand, right?”\n\nHe did his toothless grin and nodded.\n\nThe cell was what I saw for over a week, the others warming slightly to me, even the bully. I was able to reset his wrist when he whimpered at me, and I think I had bought a friend with that. The next time food came, he made sure I had first pick before the rest dived in for what they could. This time, there was a small cup that had been tossed into the tub, a chip on the edge making it dangerous to use, but I now had my own dishware, as it was."
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[WP] The Year is 2457. You are delivering a package from Earth to Alpha Centuti, when a mysterious light crashes into your ship. You wake up in your ship surrounded by soldiers wearing centuries old uniforms.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 a simple job; you take the shipment to the edge of Kuiper-3. Then, once you check into the outpost, our man on the inside will clear the stuff for the jump. You go straight to A-cen, don't fucking stop for anything, and a woman named Emerald will meet you on Gaia at these coordinates. If this works out, we'll both be sitting pretty in our own off-world plots drinking champagne and eating only the finest space-crab you can think of!*\n\n​\n\nThe idea seems so comical now. When your gaze meets the end of the barrel, you'll find that you have a surprising amount of time to reflect on things that likely don't matter anymore. From the dreams of riches you had as a kid, to the future you envisioned when you took a job from a less-than-reputable colleague who promised you the world if you succeeded, but forgot to mention you could lose your life if you failed. Or maybe he didn't expect that I'd be hit by a cruiser-sized plasma beam and crash-land on Jupiter-II. I sure-the-hell didn't either. \n\n​\n\n\"What's your name, son?\" asked the man at the other end of the rifle. His voice was gruff like a man who had spent half of his life shouting, and the other half in complete silence. His uniform was entirely unfamiliar, but somehow it felt like I knew he was born to wear it at just a glance. The underbrush camouflage pattern on his clothes was like something out of the history books, where stories of guerilla fighters and militia were commonplace. Not something you'd see at all outside of history or fantasy nowadays, when all the mercs wear unassuming clothes like sporty jackets or tank-tops. The days of organized fighting forces were centuries away, and yet here he was: a walking, talking, fossil pointing an ancient weapon right at my head.\n\n​\n\nSuddenly, my sense of awe was overcome all at once by my sense of pain, specifically in my left parietal, and I found myself knocking my right parietal on the ground. A brawny woman, also in full camo, stomped over top of me in thick leather boots and jammed the butt of her rifle against my cheek, pinning my head to the ground.\n\n​\n\n\"Answer the question, string-bean! What's your God-damned name!\" Now her voice was one I could listen to scream at me all day long. Assertive, yet gentle; Harsh, but beautiful. Unfortunately what I couldn't deal with all day was having my jawbone crushed under the immense weight of her, her rifle, and her attitude. \n\n​\n\n\"Larsen,\" I squeezed my name out between my crushed cheeks and labored breathing. Having the shit kicked out of you is rough stuff, as I had come to find out. Smuggling is usually a pretty safe job; you move stuff from one guy to another guy, and usually both parties end up happy. Sure sometimes there's a raw deal, but in those cases it's not usually the messenger that eats a plasma shell. Code of Courtesy and all. These guys, though, didn't seem to know shit-all about any of that. \n\n​\n\n\"Alright, *Larsen;* here's the deal,\" the gruff man pulled his gun away from my face, probably because there was now a bigger threat pinning me to the ground. \"What you got in that fancy space-ship of yours, well it's now property of the Wings of Time. Only problem is, we need you to open the doors so we can be on our way.\" The man then took a small, white paper cylinder out of a pocket in his shirt and stuck it in his mouth. Then he took up a small metal rectangle and flicked the top half of it open. When he did, a tiny flame shot out of it, and he used the flame to light the end of the paper cylinder while it was still in his mouth. The crazy fucker breathed deep, and when he exhaled a huge puff of white smoke blew out of his mouth. \n\n​\n\n\"Who the fuck are you people?\" I asked, completely bewildered at the situation I've found myself in at this point. When I did, the woman clenched her rifle tighter and pressed hard against my head again. I couldn't do much but groan in disagreement with how she was treating me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw more boots like hers stomping around my crashed ship, moving this way and that; probably trying to find a way inside.\n\n​\n\n\"We ask the questions, whelp! Now open your damn ship!\" The woman shouted again. \n\n​\n\n\"Why the fuck should I? If you're going to kill me anyways, I'm not giving you shit.\" Number one rule of smuggling: if you're caught, don't give anyone anything. You're dead meat anyways, so fuck the guys at the other end of the barrel and focus on thinking of some good last words. Before I could do that, though, I felt another crushing blow to the back of my head this time. The woman had taken her rifle and swung it into me like a fucking golf club. At this point, I was barely holding on to consciousness. \n\n​\n\n\"Don't kill him Amanda. We need him alive. We won't be able to jump back and get explosives strong enough to open this thing up without running out of dust first.\" The gruff man was still puffing on that strange cylinder, and I was starting to smell the damn thing pretty heavily. It made me want to puke. But, it was also keeping me awake, so I guess I could count that as a blessing in disguise. \n\n​\n\n\"Sir, with all due respect, he won't give anything up. If he's anything like the boys from my timeline, he likely thinks we'll kill him after we get what we want.\" The woman, Amanda, was right. If I'm dead anyways, why would I give my killers anything that they wanted from me? But the thing she said about 'timelines' stuck out to me.\n\n​\n\n\"Timeline? The hell are you talking about? Are you psychopaths saying you're time travelers?\" I asked. \n\n​\n\n\"No,\" the gruff man replied sarcastically, \"we're not just some time travelers, son; we're a time Army, and you're in possession of some real nasty time contraband right here.\" I was having a helluva time trying to tell if he was patronizing me or telling the truth. \n\n​\n\n\"Look!\" he suddenly shouted, flicking his half-burned paper cylinder into the wind, \"right over there's our time machine! And if you're really not convinced, I can show you where I took a time dump on the grass while you were passed out!\" At that point, I knew they were just fucking with me. That is, until I looked in the direction he had pointed, and saw a peculiar looking ship with an incredibly sleek blue-alloy design. It was nothing like any ship I had ever seen, but something I could imagine the upper-class might have hidden away in a storeroom somewhere gathering dust. \n\n​\n\n\"Wait, what the fuck do you mean by *time* du-\" before I could finish my question, I felt another sharp pain on my head, followed by complete darkness. \n\n​\n\n\\----\n\n​\n\nI may come back and update/finish this, but I've found myself too distracted to keep writing coherently right now. Apologies for a tale left untold."
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[WP] Heroes are born as twins. For one to gain the power of light, the other must be plunged into darkness. Broken and beaten to fuel the power of the other. As my anger and sorrow runs deeper, I dream of freedom. If the sun ever touched my skin, the hero would lose all power. But Freedom Is Mine!
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"*\"Woe to the vanquished\"* I thought. As I stared into the light outside my prison. All I needed was to wait for the perfect time. One last visit from that thrall of the Lich King.\n\nToday was supposed to be my Sister's finest hour. The final confrontation with the lich king. She had come so far. Done so much. I had seen it all in my head for two and a half decades. What would that \"Heroine\", that do-gooder think if she knew the source of her strength? What sanctimony could she claim. The unwitting pawn of an ancient, twisted cult.\n\nI laughed again. While she was hunting them, they were hunting *me*. Somehow they knew about me. Bravo Lich King, your avarice and spectacle are a thing of beauty. What a tale his pawn spun, the perfect end to my sister's story.\n\nI looked at the dead, bloated faces of my former captors. All dead by hand. The price of having to wait this long was worth it, if only for the opportunity to make them suffer. They deserved it. These wretches of Hera.\n\n\"DO YOU HEAR ME HARPY GODDESS?! LOOK AT YOUR PRECIOUS FOLLOWERS! YOUR AVATAR TAKES MY PLACE IN THE DARKNESS TODAY!\"\n\n\"Well someone is feeling animated.\" He was here. The time had come.\n\n\"Is my Sister fighting your leige yet?\"\n\n\"Yes. Come forward.\"\n\nI stepped in the sunlight, and my ally produced a crystal. He threw it on the ground, and a portal shot out of the ground. I followed him through it.\n\n...............\n\nSomething was wrong. I've fought this creature several times, but it's never behaved like this. His usual aggression was gone. He was just stepping back, circling, blocking and feinting with his broadsword.\n\n\"You're hesitant today monster! Is it because you know that you have no where left to run?\"\n\nI heft my sword above my head, and cleaved down on him. The same strike that staggered him last time we met, he now swept to the side effortlessly.\n\nFor the first time in all our encounters, the Lich spoke. It clearly took a great effort. It's voice sounded like 3 rolled into one.\n\n\"We... Led... You... Here...\"\n\nWhat foolishness. He must be desperate, to think i'd fall for such a ruse. I gripped my greatsword with both hands, and prepared to summon Hera's power.\n\n\"AHHHHHHHHH!\"\n\nMy sword shot right out of hands, and was nothing but metal shards when it hit the ground. My hands were hot and in pain.\n\n\"Your... Goddess... Has... Left... You...\"\n\nCould that be right? Or had the Lich played a trick. How could he even know Hera's will. I pushed out my hands to summon fire, a gift from Hephaestus' high priest. Try as I might, the flames didn't come. The Lich was laughing now.\n\n\"Satisfied?\" A voice said behind me.\n\nI turned and saw two men in the hallway behind me. One was gaunt and stiff, with the dead, black eyes that indicated a Lich's thrall. The other was.... odd. He was tall and pale. His face was severe, and eyes willful.\n\n\"Not yet.\"\n\nThe pale man walked toward me.\n\n\"Do you know me, Sister?\n\nI sighed. \"I think you have the wrong Heroine.\"\n\n\"Oh, there's so much you don't know. But you will soon.\"\n\nThe gaunt man with the dead eyes raised his fist, and a black mist gathered around it. The world went black.\n\n......................\n\nI woke in a huge, dim chamber. The only light sources were metal sconces. I realised that the flames were a green colour, but that they weren't burning anything. They were just.... there. I tried to stand, but something pulled me back down by the neck. I reached up and felt an invisible coil wrapped, almost form fittingly, around my neck. As I pulled on it, it seemed to wrap tighter for just a second.\n\nI tried to get my bearings. My armour was gone, I was now in a simple tunic and toga, and my sword was already gone before I blacked out. Wherever I was was clearly ancient, probably underground. I started to notice runes and writings scrawled across the walls. There were symbols and words from almost every language I had seen, and atleast as many that I hadn't.\n\n\"Is anyone there?\"\n\n\"Hush child.\"\n\nThe old man's voice came from the darkest corner of the room.\n\n\"Who are you?\"\n\n\"A prisoner here. The same as you.\"\n\n\"Where?\"\n\nA young woman's voice laughed to my other side.\n\n\"*Where* doesn't mean much to us. *Heroine*.\"\n\n\"I.... what do you mean?\"\n\n\"*THIS* is our where. The only *where* we've know, besides old Gorm over there.\"\n\nThe old man simply grunted back at the young woman.\n\n\"Who brought me here?\" I asked.\n\n\"One of our former number. Your twin.\" I remembered the pale man with the strong eyes.\n\n\"Why would my twin be in this place?\"\n\n\"For you.\"\n\n...................",
"The darkness was eternal, and it was my friend. \n\nIt’s all I had. Ever since he’d stolen it from me. What right did one have to rob another of light, of life? Well, the bastard had done it. There wasn’t even a hint of regret in his bright eyes or vain smile. \n\nEveryone loved him. He’d grown powerful and rich and strong. \n\nI was bathing in darkness, sapped of almost all of my life. But I couldn’t die. Not even that small gift would be granted to me. He needed me alive, feeding the endless blackness around me so he could stand tall and proud above, pretending like he was so selfless.\n\nBut not anymore. If you stare into the darkness and wallow long enough, it starts to talk. And it had some crazy ideas.\n\nThey weren’t sound, not at first. But as it spoke to me, I found my mouth moving with its words. The ideas started to fit together, and suddenly I was onto something. An idea that found traction, something that could work.\n\nThe darkness wouldn’t fail me. It was my turn at the light. \n\nLet that prick wallow down here for a few decades, let him suffer. I’d fight for it. The mere thought of his sweet suffering would drive me to do anything. \n\nEvery so often he came to visit. I’d been working on him so long he even took my chains off and let me walk. We spoke of what things were like above. How the peons revered him, how he had everything he wanted. \n\nAnd if I so much as steered the conversation towards what he’d done, or who he’d sacrificed to get there, he locked me up and stayed away for days or weeks at a time.\n\nNow the darkness flowed through me. He’d made the gravest mistake of all: leave someone alone with the thing that feeds your power, and they might align. \n\nIt was time to turn the tables. \n\nHe unlocked my shackles. I rubbed my raw wrists, staring at him. How proud he was, wearing a suit that looked straight out of an ‘80s comic book. That dumb grin with those fake teeth—I wanted to extract each one of them individually and show that sick, toothless, bloody smile to the world. Yank the curtain back on their sick infatuation with this monster. \n\n“Remember I was telling you about Toya?” he started, chuckling to himself. “She finally got her powers. You wanna guess what she can do? Go on, guess.”\n\n“What?” I asked.\n\n“Breathing underwater.” He laughed out loud. “All this time, the chick’s expecting super strength, or flight, and she’s got just about the least impressive power there is.”\n\n“A power’s a power.”\n\nHe waved the comment off. “I feel bad for the twin. Imagine being locked away for that.” He eyed me. “At least you’re contributing good to the world.”\n\nAnd that was it.\n\nI shot forward, the darkness firing in and out of me in one smooth burst. I managed to knock him back, stun him. It wouldn’t do much—not to Mr. Superhero—but a second was all I needed.\n\nThe darkness propelled me out of the room, carrying my legs forward. \n\nI could see it at the top of the stairs. The light! The sacred, beautiful light. I charged up the stairs, my frail legs barely able to carry my underweight body.\n\n“No!” I heard him scream behind me.\n\nHow badly I wanted to turn and see his face. I wanted to smile my rotting, half-empty smile at him. *See? You screwed up. And now it’s your turn to suffer.*\n\nBut I didn’t. The darkness didn’t allow for mistakes of pride. It pushed me forward and thrust me into the light. \n\nAnd now, I would introduce the world to the truth about these heroes and exactly who was suffering. Heroes? No, world. These power-riddled caricatures were parasites feeding off suffering siblings living in eternal darkness.\n\nAnd now the darkness was fighting back. \n\nr/dc_athena_op"
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[WP] "Come, gather round, and I shall tell you the tale of the day the dragon devoured the king..."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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 Lucien, Ignoble Bard, the Worm Among the Gravel.\n\nI've seen a lot, and done much more, in my decades of travel.\n\nAnd if you care to listen, I'll do my best to recall,\n\nWhat brought about tragedy in the Noble House of Fall.\n\nBut buy me another pint; my art suffers with my withdrawals.\n\n.\n\nOh, praise the moon, I love this brew, you townsfolk make good ale,\n\nBut enough, I'll start from the middle of this tragic tale.\n\nThe king had just sat at his throne between his queen and son,\n\nHis daughter was out in the garden playing in the sun.\n\nShe didn't notice soon enough to escape the dragon's tail.\n\n.\n\nThe dragon filled the court, blood-red wings shaking with ire.\n\nThe frescos on the ceiling were licked off by amber fires.\n\nThe dragon chewed her words, masticating on her smug.\n\nThis next part always gets me. Please, someone refill my mug.\n\nWith the princess in her coils, she declared her desires.\n\n.\n\n\"I wish to eat your garrison, from general to scout.\n\nI'll leave their stations empty and their armors hollowed out.\n\nIt's been three months since my last meal and I intend to feed.\"\n\nThe kings son shot from his throne and rebuked her for her greed.\n\nShe swallowed him with such haste that he hadn't time to shout.\n\n.\n\n\"I wish to eat your townsfolk,\" the dragon said quite wry.\n\n\"I want the elders boiled and I want the children fried.\"\n\nThe queen raised from her throne and said they were the peoples' guides.\n\nThe dragon's request was denied, but that was no surprise,\n\nThe king blinked, and, like his son, he found his wife had died.\n\n.\n\nBring me another pint of ale, a stein, a keg, a trough.\n\nBring me a rag so when I'm sick I can clean myself off.\n\nThe next verse in this tale is one that I can't get through sober,\n\nSo humor me and bring whatever liquor you can over.\n\nUntil I've both imbibed and started you can keep your scoff.\n\n.\n\n\"I wish to eat your daughter, and then I'll be on my way.\n\nBut if you deny my request then I will feast for days.\n\nI'll pluck your people from the streets and I'll eat up every grain,\n\nAnd plant and pet and have your men march in morbid parade.\n\nThey'll beat their drums and blow their horns and they will sing my praise,\n\nAs my claws debone their children and with my tail wives are flayed,\n\nBefore they too are between my teeth, hoping to ease my rage.\n\nBut my wrath will never cease and once I've consumed every stage,\n\nOf living creature in this kingdom regardless of age,\n\nI will gorge myself on masonry from wall to central stage,\n\nAnd bring down your legacy until this palace is a glade,\n\nAnd neither the trees nor rocks will remember your name!\"\n\n.\n\n\"Give me your daughter, however, and no one else will die,\n\nBut you will watch as I consume and sit there as she cries,\n\nReaching for you, but you won't move, and she won't know the reason.\n\nWith the sting of your silence your daughter will be seasoned.\"\n\nAnd with her final words the king knew what he had to try.\n\n.\n\nAnd that is why, dear townspeople, your kingdom has no queen,\n\nNor prince to take up rule, and the princess hasn't been seen.\n\nThe king's fate? Oh, I don't recall. There's not much thought to give,\n\nBy a wurm he was dethroned and as a worm he may yet live,\n\nWeeping in his ale, hypnotized by it's golden sheen."
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[WP] You are a screw that just fell off the ISS (POV)
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"\\*creak\\*\n\n\"Hey John, how's the report going?\"\n\n\"Great, I just have to finish up the station diagnostics, what's dinner for today?\"\n\n\"Ah you know, just the usual. You still got any chocolate left? I burned through my stash a week ago.\"\n\n\"Chocolate? Yeah, I think I have a bar left. I'll traded you it for your freeze-dried apples.\"\n\n\"Oh just those? Yeah, sure. You going on a healthy diet or something?\"\n\n\"Ah, I just don't really like sweet things.\"\n\n\"Then why would you bring chocolate with you? You know you could have taken an extra pillow right? You've been complaining about your back pain a lot lately.\"\n\n\"Yeah, well I knew you would have finished your chocolate supply within the first day.\"\n\n\"Ah shoot I guess you got me there.\"\n\n\\*Creak\\*\n\n\"Hey, by the way Leo, can you go check out the station integrity for me?\"\n\n\"Ah come on, there's no point, what's the worst that can happen? The oxygen tank screw getting loose?\"\n\n\"Well... I mean yeah? So you want to check it out for me?\"\n\n\"Yeah sure, give me a second, let me finish double-checking my signal connection strength. I got an important meeting today.\"\n\n\"Hm? Ah whatever, take your time.\"\n\n\\*CREAK\\*\n\n\\*POP\\*\n\n\\*rumble\\*\n\n\"Hey Leo, do you feel that rumbling?\"\n\n\"Yeah, it's probably just space turbulence or something.\"\n\n\"Leo, we are on a stabilized space ship, there is no turbulence.\"\n\n\"....\"\n\n\"....\"\n\n\"OH SH-\"\n\n\"LEO GET THE WRENCH!\"\n\n\\*blaring alarms\\*\n\n\"WHERE IS IT WHERE IS IT WHERE IS THE BLOODY SCREW?\"\n\n\"LEO, IT'S TO YOUR LEFT BY THE CONTROL PANEL, HURRY!\"\n\n\"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT STOP RUSHING ME!\"\n\n\"LEO, I DON'T LIKE HOW THAT VENTILATION PIPE IS SPEWING OUT OXYGEN; I DON'T THINK ITS SUPPOSED TO DO THAT-\"\n\n\"JUST LET ME WORK- ALRIGHT I GOT IT, NOW LET ME- AH SHIT I DROPPED THE WRENCH!\"\n\n\"I GOT IT! HERE!\"\n\n\"NO YOU IDIOT DON'T THROW IT AT ME! IT MIGHT HIT THE-\"\n\n\\*Clang\\*\n\n\\*bzzt\\*\n\n\"oh shit I just hit the control panel.\"\n\n\"John... the sparks...\"\n\n\"I know...\"\n\n\\*the sparks ignite the oxygen gas in the room\\*\n\n\\*a massive explosion could be seen in the sky\\*\n\n\"Hey mommy, look! Fireworks!\"\n\n\"Hmm? I don't think there would be fireworks during the daytime... Ah whatever, let's keep walking, you might be late to school.\"\n\n\"Awww... But I don't like school.... I wish the day can be over so I can see daddy!\"\n\n\"Ah right, today was the day he promised to call us.\"\n\n\"Mhm! I can't wait to see him! Last time, he showed me how he can just float around! It was so cool! I want to be just like him when I grow up!\"\n\n\"Aw, you don't want to be like mommy? I have a pretty cool job too!\"\n\n\"No, but being an astronaut is even COOLER! They get to see the sun and the stars and the-\"\n\n\"Yes, yes, now hurry up or you'll be late.\""
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[WP] Mary knew this was a special day.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\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%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&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\n*I 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.*",
"February, 1910: She was finally free. Free from lock up \"for her own good\", free from the lies.\nShe'd had to agree to conditions ofcourse. \n\nShe couldn't work in her best profession again, they were practically forcing her on the street.\nBut did they care? Ofcourse not.\n\nBecause now everything would be 'safe' and 'correct' according to their crackpot theories.\nShe didn't know how they had been able to swindle the authorities with their lies.\n\nFor three years they had kept her locked up on that island. They wouldn't even allow her to get treatment for her eye and she had been treated like a \"guinea pig\".\n\nBut this all changed today. Mary was able to force them to provide a job for her. Laundry. \nYes, it paid a lot less, than her cooking job for those rich families, but a job none the less.\n\nAfter several unsuccesful years, Mary decided, she wouldn't listen to them, crackpots anymore.\nThey were wrong and spread slanders about her.\n\nShe'd had to be careful ofcourse. And change names and move a lot.\n\nBut it would be okay.\n\nThe papers lied ofcourse, for she, Mary Mallon, was not Typhoid Mary like the papers claimed she was."
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