Split (1)

train · 199k rows

post_title stringlengths 8 314	comment_texts listlengths 1 74	num_stories int64 1 74
[WP] "Your highness, I have received word of the prophecy of your demise. What shall we do to avoid it an continue your glorious rule?" "We shall do nothing." "My lord?" "My time will come when it comes and nothing will stop it."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Well Rory you insignificant whelp of a squire did you not care to read the prophecy for yourself? Or did you just meagerly ferry me the news like a trained parrot?\" The king hissed at his now sullen squire.\n\n\"Well...no I did not read it. I was given a scroll and told to deliver it to you with the news\". The squire feebly attempted to explain.\n\n\"Well dont bother. I know what is written on that scroll verbatim. It's from Pelligor that hermit wizard, bastard can predict when the rain falls on a cloudy day. It says and I quote 'the king will suffer for his endless hedonism and selfishness. It will be his ironic downfall. After three weeks of endless sexual debauchery, gluttonous feasts, and drunken nights, the bacchanal will end in the king's demise'! Open the scroll and read it for yourself.\" the king proudly decreed.\n\nSurely enough the squire opened the scroll and read the exact words that the king recited. He was stunned at such a prophecy.\n\n\"Pelligor must have a penchant for irony. Glad he chose this. Im a withering old man, I dont have much time left. I will die as I lived! History will remember me for bringing peace by crushing the rebels in the civil war, and for festivities that all could enjoy. Except the peasants. Now summon everyone in the palace!\" The king barks.\n\nThe residents of the grand palace amass in the throne room. The king's sons, the queen, the knights, the generals, and the nobility. They all anxiously await the word from their king.\n\n\"My loyal subjects! My life is soon to be cut short.\" The king announces leading to raucous gasps followed by endless murmurs.\n\n\"SILENCE!\" The king's thundering voice sweeps the room of any chatter.\n\n\"A prophecy has been delivered to me. It comes from the clutches of the wisest clairvoyant of the land whos predictions have always been fabled to come true...Pelligor!\" The king bellows.\n\n\"Oh father! Please do not leave us!\" The eldest son of the king drops to his knees in sorrow.\n\n\"Oh cut the theatrics Tomasin, you'll get your crown when I die, and as for you Barrat and Wotkin, if you were planning on seizing the crown from your fool of an older brother I suggest you expedite those plans.\" The king callously states,\n\n\"However! There is reason to rejoice! For in his foresight, Pelligor decreed that I shall perish amidst and never ending cavalcade of pleasure and decadence! Something I want all of you to enjoy with me!\" The king upliftingly says resulting in a rising cheer from the crowd\n\n\"We will drink from our flagons until we stumble! The knights will pick us up so we may fill our flagons again and stumble harder!\" The king shouts the crowd unanimously cheers a resounding yes in approval.\n\n\"We will stuff ourselves with the finest of meats, the most delectable of cakes, the most savory of all foods until we spew! And we will fill our plates again!\" the king proudly stands from his throne meeting more applause.\n\n\"We shall enjoy the pleasures of the flesh from so many women, that if I were to pay them all one gold piece a day, my kingdom would be bankrupt!\" The crowd shouts in a thunderous cheer filling the throne room\n\n\"And when it is finished! The scholars will look back on this moment and be left aghast at what we committed! And when their search in their lexicons yields no word accurate enough to describe a celebration of this magnitude...they will have to create one!\" The crowd endlessly cheers and overwhelms the throne room, they applaud with unmitigated candor.\n\n\"Squires, servants! Organize the festivities! I want it to commence by nightfall tomorrow! Let us all prove Pelligor right!\" The king laughs to his vassals who make haste in preparations.\n\nFrom far and wide the friends and family of the king poured into the kingdom. Some made it for the first night of the celebration, most others made it a few days in. The palace was near in ruins, tattered and littered with the bodies of passed out individuals, the walls caked in wine and vomit. The music echoed throughout the kingdom, there was no escape from the merriment. Songs performed by the dulcet voices of the best singers in the land filled the castle halls for a moment of serene beauty amidst the chaos of pleasure, and then replaced by the jovial rhymes and poems of the most comical bards in the land. The king required all his partygoers to participate in one limerick every night:\n\n\"There was a mighty kingdom. Its king from finest stock! He lived a life of warring, and women on his cock! Wellllllll hail to king Ricardus! His rebel crushing hands! His ruthless might and conquest, brought peace to all the lands! The richest of the wealthy, the highest of high-born! His festive expiration, will always be a' mourned! A prophecy was given, a wizened wizard said, we'll prove the old crone's vision, and party till we're dead!!!!!\" the chorus of people would chant to the tune the bards would play as king Ricardus would wave his hands drunkenly on his throne as if conducting an orchestra.\n\nAfter 37 days of consecutive non-stop partying, exceeding Pelligor's 3 week prediction, the king died in his bed surrounded by prostitutes, spilled chalices of ale and half empty plates of roasted pig and a smile on his face. After Ricardus' funeral that all of the land took part in, the new king Thomasin took the throne. To Thomasin's surprise, a handful of edicts signed by his father had gone into effect during his debauchery. Thomasin read the edicts, they were of unprecedented generosity entirely uncharacteristic of his father. New orphanages were to be built, the poor were to receive gold, schools were to be built, numerous projects of public benefit all on the wealth of the king. It was to be the largest spending project the kingdom has ever seen, yet it only somewhat diminished the wealth of the king. Thomasin tried to reverse these orders but they were already being carried out and to be kept to their fullest extent by Ricardus' stewards. Thomasin could not believe these were real, his father lacked generosity in any capacity. Thomasin was even more perturbed that his wealth was being drained to better the fetid masses known as the people.\n\nThomasin made haste towards the lair of Pelligor, escorted by his knights and accompanied by Barrat and Wotkin they rode on horseback to the foothills reaching the castle of the famous wizard. Thomasin and his escorts barged their way into Pelligor's keep where they cornered the hunched, gray bearded and kindly wizard pointing their swords at him.\n\n\"What trickery have you committed wizard? Why has my father decreed to give the poor my wealth? Why are schools, playgrounds and farming plots being erected in his name?\" Thomasin callously demanded.\n\n\"I have no knowledge of such things young king. I only delivered my prophecies which come to pass and made no mention of public benefit.\" the feeble old wizard said in his scratchy elder voice.\n\n\"You lie! You manipulated him! What have you to gain from this?!\" Thomasin asserted closing his sword nearer to Pelligor.\n\n\"I only knew how the king would expire my lord. I told him just like he asked! What he did in his drunken stupor was his own doing!\" Pelligor refuted coiling away from the sword.\n\n\"So that was your plan! Get my father drunk enough to give my money to the poor?\" Thomasin accuses\n\n\"What have I to gain from such an act my lord? Your father spent his final days in bliss and-\"\n\n\"Piss on my father! And piss on how he spent his final days! I care how he spent his final gold pieces! My final gold pieces! You are responsible for such an act! And you will pay the price!\" Thomasin shouted as he raised his sword to strike down Pelligor.\n\nBefore Thomasin's hand could fall and sword pierced him through the heart killing him instantly. Barrat withdrew his sword from his older brother's chest and he collapsed to the floor.\n\n\"Your plan worked perfectly old man. Our greedy father died a happy man with a change of heart. My malevolent older brother will be of no threat to the kingdom anymore. And the realm will benefit from my benevolent rule and its peoples uplifted, just as you predicted.\" Barrat calmly says as the knights nod to each other in solidarity.\n\n\"Hail to king Barrat. He will reign long and true\" Smirked Pelligor as the party took their leave.", "\"But-\" was all he could get out before I raised a hand to silence him.\n\n\"Tell me advisor, what would you do in my place? How would you go about the audacious task of stopping fate?\"\nSilence filled the hall, I made no move to break it, only intently staring at him waiting for a response.\nHe couldn't meet my eyes.\n\n\"My queen,\" He said, hesitating a moment before continuing \"We could get rid of those the prophecy might be about.\"\n\n\"That certainly would give them a good reason to kill me. Are you suggesting hurrying the prophecy along? Self fulfilling it?\" I could watch his heart sink as I maintained my unwavering stare. I did not judge him, but he needed to understand.\n\n\"What if we just banished them?\" He suggested Hopefully.\n\n\"Have you ever seperated a parent and child before? Mother bear is a cliche for a reason. Oh and before you suggest banishing the family with them, do you really suggest I banish children? That would do wonders for my popularity.\"\n\nThat left him silent again, so I continued.\n\n\"There's a great deal of stories regarding prophecy and how many leaders have tried to stop it, doing terrible things to do so. The only thing that happens is that that the people celebrate when the prophecy finally fulfills. I will be the best queen I can be, for as long as I am Queen. I will treat the people with respect and justice. If after all that, they still decide to take my life... so be it.\"\n\nI left, leaving him standing in silence. I had more important things to do than listen to the fears of old men. My kingdom calls.", "“What does the prophecy say exactly?” I asked.\r \n\r \n“That the ruler of the great realm of Greathelm will perish, that’s you,” Servitas replied.\r \n\r \n“Who was that ruler so keen on taking over my kingdom again?” I inquired.\r \n\r \n“King Zarival, sire,” Servitas answered.\r \n\r \nI paused in thought for a moment before continuing, “I’d like to arrange a deal with him, but don’t tell him the specifics of the prophecy. Let the word spread of my fated death.”\r \n\r \nServiatas nodded, “Your wish is my command, sire.”\r \n\r \n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\r \n\r \n“How did the negotiations go, your Majesty?” Servitas’ voice called as I exited the negotiation chambers.\r \n\r \nI nodded, “Quite well. I was able to guarantee the safety of my people and that certain key legislature will stay the same. He will enjoy the lust for power without being able to hurt this prosperous kingdom. There are a few things that I agreed with him to not do for a number of years, at least until my death, you see. Which is no big deal for him, as he assumes my time will come soon.”\r \n\r \n“Will you finally explain to me your grand plan, sire?” Servitas asked.\r \n\r \n“Very well,” I replied, “The prophecy said the ruler of Greathelm would perish. I am no longer the ruler of Greathelm, Zarival is.”\r \n\r \nServitas smiled, “Well done, sire.”\r \n\r \nI grinned, “Until then I was able to arrange for us to have a small retreat in the vineyards where we can drink wine and wait for this whole prophecy business to blow over.”\r \n\r \n“Ah, the vineyards! They have excellent red wines there.”\r \n\r \nI chuckled, “I knew I chose the right spot, let's go enjoy a glass or two, shall we?”" ]	4
[WP] What is a human brain but a series of bio-electric wires? Write a story of a person being infected by a parasite that acts like a computer virus.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"I am seeing red\", \"seeing red\", they mumble in acknowledgement of each other as they cross paths in the cities, with the same particular rhythm and intonation. Presumably, those four words are the entire content of their minds, repeating on a loop, like a mantra, 24/7.\n\n\"I am seeing red\".\n\nIt's also an accurate description of the facts. Everything is red: the street, the pavement, the buildings, the shrubs and trees, the cars, the lightpoles and signs, people's clothes and hairs and skins. The red of their eyes and teeth is terrifying. \"Seeing red\", \"seeing red\".\n\nAll day, every day, they keep busy painting things red. Real busy. In northern Red, hundreds of red biologists have just released a modified red virus to alter algae and vegetation's genetic structure in such a way to naturally become entirely red. It's predicted that the proccess will lead to seeing red, and the extinction of 65% of the planet's vegetation, fungi and algae.\n\n\"I am seeing red\", \"seeing red\", \"seeing red\".\n\nSomehow, their ocean is entirely red. We have no idea how that was achieved.\n\n\"Seeing red\".\n\nWe red also identified extremely sophisticated orbital facilities theoritically capable of seeing a gravitational event strong enough to change the planet's red. Massive structures being built on the surface indicate they're preparing red to migrate massively to a ring around the planet.\n\nRed team have theorized they could be trying to cause their planet to become tidally locked to its red, so they could inhabit the stripe of land where the sun is always setting. I am seeing red.\n\nIf that's the case, it's highly unlikely they would survive the red. Seeing red.\n\nOur red to central, theredfore, is that howreder functional this society may seeing, they have become completely red, and delusional, and are not worthy contacting at this moment, if ever.\n\nAs for the cause of this most seeing situation, we red analysed their data streams and it seems the contagion spred from a corruptred marketing campaign for a brand of something called... a \"to-may-to sau-ce\". It got me. It got me. It got me seeing red.\n\nDoctor Red have concluded this red to be a case of a \"Social Media Asimov Cascade\". The pertinent files follow in attachred." ]	2
[WP] The Galactic Council called for a vote: either accept the newly found sentient machine race or destroy them. You were sent as humanity representative to pitch in favor of accepting the machines.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "(Part 1/2) \n\n\nThe Galactic Council, similar to most democratic institutions, rarely ever agreed on a matter in a swift and decisive manner. Even an issue with a solution as blatantly obvious as the one currently discussed had to grind itself through the wheels of bureaucracy. The Council was to decide on 'The 17th proposal of synthetic threat removal', a proposal to declare all-out war on a newly discovered hivemind-like collection of AI in order to deal with the obvious threat it could pose to the galaxy if left to expand past its own star.\r \n\r \n\r \n16 times prior the issue was brought to the council and the formation of a cross-species armada was granted. A few more times no debate was held, when the Chara'Alati were the ones to find such machines they usually glassed them outright. Despite such violation of GC procedures, they were only reprimanded lightly as no one disliked the results. \r \n\r \n\r \nThe machine intelligence of today's discussion was found on a continental world in the outer frontier by the Taunan Empire, which was more inclined to run the decision by the Galactic Council. The planet in question supported only sparse life but evidence of a once richer ecosystem and the civilization that once created its own downfall in the form of the arthropod-like robots that roam the planet now was found.\r \n\r \n\r \nAs was etiquette the Taunan Empire selected 4 other Species to bring their own view on the topic as well, before the votes were cast. Once more an unnecessary formality, every single of these votes has gone through without opposition, but it would be a good showcase for the newer members of the GC as to why there was a ban on General purpose AI.\r \n\r \n\r \nThe Taunan Empire's delegate laid out the original data gathered, focusing on the ruins of the machine's creators, the ecological turmoil, and the concerning structure they suggest is a space elevator in construction, pointing out how time is of the essence.\r \n\r \n\r \nThe Loh-ghen diplomat cited the state of the GCs military and their capability to eliminate this threat easily and without casualties, even suggesting that most of the planet could stay undamaged for archeological work afterwards, presenting the newest in energy beam technology his species could brag with.\r \n\r \n\r \nLengthy revelations and visions of the Church of Dhalun were shared by their high priest regarding the impeding victories and continued prosperity if the soulless husks would be destroyed. For once they did not end their prophecies with a disclaimer about the uncertainty of their future sight.\r \n\r \n\r \nAnd as expected, the Chara'Alati high Admiral recited the story of his people, the machine uprising on their world ending in nuclear hellfire, how they are cast out in the void and will not let another AI horror roam free. \r \n\r \nThe last representatives to speak were human. They were chosen due to how new they still were in the GC, not even part of the Galactic community for more than three generations of their kind. Additionally, they also endured and survived a machine uprising according to their archives, so the choice was obvious. Other than that humans were an odd bunch. When first contact was made, their capability to de-and encrypt data, alongside their tendency for extensive cybernetics made many suspicious at first, but skillful human diplomats managed to ease relations.\r \n\r \nHumanity clawed itself into a powerful position in the GC, despite its young age, boasting with industrial prowess as an economic power, creative insights into stagnant fields of science, and gained renown for their military in fighting the Cathji hivemind alongside the GC. Many argued that these few advantages were what the humans tried to protect by allowing only a few diplomatic envoys into Sol, and if so only to their home earth, despite their hospitality and openness in any other colony outside Sol.\r \n\r \n\r \nTwo men walked up to the speaker stand, another oddity of humans, they are so dependent on each other that their explorers and diplomats travel in pairs of two, carrying a bond of friendship or sometimes even romance. The metal rings on their fingers indicated the latter.\r \nThe middle-aged man with hazelnut hair spoke.\r \n\"First of all, we wish to thank the Galactic Community for allowing the Terran Federation to make their voice heard. We have carefully studied the history between organics and advanced AI in your archives and feel grief at the unnecessary death and level of destruction that has befallen the Chara'Alati people\"\r \n\r \n\r \nHis partner, certainly the younger of the two and with fiery red hair, continued. The visible parts of both their neural implants blinked, clearly betraying the fact they were communicating wordlessly with each other.\r \n\r \n\r \n\"If the Terran Federation would have been amongst the stars back then like it is now, then we would have done all within our power to end that conflict. Our first true all-out war of survival was the same that brought us into the GC, the war with the Cathhji Hive, which only knew the superiority of an apex predator, not ideas of peace and cooperation across the stars\"\r \n\r \n\r \nSilent murmurs moved through the ranks of delegates, some checking their data devices, confused by the human's wording as well as the subject. Clearly, their own rebellion was before they joined the GC? Wouldn't such be a more important historical callback? Were they trying to strengthen memories of comradery perhaps?\r \n\r \n\"Humanity would have fallen without their Ally, long before we met you all. Before we could join forces. It was that war that taught us as much the horrors a hiveminds singular drive can bring, but also the kindness and bravery of the Zatek Brood, which showed us that such Hives could be allies as well\"\r \nThere was enraged chittering from the Zatek advisors, never pleased to be compared to the genocidal Cathji. Once more the speakers switched, a duet to proclaim the full speech.\r \n\"There is no greater sin than genocide. Any government guilty of it has to be rebuilt from the core or burned to the ground. The Terran Federation pledges their fleet to lead an investigation into the charges put against this Machine Intelligence! We agree with you that a genocidal Machine Intelligence needs to be met with force, yet we cannot agree on classifying today's target as such. There simply is not enough evidence that the machines in question murdered their creators, or that they were fighting for their own survival without other choices-\"\r \n\r \n\r \nThere was an outcry of differing alien languages, some turning on their translators to address the humans directly.\r \n\"Watch your tongue, young ones\" \"To justify genocide ..\" \"To insult the Council in such a manner!\"\r \nThe humans simply smiled as elder races re-establish order. As enraged as they were the rules of the Council gave the humans the right to speak till they were done, they could face the backlash later." ]	2
[WP] A few people are selected for a once in a lifetime dream about the Library of All Books and experience a full year of reading and learning in one night. You are one of them but instead of once, you have woken up in this library every night for the past 2 years.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I opened my eyes and smiled at the walls and shelves around me. Standing up from the comfortable chair I always wake up in, I wander down the aisle, my hand running down the books as I scan for a new title. \n\n\"Hello, old friends,\" I whisper to them. \n\nI keep looking and pick up a few books here and there. Soon, my arms are piled high and I head over to a chair to read. I pass the Librarian and smile, nodding to her. \n\n\"Back again, I see,\" She says cheerfully. \n\n\"Oh, yes,\" I enthused happily. I'm always afraid that that night will be my last, that I won't be able to return to the Library of All Books ever again. But the Library kept calling me back, and I was quite happy to answer that call. \n\nThere were so many books, you see. And not just books. But artifacts, knowledge, bits of hidden or forgotten history. From this world, this dimension, and from many others as well. The Library existed on a plane that sat between the worlds, and was connected to every one of them. \n\nAnd every night, there were hundreds of thousands of new books. \n\nSo many of them that it would take a thousand lifetimes to read them all. \n\nI had always been a voracious reader. By the time I was 12, I had read all the children and young adult books- both fiction and non-fiction- in both our school and small town public libraries. Then I moved onto the adult books. \n\nMy mind was always eager, searching, for new knowledge and new worlds to explore. I spent much of my paycheck buying books, both new and old. Genre didn't matter to me- I read them all. And I could never get enough. \n\nSo I had been thrilled when I was told I had won the contest to visit the Library of All Books. It was a contest only opened once a century, and only a handful of people were chosen. Couldn't let just anyone have this much access to all this knowledge, after all. \n\nThere were books in here, essays and manuscripts and instruction pamphlets and manifestos, that could be used to destroy the worlds and everyone- everything- in them. \n\nI settled into my chair and picked up the first book. It was written in an alien language, but such was the magic of the Library that every reader could understand every book in it, no matter the language. \n\n\"Įþ çœņņəß æþ ňįğđþ\" was the title. \n\nAh, my happy place. A small smile flitted across my face as I began to read. A year would be over before I knew it.", "Is this The Matrix? Or is this Groundhog's Day?\n\nAll I know is that I haven't had a proper night's sleep in over two years.\n\nBecause every night I find myself in this damned library. \n\n\n\nAs a kid, my grandma was renowned in our small town for being the only living resident whom had been given access to The Library of All Books; a dream so rare that only three people in living memory had ever been allowed to have it. A dream that plants you smack dab in what can only be described as what the Library of Alexandria wishes it could have been: an archive of every book ever published, and even those only dreamt of. \n\nThe Complete Works of William Shakespeare? Which one of the 176 versions did you want? What's the difference? Nothing. They're all the same, word for word the same. No a comma out of place from The Bard's originals. \n\nBut that was too easy. How about the lost memoirs of Lord Byron? Or the stolen contents of Ernest Hemingway's suitcase? It's all here. From the forgotten stanzas of Beowulf to the censored Greek Gospel of the Egyptians. No one comes here looking for them, of course. All they want is to pass their AP tests or to flex on their professors the next day. \n\nAfter just my first month here, I had already made peace with the fact that I was going to be here for awhile. Everyday I grew more and more tired, as the knowledge became harder and harder to use in my daily life. One person can only read so much before they start trying to distract themselves with other activities, and after thirty years of reading books on subjects that I couldn't have even imagined weeks before, the only thing I would come up with was engaging with the other visitors to the library. \n\nI found myself steering people towards what they needed. Every night it seemed like one of the only two other people permitted would be totally overwhelmed with the classification system that categorized the books my subject, author, and year. Despite the access to the sum of humanity's knowledge lasting a full calendar year with no limitations such as the need for food, water, or sleep, I would still have to lead students to that one book their were sure they needed for their university class, or that one book they should have read 6 months ago. Even with a whole year with no possible distractions, it always seemed like these kids couldn't study without a guiding hand to keep them on track. So there I was. There to guide them to That Book they know would save their GPA, or to provide a authoritative glance over their shoulder to help keep their minds from wondering off. Nearly every night, I would spent that intervening year helping the young and the curious to learn and to better themselves. And reshelving the books when they were done, of course. \n\nAfter two years, or rather, 730 years, I have grown quite content in my role. I could only assume that most people, if not all, would eventually grow to hate such a job. But, then again, most people aren't chosen to be a librarian for the Library of All Books." ]	3
[WP]You are a robot designed using nanomachines to be theoretically immortal. After a cataclysmic event, you awake millions of years later to a world that is completely different from before.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Based on my observations and pre-existing databases, this is what is called ‘irony.’” I looked down to my companion. They stared back up with wide eyes, eager to hear what might be so ironic. \n\n“I have told you before, when we first met, the circumstances leading to my design and current status. It is ironic that though humanity was able to create a robot capable of surviving for an eon, they couldn’t save themselves. I wonder what my creators might say could they see this world now.”\n\nUndoubtedly some in the team would be quite proud of their achievements regardless, and others would mourn the loss of their own intellect. Hm, actually…\n\n“According to my processors, they would actually feel nothing because they are dead. Is that correct?” My quiet companion offered no response.\n\n“I see, you don’t know either. Ah, well. It is of no consequence now, separated as we are by the inexorable flow of time. They cannot offer me answers, and I cannot offer them solace.” I let my eyes wander off to the horizon, over the mountainous landscape I had awoken in. It was warm here from all the geothermic activity, but nothing my friend and I couldn’t handle.\n\nBesides, the warmth made it a decent place to search for life, far from the bitter cold further north and south. I had met with mild success – flora, but fauna continued to prove elusive. I suspected I might find some microorganisms, but microscopes were in short supply and my optic sensors were never built with such capabilities.\n\nThe current climate of Earth wasn’t suitable for anything approaching human life, however. Or, at least not humanity as I knew them to be. Perhaps if they had evolved and adapted to breathing the current atmosphere...it was possible.\n\n“It’s highly unlikely, however. How about you? Have you ever seen a human? They look like me but are made of softer materials.” It seemed a futile effort to explain the intricate chemical structures that composed a human to my friend. They already had a blank look in their eye, and I thought I had simplified the question plenty.\n\n“Like this?” I gestured at my limbs. “Very fleshy.”\n\nSilence was their only response, but that was good enough for me. They hadn’t seen one, then, and they’d been here a while. \n\n“It is best we be on our way, then. Do you require assistance?” Stalwart as always, but they couldn’t move on with me. I lifted my friend up into my arms and began our trek down the mountain.\n\n“I must admit I’m not really sure what to do.” Searching for signs of sapient life was the current priority, but I failed to find an objective beyond survival in my programming. \n\nWas this how humans felt up until their final days? Being given no objective, they had to find one on their own.\n\n“But at least I have you.” I looked down to my companion sitting in my palm, the two large eyes I had carved in the surface of the rock staring blankly above a large grin.\n\n“Yes, and you have me. Shall we continue on our way?”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n(Thanks for reading, C&C always welcome!)" ]	2
[WP] You are an adventurer from a fantasy land on a quest. Unfortunately, you die in a horse accident, but fortunately, the Goddess of Life gives you and a person from Earth a chance to live out what could have been each other's lives.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Becky and I were on our way, yet another day of wandering and completing simply tasks. This one was easy enough, transport a small package of medicine to a near by town. The towns folk were apparently too scared to travel over the old mountain ridge, rumored to be cursed by the old gods.\n\nAfter a rest and caring for Becky, I mounted her, and we went off. Becky was about as much company as you can get out of a horse. Regardless, I talked to her about nearly anything. She was my best friend and sometimes my therapist. The mountains didn't seem curses, we rode through them easily. The approach was a little treacherous for Becky but with some easing, she made it through. I appreciated the beauty of the mountains and told them as such. In honesty, was excited to travel leisurely through them again.\n\n4 days later we arrived on the out skirts of the Town of Granite. The smell of death was overwhelming as we passed by a mass grave in the woods. I unmounted Becky, walking her into town.\n\n\"I'm here for the doctor!\" I yelled, my voice echoed through the empty streets. \n\"Ain't we all.\" A grizzled man sitting on the stoop of a bar yelled back. \n\"Sir. I have medication from Lilyvine. I was sent here to deliver it.\" \n\"Ehh. I lead you to him, the doc.\" He grunted and shakily got to his feet. I followed him as he stumbled forward. \n\"You went through the mountains?\" \n\"Yes sir.\" \n\"Damn things are cursed.\" He chuckled. \n\"Well... Me and my stead make it here just fine.\" \n\"Making is here is the curse.\" \n\n\nWe wandered the streets a bit longer. I could hear coughing and sobbing coming from nearly every building. We started to get closer to what seemed to be sleeping people in the lawn of a building. \n\"Well... Little man, this is as far as I go.\" The drunkard said, \"That's the Doc's.\" \nI tied Becky to a near by tree and approached .As I got closer, it was painfully obvious that the yard was filled with the recently dead. Nurses ran around to the near-corpses on the front stoop. Moans and coughs were ever present. \n\"Excuse me, Sir!\" I waved at a nurse then pointed to my delivery. He glanced at me then at the package. In panic, he ran inside. The doctor and the nurse emerged shortly after.\n\n\"Ah! By the Heavens! Our Fruit as arrived.\" The Doctor boomed and ran over. He grabbed the bundle, unraveled it, revealing 5 pounds of red powder. \"You saved us, boy!\"\n\n\"What's left of you.\" I sighed, \"I wish I had come earlier or faster.\" \nThe doctor shrugged, \"What's done it done. Better now then never. Let me get the payment.\"He scrambled inside, hollering the for the nurses to follow him. \n\n\n A little while later, a nurse came out with a sack of coins and set me off. I left the doctors, looking for my dear Becky. She had, yet again, manage to wiggle free of my blasted knots. I found her not to far from where I had tied her up. I walked over to her, running my hands along her main. \n\"Hello little lady\" I whispered to her. \"Let's get going.\" I grabbed the saddle to pull myself up but it was as if I was pulling her on to me. All of a sudden, I was on the ground with her crushing my legs. I let out yelps and curses as her weight eased deeper into my bones. I could feel the blood pushing up from my legs into my chest.\"Beck...\" I wheezed, \"...Please... Baby girl..get..\" then I passed out.\n\nWhen I woke, I was in the mountains. They were peaceful... a type of calm and restfulness I had never experienced before. I felt the paths leading out of the mountains beckoning me away but I loved the mountains and refused to leave. I laid in the dirt watching the mountains kiss the clouded sky.\n\n\"Hello, little one.\" A voice rang through the cliff sides. I jumped a bit. \n \"Pardon. I didn't mean to spook you.\" \n\"Oh. No. I just don't remember when I last hear another voice.\" I whispered, scared of my own voice. \n\"It's been a while for sure. Usually people that die in Granite or Lilyvine move on, some take longer then other but eventually... they do move on.\" \n\"Move on to where?\" \n\"Where ever they are meant to be. It's nice that you stayed. Thank you for that... I've enjoyed your company immensely.\" The mountain whispered back to me. \n\"I want to stay. It's nice here.\" I sighed, \"Do I have to leave?\" \n\"You are suppose to move on...Hmmm... well... I suppose you could just come back later. It doesn't have to be your time yet.\" \n\"I'd like that.\" \n\"I can't put you back exactly... but I'll do my best.\" \nWait...\" I said as a heaviness filled my body, \"What does that mean?\" I turned to dirt and nothingness and everything. I felt rivers and rocks and wind coursing through me, then it was still. \n\n\nI opened my eyes to the town of Granite's doctor leaning over me, ladling red goo into my mouth. I gagged the medicine down. It flooded back to me. Becky had clasped. \"Where's becks?\" As soon as I spoke, my voice was shrill and unfamiliar. I slapped my hands over my mouth, noticing how soft they were. \"The fuck.\" I mumbled. There wasn't time for that. Becky was hurt. I stood, nearly crumbly, then lurked forward. \n\"Soso, you've been in bed for weeks. Please. Take it easy.\" The doctor said with a sickeningly sweet tenderness. I slapped him away, half running half stumbling out of the infirmary.\n\nI went to the backside of the infirmary. The doctor and nurses chasing me. Becky lay in the dirt. I ran over to her, quickly realizing there was a person trapped under her.... me... I was trapped under her.\n\n\"What the fuck.\" I yelled, flinching at my voice again. I ran over digging my own body out from under to Becky. Soon, I felt the doctor next to me, helping me dig. The nurses pulling the bodies torso as we worked on freeing it. \n\"Heavens. He's still alive.\" The doctor shouted. \"The horse must of gotten The Wind.\" \n\"What the fuck does that mean?\" I pulled free the legs, pulling the body out. \n\"The illness. The one you have... had.\" \nThe nurses laid the body next to the horse, assessing the damage. \n\"Can you help her?\" I felt tears coming as I stared at Becky. I felt Becky's chest rise and fall gently but shallowly. \n\"I have to help the boy.\" the doctor snapped back. \nI softly reached for his hand, \"Please. She's... important.\" \nHe sighed, \"Lewis! You take care of the boy.\" \n\"Yes sir!\" One of the nurses responded. \nThe doctor started to assess Becky and treating her with the same red goo. \nI buried my face into her main, trying to hide my tears. \n\"ummm... she'll be okay... Soso?\" The doctor hesitated. \"Soso.\" He said again, touching the small of my back.I jumped, reeling back from him. \n\"Soso... how'd you know this horse was here?\" \n\"Who the fuck is soso.\" I snapped. \nThe Doctor furled his brow, distress filled his face, \"My love, you are.\"", "I remember a flash of pain, and then nothing, only darkness and a quickly fading sense of consciousness. This was how I was going to die. After all of the quests I’ve completed, the people I’ve helped, the beasts I’ve slain, I was going to be done in by my own idiot horse, who had been spooked by what must have been a sketchy-looking leaf on the wind. I suppose I’ve had my share of accomplishments, and even though I was still young, I’d survived more than most people had. I was ready for my well-earned rest.\n\n\r \nThe silence lasted only a few, brief moments before sounds of shouting and a chorus of gods-awful screeching jarred me back to myself. Without even opening my eyes, I knew something had gone terribly wrong. The scent of spring and horse sweat was gone, the gusts of wind a faint memory. Why was everyone shouting? And would someone please shut that stupid, screeching thing up!\n\n\r \nI dared to crack my eyes open, just for a glimpse of my surroundings. There was a strange fabric beneath me instead of grass and dirt, and what little I could see was completely unfamiliar. A figure stood above me, human as far as I could tell, and she looked relieved. That made one of us. My attempt to speak, to demand an explanation, was a complete failure, but the woman made a gesture for me to hush. Fine, I was too sore and too exhausted to try again.\n\n\r \n“You really scared us for a moment,” she said. What a strange accent! “Don’t worry, Miss O’Donnell. We’ll have you back on your feet in no time.” \n\n\r \nThat wasn’t my name. I lacked the energy to respond, and the sweet relief of sleep claimed me once again." ]	3
[WP] The future is depressing, there is an expensive computer to immortalize your consciousness, and people are going to the newly discovered paradise in masses, you too do it but what you find is not what you expected. You escape only to find that no one believes you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "A young man sat across the table with his aunt, who was coincidentally his godmother too. He had invited himself over for a cup of coffee. His true goal was slightly more ambitious, or sinister depending on your point of view.\n\nThe young man had placed his hand on his black box, almost unconsciously. The black box contained the necessary wetware to connect to the Endless - a synthetic, digital paradise where people could send their consciousness. He found it more and more difficult nowadays to go anywhere without his box. Especially after his latest \"escape\" from the Endless.\n\n\"I wish you wouldn't spend so much time with that thing\", his aunt told him as she sipped her coffee. \"I wouldn't want you to become like one of those people.\" She referred to those people that had chosen to permanently upload their consciousness. In fact many people had, as the future outlook of the world was increasingly bleak. Their bodies were declared dead and all rights associated with personhood transferred to the now digitized consciousnesses. \n\n\"It's all real\", he replied, with a slight stutter. With all the thoughts in his head he found it difficult to form proper sentences without specifically focusing on it. It was weird in a sense - he remembered a time when he had been able to hold free flowing conversations. Now even a few words seemed almost beyond his grasp. \"What do you mean?\" she asked.\n\n\"The worlds in the Endless. The paradise. It's all real. It's not synthetic, it's not digital. They are real places. The people who built the black boxes stumbled upon something and they use the boxes to connect us to those places. I don't know how they did it, I just know that they did it. It's all real, and nobody knows about it, and if I tell anybody they all think I'm crazy.\" The aunt considered this for a moment.\n\n\"It can't be real\", she said. \"I know this because if you break the box the consciousness dies. If you're only partially connected, the consciousness is forced back to the body via a failsafe. But if those other worlds are real, why should what happens to you there be in any way dependent on what happens to the box in reality - this reality?\"\n\nThe young man did a nasty grimace. \"I can't explain it to you because you've never gone.\" \"Try me.\" The young man sighed. This was going to be extremely draining to put into words. \n\n\"When you go into the Endless, it's like anything you can imagine becomes reality. You just have to force yourself to focus on it, to will it into happening. But it doesn't happen like a slow change, I can't just think that something should float in the air and expect it to happen. It's more like you are transported to a different place where what you imagined was happening.\"\n\n\"It was during one of these transports that I stumbled upon something that didn't make sense. My mind was tired and wandering after a long session, but I was not yet ready to call it quits. Sometimes strange things happen when you're tired. I came upon a replica of this house, this table, this black box, this coffee, and you, dear aunt.\"\n\n\"You were sitting with me at this table, drinking this coffee, telling me how I should stop using the box. And just like what's happening right now, I told you the Endless was real, and you refused to believe me.\" \"So what?\" asked the aunt. \"That doesn't prove anything.\"\n\n\"But don't you see, aunt? The replica of you didn't believe the Endless was real, but she was already in the Endless. She didn't know it, she couldn't grasp it, but I knew it to be true with every inch of my body.\" \"You're being silly. I'm not in the Endless, I'm not something you just dreamed up because you were tired. You're being very rude right now.\"\n\n\"And nothing I told that aunt - the replica you - could change her mind. But I KNEW. That's what I meant when I said that I couldn't explain it to you because you've never gone. So let me ask you instead, dear aunt - how do you know you're not in the Endless right now?\" \"That's absurd. I've lived my whole life here and never gone into the box. The boxes were made in this world and there was a time when they didn't exist. What more proof could you need that this is really reality?\"\n\n\"And yet I've visited several worlds in the Endless, many whom believed as you believe - that they were the original black box creators. But I, being connected to the Endless already, knew it wasn't so. And I've had this conversation with you before, many times before.\" \"If that's true, why are you talking to me about it? What's the point of reiterating the same conversation over and over? You know I'm not going to change my mind - because I'm right, obviously.\" She shook her head. \"I think you're crazy\", she said. \"Like so many do - but if I'm right it would be crazy to stay.\"\n\n\"When I realized that the Endless worlds were truly real, it was inevitable that I would come to the conclusion that my original world wasn't particularly meaningful. Perhaps someone just dreamed me up to begin with - or maybe I was born in a world someone dreamed up. But my original world didn't actually matter - it wasn't more significant to me in any way as long as I had the black box. Except you, dear aunt. You always cared for me and I love you for it.\"\n\n\"You're here to say goodbye, aren't you?\" \"Yes.\" She began to say something choked up for a second and had to catch her breath. \"Where will you go?\" \"As far out into the Endless as is possible - and further still. And I am never, ever coming back.\" He would become one of those people, she understood now. \"I'll miss you, boy\", she said. \"But you don't have to\", he replied.\n\n\"You can always find me in the Endless. If you can bring yourself to using the box. If this world is truly real, then you should be able to make your own decisions, not how you were imagined, but what you yourself want.\" She started to grumble, but the man had achieved what he set out to do. \n\nHe pressed the button on the black box and went deeper." ]	2
[WP] The local superhero is also secretly the head of the most influential crime family. He sees it as a necessary evil - controlling or outcompeting the crime he can't stop.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "—April 27th, even this close to midnight the streets are still crowded, filled with even more buzz and bustle now that the less savory elements are free to roam shrouded in a cloak of darkness think and murky enough to conceal their actions. \r \n\r \nI’m right there with them, waiting in the shadows, watching from the dark. Power hates a vacuum, especially in such a big city. Even before I took down Marquez Ortez, the notorious crime boss, I knew someone would have to take his place.\r \n\r \nSo why shouldn't it have been me? For nearly two years now I’ve been operating on both sides of the isle, moonlighting as the head of a crime family while maintaining my image as the city's protector. \r \n\r \nSometimes it feels like I’m moonlighting as a hero doing more harm than good. But it's a necessary evil, I never claimed to be a hero.\r \n\r \nStanding on the rooftop of a decanting abandoned warehouse drenched in the rain and surrounded by the thick foggy darkness, I waited and watched as the drug buy I’d spent weeks setting up went down, knowing full well that I was just about to put a stop to it. \r \n\r \nTwo back SUVs pulled into the parking lot, their headlight glinting off the puddles of rainwater before stopping in front of the loading dock and honking twice. \r \n\r \nA gaggle of ten men, four in one car and six in the other stepped out of their vehicles wearing street clothes and wielding automatic weapons.\r \n\r \nThe men took their positions putting on full display just how much manpower they had, making it clear how bad of an idea it was to mess with them. \r \n\r \nSix of the men waited by the cars while another two walked to the middle of the parking lot and the last two drivers remained in their seats with the engines running and with their fingers on the trigger. \r \n \r \nOne of the men walking forward carried an awful lot of my money in a black duffle bag. Money, that If things went to plan, would soon be safe in the police lockup hopefully putting me back into good graces with my contact at the PD, and getting her off my back for the time being. \r \n\r \nI didn't see it as a loss, more as an investment, a small price to pay to get these drugs off the streets and to put a little bit of fear into the hearts and minds of the rival gangs and thugs dumb enough to operate in my hunting grounds.\r \n\r \nI watched patiently as eleven members of the eighth street gang stepped out of the warehouse and into the rain, armed with an absurd amount of firepower. \r \n\r \nTwenty-one targets to take out. I thought, they’re gonna be a rough night. \r \n\r \n“Look at what we got here!” one of the thugs, one of my men, said stepping into the middle of the two gangs. “I thought the Morette boys were still too scared to come out at night, too afraid of the shadows!” \r \n\r \n“If that freak thinks he can mess with us, he’s got another thing coming! We got more than enough to handle him!” another thug replied tapping on the magazine of his illegal modified automatic weapon. “Let’s get on with this, are we here to share ghost stories or to do business!?”\r \n\r \n“Alright! Alright Keep your shirt on!” the first thug jabbed. “We got the cash if you got the product.”— He gestured to the thug carrying the bag of money \r \n\r \nWith that, all the bad actors had taken their places at center stage. It was showtime! \r \n\r \nI leaped from the ceiling tossing half a dozen MFD’s which magnetized onto the majority of the thug's guns preventing them from firing. By the time I’d landed on top of one of the thugs knocking him out cold, most of the thighs were already in a state of panic. \r \n\r \n“It’s The Shadow!” one of the thugs yelled frantically trying his best to unjam his rifle and take a shot at me.\r \n\r \nI took the gun from his hand and used it to strike him across the face knocking him to the ground.\r \n\r \nTwo down, nineteen to go!", "(1/2)\n\nI don't think I'm a villain.\n\nLike, yes. I totally get it. No one has the common decency to realize that they're the bad guy until it's way too late, and the ink is drying in the history books. I've been in this business long enough to see plenty of people just trying to do the right thing taking their turn on the bad-guy-go-round. I'm not so conceited that I think it's impossible that's what's going on here, and I'm not so dumb that I don't realize how bad this looks from the outside. Dangling a kid out a window, obnoxious or not, just isn't great optics, and any kind of trying to justify it, even in your head, as being for \"The Greater Good\" sounds an awful lot like a villain thing. Still, I like to think I have enough introspection that, knowing these things like I do, I could recognize the signs that maybe I've gone a bit far down the wrong path.\n\n\"I'll never give up, Shadowman! You'll have to kill me!\" The kid was struggling and kicking against my grip, which seemed really frickin' dumb since I was the only thing keeping him from falling something to the tune of seven stories to the pavement below. Kinda damn annoying that I saved him from getting shot by like ten guys, and throwing himself to his own dumb death, and all I'm getting for my trouble is a bunch of bruises-to-be in size 7. Plus, I absolutely hated the Shadowman name. Almost as bad as- \"Captain Everywhere will definitely stop you!\"\n\nWell, that was more than enough of that! I let go of the kid's leg and let him drop.\n\n...Not, y'know, to his death because that would be awful. Just into a portal a bit lower than the window. Maybe I put the portal's exit a little higher than I had to? Just enough that the fall would smart a bit. But in my defense, the kid was being an absolute little shit.\n\nI turned to face the goons. They all had lowered their guns and were looking away from me except one. Ted? Tim? Tom? Definitely something that started with a T. \"Should we send someone to clean up the mess, boss?\"\n\nI let the question hang in the air, and the goons froze as I stalked back over to my desk and sank into my chair. \"No,\" Which was the obvious answer, because if they did, they'd see there was no body, and the game would be up. \"Let it stay there for now. As a warning.\" Which meant sometime before the end of the night I'd need to figure out something to keep the charade going, but that was a future-me problem. An hour-in-the-future me problem, but a future me problem nonetheless. For the moment, this was the first time in something like twenty hours I had been off my feet, and I was going to take some time to myself to enjoy it.\n\nIt was maybe five minutes of the eleven of us in the room just sitting there in perfect silence, me enjoying my comfy chair, them frozen, afraid to break the silence, when Tedtimtom cleared his throat. Guy was absolutely on a roll tonight for speaking up when things were awkward - if he kept it up, I might even have to remember his name. \"Boss? What do you want us to do?\"\n\n\"You were all here to report on your territories, yeah? That hasn't changed. Report.\"\n\nA wave of relief flooded the room and the tension drained entirely as they realized I wasn't going to pull a 'you-have-failed-me-for-the-last-time' for letting a totally unpowered kid run amok in the headquarters.\n\nI steepled my hands together as contemplatively as I could manage, did my best to make myself look like I was paying attention as they droned on with a bunch of numbers I couldn't be assed to care about right now, and let the black mask hide my closed eyes as I rested them. Just for a bit.\n\nHow the hell did things end up like this?\n\nIt started out innocuous enough. I go out, use my powers to beat up some bad guys. People are happy because they're seeing the streets getting cleaned up, people are happy, everyone feels good.\n\nBut the months dragged on, and I'm beating up the same punks, night after night. A journalist catches up to me one night and asks if I have anything to say about the fact that the crime numbers haven't dropped at all since I've started. Asks about my feelings on the theories that my whole-ass existence is just a political stunt to distract the city from how bad things are in support of some politicians. And it's like, I'm out here every goddamn night for four to eight hours like it's a second job and you're saying it's a stunt?\n\nSo yeah, that got me a little in my feelings, but it also got me legitimately thinking. I start doing some research, and find out that despite the positive effect on public opinion, something to the tune of 50% of henchmen and 95% of all villains caught by superheroes are back out on the street in days, sometimes even hours! Due process issues, mostly. Evidence ruled out as results of illegal searches, arrests made on nothing substantial, so on and so forth.\n\nSo I start working a little more closely to the police to make sure things are done the right thing. We get more low level guys, but it gets even harder to get the big fish. I start cutting deals with the little guys on the down-low to get info on the big guys. But even when I get a big guy, another group immediately fills in the power gap, or worse, everyone goes to ground and the networks of informants I spend months on are suddenly totally useless.\n\nIt was the third time my whole information network became useless that I realized things probably went a lot more smoothly for the guys in charge of the gangs. So I decided to just cut to the heart of things, used my powers to dump a crime boss I had butt heads with a few times on some island with no civilization, then I took over his group.\n\nThat was probably the hardest part. When your power is making portals, that's a kind of recognizable thing. So I had to go with this whole thing renting out a refrigerated warehouse, doing a bunch of things to make it spooky, and pretending in my new, villainesque alter ego, to have access to a 'Shadow Realm' that I travelled through or threw people into or whatever. But it worked, and people bought into this Shadowman guy running the show.", "# Bargain Bin Superheroes\n\n(Arc 6, Part 2: Tupperman v.s. The Crimes of Sacrament)\n\n(Note: Bargain Bin Superheroes is episodic; each part is self-contained. This story can be enjoyed without reading the previous sections.)\n\nSuperheroes saved the day; Tupperman saved the night. While powerhouses like Mare and Big Guns fought in aerial clashes, or politicians like Clara tried to whip the government into shape, Tupperman was more of a boots-on-the-ground type of guy. In the chaos that had followed the removal of its mayor, Tupperman's hometown of Sacrament had fallen into infighting and civil war. And sure, other people were playing their part to keep the city together, Tupperman couldn't deny that. But his job was just as important as those who fought in the light.\n\nHe dealt with a hundred petty villains so the real heroes could focus on the fights that mattered.\n\n\"I found Dreamcatch,\" Detective Ikzeri said, tossing a single photo onto Tupperman's desk. It showed a single blurry frame of a man who could have blended in at any baseball game walking down the street. \"Whatever the hell Electroweb did when Mare took her down has been playing havoc with the surveillance systems, but I managed to retrieve a few traffic cams.\"\n\n\"Mm. Send her an invitation,\" Tupperman said. \"There are plenty of criminals who could use a good nightmare or two to scare them straight—I'd pay her out of pocket to do that instead of driving her ex instead.\" Tupperman drummed his fingers, idly manifesting and demanifesting a plastic Tupperware box. His ability to summon Tupperware from nothing wasn't the flashiest of powers, but in a city struck by chaos and cut off from the global supply chains, even things as simple as \"something to hold my food in\" was in high demand. He had enough funds to sway a few key supervillains to work under him instead of against him.\n\n\"Already sent the invite,\" Ikzeri said.\n\nTupperman frowned. \"Who'd you send? We're low on capable operators.\"\n\n\"I sent Awe,\" Ikzeri replied.\n\nTupperman rubbed his forehead. \"The kid? Hasn't she been through enough?\"\n\n\"She wanted to help, and she's got the powers to do it,\" Ikzeri shot back. \"Believe me, if we were keeping second-rate heroes off the front lines, I'd be kicking you to the bench faster than you could say 'Tupperware.' We need all hands on deck right now. Besides...\" Ikzeri hesitated, then reluctantly said, \"She feels like she let Clara down. I'm not going to get in her way.\"\n\nClara. The ex-mayor of Sacrament, the only person who had been holding this catastrophe of a city together—until she'd gotten on the wrong side of the government and vanished. Tupperman was pretty sure he'd caught her trail on social media, of all things, but it didn't actually give him a way to physically find her.\n\nWhich was why he was doing everything he could to save Sacrament. Clara would need a functional city to return to, after all.\n\n\"Awe's not the only one who let Clara down,\" Tupperman said. \"Call her back.\"\n\nIkzeri frowned. \"So, what, you're just going to let Dreamcatch go?\"\n\nTupperman shook his head, holding out a hand, and a hovering Tupperware lid the size of a skateboard materialized in the air. \"No. I may not be the strongest hero in town, but I'm not letting a kid do my dirty work for me.\" He hopped onto the lid. \"I'm dealing with Dreamcatch myself.\"\n\nThen he leapt out the window and shot into the sky, a trail of Tupperware falling behind him.\n\nA.N.\n\nFirst post in months, hopefully it's still okay!\n\n\"Bargain Bin Superheroes\" is an episodic story where each part is inspired by a writing prompt that catches my eye. Check out [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/bubblewriters/comments/mhzat1/bargin_bin_superheroes_masterpost/) for the rest of the story, and subscribe to r/bubblewriters for more. If you have any feedback, please leave it below. As always, I had fun writing this, and I hope you have a good day.", "A gang war lurked in the near future.\n\nIt wasn't something any of us wanted. Our hand was forced. The other families had slowly encroached on our turf and their methods were a lot more ruthless than ours. Where we smuggled and blackmailed, they stole and kidnapped to get what they desired. Doing nothing would just let the city fall into chaos. Still, in the back of my head, I only wondered one thing:\n\nIs this really the only way?\n\nThe streets would run with blood when everything escalated. I would have my work cut out for me on both ends of my identity. The superhero would be busy saving folk caught in the crossfire, while the mob boss would have to manage a war from the shadows.\n\nIt was the inevitable outcome of living two lives. I first started my escapades as a way to rebel against my family. They were everything I hated about our city. Greedy, spoiled and, above all else, cruel. \n\nMy attitude only changed after my father was murdered in a meeting between crimelords. He got killed because of my intervention. In my young naiveté, I tried to catch them red-handed, thinking it would stop all crime in the city. \n\nThe ensuing shootout ended with my father dying in my arms. He didn't have super-strength or invulnerability, like me. He had cursed my hero persona up until the moment I took off my mask. His disappointed face, pained by my betrayal, would haunt me for the rest of my life. \n\nThe next day, I was named head of the family, and nobody figured out what had actually happened. \n\nFrom then on, I worked hard on turning our business into a legitimate one, using our ill-gotten wealth to invest back into the city. \n\nThe family didn't like it at first. They couldn't think beyond short-term gains, but I managed to convince them by showing that good PR worked wonders for both the Yakuza and the Colombian cartel. \n\nIf the citizens were on your side, the government would have a difficult time taking you down. It's something I learned as a superhero. I was technically a masked vigilante, but the people I saved never ratted me out, and the community always did its best to protect me. The same would apply to my family if we did our best to contribute.\n\nAnd it worked. \n\nFor a decade, our side of the city started to prosper. The community looked the other way on our shady dealings, and we squashed any low-level crime in our turf. Nobody operated there without our permission. The family grew in status to the point where we basically ran the town. They still hated my superhero persona, blaming me for my father's death, but they never suspected my true identity considering I was leading them well.\n\nAs a superhero, I only focused on the other families since they still resorted to violent tactics. The other crimelords, however, didn't like that. This had the side effect of forcing them to escalate. They even started hiring supervillains to do their work. Eventually, it became too much for me to handle on my own, and our city was on the brink of a horrible conflict.\n\nThings only got worse when I heard that someone was using children to sell drugs on our territory. I didn't even know how it got to that point. The other families knew it would start the war. Not only were they operating without our permission, they were breaking one of my biggest rules. Minors don't belong in the game. I had been very adamant about that.\n\nBusting their operation wasn't hard. I knew the city like the back of my hand. The fact that it happened in our turf meant that I could find them with my eyes closed. \n\nI broke into their warehouse, disarmed all the henchmen, and found their stash with little effort. Everything seemed to be going well until I heard a familiar voice say:\n\n\"Pete... It really is you, isn't it?\"\n\nI froze in horror. It was my cousin Robbie. I turned around to see he wasn't armed, not that it would help him. \"You're mistaken,\" I said through my voice modulator. \"Surrender now or face the consequences.\"\n\n\"Come on,\" said Robbie, \"drop the act. I'm the one who told you about this operation. The only people who knew about it are you, me, and cousin Mel. Considering you have a man's build, odds are low it's her under the mask.\"\n\nI stayed quiet.\n\n\"Still denying it?\" Robbie widened his arms, exposing his chest. \"Go on then. Hit me. Throw me in prison. See how it works out for the family.\"\n\nI clenched my fist. It would be so easy but... \n\nRobbie was the closet thing I had to an older brother. He always took care of me when I needed him. More than that, he was our family's second-in-command. If the authorities caught him and he decided to talk, everyone would surely be jailed.\n\n\"How...\" I demanded. \"How did you know?\"\n\n\"Everyone overlooked it, but you never went after our business. It's something I always found odd. The rest of the family simply assumed you were our enemy after what happened to your father and never wondered why we weren't targeted. Is that why you killed him? To take over in his place?\"\n\nI could barely contain my anger. \"Tread lightly.\"\n\n\"Hey, I'm not criticizing, if anything, I'm impressed you had the balls to do it.\"\n\n\"That's not what happened! It was an accident! I was a kid. I didn't know...\"\n\nRobbie shrugged. \"How disappointing. Then again, it's totally you.\"\n\n\"Why are you doing this?\"\n\n\"Because I'm tired. The way you've handled our family, making us look like weak-minded bleeding hearts, is disgusting. Playing second fiddle to you is simply humiliating. Every gang in the city is targeting us because they think we're wimps. Avoiding war, not hiring supervillains, giving away our money. That's why I'm taking the initiative. I'll hit 'em with everything we've got before they gather their forces.\"\n\n\"That's... ridiculous.\"\n\n\"It doesn't matter what you think. Here's the deal. Hand over control of the family, and your secret stays safe with me.\"\n\nI scoffed.\n\n\"This isn't a joke!\" Robbie scowled, gritting his teeth. \"You will lose everything. The public will loathe you and the family will want you dead. Play along and you can keep both. That's what you wanted, right? To not lose either?\"\n\nI looked away. Robbie had a point. It was all my fault. In my misguided efforts to hold on to everything I loved, I created a scenario where everyone would suffer. This was a much needed slap to the face that woke me up from my hypocrisy. Deep down, I always knew I would have to choose between my two lives. That moment was now. I took a step forward, saying:\n\n\"This won't turn out how you think.\"\n\nRobbie didn't waver from his smug grin. \"It already has. We both know you won't hurt me.\"\n\nI shook my head. \"That's your mistake. You assume that, because I choose not to kill, then I'm not capable of doing it. That anyone who chooses to be kind is doing so out of weakness, not strength.\"\n\n\"H-hey Pete, calm down. If you really want-\"\n\nI punched him in the face, exploding his head. I'd never felt a bigger pain in my life, but it had to be done. Robbie wouldn't have stopped at simple blackmail. He would've forced me to do his dirty work if I let him have any leverage over me. \n\nRobbie couldn't have done this without the support of other family members, which meant that they were breaking my rules under my nose. It quickly became apparent that the family had no interest in growing out of crime. They would keep undermining me and provoking a war until things got out of hand. \n\nFrom that day on, I was no longer a mob boss. Instead of letting my family destroy the city, I would wage a war on all crime, equally. \n\n\n---------\n\nIf you enjoyed this, check out /r/WeirdEmoKidStories for more. Thanks for reading!", "Toru stood at the top of the ancient lighthouse, hands firm on the rail, and stared out into the inky black sea. Once upon a time — long before Toru’s time — this place had safely guided lost ships past jagged rocks. Now the light was gone. It had been for a long time. The gusty air stunk of dead fish and salt. The moon looked like a silver razor blade hanging high above him, a blade that at any moment might fall. Like the sword of Damocle, thought Toru.\n\nIf only it would fall, he thought.\n\nThe door behind him creaked open. A young woman in a pink hoody and black jeans stepped out of the room and into the wind.\n\n”Hey,” she said, standing next to him. “Shit, it’s cold out here.” She took out a box of Hope cigarettes and offered one to Toru.\n\n“I don’t smoke anymore,” he said.\n\n“Oh yeah, I forgot. Swapped one bad habit for another, huh?”\n\nHe didn’t reply.\n\nShe shrugged and lit a match, cupping the flame in her hand so the breeze didn’t steal it. She took a long drag, then blew the smoke out over the side of the lighthouse; it drifted along like a reluctant spirit.\n\n”I heard you had a reporter killed,” said the woman.\n\n”I could do with a drink,” he said.\n\n”I bet you could do with a whole bottle. You look like you’re falling apart. You look like shit.”\n\n”I’m not the guy I was, that’s for certain. Not these days.”\n\n”Who is the same person they once were, right? Everyday we change. We wake up thinking we’re the same person and it’s a new day, but the truth is we’re a slightly different person. But that’s good, I think. It means each day really is different. Internally and externally.”\n\nThey stood silent as she smoked. They watched waves crash onto the rocks below, the water splitting them in two, then the tide inhaling the broken waves and the ocean healing them once more. If only it were so easy, thought Toru.\n\n”So that reporter?” she said, lighting another smoke.\n\n”She figured things out,” said Toru. “That I’ve been doing some messed up shit.” He looked at the woman, caught her eyes. “She figured out who was running this whole business. And worst of all, she figured out who I used to be.”\n\n“What a mess,” said the woman.\n\n”That’s one way of putting it. How did it get this far?”\n\nThe lighthouse had been Toru’s hideout as a superhero, many years prior. The woman, once a superhero too, had formed a team with him, almost a decade ago. They’d become a duo and used this as their base of operations.\n\nNow the lighthouse had turned into a mafia base where Toru gave his orders for extortion and murder and torture.\n\n“It’d seemed the only way,” said Toru.\n\n“Huh? You mean all this?”\n\n”Yeah. This. Being a hero wasn’t enough. I needed an army to even the playing field.“\n\n”Well, you did that. You’re still doing that.” The woman turned to him. ”I don’t think there’s any room for more crime with you around. You’ve got a monopoly on it now.”\n\nHe nodded, his cheeks red. ”It got out of hand fast. That’s all. To start with, we really were stopping crime. My people took down the most dangerous thugs and lowlifes in the city. But we were on a knife-blade even then, we just didn’t know it. And when we killed the first innocent person…”\n\n”Easy to justify,” she said. “You were doing so much good and these people who got in your way, they would have stopped it all. Right? Might have gone to the press.”\n\nHe nodded again. “It’s so tangled now. Right and wrong. Good and bad. It’s become a Gordian knot and I don’t know how to undo it. And even if I could undo it, I don’t know which end of the thread had once been good and which had been bad.”\n\nThey were silent again. Not watching the waves but each other.\n\nToru thought of when they’d first met. He’d been playing baseball — no one could swing a bat like him. The power he got in his swing was unbelievable. He could have taken a head off with a swing — and later he did so, on multiple occasions. But back then, he’d loved the game itself. Swinging and hitting and releasing all the frustrated power that had built up inside him.\n\nNo one had ever caught a ball he’d connected with. No one ever tried. The ball might have torn a tunnel through their hands and guts.\n\nHe’d played with machines, to be safe. He’d aim the ball towards the sea.\n\nThen one day, this woman had caught a ball he’d hit. She’d been watching him practice. He’d hit, she’d suddenly burst into a run. She’d become a smudge of paint as she’d run. An echo of colors. So fast…\n\nShe’d caught it with ease. Had run two miles and been waiting for it to descend. Then she’d run back to him. “Out!”\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThey’d started off stopping small crimes together. He’d been doing it for a while already — roaming alleys late at night. Now they tried together, him with a baseball bat, her barefoot (she burned through shoes almost instantly when she ran). One weekend they’d created each other’s costumes. He’d given her a cloak with a falcon on it; she’d given him a mask that looked like a baseball glove. They weren’t very good at designing costumes but they both loved what they’d been given.\n\nAnd that love grew. Consumed them both. They became closer than a duo. Almost like a single entity, like they shared a heart.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“I miss what we were,” he said. “I’d give it all to go back to it.”\n\nShe let out another puff of smoke. “Life takes us forward and we must go forward with it.”\n\n“I went too far forward.“\n\nShe shrugged. “Then give yourself in. Or, here’s a crazy idea, instead of giving in, make a difference. Use your gifts the right way.“\n\nA breeze took the smoke as it left her mouth, drifted it back over her like a cloak.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nIt had been a fluke bullet that had killed her. Aimed at someone else but she’d sped into it.\n\nIt had been an attempted gangland killing. One of many that day. No matter how many streets they patrolled together, the two of them couldn’t stop crime altogether.\n\nIn a way, it’d been his heart destroyed too. But it was only her physically dead.\n\nHe’d spent a year in the lighthouse after that. What was the point trying to stop crime, now? He’d lost everything that mattered. Besides, there was no way that he could stop it all — not alone. Ridding the city of crime by himself would have been like trying to empty an ocean with a cup.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“They’ve taken everything from me,” he said.\n\n”Then you make new things. And you love those things as fiercely as the old, and you protect them as fiercely.“\n\nThe breeze took the smoke and drifted it out in the night, beyond the lighthouse. It drifted through rays of moonlight before dispersing into nothing.\n\n”I miss you,” he said. Then, “I love you.”\n\nBut of course, he was alone, as he always had been, on the railing at the top of the lighthouse.\n\nHe looked out at the sea again. Closed his eyes.\n\nHe imagined a tiny boat out there, being battered by the waves, forced towards the rocks. The sailor struggling desperately against the tide and waves and wind. Alone. And in this absolute darkness, as the rain lashed down, how could the sailor see the rocks?\n\nThe tide dragged him closer. The sailor swore that if he got out of this he’d first kiss the ground and then he’d find religion. Or spirituality. He’d find a reason for living — because he knew he had one. He knew, right now, that he was terrified of dying, so he had to have a reason, if only he could find it.\n\nThen the lighthouse light flickered, returning to life for the first time in many years. Its wide yellow beam sliced through the blackness of the sea, lighting up the rocks that thrust up like icebergs.\n\nIn the light, the sailor thought he could see a route through the rocks. Not an easy route. A slender chance of making it, if any at all. \n\nBut still, it was a chance.", "Everyone knew where Pool Shark spent his days: Swank's was the only pub within a few block radius of Shark's home. And everyone knew why he spent his days there: the wheelchair was an obvious tell. That was to say he wasn't a threat or dangerous to the criminals who might want to do his section of town dirty. Between his powers -- an unerring power shot when using a cue no matter the distance or weird geometry -- and his gang of Sharks, folks knew not to mess in Shark's territory.\n\nWhich was why Spinster (it was a dumb name, but junior heroes without much bank didn't get a lot of choices) was surprised to find some baby gangers on the edge of Shark's territory. He was even more surprised when chasing said gangers had led him to being thrown at Shark's feet, in what was presumably Swank's basement, based on the crates and shelves of alcohol.\n\nSpin sat himself up slowly. \"Why'd you do it, Shark?\"\n\n\"Do what, young blood? Let's hear what you think you're accusing me of.\" Shark smiled, his teeth gleaming in the low light of the basement. It was hard to focus on anything else as Shark's dark vest and darker shirt blended with the unlit brick behind him.\n\n\"Betray the Companions.\" Spin waved a hand at the assorted Sharks that had dragged him off to this room when he had chased the baby gangers back to their apparent base. The back of his head throbbed from the bat he had taken. \"You know Excelsior won'tstand for--\"\n\n\"Excelsior knows.\"\n\n\"What?\"Shark pulled a cue ball from a bag on the side of his chair and rolled it in his hand. \"It's hard being a lone hero. Especially when you don't look like a 'real' hero. Cain't be too dark, now can we?\"\n\n\"Doesn't matter. What matters is doing what's right,\" Spin declared. But he knew how his application to the larger branches of the Companions languished while others moved on more quickly. He'd wondered... but wondering didn't fix things, and he had his daughter to think about too.\n\n\"Of course, of course. But what's right and what's efficient don't always work. And what fixes the problem,\" Shark tossed the cue ball at Spin, nodding when the younger man caught it with barely a flinch, \"may be right for being a workable solution.\"\n\n\"But you're helping criminals!\"\n\n\"Training new Sharks. My boys know the neighborhood better than I do at this point. They can keep the trouble low, make it hard to move in when there's already business here. A total void is hard to maintain, particularly with legs like mine. They have the small rumbles while I can focus on bigger trouble that might move in.\"\n\n\"But --\"\n\n\"Look, young blood, I know it's a lot. But I like you. And new Sharks aren't the only thing I need to train.\" Shark nodded to his men, who hauled Spin to his feet. He patted the younger man on the arm as he wheeled past. “So what say you forget you saw this place tonight, and you and me meet publicly topside in a few days? You can come costumed, but it might be better if you come civilian and bring that daughter of yours. Keep it all in the family, if you will.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n(Edit because formatting went weird)" ]	7
[WP] Everyone is assigned a guardian angel, but due to population rise, more magical creatures have been added to the ranks. You are assigned a guardian gremlin	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "(not exactly what your looking for but i loved the premise and i'm bored at work lol)\n\n“I don’t understand what’s going on but whatever it is, it has been going on my whole life. Its unexplainable,” the young man said to the reporter. The reporter shifted uncomfortably in his seat; this was supposed to be a fluff piece on an unbelievable lucky man. Now there was a revolver on the table and the young man was chain smoking.\n\n“Why…why don’t we start at the beginning. When did you first realize something was going on?” the reporter suggested.\n\nThe young man took a drag from his cigarette and began. “The first time I remember it happening I was four. I was doing what young kids do and messing around with everything. I flipped the switch to the garbage disposal and got a kick out of the sound it made. I dropped my G.I. Joe down into disposal and, not knowing any better, reached my hand down to retrieve it. Just then the motor burned out. As a kid I didn’t think anything of it, I was just upset that my G.I. Joe got all chewed up.”\n\nThe reporter could tell the man was distraught, although the story was innocent enough. He encouraged the young man to continue. “That doesn’t seem so crazy,” the reporter laughed nervously, “kids do dumb stuff. When was the next time?”\n\nAnother drag off the cigarette. The young man continued. “The next time was when I was about nine. I was goofing off on the riding mower, which I knew I wasn’t supposed to be doing. I got it running and engaged the blade and was so pleased that I was going to mow the lawn. Just like dad! He would be so proud! Anyway, I came to a hill and nine year old me just didn’t have the weight to keep the mower from flipping, which it did. I tumbled off the mower and the mower flipped over completely, and the spinning blades were about to land right on my legs. Just then, again, the belts spinning the blades popped, the bearings went bad, and the blades stopped immediately. I mean what are the odds, right?” he finished the cigarette in one long drag, stamped out the butt, and lit another. “What are the odds?”\n\n“Well, that’s why I’m here” another nervous chuckle from the reporter, “to tell your story. To help figure it out. What next?”\n\n“Next was when I was 15 or so. I had just gotten into a fight with my girlfriend, and it was bad because, you know, at 15 every love is the love of your life. I put my ear buds in and was sulking home, not paying any attention. In my daze I step out into the street and vaguely hear people screaming, yelling, panicking. I look up and was dead in the path of a city bus. I remember thinking ‘this is it. I screwed the pooch on this one.’ Just then, as usual, the wheels on one side of the bus shot off. They didn’t fall off, they shot off. The bus bucked to one side, then flipped over me. Flipped. Like in a fucking movie.”\n\n“I remember hearing about that,” the reporter said. “It was all over the papers and internet.”\n\n“Yup,” the young man said, “that’s when it really started getting attention.”\n\n“Ok, what then?”\n\n“Then I was 18, traveling out west. My first vacation far away, and I was very excited. I picked a window seat, this being my first time on a plane. As the plane was starting down the runway, picking up speed, the cowling on both engines blew off spectacularly. Smoke, flames, the whole nine. Obviously, the flight was canceled.”\nThe reporter looked confused. “I remember hearing about that, but it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the incidents.”\nThe young man hit is cigarette. “Because it wasn’t reported on. The plane was a Boeing 737 Max. After the engines blew they investigated extensively and discovered that in all likelihood that plane would have crashed. Just like the one in Africa, just like the one in Indonesia.”\n\nThe reporter sat, stunned. “holy shit,” he said.\n\nThe young man laughed. “you going to quote yourself in the story?”\n\n“I-I don’t know what to say. These are insane coincidences,” the reporter said.\n\n“I don’t think they are coincidences. And those are just the big ones, the ones worth talking about. I’m not even mentioning the small incidents. The time my bike chain popped and I had to stop just as a semi ran the stoplight at the cross walk. The time the weed whacker broke just before I hit a nest of yellow jackets. The time the power just happened to go out when I forgot to turn off the circuit breaker while I was replacing the light fixture.”\n\n“I don’t follow,” the reporter admitted. “are you saying you have special powers or something?”\n\nThe young man laughed, “no I’m not saying that at all.”\n\nThe young man, stamped out his cigarette and picked up the revolver. The reporter squirmed nervously, “look, I don’t…,” the young man cut him off with a laugh, “dude, don’t worry. I’m not going to shoot you. this is for me.” the reporter looked at him in horror.\n\nThe young man gabbed a box of bullets and showed them to the reporter. “This is a brand new box. Still Sealed. See?” he opened the box and loaded the gun.\n\n“wait, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with wh-,” the reporter started.\n\nThe young man put the revolver to his head with a wild look on his face, a grin that belongs only to people who had seen too many truths, who had carried too much, who had been pushed too far.\n\n“don’t worry, dude.”\n\nThe reporter screamed “no! wait!”\n\nClick-click-click-click-click-click\n\nThe sound was of the hammer hitting the bullets, all six of them. There was no bang. No blood and brain filled horror. \nThe reporter went pale and vomited. The young man laughed.\n \n“I’ll leave the bullets for you, so you know they aren’t fake, and the gun in case you want to try them” the young man said.\n\n“I don’t understand,” the reporter eeked out, “its like you actually do have a guardian angel. Like in the stories. Like in church. I don’t believe it.”\n\nThe young man laughed and lit a cigarette. “oh it’s there all right, but it’s no angel,” and left the reporter alone in the room.\n\nThe reporter stood and collected himself. After a few minutes he picked up the gun, unloaded all the bullets and put them in his jacket pocket. Then he loaded a new bullet straight from the box and pointed the gun at the ground. Don’t pull the trigger, squee- BANG! “Jesus Christ!” screamed the reporter and he dropped the gun. Most people don’t realize how loud a gun is.\n\n6 weeks later the reporter received a letter from the manufacturer of the bullets. He had sent in the bullets from the gun the young man had left. It was a standard customer service letter:\n\nDear customer,\n\nThank you for bringing this to our attention. After looking into the situation we determined that the primer in these six bullets had gone bad, and as a result the propellent did not ignite as intended. \n\nWe here at BigAmmo Corp. strive to maintain the highest quality ammunition for out patriotic consumers. With over 100 million rounds sold annually, there are bound to be some instances of misfires. After all, even the most efficient process will have Gremlins!\n\nThank you for your patronage!\n\nThe reporter put the letter down, “Gremlins,” he muttered, “Now there’s a thought.”" ]	2
[WP] "And thus the smith set to bring an end to the war: He would create a weapon of such terrible power, such all-consuming violence and brutality, that they would never again consider coming to our lands." - Lay of the Blade entry for the axe Obliterator.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns." ]	1
[WP] You are the subject of 14 conflicting prophecies, as fate attempts to figure out just what to do with you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My day didn't start as expected. For one, it's not normal for extremely high tidal waves, all sorts of legendary creatures, and a reverse sinkhole to all arrive in one day.\n\nI instinctively take a picture of the chaos, find out the Internet is somehow working, and upload my bizarre situation to a subreddit somewhere. That's when a seven-headed hydra crashes into my room and sends me falling down the stairs to my front door. Outside the door, there's some arguing about which prophecy will come true for me, and some back-and-forth ad hominem for who is the cause of what's currently happening outside my house.\n\nOpening the door, there's a strange cast. \n\nFirst is a robed man who looks exactly like depictions of the Grim Reaper, except instead of a skull for a head he has completely black hair, a dusty face, and a book in his hand with a knife stuck through it.\n\nSecond is a bearded man with what can only be compared to as an extremely bright glow stick in his pocket. He's obviously Zeus, no question about it.\n\nThird is an azure blue dragon, just slightly shorter than I am, who is currently muttering something about five other prophecies being invalidated because Zeus can't decide what's supposed to happen.\n\nLast of all, a woman in a faded hood, with a veil behind her and what looks like a half-crown. She is the least familiar of the four, and I only vaguely remember something about royalty from the half-crown but immediately dismiss it as likely completely wrong.\n\n\"All of you, please stop arguing, you're only making things worse,\" she says to the others, and they stop and look at her. She turns to me and continues, \"and you, come with me,\" as a rather wide path that appears to be made of light appears in front of me. I follow the path, and the others do so as well behind me. Slowly the environment changes, becoming more tinted white, and as the path begins to incline upwards, the rest of the world seems to fall with every step up I take.\n\nEventually we reach the clouds. We walk through one and see many people, all looking like figures from various myths. The woman walks over to a desk and speaks to the person behind it. The exchange probably lasted around 10 minutes, and as much as I wanted to listen in, the noise of chattering only made me able to hear parts of the conversation:\n\n\"...that means, Hera, that you're to take the mortal to the room that...\"\n\n\"...got three others with me as well, not regarding him, what are they for? I can't just leave them...\"\n\n\"...can come too. There's going to be around ten others, and no one should be left out...\"\n\n\"...sorted out. Thanks for the clarification, I'll take him there as soon as I can.\"\n\nWith that, Hera came back to me. \"This place may look confusing, but I'll show you the way. Zeus, Reaper, Tiamat, I can trust that you already know where to go. Just go to 241 while I go tell the mortal about this place, and why he's here to begin with.\"\n\n(part 1)", "Fate sat in their comfortable chair at the end of the long table, listening to the bickering of the various gods, personifications and other phenomena, trying to think despite the humbug. At last, they coughed loudly - at that very moment, the room fell silent and all turned their attention to them.\n\n\"Now, I'm sure there's a solution in here. Some sort of hierarchy, perhaps?\" they started off calmly.\n\n\"Look,\" said an attractive figure wasting no time, \"I got this scroll here, clear as day. He's supposed to fall in love and then tragically lose her in an accident, making for a story as old as time. This scroll is 600 years in the making!\"\n\n\"Oh come on Aphrodite,\" another one barked - a tall, dark-skinned man wearing a feathered headdress. \"600 years? My prophecy is 3000 years old. He's destined to get struck down by lightning and go on a spiritual quest between life and death! He has no time for some dime romance!\"\n\n\"Thank you, Ah Puch,\" Fate continued and turned their gaze to the tall, cloaked skeleton sitting right across from them, the two blue lights in his skull flickering lightly. \"Death? What about you?\"\n\nAS YOU CAN SEE, Death started, his voice grinding in everyone's head like gravel being tossed around, HE IS BOUND TO DIE IN 2 WEEKS. HEART ATTACK. VERY SUDDEN. He pointed to a small hourglass sitting in front of him - the sand was almost entirely in the bottom half.\n\n\"And you're sure we can't postpone?\" Fate inquired.\n\nI AM AFRAID THAT IS OUT OF MY HANDS. YOU'D HAVE TO SPEAK TO THE AUDITORS OF REALITY BUT THEY ARE... INDISPOSED.\n\n\"Oh, there's a surprise. They're never around,\" Hecate scoffed from her corner of the room. Death grinned in response - at least as much as a skeleton without skin or muscles can grin.\n\n\"Baron?\" Fate turned to the festive man in stylish purple clothing. \"You're unusually quiet.\"\n\n\"Iz alright mon,\" Baron Samedi replied jovially, his feet on the desk noting his casual mood. \"I's got some mighty voodoo in store for dem, but it kan wait, dontcha worry.\"\n\nAt least there's that, Fate thought to themselves.\n\n\"Well then!\" Fate opened, \"Let's grab a piece of paper and put down all your prophecies, see if we can prioritize a bit. Death said we've got two weeks, I'm sure we can fit at least-\"\n\n\"Now hold on y'all,\" a man in striped spandex yelled obnoxiously, \"yer fancy speak don't impress me none, partner, and I demand-\"\n\nFate facepalmed - they had not noticed the Spirit of Patriotism was in the room.\n\nThis was gonna take a while." ]	3
[WP] A evil mage cast a spell to kill all your loved ones. After he cast the spell you just stand there.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The wizard threw his arms skyward and chanted in a harsh, guttural tone. Black clouds of malice erupted from his hands with furious screeches, only to slowly dissipate. A shocked look crossed his face, and he chanted the incantation anew. The result was much the same. The warrior stood there and watched with grim amusement.\n\n\"This cannot be,\" the wizard muttered. \"I am a master of Dark Magic! How could my spell fail?\" He threw his arms up again.\n\nThe warrior scratched his scarred cheek. \"Please stop, this is getting awkward to watch. Your magic works fine.\"\n\n\"It does? But then why...\" The wizard's eyes widened. \"You have no loved ones? None?\"\n\n\"That's right,\" the warrior said, raising his sword. \"Can we get back to our battle now?\"\n\n\"No, wait, I can't wrap my head around this,\" the wizard said, raising a palm. \"How can you have no one at all?\"\n\nThe warrior sighed. \"I spent my life hunting down one evildoer after another, and my scars don't exactly make me approachable. In the last village I visited, the children ran off screaming.\"\n\n\"Damn,\" the wizard said. \"You need to take a break and meet some new people. Not everyone judges by appearance alone.\"\n\nThe warrior shook his head. \"I can't believe I'm being lectured by an evil wizard.\"\n\n\"Hey, I might be evil, but even I have people I care about. Some of my lieutenants aren't entirely hopeless, and I have a good thing going with the Barbarian Queen...\" The wizard snapped his fingers. \"You know, the barbarians consider battle scars honorable. I bet they'd help you change your outlook on things.\"\n\nThe warrior lowered his sword. \"I don't know... You did try to kill all my loved ones.\"\n\n\"You were the one who assaulted me,\" the wizard said. \"I was only minding my own business.\"\n\n\"Point.\" The warrior hesitated before sheathing his sword. \"You really mean what you said?\"\n\n\"I wouldn't lie about something like that,\" the wizard said, coming closer. \"Come, I'll introduce you to some nice folk.\"", "Magic has distinct aromas. The fresh vibrant scent like freshly cut grass as healing winds bless one's wounds. A sharp, distinct acidic shock like bitter lemons when creatures are summoned into being. Then there is the sickening fowl stench of death. You may think you know it, but unless you have witnessed the curse, you know not of its vile smell. It drenches every pore of your skin with a vomitous bile that even divine tears could never wash out. Even your tears are polluted with the toxic waste of the curse as they fall from stinging bloodshot eyes.\r \nYannis. Lazarus. Taven. Harvarous. \n\r \nTheir oozing, decaying corpses lay rotting at my feet, their blood tainted to an odorous, viscus, grey substance that stained the ground beneath them; their eyes melted into black, rotten piles of gelatinous slag. The liquified skin gently flowed like a dead river, collecting at my feet. Yet the greatest offence to my senses was the sound of laughter.\r \nGrating, high-pitched, wretched cackling. The mage – Tamanus – clutching his guts with belly-laughter, crying tears of twisted amusement. A pathetic physical specimen embolden by immensely power magics of old, his name inspired fear in many hearts. He was true evil, life-long student of darkness and mistress to depravity.\r \n\r \n\"That never gets old.\" Tamanus laughed, gasping for air between his howls of sickened delight. \"Death is so mundane – this, this real death at its best. I love it.\"\r \n\r \nThe blood at my feet began to slowly sizzle, boiling in a growing heat. As it began to heat, a faint aroma began to blossom, subtle at first. Tamanus broke from his laughter, interrupted by a sudden bewilderment as he looked on. The vile bastard picked up on the scent. The first spring of Eden.\r \n\r \n\"The fuck?\" Tamanus exclaimed, refusing to believe his senses, \"That scent; what the hell is it?\"\r \n\r \nThe scent was beginning to grow more and more, like a tree desperately climbing from dark captivity to reach the glorious sun. I closed my eyes, knowing the inevitable coming to pass. Every muscle gave in to complete rest, my heart almost still against the intense storm that would soon come.\r \n\r \n\"The first rose that bloomed. The first drop of rain that fell upon the Earth. The first flames to touch the mortal world. The first breeze to caress the mountains. This is the scent of creation, Tamanus.\"\r \n\r \n\"What?!\" The mage cried, his fright tempered by a forced disbelief, \"what kind of magic is this?!\"\r \n\r \nI gave a deep sigh, the scent evaporating the stench of death in the room and overpowering the senses like a parent's love overpowering a child's pain. It was a kiss on the wound.\r \n\r \n\"I wanted so much for you all. I wanted humanity to find its way without my interference. I was so heavy handed once; trying to force you all to evolve, thus preventing you from growing. I was so scared of your pain, that I was stopping you from knowing love. I realised that as long as I remained, humanity would always be trapped by my overbearing care.\"\r \n\r \nThe veins within me glowed a bright blue, shining through my skin. I opened my eyes as I felt the waters of divinity raining within me.\r \n\r \n\"But I couldn't bring myself to leave you. I love you all too damn much. So I decided to walk among you, to live amongst you. I feared I would not enjoy the same delights as humanity, learning to love, feel, believe – yet you surprised me. You showed me companionship. You showed me…friendship.\"\r \n\r \nThe bodies had turned to a sparkling dust that floated skyward, before beginning to spiral around me.\r \n\r \n\"The fuck are you talking about?!\" Tamanus growled as he shielded his eyes from the growing burning light from within me. I glared back, my stare unbreaking as my voice stabbed through the growing din. Tamanus was shook, hearing my voice from within his own mind.\r \n\r \n\"I have been on this world for countless eons, Tamanus. Yet in all the eras I have witnessed, throughout all the souls I have met, I have loved none more than these friends. Yannis. Lazarus. Taven. Harvarous. My sisters. My brothers. They have shown me love and acceptance beyond that which I could fathom once before. I owe them a debt that can only be paid by Armageddon and genesis. You…you…killed…MY FAMILY!\"\r \n\r \nA blinding flash raced across mortal vision. In a moment, all that was returned to its origin. In a moment, all was one. Everything was singular. A moment. An instance. The first moment before infinity.\r \n\r \n…\r \n\r \nI could not allow this to end all you had built, my friends. The pain I feel could never permit the end of all. Even gods have no right to claim such authority. And so I have rebuilt it all again. What was rendered nothing by my rage, I have restored with my love. I dragged Tamanus to the eye of creation and showed him the divinity of being. He has witnessed the immeasurable power of genesis – the divine magic of life. In penance, his soul shall burn for eons, casting its light upon the new Earth. Where once he brought cold death, he shall now provide warm life.\r \n\r \nHumanity will live on once again, but now I realise that there is no place for me among you. My rage is too fragile to be allowed to threaten you all. My friends, you will serve as humanity's new guardians, as the very spirits of life – the four angels of Eden.\r \n\r \nI shall banish myself outside of the mortal world, to where I can only observe; I shall chain myself to the eye of creation. I will miss you with an eternal breaking heart, but that is how it must be. Thank you for allowing me the honour of being mortal. Finally before I am silenced forever, let me say this to all mankind.\r \n\r \nYou will make mistakes. You will cause harm. These things will happen. However you are all capable of such wonderous things. Joy. Love. Empathy. Compassion. These are not divine gifts, but mortal strengths. Use them. Embrace them. Share the gift of friendship with all. And finally, let this be my last words.\r \n\r \nWhomever you are.\r \nI am so damn proud of you.\r \nGoodbye." ]	3
[WP] As a mage with a therapy side gig, the spell “Clarity” comes in handy more often than most would assume. Only, when you panic-cast it by mistake when a shrieking behemoth of a demon comes charging at you, you’re suddenly left with a much less murderous and very confused patient on your hands.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"You speak demon?\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"I-I saw it.\"\n\n\"You-.\" There were actually two things racing in Roxy's mind. The behemoth spoke and saw Roxy's memories.\n\n\"I-.\" The behemoth seemed equally confused.\n\nClarity, Roxy knew, was an advanced spell. The issue with it was that it more or less opened a telepathic gateway. Clarity was a start of a conversation. Usually an easily controllable one because few had any telepathic abilities. But the conversation was more of an equal exchange of information if both parties had similar abilities.\n\n\"Oh, you used telepathy,\" Roxy blurted out, in common instead of demonic, considering her options. Something was amiss. A behemoth demon ravaging a village from a cave shouldn't be able to do anything under a Clarity spell. Usually these lower demons couldn't even speak. They were just brute force and animal instinct. \"Clarity,\" she decided. Another blue arc crackled from her head to the behemoth's.\n\nAnother quick set of flashes of intuition flew between Roxy and the behemoth. This time, however, Roxy was more open about what she was doing. She sent a concrete image to him.\n\nShe sent an image of the small room she'd rented at the inn. After that followed some quick memories. In that room, there were many conversations. She was usually not talking much. Sometimes, a blue arc would crackle. Every time, the other person would leave somehow reassured, or more informed, or with a clearer path.\n\nThe behemoth, for his part, was a little confused. He tried to find an image or to ask her for more details.\n\nShe noticed his confusion after a few seconds. She sent a memory. This wasn't an answer to his question, yet. It was a quick moment. The behemoth felt that the other voice in the memory, just out of view, was Roxy's teacher. \"It's harder to understand when the other person can't do it well, but if they're still strong.\" A blue arc appeared.\n\nAfter that memory, just as the behemoth understood the point, Roxy sent the word \"therapist.\" This came with a few other ideas that Roxy had had about therapists -- conversations, understanding, help, medicine, healing.\n\nThe behemoth couldn't respond. Roxy sent many memories of her recruitment, childhood signs that she had magical power. A small accident with a roaring flame. Inexplicable water. Fits of telepathy. Finally, a mage, a blue arc, a conversation, some sad but understanding parents and a goodbye.\n\nFinally, the behemoth sent something. He didn't know that he did, but Roxy clearly saw his memories. Some accidents. A fire. Dousing a bonfire with mysterious clouds. Fits of overhearing and seeing too much. Finally, some chains, some escapes, the cave, and some angry humans.\n\nRoxy cut the arc off. \"Oh. I.\" She pondered. \"But you can talk?\" She asked in demonic.\n\n\"Of course.\"\n\n\"I think you've been... misunderstood.\"\n\n\"I-\"\n\n\"You just showed me-\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\nRoxy knew that she was not going to fulfill her quest the way the townsfolk expected her to. She wasn't going to kill the demon and return with spoils of a simple pest control. However, she wasn't going to let the demon stay and torment people. A multitude of paths opened before her. She then remembered her own memory -- of the wizard, the blue arc, the sad parents, and her departure. At least this time, there wouldn't be any sad parents. \"You should come with me.\"" ]	2
[WP] You are an archeologist on a dig. You've just found a body from a premodern era... with a sleek, modern bullet lodged in its ribcage.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "This was the moment of truth. The 3 of us sat huddled around the laptop in the dry hot air of inside the tent, desperately watching as it rendered the results of the ground penetrating radar. \n\n\"There!\" Dr. Cole shouted as she jammed her finger into the screen hard enough to send rainbows rippling across the image. I batted her hand away and readjusted the laptops display. \n\n\"It's there!\" She repeated excitedly. \"I mean it's faint but come on! That was NOT there before!\"\n\nI just sat glaring at the image with a furrowed brow. Naturally the next step was to pull up the previous imaging results to compare, but I could already tell that was a formality, there was clearly something new in the image.\n\nDr. Johan spoke next, \"I don't effing believe it. I think she's right\" He stepped back and began actually pacing the tiny space, no more than 2 steps in either direction.\n\n\"You know you're allowed to actually swear at moments like these Carl. This is historic!\" Dr. Cole responded with her hands planted on her hips. Then she turned back to me, \"What about you, nothing to say?\"\n\n\"We still need to follow verification protocol. You know this thing's imperfect\" was all I could think to say. Any scientist should be expected to be thrilled when an experiment pans out, but the truth was, I wanted this one to fail.\n\n\"Ugh, always Mr. 'by the numbers'.\" She tossed her head back as she spoke.\n\n\"Yeah, well... Once of us has to be.\" I started pulling up the image files from previous scans.\n\nI laid the 2 images side by side, and there it was, clear as day. A human skeleton lying straight and flat, still in the burial position it was buried in some 1,542 years ago. The image on the left, the \"before\" showing a remarkably intact and pristine skeleton (a primary reason we had chosen this one). The image on the right, however, clearly displayed a small object present in the upper right area of the ribcage. I had criticized the machine, but in truth the resolution was high enough to note that one of the ribs was also now fractured near where the object had struck.\n\n\"We sent a bullet through FUCKING TIME!\" Dr. Cole started giggling like a school girl and jumping up and down. \n\nI couldn't blame her. As the astrophysicist, she had the most mentally and emotionally invested in the success of the project. And I had to be honest, despite my own trepidation, her happiness was contagious, and I allowed a smile to break through.\n\nBecause there it was: a 9MM bullet, lodged in a still entombed corpse. Undisturbed for a millennia. And we'd put it there. An impossible scenario. It was the culmination of a life's work, and I'd helped it happen. It's only natural I should enjoy the moment at least a little. Still, I couldn't escape the gravity of what we'd done.\n\n\"let's hold off on the champagne until we've made visual confirmation.\" I gave them both a stern look, but shifted it into a smile, \"However... Let me be the first to say congratulations.\" and offered my hand for a handshake. Instead Dr. Cole hugged me as hard as she could.\n\n\"You realize we've just obsoleted nuclear weapons right?\" quipped Dr. Johan with a laugh.\n\nAnd there it was. That old Oppenheimer quote, bubbling back to the surface of my consciousness.\n\n\"Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.\"" ]	2
[WP] A warrior's training and feats persists even in death, with their bones being stronger than steel. You are a graverobber turned hero.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The Tomb of the Last Dawn. It was supposedly the resting place of the last of a long line of heroes, called the Knights of Dawn, and therefore of the legendary Relics of the Sunrise. \n\nAnd thanks to his new partner, Lyrano knew where it was. As he rode his surefooted mount up to the old, disused cemetery located deep in the Quiveroak Forest, he had to admit that he never would have suspected the tomb was here. From the dilapidated stone wall, to the overgrown, crumbling headstones, nothing suggested that this was a place where someone important was buried.\n\nThere were other tombs, for other Knights of Dawn, in various lands, and all of them were in graveyards of great cathedrals, or royal cemeteries in large cities. All were well-maintained, honored resting places. Lyrano would know, he'd robbed two or three of them. And there had been some valuable weapons, armor, and grave goods, to be sure. Oddly enough, he'd never found any actual bones, though. He'd started to wonder if the whole Knights of Dawn bit was some sort of centuries-long historical scam -- not that it mattered much, the treasures had been real, even if the legendary knights supposedly buried with them were not. \n\nBut the Last Dawn, that was the real prize for a tomb raider such as Lyrano. There was never more than one Knight of Dawn at a time, and since there hadn't been a new Knight in centuries, that meant the Relics of the Sunrise must be buried with the last of them.\n\nHe dismounted and approached Azim, who stood at the edge of the cemetery with a couple of tough-looking attendants. The dusky man in the hooded robe was his partner on this venture, and the one who'd located the tomb.\n\n\"Azim.\" Lyrano said, cordially.\n\n\"Lyrano. See there, the caved-in mausoleum? I had my men clear the rubble, so you should be able to enter, now. There is a staircase inside that leads down into the tomb.\"\n\nLyrano raised his eyebrows. \"Damn. Sounds like you've got it figured out, Azim. Makes me wonder what you need me for.\"\n\n\"You have experience.\" the man said, simply. \"I am concerned about traps or defenses that might have been built into the tomb.\"\n\nLyrano nodded. \"Ah, of course.\" That really wasn't as much of a concern as people thought, but he saw no point in making his contribution seem less valuable. \n\n\"Well, best get to it, then.\"\n\nHe started towards the mausoleum, but Azim stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. \"Remember, my friend, take what treasures you will from the tomb. But do not touch the Knight's bones. They are...sacred.\"\n\nLyrano held up his hands. \"Of course, of course. That was the agreement.\"\n\nAzim nodded, curtly, and released him. Lyrano walked towards the mausoleum, and entered through the hole where a wall had collapsed. As Azim said, a short stairway led downward. He lit a torch from his pack, and used it to light other in sconces on the wall as he descended, and in the vault of the tomb beyond.\n\nThe decor was understated -- a stone sarcophagus, and walls that were unadorned except for the sconces. But on the lid of the sarcophagus, was a carved seal in the shape of a sun rising over the mountains -- the heraldic emblem of the Knights of Dawn.\n\nA cursory examination told him that were no booby traps, as he'd expected. As he began to lever open the sarcophagus with a prize, he was surprised to find the stone on both the lid of the stone lid and the lip of the sarcophagus was polished and looked like it had been oiled, at one point. \n\nAlmost like someone had wanted it to be easy to open. \n\nIntentional or not, it was easy to slide the lid to one side, revealing what lay within. He lifted his torch eagerly, and peered inside. This time, unique among all the tombs he'd previously visited, there were bones. \n\nAnd only bones. Not a scrap of armor, nor a weapon, nor even a pair of copper pennies. Just a complete human skeleton. It gleamed strangely, almost as though the bones, too, had been polished, and they were inscribed all over with intricate runes and symbols carved into their surface.\n\n\"Unbelievable.\" Lyrano groaned. It couldn't be just bones. It made no sense! It was completely at odds with how all the other Knights of Dawn had been buried! Perhaps, he thought, they weren't really bones? He had found ritual carvings made to look like human skulls and bones made from ivory, though never on this scale. That much ivory would be valuable on its own, never mind the historical value, for the right collector or scholar.\n\nSo despite his promise to Azim, he touched the bones, to see if they were bones indeed. He instantly regretted it. \n\nInexplicable, blinding, paralyzing pain filled him. He went blind and deaf with sheer agony, as though he was being torn apart, hollowed out, and filled back in again. \n\nWhen he finally came back to his senses, he was leaning on the edge of the half-open tomb. Bewildered, he saw that steam or smoke, or some sort of vapor was rising from his skin and clothes, as well as from the bones in the tomb. As he regained his sight, he staggered back from the sarcophagous in horror.\n\nThe gleaming, inscribed skeleton was gone. In its place were red, wet bones that looked freshly flayed of all flesh. The stink of blood filled his nostrils. He gaped at the grisly sight. Whose bones were these? Where could they have possibly come from? Then he noticed it.\n\nHe lifted a trembling hand to his face, and traced the line of a deep scar that ran from his brow almost to his jaw, where he had been struck with a sword earlier in his career, as he escaped a tomb robbery that had been discovered. \n\nAn identically angled line was etched into the brow and cheek bone of the fresh, bloody bones that now lay in the sarcophagus, right where he would have expected one to be on his own bones. His own bones.\n\nAs terror and confusion warred within him, he heard a voice, one for which he could discern no source.\n\nWelcome to our number, youngest brother. \n\nHe cast his eyes around wildly. There was no one in the room with him, and covering his ears did nothing to quiet the sound. He backed into a corner, whimpering.\n\nYou are a low man, full of avarice and base desires. That is well, for so were we all, before our calling forged us into something more. The Divine uses the lowest of men as its instruments, so that the glory may belong to the Divine. \n\nHe shook his head. This was bad, very bad!\n\nThroughout the ages, the Knights of Dawn have been chosen from among many nations, many peoples, many tribes. We are Knights of no single kingdom, no single region, and no single time in history. We are a family of many different bloods...\n\nLyrano suddenly realized. He knew what the voice would say, even before it spoke the next words.\n\n...but all the Knights of Dawn that have ever been, have only ever had one set of *bones* between us." ]	2
[WP] "For Earth!" they said at the dawn of man. "For Earth!" they said at the Middle Ages. "For Earth!" they said at the 21st century. "For Earth!" they said at the Interstellar Age. "For Earth!" they said at the Age of Calamities. "For Earth!" they said when all was about to come to an end.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "History has always been written by the victor. This species had always been united, or so they say. Their propaganda litters the subspace highways and the intergalactic rest stops.\n\n“For Earth!” Emblazoned upon every fixture, every neon sign, every holographic information panel. They were the victors. \n\nThey had brought security, but with it death. They had brought rules and regulations to the ungovernable, but with it there was not a drop of freedom. They brought education and learning, but no research or development. They allowed everyone else to learn what they wished them to learn and nothing else. It was all for Earth.\n\nThey banded the known universe together. It was a time of peace, yet unease brewed. Disappearances occurred. The slightest dissenter met with a fate unknown. Most of the public never dared bat an eye, but to those who lost a family member, a friend, a loved one, the reality was all too clear. \n\nIt took us years of research. Archaeological discoveries of ancient catacombs filled with evidence of wrongdoing. The wars that the so called “United humans” used to fight. The petty inconveniences that led to mutually assured destruction. It was all lies. The foundations of our society had all been built on a throne of lies. \n\nIt was time for the perfectly strung web of lies to come undone.\n\nI pressed a button. All the lies, all the coverups they had been sent out. Spreading across the intergalactic channels to all corners of everywhere. It was time for this empire to fall.\n\nSuddenly a spotlight blazed in through my window igniting the room in a white light.\n\n“For Earth,” I said." ]	2
[WP] A mob boss gains the ability to talk to spirits and discovers that most of them have unfinished business. This began the legacy of the world's first ghost mob	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My family has a proverb. They tell all of the new children about an old gangster folklore from before the times of society.\n\nIt goes as follows:\n\n\"Ay' Jelly\", he said, reminiscent of my father. A tint in his eye, and that gleam you see in your brother.\n\n\"Getting sick of bein poor\", he continues revving up the chainsaw to cut down that tree that was always out of place down on the lawn strangely far away from the house.\n\nA father is always like that. A father can shift between realities right before your eyes, before forgetting of his luck, and you are his child, and you are the one who he is concerned about.\n\n\"I won't sell 'em till I'm dead\" He will exclaim to you. \"When I was a kid, my parents invited over the neighbors so they could fight me. All they had to do was call me out, and my parents would send me outside to deal with it myself. It made me who I am.\" He will tell you this story many times, and you will feel his parents were far too mean, but they were from the era of WWII, so you won't have the place to say anything.\n\nThat was the story. It made no sense to me, but you see... I come from a different type of family, and it would be around the age of 30 that I would find out what it meant.\n\nTime would pass, and later in my life, I moved back home. It was upon re-meeting my father, that I would discover he was harboring a fugitive. One he would commune with regularly within a forest which was near his partner's mother's home. This tree was so crooked and broken. As if the entire universe chose to ignore it, and attempt to will it out of existence, but there was one thing he said to me that stood out. \"I see everything\"; he said, looking so old now. This statement was out of place. He never spoke of a spirit. The closest he ever got to saying such a thing was in teaching me how to create a spear in a fire from a stick in the forest, in order to fend off bears; while we walked the perimeter and joked about ghosts. I was merely a child then, and he must have meant nothing of it.\n\nHe said to me that he began to commune with this tree. It was so strange. He was a man who would speak of a time when you could cut false checks, and that nothing was safe unless you knew who to get. But then, and there the universe must have spoken. It made me wonder if society was wrong, if there was a reason people like him were given a hard time from the beginning. It was as if in that moment, he was informed his instincts were legitimate, and a monument had been shifted. I swear it must be the same tree that regrew, and on that day; the debt of his soul had been paid for, and his time was uplifted.\n\nUpon my father's passing when I was 32, he would say to me; son, that fugitive was you.\n\nHe would continue that this story is as old as time, and not to worry. They would come for me, like they once did to him, but that I would be too poor for them, so they would not see me, but to be bold, or else I will not be forgiven." ]	2
[WP] You have been swallowed by Kirby.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "When I first met the pink puffball, I thought it would’ve been an easy task to accomplish:Defeat that there Kirby. However, the true extent of its mysterious powers finally came to be when I entered its insidious gullet. I felt my very essence being warped and stretched like rubber, but somehow, I didn’t feel any pain from this bizarre feeling. Then, after a few more minutes of “floating” in this empty space, the entire space itself was now warping, stretching into an unfathomable cosmic realm! This “stomach”, neigh, this DIMENSION felt like something far beyond comprehension! What was even more interesting, was the many foods floating in the cosmic abyss. Fruits, vegetables, candies and pastries were drifting all across this realm, with quantities far beyond the natural limits of consumption. But the best part came from the orbs floating past them. These spheres contained a glistening aura to them, as if it was the manifestation of pure power given form! They even had different colors to them, as if they were stored as different abilities to be saved for dangerous encounters! After enough time had passed, inspecting my surroundings and gazing at all these delectable treats, my body started to change yet again. Though this feeling no longer felt like stretching, but like a blanket of pure puff was enveloping me from all directions! Even with this comforting sensation wrapping me from all sides, I knew that I had to find a way out of this place quickly, or that I may be trapped here forever! I tried as hard as I could to escape this tugging, but all it did was make it more and more soothing! Eventually, I lost all will to fight this force beyond reason, and thought: “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to take a quick nap? After all, nothing in here can hurt me, and there’s plenty of food to spare”. But before I knew it, the space had began to invert around me, as if I was being brought back to reality, and I was finally back in reality! Though, something felt, off, to say the least. I felt more jolly than usual, but chalked that up to just being some nice weather. After all, there is this friendly pink puffball here with some food, it wouldn’t be too bad to share a snack with it.\n\nThere’s nothing wrong with sharing food with friends, especially with a friend like Kirby!", "I remember the wind; then nothingness. \nI should be scared, except the Void-that absence of life and movement-envelopes me in a soft pink glow. Who knew death would feel like being sucked in to a down pillow. Who knew hell was a prison of pink memory foam. I push out against it and it bends to my force, accepting my arms and fingers in its dreamy walls. Yielding and unyielding. I feel my life force sucked from me, as if my body could give up its supernatural power. Is this what humans feel like? I can’t remember my body’s shape anymore…I’m not sure where I begin or end. My eyes have grown accustomed to the dull glow; or is that my eyelids? Something hits my back hard, knocking the wind from (into?) my lungs. I open my eyes to blue sky, spinning. A bulbous pink mass rises above me and I see it wielding my own sword." ]	3
[WP] You’ve been brought to another world to save it. The quests may take years, and if you survive, you’ll return home. This would be kind of cool— except you’re diabetic, with less than a month’s worth of insulin.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"I have diabetes.\" I explained to the High Cleric. \"Type one.\"\n\nShe blinked. \"I see. And, is that like...consumption?\"\n\nI was afraid of this.\n\nSo, you know the drill: minding my own business, magic portal, another world, got to save it, no one else can. But like I told the High Cleric, I'm diabetic. Type one, insulin dependent! I'd be dead already, if I hadn't happened to have been on my way home from the pharmacy with my latest refill. \n\nFor the first two weeks, I just played along. I mean, hey, I'm the chosen hero in a fantasy world, right? This wise old wizard named Barnabas summoned me here from Earth to save his planet, so I gotta get cracking on those quests. Plus, he knew some ice magic that could keep my insulin cool. \n\nBut I'm still not even halfway done gathering MacGuffins to open the gate to the Lost Kingdom, and then I have to go in there and awaken the True Scion with the Song of Ancient Lore, and who knows how long that's gonna take. I wanted to make sure I was covered, insulin-wise. \n\nExcept, I went to the pharmacy here, the \"Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe\" or whatever, and I'm thinking they've probably got insulin under some old-timey name, like Nectar of Sweetbreads or something. You know, like how Sulphuric Acid used to be called Oil of Vitriol? But it turns out they don't. \n\nI talked to the wizard, but he didn't know what either insulin or diabetes were. When I explained it was a disease, though, he suggested I talk to the clerics at the Temple of Light. He said they'd be happy to help, since I was the Chosen One foretold in their prophecies, and all. \n\nAnd he was right, at least up to a point: when I went to the Temple and introduced myself, they showed me right to the High Cleric's chambers. Even so, I wasn't encouraged by how she, too, was completely unaware of the 'beetus.\n\nI said, \"No, it's...it's got to do with too much sugar in the blood.\"\n\nShe narrowed her eyes, suspiciously, her hand drifting towards her holy symbol. \"Are you saying blood tastes sweet, to you?\"\n\n\"I'm not a vampire!\" I exclaimed, annoyed. \"I have a disease.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" she replied, relaxing again. \"My apologies, Chosen One. How did you contract this illness?\"\n\nI frowned. \"Contract it? I mean, I was sort of born with it, to be honest.\"\n\nShe sucked her teeth. \"Ooooo. See, that's gonna be a problem, Chosen One.\"\n\nI winced. \"Oh come on. Don't tell me you can't use your holy magic to cure a disease someone was born with!\"\n\n\"I don't know if we can't, but we're definitely not allowed to.\" she explained, apologetically. \n\n\"Why?\" I demanded, throwing up my hands in exasperation.\n\n\"If you were born with it, it's part of who you are!\" she exclaimed. \"Just like if you were born deaf, or blind, or with your heart outside your chest cavity. It's part of what makes you, well, you.\"\n\nI blinked a few times.\n\n\"Your holiness.\" I said, flatly. \"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.\"\n\n\"What?\" she said, taken aback.\n\n\"My disease isn't part of who I am!\" I snapped. \"The dice that fate rolled when I was conceived came up snake eyes, when the genes that control the structure of my pancreas were being determined. That's all! Who I am is about the choices I make in life, not the numbers I happened to come up with in some biological lottery!\"\n\nShe frowned thoughtfully. \"An interesting perspective. Normally I'd just say that's heresy, but seeing as how you're the Chosen One, I'll have to bring that up at the next doctrinal conclave, and see what the other High Clerics think.\"\n\n\"And when will that be?\"\n\nShe shrugged. \"A decade, maybe two. It depends on how our schedules line up.\"\n\n\"I'll be dead in a few weeks!\" I cried.\n\n\"Oh!\" she said, brightly. \"That's perfect, just come back then! I can definitely hook you up with a resurrection.\"" ]	2
[WP] As the sun gently and carefully, but still in a steady slow pace, starts showing its first rays of morning, you are still out walking. It all happened so sudden only the evening before, but it already feels like it was a completely different life. Where you are going, you do not yet know.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Every step feels like I’m walking through a foot of mud. The world seems to have slowed to a crawl as I walk through that once beautiful park. All I see is blurred smiles and muffled laughter. My head is pulled towards the floor by some type of spectral noose waiting for me to take that great step below. \n\nHow did I get here?\n\nWhat couldn’t have been more than a 3 block stroll has turned into a whole day event. I remember leaving my apartment just as the sun peeked over the horizon, but now the sun is nowhere to be seen. There’s only this dark cloud I’ve been cursed with since before I could remember. \n\nWhy am I doing this?\n\nMy feet eventually stop and I hear my own voice speaking to something in front of me. Through broken glass I drudge my head upwards only to find that the light is absolutely unbearable. A voice like a blown out speaker blurts out recognizable but unintelligible noises. \n\nWhat was I supposed to do? \n\nPulled through the front door, I feel my feet lift the ground, barely scraping the marbled rock below. Loud clicks and flashes blot my vision as the air grows colder and the choking smell of oak fills my lungs. I land horribly as I am dropped into my own personal Iron Maiden. \n\nWhere does someone like me go? \n\nThe crowd calms to a deafening silence. One single voice cuts through this distorted reality, droning forward into my brain. Every word digs deeper until I can feel those words in my own soul. Then silence. Long silence. Silence that lasts for lifetimes beyond lifetimes.\n\nWhen will this end?\n\nA single word. Followed by a clear string of sound as my world falls around me" ]	2
[WP] Moving into your new home, it quickly becomes apparent that the reason you got it so cheap was because it's Seriously Haunted. Deciding that the home is too good to give up on, you attempt to find a workable arrangement between your family and the angry poltergeist.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Why exactly are you mad?”\n\nIt was a fairly easy to ask question, most people know why they’re mad. However, that’s when your talking to people, ghosts are another can of worms. \n\n“I can’t remember, but I don’t want you here. It’s terrible place and you’ll suffer if you stay here for long.” He seemed quite angry that I wasn’t heeding his warning. In truth it was because the house was a ridiculous steal, costing 1/4 the price it should’ve been. I snatched it up quite quickly and moved as fast ad I could.\n\nNeedless to say, finding out it was haunted was both wonderful and terrifying. On one hand I never wanted to live alone, I was frankly terrified of the thought. So having him was very comforting.\n\n“Is there something specific about this house that would cause suffering to me? I probed the ghost once again.\n\nIt seemed tired and let out a muffled “I can’t remember…” before his physical form disappeared. \n\nThis was no good, I would have to wait at least 24 hrs before the ghost regained enough strength to talk again, and an entire week for another glimpse of the physical appearance. \n\nI decided that maybe they’re are clues regarding the so called suffering I would endure. So the most obvious places to check would be the basement. I had explored every other part of the house and found nothing but scratch marks along walls. They were explained away by the seller. I can’t remember what she said, but it was good enough for me.\n\nI opened to door, grabbed a flashlight, a knife, and switched on the lights. There at the very bottom was a table. A bloody table, it had many marks and handcuffs along it? I jumped to a conclusion but decided… no that was way too much role-play, right? Aside from that there was various handcuffs along the walls. I got a terrible feeling in my gut and left, I sealed off the door and went to bed, making sure that my neighbors knew that if they heard a pin drop at my place, the should call the cops. I hurried off to bed and triple checked my door was locked before I finally felt a semblance of ease. \n\nIt was not long after that I heard the cops know knocking on my door on my door. I quickly realized that walking around the house when something or someone was heard inside was risky. So I decided to try signaling them, I grabbed my flashlight and propped up a chair against my door.\n\nI climbed outside my window, it was on the first floor. So it was quite quick, I rounded the corner and fretted the officers.\n\n“Uh, hello Mr. Jackson? Do you mind opening the doors?”\n\nI nodded and they explained the situation as I let them inside.\n\n“Your neighbors reported hearing doors open and lights turning on and they also mentioned that you had specifically mentioned to call us if this happened.” I responded in agreement. \n\nI lead the down to the basement where they noticed the handcuffs and bloody table. As they gasped they informed me that I should not stay in this house and that they would perform and investigation.\n\n—— 1 Week Later ——\n\nThe cops had concluded their report and concluded that the house had a series of murders conducted in it. All victims had been lured inside and dragged away from their location leaving scratch marks along the walls. \n\nIn the basement people were beat over the head by a baseball bat, many had suffered from long term head trauma and likely a loss of memory.\n\nI sold the house as soon I heard that.", "You hate this place and that damn spook. It's been three months, two attempted exorcisms, five different psychics and a paranormal investigation crew, but nothing changed. The priests left, one of them comatose, the exorcists fled, the paranormal investigators left their equipment they were in such a hurry to get out... Probably get a pretty penny for that on E-Bay later, but for right now you'd just settle for a good night's sleep.\n\nEveryone was in such a hurry to tell you they'd never come across a spirit with such pure malice before, you were out of options.\n\n\"But... What are you actually angry about?\"\n\nThe shaking stopped, the clattering died down, everything went still, silent as a night should be... Could it really have been that simple all along?\n\n\"I don't know...\" You glanced in the direction of the voice, a disturbance in the air made of light, almost static in nature, like white noise on an untuned TV. You couldn't make out features, or anything more than a very vague approximation in shape, but it was there, clear as dust in a beam of sunlight.\n\nThe voice was small, distant, almost like hearing someone shouting from the bottom of a well. Difficult to get a read on, was it a male or female? You couldn't tell... Silence hung in the air for a full minute, heavy... Did the... the image(?) just shuffle its feet? Well, come on cowboy, it's your turn, you got this far.\n\n\"You don't know why you're mad?\"\n\n\"No...\"\n\n... Not giving me much ammo here, bud, not a lot to work on, guess I'll have to try a different tack. Need to engage, this is further than anyone else got.\n\n\"My name's Roger, what's yours?\"\n\nGod damn this thing, I can't get a read on its body language at all, that'd at least give me SOMETHING. You'd never thought about it before, but it felt weird, alien, talking to something like this and not getting any non-verbal feedback, no body language, nothing to get a read on. Maybe it was thinking? Did it have a name? Did it know it?\n\n\"... Phillip.\"\n\n\"Well it's nice to meet you Phillip,\" Grit your teeth, smile, grit and smile. This thing's been making your life hell but if a little niceness can get me this far I can keep it up. \"Was it you making all that noise earlier?\"\n\n\"... Yes.\"\n\nWell we knew that already... What the hell am I meant to do anyway? Talk nice to the angry spirit and it realises the error of its ways? \"Phillip, me and my wife are having trouble sleeping, she's even had to go stay at her mums house because of all the noise... Do you want us to leave?\"\n\n\"... I don't know.\"\n\nOk, ok... Think about it, work with what you've got, this thing's not giving you much in the way of information, it either doesn't know a lot or it doesn't want to tell me... Wait...\n\n\"Phillip, how old are you?\"\n\n\"... Seven.\"\n\nWell shit there it is, nothing more pure than the feelings of a child who hasn't had the opportunity to grow up and get that maturity... And the thing I keep coming back to is that something really rotten must have happened to this little guy if he's turned into this. Whatever this started as it's started tugging my paternal instincts, and hell, I'm up already, might as well take the dive and see if I land on something soft.\n\n\"Phillip... You want to go watch some cartoons with me?\"\n\nYou could swear it lit up a fraction... Was it nodding? Whatever, take it as a yes, hope for the best. Give this little kid some family time, god knows he must have been starved of it if he's been kept here like this.\n\nI must have slipped off some time during the early morning, when I woke up it was past 11. Got in late to work, had a talking to from the boss, then realised... I wasn't tired, I slept late, but I slept through what was left of the night without being woken up by cupboards emptying themselves or chairs flying around the house... I stopped by a shop on the way back, picked up some cartoons on DVD, and waited until night fell.\n\nIt's been a few months now since the night we first spoke, since that night me and the missus have been staying up late to give the kid some quality family time, sometimes in shifts. Even played a few rounds of catch, figured if he can throw a chair he can probably throw and catch a ball. I still can't figure out what put that question in my mind that first night but I can still hear it clear as day, that bated silence that fell on the house as he mulled the question over before answering.\n\nIt might be my imagination, but his voice seems to be fading little by little too, maybe a little love is helping him forget the anger he felt, helping him move on, at least what I like to think... And if that day does come when we can't hear him, well, I keep up the nightly ritual of staying down here watching cartoons. At least for a little while. Just in case he hasn't moved on all the way, just enough so we can't hear him anymore.\n\nI'm glad we moved here." ]	3
[WP] You are just informed by the authorities that your DNA is a match as a crime suspect for a murder that occurred 40 years ago. The thing is - you are only 20 years old	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I wake up by a knock on the door, and as I walk to open it, I try to kick the items fallen on the floor to make the room appear clean. As I am kicking what appears to be an antique typewriter out of the way, I still wonder who left me this huge loft filled with antiques and shelves of books about which I had no idea , and neither did the Internet. I remember a confusing but completely unremarkable childhood , having a vague understanding of a sponsor trust till the day I turned 18 two years ago, and then a meeting with a lawyer who seemed as perplexed as I was as he explained that I was the sole beneficiary of a trust , and accordingly I was to get possession of this loft in London, along with a few bank locker details and an account with enough zeroes for me to forget anything else said as I laid my signatures where he pointed. On the security camera I saw two policemen, and I took my time to get my bearings. I had no explanations for nearly any of the items in my loft, well I call it a loft but a few girls I had brought over had called it a museum with a bed, but I figured my lawyer probably had an explanation and I opened the door. The policemen appeared hostile but confused, as they explained to me my rights and that I was to accompany them to the station as a murder suspect. I was like this has to be a joke, a twisted practical joke but never the less a joke. I said sure, I accompanied them and we reached the station. The lead police officer approached me , offered me a coffee which I declined and laid down the facts. My DNA was a match to a murder that occurred 40 years ago, that during an excavation for a new apartment complex, a skeleton was found with a fistful of hair clutched in its fist, and that a DNA analysis pinged my DNA records as a 98% match. At this point I was confused, if this was a joke it was a severe misuse of authority by the police , and I started snapping at them. They informed me that I had a right to call my lawyer, and that they themselves were confused as there was no precedent to this occurrence. I called the same lawyer who had handled the trust, and informed him of this comical situation, but his reaction left me stunned. In a panicked tone he enquired whether I had given any statement of made any comment and that I was to not say a single word till he arrived at the station, I asked him to elaborate and explain but he was adamant that I kept quit and do nothing but breathe till he reached the station. I decided to follow his instructions and informed the police and waited. My lawyer arrived, and asked to speak to me privately. As we ata down, I asked him what is this stupidity and to get me off immediately, but he replied grimly that he had an envelope with strict instructions by his predecessors as to what to do if such a similar situation arises. I asked what the fuck is he taking about and he just shrugged and then opened his briefcase and removed a gun. By now I was freaking out but he just shrugged and said that this was one of the possible outcomes and that every contingency was planned for . I asked what the fuck was he talking about and he just smiled, and asked me what do I remember off my childhood. I must have given him a blank look so he said , to think about it what do I remember about my childhood, till I was sitting in his office . I was still staring at him and he said, with some sympathy that I had no childhood. I was brought to him in his office in a cryogenic chamber and I was brought to life in front of him and he just followed his instructions. That , I had nothing to worry, that after he shoots me, my soul would continue as he would extract my DNA and my next life would begin in a office similar to his. I thought about it and figured what the heck, and the last thing I hear is a flash of his gun and a boom!\n\nEdit: I was too drunk and by the end of it was dozing off so didn’t put much effort in the end sorry !" ]	2
[WP] By day you are a superhero who saves the world, by night you do supervillain stuff, but only while sleepwalking.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“The nightmares... how do I cure them?” David briefly closed his eyes before continuing. “How do I make the torment end?” \r \n\r \n“Again, what be the problem?” replied the therapist, ever-focused on his notepad; this practitioner of listening was more akin to a bookworm fiddling away at the blank page – thumping the paper with his pen as an obvious habit. A distraction. \r \n\r \nDavid's eyes met the therapist as he continued to lay on the lounge chair, they narrowed. “Personal issues – not recommended for this session. Perhaps if you would listen to me... you would understand. I have told you this already! I cannot divulge this!” \r \n\r \n“If you can't even begin to tell me your problems, I cannot judge –”\r \n\r \n“I don't need you to JUDGE me, fool!” David shot up and backhanded the notepad with force, sending it out his hands and flying across the room. “I need guidance!”\r \n\r \nThe therapist shot up from his rolling chair, “Get out of my place of business right now! Such actions are forbidden!” \r \n\r \nSensing the escalation, David sprang to his feet and briskly went for the exit. This somehow wasn't like him. Not in this moment. He pulled open with such a force that the clear glass on the door broke into millions of pieces. Walking outside, David looked back briefly and studied the wreckage. He had been arrogant. He had been ruthless. He had let his unknown anger show too much. He had let his abilities bloom on the ordinary. \r \n\r \nBefore commotion would start, David emerged from the sun of the streets to the interior of his room. Teleportation was so very easy. It was such a trivial matter of distance now. He put it to such good use – but not for his own personal gain. He could very well envision himself using the means of instantaneous travel for insidious use – it had no limitation of range – but he always turned against it for morality's sake. Yes, he could lose any type of law enforcement by vanishing and appearing half-a-world away, but that was not his calling. That was not his business. That was not the game. \r \n\r \nHowever, what he couldn't shake were the nightmares. They were grueling. Every night the same commotion would emerge. The prospect of helping an old lady across the street became a teleportation to a volcano and dropping them in. He could see innocent people dying in his inner-most thoughts. He could see destruction and chaos. He didn't just see villainous degeneracy in his native country, no, he witnessed himself attacking a smorgasbord of countries big and small. Citizens tough and helpless. Deaths prolonged or quick. And then he found himself gazing at his apartment. \r \n\r \nIt wasn't the first time the owner was angered at David's lack of care for apartment utilities. David had thought himself a civil, clean caretaker, but apparently he was a lazy slob who couldn't even clean after himself. And this time if he caused any more destruction of property, he would not just be fined extra in his rent, he would be out of that complex entirely. The problem was, he swore that when it was time to sleep... everything was in order. The rooms were tidy, but when rest called... events changed.\r \n\r \nProcessing the myriad of different thoughts made David feel drowsy. He knew he couldn't sleep well anymore, but his body desperately called for unconsciousness. He wouldn't patrol the streets this night being the good Samaritan, he would take a well-deserved break. In one moment he was laying on a ruffled bed, another moment he was gone. Gone not of sleep, but of his mind. \r \n\r \nHe woke to screams. It made him shoot up. He was sweating and his body was sore. This wasn't normal sleep pains – this was if he was in a fight. A brutal fight. Memories flooded back into his mind as he looked at his digital clock. It was four o'clock in the morning. However he couldn't think for those yells. \r \n\r \nAdrenaline pumping as always when danger entered the scene, he ran out out of his apartment and to the neighboring one on the other end. He saw a young, lanky man crawling on the ground and shouting for help. As David approached, he saw that the poor soul was bleeding and his eyes – my god his eyes – were taped shut. \r \n\r \n“Let me help you!” David went into action, carefully pulling down one of the pieces of tape on his eyes – luckily, this black tape was resting on his forehead down to his cheek, not necessarily sticking to the eye itself. “Who did this?” \r \n\r \n“T-that voice...?” he spoke ominously, pulling away from David without even letting him finish with the other eye.\r \n\r \n“What are you doing?” David asked, trying to remove the other piece of tape, but the stranger was fighting it tooth and nail. \r \n\r \n“No... my wife... is dead... bastard!” he muttered, falling down on his back and hitting the pavement. \r \n\r \nDavid's eyes widened, “There was another?”\r \n\r \n“A ghost... a ghost mutilated her... your voice is familiar... I hear it!” he kept murmuring in tones that David couldn't quite understand. However, something was off. While he was asleep, he did vaguely remember a nightmare having to do with some teleported break in, but that could not possibly connect to this situation at hand.\r \n\r \nAs the man's eye began to see, he looked at David as if he was about to turn white, “It was YOU! You did this, you motherfucker!”\r \n\r \n“Did what?! I don't understand!” David's heart rate was increasing, blood pumping into every vein, but that could not sustain the thousands of questions that was flowing into his brain.\r \n\r \n“You killed her!” as David thought deeply, the man had gotten up and was lunging for him, “You appeared in our room!”\r \n\r \nIn the heat of the moment, the innocent man's face became jello. It instantly became devoid of all life. It was a spurring mass of flesh and tissue. He had done it. He had killed him with his strength. It was as if all of his morality swept from his body as a flood. Not even giving the stranger a second glance, he appeared in the man's house. He saw blood line the walls and the trails led into the bedroom. David put a hand over his mouth as he saw the bloodied corpse of what was once a woman. On the bed, there was a phone... it had a video that was playing on loop. He carefully maneuvered his way across the broken furniture that was strewn across the room and watched the video.\r \n\r \n“To all of you unevolved fools, I will be taking complete control over this planet!” rang a familiar voice on the recording. On the video was the picture of the man he had killed and the woman that was murdered – they both begged for mercy. \r \n\r \n“Your little boyfriend does not deserve to look at my presence!” said the gruff, but oddly familiar voice on the other end of the camera. It then proceeded to show duct-tape which had suddenly appeared out of nowhere being forced onto the bloodied man's eyes. Then, David had to look away, but not before the camera turned around to see...!\r \n\r \nThis made him sick. It was as if the universe wanted to reveal a plot twist. After all of the violence in his dreams – after all of the suffering he had witness – after all the attempts at resolution to professionals – he still did not grasp the magnitude of the situation. He gazed at himself, smiling deviously, eyes closed. “You all cannot escape. This night is mine. And, David, when you see this... just know you are hopeless to stop me. We are both one in the same... I am the teleporter and you are the naïve hero. We both use each other –”\r \n\r \nDavid's air quickly left his lungs as his scream echoed throughout the halls. He threw the phone into a wall which shattered. Then, as if to add insult to injury, siren's wailed their familiar tune outside. He had heard them before, but not under this context. What was he to do now? And how could he stop this nightmare?" ]	2
[WP] You wake up in a place you don't know, as a skeleton. You realize you can feel and talk like a normal human, and you can regenerate broken bones and manipulate their shape. You want to know why a necromancer brang you back to life, because you remember nothing of your past life.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I wouldn't call what happened first 'waking up'.\n\nUsually, when you wake, you blink the grit out of your eyes, feel the dryness in your mouth, and the heaviness in your head as sleep loosens her heavy blanket.\n\nBut, I did wake. At some point there was nothing, and then there I was. Darkness and then a very confusing sight. A large hall of shadowed windows (filled with the finest glass I'd seen) full of treasures and broken objects in strange cases. The walls were covered in some kind of markings of unnaturally straight lines. It seemed to be night, but the high windows let in light that seemed lighter than the moon could provide it flickered and changed seemingly at random, along with the sounds of strange people and instruments.\n\nHad I slipped into the gods realm? Perhaps Somnus had decided to send me the strangest of dreams. I tried to move and felt myself restrained. Looking down to see what held me, I froze, trying to make sense of the strange sight before me. Bones, bones of a man held in place to a wall by iron pins. I jerked in surprise and the bones moved too. I pulled away from the wall and the bones moved too, breaking away from the iron pins and reforming in the semblance of a body. My body? Panicked now, I pulled and pushed. Like the all the objects in this room, I realised, I was trapped in glass; purer and cleaner than diamond, like the waters of a still lake. With my repeated movements however, the glass cracked and shattered and some beast let out an almighty wail. \n\nI must be dead, trapped in the underworld and Cerberus was coming to retrieve my cursed body. Finally free, I ran. My feet making a hollow tap as they hit stone floors. I ran from the hall, into other rooms with other wonders, until I saw a green door. Green for life, for Proserpina; perhaps it is her path I will follow. I push against the green doors, held in place by strange grey bars. The bars gave way and the doors opened, and I stumbled into a strange grey hellscape of flickering lights and noise.", "In the quiet, pre-dawn morning, a single pebble rolled down the hillside, ticking and clattering over many like it. \nIt eventually came to a halt near the base of the hill, where a small rabbit wearing a blue vest looked at it questionably. \nThe rabbit’s little nose bobbed up and down as he inspected the rock, then pulled out a notepad, “That’ll be a fine, for sure’um. Making light of the Home-owners Association? I think NOT. Misplaced garden decoration: one.” \n\nAs if in defiance, more pebbles began to race down the hill. Their numbers eventually gathering and flooding into larger rocks which began to tumble, which in turn bumped into yet larger rocks, and those into larger, larger rocks. \nThe end result of all this was that a certain rabbit with a notepad was due to get positively bulldozed. \n\nOn a spot high up the hill where up until recently a pill of pebbles had been enjoying the sun, a bone-thin hand burst out of the ground. \nIt felt around its surroundings, but found little else beside a small hedgehog which was quickly enjoying the worst day of its life as it was grasped firmly. \nThe hedgehog squeaked as it was seized and quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard it do something so terribly embarrassing. \n \nWith great effort, the bits and pieces attached to the arm kicked, wormed, and wriggled their way to the surface, where it drew in a deep breath that was entirely wasted on it, as the entity had little use for it. \nThis isn’t a harsh comment on the individual’s personality, but rather an insight into their general being which was that of an undead individual.\nThe skeleton used their free hand to shield the eyes it didn’t have from the warming glow of the cresting sun, “I had been wondering where that sun had gone,” said the skeleton, squinting its eye sockets in pure defiance of all reason, “But I guess it dawned on me!” \n\n\nThe tiny hedgehog in the skeleton’s hand groaned and began to struggle to get free. \n\nLooking down at its hand, the skeleton gasped theatrically and smirked, “You are quite a handful,” it said with a chuckle. \n\nThe hedgehog winced, “Just put me down, will you? You bag of bones!” it said, balling up as much as its limited movement allowed, trying to force its spines into the bony man’s hand. \n\nThe skeleton clicked its tongue in disapproval, “Now, now. Don’t get sharp with me!” \n\nA cry of pain, the tiny hedgehog coughed up some blood, “Stop it! You should know what wordplay like that does to a person!” \n\nTapping its jaw twice, the skeleton shrugged, “Excuse me, but I’ve been living under a rock you see!” \n\nThe hedgehog spasmed in the skeleton’s grip, “Stop it!” \n\nThe bony fingers of the skeleton unfurled themselves and the hedgehog fell towards the ground, its fall cushioned by a rock, “Jackass,” groaned the hedgehog. \n\nNow, to drop a small, friendly forest critter like that is of course a terribly grim action, the presence of skeletons should further inform you about the kind of “dark” story we’re going for here, but if you weren’t convinced that this is a story of the grimdark variety, then please note the following to firmly remind you that this is not a happy story: \n\n“I’m suing,” said a tiny voice, from beneath a pile of stones. \nDespite all odds, the member of the Home-owners Association had survived with little more than bruises. \nIt shouldered its way through the pebbles that surrounded it and skipped its way to the top of the hill, though it remembered around half way to play up its injuries and groaned and hissed as it clenched its teeth, “Tssssh. Aaaaah. So hurt!” it said, already visualizing the kind of things it was gonna buy with the settlement. \nThe rabbit pulled out its notepad and pen, pouting for a moment as it noticed its quill had snapped in half, then pointed the stub of it at the other people there, “Names!” it cried, “Give me names now.” \n\n“Harry,” said the hedgehog, wrinkling its nose as it recognized the small badge of the home-owners association on the rabbit’s vest, “I’m as much as victim as you are. I got skeleman-handled by this bloke over here.” \n\nThe rabbit nodded in approval, a possible witness would be a great asset in the forest court, “Jenny,” said the rabbit, holding out a hand. The hedgehog shook it. \nThey both looked toward the skeleton, awaiting its reply. \n\nThe skeleton simply shrugged. \n\n“You really don’t know jack, do you?” said the hedgehog with a hint of annoyance. \n\n“Never met him!” replied the skeleton, “Must be a lovely man, I’m sure. Good name, too!” \n\nBoth the friendly forest critters winced as pain shot through their bodies.\nThe rabbit’s eye twitched in the aftermath of the attack, “Assault!” she cried, furiously scribbling at her notepad, “Mental assault!” \n\nThe skeleton leaned on empty air as it continued its complete disregard of the laws of nature. \n\n-----\n\nSaid laws of nature could do little else but frown with their hands pressed into their side, “Is he allowed to just do that!? He can’t just get away with this, can he?” \nThere was a buzz of energy as a shining circle of brilliant gold materialized beside the Laws and handed it a piece of parchment. \nIt was a signature sheet for a formal complaint. \nIt had a few names on it, among which was “The Circle of Life”. \nThe Laws of Nature looked at it for a brief moment, signed its name, and got a hard drink. \n\n-----\n\n“A salt?” echoed the skeleton, “Not gonna help you much. This meat is bone-dry.” \n\nThe hedgehog began dry-heaving and then threw up. The rabbit’s eye-twitch became permanent. \nBoth critters raced down the side of the hill, like friendly forest critters are supposed to when interacting with anyone other than a fairy tale princess. \nThe hedgehog flipped off the skeleton. \n\nWaving them off, the skeleton pinched its chin between finger and thumb, “Jack,” it said, tasting the word. \nIt looked down at its appearance, which was little less than skin and bones, as it was just bones. \nIt couldn’t remember much about its previous life or whether being a skeleton was supposed to be an issue. \n”Skeleton Jack,” it said narrowing its eye sockets as a wide grin formed on its face. \n\n-----\n\nThe Laws of Nature threw their glass of whiskey against the wall. \n\n-----\n\nAs the skeleton watched the critters flee, it placed its hand over where its stomach should be, the skeleton felt an appetite form, “It seems I’m facing hunger…” it said, then spun around and faced the other direction, the feeling of hunger vanished. \nThe grass on the hill surrounding the skeleton yellowed and died. \n\n------\n\nThe Laws of Nature kicked-off its sandals as it stomped forward, but was held back by its fellow deities, “LET ME AT HIM.”" ]	3
[WP] Yesterday, you pulled the sword from the stone and were hailed as the true king. Today, there’s a different sword in the stone and no one remembers yesterday except you and the secret society of “true” kings.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "One thousand, and one men, and women were gathered around the emerald casing. It had not been possible. The original sword was still in possession of the newest King Vladimir.\n\nThe ceremony never repeated on such immediate intervals in any historical records that were to the knowledge of the kings and queens. Even the stone had moved, and some of the previous swords were gone. Yet their owners remained.\n\nNobody who knew spoke a word that day, and all previous owners felt a strong unease that something they had done may not have been the proper use of the order. There were many days which they held court for themselves, because it was clear that only the likes of them were looking, but today was unique. Today had a tinge in the air, as if this new sword had brazen meaning.\n\nNobody dared touch it. Everyone chose to wait, and see who would step forth. It was intrinsically a part of each owner's personality they often found. A tone that one of the primary uses of the sword was to keep notes on those who failed; yet what if the entire order had been built to change? What if it had been built with bias, atop a shifting mound of sand?\n\nIt seemed that the puzzle pieces each owner knew so well after years of presumptuous study were suddenly with an adverse, and inverted meaning. To stand in that room made you feel like the floor was failing, and it made one want to leave immediately, but everyone knew that everyone else was looking." ]	2
[WP] guardians are meant to be the loving side characters in your story. Make one that becomes the main character itself.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Garen's little lot by the stream near the heart of the forest always made for an excellent turning point. The fearless hero would stumble through the clearing near death. Garen, on his way back from picking berries, filling a pale of water, or perhaps collecting sticks for his fire, would find the half-dead hero sprawled just inside his clearing. \r \n\r \nThis one chap, who turned out to be named Japheth, had made it all the way to his mule's shelter before collapsing in the trough. Garen dropped his berry basket, hauled Japheth's head out of the water, and spent the next month tending to his fever-addled brain while derusting his armor. Did Japheth come back and thank him? No. No, he did not. \r \n\r \nMost of them didn't really. Garen's role in their story relegated him to a late-story helper or maybe a guardian at best. This kind of assistance apparently deserved no more than a thank you and a heartfelt goodbye.\r \n\r \nFrom time to time a snag would happen in the storyline to add a bit of drama. Once the villain arrived just after the hero left and burned Garen's house down and slaughtered his mule, Poxy was that particular mule's name.\r \n\r \nActually, the burning of the late-stage guardians' home happened more times than Garen cared to admit. Though, if the hero lived to the end, defeated the villain, and didn't actually become the villain themself (and of course actually remembered Garen and found out about the unfortunate incident with his home and the burning of his cottage) they would come back and pay for a new cottage. No nevermind that he always built the cottage himself with the materials on hand.\r \n\r \n\"Money's about half as good as manure for a man what lives in the middle of the dark wood,\" he often muttered to himself as he spread manure over between rows of radishes. \"Worse really. Don't help nothing grow, wouldn't you say Poxy LVI?\" Poxy LVI watched him with her black marble eyes and let out a few more bits of dung.\r \n\r \nNow and again, his story took some unexpected turns. He might find the \"just the thing I've been looking for\" which the hero would use to overcome some villains perfidious power. The hero would crow with delight, happily take the \"just what I needed\" thing, and march off to do great battle. One odd twist to the story happened when the hero stumbled into his clearing, arrows in her back, carrying a swaddled little package. \r \n\r \nThe lady hero was in a bad way but she made a recovery after a month or two that passed liker an intermission. When she did, the swaddled little package, which turned out to be a little girl. When she arrived, the girl was a shy bare-bones little thing. But with Garen's kind keeping and good hearty food, she had transformed from a shy little thing to an outgoing ragamuffin. \r \n\r \n\"Please, Sir Garen. Will you watch after this little child? I fear this will be the only refuge the lass finds until I return from my quest and the world is safe again for such as her.\"\r \n\r \n\"I don't know about calling myself sir, ma'lady. But she can stay here and I'll do my best to keep her safe.\"\r \n\r \n\"Very good then.\" She stood and towered over Garen by a head. \"With you watching her, I can do all I can to end the dread lord Japheth's reign. When I do, I'll return for my charge and reward you for your help.\"\r \n\r \n\"Are you sure you must-Did you say Japheth?\" Garen wondered if he had heard the name wrong. It wasn't unheard of for a hero to be corrupted on the path. How many Japheths could there really be in these parts, he wondered. \"How long he been terrorizing then,\" he tried to ask casually.\r \n\r \n\"It has been a dozen years since he burned my village to the ground. I've sworn vengeance and have worked toward that end ever since. Why do you ask? Do you know him?\"\r \n\r \n\"Ehrm, perhaps. Though I doubt it. The man I knew came through these parts an age past. Must be loads of Japheths about, I'd think. I'll wish you good luck and glory on your quest.\"\r \n\r \nThe imposing woman laughed for no reason reason. The beads woven into her black dreadlocks rattled against the pauldrons of her plate mail armor. Then she left. \r \n\r \nGaren sighed. He wondered whether Japheth's goons would come to burn his cottage down for old time's sake. \r \n\r \n\"Better take the little Eynid out to pick some thimbles just in case. Give the rat bastards plenty of time to get the job done. Don't know if these old bones could stand leaping out the window with the place aflame and all. That last time messed up my shoulder something fierce.\"\r \n\r \nJapheth did come to burn the cottage down and retrieve the destined girl Eynid. Maybe he would have let Garen live if he'd given her up and maybe he wouldn't have. Garen found the heroes turned villains to be more capricious and sadistic than the ones that were born with little black eyes and sharp teeth. \r \n\r \nIn this case though, the sadistic hero-turned-villain was foiled. Though he still burned down Garen's cottage with a primal shout of frustration and a few choice incantations. Garen and Eynid could hear the scream and subsequent explosion from the thimbleberry path a good league away.\r \n\r \nGaren smiled down at the little Eynid as the shout reverberated off the cliff face. \"Someone's in for a rough thrashing by your lady friend when he gets home.\" Eynid smiled back unknowingly with little red thimbles stuck to the tips of each of her fingers." ]	2
[WP] You did it. You saved everyone. All it costed was your life.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The funeral was. . . nice. You would think being a hero who saved the world would get trumpets and doves at least. You see, I died stopping another dark lord's end the world plan. Yes, another. The one that killed me was my fourth. \n\nThe first dark lord cost me my whole party's lives. I could not save them. Azerl the sorcerer burned out his mana veins casting a shield to block a hellgate. Ham fist Hal went down punching out demonic minions, buying time with his life. Sarah the healer ran out of mana, but still saved my life with blood magic. She died in my arms.\n\nThe second dark lord brought me our of the bottle. I was back in action with a new group of young heroes. I failed again. Rex Fire Lord burned himself to ashes summoning an achient fire elemental. Sneak Sue back stabbed the dark lord and found out the hard way about defensive enchantments. Paul the mad alchemist blew up himself and the giant wood golem. And I killed the dark druid himself as he watch his golem burn.\n\nThe third dark lord killed my cat. I know that is a poor reason to come out of retirement, but my therapist recommended the cat to help with survivor's guilt. This time I went my own way. I refuse to join a new hero's party. I was certain I would get them killed. They died just fine without me. I never even knew their names. I fought my way into the dark lord's sanctum and found blood. I ripped the vampire's head off with my bare hands.\n\nThe forth dark lord was not really a dark lord, but a bored primordial being. The kind of being that would give power to the most messed up killer it could find for laughs. I decided no one else would die because of it. I spent years looking for the magic to end it. My friends gave me the components needed to kill it. Azerl had a book on binding beings to enrich his powers. Sarah's blood magic can form a link between any living beings. Rex had artifacts to open holes in reality, just perfect for hunting down a dark lord. Paul left behind a potion for every circumstance. The last party had gear they would never use again. Hal and Sue gave me plenty of motivation.\n\nI chased it to the ends of the earth and through the infinite planes, but I cornered it. Then I linked us, body, mana, mind, and soul. Finally with a sharp blade, I ended both of us. Best trade I ever made.\n\nDeath was not what I expected. Death was kind. Death let me see my funeral. Not many came. I outlived my friends. At the end I was alone, a broken hero, the last hero with any luck. Now I need to meet my new party for the next adventure. I just hope I don't fail them like all the others.\n\n\"Buddy, you need to. . . relax.\"\n\n\"Stop pushing strange potions Max.\"\n\n\"Sarah can heal side effects. Beside Sue was only purple for a week.\"\n\n\"Knock it off. Our leader is here. No time to waste, we have souls to save.\"" ]	2
[WP] When your parents died, you were tasked with emptying their house. The sci-fi memorabilia and the unused diet books in the attic were expected. The corpses in the basement were less expected.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It's weird I used to call this place home. So sad we let it get this bad. The little bungalow at the end of the street, no second floor, curbed architecture dotted our little piece of Midwestern paradise, now reduced to a condemned heap of brick and siding. Don't need an attic, when you've got a basement, that's what I always told myself. \n\n\"Death to Sidewalks\" we'd call it, the neighborhood rascals and the trio of us because it's the house where the sidewalk ended. I also think, the three of us liked the thought of our place being labeled important. Minutes of running would be had, little feet tapping against the sectioned and partitioned concrete, to culminate with your reward: the Olyphant House. With a happy nuclear family, two boys and a girl. But nobody cared about that, I think people only liked us because we had a pool. Alas, these days there's no more sidewalk, no more pool. No more bus stops, no more, well, a lot of what I remember is gone. \n\nThe drive-ins have been getting harder as I've gone and past. It was easier when I first left, you come back a month or so, the change is gradual, slow moving. A closing of a business, a new thing or two. Now a days, the years in-between, it's like when your memories are filled with places that no longer exist, well, are they still valid memories? It gets you thinking, truthfully how much you really miss, eh? Life flies back when you're having fun, right? Maybe, it also flies by when all you do is punch numbers. Enough unanswerable questions, I don't like dwelling on it all that much, because it's my life, my choice but, how much do you wish you could go back? Thoughts creep in my mind once and a while, if just for a day or so, back to a place where I can experience that again. Running up and down the sidewalks with the neighborhood, biking through the parked cars, weaving around the high end, glossy finishes, all monochromatic blurs behind you as the wind whips your hair back. The breath of youthful immunity forcing its way into your lungs as you take risk after risk. The fresh summer lilac scent ordaining the bushes of the Townsend's lawn, bringing it all together in a perfect, sweet summer dog day, where you weren't directed to do anything. What you do, well, it's up to you. What you make of it. \n\nOh, what I would do for some lilacs now. \n\nYou know, we all felt guilty when we got the news. Ten days, they had been there, sitting together in their chairs, gone and dead as the daylight in my life, passed on. Don't know how they went, but you know the picture the mortician painted, well, it seemed peaceful. What he didn't tell us was the stench. I think if this was a thing that permeated throughout my childhood I would've moved out quicker than at eighteen. But, I'm happy, you know. They finally get to move on, even if, uh, none of us were there. I wonder if the messages on my answering machine, were happy too.\n\nA voice called out to me. With the fluttery chaos of a few empty boxes flying down the staircase crashing upon the marbled floor of the basement, Delaney heaved her torso down the first couple steps. Her hair, black at the scalp, a hint of grey sticking out from the roots, but don't let her see, which ombre down to a blond at the tips, stuck to her forehead, as the heat down here began to suffocate. Beads of sweat had already began the tributaries down her angular, raised face. \n\n\"Goodness, how are you even able to stand this heat wearing all that Quinn? Teddy and I considered pooling to get the A/C turned back on but...\" She laid her forearms upon the wooden hand rail, as her hand waved in front of her. \"Not really dressed for a move, now are ya?\" \n\nThe beads of sweat forming at the collar of my flannel gave credence to her statement. The now noticed sensation of dampness and musk from within my bubble jacket solidified it. I motioned her up with the picture in my hand. I had just upped and, well, work attire be work attire.\n\n\"Fashion over function. You know me.\" I said. \n\nDelaney finished marching down the creaking, and frankly dying staircase, fully immersing herself within squeezing and agitating inducing heat. \"You know, Teddy and I really appreciate you coming out here, and helping with all this. You really didn't have to.\" \n\n\"And what, miss all this?\" I held out the picture, so we could both see it. The first face you'd pick up is the bubbly little boys, if one was not entranced by the canopy of trees and nature behind the quadruplet of people. A missing tooth, but a smile that compensated for nothing. The youth within him, ready to tackle the surroundings around him. A single eye visible, the other closed to allow the smile to take the stage, not a single gray line underneath them. No concern, for the world, around him, only a desire to conquer it. The girl's, was more secluded. She seemed to blend into the forest canopy behind. The green shirt and condensed stature were the perfect camouflage. Despite fading into the form, still an angular grin cracked the permafrost of her face into a slight valley with a set of pearls at the bottom. Just hidden for the day. Ready to flourish like a wine with adequate time. The two adults stood stoic, well, one of them did. A man with a hand on the shoulder of the boy, like a corral, fighting him to stay put, not run off into something he doesn't understand. A hardened gut, and a harder stare duck into your soul if you meet his gaze long enough. The woman, taking the piss out of a smile, but her eyes, they weren't fixated on the camera like the rest. They were fixated to the man to her right. Admiring that gaze. \n\nI wiped a pallet of sweat from my forehead to prevent the drips from falling unto the frame. \"Before Teddy was born. Look how happy they look.\" \n\nDelaney chuckled and offered, \"I think your definition of 'happy' is different than mine.\" She grabbed the picture out of my hand, and really took time to study it. Thirty years ago, that picture must have been taken. A trip to Aspen, Colorado. Maybe longer ago that was. I think its easy to say, that I don't like coming home for the pain of regret or the fact that I straight up, blatantly wasn't there. That's a cop out, you know, everyone feels that when they go. Even if I was there, they'd still be gone. This house would still break down. This town would still change. You know, sacrifice is something that's made. Something that you're willing to face, and you know I can't go back and take the sacrifices I made for the betterment of myself. I guess I need to live with that. But it's hard you know? Looking at it with the persistent lens of hindsight and know, deep down, you can't put into words how much you've lost, that in the grand scheme, don't matter. But I wouldn't've have grown. Wouldn't have been, you know, a person, if I never left. I lie to myself about that. \n\n\"It's crazy we've switched places.\" I said. Didn't mean to, but it came out anyways. Delaney, to no fault of her own, was confused, a stricken expression and a grin. By the time I realized I had spoken out of thought, her eyebrow had peaked. \n\n\"What do you mean?\"\n\n\"Look at you,\" I pointed to the girl, her arms crossed, with that sly little grin still there. Observable to all those who care to look for it. \"So, stoic, eh? You hated that trip.\" \n\n\"I lost my shoes.\" \n\nI ignored that, \"And look at me.\" Her eyes darted around my former form. The dreams and aspirations trapped within his young mind. The absent front tooth the only thing missing from a complete human. I lost my tooth on that trip, keep the little speck of bone in a vial mom gave to me to keep it safe. The first thing of importance I ever lost. I never found that vial after that trip concluded. I wonder where that part of me is now. You know, a tooth in a vial, somewhere in a thrift store in Colorado, a final part of me separated from my home. \n\nI put my hand around her shoulder, and pulled my sister deep within my moist, sweat infused bubble jacket, and sighed. I spoke, \"you retake that picture today, I think I know who would be smiling more.\" \n\nDelany lowered the picture, and looked at my eyes. Her words came out tight, and crisp, \"it would be Teddy.\" She tossed the picture down into the box I had pulled from a wall. A let her eyes wander across the box borders of the basement, taking in all the things left behind. \"You can't blame yourself Quinn, you know existing takes us down different paths. You had yours, I had mine, Teddy had his, it's natural we all, you know, how did Dad say it? Little crows always gotta leave the nest. We can take solace that they, you know, went out like they wanted too. Together.\"\n\nI kicked the box to the edge of the stairs, just to make it easier to move up later. I stopped and turned to my sister, as the box gained dents with each kick. The soft smile she hid within the picture had returned with her time on the Earth. Gotten brighter since I left, all those years ago. I don't think it's because I was gone, but you know, like all change you can't tell if it was your fault or not. I think if it as one life's transactions, a give and take. I gave mine up so she could have hers. \n\n\"You think they missed us? Missed, ah, me?\"\n\n\"You know they did. You, me and Teddy. And if Quinn Olyphant, you're insinuating if they felt betrayed, don't think like that. You'll just tear yourself down.\" \n\nI looked up at the maybe, 6 inches of air above me. I didn't know if the liquid on my face was sweat or, they both taste the same. Arms wrapped around me. Finger nails of opposite hands gripped my sides, and squeezed. A pallet of faded blonde, with those little shades of gray, pushed into my cheek. The softest, pillow I could find.\n\n\"Don't blame yourself Quinn, please don't. You know we could've found a bunch of dead bodies down here.\" \n\nI laughed, one of those ugly, strangulating in the musk and tears kind laughs. I lowered my head into her shoulder, \"I think the only one with corpses to let go of here is me.\"" ]	2
[WP] An elf who hates magic’s inherent inconsistency and lack of deep explanation gets Isekaied to the real world and falls in love with science	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Hi, non-native English speaker, long-time lurker, and guy with literally zero creative writing experience here. Hope you enjoy this thing I bashed out.\n\n\|==========\|\n\nI swear, if I hear him mention the Authors one more time...\n\nSanna's focus on the Master of Healing in the room had vanished long ago, instead drifting back to their notebook and the contents inside it. Despite it being strictly meant for Healing-related notes, barely any of the front pages were filled out with lecture information. Instead, the source of interest was in the back pages with the handmade map of the night sky and scribbles of astronomical math.\n\nNobody believed in astronomy anymore. None cared for it's beauty, which gets replaced by mundanity in time. The non-magical stellar wayfinding techniques were made obsolete with the use of the Waypoint spell. Nothing beyond the clouds was of importance in an elf's life because nothing beyond the clouds held magic.\n\nOf course, this was not true for Sanna. The sorcery of the night rivaled any damn spell the Authors created.\n\nFlipping backwards to a blank page, Sanna continued their self-imposed challenge of predicting the next lunar eclipse down to the half-hour. At least mathematics gives the same results every time. Or, I hope it does.\n\nThe stars' movements don't vary based on the day of the month like Pyromancy does. The eclipses can be predicted in advance, something practitioners of Summoning could only dream of. Even the new moon can at least be counted on to reappear the next night, unlike the forbidden Invisibility spell which occasionally doomed its casters to live in isolation forever. Astronomy's magic is in being consistent and unchanging - you won't find those words in a spellcaster's dictionary.\n\nThe sudden shuffling of feet, however, meant class were being dismissed, so they gathered everything up and set off for home.\n\n\|==========\|\n\nNotebook and pencil in hand, lying on the grass to draw the stars' nightly performance, Sanna wonders why they even bother to stay enrolled in that institution and attend the classes. The place was supposed to give long-awaited answers to their questions about magic, but all it did was waste time and give half-baked reasonings that boiled down to 'Because the Authors made it like that'. \n\nNothing had a clear explanation, except for the night. Nothing was truly understood, except for the night. Nothing was simple and straight forward, except for the night...\n\n...the night looked beautiful...\n\n...so bright, yet so dark...\n\n...so dark...\n\nAnd all went dark.\n\n\|=========\|\n\nSanna woke up on some strangely soft and warm grass, and it took them a while to realize it was actually a bed.\n\n...a bed?\n\nI only have hammocks in my house.\n\nSitting upright in confusion, they found themselves in a nearly-empty room populated with only the bed, a small table, a bookcase, and a strange covered pole with a string attached.\n\nJust then, the door to the room opened and a tall figure walked in.\n\n...wait, that's not an elf - the ears are round. That's a... I don't know what that is. What is going on??\n\n\"Oh, you're up! Had hoped you weren't in a coma or whatever.\" The elf-like person walked over to the pole and yanked the string.\n\nSanna was blinded by the unexpected light. Non-magical light.\n\n\|==========\|\n\n\"...So, you just found me lying on the ground in front of your home?\"\n\n\"Yeah, was like you took a nap right on the yard. Went over to look and imagine my surprise when I saw those ears. Looked as if you came straight from the fiction section of a library.\"\n\n\"I could say the same about your ears too, you know.\"\n\nThis Daniel - he called himself a Human - was currently going on about the most ridiculous thing Sanna had ever heard, but they knew even less about what happened and so decided to just accept it. Not much else could've been done anyway.\n\n\"Ha, you're not wrong. Alright, I'm feeling hungry and I think you should eat up too so I'll go cook something; we can scratch our heads more over lunch. Stay in the guest bedroom for now, but maybe that shelf might have something for you in the meantime.\"\n\nDaniel walked out of the room and Sanna went over to his bookcase, leaning down to browse. There was nothing about astronomy, but something else looked of interest. They pulled it out and looked at the front cover.\n\n'Introduction to Chemistry'- what does that word mean? Might be neat.", "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.\n\nThat's the old adage, and that's what I was I was thinking as I listened to Alaniluviel opine about his love of science, and how lucky I was to live in a world of science rather than the world of magic he hailed from, and which he was glad to have left behind.\n\nI'd long since gotten over my doubts that he was really an elf. He looks too perfectly elvish, for it to be the result of some plastic surgeon in a country with lax professional ethics laws trying to butcher a human face into a half-assed parody of elvenkind. Besides, I did see him drop out of a portal in my backyard, and that lent a lot of credibility to his claims of elfhood. That was also how we'd ended up being roommates. But the longer I lived with him, the more I found his attitude about our world and his own perplexing.\n\n\"I mean, the rules of magic change with the stars, the seasons, even the bloody days of the week!\" Alan exclaimed, my copy of Conceptual Physics open on his lap. \"You'll never have to worry about that kind of nonsense, here! Planck's constant isn't going to stop being constant just because it's Taco Tuesday.\"\n\n\"Well, yeah, but at the end of the day, aren't all of the immutable physical laws of this universe just limitations?\" I protested. \"You've said people can teleport, fly, and shoot lightning out of their fingers, where you come from!\"\n\nHe snorted. \"Overrated. For all practical purposes, it's not much different than how you can fly across this continent by plane, in less than a day. And who needs to shoot lightning out their fingers? If you need to defend yourself, then a gun kills someone just as dead, with a lot less possibility of collateral damage. Not to mention that if you want lightning, you've got it trapped in wires running through your walls.\"\n\nI sighed. \"I guess you have a point there...\" Then I squinted at him, noticing something, and I pointed at his face. \"Um, Alan, what's that?\"\n\n\"What's what?\" he asked. I grabbed my purse from the coffee table, fished out my compact, and tossed it to him. He flipped it open, and looked at his reflection.\n\nHe ran a finger across his face. \"Hm...I'm not sure how I got that injury. I certainly don't remember getting cut. Does this world's atmosphere have some corrosive element to it that's eroding my epidermal layer? Perhaps I'll need to add a base to my sunscreen to neutralize any atmospheric acidity...\"\n\nI smirked. \"I think I just won our argument about science vs. magic, Alan.\"\n\nHe raised a slender golden eyebrow. \"How do you figure?\"\n\n\"Because that's not an injury, and the atmosphere isn't acidic. It looks like you just became the first elf ever to get a wrinkle.\"" ]	3
[WP] The Boltzmann Brain theory is true - your conscience is the only “true consciousness” and the entire universe only exists as a part of it. If you cease to exist, so does everything else. This fact was just discovered and made public.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "although the Boltzmann theory suggests this we cant prove this. although we can suggest ways that prove this such as that when you drop bricks you're more likely to have a disordered pile than a perfect pile. however the whole theory relies on the second theory of thermodynamics and the so forth belief in high entropy states being disordered. this means that the disorder (high entropy) is more likely than the order (low entropy) and so in reality a brain could spawn in the middle of space and this is more likely than the science having been discovered in the way it is today if time repeated. this then begs the question, can we really say that anything we supposably know is in fact true as in another existence the knowledge we know now may not have ever been discovered. this would mean what we know now we dont know whether its the order or disorder and so faith is important." ]	2
[WP] An intergalactic empire has come to earth in search of new spices. World leaders agree to hold a feast in their honor. A very, very bland feast.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Russia’s offering boiled potatoes, no butter, no salt, Mr. Secretary. The Chinese are bringing white rice.”\n\n“What about the Americans?”\n\n“Mayonnaise, sir.”\n\n“Excellent!”\n\n“Canada suggested water, sir.”\n\n“Even better!”\n\n“We’re—having a bit of an issue with some of the countries, though. It’s, well, a communication problem. They don’t seem to understand what we mean by bland.”\n\n“Italy? Romania?”\n\n“No, sir, they’re both bringing cornmeal mush. Polenta and mamaliga.”\n \n“Who is it? Those idiots in Africa?”\n\n“No, sir, they’re prepared to feed the aliens mealie. That should send them packing.”\n\n“Who the hell is it, then?”\n\n“Well, sir, it’s Jamaica and their jerk. Also Mexico. You know they have all those different peppers—“\n\n“Yes, yes!”\n\n“Also, India says it’s a disgrace to feed guests—what did they call it? Let me check my notes—‘boring, tasteless slop,’ that’s it. They want chicken korma.”\n\n“Do you mean to tell me the people of Earth can’t even work together to make a bad meal?”\n\n“Apparently, sir. I suggested they could bring the paper plates. They agreed reluctantly.”\n\n“Remember to tell the waitstaff I don’t want water. I want vodka in a water glass.”\n\n“We all do, sir. We all do.”" ]	2
[WP]You are a beast who has been enslaved by the government and turned into an attack dog. One day, while tracking a traitor with two agents, you corner him and he pulls out a device which removes the electric collar around your neck. Finally freed,you kill the two agents and run off into the forest	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Ran'esven has only the faintest memories of his life before the Empty. He was a cub then, and this new adult body moves even more ungainly and awkward than when he was new-hatched. \n\nHe scents fear, very close, and turns. Two veyals, standing on their two scrawny legs and holding their funny sticks that glow. They look so much smaller than he remembered, the last thing before the Empty; then they loomed huge and terrifying. Now... hunger gnaws at Ran'esven's stomach, instead of fearful the veyals look delicious, rich in essence and waiting to be devoured. \n\nThe Empty quietly nudges his mind to relax, but his instincts are stronger. \n\nRan'esven pounces, powerful forejaws tearing into the throat of the first before it has time to speak or activate its stick. His shardmouths dive into the opening, seeking the hearty essence core within. \n\nThe second veyal shouts and fires its weapon, a feeble essence attack that sheds right off Ran'esven's thick scales. \n\nHe turns a snarling visage upon the attacker, but remains crouched over his kill for now, letting his shardmouths finish. Essence cores dissolved fast if not eaten fresh. There will be plenty of time.\n\nThen the veyal is speaking, softly and comfortingly, hands held out as it backs away. The Empty stirs again within Ran'esven's soul, whispering that the veyal is no threat, that it is a friend, that it should be obeyed.\n\nBut the Empty has no teeth. Its grip on Ran'esven has been broken, and he ignores its desires with ease. He is elprimus! Young and hollowed out, perhaps, but that is not enough to dull his pride so much as to accept subservience. \n\nNot ever.\n\nEssence snakes up his shardmouths' tendrils, feeding pure power straight into his skull, and he lets out a roar of satisfaction.\n\nThe veyal turns and flees, screaming something into a glinting crystal in its hand. Ran'esven is faster. His legs hurl him forward, faster than even he is prepared for, and he stumbles into the side of a building. The veyal is left behind him, still shouting and screaming. It fires its weapon at him again, but its aim is bad and the bolt ignites the wall beside him instead.\n\nRan'esven whirls, still getting used to his adult body, but instincts are overriding his old memories fast. \n\nThis time, he does not stumble.\n\nAnd when he is done, he raises his head to the sky and howls his victory, the sound vibrating through the ground and echoing to the moon, and his tendrils stretch out to listen for any echo of a reply.\n\nThe sound comes; a roar of anger, a call of welcome, a cry of longing. The voices are unfamiliar, but resonate straight to Ran'esven's core.\n\nThey are his people. That is enough.\n\nHe runs, leaving the terrible realm of the veyals behind, and as the first scent of the forest reaches him the Empty finally flees.\n\nHe is Ran'esven, elprimus of the seventh moon horde, and it is time for his life to begin." ]	2
[WP] Zombie apocalypse or not, Dana's bat mitzvah is still on.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“What do you mean cancel?” A woman was yelling into the phone.\r \n\r \n“Ma’am, I mean we cannot host your event right now, not with the zombies running loose and all. We are only thinking of the safety of our guests and our staff.”\r \n\r \n“I don’t care if the zombies bite every one of you and the staff running the hotel are all turned into zombies themselves, my daughter is having her bat mitzvah on her birthday, not the day after, and definitely not a year after.”\r \n\r \n“I’m sorry ma’am but it’s just not possible. Haven’t you been watching the news? Don’t you realize how dangerous it is to be out in public right now?”\r \n\r \n“I don’t trust the news, they are all fake. The channel I do trust hasn't said anything about the zombies being dangerous. They haven’t said I need to cancel my plans, so I’m not going to.”\r \n\r \n“Ma’am it doesn’t matter, we are not going to be open. We have barricaded ourselves here, no one is allowed in and if someone chooses to leave, they are not allowed to come back. So you see, I have no choice but to cancel your event.”\r \n\r \n“No sir, I don’t think you understand. I’ve been planning for this bat mitzvah for an entire year now. I’ve spent money on caterers, a live band, a photographer, and more. It’s too late to get refunds, all of them say no refunds if you don’t cancel at least six months in advance. And do you want to know what's even worse?”\r \n\r \n“No ma’am, it doesn’t matter …”\r \n\r \n“Sir, are you married?”\r \n\r \n“Yes, ma’am”. \r \n\r \n“I had to call my mother in law and invite her to the bat mitzvah and I don’t like my mother in law. But being a good Jewish daughter in law, and a good wife to my loving husband, I swallowed my pride and called her. And do you know I had to listen to her rant about how much her son failed her by marrying me and how I can’t cook a decent matzo ball soup and how I am failing my children. I had to plaster a smile on my face and take it for a good hour and twenty minutes.”\r \n\r \n“I’m sorry ma’am.”\r \n\r \n“An hour and twenty minutes, have you ever had to stand there and be nice to someone you really didn’t like for an hour and twenty minutes, sir? Have you?”\r \n\r \n“Well, we’ve been on this call for about 30 minutes now.”\r \n\r \n“What’s that got to do with anything? As I was saying, there’s no way you are going to cancel this very important day in my little girl’s life, do you understand?”\r \n\r \n“I’m sorry there’s nothing we can do for you, I will gladly refund the money you’ve paid us.”\r \n\r \n“It’s not about money, don’t you get that. It’s too late to make any other plans, her birthday is on Saturday. We are not canceling.”\r \n\r \n“But ma’am I can’t do anything about that.”\r \n\r \n“Can I speak to your manager?”\r \n\r \n“No ma’am, my boss was bitten three days ago.”\r \n\r \n“I don’t care, put him on the phone or I will come down there and speak to him in person.”\r \n\r \n“I’m sorry ma’am, he’s outside the hotel.”\r \n\r \n“Is he still there, if I leave right now, will I be able to speak with him? Actually never mind, I am going to come down there anyway. I’m going to get this settled with the owner if your boss isn’t around. My baby is having her bat mitzvah come hell or high water.”\r \n\r \n“Ma’am the owner was bitten last week, he’s the one who bit my manager.”\r \n\r \n“I told you I don’t care, you better pack your stuff because by the time I get done talking to them, you won’t have a job any longer.”\r \n\r \n“But ma’am...”\r \n\r \n<Click>", "\"I think it's discrimination.\" Esther said, crossing her arms. \"You all wanted to have a Christmas party, and we said okay.\"\n\nSteve frowned, looking around the gathered leadership council. Most days, the communities that survived the rising of the dead were solidly unified. When the old world had ended, and the zombies started eating everyone in sight, differences other than \"living\" and \"undead\" had mostly stopped mattering.\n\nBut every now and then, something happened that reminded you that the old differences were still there, beneath the surface.\n\n\"Listen,\" Pastor Mike said, gruffly, stroking his chin. \"I'll be the first to agree that faith is important, now more than ever. Christian, Jew, whatever -- we all need the good Lord, right now. But there's a reason we don't have a lot of parties, Esther.\"\n\n\"Pastor Mike has a point.\" Steve added. \"Christmas was one thing. We all agreed that we could see our way clear to having one small celebration on one night, after taking extra precautions to ensure we didn't attract any unwanted undead attention.\"\n\n\"Funny how it was your night...\" Esther grumbled.\n\n\"That ain't fair.\" Mike shot back, affronted. \"We would have been fine to celebrate Hanukkah, too, if the dates had lined up -- but risking one night of celebration, no matter whose night it is, isn't the same as risking eight nights of it, and you know it!\"\n\n\"Alright,\" Esther said, reluctantly. \"I'll give you that, celebrating Christmas over 1/8th of Hanukkah was the logical choice, especially given the demographics of our community. But even so, my Dana is about to be bat mitzvah. It's more than a birthday, Mike, and you know it.\"\n\n\"Christmas isn't just for one kid, though.\" Steve pointed out.\n\nEsther frowned. \"Hm...okay, you've got a point there, too. I tell you what -- Rosa Goldfarb's boy, Isaac, has only just turned 12, but given the extenuating circumstances, we could do his a little early. We'll make it a b'nei mitzvah for both of them. After Dana and Isaac, it'll be four or five years before any of the other young Jewish kids are old enough, and the rest are all past theirs already.\"\n\nThe councilors looked at each other.\n\nPastor Mike nodded, slowly. \"Alright...I suppose we can make an exception. Under those terms, I'm in favor of letting it go forward.\"\n\nSteve nodded. Then he frowned. \"Don't you need a Rabbi, or a Cantor, or something, though? Who's going to do that?\"\n\nPastor Mike held up his hands. \"Don't look at me -- I might know my Old Testament backwards and forwards, but bar mitzvah's a Talmudic thing.\"\n\nEsther cleared her throat, awkwardly. \"We're fine...Rabbi Liebowitz will handle it.\"\n\nSteve's eyes went wide in surprise. \"Wait, Moishe's alive? I thought he got bitten when we were moving everybody from the old truck stop?\"\n\n\"That's right.\" Esther confirmed.\n\nMike perked up. \"What, so he's immune? Hell, Esther, does Doc Samuels know? That could be huge! If someone's developed a natural immunity to the virus, it could--\"\n\nShe shook her head, and sighed. \"Hold on, hold on.\" She turned, and called over her shoulder to someone outside the council circle. \"Mort? Can you bring in Rabbi Leibowitz?\" A few moments later, Mort, a younger Chasidic man, led the old man in. The ancient rabbi was short, under five feet tall. For a man of his age, though, he walked surprisingly well.\n\nHe was also, clearly, a zombie.\n\nImmediately, a half dozen guns were drawn and pointed at the old Rabbi, but Esther stepped in front of him holding up her hands.\n\n\"Calm down!\" she shouted to the rest of the council. \"He's fine!\"\n\n\"Dammit, Esther, he's clearly not fine!\" Pastor Mike shot back. \"He's a zombie!\"\n\n\"Yeah, obviously. But he can still do the job.\" Esther insisted. \"Watch.\"\n\nShe leaned close to the groaning zombie's ear, and raised her voice.\n\n\"Rabbi Leibowitz! Bat Mitzvah!\"\n\nThe zombie rabbi groaned, and then, held up two shaky, gnarled hands in a gesture of proclamation.\n\n\"Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam...\" Rabbi Leibowitz began, raspily.\n\nEsther patted the zombie's arm. \"Okay, good, that's enough for now, Rabbi, thank you.\" To the council's amazement, the zombie subsided and lowered his arms.\n\n\"How in the hell...\" Steve muttered, staring at him, in amazement.\n\n\"Right?\" Esther said, beaming proudly at the old zombie. \"Did you know he was 95 when he passed, God rest him? I knew he could do a bat mitzvah in his sleep, after all those years, but apparently he can do it in his dead, too.\"\n\n\"I hate to be the one to point this out,\" Mike said hesitantly. \"But I don't think the main concern about Moishe, here, is whether or not he can perform his rabbinical duties.\"\n\nEsther waved a hand. \"Pah! That's no problem, either.\"\n\nThen, as the council looked on in horror, Esther rolled up her sleeve, and shoved her bare arm right in front of the Rabbi's face.\n\nTo their surprise, he didn't bite her.\n\nThe zombie Rabbi groaned out a dismissive \"Feeeh!\" and awkwardly pushed Esther's arm away from his mouth.\n\n\"What the hell?\" Mike exclaimed. \"A docile zombie? Esther, you gotta show him to Doc Samuels! That's almost as important a discovery as an immune human would be!\"\n\nShe sighed, shaking her head. \"Sorry, no dice, Pastor. He's not docile, not at all. Poor Rabbi Liebowitz here is as vicious and hungry as any zombie.\"\n\nSteve furrowed his brow. \"Then...why isn't he attacking?\"\n\nEsther snorted. \"What, are you kidding? You see anybody here with cloven hooves, or chewing a cud, Steve? Humans aren't kosher!\"\n\n\"Traaafe!\" the zombie rabbi agreed, nodding jerkily." ]	3
[WP] Valhalla is real, every person who dies while in battle goes there. you are a firefighter who died in the flames while saving a kid.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Wait here.\"\n\nIt was a shock, to say the least, learning that Valhalla was real. Imagine my surprise to learn that it had, of all things, a waiting room. Didn't exactly fit my image of the warrior's afterlife, but I wasn't about to argue with the well-endowed and, more importantly, well-armed woman who ushered me into the room.\n\n\"What's this about?\" I ask to her retreating back, but get no answer.\n\nSettling in, I remove my fireman's coat, and help myself to a horn of water from the strangely modern water cooler. I'm not exactly thirsty, but the memory of smoke flowing down my trachea and filling my lungs is still fresh in my mind. It's a comfort to know that I can swallow without difficulty. One of two things I know Valhalla for is the feasts, and I wouldn't look forward to an eternity of food I wouldn't be able to eat.\n\n...\n\n...\n\nTime's been passing, if that's a concept with any meaning here, and I've long since stopped pacing the limits of my assigned room. It's hard to tell, since it seems that I don't get tired or hungry here, but I've been waiting for at least hours, maybe days.\n\nI'm sitting on the furs staring at nothing when I hear her approach. I'm already facing toward the door, away from the fireplace, when the valkyrie returns.\n\n\"I'm sorry for the wait,\" she opens with, in the not-unkind tones of one who has to say this far too often. \"Before we get started, I just wanted to let you know that you won. You accomplished what you were fighting for when you died.\"\n\nShe pauses here, still standing in the doorway, and makes a gesture I can't see on the far side of the frame.\n\n\"You mean I...?\"\n\n\"Yes, you got him out. You won. And-\" here, a small boy, maybe 8 or 9, comes to stand beside her, looking nervous. I almost lose the thread of what she's telling me, as I recognize the child.\n\n\"-so did he.\"\n\n\"What's he doing here? You said I got him out!\"\n\n\"You did. Thanks to you, and his own efforts, he survived long enough to tell his mom goodbye. It will be something for her to hold on to in the years to come.\"\n\n\"I...\" words failed me. What was there to say?\n\nThe boy, whose name I didn't even know, looked up, trying to make sense of the room. Realizing that we seem to be done talking, he says something, too low to hear.\n\n\"What was that?\"\n\n\"I said that's not all. I also told her how cool you were. How I felt safe when you were carrying me out, even when the ceiling fell on you. I knew you would get me out.\"\n\nIt's... he seems happier now, talking with us instead of us talking about him, and I manage a smile.\n\n\"Well, I wasn't trying to be cool, I was just trying to get you out. I'm Ryan, by the way. What's your name?\"\n\n...\n\nI chat with Chris for a while, learn his favorite dinosaur is the spinosaurus, before the valkyrie (whose name I've learned is Hildr) excuses herself.\n\n\"Nobody will disturb you while you're in here. When you're ready, the dining hall is to the right. Follow the noise. And feel free to wander. We're not too big on rules, here.\"" ]	2
[WP] "Once upon a time I wanted to destroy this nation, and you wanted to save it. Look at the irony now, old friend."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“No one ever escaped The Icefield… neither men, nor mages, nor the beasts…”\n\nThe muzzle of the rifles flashed, sending the loud cracks resonated through the narrow concrete corridors as the prison guards dropped to the ground, one by one. The group of assaulters swiftly went from chambers to chambers, mercilessly put down any attempt to fight back. Spent cartridge cases littered the red soaked marble floor, while the occupants one by one went limp over their own pools of blood, screams of agony filled in the air.\n\n“All Wolfpacks, this is Bravo, we’ve secured the primary LZ, waiting on your progress…”\n\n“Wolfpack 1-6 copy that, standing by on primary objective!”\n\nThe breacher, nodded over to his superior Wolfpack 1-6, twisted the trigger linking with the breaching charge stacked upon the metal door. A hiss came faintly, as the bright sparks started flashing away from the edges of the plastic package. The mixture of metal powder and oxide burned over two thousand degree Celsius, and with some explosive threw into the mix, would make one hell of an entry.\n\n“Aguamenti!”\n\nA prison guard, suddenly emerged from one of the security chamber, pointing a wooden apparatus over the sparks, sending a stream of water straight toward the plastic charge. The jetstream came over the spark, sizzling, but unable to extinguish the fire. A folly act – once set in motion, one should know that thermite reaction was by itself, self-sustaining. Smothering it with water would do little more than just making steam vapor.\n\nWolfpack 1-6 swiftly shifted his rifle muzzle over at the figure, popped up a couple of deadly accurate shots down range. The guard immediately went limp over the points of impact, while the Wolfpack assault team split into two, coming over the fallen guardsman to secure that flank.\n\n“Mister Potter… but why… I thought you’re one of…”\n\n“Things changed…”\n\nWolfpack 1-6 didn’t have enough time for chat; the thermite charged was halfway through now, and the mage-guardsman in front of him posed a threat. Gritted his teeth, the man squeezed the trigger. Three more shots swiftly shut the target down, wheezing out his final breath.\n\n“Breaching!”\n\n“Go! Go! Go!”\n\nThe explosive charge went off, sending the molten frames of the doorway inward as shrapnel, guaranteed to maim anyone unfortunate enough to be in the path. Multiple explosions came afterward, from the stun grenades threw right after. The operatives stacking on either sides of the newly breached doorway poured through the gap, guns blazing. Judging on the amount of screams emanated from within, followed quickly by loud supersonic cracks, Wolfpack 1-6 was certain that the assault team had done good work. Emerge from the smoldering metal frame, the man nodded to the assault team leader, excused himself off the scene.\n\n“Wolfpack 1-6 here, target’s secured! Waiting for confirmation of the package…”\n\n“Bravo copied, standing by…”\n\nFlipped up the switchblade from his waist, Wolfpack 1-6 swung his arms around, seemingly generate a soundproof chamber from nothing. The bubble quickly expanded over the room, frozen the bleeding corpses, saved only the bagged female in the middle of the room and a wounded person on the floor, trying to stop the profuse bleeding in his thigh.\n\n“Albus Severus Potter, you bloody Slytherin traitor… have you realized what you have done…”\n\nThe man on the ground grumbled through his groan of pain toward Wolfpack 1-6. Based on the amount of blood on the floor, the operative was pretty sure that individual wouldn’t last for ten minutes. Shook his head disapprovingly, the operative, known to the other party as Albus Severus Potter, knelt over the wounded person, clapping a tourniquet over the punctured thigh, twisting the handlebar. The bleeding slowed down after every twist, until it completely stopped at around the sixth turn.\n\n“Mister Page, it’s a shame that those basic first aids were never taught at Hogwarts, it could have saved countless lives, if our beloved Headmistress were a little bit more… open-minded towards the muggle basics…”\n\nStood back up, the operative promptly kicked the wooden apparatus over to the corner of the room, away from the other man’s reach. Calmly walked toward the bagged female, the man removed the burlap sack over her head, revealing a fair haired beautiful lady, who defiantly gazed upon the other person smirk.\n\n“Once upon a time ago I wanted to destroy this world, and you wanted to save it. Look at the irony now, Al…\"\n\nPotter pulled from his backpack a cutter, promptly snapped at the restraints placed upon the woman, despite the desperate pleas from the wounded Page. Glancing over the man with contempt, the woman couldn’t restraint herself at throwing a spit over, if it wasn’t for the very unpleasant smell gagged around her throat: a burning cigarette over the man standing in front.\n\n“Things change, Del, they always do…” – Al said, took a brief pause in between for a puff of smoke. Clearly, the woman name Del was utterly disgusted with that, scoffed at the robust, ready-to-fight combatant:\n\n“I do hope you didn’t come all the way through all of this security, totting all those muggle bling, just for a chat…”\n\nThe man bursted out laughing, removing his operative helmet for his neat crew cut to breathe. Peering his dark green eyes toward the woman, the man sarcastically replied behind the unpleasant cloud of smoke:\n\n“No, of course not, Delphini… I won’t risk that all for just a chat. I can always call the Director of this new “Azkaban” for that favor… even more if you and me are craving for it…”\n\nWrapping his hands around hers, Wolfpack 1-6 proceeded to pull the woman up, and in a quick motion, twisted her arms behind the back. The sudden motion was surely painful, yet effective to keep the woman from resisting. Those of her kinds weren’t accustomed to physical restrain, at all. It would be very hard to multitask, unless especially trained to do so, and Al knew she wasn’t the type.\n\n“You’re needed where we’re going. Some shit is very wrong with the wizardry and I cannot trust anyone but you, and my team of muggle colleagues at the Organization. That’s need-to-know. Now excuse me, we gotta look good on the camera…”\n\n“Camera, what camera?” – Delphini groaned, being under physical restraint and escorted by twenty other operatives. Together, they managed to get back out of the building complex. The opposing force reinforcement had started to trickle in, and the team had to exfil quickly.\n\n“Did the old man know about what you’re doing, Al? This is so unlike you, his favorite son…”\n\nThrown into the back of the helicopter, Delphini asked, amidst the cacophonic chaos from the roaring rotor blades and heavy machine gun suppressive fire.\n\n“No, he didn’t know about that, but he know about this… He knows now that I got you out…”\n\n<Likely not going to be continued, it's just a dip in a concept I'm cooking at the moment>" ]	2
[WP] You were cursed by a witch to be followed everywhere by a rainy cloud. You decide to make the best of it by becoming a gardener.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I drive west through Oklahoma feeling like a bad reenactment of Nomadland. Only my camper is a lot nicer. In today's market selling my house set me up in a sweet RV with enough cash to cover expenses for awhile. My gardening podcast is starting to get some sponsors. I should be alright for a few years. \n\nTravelling 44 Siri tells me to take Hwy 66. I'm headed toward a cluster of small farms that have been fighting drought. I've already got interviews with 2 different farms set for my pod. We're going to chat about sustainability and organic food. I can't exactly tell them, but I'm also bringing them two weeks of rain.\n\nI tap my fingers to the beat of the windshield wipers and the Arctic Monkeys.\n\n\"Hey, the beats are the same!\" I took on Oliver in Austin. After trying to film the pod and do interviews while recording myself for a couple of months I realized I needed a camera operator. Oliver needed a ride to L.A. He didn't care how long it took. He'd been doing film in Austin but was ready for a change of scenery. We meandered northeast along most of Arkansas and then cut west toward Tulsa.\n\nI didn't intend to sleep with him, but, well, being cursed is a lonely existence. A \"fun while it lasts\" relationship with an expiration date might be exactly what each of us needs.\n\n\"Arctic Monkeys usually match wiper beats. So does Bohemian Rhapsody, and a couple of Radiohead albums.\"\n\n\"I was actually reading about this hack where you hook up your wipers to a spectrum analyzer and...\"\n\n\"I figured I was the only person who is OCD about it. Dude, if you can figure out how to make that happen...\"\n\n\"I'll look into it. It's weird how much it's been raining, right?\"\n\n\"I'm cursed.\" I decide, what the hell, I'll tell him. He won't believe me. \"I'm not even kidding. A witch cursed me. And now rain clouds follow me everywhere I go. So I drive through drought country and stop every 200 or so miles for three or four days and let it rain. The podcast is a cover.\"\n\n\"Awesome story. You should put that on the pod.\"\n\nHe doesn't believe me. I don't believe me. But it's true.\n\nBig fat drops fall on the crops as I arrive at my first farm. Showtime.\n\n\"Hey there earth lovers, today on the Lumo Lorax pod we're talking to Jeffrey and Hannah Stark who run Sustain Farms. Looks like we're getting a break from the drought.\"\n\n\"Our crops are loving this,\" Hannah smiles. Jeffrey explains their sustainable strategies. Hannah introduces us to their goats and shows us organic cheese production. Together they cook a vegetarian meal using food their produce.\n\n\"How long have you had the podcast, Camille?\" Jeffrey asks over dinner.\n\n\"About two months but this is only my third with a camera operator. Oliver joined me in Austin. He actually knows how to edit and everything looks so much better now.\"\n\nOliver stops eating his ratatouille long enough to say, \"The pod should be up Thursday. We try to record on Mondays and post on Thursdays.\" \n\n\"Why'd you call it Lumo Lorax?\"\n\n\"Well Lumo is the Tibetan goddess of rain and the Lorax - you know - Dr. Seuss \"I am the Lorax I speak for the trees. Just seemed like a good environmental name for a gardening pod.\"\n\n\"I follow you on Twitter and Instagram,\" Hannah tells me.\n\n\"Thanks, I try to post photos or share something useful from other sources a coupe of times a day on social media in addition to the weekly show. In fact, this food is amazing. If you post the recipe on Sustain I'll repost it.\"\n\n\"We should have taken a picture...\" Hannah says.\n\n\"Ok, I did. I'll send it to you.\" Oliver really is the best. I'm planning to take the longest route possible to L.A.\n\nWe say our goodnights and go back the the camper. \n\n\"I like them. I feel good about featuring their farm, \" I tell Oliver when we get into the camper. \n\n\"I love that what you are doing helps out people like them\" he reaches across and taps my knee. \n\nOur campsite is an hour down the road. We will camp there until Thursday while we edit. Then move on. Already this project together is developing a rhythm. Oliver drives. \"Wow, it's really coming down. It's rained every day since Austin.\" \n\nI nod. How many week of rain will it take before he believes the curse. And leaves.\n\nI think it was thunder that woke us both at 2:17 am. The rain pounds the roof of the camper. Oliver turns toward me. \"About that curse. What exactly did you do to piss of a witch this much?\"\n\n\"So you believe me.\"\n\n\"Let's say three weeks of rain in the middle of a drought isn't insignificant evidence.\"\n\n\"So in the life before this one I was in P.R. My firm had a contract with this politician. Turns out she's a witch. I didn't believe it either but I was assigned to her campaign bus. Eventually everybody on the bus found out. The witch part didn't necessarily bother me but using her powers to manipulate elections did. It's not like the feds are going to believe me. Or my boss. So I put spider eyes and sugar in her potion.\"\n\n\"As in Minecraft? Seriously?\"\n\n\"Yep. Like anything, spider eyes can be purchased on the dark web. Kinda feel for the spiders.\"\n\n\"I hate spiders.\"\n\n\"Hey, environmentalist ethos - all creatures even spiders matter.\"\n\n\"Anyway, Mincraft mundane or awkward potion brought her down?\"\n\n\"She came off so badly at every press conference she didn't even make the runoff. She couldn't figure it out but she had a whole coven analyzing empty potion jars. Anyway the traced it to me and this is the retaliation she came up with. Thing is, I don't actually hate it.\"\n\n\"It's a different lifestyle for sure.\"\n\n\"Doing the pod, meeting people, getting into growing things and the earth. I like that. But I do miss the sunshine.\n\n\"You get used to it. I lived in Seattle before Austin.\"\n\nSo he believes me and isn't put off by the rain. That bitch's curse is a total miss. And we have at least five states to cover between here and L.A. \n\n\"You know,\" he says, \"if one portion worked to counter her spell, we might find another to counter this curse....but that doesn't seem environmentally responsible, does it? Besides, How often does anybody actually get to turn evil to good?\"\n\n\"Thank you,\" I whisper. We lie there in the dark holding hands, listening to the rain. I don't feel cursed. I feel blessed." ]	2
[WP] The church has been conducting witch trials recently. You, an actual witch, are somewhat annoyed by all the innocent people being burned at the stake and decide to have some fun striking the people officiating the trials with lightning at ironic moments.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The poor girl was bound to the large stake, sobbing and whimpering her innocence. Half of the town was there, either to stare in silent horror at the spectacle or to cheer on the officials at the center of the crowd. The whole affair was mad, in my opinion. She'd been accused of witchcraft. Blamed for the water going bad (poor infrastructure, due to governmental neglect, no doubt,) an epidemic of measles among the children (gods below, children, getting sick and giving it to each other? say it ain't so!), and a bad crop for the farmers on the outside of town who had nothing to sell at the market (the state of our water supply, smoke from the fires out west, and the fires sending more pests our way as they ran).\r \n\r \nOf course, the local preacher would try to put it on witchcraft. Heavens forbid we actually, oh I don't know, contact the state and demand assistance. Push for federal aid, too, while we're at it. Things really are dire. But the preacher and half of the local administration were in the pockets of certain corporate interests who were looking to profit. And so, that asshole riled them up. Good old fashioned fearmongering and scapegoating. Much easier to wield than the power of an organized, committed, unified community. Much less precise than the abilities I'd been blessed with.\r \n\r \nAbout 2 or 3 months ago, Preacher Pauley started dropping the fire and brimstone like he thought he was Jonathan Edwards. Once he started suggesting dark forces and witchcraft, I started gearing up. Bug out bag at the ready, taser and pepper spray on hand at all times. But then, of all people in this town, I heard the name of the barista down at the coffee shop in hushed whispers. I knew the girl, of course. Courtney was bisexual and a devout atheist, but she didn't talk about either much. She knew better in this small town. But the rumors started anyway. \"She doesn't go to church regularly!\" \"Well, I saw her eyeing a girl at the pharmacy.\" Things like that. It didn't take very long for her to become the explicit target. With that, I laid aside my escape plans and started gathering other supplies. If they wanted a witch, so be it. The bastards will see what I'm made of. \r \n\r \n\r \nAs they prepared for her murder with the same enthusiasm as the goddamn Super Bowl, I began calling to the gods of women from various pantheons. I know they don't all play nice usually, but I'd like to think my earnest and desperate prayers got them to lay down old rivalries. I called on spirits of weather and chaos. I even made a few calls to girls I circled with online occasionally for additional backup. I wanted this to be big, flashy, and obvious.\r \n\r \nAppropriately enough, they had decided to do it on a Sunday. All my preparations were done with about twenty minutes to spare, so I booked it to the field where the stake had been set up. I could swear I could feel all of the chaos and hatred like a muggy, oppressive heat of a southern August day. The sheriff was there, as was the preacher, smug as he could be, with no sign of any guilt that he was about to sacrifice this girl for his bank account. The crowd had gathered quickly. The bank's assistant manager and the afternoon clerk at the gas station each had the girl by an arm, bringing her up like it was some kind of dark, barbaric ceremony.\r \n\r \nAs she was tied up, trying to beg for her life, the preacher made some rather passionate speech about evil not being tolerated, stamping out the dark one and all his works, or some such nonsense. I was already starting to gather my strength. Two or three farmers had torches and were starting to walk her way. I was even angrier, as I saw someone who I thought had a better head on his shoulders holding one of them. They stood in a row, waiting for their cue.\r \n\r \nIt never came.\r \n\r \nMy own yells interrupted the preacher's, as I called down a curse on all their heads. A rainstorm appeared out of nowhere, snuffing the torches and soaking the stake and pyre below it. Lightning began striking the ground, tracking some of the worst of them as they ran, though they didn't realize it at first. The preacher tried to come running towards me, but my krav maga training paid off, and he was on the ground quickly, pinned. The sheriff pulled a gun, but a gust of wind and a rather convenient piece of lumber knocked the gun out of his hand and lightning melted it to slag, the bullets rather conveniently not being ignited.\r \n\r \nThe ones who were still left were the ones who had truly given into their fear and hate, and I called out over the din. \"You ignorant jerks wanted a witch, well here I am! And you only have yourselves for your troubles, so piss off!\" Right about then, hail started to fall. And, if you could quiet yourself enough to ignore all of the everything going on, you might have noticed what looked like little feet running around, though you would see nothing actually doing the running. But, if you could imagine it, it would explain why the aim of guns was oddly off, and why random folks in the remaining crowd were falling over.\r \n\r \nI gave my impropmptu captive a swift kick to distract him, then ran over to Courtney and cut her loose. \"I left you some supplies over behind the coffee shop. Take them and run. You deserve better than this, kitten.\" With a kiss on her cheek, I turned back towards what remained of the angry mob as she blinked in surprise, a faint blush showing her cheeks, then she ran like hell.\r \n\r \n\"You self-righteous asses just had to pick on someone younger, instead of working to clean up your own mess. I am done here, and so are you. Your god will damn you by your own actions.\" With that, I ran into the corn field nearby. I'd set up my car with my own escape plan on the other side, and thankfully, no one had seen it. And with that, I offered a bit of thanks of barley and honey and my last bottle of homemade wine, and I drove north.", "I attended the hearing, as I always did, in my blackest of gowns and pointiest of hats. Of course my cat, Deborah wanted to come along always such a needy little cat.\n\nAnyway, they where trying some loose town girl as a witch for, as far as I could tell, laying in bed with the priest.\n\nThey sentenced her to be burned to death. Poor girl was terrified when they tied her to the post, thrashing about like a mare about to be slaughtered. To be fair, I suppose she thought she would be, but I knew this priest and I highly doubted she seduced him with magic. Wine, maybe, but not magic, her soul was clean of it's stain.\n\nA burly man carried a torch to the base of the structure when a bolt of brilliant yellow lightning struck him from clear skies. There was panic, there was confusion, there was terror, there was...\n\nHer own husband reaching for the torch. He would be swallowed up by the very ground. People began to blame her for the consequences, and not the literal witch sitting calmly to the side. I sighed, what fools they all where.\n\nAnother man, another torch, I'm not sure their relation, but I'm sure it was heartbreaking for her to watch this one vomit water until he drowned. One more element, tragedies such as these tend to come in sets of four after all.\n\nThe priest rambling something about divine plans or cosmic retribution or a man who was very high ,I forget the details. But he could convince nobody else to bear the torch, and once it was lit, he burned just as the torch did.\n\nEveryone ran for the hills, finally letting me cut the girl off the pole. \"Enthusiastic buggers, ain't they?\" I asked, not expecting a response from the terrified girl. \"Go on then, you're free.\" I told her as I started the long treck back to my home.\n\nShe followed me of course. She thought she was being stealthy, but I had tea put on for her when she knocked on my door. She asked me to teach her, and again I forget exactly how she asked, but I remember what I told her \"the path to being a witch is no easy feat, nor is it one you may turn away from. If you choose to follow me, you will stay your very soul with every color from nature, from heaven and hell, if you should miss even one, you will be swallowed whole.\"\n\nStill, she agreed to learn. Now, a decade later, I find myself tied to a pole, about to be lit ablaze. I do not struggle, I'm old and tired. Besides, I see the girl among the crowd.\n\nShe's not as skilled as I was when I helped her, but still, I watched each of the four elements claim their tithe in blood, one after another. \"You're late girl.\" I reminded her.\n\n\"Late? You're still alive. You should be happy I came at all.\" She huffed, I smile, it's took a long time for that attitude to surface. It took a long time to convince her to value herself.\n\n\"You'd leave me to die over a personal slight?\" I ask in mock offense, I knew she would never.\n\n\"Of course not, you'd just haunt me if I did.\" She said indignantly.\n\nI laugh \"let's get home, my old bones don't take well to being tied up." ]	3
[WP] You have a parasite living in you. But no matter how much peril you face, how much pain you endure, it will not let you die.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Peering to the ground, 15 stories below. My heart pounds my ears and palms perspire. \n*Jump\nBut I can't. \n\nIt* stops me. \n\nIn the unending present there are more reasons to finish things, than there are to not. The turbulent chaos of life wears my soul thin, and my patience thinner. \nI no longer have the patience for other souls and their sufferings. I no longer have the patience for myself. The disparate consciences ripping me in two scream for relief. \n\nThough the sufferings continue on a loop unending. A snake eating its tail. A glass mirror bending; soon to break.\n\nIt listens to me now. It see's my mind beginning to shatter. And It feeds off of the pandemonium. \n\n\nI can remember my day of inoculation. The day It came into my life. We were only playing. Just dumb kids playing dumb games. I really never meant for anything to happen. But maybe in that moment, I did. In that split second when the knife left my hand maybe the thought crossed my mind. The sound of a blade hitting flesh is not easily forgotten.\nThen there was blood; It seemed to ooze from the wound. Thick red and vile beyond belief. Gushing and now tears and screams. It found me in that moment. The moment when I thought I had killed.\n\n\nOver the years It never left my side. Dormant for the good times, and feasting on the bad. And there was lots of bad. \n\n\nI never thought of myself as unkind. Though I did just enough to never warrant being called out on my shittyness. My grandmother in all her wisdom understood this about me, and she saw my darkness. The day she played her cards, was the last time we ever met. The room was humming. An array of machines were connected to her, keeping her body alive just long enough to say goodbye. Her grandchildren huddled close, offering conclusive affection for her journey to join her husband. My cousins each offered a kiss, and a prayer. She held their hands in thanks. I came towards her to follow suit, and leaned in to kiss her weathered forehead. She pulled away in repulsion, shaking her head with limited mobility from the oxygen mask covering her airways. She wouldn't even take my hand. After exchanging formalities with other family waiting to give their goodbyes, I replayed the exchange in my mind. I repulsed her. \n\n\nMy memories played back like a flipbook. It reached through time and devoured the blind selfishness I cloaked myself with. The times I ignored her, belittled her, refused a hug or a conversation. My grandmother showed me in one moment how wholly fucked up I was. Life hurts.\n\n\nThe darkness is where It dwells, a permanent source of sustenance. A parasite of grandiose nature, recycling dregs into a spirit of will. The will to live, the will to survive, and the will to sustain. I couldn't jump today, and I won't tomorrow. I have too much to atone for, and too much life to live. So I'll drink my will on the rocks, and let my darkness propel me. \nAfter all, It will never leave me.", "I remember when I was oh so naive. \"An internship at Delve Tech? And it's paid? How bad could it be?\"\n\nThe answer was bad.\n\nVery very bad.\n\nApparently, Delve Tech had a nasty habit of making test subjects out of its interns. Which sort of explained its many openings.\n\nI was Subject 1256-116-A, meaning I was the first person to use the 116th iteration of Item Code 1256. Item Code 1256 was a small parasite that lived in the brain. It was intended to be an intelligence enhancement, but had some nasty side effects. Seizures, hallucinations, fainting, delirium... death. They weren't all bad though. Telekinesis, telepathy, enhanced strength, and a new friend!\n\n[Johnathan, while I am honored you consider me to be your friend, I would prefer you not think of me as a parasite. Our relationship is mutually beneficial. I am not simply taking your nutrients and giving you nothing in return.]\n\nAh, right. It could also read your thoughts.\n\n\"Yeah, we'll see how 'mutually beneficial' our relationship is when I get my first seizure.\"\n\n[Johnathan, it is best you not talk out loud. We are in hiding, after all. Also, just for the record, I am a top-of-the-line product, created with extensive testing. They fixed the seizures after the last iteration.]\n\nOh, lovely. They fixed seizures after the last iteration. Only took them 115 tries. It was probably right about talking out loud, though. \n\n[I'm always right, Johnathan.]\n\n\"Shut up, Twelve.\"\n\nA loud bang, and a hole in the metal right beside my face. Darn. It was definitely right. I hated when it was right. I could already feel the smug \"I told you so\" emotion coming from the space in my head where it resided. Shut up, Twelve. \n\n\"1256-116-A! Surrender now and return to the testing facilities! We have you completely surrounded!\" The voice shouted from behind me. Completely surrounded, eh? That meant I didn't have to aim.\n\nI closed my eyes and pushed on the world around me. It was an odd sensation, sorta like moving an arm that was always there but you never knew you had. Or one of your eyes was closed your whole life, and someone opens it and you're like \"Whoah! I had a whole other eye this whole time?\"\n\nLike I said. Odd sensation.\n\nWhen I pushed on the world around me, it... well, it got pushed. I heard the shouts of several men and women smack against the walls of the concrete room I was hiding in. Course, I'd have to switch spots now that they'd found me. Again. How many squads would they send after me until they gave up and let me go?\n\nI crawled out from behind the shelf I was hiding behind to see if anyone was still awake. A bunch of people decked out in military gear laid with eyes closed across the room. One of them got smushed by a filing cabinet. Whoops. That was gonna be a weight on my conscious.\n\n[All unconscious or deceased. We're clear.]\n\nAlright. Time to find a new hiding spot." ]	3
[WP] Make werewolves terrifying again	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "What's the scariest thing about werewolves? Is it the shapeshifting? Monsters that live among us. That are us. Is it the savage instinct, the loss of self control, the bloodthirst? The appearance perhaps? Unkempt hair. Giant claws. Pointy teeth. Taller than any person. Is it the sound? Leaves crunching, twigs snapping, a howl that's indistinguishable from a domestic animal. It's claws clicking across pavement. Is it the smell? A mix between the funk of athletes in the summer and a wet dog. Or is it the dread of knowing that with it's long limbs, the beast is inescapably fast? Are you truly safe inside those walls? Could a werewolf rip though the front door? Could you stop one? Silver bullets aren't easy to come by.", "A sweet smell of incense hung lightly in the warm candlelit church.\r \nThe priest knelt before the alter, head bowed and eyes closed. Small wooden beads clacked gently against a silver cross necklace as the priest fed them between his lithe fingers. The only sound was soft mumbling slipping past the man’s thin lips as he recited a passage of prayer for the coming harvest.\r \nA ghostly pale glow backlit the intricate stained-glass window looming grand and beautiful over the empty pews. The soft light cast harsh shadows on the priest’s otherwise solemn face. \r \nA furrow came across his brow. He shifted his old aching knees on the hard stone steps. The discomfort lingered. Something was wrong.\r \nThe church doors slammed open with such tremendous force all the candles blew out. Startled, the priest threw a glance over his shoulder and saw before him a rather grubby and very scared woman. She was panting heavily, clearly she had run all the way through the village with some important business for she was still wearing her bed clothes. \r \nThe priest slowly rose and approached the terrified sole. “Is all well, my child?” he tentatively reached out a hand, offering the woman inside. Her eyes, wild with fear locked with his own. Tears left patchy trackmarks down her greasy cheeks. \r \n“Iss ‘appened again Vicar! Iss ‘appened again!” the woman cried as she collapsed to the floor, the holy man only just catching her.\r \n“What’s happened again? Take your time, child. Come, have a seat and catch your breath.” He began leading her to one of the pews but she wrenched her arm free and stumbled back towards the cold night air.\r \n“Iss ‘appened again, me cattle ‘as been butchered in me field! Tom aint around, I think it got ‘em too. You gots to ‘elp us!’ as suddenly as she arrived, the woman darted off into the black of night. It took the priest a moment to take in what the woman said. With a hint of doubt and uneasiness he donned his vestment and strode after the fleeting woman.\r \nFollowing her foot prints in the damp soil was easy enough thanks to the bright autumn moon light. The march brought the priest down the winding paths of the village where he was soon joined by more and more curious townsfolk. Many men and women stood in their doorways, silhouetted by hearth fires and faintly burning candles, watching like featureless forms as the congregation surged down the dark dirt tracks to the farmstead where the dishevelled woman had fled earlier that night. \r \nThe priest found the woman sat in the long dewy grass before a dark pulsing mound. As he drew nearer the mound took shape and presented itself as one of the woman’s cattle. The beast was laying on it’s side breathing deeply and heavily. God only knows how for the poor thing was all but split in half down the middle. The ground next to the cow looked like a bucket of scraps from the butchers had been upended all over the field. Nasty gashes raked along it’s flanks drew deep crimson valleys through the poor beast’s flesh. \r \nA small crowd has begun to form around the dying creature. As the priest leant over to console the frightened woman an unearthly piercing cry shot out from the densely packed forest bordering the village.\r \nThe crowd immediately fell silent. Ragged gasps were the only sound carried by the soft breeze. Too afraid to move, the priest glanced back and forth along the misty treeline.\r \nAnother bloodcurdling screech sounded from the forest, lingering in the air and morphing into a hellish howl.\r \n“THERE!” shouted one of the farmers pointing his sausage-thick finger at a dark hunched mass stooping deeper into the wood.\r \nA shout of rage and triumph erupted from the crowd as the men grabbed up various tools and makeshift weapons from the farmstead and stormed after the creature.\r \nThe priest stood back for some time, waiting with and reassuring the remaining townsfolk that the men would scare off the monster and save the town. The moon slowly rose and sank in the starry sky as the people waited with bated breath for their husbands, fathers, brothers to come home safe. \r \nNo one came.\r \nReluctantly, the priest edged across the field and penetrated the forest. He clawed his way through thickets and brambles, his vestments catching and trying to trip him up. The lofty canopy blotted out the moon making finding his way difficulty for the priest.\r \nSoon he was upon a patch of woodland where the trees thinned out a bit and allowed the moon light the stream through the leaves. The priest found himself wishing he had stayed in his comfy well-lit church. Strewn about the forest floor before him were a number of dark shapes resembling that of perhaps a dozen lifeless corpses.\r \nHolding back his dinner, the priest gingerly stepped around and through the litter of bodies. The rank smell of shit hit the priest’s nose in a wave. All the men before him had either shit themselves upon death or had their intestines removed and strung up allowing the odour to escape. The priest could taste the blood in the air, large vents of steam rose from lakes of blood.\r \nAs he made his way towards the other side of the brutal horror scene he froze. A soft wet slapping and tearing could be heard coming from just over a small rise. The priest slowly dropped to a crouch and shuffled silently towards the noise. The intensity of the slurping grew as he poked his head over the rise and peered down the shallow slope.\r \nAll the colour in priest’s cheeks evacuated, as did his bowels. \r \nHunched over freshly slain body of a farmer was a hulking grey entity burying it’s gnarled bony claws into the corpses soft abdomen. It’s broad shoulders and flat back bristled with strong lean muscle as the creature tore organs from it’s prey. Blood and viscera cascaded out of the corpse into the wet mud. \r \nThe priest began to creep back down the slope when his knee gave out toppling him over. The crunching of bone and tearing of flesh fell silent. The priest stared up in horror as the voracious predator sniffed the cool night air and slowly rose to a staggering height almost twice that of a man. \r \nThe beast turned to reveal a claret stained muzzle and sharp piercing eyes that glowed a pale green in the half-light. A slight snarl and deep growl presented a row of dirty yellow fangs as long as kitchen knives, all caked in viscera. It had spotted the priest.\r \nIn a flash, the beast sprung up onto the rise and bared it’s fangs in a heinous rictus of carnal pleasure as if it knew exactly what it was doing and enjoyed it. The priest hastily backpedalled down the slope but wasn’t quick enough. The monster raced after him. Bounding on all fours the creature was quick as a flash, throwing loose dirt up in it’s wake. It launched itself at the priest and began viciously clawing him. The priest tried to shove the creature off him but it’s wiry frame was wrought with muscle. He was overpowered and done for. Accepting his fate, the priest drew his small cross necklace to his lips and kissed it as the creature reared it’s gaping maw for the finishing blow. A blow that never fell. \r \nThe mere sight of the cross was enough to startle the creature. Noticing this, the priest then thrust the cross into the eye of the beast. It let out the most haunting and deafening cry, much like that of a branded swine, recoiled so violently the priest lost grip of the necklace and shot off into the woods whimpering like a sick hound. \r \nSlowly but surely the priest fumbled his way back through the woods to the village. The sun was just cresting the horizon when he found the crowd he left behind had grown.\r \n“Whas gon on then? Whas ‘appened, vicar!? Wheres me ‘usband?”\r \n“Something terrible, child. I’m afraid your husband, or any of the others who left last night shan’t be coming home. We have a serious problem.”\r \n“Yeah, an’ whas that then?”\r \n“We have a Werewolf.”" ]	3
[WP] A strange platform appeared in your neighbour's backyard almost overnight. It turned out to be a landing pad. But was it for a helicopter? No, it looked nothing like that. For a small star ship.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I’d posted the photo to twitter an hour ago and it had blown up, with a thousand retweets. It showed the strange platform in my neighbour’s yard with a caption asking whether anyone knew what it was for.\r\n\nThe comments were continuing to come in thick and fast and I sat on my couch scrolling through them, unable to find an answer. Most people were dismissive, saying my neighbour was probably just mad. The occasional answer suggested it was a miniature landing pad for some sort of space craft. \r\n\nThen I saw it, a private message from someone I couldn’t believe. Just as I was digesting what this message said, there was a knock at my front door. I threw my phone onto the coffee table and heading to the door.\r\n\n“Frank, what are you doing posting photos of my yard on the internet?” My neighbour was not pleased, skipping the pleasantries.\r\n\n“Well Randy, what are you doing putting a landing pad next to my house?” I replied.\r\n\nHe pointed a finger at me, “that’s none of your business!” \r\n\n“Wait right there,” I said and walked back into the house. A moment later I was at the door again, holding my phone. A tapped through to the message I’d just received and turned the phone around so Randy could read, “did you know about this?” \r\n\nRandy leaned forward, peering at the screen over his spectacles and frowned as he read each word carefully. He moved back and looked up at me.\r\n\n“And that's real?”\r\n\n“Well he owns the damn website so I assume it’s real,” I said angrily.\r\n\nRandy shrugged, “well, I got paid for it and according to the document I signed it’s all legal.”\r\n\nI glared at him. “So you’re just going to let some maniac land his rockets here as part of some crazy psychological experiment? And what if it goes wrong?”\r\n\n“It’s all covered in the contract,” Randy said dismissively.\r\n\nI sighed and shook my head, then slammed the door. I didn't have long. I stared down at the tweet on my phone, unable to comprehend the stupidity of it.\r\n\n“Hi Frank, that’s ours! We’re having trouble with some of our people making mistakes landing our rockets so we’ve upped the stakes for our next trials. Don’t worry, our current margin of error is within your neighbour’s boundary :) First rocket landing in 10 minutes, enjoy the view!”\r\n\nI knew what I had to do. I screenshotted the message and wrote out a tweet so the world could see this absurdity. I hit send, but nothing happened. \n\nMoments later a notification appeared telling me my account was locked. And then the house started shaking." ]	2
[WP] You stopped reading minds out of principle, but your new coworker is dumb as bricks and you need to know what is (or isn't) going on up there.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Am I excelling now?”\n\n“No, Jeremy. We only had your first-week review an hour ago. You don’t improve your performance just like that.”\n\n“What does that have to do with opening spreadsheets?”\n\n“O-oh, you were making a funny. Ah-ha.”\n\n“I assure you David, I take my job very seriously.”\n\n“Right. Er, anyway. Are you going to open up Excel now? You only just clicked on Chrome. Also could you not have a League of Legends as the new tab page? That’s a bit unprofessional.”\n\nAn hour and a headache later, I walked away from Jeremy’s desk. Jeremy was an ernest man who had somehow bucked the odds and survived until his late twenties. I had been extremely close to letting him go, but he’d technically completed all the work given to him over the first week. Even if some of his interpretations had been… unconventional.\n\nI looked at the ring on my hand, which constituted a promise to myself. It stopped my telepathy completely.\n\nNow I toyed with taking it off. A year prior I’d realised I was sliding down a well-lubricated slope. Simply put, I was violating people’s privacy unnecessarily. There was always an excuse, usually just to speed up interpreting some piss-poor communicators. Occasionally to confirm that someone was lying after a big mistake had been made.\n\nThis time I wanted neither.\n\nThis time, I wanted to know if the guy needed a diagnosis.", "Of course I needed to know.\n\nI'm nosy, I always have been. The ability to mindread is just one of the benefits. When Katrina walked in on the first day, I just had to know. She was so... clueless. It would have been less concerning if she didn't work as a lawyer for one of the best law firms in America. We get placed on jobs together often, mostly small, as I've only been here for a couple months, and Katrina for a week.\n\nWe sit next to each other too. I catch almost everything she does, from the way she can't do simple math to the way she's walked into the office without shoes on. \n\nI consider myself a nice person. I don't go out of my way to bully people, but I couldn't help but gossip and make fun of the girl with my own friends. \n\nSo, my closest friend- though only one who knows I can read minds- recommended that I try it on her. I was reluctant, wanting to be the better person, but there was this itch at the back of my brain telling me I should.\n\nSo, the next time I saw her, I looked into her mind. I expected something like Legally Blonde, where she was in some kind of sorority and somehow got a single case and her way of winning it was too brilliant to ignore.\n\nBut no- Katrina was...\n\nWell- for one, she's a criminal. She thinks about her crimes often. Each are more detailed than the last. They're methodical, planned out over weeks, months, sometimes years. They weren't something small, like petty thievery or underaged drinking either. There was violence, bank robberies, things you wouldn't expect from someone so... simpleminded. \n\nObviously by now, I knew the Bimbo act was a façade to make her an even less likely suspect, which brings me to my second point. \n\nShe graduated from college at the age of eighteen. She's brilliant. \n\nThere's missing pieces, evidently, but she had caught me staring.\n\n\"Valerie..?\" She began, \"Do you, like, need help or something?\"\n\nMy heart drops. I looked at her expression and I swore for a minute she knew what I was, that I read her mind and now know she's somehow committed countless crimes and gotten away with it each time. Her eyes were cold, she looked almost angry.\n\n\"Oh- no, sorry, just uh... zoned out...\"\n\nI gave her a stupid excuse, but she seemed to take it. Her expression returned to its clueless normal. Knowing who she is now though, I'm not sure she believed it.\n\nSoon though, I got back to work, not wanting to linger too long on my terrifyingly smart and criminalistic lawyer coworker.\n\nAll is normal for the following weeks, until we end up walking into work together, when she dropped her ditzy accent and whispered, \"I read minds too, Valerie. It'd be best if you leave town for a while. Maybe a trip to visit the parents?\"\n\n \nI felt the color drain from my face. I swallowed hard before turning to look at her, her expression hauntingly sweet. I nodded, and she directed me out the door, helped me in my car, and watched as I drive off.\n\nIt's been weeks, but I'm terrified to return home. My belongings are still in my husband and I's apartment and I fear for him. He was not involved, but she would need to read his mind to figure out if I told him or not. I haven't, but I still worry about him, as it's been weeks since his last text message, days since his last call." ]	3
[WP] You are a serial killer and for the first time you are contemplating releasing the victim, not because of remorse or pity, but because they are complaining on everything, from the quality of the chloroform or the knots used to the river we're you are planning to leave their body	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“You’ve got to be joking me!” the man said struggling to speak with a cloth gag in his mouth. \r \n\r \n“I assure you, Mr. Burnham,” I said methodically preparing the tolls of my trade, “This experience will be one you won't soon forge-”\r \n\r \nThere was a wet thud on the floor as the cloth I'd used to gag him bounced across the floor landing near my feet. \r \n\r \n“No matter what you do,” I said turning to face the bound man, “You will not esca-”\r \n \r \n“I get it, I really do.. you're new to this but—C’mon my dude! 67% chloroform!? Is that really the best you find? I’m not even dazed right now and I just woke up! And—” he swayed from side to side causing it to balance on two legs for a brief moment, “look at all this wiggle room!”\r \n\r \n“A bloated old man could worm out of these! And that assuming these ‘I got booted from of the boy scouts cause I could even learn to tie rope’ knots don't give out first! I mean can you even tie your own shoes!?”\r \n\r \nI tried to speak but the man wouldn’t shut up long enough for me to get a word in edge-wise!\r \n\r \n“And don't even get me started on your little streaming setup you go down here!” He gestured with his head to my cameras. \r \n\r \n“I mean is this the level we’ve sunk to! REALLY!? These days nobody can do anything without writing a blog about it or posting it on Twitter! And look at you! asking \\~chat\\~ those pitiful rage-filled parasocial keyboard-warriors, which finger to chop first! Where has all the class gone hmm?”\r \n\r \n“Back in the day, there was so much intrigue! So much mystery! The cat and mouse battle between The Bedside killer and the LRPD. all those cryptic clues Mopcking jay left at his victim's houses before and after the crimes!!”—He sighed— “those were the days!”\r \n\r \nHe leaned back in the chair and cracked his neck. “I mean... what are they gonna call you? The Tutorial Terror? Think about your legacy man!”\r \n\r \n“I’ve heard enough of your insolent chatter!” I demanded stepping forward with my knife in hand. “All shall see my brilliance! Rejoice, your death will be but a small brushstroke in my masterpiece!”\r \n\r \n“By the time your body is found in the Orlan river, I will have already captured my next victim!”\r \n\r \n“THE ORLAN RIVER!” the man cried out! “Anywhere but THERE, please! That's where Enigma dumped all his victims! People won’t know which serial killer, and I use that term lightly in reference to you, killed me!”\r \n\r \n“Do you have a single original thought in that head of yours!?”—he groaned —“I mean, honestly, at this point, it might not be so bad if people thought Enigma did me in. At least that would get her tally a bit closer to the triple-digit mark...”\r \n\r \nI was beginning to regret my choice in victim. Maybe I should have done a bit more research beforehand." ]	2
[WP] It was supposed to be a fun day at the park. Children laughing, parents chatting away. Until you decide to go down the slide- And it never ends.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The sky was blue, the sun shining, warming the air as the sound of children’s delighted cries filled the air around the boxed pit of mulch and dirt. Parents sat off to the side on benches, some talking, others looking to their phones for a moment as their children ran around playing tag, or swung on the swings.\r \n\r \n“Mom!” a little child calls out from atop the yellow metal slide. “Look! I’m gonna go down it on my own!” They look to their mother, only to see her staring attentively at her tiny, electronic rectangle. A moment passes as they wait, before they pouted. “Fine, I’ll go down without you watching then,” they said defiantly as they plopped down atop the slide.\r \n\r \nFor a moment, they closed their eyes, the corners of their mouth quivering as they grabbed hold of the sides of the slide. Then, they pushed forward and leaned back, beginning their journey down the slide. \r \n\r \nThe child clenched their eyes, waiting for the slide to eject them lightly at the bottom for a moment as they slid. But, that end never came. They slid, not moving their arms or legs as they continued falling, before opening their eyes wide. Sitting up and looking around, they found themselves surrounded by nothingness, and looking down before them, that same yellow slide seemed to continue forever.\r \n\r \n“Do not worry, child.”\r \n\r \nA voice called out in their mind just as tears started to form in the corners of their eyes. \r \n\r \n“W—who are you? Where am I?” the child asked with a quivering voice.\r \n\r \n“I am… well, that does not matter. What does, is I’ve brought you here to my home.”\r \n\r \n“I didn’t want to go, though, I wanted my mom to watch me go down the slide,” they said as they curled up into a ball, still sliding down the endless path.\r \n\r \n“...I could watch for her, and I could make it more fun, too.”\r \n\r \nThe quiver in the child’s voice disappeared, as did the threat of their tears. “You can?”\r \n\r \n“Yes! Here, watch!”\r \n\r \nAs the voice spoke, the slide below began to change. Instead of being perfectly straight, ridges appeared, and as the child hit the first one, they began to fly through the air slightly above the ramp. They let out a cry of surprise as their behind hit the slide again, perfectly angled to allow them to fly off of the next ridge. After a few of the bumps, they disappeared, returning to the normal, straight path.\r \n\r \n“Was that fun?”\r \n\r \nThe child giggled. “A little…”\r \n\r \n“Aw, only a little? How about this!”\r \n\r \nThe entity turned the path to loop de loops next, the child letting out more delighted squeals as they rode the path. Then, the entity created ramps, and then even flipped the slide to allow the child to ride it upside down. This continued for what seemed to be hours, and the child screamed and laughed the whole time.\r \n\r \nThen, the entity returned to the normal, straight path, once more.\r \n\r \n“Well, it’s been fun, young one, but I believe our time is up for now.”\r \n\r \n“What? But it’s been so fun!” the child whined.\r \n\r \n“Yes, and I hope to have fun with you many more times.”\r \n\r \nBefore the child could respond, the world reappeared around them with the blink of an eye, and they were sent sprawling across the ground. Sitting up and looking around in a daze, their lip began to quiver, before they began to bawl.\r \n\r \nQuickly, the mother got up from their seat and ran over, picking up the child. They cooed, and hummed, trying to calm them down to no avail.\r \n\r \n“I want to have fun with Mister Slide again!” the child screamed as they were carried away from the playground.\n\n\\------\n\nJust fun. Thanks for the prompt, OP.\n\nr/IUniven" ]	2
[WP] You woke up with cat-ears instead of your normal ears. This would be great if you weren't the Prime Minister of England.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "# Do Not Write Franz Kafka/Boris Johnson Fanfiction At 3:AM\n\n\nAs Barry Jonathan, English Prime Minister, awoke one morning from dreams of fish and sticks he found his ears transformed into brown furry cat ears.\n\nJonathan panicked. “How am I going to give my fcking speech today?” he asked himself. Then he remembered he was in London, where there's always an excuse to wear three wooly gata over your head.\n\nYet he needed to tell somebody of his problem, as his attempts to figure it out himself didn't went anywhere. He told his wife, Caroline Jonathan, who reacted with disgust and asked for a divorce.\n\n“I'll marry no man with such features!” said her.\n\n“It's just two fcking cat ears.” he said.\n\nSoon enough, his secret went public (damn paparazzi) and everyone began to distance from him. Barry was alone. Nothing but his thoughts remained...\n\nDeep down, he heard a voice. A voice that dictated everything he did or said... A voice that- hey, wait a minute..\n\nOH, GH, GAAAAAAAH\n\nBARRY JOHNATHAN IS CHOCKING ME! HE SUDDENLY APPEARED IN MY ROOM AND HE'S- HE'S GRIPPING BY MY NECK- GAAAAAH\n\n“Alright, listen up,” HE SAYS. “First of all, my name is B-o-r-i-s Johnson. Your butchering of my name for your little “The Metamorphosis” parody is miserable. You ain't a fcking serious writer, you're Brandon Sanderson if he had a bigger brain aneurysm.”\n\nBUT HOW, HOW IS HE DOING THIS? HE'S A FICTIONAL CHARACTER, I CREATED HIM!\n\nNOW HE'S SMILING. I DON'T LIKE THAT.\n\n“I'm British, motherfcker. My people have colonized the world. Nothing stops us from conquering other realities, including yours.\n\nMY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE! I UNLEASHED A MONSTER UPON THE WORLD! MAYBE... MAYBE I CAN DEFEAT HIM...\n\n“Heh. How?”\n\nBY....\n\n\nBY...\n\nBY FINISHING THE STORY!\n\n“Wait, shit.”\n\nFIN!\n\nr/Box_Of_Stories" ]	2
[WP] Roads, cars, homes and technology have meant that the swamps have become a place left to nature. No one could live out there, let along choose to. However, one day you take your rowing boat out into the bayou, and between the mangroves meet a woman in rags petting a crocodile.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The swamps are my favorite place to think. They are quieter than people realize, if you can tune out the bugs. Either way, there usually isn’t anyone around for miles so it can be a great place to get away and put life into perspective. Something about the eat or be eaten nature of the place really gives some clarity to life’s problems, you know? \n I was about a mile into the swamps about to turn back. It was starting to get late and while not dark yet, it was about to be. I was just turning around, a complicated move for someone as new as me when i thought i saw a flash of black hair in the trees. When i turned back, there was nothing. No moss that i mistook for hair, just nothing. I tried to calm my breathing, something my therapist has been working with me on. I closed my eyes and tried the breathing exercises. Breath in through my nose, pause, and breath out through my mouth. In and out. In… was that… perfume? \n It had to have been. A musky kind of sickly sweet smell that felt like it was trying to cover up a different scent. I started rowing faster. This place gave me the creeps on the best days and now it was about to get dark. I was not about to spend the night on the swamp. \n Something felt wrong. It’s like i could feel eyes on me from everywhere but nothing looked different. Then i noticed the silence. Not one insect was making a noise in the swamp, the only sound was my rhythmic rowing. I read that the forest becomes silent when a predator is around but its never once happened in the swamp. Not even hen there was a 10 foot alligator around. I rowed faster. \n The sun was starting to turn to an amber orange color on the horizon and shadows started stabbing through the trees making it harder to see. I started hearing whispers of a faint humming on the wind. Like a mother humming to her baby. \n Suddenly i pushed through some thick undergrowth into a clearing about 100 meters wide. It was.a perfect circle and in its center was a woman. She had long black hair that was matted and filled with oily mud. She wore a tattered dress that was shockingly white in this setting. She was humming with her head low caressing what looked like a log. When i got closer, unable to stop floating toward her, I could see that it was the largest alligator i had ever seen. She was stroking it lovingly like a favorite pet or a child.\n “Hush little baby don’t say a word…” I could make out in an eriely beautiful voice. Her hair covered her eyes and face so i couldn’t tell what she looked like.\n I noticed i had stopped rowing, the oar in my frozen hands just above the water. I moved to slow myself but as soon as my oar pierced the water her head snapped up to see me. Her hair still covered her eyes but i could feel them boring into me. This woman was half my weight and obviously hurt by the look of her but i had never felt so… threatened. Her presence exhumed danger and malice. I felt the weight of her hatred in my chest. I ran. \n I rowed, more accurately. I rowed faster than I thought i could, not daring to slow or look back all the way to the rivers edge that i had come from. I felt her gaze tearing into me all the way through the clearing and thought i felt something fly and hit the back of my calf on the way out. I came out of that swamp with a hundred scrapes and scratches, work from hundreds of shrubs and undergrowth as i scurried my way out. I left my canoe and ran home. \n It was a week before i got the heart to go and put my canoe up for safe keeping. When i was pulling it higher on the back i noticed it. A single alligator tooth with a red streak on it. It must have been what hit me. When i looked at my leg i saw a small slash, no bigger than a paper cut. I shuddered and threw the tooth back into he water and went home. \n That was a month ago and i haven’t been back. I never want to go back but i feel something pulling me to that place. It was gentle at first but now its all i think about. It’s like there is a hook in my stomach pulling me to the center of that clearing. I can’t sleep or eat. I can still hear that voice.\n “Hush little baby don’t say a word….”" ]	2
[WP] In the distant future computer science is a lost art, only recently have they managed to get the mythical internet up and running but absolutely nobody knows how it works, you are tasked with finding the holy grail from the ancient texts to restore humanity’s greatness: Stack Overflow	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It is said that any program can be created simply by copying and pasting from this sacred place: Stack Overflow. No matter how complex or simple, it would be possible. \n\nThe search began with a basic browser window, this relic machine came with one built in called google chrome. Was this the google that nearly achieved world domination in our history? Anyway, it didn’t matter, google was preached too be the path to Stack Overflow. \n\nAfter waiting a little too long, the browser opened to a page with a solitary search bar in the middle. I think this is where I enter Stack Overflow, and the letters are slowly but surely typed in. \n\nAs the letters appeared on the search bar, sentences formed within a box below:\n‘Stacy’s Mom has got it going on classic’\nK was entered:\n‘Stacking cups world champion’\nWhat are all these weird suggestions? I thought google would guide me there.\nOh well, I will keep typing.\n\nFinally, it was all entered, now the box showed things that made sense. Enter, now let’s see what happens. At the top of the page, there was now a number, it showed there were millions of results! This wouldn’t be any easy task. \n\nHours pass, I have sifted through results from dozens of pages of this search. So far it all seems like gibberish, and the more pages I visit, the more confused I am becoming. This was a gargantuan task, and the only thing I have learnt so far is the importance of this semi-colon thing.\n\nRestarting the research from the beginning was the best idea, time too search through all one hundred tabs again. This must be what it feels like too be an ancient developer.", "The oracle stared back at me, blank-faced and dim. This was going to be a long night.\n\nOracles were known for being unreliable before we forgot how to use them, and these days almost none of them still worked. This one had not been woken for some time; dust clogged its every surface when I'd started work on it, well over a week ago.\n\nThis was a larger specimen, headless, with many redundant organs, and lacking many of the appendages usually afforded to an oracle, despite having the necessary orifices for them to link into. Only recently had we discovered the purpose behind these so called 'headless oracles'. This is why they called me in.\n\nBeing the resident expert in oracology , I had the best chances of being able to revive this one. Most of the time, my job is to turn up and declare the job to be impossible. Most oracles discovered in the past 50 years have been mere fossils.\n\nThis time was different. The site had been discovered a decade ago in the arctic, as humans migrated to colder areas of the world to escape the rising temperatures. The site itself was modest, simple structures and infrastructure apparently designed specifically for housing oracles of this kind. Red tape, politics and the usual theological fretting common to our species prevented any research expeditions from occurring until now.\n\nSince being permitted onto the site, we had devoted a week to cleaning, cataloguing and studying each of the oracles housed here. There were well over 50 specimens. And yet still, I took the greatest of care in my attempts to repair this first one.\n\n\"FUUUCK!!!\" I growled. This was the seventh time I had tried to kickstart it, to no avail. In other circumstances, I'd have written the machine off, but this was everything. According to the texts they had found onsite, this oracle was special; it was the master oracle which the other 49 depend on for full functioning, apparently. Its respiratory system remained entirely inert.\n\nI had only one thing left to try. From my orocologists bag, I withdrew a small rubber percussive device. After what was probably not enough hesitation, I gave each of the organs a light whack. People liked to joke that the orocologist's hammer was a useless tool, fit only for relieving ones frustrations.\n\nI hit the power switch, and just about fell out of my chair.\n\n<BEEP>!\n\nThe sweetest noise an orocologist could hear. It was the sound of life returning to the dead.\n\n<POWER ON SELF TEST COMPLETED. OK> \n\n\n<INITIALIZING BOOT SEQUENCE...> \n\n\n<...>\n\n<...>\n\n< Enter authorization for soverflowadnmn@bashv4.2: >\n\nOur team had already found the authorization codes during cataloguing, which I tapped in as best as I could with how my hands shook.\n\n---------\n\nA week later, we had woken a small subset of the oracles. The master oracle was not enough by itself, apparently a mere middleman between the others.\n\n\"We're ready!\" The excitement palpable in her voice, Roshenke announced her success at activating the oracle's true function.\n\nRoshenke wrote the words into the box: 'http://localhost:80'. The result was immediate the viewer filled with shapes, colours, and most importantly, words!\n\n< Welcome to stack overflow! >\n\n< Every Sysadmin has a tab open to stack overflow >\n\nMy hairs stood straight. For moments, nobody breathed. Nobody was capable of speech. We knew this expedition would be huge, but we did not know we were unearthing the holy grail of orocology.\n\n\"QUICK ASK IT SOMETHING!\" Ruiz barked\n\nMy head swimming, I dared look back at the viewer. The screen was filled with questions-- and answers! I clicked one at random and scrolled down to the answer, hasty in my greed:\n\n< \"This is a stupid question. You just didn't want to learn Matrix maths for your homework, did you?\" >\n\n-----------\n\nI never know how to end these so I'm just going to leave it there! Bit wordier than I'd have liked but oh well. PS, it turns out I don't enjoy first person narration 🤷", "The archeologists had done an amazing job, the Computer was clean, perhaps it was cleaned with soap even. Impressed, I took a seat in front of the flickering screen, in a dingy room inside the national archeology building. In past ever since AI took over, it reached singularity on its own, leaving human deadweight behind on this forsaken planet. And roughly 500 years had passed since last computer engineer automated last manual task, making the subject obsolete.\n\nAs AI left this world, humanity needed intelligence again, to build the ecosystem they had become reliant upon. I blew over the keyboard. It did nothing as they had cleaned the computer pretty good, but I like to imagine some dust was blown away.\n\nIn front of me was a CRT monitor with a bright flickering screen, oldest of the oldest model and processor was something called 'Celeron'. I knew this because it said so on the big white box by my side. I clicked the internet button shaped as an English alphabet E. Why was it shaped as E if it a button for internet? Perhaps the ancient ones called it enternet, I thought. Yes, because we are entering into a net....of computers. I smirked to myself and watched as the it launched open a window.\n\nI read the first thing it displayed in awe. 'ERROR CODE 404'. I took of my glasses with shaking hands. What was it? A mysterious code that the enternet was giving me, was it a hint? I immediately informed my superiors about it. They told me to look deeper and find its meaning, this could unlock the mysteries of what happened with previous AI. I clicked the button, F1, as it asked me to, for more help. It launched another window with text of reasons why I wasn't connected to the internet.\n\nEcstatic, I frantically started to note down everything, In the background was a camera filming everything on the screen. After an hour of noting down the entire page, I faxed it to my superiors, the first findings of many. They were happy as well and promised me a promotion.\n\nAfter clicking on various objects on screen, I finally spotted the URL bar, it was my only way to restore the strongest of the ancient text, said to possess answer to every secret in the world, THE STACKOVERFLOW. In my mind they called it because they used to keep these texts in a neat pile of stacks. But people frequently used to refer to it and it used to spill. And as people kept adding more and more knowledge to it, the stack grew bigger and it overflowed in the library. Which was the reason that they put this entire thing on enternet.\n\nI typed in the cryptic language given to me, very carefully and pressed the button. It once again threw 'NOT connected to Internet' page. Perhaps old master's spelling wasn't good as they called it internet instead of enternet. I opened the diary filled with instructions, unsure of what to do I walked around the humming machine. By chance I noticed the yellow wire sticking out a little. I pressed it in place and it clicked.\n\nWhat did I do? did I push the enternet button? Did I break it? I went to the screen again and it was buffering. A small circle, spinning, like a small endless existence of itself, perhaps a message from the ancient ones. I noted it down too as the screen flickered and revealed the Stackoverflow home page. I went back weak in my knees due to how divine the moment was. 'Make an account' text appeared. Ofcourse, I have to clarify my account with the deities in order to get their blessing to go ahead. I bowed down before the first page of ancient text.\n\n\"Please ancient ones, I a humble servant appear before enternet, and your divinity. My purpose is just and true and for the restoration of humanity. Allow me to proceed.\" When I lifted my head back up, the home page was still there. I carefully clicked a random button on it and the previous text disappeared. Ofcourse, I had made the account already, the ancient ones heard it and granted me access.\n\n\"How to restore AI\" I typed in carefully, as it was the only question I had. The search query returned the result. \"Make sure the server is on and connected to the internet' it said.\n\n'The server' I exclaimed, the reference to which was found all through out the history. In fact, the server was the only thing left behind of the AI, but it was a digital artifact. I immediately informed the superiors and they arranged for it to be connected to the same Yellow wire which was supplying my machine with enternet. \n\nI scrolled down for second answer as I had followed to the first, \"does the code have any issues?' What was this? a question? in the text full of answers? What is 'The code'? Ofcourse, ancient text referenced this 'the code' of the machines. Perhaps a set of regulations and rules made for them....by machine police.\n\nBut where was this code? I asked. Perhaps I should ask the server. I informed the superiors about my findings and now I am headed with the ancient machine to server room, to find this 'Great code' and understand it. Only then humanity will be led to its salvation." ]	4
[WP] You Don't Have a Shoulder Angel or Shoulder Devil. You Have a Shoulder CEO and a Shoulder Hippie.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It was a beautiful Saturday morning. Eric sat on his porch smoking a joint feeling the stresses of the long work week melting away. Each puff made the green grass and colorful flowers around his home more vivid and entrancing. Work on Monday felt years away.\n\nA soft popping noise sounded in Eric’s left ear as a miniature man with long hair and a tie dye shirt materialized on his left shoulder. “Man ain’t nature beautiful? We could just sit here all day. Once that joint is done, let's grab a nice big glass of milk and some oreos.”\n\nEric liked the sound of that. He needed to relax after the stress work had put him through this week.\n\nAnother popping noise filled Eric’s right ear as another miniature clean shaven man in a tight fitting suit appeared on his right shoulder. “That grass is higher than you are. We need to cut it now. Work is going to take all of our energy once Monday rolls back around.”\n\nThe small hippie rolled his eyes. “Aw not this guy. He always shows up to harsh our vibes. Can’t you just take a day off dude?”\n\nAdjusting his tie the businessman said, “I show up to make sure you can afford to have vibes to be harshed. There is always work to be done, and we can rest when we are dead. Don’t forget we still need to wash the car and clean the bathroom. The sooner we get the grass cut, the sooner we can get those done as well.”\n\n“Bro Eric deserves to rest now, it's not gonna do him any good when he is dead.”\n\n“Look, we've done this a hundred times before. We can get this grass cut in an hour if we hustle, and we will still have plenty of time left in the day.”\n\nPutting his hand on Eric’s cheek the hippie leaned towards the CEO. “An hour dude? The yard is a full acre; it usually takes two hours to cut. By the time we finish we’ll be all sweaty and tired and have to take a nap, the day will already be half over.”\n\n“It needs to get done, and no one else is going to do it. We either do it now or we do it later, but if we wait the grass is going to be taller and the job will be harder.”\n\nThe hippie’s head fell and he slumped on Eric’s shoulder looking defeated. “Who do you even work for man? Why are you always so pushy?”\n\n“I work for Eric and all future Erics. How about this? We cut the grass and clean the bathroom today, then tomorrow we can call Ben, get some LSD, and just play video games all day.”\n\nEric and the hippie both looked at the CEO with raised eyebrows.\n\nThe CEO put his hands up. “What? I’m a CEO not a corpse. I like to have fun too, and sometimes you gotta make compromises.”\n\n“You know what dude, maybe this guy isn’t so bad. Let’s go soak up those rays and get this job done. Tomorrow is gonna be great.”\n\nBoth of the men disappeared. Eric nodded to himself before pulling himself up from the chair and walking towards the shed." ]	2
[WP] An alien invasion is going on, but the only who notice it are mentally insane.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Mr. Dane wouldn't break eyecontact\r \nHe could see where he was going, but it was only by looking through the eyes of Mr. Dane as if they were an afterimage. Heh. In effect, they were an afterimage. How many hours had they remained in one place on his vision? How many days? The sheer number of topics they had discussed made it seem like a lifetime. The most unsettling part was that Mr. Dane never seemed to blink. Maybe he just timed his blinks for right when Mikael blinked. That would be sufficiently snake-like as to fit within Mr. Dane's character. That makes logical sense. Right? Breathe! Mikael reminded himself to breathe. Oh the things taken for granted by so many people. Oh the disruptions to his mental faculties. No time to cry over spilt milk - even if it was infused with psychadelics. Mikael needed to breathe, and keep on running. Mikael came to a sudden stop. Why should he keep on running? His breath quickly caught up as he stood there, no longer exerting himself. Nothing was chasing him but time. He could see through the fallacy that was time. No one else could. So time was only chasing other people, not him. He had knowledge though, not other people. He hated that knowledge, hated that he knew it, that he knew he was right, that he couldn't tell anyone else without being written off as a loon. So why try to warn other people? He plopped onto the ground and adopted his astral stance. After a moment of refocusing, he projected his conciousness outwards and felt. He felt the myriad emotions of fear, love, hate, and satisfaction that permeated this city. He observed the intelligence of the humans, his fellow humans he reminded himself, as his conciousness withdrew from the scope of the city. As if scrolling outwards on a digital graph for one of his math classes, his conciousness zoomed out. He saw the flurry of data - emotions, intelligence, other spiritually awakened; The pattern it made on the graph as he withdrew from the focus on such a small point shrank in perspective. Then he saw the impending Consiousness. As a tick appears in perspective to a human, so the human conciousness, the collective flurry of data on Earth, appeared to that which approached. It was galactic. He observed it from afar, refusing to chance it noticing him. He searched for the thoughts that he might be able to glean from the surface of such a massive conciousness. As soon as he intended to hear, his astral form was blasted with the thoughts and emotions of the Consiousness. Like a solar flare whipped from the Sun to the Earth, Mikael was stunned trying to process such an overwhelming force. It was one unified message. One Conciousness grown to titanic size. It desired to consume." ]	2
[WP] You have ability to determine the best item to sell to a person and the price. Right now, the best thing you can sell to the person in front of you is yourself.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "In the world of convenient salespeople, there are 3 rules for determining what you'll market.\n\n1. You can only sell the best item that they need or want, and they have to directly ask for it; Don't push people to buy junk just to increase sales.\n2. They have to be able to afford it.\n3. Everything comes from the real world, everything has a cost; but it can be manufactured according to the needs of the people in a rather short time.\n\nYup, now you know why we don't run around selling organs or explosives to people. You can't just manufacture organs out of thin air and explosives could never be the best item that any person needs or wants. But there seems to be a loophole, hence this dilemma.\n\nYou see, according to the rules, you can buy a loved one. As in, a newly bought person who suddenly loves you. Love is very real and it can be easily manufactured as a brain chemical, thank the chemists for that one. A lot of people need or want a loved one as love's often the best thing one could have, it's affordable because you're not buying a human being (Which is illegal and against the rules, by the way), but a loved one; Love costs maybe 100$ for a date, 44$ for a gym membership to find a brother-like companion and a donation to an old age home to find a parent figure. Adoption already existed before convenient salespeople, not much to comment on that.\n\nStacy and I have been friends for a while now, 3 years to be specific. Which is odd, because I could never think that anyone in this world would care about me except if they, I dunno, needed to buy something I guess? Since she was one of my only 2 friends, I told her everything in detail, about the loophole, the rules, everything.\n\nSo yeah, Stacy knows about how I'm a convenient salesman, giving people what they need for whatever amount they can afford to pay. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the kind to get taken advantage of, I don't just go around telling people off of work what I am. She's a close friend, I knew I could trust her enough to tell her. Or at least I thought I could.\n\nAnyway, it's Sunday and I've been binge-watching the latest season of BNHA. The door bell suddenly rang, it was Stacy. Fast forward to now. I had never seen a person act as indecisive as her, as if in that moment she was deciding whether to mark C or A on an MCQ she didn't know the answer to.\n\n\"I need to tell you something\"\n\nYeah, yeah. I know. You want me. Somehow you decided that it was fair to yourself that you'd love me, despite knowing my family history and all that. That's a story for another day though. I never actually decided whether or not to sell myself, and I was not an eligible sales item anyway as she wasn't direct about wanting to buy me. Me, as in a loved one. She loved me.\n\n\"I like you...I feel like I could give any amount to have you, just tell me how much. I finally decided to be direct, as you require me to\"\n\nI am willing to give myself away for free, actually. I love her already but never told her as I didn't want to ruin her life, I didn't want her to be associated with what I do. But she seemed to be okay with that, and she seemed quite stern about buying me, so I wanted to make her realize something.\n\n\"It's Sunday\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"I'm not at work today, I can't sell anything to anyone\"\n\n\"...\"\n\n\"I mean, you could have me for free if you just asked me out on a date, but you seem adamant about buying me, come back Monday if you want\"\n\nHer face turned gloomy for a split second, until she realized.\n\n\"Wait really?\" \\gets excited and shakes me by the shoulders\\ \"SERIOUSLY?\"\n\nBois I've got myself a date. Cya.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n( yo i'm a teenager writing for fun, and this is my first time writing something on this sub, don't come at me even though it's shit :D)\n\nedit: grammar and shit", "I blink at the toddler standing in front of me.\n\nWell, okay, maybe she's not a toddler. But if she's a day over five, I'll eat my hat. With bechamel sauce.\n\nI hate bechamel sauce. \n\n\"So,\" I say calmly, because having a screaming fit at work is Frowned Upon, \"where's your mum?\"\n\n\"Dunno,\" says the kid. Well, that's helpful. So I switch on The Sense, because that at least will tell me what the kid needs, which is... me. Oh-kay.\n\n\"When did you last see her?\" I try.\n\n\"A while ago,\" Kid says unhelpfully. Well, at this age kids have no sense of time, so it was probably stupid to ask.\n\n\"I'm Carrie, what's your name?\" I asked, because I can't keep calling her 'Kid'.\n\n\"'m Matilda.\" Damn, maybe I should have stuck with 'Kid'. The things people do to their children.\n\n\"Okay, Matilda, how about we call the information centre and tell them to put over the loudspeaker that you're waiting for your parents here?\"\n\n\"Sure.\"\n\nSo that's what we do. And five minutes later a frantic mother comes charging into the shop. Perhaps unsurprisingly, what she needs me to sell her is a child's backpack with attached leash for $19.95. \n\nThe kid didn't need me, per se - she needed a safe adult, and I happened to be the one that was there. And when her mum arrives, what she needs me to sell her changes to a fruit leather. The two of them leave a few minutes later, both purchases being put to use immediately. \n\nAnd that's my job. Selling people what they need, at prices they can afford. Us travelling shops have a bad rep, thanks to that one bad apple. This is what we usually do, but nobody tells stories about that one shop that had the exact colour of construction paper you needed for your project, do they?\n\nSo, yeah. Be careful when you encounter us... but we're not all bad." ]	3
[WP] "When you die, don't go into the light. Take two left turns and open the gate instead."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "You finally wake up after what seems like an eternity of darkness. It was like being asleep, but you were consious during all of it. However you wake up in an entirely different area then your room. In front of you stands the grim reaper.\n“Welcome. Welcome to death”\nHe exclaims\n“I will be the one to guide you to the underworld. Well, not directly. There are to manh deaths for me to lead everyone to the underworld myself. But i’ll give you directions. Can you see the hallwag over there?”\nYour sight was still a little blurry, but after looking to where the reaper pointed for a bit you could see it. A dark hallway with light at the end.\n“Yes i see it” you tell the grim reaper. “I assume i have to go to the light?”\nThe grimm reaper shook his head\n“No absolutely not. Actually, avoid the light at all costs. The underworld is the first turn left in this hallway. Then take another left turn and open the gates. Don’t be afraid. You aren’t where you think you are. Do you understand?”\n“Yes i believe so. Just two turns left. Alright”\nYou start walking trough the corridor, staying close to the left wall. Eventually you feel a passageway with a red glow at the end. You look at the light. It seemed extremely tempting. But the grim reaper said you shouldn’t go there, and you’d probably get punnished if you did. So you take the first turn left and walk down the hallway. When you get to the end of the hallway, you look to your right out of curiosity. It was black. Pure black. Just a void. You decide not to stay to find out what it was and walk to the left like the reaper said. There you open the gates. You find yourself in a place exactly like how people would describe hell. The floor is made of ashes, there is fire everywhere, the sky is red. And as soon as you set a few steps into this world, a demon walks towards you.\n“Finally! A new soul, i thought no one would come. Welcome to the afterlife! I am satan, the ruler of this place”\n“You’re satan? Does that mean i am in hell?! What have i done to deserve this? I’d like to think i lived a relatively good life!”\nSatan laughed\n“Off course you did! Thats why you’re here. You mortals see hell as a bad place of endless torture but we don’t do that here. The fire keeps the place warm, the ashes are comfortable to walk on, and the red sky looks pretty good don’t you think?”\n“Well… yes you make a good point”\n“The people here are nice to! With what you mortals think of hell, very few actually accept hoing trough the gate. The rest all decide to go back to the light. And yes, behind that is what you mortals see like heaven. Everything there is great. Except for the people. Everyone there is greedy, they think they deserve to be there more then the others. Its a horible place to be for eternity”\nYou stand there for a second not knowing what to say. Eventualy you ask:\n“So what do i do now? Where do i go?”\nSatan smiled\n“I’ll show you around. You’re the first person to come here in an entire week, so i have time.”" ]	2
[WP] "A gingerbread man sits in a gingerbread house. Is the house made of flesh, or is he made of house? He screams, for he does not know the answer."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"AAAAAAAHHHH!\"\n\nThe strangled scream came from the gingerbread house on the table. Mary looked over, yet she saw no one there. To her surprise, as she got closer, she realised the sound was coming from within the house itself.\n\nThat's when she made the mistake of looking inside.\n\nThe little gingerbread man, dressed up in small sweets and white icing, was screaming its non-existent lungs out. It was running around, touching the walls and its body, with a look of confused anguish on its face. Mary, initially at a loss, went to the armchair in a state of shock. She slumped down to process what she had witnessed.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAn hour had passed, and Mary woke up after a fitful sleep. Getting her bearings, she felt something crawling up her leg. As it reached her knee, she looked down: there, crumbs falling all around it, sat the gingerbread man. Now it had her attention, it began to scream again, its mouth full of gingerbread. And she began to scream too. They kept screaming, as time seemed to speed up, and days turned to weeks. Those weeks turned to months, then to years. The Sun expanded, swallowing in the Earth, yet they two remained, screaming. Eventually, after the passage of aeons, they stopped. She had become a swirling ball of energy; the gingerbread man, lacking a life as such, simply floated there. They remain there, suspended in the remnants of a solar system, screaming on the inside, rather than the out.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"And that is the story of the screaming gingerbread man. Now you two need to get to sleep, I have to abduct some other life forms tonight.\"\n\n\"But parent?\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"We're scared now. We don't like the gingerbread man.\"\n\n\"It's just a story. And a traditional one at that. Now, go to sleep.\"\n\nAnd with that, the alien left in its flying saucer, leaving its children traumatised.", "\"A gingerbread man sits in a gingerbread house. Is the house made of flesh, or is he made of house? He screams, for he does not know the answer.\"\n\nI look at the gingerbread house I made, with the gingerbread man inside it. The gingerbread man does not scream, or think, because he's just gingerbread, and gingerbread doesn't think. I eat a corner of the house.\n\nBut I, I am made of matter, and so is my house. So is the gingerbread house and gingerbread man. We are all made of the same stuff. Is that horrifying? Well, I suppose so, at some level. I live in a material world, and I am part of that world. I'll die eventually and the ordering of matter that is me with cease to exist, and so will the house, and so will the universe at large. Seems like a stretch though. The house and I will fall apart way sooner than the universe as a whole, because our construction is way more fragile than it ought to be. And the gingerbread house will be gone in short order because I've got a sweet tooth.\n\nThe real question in my mind, is, how come I'm thinking and the house isn't? The house should be put into an ordering such that all its matter is thinking as well. And the earth, beneath my feet, that's matter, too. And it goes down, on and on, for 4000 miles to the earth's core. Shouldn't all that matter be thinking too? My head's doing all my thinking, it's about three pounds. The house is many tons, and the earth under the house going down 4000 miles, that's about half a trillion pounds? That's an awful lot of thinking that could be happening that isn't.\n\nHum. This really doesn't make me want to scream, other than in the sense of so much potential currently being wasted. It strikes me more as opportunity. I am gifted with thought, and it's a wonderful thing. It puts a responsibility on my shoulders. I should teach the world to think as well." ]	3
[WP] You are followed by two floating heads of sports commentators, unseen and unheard by anyone else, who make note of the most mundane ongoings of your life. Today, you’ve told them to be quiet before your interview	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Tom, Dave, please, just this once. A little bit of silence. I really need this job, and I don’t wanna be distracted,” I mumbled under my breath to the two heads watching my every move. \n\nThe floating head of Tom looked to me and, with a bristle of his mustache, showed that he was paying attention. Dave’s bald head and continued to watch other parts of my body. \n\n“Well, Tom, it looks like we’re going to have an interesting match today,” Dave said, his bald head looking at me with a smile. \n\n“That’s right Dave!” Tom winked back at him, mustache ablaze in excitement, “This will mark Aaliyah’s eighth interview this month, and it’s looking to be an exciting one.”\n\nI sighed to myself in frustration as the door opened to the office ahead of me. \n\n“Come on in,” the interviewer said, immediately returning inside the room. \n\n“Ah, a classic,” Dave mentioned. “Aaliyah is using her deep breathing techniques to prep for her first words. Usually effective in larger rooms, we’ll see if it pans out in this smaller office space.”\n\n“Oh, and check out the twist! There are three interviewers inside!” Tom said distinctly. “Aaliyah only expected one, but it seems some last minute changes have thrown a curveball!”\n\nI really was only expecting one interviewer. I quickly put on a smile and walked into the room. \n\n“Hi! I’m Clarice. This is John and Roderick. Nice to meet you, umm, Alee?” the one in the center said, reading off the resume in front of her. \n\n“Ohhh, a low blow in the first round!” Dave shouted to Tom who was nodding his ethereal head vigorously. “A mispronunciation, as if they didn’t even try. Let’s see how Aaliyah responds.”\n\n“It’s Aaliyah,” I said gently, smiling while taking a seat. \n\n“Aaliyah takes the shot…” Tom said with bated breath. \n\n“Okay, sure,” Clarice said curtly, scoffing lightly. \n\n“Tough break,” Tom said, shaking his ghostly head. “She was embarrassed and took it personally. That looks like it’ll be going down as rude behavior in her performance notes!”\n\nI clenched my jaw, already feeling this was going poorly despite any non-ghostly reason to think that way. I made sure to make eye contact and tried to casually smile despite the nervous anxiety streaming through my body.\n\n“Can you tell me a little bit about your experience working as a tutor for students here?” Roderick said, pointing to another copy of my resume. \n\n“Well, it was a year-long stint where I took in students that were in danger of failing their classes and essentially gave them the motivation to succeed. The kids were mostly smart, see, but they lacked the drive to do any school work independently because they thought it was a waste of time. The job had more to do with finding appropriate ways to uplift someone than it did actual teaching of the subjects they were working on,” I answered confidently, having rehearsed this answer in a half dozen interviews before this one. \n\n“A nice smile from Roderick there, especially having a problem child of his own. Aaliyah seeing this as an opportunity and not a drawback seems to have rung well with him and won her some points,” Dave said, floating over Roderick’s shoulder to read some notes he jotted on a notebook. \n\n“And Aaliyah’s bubbly demeanor seems to have won over John as well,” Tom reported. “The slight nods to himself seem to lend to his implicit agreement with the answer.”\n\nI sat up a little straighter, unable to mask the slight pride I took in the commentators praising me rather than bringing me down. Clarice didn’t react much to my response and slid her finger over the margins of my resume.\n\n“This part here…” Clarice said casually. “What’s with this gap in your work history? Seven months?” She looked up, with a disappointed eyebrow raised. \n\n“I broke my leg and caught two different cases of the flu. I was bedridden for a month and needed recovery for at least two or three more. After that, I decided to do a little traveling before coming back to the workplace,” I replied.\n\n“An illness is understandable, but you found yourself traveling for four whole months before getting back into interviewing?” Clarice asked. \n\n“Right for the killing blow!” Tom boomed, floating above Clarice. “As if she already decided she didn’t want Aaliyah working with her!”\n\nI breathed deep, trying to ignore the commentators. \n\n“Aaliyah’s delay in response has already been registered, looks like it’s already an awkward moment!” Dave said. \n\nI cleared my throat at a little too loud of volume, but it was enough to shut the heads up despite the odd looks from my interviewers. \n\n“I’m going to be working for years. Diligently. My work life won’t make room for four month vacations. Not in the way it was made available to me in that opportunity. It was wonderful, but I feel like I’ll never get to do it again, unfortunately,” I replied. \n\n“Unfortunately?” Clarice picked up on that word. “You’d rather be traveling than working?” \n\nTom and Dave spun their heads toward me, trying to gauge how measured a response I’d give. I scoffed.\n\n“Yeah, I would much rather be traveling. I think anyone here would rather be traveling than be in this room,” I admitted. \n\nThe three interviewers looked to one another as Dave shouted about the feat, flying around the room discussing candidness of the answer and the draining possibility of an offer.\n\n“I’ll tell you what,” Clarice said, pushing my resume aside. “I like your resume. I might even like you. More than anything, we’re looking for someone honest and dependable. You’re honest enough to speak your mind at a disadvantage, and you’re dependable enough to look for a job despite it not being your passion. Shows your priorities are straight,” Clarice said. \n\n“Thank you?” I said, unsure if I was being praised, insulted, or a mix of the two. \n\nTom and Dave deliberated in the back corner of the room as I continued to answer the questions delivered, my confidence growing as the commentators remained too invested to want to interfere with the conversation. Finally, the three stood up and walked me out. \n\n“We’ll be in touch,” Clarice said with as little emotion as possible so as not to betray her true impression of me. I nodded and left, drained by the experience, followed by the two heads swarming me immediately. \n\n“Incredible! She stuck the landing!” Dave cheered.\n\n“All three interviewers already made marks on their pages to send an offer to this candidate! Aaliyah’s attitude has turned around what normally turned out to be an interview-ending question!” Tom agreed. \n\nTheir incessant speaking for once did not bother me, allowing me to grant a relieved smile after so many rejections before this one. \n\n___________________\n\n/r/Nazer_The_Lazer" ]	2
[WP] You know all the dark castles, haunted houses, and deep dungeons? Well Greg the Postman is the poor sucker who delivers to them.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "He approached the ruined city gate, about to make his last delivery for the day. He reached out for the rope hanging from the wall, hesitating before pulling it. A deep bell rang out, causing a flock of ravens to take flight in the distance. After several minutes, Greg heard great thundering footsteps, and with a dreadful grinding the portcullis rose up.\n\n\"You rang, human?\"\n\nA troll, covered in coal black fur and holding a spiked club the length of a cow, towered over him.\n\n\"I don't think we've met, have you just arrived?\" he asked the troll.\n\n\"Yeah, few weeks back. Killed the last guy in here.\"\n\n\"Oh. That wouldn't be Hoggard the Orc would it?\"\n\n\"He was an orc, yeah.\"\n\n\"Was he wearing a horned helmet?\"\n\nThe troll reached into the satchel at his side, bringing out a helmet adorned with thick ox horns.\n\n\"Damn. Well, it happens I guess.\"\n\n\"What ya gonna do with that now?\" the troll inquired, pointing at the parcel in Greg's hand.\n\n\"I can do what I want with it. Usually I take it home with me, but I can't think of a use for a mace.\"\n\n\"Can I have it?\"\n\n\"Will you kill me with it?\"\n\nThe troll looked genuinely hurt. \"Do you take me... for the sort who kills postmen?\"\n\n\"No, no, I'm sorry. Yes, of course you can have it. Here.\" He threw the mace-shaped parcel and the troll caught it.\n\n\"Thanks. I wanna to give it to ma niece, she's always want one and it's just her size. Wanna come in, there's food in 'ere that's still good. And there's beer too someplace, I can smell it.\"\n\nGreg had to ponder over the invitation for a minute. But the troll seemed amiable enough. \"Alright.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAfter feeding on pickled vegetables and beer, Greg bade the troll farewell and began the journey back to Gladebrook, the village he called home. He passed through the Forest of Shrieking Nightmares; he traipsed through the Swamp of Woe; and before long, he found himself at the foot of the Jagged Peak Mountains.\n\n\"Oh no, they've moved again.\"\n\nIndeed, the mountains were not in the place where they had previously been. Every few weeks, the mountains relocated themselves. And unfortunately for Greg, the mountains were between him and Gladebrook. It was during a moment where he was cursing under his breath, insulting every known god, that he heard someone mumbling. After a few further moments, an ogre could be seen clambering down one of the slopes.\n\n\"Roggo can't sleep without mountain dropping on his head. Argh.\"\n\nOgres were not the most intelligent creatures at the best of times, and this one obviously had a concussion. Greg attempted to stay out of sight, but Roggo spotted him.\n\n\"Did you do this, human?\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"Did you drop mountain on my head?\"\n\n\"I'm a postman.\"\n\nRoggo stared at him accusingly. He wasn't getting through to him.\n\n\"I can't do magic.\"\n\n\"Maybe you threw it?\"\n\n\"You think I threw a mountain range?\"\n\n\"Hmmm... nah, too weak. So who dropped the mountains here?\"\n\n\"They move on their own.\"\n\n\"Oh. Learn something every day. Have anything for me then?\"\n\n\"I don't have any more deliveries.\"\n\nRoggo lurched towards him all of a sudden, snatching his bag. He tried to get it back, nearly receiving a fist to the face, so he stayed put. Roggo turned out the bag, yet all he found was an empty lunch bag.\n\n\"I didn't believe you. I do now.\" He chucked the bag at Greg, who caught it with his face.\n\n\"Bloody hell... Look, in fairness, I did say there wasn't anything.\"\n\n\"You were right.\"\n\n\"Yes, I know. Can you just, go about your business or something? I need to think about a way home.\"\n\n\"Where you live?\"\n\n\"Gladebrook.\"\n\n\"That's over that way---\"\n\n\"Yes, I know where it is. It's just that there are mountains in my way now.\"\n\n\"Hehe. Ah well, good luck.\" Roggo pushed past Greg and continued waddling along the path.\n\n\"Yeah, thanks,\" he called out, as sarcastic as he could manage.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHaving decided to climb through the mountains, Greg was now several thousand metres about sea level. The snow was seeping through his worn boots, and three toes were already almost frostbitten. On the lower slopes, he had stepped on a small piece of flint; with each step, it embedded itself further into his right heel, causing him to yelp repeatedly. If he failed to find shelter, he would have surely perished. So when he saw a light through the snow, he headed straight for it.\n\nAs it transpired, the light was emitting from a small cave. Squeezing through the entrance, he discovered the source of the light: a small campfire. And next to the campfire, there sat a small goblin with a knife. He was cutting pieces of flesh off a dead hobbit. He wondered whether he should leave the goblin to it, but he did not wish to reenter the cold.\n\n\"Mind if I warm up?\"\n\n\"No, go ahead.\"\n\nOnce sat down, the heat of the flame filled him instantly. He felt his toes more and more as they started to recover. Soon he could almost say he was happy, if it wasn't for what the goblin was doing in the corner.\n\n\"I won't stay long, don't worry. I'll leave you to... um... well, whatever's going on.\"\n\n\"Just preparing my dinner deary.\" He had only just deduced that the goblin was female. \"Stay as long as you want.\"\n\n\"Alright.\" Despite the warmth, he was still shivering. He huddled closer to the fire.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHalf an hour later, Greg woke up with a start. He'd drifted off without noticing, and the goblin now had parts of the hobbit over the fire. The cave filled with the unusual scents these cuts produced.\n\n\"Who was he?\"\n\n\"I don't know, I just found him. He was poking around in my stash, couldn't let him live for being so rude.\" She grinned, showing her orange teeth. \"Do you want some?\"\n\n\"I... can't eat hobbit. Allergic.\"\n\n\"How odd. Never mind, more for me anyway.\" She grabbed a piece, charred to bits by the fire, and swallowed it in one. Greg found it difficult to hide his disgust.\n\n\"Well, I think I'm warm enough now, so I'll be going. Um, goodbye, I guess.\"\n\n\"Safe travels friend,\" she yelled as he crawled back out of the cave. Now that the snowstorm had passed, Greg now spotted the path going back down the mountain. Step after painful step, he descended, dodging falling rocks as they tumbled down. Within an hour, he saw farmland in the distance, so he sped up. He felt immense relief when his feet touched grass. He remove his boots, tugged out the piece of flint and walked across the grass barefoot. After a few minutes of strolling, he put them back on and continued his journey. As midnight loomed, he finally saw familiar lights in the distance, and as he got nearer, he heard the sound of the stream from which Gladebrook got its name. Once he reached the edge of the village, he raced to his front door, threw it open and slid clumsily into his armchair.\n\nGreg, finally able to rest, slept for thirteen hours. It was one in the afternoon when he awoke. His boss had put a letter through his letterbox, telling him he was fired for not showing up. He'd always thought he would be unable to handle a firing, yet after finishing the letter, he grinned from ear to ear. He would never have to deliver anything ever again.", "\"This is the last time. I swear I'm quitting.\"\n\nEvery time that Greg delivers a letter to this particular abandoned castle, this is what he says. \n\n\"You know, this castle is supposed to be abandoned, so why the hell am I delivering a letter here for God's sake?\" Greg says grumbling.\n\nJust yesterday he was delivering a package of what smelled like coffee to one of his favorite people who has a wonderfully cheery great dane named Honey, and this is what he has to deal with today? He was most certainly not in the mood to be potentially haunted. \n\nHe approached the doors that were looming over him, which casted a shadow that made the daylight disappear. He looked up, where an ornamented knocker hung low. Greg began to reach for it, but then decided that it was best to keep all interactions with any spirits or whatever to an absolute minimum. \n\nGreg looked around for the post box, and eventually found it. He could tell that this box used to be black, but it could be assumed that it hasn't been touched in ages due to the caked dust that rested on it. The last time he visited this castle, he just left the letter on the porch because he was too afraid to touch anything. Greg seriously didn't want to touch the box and disturb the dust particles that resided here, for he has killer allergies. But, the job must be completed. \n\n\"I'll just do it as quickly as I can and then I'll be on my way.\"\n\nHe grabbed the letter out of his pouch, which had a wax seal as if the inspiration was from the Phantom of the Opera, slowly lifted the lid of the box and nestled the letter inside, holding his breath the whole time.\n\nStill not breathing, Greg lowered the lid and stepped away slowly, trying not to make a singular sound. As if there was anyone actually inside this house. When he decided that he was at a far enough distance, Greg exhaled and turned his back on the castle, content to finally leave. \n\nAs Greg was about to slam the car door shut, he heard a noise that sounded like a wooden door creaking. He thought about looking up but then decided that it wasn't his business, and he drove away.", "\"I'm going to absolutely murder the guy who thought cobwebs were aesthetic.\" Greg seethed.\n\nHis arm moves like a windshield wiper in front of him, collecting what seemed like a pound of pale white cobwebs. For a minute Greg broke his frustration, and found some amusement. His arm looked like a cotton candy machine from this angle. \n\nSee - Greg realized early on the key to being a good mailman isn't necessarily tenacity or drive. Not motivation that burns hot like molten metal. No, not really. It was a sense of humor about the whole thing. \n\nBreaking through the webs, Greg found himself staring down a dimly lit hallway, with green slime faintly glowing in the meager spaces between the large old stone blocks that comprised the walls. Cheerfully, he put away the flashlight which he carried in his non-webbed hand. Batteries don't grow on trees, you know.\n\n\"Postal service!\" He shouted down the long expanse, listening to the noise bounce and reverberate down the narrow chasm. \n\n\"P-ohhhhhhh-staaaaaaaal\" He shouted again, giggling. He always lamented not bringing his little travel guitar with him. No one tells you, but a ton of these dingy affairs have killer acoustics. \n\nHe plodded on down the dimly lit passage for a while longer before he began to hear tiny footsteps. The started softly at first. Like rain off in the murky distance. Then they grew louder. And louder. Suddenly, it sounded like an army was marching down the hall towards Greg. He paused then, his concern level jumping from 'I love my job' up to a meager 'I didn't really wanna talk to people today.' \n\nThen they came into view. A horde of rats, their fur matted and wet. Their yellow teeth contrasted the faint green glow of the hall as they rushed forwards, small mouths gnashing and biting at the stale air. \n\n\"OH. MY. GOSH.\" Greg exclaimed. \"It's a rat rush! A real rat rush! Oh my god, that would be such a sick band name! Re -\"\n\nHe was cut off as the horde slammed into him, knocking him from his feet. All that could be heard then was the squealing from the mass of rats and...a fit of giggling." ]	4
[WP] The seemingly peaceful Mormons have been knocking on doors for centuries. Little did we know they were marking which families lived in sin and now our reckoning has come.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Peter couldn’t believe what he was watching on the news. He had gotten the news that morning and skipped work to watch the coverage. \r \n\r \n“The entire state of Utah, along with parts of Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and Wyoming- Has seceded from the United States and are declaring themselves to be ‘The Holy State of Deseret’. Mormon peoples across the United States are rising up in what they call to be a ‘Crusade Against the Non-Believers.’ The pentagon’s top analyst is reporting that they call themselves ‘The Sons of Brigham Young’. It is strongly advised that all civilians are to remain indoors and defend themselves if need be. If you see anyone affiliated with the Mormon Church or know anybody who is affiliated, please call this number at-”\r \n\r \nPeter shut off the television. An entire people just declaring war on us for being non-believers in their wacky brand of Christianity? This had to be some sort of hoax. Someone jacked the TV signal like the people behind the Max Headroom jacking. He chuckled to himself as he heard a knock on the door.\r \n\r \nHe got up from his couch and went to the door. He peeked through the eyehole in the door and saw two clean-cut well dressed young men at the door. Peter opened his door and began the usual, “I’m sorry. I’m a bit busy now.”\r \n\r \n“No, mister Thompson.” The shorter young man on the left said with a grin.\r \n\r \n“We’re sorry.” The taller young man finished with an even wider grin.\r \n\r \nIt was then that Peter looked down as the two men moved their hands to their hips. They both began to draw handguns, and Peter shut the door as quickly as he could, locking it- barely having time to run away before bullet holes began to appear through the door. Whizzing just by his ear as he stumbled towards his room. He dove towards the ground as more bullets shot through his windows, glass falling all around him.\r \n\r \nHe crawled to his room as more bullets whizzed through his walls. “You didn’t listen to us!” He could hear the Mormons shouting outside.\r \n\r \n“This is for Deseret!”\r \n\r \nSomething smashed through his bedroom window as Peter shakily searched for something in his nightstand. He pulled the drawer to reveal a .357 snub nose revolver. Looking behind him, he noticed something pipe-shaped sparking on the floor. His eyes widened as he grabbed the revolver, diving once more into his closet as the bomb went off, completely obliterating his room.\r \n\r \nThe bullets finally stopped, and Peter tried not to make a sound as he stood up on the floor of his closet, and held the handgun closely. He carefully peeked around the doorframe, seeing his burned and mangled walls and furniture. He cursed to himself as his quickly dashed from the bedroom to the main hallway. Beginning to peek through the window, but being interrupted by the sound of someone slamming themselves into his door. It happened again as Peter looked around the window, seeing the taller Mormon attempting to ram his way through the door.\r \n\r \nPeter trained his revolver on the man, eyeing him carefully, getting a look at his neatly styled, short, auburn hair. Then he pulled the trigger, and the man’s head exploded in the middle of charging the door. His limp body threw itself at the door, and slumped facing down. Bits of brain matter and pieces of skull stained his “Welcome” mat.\r \n\r \nHe heard yelling behind him, coming from the backdoor area of the house. The shorter man screaming as he fired through the back sliding glass door- Shattering the glass and sending bullets hurtling towards Peter. Peter dove behind a couch and breathed in deeply, holding his breath.\r \n\r \n“Come out, sinner! We’ve had you marked since the day you moved in here!”\r \n\r \nPeter then lashed out from behind the couch, pinpointing the other Mormon in his sights. He rapidly pulled the trigger, once, twice, three times, nailing the man twice in the upper abdomen. The Mormon man hit the floor with a thud.\r \n\r \nHis ears rang. His throat was dry. Breathing in sharply and exhaling quickly. He never thought that this would happen to him, let alone happen at all. He gulped as he turned his focus away from the dead figure in his living room. The sounds of gunfire in the distance grew more intense the more his hearing came back to him. His neighbors screamed as shots went off- It was a whole warzone outside.\r \n\r \nShaking, he reached back to the remote on his bullet-ridden couch, and flipped the television back on. “Chaos has erupted through most of the Western United States, as well as some cities and towns east of the Mississippi. You are safe if you are armed and if you are indoors. Only use self-defence. Do not attempt to engage the Latter Day Saints. Do not open the door for the Latter Day Saints. Attempt to evacuate to nearby shelters if you are in one of the affected areas.” He hit a button on the remote, the TV shutting off.\r \n\r \nPeter looked back through his shot out windows, his bloodstained living room, the gun in his hand. He would survive this. He would survive this rapture." ]	2
[WP] All the gods from all mythological sources are real, at the same time. Gods that have the same domain have to share their power and control over it with their other selves. For simple gods, it's no big deal to share from time to time, but the gods if the Sun and the Moon just can't get along...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“You’re so pathetic, imagine being a goddess of love and not even being able to keep your own husband.”\n\nArtemis shared an amused glance with Khonsu as Aphrodite and Freyja fought. She was so used to sharing her domains — the moon with Selene, virginity with Hestia and Artemis alongside others — that she was not nearly as bothered by the power conflicts that heated up from time to time as many of her dearest family members seemed to be.\n\n“I’d rather be pathetic than a slut,” Freyja responded to Aphrodite’s barb sharply. “Tell me, how’s your dear husband doing? Oh wait, you wouldn’t know since you are too busy fucking his brother.” \n\n“Who do you have as the winner,” Artemis whispered to Khonsu as Aphrodite had to be restrained from stabbing Freyja.\n\n“Aphrodite,” he replied. “I’d reckon that if this gets physical she wouldn’t hold back.”\n\n“Are you insane?” Artemis hissed. Ignoring his muttered “maybe”, she continued. “Freyja is much more powerful, if this turns physical what could Aphrodite do? Pull hair?”\n\n“You’re underestimating her,” Khonsu replied. “Don’t they say that love conquers all?”\n\n“They do, but I don’t know whether that applies when it is two love goddesses fighting. Freyja has so many domains, I can’t see Aphrodite managing to win this one,” Artemis replied smugly.\n\n“You seem a little too happy about that,” Khonsu observed.\n\n“Oh you would too if you had Aphrodite for a sort of sister,” Artemis grumbled. “Always meddling, always interfering. I don't have much to do with love goddesses. She sees me as the enemy for not wanting to fuck every living creature I see”\n\n“Freyja is a love goddess too,” Khonsu reminded her. \n\nArtemis shrugged. “Well maybe if Aphrodite had other powers than just being massively annoying then I would be rooting for her.”\n\n“Don’t you think you’re being unfair?”\n\n“Khonsu,” Artemis began. “I promise you if you had Aphrodite for a sister/great aunt you would be rooting against her too.”\n\nShe pointed to Odin and Athena who appeared to both be cheering for Freyja. “You see. Athena isn’t exactly on her side either,” Artemis informed him.\n\n“Why aren’t they fighting?” Khonsu mused. “Their shared domain is literally war. You’d think out of everyone they’d be the most likely to fight.”\n\n“Oh they are,” Artemis assured him. “It’s just not physical like Freyja and Aphrodite. They keep trying to one-up each other about who is a better smart war deity.”\n\n“Who do you think it is?” Khonsu asked.\n\n“In my opinion, neither of them,” Artemis replied decisively. “But I’m rooting for Odin. He’s a little like my father if my father spent his time being cool and not a massive dickwad.”\n\nShe gestured to where Thor and Zeus were fighting. “This is a little embarrassing for him,” she giggled. Zeus was clearly losing, a fact that excited Artemis. “If Zeus loses, would Odin replace him as the head of the Olympians? Or would Thor?” she mused.\n\n“I don’t know,” Khonsu responded, interested. “Why wouldn’t it be another Olympian?”\n\n“That would be ghastly,” Artemis said, horrified. “I think I would run away. Is your pantheon taking applications for a new virginal hunting goddess? You can keep the moon.”\n\n“Not currently,” Khonsu replied, amused. “I’m sure we could figure something out if necessary though.”\n\n“I’d rather it was an external god that took over,” Artemis said. “Hera would like that too it seems,” she noted, pointing to the woman (who appeared to be ogling Thor). Hera and Frigg did not seem to be at odds, but also seem to have established that they didn’t have much to talk about.\n\n“I wonder if they just agreed that Frigg can be the goddess of loving unions and Hera can be the goddess of marriages falling apart at the seams where the wife only makes it through the day through the abuse of prescription drugs and the husband is constantly out fucking a younger, prettier girl. Or anything really in the case of my father,” Artemis mused, looking at the two.\n\nKhonsu looked at her, evidently concerned.\n\n“Don’t forget that the couple has to have massive fuckups for children as well, who they let wreak havoc because both of them are too wrapped up in their own problems to give a thought to their poor spawn,” Artemis finished, ignoring Khonsu’s increasingly concerned glances.\n\n“Artemis”, he began.\n\n“What?” she snapped.\n\n“Do you want to talk?” He asked softly.\n\n“No,” she responded automatically. “Not really.”\n\n“You can if you want to,” Khonsu encouraged her.\n\n“I just hate how he tries to buy me off to get me to forget how he treated our mother. He gives me some nymph friends and allows me to keep my virginity and thinks that everything is fine?” Artemis said, her voice quiet but angry. “Look at what he did to his children!” She pointed at her various siblings, each of whom was fighting, and most of whom were losing a futile fight. She ended by pointing at Apollo, who was hiding under a table, trying to avoid an angry and territorial Ra. \n\n“He’s the reason we all ended up this way,” she finished quietly.\n\n“I’m sorry,” Khonsu said sympathetically. “That must be hard.” \n\n“It is,” Artemis responded. “I hate Hera, and my father’s actions don’t excuse hers, but at the same time I understand her anger. I just wish it wasn’t directed at us, it's not our fault we were born.”\n\nKhonsu simply patted her sympathetically. \n\nSuddenly, a bright light blinded them both.\n\n“Someone’s won a battle it seems,” Artemis noted with a wince.\n\n“Hopefully that wasn’t Ra’s doing,” Khonsu agreed.\n\nAfter vision returned to their eyes, they both leaned back in their lawn chairs, picked up their popcorn, and continued watching the show. \n\nKhonsu made a mental note to see if any therapists would be open to having a family session with the Olympians. It appeared that they needed one." ]	2
[WP] I can still feel myself among the flowers, bathing in the sun, without a care in the world. The Grove really could satisfy us all forever...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Sign my Name\n\n---\n\nThe evening is quiet as an elderly woman's hand strokes the texture of the letter. It is written with thick black ink, by hand, on pages so fine as to be unreasonable to mar with words. It is quite a long letter, and one you did not expect to ever receive. After all, it was so long ago.\n\nThe letter, written with precise prose and feeling, did not need to be signed to know who it was from.\n\n\"Time. Time is such a fickle thing. It is often like trying to hold a single grain of sand between two fingers, in the middle of a hurricane. It slips by at speeds you could never fathom in your seemingly infinite youth. Then, middle age hits. Most by this time have someone special, and together you grow to understand that that thing you so willfully ignore, all of the moments of every hour of every day, are meaningful.\n\nOnce you lose that grain of sand, it is lost forever. We are always convinced that it lasts, and will last. That it can't happen to us.\n\nWe are floating on a tiny river raft in this vast universe of ours. Our entire world, everything that has ever existed and probably to exist, represents nothing more than the briefest flicker of a candle on our raft. In the middle of a vast, unknowable ocean, where no light, no vision, and no hope escapes.\n\nI can still feel myself there, you know. The flowers surrounding us, cradling us. It was like real magic, the kind we had searched for for so long. The sunlight was bright and shone upon the morning grass and its dew like a field of daytime stars. No cares in the world. It was perfect. The Grove, we called it. It could satisfy everyone, always. Once you enter, you never leave.\n\nTime. Time is such a fickle thing. I realized that, yes. We could stay there forever. However, the cost was too high. Someone else must pay the price for me to remain, and I could not bear it to be you. I would rather die in a single lifetime, than to live a thousand more without you.\n\nI know not when you will emerge, but this letter will find its way to you. Follow your heart. If you want to move on, performing the spell will bring you your youth once more. If you still have more to see and do, that is your best option. If instead, you are tired and weary, and you feel ready, then by all means.\n\nSign your name.\n\nEither way, I will wait for you. Always and forever. For you.\"\n\nHer eyes are shut when her maid returns. The signature is barely wet on her reply before she drifts off to eternal sleep.\n\n\"I am on my way. Save a table for me.\n\nLove,\n\nAnabella.\"\n\n----\n\nThank you for reading.\n\nFor more of my work, check out /r/dumnem_writes." ]	2
[WP] You are a rich and generous prince from Nigeria who wants to give Americans money. For some reason, no one responds to your emails.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I was getting frustrated. I had emailed so many people in the United States, and no one was responding. I didn't understand it. I was offering them money, and they should have been grateful.\n\n\n\nI decided to try a different approach. I would go to the United States and talk to people in person. Maybe they would be more receptive if they could see me and hear my voice.\n\n\n\nI arranged for a trip to the United States, and when I arrived, I called my friend in New York. She picked me up at the airport and took me to her house. I was pleased to see that she had a big house, and she was living well.\n\n\n\nShe made me dinner, and we chatted over dinner. I told her about my project and how I wanted to give money to people. She said that she would be happy to accept the money, but she didn't think other people would be interested and that I might even get in trouble for wanting to give people money.\n\n\n\nI told her that she was wrong. I knew that people would want money from me, and I was determined to give it to them. \n\n\n\nI left New York and went to a place called Washington, D.C. I called my friend in New York from Washington, and we talked for a long time.\n\n\n\nI told her about all of the rich and famous people I had met in Washington. They were very rich, and they wanted to be even richer. I told her how easy it would be to give them money. They would be happy to take it. \n\n\n\nThe next day, I went to a place called Capitol Hill, where I met many rich and famous people. I shook hands with them and talked with them. I could tell that they were excited to meet me and that they were happy to see me.\n\n\n\nI told them about the money I had to give away, and I told them how they could get it. They were very interested. In fact, they were so excited, they were giving me hugs and handshakes, and they were very nice to me.\n\n\n\nI could tell by their reactions that they wanted my money. Soon they were talking about me on television and in the newspapers. \n\n\n\nThen the FBI came to see me.\n\n\n\nThey told me that they had been investigating me and that they didn't appreciate my visit to Capitol Hill.\n\n\n\nThey were suspicious. They were concerned that I might be a terrorist. They were so worried about me that they wanted to arrest me. I told them that I was not a terrorist. I was a rich man from Nigeria. I had come to America with my money to give it to people. \n\n\n\nI told them I was a good man and that I was not a terrorist. I told them that I had a lot of money to give away and that they should take it.\n\n\n\nThey arrested me and put me in prison.\n\n\n\nI spent the next ten years in prison, and I got to know the FBI. They are very good people, and I think they are doing a good job. \n\n\n\nFinally, they decided they were not so worried about me after all. So they let me go.\n\n\n\nI was very happy to be free again. I went back to Nigeria and told my family the good news. I told them that I was a free man. I told them that I had traveled to America and I had been arrested and then I had been released. I told them that I had met many rich and famous people and that they had wanted my money and they had been very friendly to me." ]	2
[WP] People hated, blamed, and feared her. They called her Death, even though that was wildly inaccurate. She only had power over life, which she kindly released mortals from when life became too much or before it could. The entity people should really fear was her brother, who had power over death.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Life and Death, two sides of the same coin.\n\nI had bargained with him, all those eons ago. He could have all the others. Saturn, Mars, Jupiter... even Pluto. Earth was mine, though. That was the deal.\n\nI wept as each civilisation fell. He promised me a part of them all, and a part of them all I took; with them I would make her thrive.\n\nThe beasts from Saturn, the Men and Women of Mars, the waters of Neptune, gas of Jupiter and the flora of Venus. I had to bend and mold them, but eventually I had perfected it. A world of perfect balance, where life could flourish and death's sweet slumber was left unperturbed.\n\nHe had appeared to warn me. I had been watching them all these years. I already knew.\n\n\"I have not the power to meddle in their affairs.\" He said, having taken the visage of a Phoenix. A Phoenix of ashen flame.\n\n\"You created them. I let you have them... Why?\" I asked. I couldn't speak it aloud. I couldn't bear his betrayal. The only thing in the Universe that was mine, soon taken from my embrace.\n\n\"Sweet Sister, it is all a part of this game we play.\"\n\n\"A game to you!\" I cried, the world washed over in rain. Some of them pranced and cheered, others sheltered away from the cold. All of them my children. All of them gone soon.\n\nUndeath was terrible. \n\nLife was eaten, societies broken down and born anew with mindless, unwavering determination. They could breed, evolve over the ages all the same, and worst of all, they could progress.\n\nThe Kaat had emerged from Mars, among the rubble and ruin. A race of undead Humans; Human in image, at least. They were violent and intelligent, unburdened by emotion. They had taken the resources of all the worlds. They had left the Earth alone, as my brother had promised.\n\nYet now they came, a fleet as vast as the horizon, dotting the sky like stars.\n\n\"What will they do?\" I asked.\n\n\"They will break this cycle, and break still the cycles of all the Galaxies across the Universe. Our Brothers and Sisters will bend, as you have.\"\n\n\"Mother won't let you.\" I warned.", "LIFE sighed once again as she changed out of her labcoat and said her goodbyes to the newborn. It was time for her other duty, for the one she hated more than anything. Despite her goodbyes, she wasn’t actually leaving the newborn in the same way that the sigh wasn‘t actually a sigh, but rather a twisted mimicry of her creations. That was one of the few signs of respect she could give them.\n\nShe was now at the battlefield. Not through movement, but because she had always been there. She was there, because she was everywhere. She was wearing the dark robes she had always worn. Instead of the new lives she held, always yet never, there was a sharp scythe in her hands. The cries of a new life were instead the cries of pain pleading to end it.\n\nLIFE took aim and swung the scythe, taking away the gift she had once given these people. She knew every last one of them, their names, their family, their hopes and dreams, everything. And she was filled with a great sorrow as she mowed down millions of them.\n\nShe didn‘t allow herself to shed tears for them. So many lives wasted, thrown away for a trifle none of them had any part in starting. But she also knew that their wounds were painful. These people were finished, they had gone as far as they could in their meagre lives. She had wanted them to succeed so badly, and yet their entirety was sacrificed for a few giant balls of plasma and the pieces of dirt surrounding them.\n\nThe battle lasted for a split second eternity. Billions of children were born while it raged, each of which she welcomed to this bloodsoaked world. She could only hope that none of them would meet the same fate.\n\nWhen it was over, one couldn‘t know whether rubble would spread out or if its gravity was strong enough to create a new world. LIFE stood amidst the ruined hellscape and felt empty, beaten, her scythe dulled by her aproaching despair.\n\nShe could feel it, behind her, the feeling of dread that marked her brother‘s arrival.\n\nHe wasn‘t her brother in the sense that humans used the word. ‘Siblings‘ was simply the word that best described two alike forces of nature native to the universe itself. Truth be told, she hated him more than anything else, though she couldn‘t be sure if he held any such feelings towards her.\n\n„It‘s barbarity, isn‘t it?“\n\nThe moment stopped, the remains stopped drifting apart. DEATH‘s voice was neither a rasping whisper nor a booming shout. It was a neutral, almost bored voice. And it came from behind her, just over her shoulder.\n\n„What do you want?“, LIFE responded. She knew better than to turn to face him. He‘d mocked her once and for eternity over the fact that she imitated humanity by having a concept of her own body. ‘You have a body? How very human of you. Look, look I‘m doing the human thing! It‘s called sarcasm and derision.‘\n\n„Wants are beneath us, my dear sister“, DEATH said. Each word came from a different direction, each one begging for her to turn to wards it just so he could appear behind her. He might have ridiculed her for her humanity, but he was reveling in using it against her.\n\n„Why have you come, great and terrrible power beyond comprehension?“ LIFE ordered her body to remain motionless. He was still lurking around, but he would grow tired when he realized she wouldn‘t play his game.\n\n„Please don‘t denigrate yourself, sister. You know me. You know why I‘m here“, DEATH said with a new voice. It came from behind her again, very close behind her. It was filled with rage. „The humans, they‘re ignorant of the magnitude of your gifts. They aren‘t worthy. Your beautiful song animates the world and they try to pry it apart, they mutilate it, lay its secrets bare, just so they can imitate it in their childish way. It‘s a cacophony of heresy, one that I won‘t stand for.“\n\n„Is there anything in particular that has drawn your wrath?“, LIFE asked innocently. This was bad, he‘d never been angry before.\n\n„They are spitting on you. They are calling you their final adversary, despite all you‘ve done for them. They are proclaiming themselves Gods amoung the stars and creating their own subjects from steel and electricity. How could I not be angry?“, DEATH yelled. It sent shivers down her spine. She had to stop him. She had to protect the humans. They were everything she had.\n\n„What will you do?“, LIFE asked. She had to calm him down somehow. If he struck, humanity would be gone.\n\n„The wrath of Eternity, of Death unleashed?“, he gloated as he moved around her, in front of her, talked down to her. „They will die and no one will remember them.“\n\n„I will remember them.“\n\n„You won‘t.“\n\n„You‘ll have to kill me so that no one remembers“, LIFE said calmly as she stared at the point his voice was coming from. A dark void had formed there, the only concept of a body her brother had ever had.\n\n„Why do you care so much?“, DEATH sneered at her. There was something hidden inside, though. A spark that told her just how he felt about her.\n\n„Because it‘s who I am. If I wouldn‘t care for my creations, it wouldn‘t hurt you to see them turned against me. If I didn‘t love them, you wouldn‘t love me.“\n\n„You can always create more. What‘s so special about these?“, he said defensively. She‘d apparently hit a sore spot.\n\n„The very thing that makes you hate them. When faced with death, they do not give up. I accompany their lives, from birth till death. I cry with them. I celebrate with them. When they‘re finally exhausted, I welcome them with a sweet release. Their joys are my joys and their pain is my pain. How could I not love them?“\n\n„But they cause you pain, sister“, DEATH pleaded with her. Black tentacles reached out from the void, clasped each other, like wringing hands. „And they don‘t want your help, they don‘t respect your work! They call you Death and want to kill you! If we don‘t put a stop to this, if we let them run rampant, they will one day achieve the power to threaten even us! And they will use it!“\n\nLIFE laughed despite not wanting to. All of this time, she‘d hated him and yet he had loved her fiercly. So fiercly that he knew she‘d never forgive him if he hurt her creations. That‘s why he‘d tried to talk her into apathy and lethargy for so long. That‘s why he was here now, because he wanted to protect her.\n\n„Brother, I will not abandon my creations for those fears. I now know that you worry for me, but to eradicate thousands of innocents for that reason runs contrary to my being. We will find another way. We will find a way in which they can beat Death without beating either of us. I know we will.“\n\n„How can you know that? They will destroy us. They will destroy you!“\n\n„I know because of this conversation. We have our own hopes, dreams, and fear of death. We will find a way to turn them into reality.“\n\n„How very human of us.“" ]	3
[WP] A portal to hell has been opened, and the demon armies invade our world. However, this is the Victorian era, and now Great Britain has new lands to colonize for Her Majesty.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "We were marching to fight the devil and his demons. Christ I thought they were talking about the French or worse, The Germans. But now I stand in a black grass planes with a red sun shining through the dark red sky, wearing my overalls, shorts and boots. And there's no air here. None. I mean we can breathe but no wind. To our center is the portal. They're building a whole wooden defense system around it. I'm a musketeer on the wall, here to sit and wait for their next attack, while our workers implant metal spike X's and laying the land around the fort with railroad spikes and putting big metal pikes on the floor right In front of the wall and going down from the top of the wall towards the ground and in-between them more spikes are poking out directly forward.\n\nOur cannons are loaded on the wall and ready. We got them loaded with standard then one with grape in a line one after the other. Along with a few grape shot cannons below pointing some meters above my head, incase of the gargoyles. I remember seeing them tying the stone gargoyles on our buildings with chains and tearing them down to blow em up. I even heard that O'riley the noble in northern wales was executed for having them.\n\nChrist. Think it was just an excuse to kill him for being kinder to Scottish noble men including the traitors Harrison and his sons, then he is to proper Englishmen. Mark my words and mark em well. The devils warriors have strength and numbers, but we have technology and the 1st Lord with us. Our priest blesses our water barrels we get every few hours. And even blesses our guns and ammunition. Our 1st Lord will see us through. The day has come to enact his will.\n\nAnd once we've conquered hell. Victoria will be our 2nd.", "Arthur Wadfleridge, newly minted Duke of Western Hellshire, raised his glass in a toast. It was filled to the brim with an amber liquid; whiskey from the Abyssal Lowlands. And ice. Lots of ice. \nThe heat rising from the lava fields at the foot of his estate made the Empire's Caribbean territories seem as frigid as the polar expedition he'd undertaken in his youth. Various demons and imps tended the fields, raking and stirring them to keep them clear of bubbles and the occasional unseemly corpse. \n\nHis guest raised his own glass in a massive scaled claw. Balrazazogoth was a demon prince of the Worog brood. Or was it Waraq? Arthur pondered. The savages here were much like the savages everywhere. Endlessly warring tribes, and no grasp of the bigger picture. No man of culture could be expected to follow the local politics, if indeed it could even be called so.\n \nBalrazazogoth was approximately twelve feet tall and covered head to toe in red scales. Black leathery wings sprouted from his back and his nose-less face was split by a maw filled with bone-white teeth. He sipped from the glass and adopted an appreciative expression.\n\nHad Duke Wadfleridge not been an honorary graduate of the Anthropological Institute of Demonic Studies he might have mistaken the Prince's expression as one of insatiable hunger. \n\nInstead, he bared his teeth slightly in response, as was polite.\n\"A fine vintage, delivered by drake just this morning. Aged for twelve millennia. Nearly impossible to get anywhere else,\" Wadfleridge said. \nBalrazazogoth snarled, clearly impressed. The Prince wore a huge straw hat and a badly tailored white suit that was already stained with ash and blood. Wadfleridge could tell the fabric too, was of inferior quality. Still, he supposed, it was progress. When he'd first come through the portal the demons had still been sporting loincloths made of human skin. Ghastly, and tasteless. \n\n\"Let's get down to business, dear Prince, shall we?\", The Duke said, waving to the master butler. A moment later, two imps, proudly attired in matching suits, fluttered over. They began vigorously waving a paper fan. \nRefreshed by the breeze, Wadfleridge regarded the Prince over steepled fingers. \n\n\"Her Majesty is determined the bring civilisation to the Empire's new Abyssal territories, and as Duke of Western Hellshire, I am but a humble extension of Her will.\" \nBalrazazogoth inclined his scaly scalp. \n\"How may I be of service, Duke?\" He growled. \nWadfleridge smiled.\n\"An excellent question, Prince Balrazazogoth!\"\n\nA thin demon sporting a top hat and a waistcoat wheeled a trolley up beside the table. On it was a model of a building. \n\"In the past I have found that the most effective cure of the coarser cultures to be the works of Shakespeare. This is a theatre which is to be built on the lower slopes of the Hellmount.\" The Prince eyed the model, red eyes widening in fear. \n\"You'll be delighted to learn I have already volunteered you to take on the lead role of Hamlet in the eponymous play, which shall be our first.\"", "In the calm tranquil English countryside a lone Shepard is herding his sheep while watching th sunset. Suddenly he hears his dog bark and runs up to him, only to be blinded by circle filled with light . He could hear screams and hoofs running at him so he ran carrying his dog in hand never to look back. He ran all the way to the castle screaming for help . When he is caught by a young knight \nKnight: what's the matter young man . Do you need help?\nShepard tells the knight all that had happened and takes him to the field.\n\nWhen they get there all the sheep are gone and the field is covered in ashes while an army of half men half goats pours out of the hole . They seem to walking towards the city. \n\nThe knight shocked by this site runs back to the castle with a smile on his face. For he finally know how he will become the king by gifting the queen whatever land was on the other side of the circle. \n\nSuddenly he hears someone scream\n\"Arthur you are in the wrong time, come with me you have a bigger destiny\". He looks back and sees a man in a three piece suite standing next to a blue telephone box.", "Dear Mary,\n\nMary my dear, it has only been 6 months since I went through the dreaded portal, but it feels like an eternity since I’ve last seen you. Our officer has been running us rampant down here and I’ve deeply considered joining the side of the demons if they didn’t smell so awful.\n\nI fear death Isn’t even the end of things. Harold got picked off by one of those flying demons a few weeks ago, dreadful thing being splattered like that, but anyways a few days afterwards we found him again and put him right back to work. “Not even death can save you from duty to the queen,” our officer said. Can you believe it? Didn’t even give the poor lad a break, went right back to working the sails like nothing happened.\n\nThankfully it always isn’t always so hellish down here. The Ale down here is just to die for. Something about the air making everything more poisonous, not good for food, but it gives the drinks helluva kick.\n\nBut enough about me. I hope you and our boy are still in good health. How has our cozy little hamlet fared since I was shipped off to the front? Is that old man larry still screaming about the end of the world around the corner? Or am I gonna have to look around down here for him. He still owes me five pence for that beer I bought him. \n\nOh by the way I found your mother down here too. Running the poor demons ragged when we found her. I never thought I would see one of those arrogant pricks so tired. It was an amazing sight to behold. Oh and she said you better not have sold her mini teacup set or she’d work you even worse then the demons. Didn’t have the heart to tell her our boy was the one that broke it. She’d probably whip me worse than those demons. \n\nI hope everything is going alright uptop. Captain says if we gather enough souls for the queen we’ll be uptop in less than 4 months. I can’t wait to see you.\n\nGod save the queen\n\nLove, Bartholomew", "\"Well I didn't think they'd invade. After all it's Hell! I mean the whole point was to get out.\" The Balrog's explanation fell on Satan's deaf ears as his sharp tongue flashed in retort.\n\n\"General, you sent every able bodied soldier we have on this invasion and left us defenseless. Inside of two weeks our forces had all divided or deserted. I received a \"Wish you were here\" post card from Hitler in Cancun this morning. Would you like to see a picture of Adolph Hitler in a Speedo? Because I have a picture of Adolph Hitler in a Speedo now! You're damned right this is Hell. All we get are the traitors and cowards down here. Where you expecting loyalty? They're all assholes! But I'd traid them all back over this lot.\" \n\nThe disgraced General stood alone with Satan himself in a great hall once filled with saber rattling soldiers who had sworn allegiance to the dark master. The realm of the living would be theirs and the dark world of Hell would would run red with the blood of the living. But with it's soldiers fled and its gates unguarded it was overrun with an even greater evil. The United Kingdom. \n\n\"Its all Harry Potter, Monty Pyton and drunks with bad food and worse teeth now. Half the reason I wanted out of here is knowing most of these guys were coming for eternity soon enough. But Brexit up there means entrance down here and we're powerless to stop it. I used my most terrifying illusions to force their retreat. I showed an old woman turning into dust before them and half just said \"hi mum.\" I gored one worker at tea time with my own horns and tore him in half with my bare hands and they just looked at each other and said \"still better than Boris Johnson... and the weather is better\" and then lit a pipe in the poisoned sulpher mines and returned to their efforts to colonize the place.\"\n\nSatan looked out his balcony where he once ordered dark legions to do his bidding and his head sank at the sight. \"Giant clocks, tiny pubs, separate hot and cold water taps.... it's just weird man. They're building a cricket pitch in every circle of the place. Greed plays Sloth tomorrow. I want my Hell back. I'd leave too but of this is all that's up there they can have it!\"\n\n\nOP-yeah I did modern Britain, sorry" ]	6
[WP] There’s been a murder. You sit on the table with the suspects and the detective. The murderer is you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "A mansion. A death. An Endless storm. Now by a table, with five other faces. The detective, with all his dramatic flair, making strange faces at me and the others, very shouty. The maid, tired and beaten down by the years serving the ruthless house owner. The butler, a man who really like serving tea, figuratively and metaphorically. The fashionista, wife of the victim, loves the finer things in life. The journalist, nosy and annoying, loves to talk so much. And I as self, the visitor, the unwanted presence.\n\nThe butler has freshy poured some tasty jasmine tea, prefect to calm the nerves. The storm is raging, maybe this is a curse he brought along to keep us trapped until this mystery is solved.\n\n“Let’s talk about the victim.” The detective does a dramatic hand movement, moving his right hand with a dramatic swipe at nothing. “He is the owner of this mansion, that he graciously invited all of us to.”\n\n“Yes, to investigate his own murder.” The journalist nodes along.\n\n“He got pushed off the second flour of the mansion by one of you.” The detective looked at them all suspiciously. “The maid was the one who discovered the body.”\n\n“I called the butler afterwards, to see if it was possible to save him” The maid interjected.\nThe butler took a long sip of his tea, “I then called, the visitor to get everyone to see the body.”\n\n“I was able to retrieve everyone.” I replied. “I noticed that glass containers containing the owner’s prized butterflies and caterpillars were broken. His corpse was covered in purple butterflies.”\n\n“When were they broken?” The detective inquired.\n\n“I was in the study, reading up on some books.” The fashionista leaned her head to left side to think. “Around noun pm, I heard the glass breaking”\n\n“Yet you did nothing?” The detective looked confused. \n\n“My husband I married for his money. His hobbies and his collections are his own thing.” The fashionista looked annoyed talking about her husband. “As long as I looked the part of trophy wife, he was content, having things only his way.”\n\nThe maid gives a sigh. “He expected everyone to go over backwards to serve his needs.”\n\n“You two didn’t like him at all.” The detective, looked at the two with suspicion.\n\n“None of us did.” The truthsayer maid, looked tired, her eyes tired of the owner’s commands of perfection.\n\n“… We can’t say any ill of dead.” The butler goes to defend the owner, his master. “He only demanded perfection from all of you.”\n\n“Yet, he did not demand perfection of himself.” I looked away from all of them.\n\n“Hm…” The detective looked at me, those eyes, pierced me. That reminds of the night, those experiments. “I recall the owner was into the occult, was it that why you were here for?”\n\nOne of those Purple butterflies landed on me. “I came here to stop him. The control freak he was.” I looked at the butterfly, they were looking for food.\n\n“Stop him? Doing what?” The detective looked quizzingly at me.\n\n“These butterflies are called the purple emperor, Apatura iris.” I pulled out a finger and one lands on me. “They love the smell of death, feeding on death itself to keep on going, this house has enough to feed the lot of them.”\n\n“Waiit… is that a confession?” The Detective looked quizzingly.\n\n“Yes.” I stood up and turned away and started to walk away. “I am tired of these games you play, Detective Dereck.”\n\n“Do you think you can just walk away from this? You killed someone!” Detective Dereck started to walk towards me, the others stood up and approach me.\n\n“Why?” The Butler looked on with tears.\n\n“You…” Journalist looked down. “… Why?”\n\nI turned to start running, maybe finally the endless rain will end. The group chased me, there were screams for me to stop. I ran into the rainstorm they stopped chasing me. After a while stopped and turned around looking at the mansion by the rich owner. So far away… I hope they can rest in peace. \n\nWhen I turned around to continue my journey back to civilization. The owner has succeeded in his goals. The owner's insect eyes is staring at me, with fleshy human insect butterly fly wings standing at 6 feet tall. Crouched like an insect, demanding and hungrily. The creature who feeds on everyone’s agony, lives. It lay the multiple hands on my face, my body refuses to move.\n\nA mansion. Several deaths. An Endless storm.\n\nA gunshot, and smattering blood came from the owner’s body. I turned to look it was the Maid holding a shot gun.\n\n“I guess I am the murderer this time.” She chuckling looking at me.\n\n“I am sorry, Margaret.” I looked to her with tears. “I couldn’t save any of you.”", "Everyone's eyes shift uneasily from person to person, with nobody making eye contact with the man in the funny hat.\n\n\"Ya know,\" I start, trying to break the tension. \"Maybe he deserved it. We didn't know the guy, he could've been a degenerate in his every day life. Maybe he fucked the maid or pushed the elderly into traffic. I'm just saying.\" I look around to see if anyone is nodding along, but it's still radio silence as eyes continue to dart from side to side.\n\n\"Nobody deserves to be murdered, sir. Least of all while playing mini golf.\" the detective says, sighing. \"But we will find the culprit! One of you lying heathens here bashed this man's head in with a golf club, and we're going to find out which one of you it was. Let's start with you, sir, since you seem to be so willing to talk. Did you interact with this man at all?\"\n\n\"Me? No, not at all. Never saw the guy. Seems nice from the corpse, though. Looks like a Paul, and most Pauls I've met were nice guys.\" I quip, trying to stay lighthearted so as not to seem too guilty. \n\n\"You were just claiming he might have done something heinous enough to be murdered, now he looks like a nice guy?\" a blonde woman asked from across the table. \"I think he did it!\"\n\n\"Ahhh, but the one who throws suspicion around can sometimes be trying to deflect\" interjected the detective. \"Perhaps it was you, ma'am. You were playing right after him according to the purchase records. Maybe he was playing too slow, perhaps?\"\n\n\"I would never! I don't even know if I would have the strength to do that, let alone the willpower to. I've never hurt anyone in my entire life.\" She replied, seeming genuinely hurt. My money would be on her if I was the detective; it's always the innocent types.\n\n\"I think we would all say the same. I've seen some scrappy little ladies in my life, you could've hurt 'im just as much as I could,\" replied a rather large fellow next to me. \"That said, it wasn't her, detective. I was after her and saw her go to the lady's room just a few minutes before the lights were cut and all this went down.\"\n\n\"Ah. And I doubt you would volunteer such information if you were guilty. This is perplexing. You, madam. You seem quite distraught over this whole thing. Why?\"\n\n\"I was his wife you dolt! My husband never did anything to anyone, I don't understand!\" a woman stifled between tears. She was quite upset over the whole matter; I never meant to cause a stir, just to get back at the jerk that took my parking spot. It was my spot, he had no right to just whip his little mini van into it. No right whatsoever.\n\n\"Well, that means you're the most likely to have motive, ma'am. Was your husband always a 'stand up guy'? Maybe he roughed you up a little when he drank too much, eh?\" The detective asked, straightening his funny little hat. Just then, an employee burst into the room and whispered into the detective's ear and pointing at me. The detective looks me dead in the eye and says:\n\n\"The camera's were equipped with night time mode. They saw you do it. You're going to jail.\" \n\nEveryone faced me immediately, some with a shocked look and others that seemed to have expected it. The wife took a swing at me before being held back by the large fellow. The detective looked disappointed that his line of questioning didn't get to finish, like his game had been interrupted. I quietly stood up and put my hands out, ready to get the handcuffs put on me.\n\n\"Yes, it was me. I'll probably never do it again. But to be fair, that parking spot was fucking prime, and I had marked it with my blinkers and everything!\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nI'm working on my writing and any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated <3" ]	3
[WP] "Death awaits us all" they said, but Death itself didn't even bother to show up when you died. You have been wandering around ever since, visiting every corner of the Afterlife and finding out there's a wide variety of places apart from Heaven and Hell	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "In the vast, floating city of Nexus, I wait in line behind a hovering creature with eight wings and too many eyes to count. Narrow, snaking alleys cut through giant towers made from crystal and stone. Colors wink inside them, as though ascending stairwells or swimming up a waterfall. Above all is half silky twilight and burning sunrise.\n\nBeing this close to the wing-eye thing makes my head hurt, but I need to figure out where to find Death. The Psychopomp is my last attempt before I give up. I've been to Heaven and Hell, Limbo, Valhalla, Hades, the Garden of the Gods, Pacha, Araf, Valley of Hinnom, Bulu, and so many more I can't remember them all, and speaking seemingly to every deity and godly lackey in existence past, present, and future, and I'm still empty-handed. Still don't know where to go.\n\nNEXT thunders in my head and the line moves forward. \n\nBehind me is a seven-legged kaleidoscopic horse with a mane of bubbling tar, no rider. This is my last ditch effort to find him. It feels like he's avoiding me but does Death after people in the afterlife? It's always been understood in the Living World that Death is meant to guide to the Beyond, lead wayward souls and all that... But I simply fell asleep one night and woke up in a foggy aether and after wading through the thick air for what felt like forever, I finally found a portal to Limbo. And that's where this mess all began.\n\nNEXT\n\nSomething chortles from the back, a meaty crunch ground to dust. Ahead, past Wing-Eye, a gray titan hunches, her knuckles rest on the ground next to her sagging breasts. In front of her, a swirling abyss talks to the Psychopomp, who were all here to see.\n\nIt seems stupid to want to find Death. I've asked myself the same question many times over my travels, but I must know why he wasn't there, why was I abandoned after passing on? Is there a larger purpose to my time in the Beyond? Am I special? Does he have a vendetta against me? Am I not supposed to be here at all? All these questions and more only he can answer, apparently. No one is any other Realm had actual answers, all vague sayings and guesswork that was meant to sound philosophical or hold some deep meaning... It was all bullshit.\n\nNEXT\n\nThe abyss implodes and vanishes in a wisp of holographic smoke. Now the titan leans forward and down to the Psychopomp's station. Long-winged things fly overhead, black against the light, ghostly pale against the dark. I really want to learn more about these places, these beings, all of these things never spoken about in the Waking World. We had religion but it was all written by someone at some point in the past, all assuming the After, but those texts don't play a role here. They're a joke. It's as though if the creatures here wrote a book about the Waking World. Sounds odd, right?\n\nNEXT\n\nAfter the titan, Wing-Eye's up. It's short-lived, I guess, and Wing-Eye flaps its glorious wings and darts into the sky.\n\nNEXT\n\n\"Where would you like to be ushered to?\" It hissed through it's skeleton beak.\n\n\"I'm looking for Death. Do you know where he is?\"\n\n\"Which Death do you speak of, specifically?\" Embers smolder deep within its oval, empty eyes. \"Many claim that title.\"\n\n\"He looks sort of like you: a skeleton, big scythe, wears a black cloak.\"\n\n\"Ah, yes, Death, the Guide of Gaia. Why do you seek him?\"\n\n\"It's...\" I say. \"Personal, sort of. I'd just like to speak to him, one-on-one.\"\n\nSilence. Psychopomp's enormous black wings flapped idly.\n\nThen: \"He's in his Realm, one inaccessible to wayward souls,\" it said. \"Only those granted access can cross his threshold.\"\n\n\"Well, how do I do that?\"\n\n\"You may bear a mark on your soul, one that's ever-lasting.\" It continues before I say anything. \"Scarred, you will barred from contacting to those you hold dear in the Waking World. They will never feel your presence, hear your whispers, know your existence continues on once gone.\"\n\nI almost laugh, because there's no one waiting for me there. I was alone and the only people who loved me passed on ages before me. \"That's fine,\" I say.\n\nPsychopomp nods and raises its scythe. Cerulean flames ignite the blade, casting crimson light across me. I close my eyes and I feel the burning weapon slice down my chest. \"And thus, it's done.\"\n\nOpening my eyes, I find a rippling black scar runs from my shoulder to my hip. Look up to it. \"So how do I get there?\"\n\nIt raps the bottom of the scythe on the floor, then an opening tears beneath me and I plummet.\n\nBefore I'm cast into another Realm, one last NEXT booms in my skull.\n\n----\n\nIf you enjoyed the story and want to read more of my work, visit my [subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/MicahCastle/) and consider subscribing." ]	2
[WP] The Tavern at the Top of the Mountain	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "# I really like this prompt and the freedom it gave me. Also, this is not an edited story so there might be some grammar mistakes.\n\nAs the sun rose and the morning dew settled, a little tavern was getting ready for battle. Not a day went by that the tavern wasn't full. Filled to the brim with all types of characters, elves, adventures, demons, monsters. Such was the norm for the tavern upon that magnificent hill. So starts our story, with a man who is able to sell drinks to those characters.\n\n“Time to open up those windows I guess,” Arthur muttered. Arthur, though a youth of 26, is a tavern owner who is highly regarded in this land. “Best tavern on this side of the globe,” they would say. Was it the placement next to a flowing creek and lush forest that made his tavern so amazing? Or Was it possibly the style? No… I think people were just attracted to him. A stature not held by anyone his own age and a charisma that cannot go unnoticed.\n\nAs the wind picked up, a familiar scent filled the land. This scent was a sign that the tavern was open. It was not a candle, nor a stick of incense, instead it was the smell of the tavern's food.\n\nArthur’s tavern was quaint and well kept up. There were many things in the tavern, but they all fit in very nicely, except for a little lamp in the corner of the room. Although it did not match the theme it was very important to Arthur because it would light up when magic was used, which helped him very much in case anyone tried any trickery.\n\nPop! Pop! Pop!\n\nThe oil on Arthurs pan was crackling as he cracked an egg onto it. The surface of the egg immediately started to cook and the rest of the egg followed in time. Taking the egg off the pan you are able to notice the bounce of the yolk and the flesh of the egg which could bring the white of a cloud to shame. Arthur grabbed a fork and punctured the yolk which burst forth with incredible might. The yolk dripped onto the flesh and made a picturesque scene. Arthur cut the egg with the fork and lifted up a piece to eat. A small string of yolk held onto the plate and it seemed as though it would stretch forever, but nothing is forever and the gold string resembling silk finally snapped. The egg entered Arthur's mouth and coated his taste buds in a heavenly taste.\n\n“Oh my, this dish will never get old,” he said with a pleasant smile.\n\nBy this time there was already a customer walking up the mountain. Arthur quickly got into a fitting attire and prepared to welcome the guest.\n\n“Hello dear sir, what would you like to eat and drink,” he asked as the first guest walked in.\n\n“I’ll take a meat pie and some of that dragon scale rum.” The voice of this man was hoarse and his body was covered in nasty scars. One could guess what he did for a living at first glance.\n\n“Coming right up sir.” Arthur bowed and made his way to the kitchen to get started on the food.\n\nArriving at the kitchen he made his way straight to the cupboard to get his ingredients. For the meat mixture he grabbed ground beef and pork as well as onion, mustard powder, thyme and salt. Arthur cooked down these ingredients until the meat turned from a vibrant red to a dull brown and the onions softened. Arthur quickly started on the mashed potatoes by softening up the potatoes in boiling water. Once the potatoes were softened, he mashed them up and added milk, butter, salt, and pepper. The mashed potatoes were like clouds and one could almost envision them as a steed for Zeus. The meat mixture was mixed together with the mashed potatoes and then placed inside of a pre-cooked pie crust. Laying the top crust onto the filling, Arthur made a few incisions into the crust for better ventilation and aesthetics.\n\n“Perfect. It will be done in 10 minutes!” Arthur yelled to his customer waiting at the bar. In the meantime Arthur made his customer a dragon scale rum. First, place a dragon scale in the cup. Second, fill three-quarters the way up with rum. Third, light on fire and serve to the customer.\n\n“Ahhh. That's some good stuff! Really burns when it's going down.”\n\n“Thank you sir, It is one of our specialties here at the Mountainside Tavern.” Arthur said with a smile.\n\n“If only this scale were real… but everybody knows that the only person who could kill a dragon is Arthur, the god slayer. Too bad he vanished a few years back.” The man sighed and went back to drinking.\n\n“Ya… too bad.” Arthur turned around and went back into the kitchen to grab the meat pie.\n\nWhen he took it out of the oven, an intoxicating smell washed over him and the man. The man at the counter was brought to the gates of heaven and then back down to earth.\n\n“Do I… Really get to eat this?” This was the first time the man had ever come to this little tavern. He was just passing by this land and decided to get something to eat, but never did he expect the bartender to be a banished immortal of the culinary craft.\n\n“Order up!” Arthur walked out with a meat pie in one hand and a fork in the other. “All yours my friend”\n\nThe man wasted no time in taking the first bite. As the pie rolled around in his mouth he could taste each individual ingredient. The freshness of them was evident and the tears wouldn't stop.\n\n“My mom used to make a meat pie that I thought was the best, but hot damn I was wrong. I'm sorry mom!”\n\n“Arthur wasn’t surprised to see the man cry while eating his food. For some reason it would happen every time someone ate here for the first time. He would always wonder if his food secretly poked them in the eyes.\n\nThe man gobbled down the food and finally regained his composure. “That was a great meal,” he said. I will definitely return another day. And with that, the man got up, threw some coins on the table and started out the door.\n\n“Actually, I never caught your name. Mine is Finrall.” The man said.\n\n“Oh, me… It's Arthur, I'm just an ordinary bartender that likes to feed you interesting characters.”\n\n“Hmm,” Finrall stared at Arthur seemingly lost in thought, an idea was forming in his brain.\n\nPoof!\n\n“Hmm, what was I doing just now? Ahh yes, I was telling you that I would definitely come back here. Farewell my friend!” And with that, the man left off toward the bottom of the hill.\n\n“It's still not the right time. I'll be more careful next time,” Arthur exhaled and walked back to the kitchen.\n\nThe tavern was quiet, all except the little lamp in the corner that was bustling with light.", "\\[Poem\\]\n\n&#x200B;\n\ndays and weeks crawl \nand even months \non a journey this long \n\n \nit beats you down \nwearing shoes to the ground \nskin crawling with thirst \n\n \nyour mind wanders \nbecoming lost and delirious \nif it weren’t for the map \nyou’d be on a different path \n\n \nas you climb higher \nyour determination drops lower \n\n \nyou collapse into a tree \nweak, disoriented, \nand defeated \n\n \nyou waver in and out of consciousness \nyour throat feels like a desert \nthe tree, like thorns in your back \n\n \nyour dreams take over \nuntil a man throws you over his shoulder \ncarrying you the rest of the way \ndown the beaten path \nuntil the path disappears \n\n \nhe continues on, \nto a cabin ahead \nworn, like you \nwood pieced together \nbarely holding on \n\n \nhe carries you inside \nthere are others, \nbeaten down \n\n \nand some - \nwho seem so free \nlaughing over spirits \n‘cause they’re here to stay \n\n \nin the tavern \nat the top of the mountain \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\[Thanks for reading! Kind of a rough little draft I threw together after reading this prompt, so if anyone reads that would be so kind to offer feedback - I'd love it!\\]" ]	3
[WP] You have a very… unusual business. You help adventurers choose and word their wishes from whatever magical artifact they found	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " Fieldwork is the biggest part of the job, really. Often the client is in a place where they can't leave, or perhaps they can't move the object, like if they're at a wishing well.\n\n I get word of possible clients through Beavey, a rare mammal like creature with extroardinary magical abilities. She also alerts me when someone occasionally turns up in store for help.\n\n I've had to go on extreme journeys to find my clients, and Beavey is so intense in the tracking she almost leaves me behind regularly. Generally it's not that hit or miss weather I'll get the job once I'm there- especially as I tactically decide who to go after, based on if they know me or not and how far away they are (Beavy can tell me if she knows the person, and I make sure to make a good impression on those we meet, hopefully ensuring a job).\n\n But this client was different, right from the getgo. I was sitting at my desk when a small fae fluttered in, without Beavey even noticing her, and landed infront of me on my desk. I had only met a fae once before but I still knew how they communicated with the light around them glowing now brighter, now darker, and different colours. This fae was frantic, urgent, and wanted me to follow her.\n\n I did, of course, getting my on the go bag and clicking for Beavey to follow me. The fae led us out of the city north as directly as possibe, and I wondered about the situation the whole time. I had never got a 'call' to go to a client on the feild before, and was confused as to how Beavey semmed sluggish and uninterested, as if there wasn't a wish to chase.\n\n Once on the outskirts of the city, the fae told me to get a horse as quickly as I could, although the nearest stables cost a fortune to rent. I payed, though, for my own curiosity, if not for the urgency of the fae. Beavy hopped on after me; we had practised horse riding together many times.\n\n We rode off into the high afternoon, me keeping my eyes locked on the now speeding light of the fae before me.\n\n It must've been a long ride, though it felt too short for my thoughts, as when the fae signalled to stop I noticed I could see her light a lot clearer; it was dusk. She signalled me to dismount, and I tied the horse up on a nearby tree. I noticed we had come far north, and were now in a wild field that sloped and curved up ahead into a dynamic hill I couldn't see the summit of.\n\n I was led up the hill a few steps before noticing that Beavey wasn't with me- she was cowering by the tree with the horse. When she didn't respond to my clicks I went back and soothed her, then gave up a bit of the food in my bag I kept in there for her. Then I left her by the tree and continued following the fae.\n\n I was almost at the top of the hill and I was still lost for how surreal the situation was. Beavey was always eager and enthusiastic on trips for clients. I never once even had to call her to come with me, let alone have to leave her behind. The energy of my curiosity ebbed as I considered what could be so seem so dangerous that Beavey would be too scared to chase down a wish.\n\n It was only once I had got over the ridge of the hill that I saw the red light at the top. It drowned out any fae's light, and I couldn't see her anymore. But I could feel that this must be the place.\n\n Barely visable in the center of the red glare was the client. He was the bent, tragic despair of a wize wizard, who fell into folly for hunger for power and mistreatment of magic. He looked like he might've been famous once, but I didn't recognise him now.\n\n He looked up at me. He saw the fear, then read the burning confusion behind it.\n\n 'Beavey hunts for wishes. She would not come here with you because you are going to help me choose a curse,' he said.", "Wish Crafter\n\nLombardi's Wishing Well Inc., Rosewalt, West Flax Fields.\n\nDetails:\n* Compensation: 4 Gold per patron, with promotion opportunities for up to 2% royalties on successful wishes.\n* Expected hours: at least 4 days a week, particularly in the summer.\n* Winter holidays included!\n\nQualifications:\n* Fluency in the language of the ancients.\n* Literacy, in ancient and common.\n* Familiarity with magic artifacts preferred.\n\nFull description:\n\nGREAT MAGES START HERE!!\n\nBecome a wish crafter first.\n\nWe even offer an annual meeting with Lombardi himself. Hear about adventuring from the pioneer in wish crafting!\n\nWe also offer unparalleled training for mages.\n\n* Learn about mage school from more experienced peers while working.\n* Earn some starting income to be able to pay your mage school loans.\n* Gain unique recommendations from adventurers and mages alike, bolstering your application for mage school.\n\nAnybody considering being a mage should experience wish crafting, the most difficult part of being a mage. At Lombardi's, we understand the hardships a mage faces and can help you grow into the greatest mage you can be. Come to Lombardi's and utter the secret ancient word 成長 to learn more.\n\nSummary of position description:\n\nLombardi's Wishing Well Inc. is the industry leader in wish crafting. Wish crafters formulate wishes for adventurers so that adventurers can use wish-granting magical items to their fullest potential. We provide basic safety training to ensure that the magic items will not harm you and so you can safely pass dangerous items to mages who might be better able to handle them.\n\nEducation and Experience:\n\n* We require knowledge of the ancient language, oral and written.\n* Literacy in common is required.\n* Mage schooling or experience is strongly preferred.\n* If unschooled in magecraft, ancient language proficiency test scores are required.\n\nJob type: full-time/sales.\n\nGrowth: at Lombardi's, we respect that the work you do for us is not as glamorous as the work you can be doing as an adventuring mage. To better support you, we can fund your mage schooling if you work with us. Utter the secret ancient word 大学生 to learn more about that at Lombardi's. We also note that wish crafters have grown through their experiences with us and become mercenary mages who have joined various adventures. Visit us and utter the secret ancient phrase 魔法使い冒険者登録 to learn more about this.", "\"Rates are on the sign.\" I didn't look up from my desk, there was a particularly annoying fly that I was trying to get. The bell that had alerted me to my most recent customer rang again as the door closed. Feet shuffled closer, but I didn't break concentration. This fly had bothered me all morning and it was now or never. Slowly, I lowered the glass. If you move slowly enough, flies won't perceive you as a threat. \r \n\"Um, I'm not on the sign.\" I slammed the glass down, the fly buzzing up, momentarily frightened. It banged against the glass walls of its new prison as I looked up. Standing in front of me, was a hulking warrior, with so many muscles that I'm pretty sure there weren't even names for some of them. She shuffled her feet. The bell rang again, someone else entering. Two people qualified today as a busy one.\r \n\"Please wait there.\" I pointed to a spot marked with an X and with three signs that indicated it as a waiting zone. In my business, you learn to be thorough. Without complaint, she moved to the spot, freeing the front of my desk. Taking her place, a tall man frowned at me.\r \n\"Rates are on the sign.\" Gesturing to the large floor-to-ceiling chalkboard, I returned to the fly. Sliding a piece of paper under the glass, I walked to the window, unlatching it and shooing the fly outside. When I returned, the man was no longer frowning. He was glaring.\r \n\"You have a very high opinion of your services, human.\" Oh, great. An elf. I should have looked closer and put out my revised sign. The one with the doubled prices. \r \n\"Hey, you want your wish not to backfire on you? You pay the price. If you don't use my services you'll pay a different price.\" I grinned at the elf. He sniffed. \r \n\"Very well. I'll take the genie contract.\" Pulling out a golden lamp, he set it on the desk, leaving one long finger resting on the very top. I inspected it, asking the only question that now mattered. \r \n\"One wish or three?\" \r \n\"Three.\" \r \n\"Ah, the extended contract. Prosperity, fame, and women? Or men, I don't judge.\" The elf peered down his nose at me.\r \n\"Just the basic contract. I will fill in the words that I need.\" He said, managing to sound snootier than when he arrived. \r \n\"Your funeral.\" I shrugged, pulling out a long scroll. Before I handed it over, I held out my other hand. He sighed, pulling a bag off of his belt and thumping it into my palm. Bouncing it, I let him take the scroll. Without a further word, he turned, sweeping out of my door.\r \n\"Have a good day!\" I yelled after him. \"You putz.\" That was muttered. \r \nTurning back to the warrior, I waved her forward. \r \n\"You say you're not on the sign? What artifact could you have possibly found?\" I had always believed my list and my knowledge was comprehensive. She proved me wrong as she laid the object on the desk. It was black and rectangular, much different than the glitter and gems that accompanied most artifacts. There were some circular protrusions on the surface, but other than that it was perfectly smooth. \r \n\"Has it offered you anything? Any riches, or wishes?\" I asked. Sometimes, people assumed I knew about every artifact, not understanding my very specific field. \r \n\"Not exactly. But when you press here...\" She pressed the middle circular protuberance. A dim light glowed on the surface of the artifact, before resolving into words.\r \n'Enter Command Prompt' \r \n\"It sounds like it's asking for something like a wish. But, I don't know if I can afford you.\" Finishing, her words twisted downwards in a sorrowful bend. A genuine smile spread over my face. Being in my field for as long as I had, dealing with every kind of magic being, deity, or spell, it was so rare that I encountered an actual real challenge anymore.\r \n\"For you, with this, it's on the house. But no guarantees. I have no idea what will happen. We could both die horrible deaths. Are you up for it?\" \r \nShe smiled back at me. \r \n\"I'm always up for an adventure. Let's get started.\"" ]	4
[WP] HELP! I can't choose between a Vampire, a Ghost or a Human (that I don't know is secretly a Werewolf) to be my boyfriend! (Maybe I should pick all three!)	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "(Prompt reminded me of a certain Fanfic and wanted to pay it a hommage. I am so sorry. It is satirical in nature of course.) \nMy name is Gothilda Amy Raven Harley Meloetta Addams and I am 19 and a half years old. I am a witch and of course I only wear black clothes. On the last wonderful night on our local cemetery, I ran into a big problem. As I finished doing my witch stuff, I was approached by a very handsome ghost boy, called Mysterio. He was so beautiful and totally real, and \nhe wanted to be my boyfriend, because I am a very cool and mysterious witch. \nThe problem is that a very cool vampire boy I met during a tour of our local \ncursed and spooky castle also wants to be my boyfriend and to bite my pale \nalabaster like skin. And at school I met a very cool boy, that I know is a \nwerewolf because of my witch powers. And because I had to save his family from \nhim biting them, because I could stop him by being like super cute and very \nmysterious. \nSo I sat in my witchy mansion and while brewing some potions, I deeply thought about who of the three boys I should honor with my love. I had to be careful, because my beautiful \nvery long black hair should not go into the kettle in which I brewed, because \nit would totally not be good for the potion I was making. Ghost boy Mistery \nsaid, that I am very funny and cool and was really cool, too. Vampire boy bit werewolf \nboy and hey said “Aaaoawiaaoo” which made me laugh too. We all drank the \npotion, that tasted better than chocolate milk and went on a huge date together. \nWe got into Mysters Car, that was a Lamborghini and a Ferrari and a Porsche and drove to the mall together. I wore some cool boots and fishnets and a witchy skirt. We got to the witch shop in the mall and bought very cool Voldemort merch, just because it is so random. Then \nwe all got that black ice cream I saw on Instagram. Then all of the boys told me that they love me, and so I married all of them. We flew back to my witch tower and lived happily ever after and had two children. One of them was a cool dog." ]	2
[WP] Humans were made by cruel gods and designed to produce energy through the emotions of fear, misery, and rage. Elves were made by gentler gods, given many gifts, about engineered to produce energy for their creators through the emotions of love, contentment, and joy.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "# V \| [Read from I](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/v1fq6x/wp_as_a_joke_the_gods_decided_to_reverse_the/iaoubt6/)\n\n(Taking a few liberties with the prompt, since it fit so well with where I was going...)\n\n----\n\nShizuka Kitsuki was not pious. Partly this stemmed from her homeland having different traditions of religion than the Eastlands where she found herself. Partly it was because of her own stubbornness. But mostly, it was because of the epiphany she'd had.\n\nWest and East agreed that it was the gods who had first granted magic to mankind. They who had chosen to fuel its power with emotion -- although this, as Shizuka had proven, was not a firm requirement. But why? That was where they disagreed. The faithful, naturally, insisted the gods had acted out of benevolence. Faith wizards manipulated light, and they weren't shy about using the symbolism of light to back their argument.\n\nThe cynical suggested the gods were cruel and had granted the power to men so that they might feed on the chaos that would follow. Shizuka had fallen more on that side of the divide, but after her efforts to tame fire, her views had evolved. Now, she was certain, the gods saw mortals as playing pieces in their game. They bore mankind no particular malice, nor any particular favor, except insofar as either would serve their own needs. For what? Status? Simple entertainment? She wasn't entirely sure.\n\nIt had fit, though. Perhaps it even explained the recent sudden inversion of emotional affinities. Could it be that the gods had simply grown bored? Turned the world on its head in the same way a child might kick over an anthill, for no reason but to watch the creatures scurry?\n\nPerhaps it was the gods who were made in man's image.\n\n----\n\nLater, she made the mistake of mentioning her thoughts to Adrianna. Her roommate, still wearing Shizuka's face, leaned back, tilting her head even further back to stare up at the ceiling. \"That seems a little self-centered, don't you think?\"\n\n\"No.\" Shizuka had thought a good deal about herself, and had come to the conclusion that she was definitely not self-centered. \"Why?\"\n\n\"What makes you think the gods would have any interest in us as game pieces?\" Before Shizuka could answer, her roommate shrugged. \"Not that it's the worst idea I've heard. It doesn't really matter, does it? Whether the gods got bored and reversed the affinities as some sort of game, whether they did it out of cruelty, whether it's somehow good for all of us... that doesn't really matter. What matters is, it happened, and now we need to figure out how to deal with it.\"\n\n\"I wouldn't have taken you for a pragmatist.\"\n\nAdrianna smiled. \"Envy witches are very pragmatic, in our way. It's hard to envy what you already have, and it's really hard to envy what's truly impossible for you to have.\"\n\n\"Really?\"\n\n\"Yeah. It's just... sort of empty. What you really want to envy is someone who has something you don't have, but you think you could have had. Or should have. Like, if you were an elf, I could envy your long life a little bit, but only in the sense that I'd like mine to be that long. I know in my heart that's not possible, though, so it's just wishful thinking. More longing than envy. I would have had to be an elf.\" Adrianna pushed herself out of her chair and began to pace. \"On the other hand, if I envy your height or your hair, that's something I could have had.\"\n\nShizuka frowned, running one hand through her short locks. \"I guess if you'd been born in the west, you could have. But that's the same as if you'd been born an elf.\"\n\n\"No, it's different. I could have been taller or had straight, shiny, silky black hair--\"\n\n\"What is this fixation on my hair?\"\n\n\"Hey, it's really pretty. Mine is a curly brown mess that frizzes up all the time. Anyway, trust me, it's different.\"\n\nShe shook her head. \"If you say so. So, could you envy an elf's hair?\"\n\n\"Good question. If I ever see one, I'll let you know. More likely I'd envy their happiness.\"\n\nShizuka had to think for a minute to recall the stories. \"Ah, right. They're supposedly suffused with joy, even more so than a wizard with the affinity.\"\n\n\"It's their purpose, they say. To feel joy for the gods.\"\n\n\"I'd consider that evidence for the 'cruel' side, myself.\"\n\n\"Of course you would.\" They were both quiet for a minute, aside from the steady tap of Adrianna's heels against the floorboards as she paced the breadth of their shared room. \"Have you? Ever seen one?\"\n\nShizuka shook her head. \"There weren't any in Shirigekuro, as far as I know. I did see a henge yokai once. A, uh... one of the changing breed. Animals that take the form of men.\"\n\nAdrianna stopped pacing and glanced at her. Curiosity was plain in her expression. But then, considering her face was Shizuka's at the moment... It really was a bit disconcerting. Shizuka would have to find a way to transform Adrianna, if she didn't solve it herself soon. \"And did he teach you anything about the gods?\"\n\n\"She. And I only saw her at a distance.\" Shizuka puzzled over the vague memory for a moment. \"And I don't know.\"\n\nAdrianna laughed. \"I think 'I don't know' is about the wisest thing you could say about the gods and their motives.\"\n\n\"Or maybe you had it right. 'It doesn't matter.'\"\n\n\"Tell me more about this shapeshifter of yours...\"\n\n----\n\n[Next Chapter](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/v671zo/wp_superheroes_lie_about_their_powers_to_protect/ibewab2/)", "Lo'rei looked at the best before her. Her father, Tri'aer squeezed her hand gently as she took in the spectacle.\n\nThe beast in the cage was looking at her with a look she'd not seen before. Part of her quaked under the pressure of it's bloodshot eyes which projected a strange sort of heat she hadn't felt in all her years. A heat not of forging, or binding. No, this was the fire of something more sinister. Destruction, avarice.\n\n\"Its ok, Lo'rei,\" her father started tenderly. \"It won't hurt you. Can't hurt you.\"\n\nLo'rei only nodded, entranced by the confounding image which lay before her. Between the ornate mythillim bars, the thing reminded her of the animals which she had seen at the menagerie. It stalked it's cell ferally, the remnants of some meal still leaving grease upon it's features. Glimmering in the soft yellow light of the underground facility, the grease highlighted the thing's sharp jawline which quivered as it grinded it's teeth together. It remained a few feet back from the bars. As if it were worrisome of moving forward.\n\n\"It.. It looks like us. Just a little bit, doesn't it father?\" She asked in a quite tone, hardly more than a whisper.\n\nHer father smiled gently at her. In some ways he was envious of her and the others young enough not remember the sacking of DelAir. Those who hadn't been brought into this world before the turning of the second age. Blind to the realities of this realm. The history books told some, but certainty not all. Some memories were better to be occluded. Smothered by the embrace of time.\n\n\"Yes. It walks on two legs. Eats the same food. Long ago, they even spoke in a tongue rougher and more crass than our own. But...\"\n\nHis voice trailed off as he struggled to select the right words.\n\n\"..but, understand. Like the beast at the menagerie, it is a beast. Rabid. You can't understand it. Predict it. Some pieces of life are best viewed from a cage. I know that might be hard to understand. You have a sweet heart.\"\n\nThe thing looked on at the pair as they spoke. Though she couldn't place exactly how she knew, Lo'rei could swear it was trying to understand. Read their lips. Behind all the anger, behind the shroud, there was something intelligent. Curious.\n\n\"Now,\" her father continued, \"I want you to tell me. Tell me what is you feel when you look at it.\"\n\n\"What I feel?\" she asked with a confused expression.\n\nTri'aer nodded and squeezed her hand lightly, encouraging her.\n\n\"Well.. I feel heat. Hotness. Like the warmth of a fire when you step too close.\"\n\n\"Good.\" Her father stated. \"Now - think. When else do you feel warmth? Not from a fire.\n\nLo'rei' immediately understood what her father was getting at.\n\n\"The life projected by the Tree of the Founders!\" she exclaimed. \"It.. The tree. This beast - this wild thing. It gives to us that warmth? That kindness? But how? This feels..wrong. So different.\"\n\n\"Does the warmth of the fire you mentioned earlier not so too impart itself onto the bread we eat? Do you feel harshness in the steam which rises from the loaf we break at the table?\"\n\nLo'rei didn't respond to that. Her wide eyes betrayed her confoundment as her brain rushed to understand. She felt her father tug her hand. Slowly, he began to lead her away from the cell. Before they made it a few steps, though, she spun on her heel. Her hand lifted into the air and gave the creature a small wave. Her heart pounded as the beast did something strange. Inexplicable.\n\nRaising one stained arm it waved back. It was awkward and unfamiliar, but it waved.\n\nBehind her, she couldn't see her father's face wince. It would be all the harder to explain to her when she came of age, how the warmth was drawn from these beast. How that particular fire had to be stoked. For now though, it could wait. Why ruin the beauty of youth?" ]	3
[WP] "Is it really a victory if there's nothing left to cherish? Was any of this meaningful?" You slowly dissipate into the void, none of anything really amounting to a big celebration.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Research proposal: Investigation into suspected anomalous behavior of historical battles\n\nAuthor: Dr. Glast\n\nAs you know, the Foundation fights on many fronts. Every day we secure, contain and protect dozens of threats ranging from the physical to the esoteric.\n\nOur knowledge of history is one such front. The anomalous has existed throughout time, and it is our duty to understand it. The anomalous history division of research site 31 exists for this very purpose.\n\nI say this because we have uncovered an unsettling trend in the history of warfare. One that has left the realm of history and theory, and possibly threatens us today.\n\nAttached below is a statistical analysis of roughly 2,000 historical battles ranging from the late bronze age to as recently as the 1800s. An unsettling number of battles appear to win against impossible odds, only for the leader to vanish into the mists of history.\n\nWe need to pull on this thread to see where it leads us. If an anomaly is affecting the outcomes of battles as recently the American Civil War, that is an anomaly we should know about. I'm asking for a doubling of our research budget and increased access to the databases focused on anomalous history.\n\n- Approved, 05-8\n\n-----\n-----\n-----\n\nSix months have passed since my proposal. Research has yielded some unsettling finds, but I'm afraid we only have speculation to explain them. \n\n\nYou have given this project access to battle maps, troop compliments and behavioral profiles of thousands of engagements. It seems the Foundation has a secret project to scan history, but that's above my pay grade. \n\nHere is what we know. Someone or something has been tampering with the outcomes of major battles for nearly 3500 years. The landscape of history is radically different than it should be. Battles defy every statistical model and laugh in the face of probability.\n\nChina's fireworks should not have stopped the Mongols. Alaxander the Great should have lost the Battle of the Hydaspes. Great conflicts all throughout history are being influenced by something.\n\nNormally I would blame faulty information, perspective lost by judging a battle over a thousand years old. Who are we to look back and disagree with history?\n\nBut then I look at the victors. Every one had an easily traceable life, backed up by thousands of records. We know where Alexander ate his meals, and the background of every major general. After the war our knowledge gets fuzzy. They start appearing in multiple places at once, decades of life go missing. How can our records be so perfect unto the moment of victory, then descent into chaos?\n\nWe found a possible culprit. An old poem by Alexander the Great. \n\n\"Today is a solemn day. Though the war drums beat and my men are eager for battle, we know of the cost. Tomorrow many wives will become widows, many sons will lose fathers. I hope their blood will be well spent.\n\n\"A great choice has presented itself. It came from a stranger walking on a beam of light. He had the face of an angel, although when addressed him as such, he showed distress. I am simply a wanderer, he assured me.\n\n\"He showed me a vision of my men slaughtered and lain on the battlefield. The air reeked of dispair. This is your future, he proclaimed, but I can offer you a different one.\n\n\"He said you may know victory, and I give it freely. Be warned before you answer, for victory is all you will know. Your men will know glory, your name will be sung in the great halls, but your very essence will be turned into a memory.\"\n\n-----\n-----\n-----\n\nAddendum: XK Event Log\n\n15:38:00 - Security breach at Site-19 is detected. Keter class anomaly detected outside of containment. Mobile task forces deployed.\n\n15:45:20 - Containment teams successfully lock anomaly into eastern stairwell despite massive casualties.\n\n15:46:54 - Anomaly ruptures coolant line, immobilizing containment teams. Begins walking to Keter containment wing. \n\n15:49:09 - On site warhead primed by site director. 5 minute silent countdown activated.\n\n15:50:26 - Multiple Keter-class objects breach containment. Site-wide state of emergency declared.\n\n15:54:09 - Detonation of on site warhead. Three Keter class objects survive and begin walking towards nearby city.\n\n15:59:31 - Mobile Task Force Tau-5 (\"Samsara\") arrive at Site-19 and engage the anomalies.\n\n16:02:48 - Three members of MTF Tau-5 eliminated.\n\n16:03:29 - 05-8 arrives by helicopter.\n\n16:04:01 - Bright light appears in the sky. Unknown humanoid entity materializes in front of 05-8.\n\n16:08:52 - 05-8 appears to drop a small object. The unknown entity and 05-8 dematerialize.\n\n16:09:40 - Remaining members of MTF Tau-5 successfully subdue the anomalies. Containment established.\n\n---\n---\n---\n\nAddendum: Audio file recovered from 05-8\n\nNote: This file was stored on a Foundation-issue sound recording device below where 05-8 dematerialized.\n\nBegin recording\n\nO5-8: Samsara, an unknown entity has-\n\n???: Your soldiers are needed elsewhere. I am not a threat. \n\nO5-8: Forgive me if I'm not in a trusting mood. \n\n???: And yet, I suspect you will entertain my offer all the same. \n\nO5-8: ...Offer? \n\n???: Look behind me. Watch the battle unfold. You know what would happen if that creature was let loose. What would you pay to change the outcome of this conflict? \n\nO5-8: \"Today is a solemn day. Though the war drums beat and my men are eager for battle, we know of the cost.\" You gave Alexander the same offer. \n\n???: So you do know me. \n\nO5-8: And what becomes of me if I agree? \n\n???: You become victorious. The very embodiment of the word. Your soldiers win the day, contain the threat, but you will be no more. Only the idea that you are victorious will remain.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFollowing these events, records pertaining to 05-8 have begun to spontaneously appear. Records show that he has voted on multiple proposals as a member of the 05 council. Documents signed by 05-8 continue to be uncovered. However, these records are often contradictory and no witnesses can recall personally seeing 05-8 since the event.\n\n05-8 is to be considered killed in action. Any documents relating to him created after ██-██-████ are to be considered false and disregarded. \n\n-----\n-----\n-----\n\nSCP-9451: The Echoes of Victory:\n\nObject Class: Euclid\n\nSpecial Containment Procedures:\n\nAll senior staff members are to be informed of the nature of SCP-9451. Any manifestation is to be reported directly to the 05 council. Senior staff are instructed not to accept any deal proposed by SCP-9451.\n\nFoundation agents planted in the historical and archeological communities are to document any suspected instances of SCP-9451. Where necessary, historical records are to be altered to suppress knowledge of SCP-9451. \n\nDescription:\n\nSCP-9451 is a humanoid entity of unknown origin. The entity manifests roughly once every 10 years on the site of a major conflict. The first known instance dates back to the late Bronze Age.\n\nUpon manifesting, it will present a choice to the leader of the losing side of the conflict. If the leader accepts, he or she will be converted into the conceptual idea of the word victory, and hereby referred to as SCP-9451-1.\n\nThis transformation has the following effects:\n\n* The outcome of the conflict commanded by SCP-9451-1 will be altered into one that the average person would consider positive.\n\n* The SCP-9451-1 instance will vanish from physical reality.\n\n* Records will spontaneously appear in order to support the belief that the SCP-9451-1 instance is still alive, and continues to benefit in some way from their victory. Records will be sporadic and contradictory in nature, but are detailed enough to be plausible to anyone unfamiliar with SCP-9451.\n\nTo date, 292 battles have been recorded that are believed to be influenced by SCP-9451. Further research is required." ]	2
[WP] A vampire aspires to become a chef! But with garlic and silverware, as well as a misunderstanding of the word "steak", they find it really difficult in the kitchen.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I fried the peanut shells in honey and watched as the smoke rose, as if in greeting, and I felt all was right in the world. No more biting necks in dark alleys. No more sleeping in cramped coffins. I was a chef, and a damned good one at that.\n\n\"Darius, how's that steak coming along?\"\n\nSwishing the pan expertly, I turned to face what I had expected to be a proud smile. Instead, there was a scowl over the face of John Hamming, star chef of The Tender Taurus. \"What in god's name are you doing? Are those ... peanuts?\"\n\nSteam hissed around us. Other chefs-in-training, like me, stared with malice. \"They are shells,\" I said. \"Don't worry, I didn't crush them all that much. I know the texture is important for a proper steak.\"\n\nJohn lifted his head to the skies and cried in rage. His neck throbbed with passion. \"A steak!? You dare call that a steak?\"\n\n\"Not enough honey?\" I said, and I gave it a taste. No, it seemed about right.\n\n\"You said you trained under Gordon Ramsay.\"\n\nI squinted at him. I had written my resume under the influence of blood laced with a copious amount of drugs. It was what made me decide it was time to quit. What if I were to overdose accidentally on some dude one day? When did people start walking around stuffed with all sorts of illicit substances in their blood? It was dangerous, at least to vampires like me.\n\n\"This is how he taught me,\" I said. \"Peanut shells and honey. It's how they do it in Villefranche-sur-Mer, Provence.\"\n\nJohn scoffed. \"That's bull. You were obviously the victim of a prank. Like sending the newbie for blinker fluid at an auto shop. And Ramsay never revealed it had all been a joke? What a guy.\" He shook his head and let out a deep breath. \"Well, I guess it's time you learned how to make a proper steak.\"\n\nBut I had already learned it. From my mother. Six centuries ago she made the most beautiful steaks with Valencia-peanut shells and wildflower honey. It was a treasured family recipe.\n\n\"First you get the pan nice and hot.\" John flung my sticky pan off the burner and into the hands of a young boy with curls who grabbed it and screamed in pain. He prepared a new one and cranked up the heat. \"Now we need to crack some pepper and give this bad boy some salt.\"\n\nIt was a chunk of meat. No peanuts or honey in sight. It confused me greatly.\n\n\"Right. And now we add some oil. We don't do it before the pan's ready, hot and sizzling.\" John placed the meat-steak in the pan and gently pushed it down with his fingers. \"We only flip it once,\" he said. \"If you flip it twice, you deserve to be shot. Anyone who flips a steak more than once is a fraud and a bastard.\"\n\nAfter three minutes of sizzling, he flipped it. \"Gorgeous,\" he said. He added some butter. \"That's how it's done. That's how you cook a steak. Go on, have a taste.\"\n\nIt was disgusting. I preferred my meat tartare—raw and tender. Nevertheless, I had entered a new world and I would have to make adjustments. I carved a slice and I consumed it with a forced smile. Within seconds, I regretted it.\n\n\"What, rare's not good enough for you?\"\n\nIt ... burned. Like the sun. \"W-What kind of butter did you use?\"\n\nA cheeky grin erupted from John Hamming's delicate lips. \"It's my special, little trick. I use garlic butter. It's subtle, but it gives it an extra kick.\"\n\nOh how I missed dark alleys all of a sudden. I couldn't breathe. Oh how I longed for a cramped coffin.\n\nAs I fell to the kitchen floor an image entered my mind unbidden. It was my mother, standing in the doorway, with a plate of steak. \"Shells were extra crispy today,\" she said. \"Just the way you like them.\" The honey glistened in the sun and as I took a bite I felt a thrill of excitement, of wonder. My mother's smile warmed me in a way that sunshine never had.\n\n\"I think Darius is allergic to garlic! Someone call for a medic! He's dying. Shit! What in god's name was he thinking, applying for a job in a kitchen?\"\n\nMy mother smiled as she collapsed, starved to an almost skeletal extent. Food was her way of demonstrating her love and affection, a way to make it material. It was a love she denied herself in that time of scarcity and want.\n\nThose steaks of peanut shells and honey were the best steaks I had ever eaten. After becoming a vampire, even blood failed to live up to that memory of my mother's cooking.\n\nSmoke rose from my body as Hamming and his gaggle of trainees screamed and shouted over me. \"A steak?\" I cried, my lungs ablaze. A hushed silence fell over the kitchen, with only pots and pan clacking with bubbles and the overhead fan making noise. My uniform burst into flames. \"You dare ...\" I said, shouting it as if it were a curse, \"You dare call that a steak?\"\n\nJohn Hamming's face went pale as dinner plates with horror and to my delight I heard a whimper, a confused cry, and I thought to myself that this was a fitting end.", "“But...they put garlic in everything!”\n\n“I’ve actually built a tolerance and I handle the hives with anti-histamines.”\n\n“Silverware!”\n\n“Actually, its mostly just stainless steel these days.”\n\n“Stakehouses!”\n\n“I. I don’t see how...what would, uh. What?”\n\n“...you know. They’re full of... stakes?”\n\n“Well. Yeah. A steakhouse specialises in them. Why would that be a problem? Do...do you get the hunger when you see a rare porterhouse? Bovine flesh doesn’t set me off.”\n\n“Bovine flesh?”\n\n“Yes, cow-Oh! Oh you thought-No, no. Steakhouse. S-t-e-a-k.”\n\n“Oh. Well. That makes more...more sense. Okay — but — still!”\n\n“Look, I understand your concerns, Mother. I’ve got plans in place. Contingencies. I love to cook, okay? It’s what I’m meant to be. I know it. I’m a chef and I’m not going to let a silly little thing like my being an undead being get in the way of that.”\n\n“...I know, I know. I can’t stop you, Sweety. But I’m allowed to worry, okay?”\n\n“Yeah, I know. It’s your job.”\n\n“It is. And...I also know you’ll do great.”\n\n“Really!? I-I can go out and be a chef?”\n\n“You’d only go and do it behind my back anyway.”\n\n“Yes! Awesome! Thankyou-thankyou!”\n\n“Only-”\n\n“Yesss!”\n\n“Listen. Only a few shifts to start out. Okay?”\n\n“Okay, Mum!”\n\n\\* * \n\n“So, how was your first-”\n\n“I can’t believe you!”\n\n“-shift?...what did I* do?”\n\n“You know what you did! Why where they all thralls, Mother? The entire kitchen staff! Just a bunch of brainless husks.”\n\n“Well. They could have been dangerous.”\n\n“How am I meant to learn how to cook if the chefs are all empty-headed creatures under your command. They were just standing around and eating the raw ingredients.”\n\n“I believe that’s called a salad, Sweety.”\n\n“Agh! You never let me do anything!”" ]	3
[WP] You're a wealthy estate owner who hid away your riches in an abandoned cave, so to avoid paying the kingdom's new taxes. A ragtag group of adventurers have found it and now think they've uncovered long-lost treasure.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"The idea of taxes is ridiculous to any but the most stupid of scholars. Liberty is important. When a king does barely anything to help his vassals, then common sense dictates they should have the right to keep their earnings to themselves. This is an ideal then myself and many of my peers wholeheartedly agree with. Alas, in this day and age wisdom and knowledge must always kneel to the sword and spear. Indeed, it is my firm belief... didn't I tell you to use blue ink, you nincompopous fool? When have you not been a thorn in my side? Socralato was right when we say we live in a kingdom of - '\n\n'Treasure!' A voice cried, as if right into my ear Then as if once wasn't enough, 'TREASURE!' \n\nI ripped my curtains aside and peered out. \n\nDupont Town's inhabitants were thronging in the square, surrounding the party of newcomers. Through the crystal lens of my telescope, I noted five of them, the snot-nosed boy marching at the front being the screaming banshee in question. He would hang first, I decided. But what were they carrying?\n\nThe impromptu procession scuttled over to my doorstep. A man with a bravo's slender blade and a hat with a curling rim stepped out in front. 'Alderman Tinkletree!' He roared. 'Rejoice!'\n\nTattooed snakes swirling on his arms, he held a golden vase high in the air. The crowd erupted in cheers when they saw the jewels glittering inside. They cheered even more when the party pulled off the tarp to reveal more riches gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight. \n\nNow, don't get me wrong. I like to see riches as much as the next lord. But when its my gold in a highwayman's grubby hands that's another matter. Sneaking, robbing scum, I should... oh, wait. \n\nI smiled at the group of adventurers, snapped my fingers to open the door and let them in. \n\n'My congratulations towards your discovery, heroes,' I said, clapping my hands to set up a feast. 'Tell me, where did you obtain this wonderful find?' It never hurt to make sure of something. \n\nThe leader chewed on a strand of beetle barley, his teeth stained like tiny blueberries. 'Up North, Alderman. In the Crookshanks. My people had to spend four days searching to uncover it.'\n\nYou had better. It'd taken half a year to find a place the king's Wayfinders wouldn't be able to sniff out. And yet somehow these scrabblers had done so. \n\nAnother member of the group, a woman with an expression that hadn't changed since she had entered the town's gate, spun a coin in her hands. 'We came around to thinking that it's the Atuan gold. How else could there be the sapphires of Sacre within the chests?'\n\nBitterly, I recalled how I'd spread that rumor of hidden treasure, trying to distract the Inquisitors searching for the jewels from looking too closely at me. They were after all crown property. And now it seemed that I'd paid the price for my desperation.\n\nOh well, they'd found it on my lands. Law said they had to give me a cut. I'd come out ahead, even if by a far smaller margin. \n\n'My friends, we should notify the king as soon as possible!' My secretary cried. 'If the sapphires are here, who knows how many other lost royal treasures are hidden in this trove!' \n\nHidden? Oh they'd find a lot, no doubt about it. Enough to get me hanged. \n\n'We must not tarry in sending the message,' he repeated, 'it would be disloyal not to.' The adventurers didn't seem happy about it, but they were nodding. Gorlog's Gods. \n\nI gave my secretary with a look of poison. \n\nHe looked back, holding the jar of blue ink in his hands. And smiled.", "Alfred burst through the door. His usually pristine, crisp shirt was ruffled around the neck, his tie loose under the collar. He put his hands on his knees and took deep, ragged breaths.\r \n“Sir,” he choked out between gulps of air.\r \n“Take your time,” Wayne said, standing up from the massive chair he had commissioned almost a decade ago. He was past the fireplace in three long strides and standing next to his loyal friend. He laid a hand on Alfred’s shoulder and patted twice.\r \n“Sir,” Alfred said, calmer but still out of breath. “The cave-”\r \nWayne grabbed Alfred’s arm, his strong fingers digging into the other man’s upper arm. “Not here,” Wayne hissed. He turned back inside and yelled to his wife. “Be back in a bit, honey!”\r \nAlfred and Wayne grew up together; Alfred’s father worked for Wayne’s dad. The two boys had been attached at the hip for as long as they could remember. Each knew, without being told, that they would have the same relationship as their fathers: close, but with a definite hierarchy. \r \nAlfred came to the mountain cottage along with Wayne’s two young daughters and wife. There had been word of unrest in the area after the kingdom’s new taxes finally went into effect. The last time the pair had been there, they had come alone to hide most of Wayne’s wealth in a nearby cave.\r \nThe same cave Alfred had gone to visit that afternoon.\r \n“What is it about the cave?” Wayne asked when the pair were out of earshot of the cabin. He looked back as if he was afraid Dolores was watching.\r \nAlfred looked left, right, then turned his head and checked behind him before leaning over and looking past Wayne. “It’s been looted.”\r \n“Looted!” Wayne mouthed. He felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. Most of his excess wealth had been safe from the king’s taxes in that cave.\r \nBut not safe from thieves.\r \nWayne put his hands behind his back and began pacing. Alfred knew this meant that Wayne was serious, deep in thought. \r \nThe pair stood outside like that for a while, Alfred nervously looking around and Wayne pacing back and forth until Dolores stuck her head out the door and yelled that dinner was ready. \r \n“Can you keep it warm for me? I’m heading into town on business with Al. We’ll be back later.”\r \nAlfred could see Dolores didn’t like his response, but he also knew that Wayne pulled this kind of stunt infrequently enough that Dolores wouldn’t push back.\r \n“Sure thing,” she said. “Everything alright?”\r \n“Yup, just have to check on something in town. We’ll be back before too long,” Wayne said, turning toward the stables. \r \nAlfred kept his eyes glued to the ground, away from Dolores’ imploring gaze.\r \nThe pair of them took two fresh horses and set off into town. It was a quick descent down the mountain from where the cabin was situated. The cave where Wayne and Alfred had hidden the riches was in the opposite direction, higher up.\r \nWayne made a beeline for the saloon. He kept his head high, his focus forward, while Alfred surveyed the rest of the town. Most everyone stopped to stare at the pair, the outsides only in town for a few days at a time. Hard to make friends when you only come to town on business, Alfred thought.\r \nEverything inside the saloon came to a standstill as soon as Wayne and Alfred stepped inside. \r \nA few tough-looking gentlemen near the bar stood up, their eyes trained on the newcomers. Then, they sat back down on the bartender’s instruction. \r \nThe men had no way of knowing that either Alfred or Wayne could’ve handled the men on their own. Wayne always insisted Alfred was the better fighter, but Alfred wasn’t sure. But, then, one time, the night they met Dolores…\r \nAlfred was pulled from his thoughts when the bartender asked what they wanted to drink.\r \n“A couple of beers,” Wayne answered for them both.\r \nThe bartender placed the drinks at the bar. Then, instead of sitting down, both men leaned against the bar to see the rest of the room.\r \n“What brings you gentlemen into town?” the bartender asked from behind them.\r \nWayne picked up his beer, took a long drink, and set it back down on the bar. Alfred stayed turned around.\r \n“Anyone in here start spending a lot more lately?” Wayne asked.\r \nThe bartender paused. Alfred turned around and saw the sweaty man gulp. \r \nThe bartender leaned in closer to Wayne. Alfred turned back around but could hear the man’s heavy breathing. \r \n“Those guys in the corner… they shook down a small group of adventurers who came in here saying they found a whole bunch of long-lost treasure,” the bartender said, releasing the words in a torrent.\r \n“Did they take all of it?”\r \n“Did who take all of it? Did the adventurers take all of the treasure?”\r \n“No, did those men take everything from the adventurers?”\r \n“Oh. No, they didn’t. Enough for one crazy night a few weeks ago. The way those boys were talking, they stumbled upon El Dorado. There’s no way the guys over there took it all.”\r \nWayne took another sip of beer and then mimicked Alfred’s stance.\r \n“Where can I find these adventurers?” he asked. The bartender probably couldn’t tell, but Alfred knew his friend well enough to know that Wayne was upset. Really upset.\r \n“They left town after finding trouble. Said they were heading to the capital and finding an investment property. Mentioned maybe even buying a saloon-like this one, but in a bigger city.”\r \nWayne cursed under his breath. Then, he turned to Alfred. “Let’s get out of here once you’re finished with your beer.”\r \n“I’m finished now,” Alfred said.\r \nWayne paid the bartender, and the two men left. The men near the bar followed them out.\r \n“What now?” Alfred said when they were outside. The men from the bar stood in front of the saloon’s swinging doors.\r \n“First, we’re going to teach these boys some manners. Then, we’re going to the capital.”", "# Soulmage\n\nMeloai disarmed the spike trap with a single thrust of her clockwork arm. Normal human flesh would have been shredded to bits by the saferoom's defenses, but Meloai was a mimic that had learned to be human—she was made of tougher stuff. Of the two of us, she was certainly the more qualified in our little ragtag adventuring party.\n\n\"And you said there're rations in this cave?\" I asked. I'd been wandering around this damn dungeon for nearly two days without food or water now, and it was hard to think about something that wasn't where I'd get my next drink of water. The only liquid down here was the strangely omnipresent oil that covered the walls and floor, and even though I'd considered trying it in desperation, Meloai had warned me that it wasn't safe for human consumption.\n\n\"Oh, yeah. Rations for days. All kinds of stuff, too. Gold bars, statues, paintings—\"\n\nI spluttered. \"Gold bars?\"\n\nMeloai gave me a frown. \"Yeah. So what? I've been stuck in this dungeon since the day I was born, and I'll be here until I die. There isn't exactly any use for human currency down here.\"\n\n...Right. Meloai was a person like any other, but her experiences weren't the same as mine. Still, I had hopes of getting out of this damn dungeon some day, and doing so with a backpack full of loot sounded good. Or maybe just a small sock full of loot; presumably, gold was as heavy as any other metal, and even though I had a Redlander's stocky frame, I wouldn't be able to lug a whole backpack of the stuff around. \"Fair enough,\" I said.\n\nI winced as Meloai forcibly reset the spike trap with a squeal of metal—those arms of hers were terrifyingly strong when she wanted them to be. She beckoned me through a hole in the wall that looked... more recent than the rest of the dungeon, and I ducked inside. A sturdy door made of wood—real wood, not whatever bizarre material most of the dungeon's fake doors were made of—blocked my path.\n\n\"Alright. Home sweet home. Should be more than enough rations for two, at least for now,\" she said.\n\nI blinked. \"For two? Meloai, you don't eat.\"\n\nShe winked. \"I don't, but my sister does.\"\n\nAnd then she opened the door.\n\nThe cave was definitely artificial, made of solid bricks inlaid with currents of invisible power that somehow reminded me of a living soul. And yes, crates of gold bullion were stacked to the left, and yes, a massive marble statue of some naked woman that looked very expensive was on the right, and yes, there was a gloriously tall wall stocked to the brim with dried rations and clean water.\n\nBut what took me aback the most was the living, human girl in the center of the room. Not a mimic—I could see her soul—but another, biological human being. Incongruously, she was somehow garbed in opulent, sparkling-clean purple robes.\n\n\"What...\" I stared around the cave as Meloai grinned. \"What... is this place?\"\n\n\"Dunno!\" Meloai cheerfully chirped. \"But this is Tanryn, and this is my treasure room!\"\n\n\"My father's treasure room,\" Tanryn snapped. \"And my title is Lady Tanyrn, thank you very much.\"\n\n\"Oh, you.\" Meloai waved a hand at Tanryn, and she sighed, rubbing her forehead. Huh. Huh. I looked back and forth between the mimic who had learned to be human and the human who lived amongst mimics. I had wondered how Meloai had taught herself human behaviors; I guess it made sense that she'd simply had a living companion to talk to over all these years. \"Anyway, I hope you don't mind if I break out some of the rations? We've got a guest for the first time in... uh, two decades, so... feels like a reasonable occasion.\"\n\n\"My father appointed me here to safeguard the treasures of House Tanryn, and I will not allow some commoner to—\"\n\n\"Wait, did you say House Tanryn?\" I asked.\n\nLady Tanryn turned to me, one eyebrow upraised. \"I did indeed invoke our noble name. Presumably, you've heard of us?\"\n\n\"Yeah, you're the house whose head got executed for tax evasion twenty years back,\" I said. There was probably a more diplomatic way to phrase that, but I was starving and dying of thirst and this 'Lady' Tanryn was trying to prevent me from getting to her ceiling-high mountain of food. I was in no mood to be polite. \"No wonder they couldn't find his riches—he had them squirreled away in some damn dungeon.\"\n\nThe last living Tanryn spluttered with indignation. \"Why, you—how dare you slander House Tanryn with these lies! Meloai!\"\n\n\"Hm?\"\n\n\"Execute him!\"\n\n\"No, he's cool. Here, have a snack.\" Meloai walked past Tanryn; the lady tried to stop her, but pitting her muscles against the clockwork of the mimic was like shoving against an oncoming avalanche. Meloai handed me a water flask and a container of jerky, which I greedily tore into.\n\n\"Those are the treasures of House Tanryn! Put that back right now!\"\n\nI swallowed and said, \"Dude. House Tanryn's been dead for longer than I've been alive, and I've been wandering around down here for days without food or water. It is impossible to overstate how little I care about your demands right now.\"\n\n\"But—I—but—\" Tanryn's rage swelled up to a crescendo, and I prepared myself for the inevitable eruption.\n\nWhat I didn't expect was for her to deflate.\n\n\"He said he wouldn't leave me here,\" she finally whispered.\n\nMeloai winced, and to be honest, I wouldn't have cared less about what Tanryn's sob story was, but... Meloai clearly cared about the girl, for all her bluster and anger. So I swallowed my jerky and said, \"Well, he clearly did.\"\n\nLady Tanryn shot me a glare. \"Thank you, peasant. I can see that. I just... can't see... why.\"\n\nI tilted my head. \"Wait. Did he... did he not tell you?\"\n\nLady Tanryn frowned. \"Tell me what? You can't possibly expect me to believe that a commoner would be able to glean the inner workings of a noble's mind.\"\n\n\"I can in this case, because I took a history class on the damn thing. The Silent Crusade was twenty years back, and the tax on the nobles was... sending a firstborn child to war.\" From the expression on Lady Tanryn's face, I could tell that this was news to her. Great. I was no good at comforting people who were abrasive assholes, but as one of those abrasive assholes myself, I figured I'd give it a shot. I sat down next to her and said, \"Your father didn't send you here to get rid of you. He kept you here, with all his greatest treasures, to keep you safe.\"\n\nLady Tanryn closed her eyes.\n\nThen she opened them, expression set in stone.\n\n\"Then I gather that I am the last living heir to House Tanryn?\"\n\n\"That I know of,\" I cautiously said.\n\n\"Then as the lady of this house, I have done you a grave disservice in my hospitality.\" She stood aside from the shelf of food and water. \"Though I will preserve the treasures of House Tanryn, as I have been commanded to by my father, you are welcome to resupply yourself on your journey, adventurer.\"\n\nI gave her a surprised look, but didn't look the gift horse in the mouth, popping open a second water flask and slowly rehydrating my parched body. Tanryn and Meloai traded glances before breaking off into conversation, and I sat down, waiting for my body to recover from the stress of the past few days.\n\nThen I chuckled to myself, looking around the room. Tanryn and Meloai turned to me.\n\n\"What is it now, commoner?\" Tanryn asked.\n\nI snorted. \"Nothing. Nothing. Just...\" I gestured around the room, at the bullion and the statues, and how small they were in comparison to the massive, redundant tower of supplies, all to feed Tanryn in her long isolation. \"Seems like your father was true to tradition when designing his little hoard.\"\n\nTanryn raised an eyebrow. \"Oh?\"\n\n\"Yeah. The real treasure was the friends we made along the way.\"\n\nTanryn's exasperated sigh and Meloai's giggling laughter filled the room, and for the first time since I'd been sucked into this dungeon, I felt like I was almost at home.\n\nA.N.\n\nSoulmage will be episodically updated. Want to know what happens next? Check out [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/bubblewriters/comments/uxmwe4/soulmage_masterpost/) to be notified whenever a new part comes out, and check out r/bubblewriters for more stories by me." ]	4
[WP]After the collapse of humanity, all sorts of species comb through the ruins of earth, trying to learn from their culture. One day though, a human city mysteriously appears on planet earth, signaling the return of humanity.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Come explore the weird, eccentric, crazy worlds out there. Exotic nature, raining diamonds, dead civilizations and trampoline planets, we’ve got everything! Come on over to Markel and Spawn Travel Agency for the greatest adventure of your lifetime” – MarkelTM PR’s highly overrated ad that continues to torture netizens far and wide across the supercluster with its corporate flavour of peppiness. \n\nHowever, an unfortunate couple had fallen prey to this abomination and were on a honeymoon to ‘IArth, aeyarth, how the hell do I say this... Arth, at least that’s what the dead civilization called their planet’. \n\nHowever, that was the last thing they had to worry about, as they had touched a dusty screen somewhere in the ancient wreckage they had been exploring, and so a whole city had risen out from deep in the ground and surrounded them with countless walls.\n\nAfter a lot of panicking – \n\n‘Mor, let’s just turn on the jet packs and bail.’, Mar whispers in post-panic daze.\n\nThe urban forest of carbon fibre looms ominously, casting long shadows under the scarlet sun.\n\n‘Mar, let’s calm down… if I recall correctly, the Archives Agency fines for damages to historical sites, especially fresh ones, and jetburn will definitely do some damage to these flimsy walls. But don’t you feel excited, can’t you feel the spirit of adventure!? We are among millenia-old constructs…’, Mar murmurs.\n\n‘Mor, are you effing mad! I shouldn’t have married you in the first place. Who likes hiking in this day and age? Madmen, that’s who! You ugly moro…’\n\nMor had been ignoring the rant, staring off into the distance when a sudden rumbling disturbed them and a pod popped out of the dusty ground. A hissing of various vents heralded the opening of a door, and a creature appeared in the pod. Four limbs attached to a torso, each carrying five digits with long keratin structures from every one could not distract from the complex structure sprouting from the top of the torso, carrying various sensory organs and patches of long, black, thing, string-like keratin piles.\n\nThe peculiar black pupils starkly contrast the white eyeball as the human slowly wakes. Once fully awake, the two aliens cause an inadvertent scream. Mor and Mar scream back in surprise. The screams continue until the surprise subsides. Once calmed down, the human spouts out some gibberish. \n\nMor stumbles to get out his MarkelTM Transalator, and types out – ‘Text only’\n(That’s not due to the trademark Markel sloppiness, but due to the fact that historians didn’t have access to human pronunciation, as the species is presumed extinct.)\n\nThe human pulls out an interface, and types – ‘Aliens?’\n\n‘Yes’\n\nThe human pulls out a stick and cries in joy as the stick flashes green.\nTypes – ‘The detector says that the virus is dead. I can’t believe it. The day has finally come. Once we terraform this desolate landscape and make it habitable, we can return! Humanity will rise again. Please inform your leaders. The system has somehow failed to wake anyone but me. I’ll wake them up, then we’ll discuss terms.’\n\nMar finally snaps, the new weird alien is a bit too spooky. Slowly backing away, a tube gets in the way and it unplugs. The pod flashes red – ‘Life support offline.’ The human panics and slowly gags and falls softly back into the pod.\n\nMor says as Mar stares in surprise, ‘I’m only doing this because I love you. I won’t tell if you won’t. Let’s evacuate the scene. Nobody is probably going to come to this small city in the middle of nowhere. You owe me.’\n\nWordlessly, Mar’s jets fire up, followed by Mor’s. Two tourists fly out, cutting out an arc of smoke in the red sky. Two small black jetburn scars are left in the ground, the only evidence left behind." ]	2
[WP] You recently got into blacksmithing as a hobby. As you proudly finish assembling the first sword you ever made, you get a text from your local pastor. It's says "I don't know what you just did. But God is pissed at you for it"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Knock knock.\n\nIt's God.\n\nYou open the door. God is standing in the doorframe, huffing and puffing. He is noticeably upset.\n\n\"Are you okay?\" You ask.\n\nGod jabs his finger at you. \"You. Motherfucker. What did you just make?\"\n\nYou hold up your sword. It's made of plain iron and looks just like the iron sword from Skyrim. \"A sword. I'm pretty proud of it. Look!\"\n\n\"No,\" God says, still puffing as he catches his breath. Did he run here, or what? \"No,\" God says. \"DON'T look. Don't...\" He wheezes suddenly, bends over and starts coughing.\n\n\"You okay?\"\n\n\"Look, kid,\" God says, temporarily recovering from his fit. \"I may be a little out of shape. Never mind that. I came to tell you that you've gotta stop. That forging swords thing? Gotta cut it out. You gotta make guns if you want a weapon, or just something modern, anything modern.\"\n\n\"Why modern? Why not, say, neolithic?\"\n\n\"Do you even know what the fuck neolithic means, you dumb fuck? No, you've gotta stop making stuff from the past. Humankind just barely moved on from killing each other with swords! If you keep making 'em, what if they go back to it? And what if that makes them decide other things from the past are worth going back to? You're gonna regress humankind's evolution by a thousand years!\"\n\n\"Wait, evolution? Aren't you God? I thought religious people didn't believe in--\"\n\nGod puts his hand to his forehead, reeling. \"How many times do I have to tell you dumb fucks? I INVENTED evolution. It's the tool I used to craft your ugly ass over millennia. What, you really thought that God and science couldn't coexist? What if I just made up the rules? It's not like you would know. I swear, it's just like you guys to assume that God and the universe are mutually exclusive. Y'know what, keep making swords. Let humanity regress back to the caveman days or whatever. I don't give a shit.\"\n\nGod bends his knees and jumps with incredible force, launching away into the atmosphere.\n\nYou didn't realize it, but your son, Boba Fett, was watching the whole exchange.\n\n\"We won't be seeing him again,\" You, Jango Fett, say.", "“What do you mean?” I texted back. Odd how the pastor decided to hit me up of all people. I haven’t stepped inside the church in a few months. \n\nI got a notification from him once again. “You did something. I don’t know what you did, but you need to answer! NOW!”\n\nI sat down on a nearby stool I created a few months back. “If this is about me not attending, then I’m sorry. But three hours seems like much to praise someone.”\n\n“No!” He immediately texted back. “Look outside, Damien!”\n\nI took one step out of my garage and damn near dropped my phone. The sky was crimson red, and I could make out a pair of eyes glaring at me through the clouds. A flaming arrow from above stuck to the pavement not too far from me. \n\nI ran back inside and texted the pastor. “What the fuck is happening?!”\n\n“First off, language. Second off, I’m not too sure. Did you do anything that would be considered blasphemous?”\n\nBlasphemous, I thought. What could be considered blasphemous? As far as I know, I didn’t do anything for it to be considered such. Maybe that joke I told to a coworker the other day used God in vain, but I didn’t think he would care that much. \n\n“I don’t think so. I told a joke the other day, but I didn’t think he would care!” Another arrow broke throw the garbage, barely missing me. His aim was getting better.\n\n“Trust me, he doesn’t. Anything else? Did you make anything recently?” \n\nMy eyes widened in realization. The sword? No, it couldn’t be! The sword was from the video game “Hell Raiders,” and it was one of the best weapons in the game. It was a longsword with a black and orange hilt. The sharp blade had a ravishing design and the pommel was something of a cat's eye. \n\n“I made a sword…” I was hesitant to press the “send” button.\n\nWithout wasting any time, he responded. “Send a picture.”\n\nI did what he said and it wasn’t long before he responded in all caps, “WHY DID YOU CREATE ANGELO’S BLADE?!” \n\n“I didn’t do anything! That blade’s from a video game!”\n\n“THAT USES A DEVIL’S SWORD?!”\n\nThree more arrows shot down from the garage as I texted the pastor. “What do I do?!”\n\n“Get rid of it!”\n\n“How?!”\n\n“It doesn’t matter how! Get. Rid. Of. It.”\n\nMore arrows began to rain from the sky. I hated to get rid of my first sword — it took days of sweat and tears to make it. But I didn’t have much of a choice. After dodging the flaming arrows raining through the garage, I grabbed the sword and tossed it outside, praying that it was enough for this punishment to be over. \n\nA bright light shot from the sky and surrounded the sword. The sword levitated a few feet in the air and shattered like glass moments later. When the arrows stopped raining down, I took another peek outside. Nothing but blue sky. No clouds in sight. \n\nMy attention is shifted by the sound of a notification coming from my phone. It was another text from the pastor. \n\n“Clear skies. Good work, Damien. Now, don’t let it happen again.”\n\nI slumped against the wall of my garage and groaned. “I need a new hobby.”", "\"Are you sure this is a good idea?\" I asked.\n\nLike most Boomers, my boss Dave had more money than time or sense, but despite his age, he had the sense of humor of a twenty-year-old. Maybe that's why he latched on to me. Who else would spend a weekend watching re-runs of South Park with him while we chugged beer by the case?\n\nSome people might feel uncomfortable hanging out with their boss, but I'm just a janitor at Dave's hospital. Without Dave's friendship, the job wouldn't be worth staying at, so this is a win-win. If our friendship burns, I don't care if my job does too.\n\nBut Dave loved memes and social media. He browsed Twitter, Tumblr, 4chan, and Reddit in most his ample spare time, and other than that, he had no real hobbies.\n\nWhich is why, when I got into a new hobby, Dave got into it too. I think he lived vicariously through me, but since his wallet followed his interest, I didn't complain.\n\nPot-belled and bald-headed, Dave was the splitting image of a ten-year time skip George Costanza, with pale, greasy skin that matched the white Escalade he drove everywhere he went. And like Costanza, he never shut up.\n\n\"I saw it on Youtube. They forged a sword out of pig's blood. You know there's iron in the blood, right? You just have to smelt it, like iron ore, but you know, with blood.\"\n\n\"I get how it works, but... is this legal?\"\n\nLike all good hobbies, I got into blacksmithing because of a girl. Met at a local brewery, and she invited me to a Ren Fair the next town over. It was a hot, sweaty event, but she looked good in her fake period-accurate attire, so I rolled over for her and got into blacksmithing. She ghosted me three months in.\n\nGirls are temporary, but steel is eternal, or something like that.\n\nMy backyard forge, funded by Dave and three months of paychecks, consisted of an anvil, a trough of water connected to the hose, a mop bucket-sized smelter, and the forge itself. In a nearby shed, I had a dozen or so tools and some easy molds for forging cheap weapons. My original plan, after the girl left, was to make weapons to sell at Fairs or Cons, but Iron and Steel were expensive.\n\n\"Trust me,\" Dave said, \"It's perfectly legal. I asked my lawyer.\"\n\n\"Don't you have to dispose of these with a biohazard company?\"\n\nI looked into the cooler Dave brought by my place. He had three more in his truck, and he'd slammed all four full of out-of-date blood bags from the hospital.\n\n\"If you can make a sword out of pig's blood, why not human blood? I read online you'd need to kill three-hundred and fifty-nine people to get this much blood.\"\n\n\"Did you?\"\n\n\"Only if running a business counts as murder.\"\n\n\"Does it?\"\n\nAs usual, Dave ignored me.\n\n\"Come on, kid. Nobody will find out, and if they do, I'll take the heat from you.\"\n\n\"I don't know...\"\n\n\"What if I commission you for it? Eh? Like one of those artists on Twitter. Five-hundred dollars.\"\n\nMy eyebrows rose before I could stop them, and Dave definitely noticed. I stared into the cooler. Each plastic bag filled with nearly a pound of reddish-brown blood, thick as strawberry milk. I threw up a little in my mouth, but thankfully, it didn't smell, unless the antiseptic smell of the hospital counted.\n\n\"A thousand dollars.\"\n\n\"Dave...\"\n\n\"Two-thousand.\"\n\nI sighed, \"You really want me to do this that badly?\"\n\n\"Yeah! I mean, I really want to record it and put it on the Youtube, like that other guy, but I guess that might get us in trouble. Oh! You should record it anyway. I'll talk to my lawyer.\"\n\n\"That seems like a bad idea.\"\n\n\"You leave all the ideas to me, kid; you just work get hammering. World's first human blood sword. Bet nobody's ever tried this before.\"\n\nAnd that was that.\n\n\\\\\\*\n\nSmelting the blood was the worst part. I loved the smell of melting metal. It had a rich, earthy scent that tingled in my nose like lightning during a rainstorm, but that was melting metal or rocks. I hoped blood would smell like burnt meat, but... it smelt more like tossing an entire wet dog in the smelter, and the smell lingered in the backyard for hours after I finished.\n\nI can't believe the neighbors didn't complain.\n\nIt took me a week to get a single dingy iron ingot out of the coolers Dave brought, and in the meantime, my fridge, freezer, and meat freezer were packed full of blood bags. Course, it gave me an excuse to eat delivery food every night, on Dave's dime, so I wasn't complaining about that. Thankfully, I didn't have time to bring any girls home, or they'd have thought I was a serial killer.\n\nBag by bag, ingot by ingot, the sword formed. Since Dave didn't want anything else in it, it ended up being a pretty soft iron sword. I didn't go too hard on the decorations: just a simple longsword with a flat crossguard. I didn't even wrap the hilt in leather.\n\nBut eventually, Dave's Human Blood sword was complete. As I rushed to sharpen the sword, dark storm clouds rolled in from the north. Thank god. Maybe the rain would get rid of the smell. Otherwise, I'd have to get rid a new smelter...\n\nSomeone knocked on my door.\n\nI ignored it. Everyone I knew would text or call me before they visited, so it had to be a salesman or a Jehova's Witness.\n\nThe knocks grew louder. In the distance, thunder rumbled. I turned the grinding wheel on high to drown out both, and for a few blissful moments, it was just me and my human blood sword.\n\nThen lightning flashed, except the lightning was red, the color of blood. I stumbled backwards and dropped the sword in the grass. The grinder ground to a halt. Someone thumped on the backyard gate.\n\n\"Joel! Joel! Open up!\"\n\nI recognized the voice and the crown of silver hair peaking over the top of the gate: Father Michael, from Catholic Church down the street. I wasn't devout, nor did I got every Sunday, but when they held events, especially events with food, I always found time to stop by. \n\nHe didn't wait for me. The priest reached over the gate to pull the latch and forced his way inside. The man looked manic. Sweat streaked down his flushed face and stained his vestments. He looked like he'd run here all the way from the church. He stared past me at the storm clouds. Was it just my imagination, or did they turn even reader? \n\n\"Joel! You have to destroy it!\"\n\n\"Uh, hey, Padre. What do I have to destroy?\"\n\n\"The sword, Joel! You have to destroy the sword! If you don't, it will be—\"" ]	4
[WP] The last man on earth sat alone in his home, and then he heard a knock on his door.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I haven't seen anyone in weeks. The most I have found is the long dead corpse of some poor soul. It hasn't been all.bad though, there is plenty of game to hunt, and the animals make good companions.\n\nResting in an old shack, my dog by my side, there is a knock on the door. I am immediately alert, grabbing for the rifle by my side. \"Who's there?\" I call. No answer. Shouldering the gun, in walk toward the door. My dog relaxed behind me. He had been startled by the knock, but now showed no concern. My horse outside hadn't whinnied either. Opening the door, I see nothing. Just the empty grassland. \"Hello?\" I call again. The only response is my horse raising his head. \n\nWalking back inside the shed, I sit back down. A whiney from the horse snaps me from my thoughts. The knock sounds again. This time the dog is growling. I have lived in this land too long to ignore that. Rifle in hand, I kick down the old door. \n\nNothing.\n\nNo one.\n\nThe dog runs out, barking a fury. There is something out here. I can't see it. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. I walk over to my horse. Saddling him and throwing the rifle.into the sling, I mount up, and call for my dog. He comes, and he is still on edge. We head away from the shack, and up a nearby hill. Looking back, I still see nothing. Just the shack sitting in the field. \n\nWe walk on. I had never been one to believe in ghosts, but now, I am not so sure.", "Knock, knock.\n\nJohn looked at the wooden door. The only door in the cave that he had lived in for the last weeks. It wasn't pretty, but relatively safe.\n\nShould he get up and open the door? Or pretend no one is there? No. He will not give them that satisfaction. After a moment, John opened the door.\n\nOutside, a red face out of nightmares appeared and spoke: \"Hello, captain. I knew you would be here. Why don't we go inside and have some tea?\"\n\n\"Sorry, I used the last tea leaves a long time ago. Besides, I don't like your kind,\" John answered, looking straight at the demon.\n\n\"Come on, don't be like that. I have some, from the depths of the Red Hell.\" The demon waved his hand, holding up a glass box that contained blood-red tea leaves.\n\nWell, why not. It's not like he had a choice after all. He left the door open and went inside to heat up some water.\n\nSoon they were both sitting on rough wooden stools, sipping the tea. Unfortunately, there was no table, but a rock fulfilled that role quite well. John decided to break the silence: \"I didn't expect to see a high demon here. What's the occasion?\"\n\n\"Ha, I'm not your average demon, kid. But it is only right to meet with last of your kind in person. I still remember the many battles, the unending massacres, clear as day. You fought bravely, captain. I'm sure the queen would be proud of you if she was still alive. But she died alone, in the palace. I wonder where her royal guards were?\" The demon laughed for a moment.\n\n\"You know damn well where we were, and I'm sure your loyal dogs would know too, if they were not dead.\"John remembered the battle that took place on one of the bridges in the Capital, where a Dark Portal suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The royal guards rushed to help the struggling soldiers, but the battle wasn't looking good. For the next hours, an endless mass of demonic beasts poured out of the portal. The guards held well, but no one could get close enough to close the dimensional breach. That's when he lost consciousness by some unlucky hit. When he regained it a few hours later, he was lying under a pile of ash and everybody around was dead. Both humans and beasts. The portal was closed. Just under it was lying Ashton, both brother in arms and a friend. When he turned to look at the city, there was fire everywhere. They closed one portal. Only one. There was nothing left to do. For the next days he searched for a shelter and food.\n\nThe demon grimaced theatrically, then replied: \"Let's cut to the point. You're the last, captain. I'm here to take you. Lucifer.\" He extended his hand in greeting.\n\n\"... Fine, so be it. But I will not go alone. It should finish about now.\" John shook the demon's hand and grinned.\n\n\"Finish? Finish wha—\"\n\nThe explosion boomed; Holy fire filled the entire cave and vaporized both of them in an instant.", "Jaego heard the knock. He sat up immediately, drenched in a cold sweat. His heart pounded more then he’d ever felt. More then when the lights went out for the last time. More then when they took his everything. He hadn’t seen or heard of anyone or anything for nearly a year. Especially at his door. \nThe knock came, again. It was cold and slow. Three knocks. Boom. Boom. Boom.\n..silence. \n\nJaego slowly rolled to his right and reached for his trusted rusted revolver which lay next to him on the floor. Only 3 chambers had ammunition that worked. The other 3 were filled with older ammo that “might” work. “Where the hell is it” Jaego whispered to himself. He fumbled for “Reves”, the name for his last personal possession from before the end. “Fuck Reves, where the hell are you” he muttered as he slowly scanned the dark with his fingers and finally found her. \n\nBoom. Boom. Boom.\nThe knock came again. Same as before..cold and slow. He gripped Reves tightly, but slipping from the sweat on his hands . He wiped his hands on his weathered pants. “What the fuck is tha..” he said, but was cut off in his thought. \n\nBoom. Boom. Boom.\nHe sat tightly holding Reves. \nBoom.Boom.Boom.\nThis time the knock came sooner.\nBoom.Boom.Boom.Boom.\nNow more steadily and not letting up.\nBoom.Boom.Boom.Boom\nOver and over. Jaego sat gripping Reves. The knocking kept going, same pace..cold and slow. Not three times like before, but steady. Unrelenting. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. \nSilence.\n\nJaego sat in darkness for what seemed like hours. His eye twitching every now and then, waiting for the knock. Some time went by and he felt like he could begin to breathe again. He slowly lowered Reves and sat her down. He sat, slowly breathing..sweating. He slowly got to his feet and crept towards the front door. He was in a small bunker, within a wooded area. The door is sealed from the inside. No windows and no lights. He bends down and sits next to the door. He can here something..something breathing on the other side.", "\\[Stellar Patience\\]\n\nLeo sat perfectly still; he was afraid to make a sound. He held his breath and waited with his eyes closed. He hoped with his entire being that he wasn't just hearing things again. This wasn't the first time he thought he'd heard evidence of someone else. But, after an endless moment, the knock came a second time. it was more forceful. It was definitely deliberate. Leo dashed to the door and threw it open without bothering with the peephole.\r \n \r \n\"Oh my god....,\" He registered two teenage girls before a delicious scent struck his nose. His stomach growled and he hoped it meant he was alive.\r \n \r \n\"Did you order Chinese?\" the darker-skinned girl asked. She had a pair of afro puffs sitting atop her head and she held out a white plastic bag that was heavy with takeout.\r \n \r \n\"How....?\" Leo was too dumbstruck to even finish his question.\r \n \r \n\"How.. what?\" the second girl asked. She had short light brown hair that framed her tan face.\r \n \r \n\"Uh oh,\" the other girl said. \"You didn't order any food, did you?\" she asked. She relaxed her arm and lowered the heavy bag. \"Sorry to bother you,\" she added. Both girls turned to leave but Leo found his voice.\r \n \r \n\"WAIT!\" he screamed. \"Where did you come from? I've been the last man on Earth for almost a year....\"\r \n \r \n\"Oh!\" the teen holding the food said. \"Here,\" she stepped forward and offered him the bag. \"You're probably pretty hungry. I'm Britt and this is Dora,\" she introduced them. Leo wanted to take the food more than anything; but, he felt like it was happening too easily. Minutes ago he was the last man on Earth. Now, he had two teen girls offering him Chinese food for free.\r \n \r \n\"Where did you come from?\" Leo asked. He took a step backward. Britt sighed, then she turned to Dora.\r \n \r \n\"Here,\" she handed Dora a black card. \"Pick up another order and deliver it, this guy needs some extra time.\"\r \n \r \n\"Can do,\" Dora made a thumbs-up gesture, then threw the black card on the ground. It formed a human-sized black hole. Dora waved at Leo with a smile, then hopped in the hole. It closed behind her leaving Britt behind with Leo.\r \n \r \n\"We came from a different Earth,\" Britt said. She lifted the bag of food to illustrate. \"...to deliver food. Sometimes we land on the wrong Earth; but, it looks like you need help,\" she said.\r \n \r \n\"A .. different... Earth?\" Leo asked. He thought he would never see another person again. \"Can... can you take me?\" he asked. \"I don't want to be alone anymore....,\"\r \n \r \n\"Of course,\" Britt smiled. She stepped forward and offered him the bag of food again. He was probably starving and she did not want him to feel rushed to eat or pack up his belongings. \"That's why I stayed behind.\"\r \n\n\n\\\\\\*\r \nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1604 in a row. (Story #158 in year five.). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place at a high school in my universe. It began on June. 6th and I will be adding to it with prompts every day until August 19th. They are all collected in order at [this link](https://www.reddit.com/r/Hugoverse/comments/v6bapz/aurelios_sun_1st_half/)." ]	5
[WP] You were very excited to your first job as a babysitter, but why this house's so weird? All the windows are boarded, there are no mirrors and... Wait. Why the children have fangs and red eyes?	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " First day at the job. People always say I'm good with children and I decided to give it a try... How the hell should I know everything would go bizzare.\n\n I am just a math student. University is really hard, but being broke as fuck is harder than that. Well, my parents warned me about keeping my money, but I didn't give a damn. I just spent all of my money to my 350z, which I'm proud of. Before I get the job, 350z and full tank was all I had... Didn't even have money to eat. I spent my last money on the candies I bought for the kids.\n\n They've found me from online, and sent me an adress. I could use the bus to go there, but instead I drove to the adress, I thought it would be good first impression on the kids, since most of them likes that kind of stuff. Imagine being a kid and your babysitter arrives with a tuned car... Just like living a dream as a kid.\n\n While driving, I felt some awkwardness in the area, but I didn't care. I was more focused on the road and the beautiful sound of the engine. When I arrived, I kinda spooked out. House was black, windows were boarded, bats were flying around the place... Like the house just came out from a horror movie. But I always laugh at the horror films, they're not scary, they're hilarious. That's just the family's style I said to myself. I parked my car, by the time the parents were waiting for me. Where the hell are they suddenly came from ??\n\n \"Well we weren't expect you to come with a car\" the Mother said. \"Dinner is on the fridge dear. Whenever they're hungry you could make it for them\" she continued. \"That's a sick ride you got. Reminding me my younger self\" the father said. \"Thanks, mr ans ms Lawrence.\" I replied. \"We just want you to keep our little kids company until our daughter arrives. She'll be here in two, maybe three hours. We trust you with this, and we're already late. Bye for now\" they said and left in a rush.\n\n Wait, am I get paid 250 just for 3 hours ?? Wow... Good money for three hours. \n\n I went in. Everything was looking normal, instead of missing mirrors. But that's just their style of decoration, who the fuck am I to judge. \"Hey little ones, your babysitter has arrived\" I shouted. A little girl showed up first, looking too shy. I convinced her to come closer to me, and gave her the candy. While she enjoys with the candy and the headpats I gave her, I've heard some gunshots and radio chatter. From a video game that I know and play pretty well. \n\n I lifted her up and started to walk to the room, where the sounds were coming from. She was enjoying that sky high ride well, since I'm 6'3 tall... Slowly I knocked on the door and went in.\n\n \"You're winning little one ?\" I asked. \"No, they're kicking my ass\" she replied. \"I'm really pissed, so leave if you don't want to die\" she continued while looking at me. That moment I've realized her crimson red eyes. She was about 14, and she was like an e-girl, so I thought that color was some good quality eye contacts. \n\n I calmed her down by sharing some of my tactics and playstyle with her. She started winning, then she was happy. \"Thanks mr....\" She said. \"Just Matt is enough\" I replied. \"Okay then, call me Lisa\" she said. \"Well then Lisa, I'll leave you be and take care of this little one in my arms. If you need anything just shout my name to the sky, and I'll appear right here\" I continued. She giggled and said okay. I saw her fangs while she was smiling at me.\n\n Strange... E-girls likes to wear some fangs these days... I thought only cosplayers would wear fangs. \n\n Suddenly I realized that 6 years old also has red eyes too. Inspected her closely, and saw that she also have fangs too ! She was trying to pierce through the candy with her fangs. \n\n Red eyes... Fangs... Boarded windows... No mirrors... Well... Fuck...\n\n At least I'm pretty good at calming myself. I pretended like it was nothing, and continued to play with the little kid. Some time later, Lisa came down, took a jar from the fridge. \n\n \"Hey Lisa ! What are you up to ?\" I asked. She said she's hungry and she's gonna make some food. I took the responsibilty and made that food myself. Luckily Ms. Lawrence put some instructions on the fridge, which became really useful. \n\n While making it, I was like; what kind of a liquid is that ? For a moment I forgot I was in a vampire nest, and that liquid is nothing but blood... Actually it wasn't a hard work. Put some blood on a glass, keep it in the microwawe for 3 minutes and it's ready... Bloody hell... I can't believe I've learned how to serve blood...\n\n She slowly took a sip, then savored the taste. \"That one is really good. Warm blood is the best blood don't you agree ?\" she asked. \"Got no idea about that\" I replied. \"Actually, big sister always telling me that blood tastes better when it's straight from the source, but I haven't tried yet.\" She commented. \"My parents told me that I'm allowed to do that when I reach 18\" she continued. \n\n A sigh of relief came out of my lungs... But it lived short. Because her big sister will come here... \n\n \"I really want to bite a human some day... I don't wish to harm anyone, but really want to try it\" she said. \"Don't try it on me, I'll give you indigestion\" I replied. \n\n We had conversation about that for a long time, which was pretty awkward to me. Then about my car, which she adored a lot. She already made a plan. She said when she's 18, I'll be the first human that she bites. And that's gonna happen in my car, while I'm driving fast. Childish dreams... That's not gonna happen of course. But I didn't crush her dreams by telling that's not gonna happen. I just said I'll be waiting for it. \n\n Some time after, door has knocked. Both of the kids ran to the door while shouting big sister came. When I opened the door, well.. That was the biggest shock of my life... She was none other than Eula, my close friend from university since three years. Standing in front of me, looking at me with her shocked crimson eyes... But I barely recognised her, she looked really tired.\n\n \"Matt ? What are you doing here ?\" She asked. \"You look like a roadkill Eula, what happened to you ? I asked back. She came in, her legs couldn't carry her weight anymore. I catched her, carried her to the couch. Kids were also shocked and worried about her, but she made them leave. \n\n \"Well, since you're here, you've probably learned my secret\" she said. \"I did.\" I replied. \"So you're gonna end our friendship here I guess\" she said. \"No way\" I replied, gave her a hug. \n\n I promised her that I won't leave her side, and also keep her secret to the grave. She asked did the kids behave. They were no problem after all, everything was smooth. She told me that she's too tired because she didn't drink blood. \n\n Do you know what I did ? I offered my blood. And she liked every second of it... Then she kissed me in the lips... Wait what does that mean ??\n\n Friends to Lovers... Never believed that would happen, until it happened to me... My university friend... Best friend... Confessed to me without saying a word... And I approved her move, without saying a word...\n\n Sounds like everything got perfectly smooth, right ? Yes... It would be, if we didn't caught by her parents; while we were making out...", "When I first drove into the Anderson's neighborhood I noticed things were a bit... rugged. But they seemed wonderful on the phone and promised to compensate me for the long drive and overnight visit. They told me they were a young couple, and had recently moved into an old rental to save money while they worked through school. I began to rerun this and other examples of their normalcy through my mind. Still, standing at their porch I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled into the pit of my stomach. I rang them, unsure of whether they had any pets at home not wanting to disturb them. The doorbell was also very very dusty and I didn't want to touch it. Their line rang a few times before they picked up. \"Kyle? Was that your car outside? You parked didn't park in front of the garage did you? That sounded awfully close.\" I heard an absolute ruckus in the background but the house sounded silent from outside. \"Yes Mrs. Anderson, I parked on the street like you asked, I am actually outside. I wasn't sure if--\" \"Excellent!\" Mrs. Anderson quickly interrupted before hanging up and ending the call. Before I could make any sense of the urgency in Mrs. Anderson's voice, the front door opened and the ruckus heard before was suddenly audible. Mrs. Anderson pulled me in, shutting the door behind me in a quick motion before I could react to the scene in front of me. \"Okay Kyle look, I know we didn't discuss this...\"\n\nAbsolutely bizarre.\n\n\"It's just so hard to find someone who will come to our neighborhood...\"\n\nTwo children with blood red eyes.\n\n\"Of course we can pay you very well, and we will have our phones with us if you need anything...\"\n\nAlbino skin.\n\n\"We've also left detailed instructions. They aren't violent towards guests but they do rough house...\"\n\nAnd pronounced fangs that dwarfed their chubby little fingers.\n\n\"Kyle? You aren't saying anything. How does one thousand dollars sound? Just as a first time introductory bonus. So you can see how harmless they are!\"\n\nThey were rolling around the living room carpet clawing at each other and pulling at each other's shirts. But one thousand dollars is one thousand dollars.\n\n\"What time will you be back in the morning?\" A look of relief swept Mrs. Anderson's face as a dazed Mr. Anderson entered the living room from what appeared to be a hideaway bathroom. \"eight am sharp, I overheard my wife's introduction this should put you at ease. You shouldn't even need to make them breakfast. And dinner has already been served.\" I pondered that last detail glancing at the microwave clock in the kitchen across the living room. Ten pm, the drive over here must have been much longer than I noticed. \"That's perfectly acceptable, and the compensation is very much appreciated. Would it be possible to collect that up front?\" Mr. Anderson laughed, \"How about this, here's five hundred dollars. You'll get the rest at eight am tomorrow alright?\" I swiped the half a band from Mr. Anderson's hand and quickly shoved it into my pocket. \"Deal, I'll see you two in the morning!\" The two smiled wider than I was comfortable with, so wide in fact their faces seemed to momentarily deform into a shape inhuman. But the expression was brief, and once again the couple made haste and were out of their house and on the other side of a now closed front door. I ran my fingers over the loosely folded bills in my pocket. They were real, there were five of them. The feeling was quickly soured though, as I looked around me. The living room was silent now, and the children were nowhere to be seen. As I looked around, I noticed the windows were boarded up, and a loud click quickly grabbed my attention. The front door had apparently had an electronic lock only visible from the inside.\"We've been waiting for you all day Kyle.\" A sick feeling overcame me as I looked away from the front door back to the center of the living room. The two children had returned, but their albino skin had been mutilated and burned, some patches missing so much skin the ruined muscle tissue was visible. I vomited on the floor, and quickly ran towards the bathroom only to trip in front of the door. I looked behind me, and the two children hadn't moved. I bolted into the bathroom, locking the door and frantically dialing the Andersons. Straight to a generic voicemail. \"Shit, Shit!\" I yelled as the door slammed behind me and the hinges visibly shook from the wall. A harmonious set of maniacal laughter filled the bathroom. I dove into the bath tub, if was the last thing I could thing to do as the door finally flew asunder, crashing into the porcelain tub and shattering it to pieces. I had no time to react to the pieces of razor sharp porcelain now lodged in my abdomen, there was now a monstrous mass of raw flesh with two child-like faces sunken into its core. \"Was it worth the money Kyle?\" \"... no\" A thousand triangular teeth encircled my vision as my dermis was shredded and I was eaten alive.\n\n------------------\n\nThis is my first submission. I'd love feedback of any kind if anyone happens to see C:\n\nEDIT: I think I have a hard time with tense. The ending felt rocky, and I'm sorry if it seemed rushed. I wanted to get to bed by 11pm my time! :)" ]	3
[WP] Every person now comes with a “non-toxic” or “toxic” label which has made dating much easier, more enjoyable and drama-free.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Okay, so it started when my friend got the toxic label, and she was like 'ugh' you know? Anyway, we went to get burritos to cheer ourselves up, but the guy we had a threesome with was there again and his girlfriend was there screaming at him. And you know me, right? I'm just not gonna let that happen to a good lay. So I went up to that bitch and told her to lay off him. She got mad for some reason after I told her about that cute little beauty mark on his ass, and she started pulling my hair. So Marcie (she's the one who had that horrible fight with her dad during college graduation where they ended up in the fountain and knocking over the statue of Kyle whatever) so she jumps in because we're friends and no one messes with either of us. (Except don't tell her I said this but she told me in confidence that she once tried to set a bitch on fire, like what a psycho.) She starts tearing out this woman's hair and the guy behind the cash register is going to call the cops, so I tackle him. The cute guy runs out of there, I don't remember because I was trying to help the cash register guy up and slipping on the grease we ended up kissing. And baby, he did not use enough tongue. But after that he said 'hey', but in that way guys do when the think they're being slick and sexy, so 1950s machismo, but in like a dorky way. Anyway, we start grinding when Marcie and that other girl start wrestling over the counter. I try to run out, with the cute cash register guy chasing me, because even my pre-game gets them addicted. So I see some food and I'm still sad hungry, so I grab a fistful but knock over some stuff and the cash register guy starts freaking out because now things are on fire, and he's so concerned about that even though I can't open my burrito, like why would they wrap it with no ends? So I take a big bite through the foil and there's MEAT in there. And you KNOW, I've been a hardcore pescatarian since May started. So I threw that devil's temptation back into the fryer and it exploded. So now everything's on fire, the register guy's crying and he doesn't want to make out or grind anymore, and Marcie and that girl are still having a full on death brawl and I am not going to get involved in drama. You know me, I will support my girls, but from somewhere else. I know Marcie would do the same. So I hightail it out of there with a few more armfuls of food, because even though I'm a pescatarian on Thursdays, I remembered that Fridays are my meat days, and that burrito tasted so gooooood!\"\n\nMy date just stared at me, and I was pretty sure the other table was too.\n\n\"So... that's why you want a burrito?\"\n\n\"Yeah.\" I said. God, these non-toxic guys were so DUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLL. \n\n\"If you wanted a burrito, why'd you want me to take you here?\" He gestured towards the white linen tablecloth, the chandeliers, the string quartet playing live music.\n\n\"Oh, so that started with...\"", "After seeing this, I was wondering if I can get both labels to see how well it goes. When I tried getting it, it was actually possible to have both labels.\n\nHowever, when I tried to date someone, something isn't right. On the server side, the server is trying to identify my label, and it wouldn't process for some reason. I was just stalling around and then something happened... \n\nThe server crashed, and it causes everyone to have a mental breakdown on who they are, and it made the whole world crap itself. Some... Crapped themselves to death, and still others, ruined perfectly good pair of pants. Some of them went lucky during the server crash, where they stay on the toilet and let it out easily.\n\nThe next day, I was arrested for causing this...", "\"And in further news, riots in multiple cities by 'toxics' continue, seemingly escalating from demonstrations protesting discrimination in the workplace, education, and justice system towards the 'maliciously labeled'. These demonstrations seem to have escalated when police, noting the Labels of all involved, naturally suspected foul play and attempted to disperse the crowds. The protestors claim that since the introduction of The Label, individuals labeled 'toxic' are shunned by their community, have difficulty finding work, and in many cases are pushed further into 'toxic' and isolationist behavior by this social exile. Experts in D.C reiterate that The Label is for the benefit of society, and that the 'so-called mislabeled' are to desist and trust the government to do the right thing.\"", "\"Figures\", I snorted. \n\nI was sitting in bed, wrapped in a fluffy blanket while wearing my favourite pair of pyjamas. Last week the international psych evaluation for toxicity identification had become a mandatory requirement for anyone who wanted to take part in any form of social media, dating site or app. Today was the day, the official labels were displayed online.\n\nWhile I, like many others, was sceptical about the drastuc changes this would bring into society, I now began to see the perks. And so I had taken this evening off for myself to stalk the web for my ex partners' profiles.\n\n\"Mika had always been a controling and overly jealous bitch\", I mumbled, stuffing my face with microwave popcorn. The fact that the word TOXIC was spelled out next to her profile picture in big, bold, red letters didn't come as a surprise. We had only dated for a few weeks in middle school, but even this brief entanglement had cost me half of my friend group. She could have used her time until then to improve herself. The label she recieved told me, she hadn't.\n\nNext up was Jake. He was the type to give backhanded compliments to lower my self esteem. And if it wasn't bad enough that he thought, insulting someone would keep them by his side, his scheme had worked on me. At least until he left me for someone else. And instead of heartbreak I only felt like a weight had dropped off my heart. In hindsight, he was a jerk. Jake the super-jerk.\n\nTrue to my assessment of his character, there was a TOXIC label displayed on his profile as well. Interestingly enough, he had marked himself as 'in a relationship with' some chick I didn't know. Who was also deemed toxic through the evaluation program.\n\nIn that manner I klicked and scrolled through all my previous relationships, reminiscing about all my bad descisions. I was a hopeless romantic, never tired of trying to find love. So the list of exes was long enough to entertain me for quite some time. \n\nIt was kind of validating to see all the red TOXIC labels pop up. At least it wasn't my fault that all my relationships had gone to shits. But damn, I must have the worst taste in romantic partners in the whole world. \n\nMy fingers hit the bottom of my popcorn bowl. I looked down at the few burnt, unpopped kernels and sighed. One quick glance at the clock told me, that I had been wasting my time by stalking horrible peoples profiles on the internet for far too long now. With a yawn, I streched my arms until my joints gave out a satisfying pop. I sighed again, about to close my laptop an look for some real food in the kitchen - it was getting late, after all - when the realization hit me.\n\nI had looked at every persons label imaginable. Just not at my own. With furrowed brows I settled back into my impeovised blanket nest and klicked at my own profile.\n\n\"Oh.\" My eyes grew wide. Surprisingly, the first shock subsided quickly and turned into something like amusement.\n\n\"I guess it's true, what they say about birds of a feather...\"", "We met on OKcupid. I used it because the messages were free. It gave me a bit of hesitation, but I decided that the new labels were worth overlooking. I mean, I'd been in toxic relationships before, and I've been the toxic relationship before, it wouldn't be anything new. \n\nI messaged him first. He later admitted that he thought I was a spam bot. Explains why he originally told me he was 5'3\" (he's 5'9\") and that he had three kids (he didn't have kids) lol. I finally seduced him with my bird knowledge and he warmed up to me significantly. \n\nWe spent days talking, leading up to that first date. And then we met at the Doghouse, a karaoke bar that I'd discovered while I was trucking for dinner and we had a blast. We went bowling for hours, then a movie at midnight. I didn't want the night to end, it was beautiful. \n\nWe discovered our toxicities together. Me, undiagnosed (at the time) adhd and depression, explosive in my emotions and having trouble with work, school, and keeping the house clean. Him, almost no emotions and not sure what to do to help me with my breakdowns other than to distract me from them. I later broached the subject that he might be psychopathic. It fit; he had very little regard for anyone outside his personal circle, and even then he always seemed on the outside. \n\nIt's been five years. We have a house together. Many cats and dogs and even a rat. He picks up my scripts from the pharmacy because I forget. He doesn't get overwhelmed when I have explosive episodes. He doesn't pull over to let me check on the person broke down on side of the road, but he drops a can of gas off for a stranger in the walmart parking lot, buys food for the homeless man on the corner, invites the woman broke down in our driveway in out of the rain. \n\nI gasp \"Christopher!\" when he makes an inappropriate remark at someone's expense in public but then dissolve into giggles because it was actually hilarious. I remark that his shoes are getting worn out (holes in the soles, pulling apart at the seams) and leave a new pair where he can grab them when he's ready for them. I refill his water cup (a Yeti in his favorite color that was a Christmas present from my parents) when he's too busy on work calls. He's been with me through two weddings and my dad's funeral. Getting married got him a raise at work, lower insurance rates, and his student loans not only got canceled, but paid back to him.\n\nToxic? Oh yeah, we're very toxic. And yet, I wouldn't trade anything for it. I wouldn't ever go for a nontoxic, normal partner. They've never understood me. They've never understood him. We're toxic, but we're absolutely perfect.\n\nBased on the true story of how I met my husband 🥰", "I was elated when I found out about the introduction of the labels, finally, no more failed relationships, no more crying at three o'clock in the morning because of what my boyfriend or girlfriend had said to me. It was how I was gonna find my soulmate. All it took was a quick and easy three hour psych eval. I was so happy, right up until the moment that I found out I had gotten the skull and crossbones. Of course it's easy to change your label, you just need to pay €1000 to the organization for psychiatric help and self-improvement and you are then allowed to take the test! It's so easy and implausible for me. \n\nI had never thought I was good enough for a relationship, deserving of love, it's nice to finally have it in writing. I'll admit, looking back at it, I have caused problems in my past relationships, but it goes both ways, am I not like this because of my past relationships? But no, the problems have always been there, it just took time for them to show. \n\nAt the moment I'm in a relationship with another toxic, it can be rough but we love each other, although now that we both know we're toxic it feels like we have no reason to try anymore, we both know we have short comings but it doesn't change that we love each other.\n\nI nearly cheated on him the other day, hot girl, at a bar, relationship probably wouldn't last anyways. Then she saw my label." ]	7
[WP] The trial of a local superhero vs their rival supervillain. The villain has the stand, is recounting the events, and trying really hard to make themselves sound like the victim in all this.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"There I was flying my blimp over the city when hero man jumped through the windshield and crashed my blimp into the Harbor!\" Dr. Devastation recalled.\n\"Are you referring to the Blimp Gas Attack Hero man thwarted a year ago?\" The District Attorney questioned. \"Objection your honor heresy, there's no evidence my client had anything to do with the poison gas found next to the blimp wreckage!\" The Defense Attorney called out. \"Overruled the Poison Gas receipts were found on the Defendents person.\" The Judge ruled. \"Dr. Do you recall the events at the abandoned detonator factory?\" The Prosecutor asked. \"Hero-lad assaulted me and I was forced to defend myself.\" He replied. \"According to the autopsy he was beaten to death with a stick of rusty rebar.\" The Prosecutor fired back. \"Only thing within reach at the time unfortunately.\" He replied. \"What do you remember about the stabbing of Hero-Girl?\" The Prosecutor Questioned. \"She busted in and attacked myself and my security that incident was self defense!\" The Defendant replied. \"She was stabbed 13 times and is now paralyzed from the waist down!\" The Prosecutor Questioned. \"I stabbed until the threat stopped moving!\" Dr. Devastation replied. \"I would like to remind the Defense that my plea deal is still on the table!\" The District Attorney said before getting a sip from his glass of water. \"We'll take it!\" The Defense Attorney replied regretting ever allowing Dr. Devastation to testify." ]	2
[WP] ‘Learn to be silent. Let your quiet mind listen and absorb.’	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\\[POEM\\] Be silent.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nLearn to be Silent,\n\nLet your quiet mind listen and absorb.\n\nThe thousands of sounds, of sight, and of all signs.\n\nThe gentle breeze, the thunderous glee, the chilling freeze.\n\nBrushes against your fragile flesh, setting your mind free.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nLearn to be Silent,\n\nTalk not, of verbal or thought, just absorb.\n\nThe stories of people, of the world, and of all lives.\n\nOne does not need to talk to be understood \n\nBecause actions, those, speak much louder than words.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nLearn to be Silent,\n\nLet the currents carry you off, to the distance.\n\nYou'll be surprised by how much effortless it would\n\nAnd how far it would take you into the woods.\n\nRemember this, be silent.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nLearn to be Silent,\n\nBut not of mute and inaction.\n\nYou will know what's best to speak, in times of need.\n\nInstead of just speak and speak nonsense\n\nAnd were exhausted when it's time for some actions.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nLearn to be Silent..." ]	2
[WP] The King finally caught you, the most notorious thief in the realm. As the executioner sharpen his blade, the princess grants you one last wish.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Theodore Blade, better known as 'The Nightwalker', is here today to face the death sentence. What is your final wish sir?\" Asked the royal speaker, a tall, spindley Elf while addressing the crowd.\n\n\n\"I... I wish for my family to be taken care of. I want them fed, housed, I want all there needs fulfilled. That's why I did all this you know. I don't like stealing from people, I don't like hurting people... I was just trying to provide for my family\" spoke Theodore, handcuffed and on his knees.\n\n\n\"Nightwalker... what a silly title. Do you think I did this because I wanted that name to be known? I was just using the skills I had to keep my family safe... and if I die for that then so be it\" As he finished his speech, a large, brutish ogre, the executioner, raised his blade.\n\n\n\"Any last words?\"\n\n\n\n\"Tell my daughter I love her\"\n\n\nAs the executioner prepared to swing, a chant erupted from the crowd.\n\n\n\"Mercy! Mercy!\"\n\n\nThe royal speaker sighed in disappointment as the executioner lowered his blade, signaling the crowd to silence.\n\n\n\"Is this what you want? Do you want this liar, this thief, this MURDERER to roam free!? Than raise your hand\"\n\n\nNearly every person standing in the crowd raised their hands.\n\n\nThe royal speaker looked to the king, sitting on his throne.\n\n\n\"So be it\"\n\n\nThe royal speaker grabbed Theodore, escorting him to the king.\n\n\n\"Are you sure you want this man free on the streets? He's a danger!\"\n\n\n\"He's more than a danger, he's an asset\" responded the king, changing his focus to Theodore.\n\n\n\"Despite you being spared, your wish can still be granted. A king could always use someone with your skill set. Join me as an assassin, under my employment and you and your family will be taken care of\"\n\n\n\n\"Come on! He's proven that he can't be trusted!\"\n\n\n\"Perhaps... but imagine having the Nightwalker working on our side\"\n\n\nTheodore looked up, determination in his eyes.\n\n\n\"I'll do it\"\n\n\nEND\n\n\nHello! I hope you enjoyed this little story, I know it's not the best but I want to improve my writing skills so I've decided to respond to atleast one writing prompt every week. If you have any advice or criticism I'd love to hear it. Also, I'm currently writing on mobile, so apologies for any formatting issues.\n\nYou can read more stuff I wrote [here](https://www.reddit.com/user/Infamous_227/comments/u8zti6/things_ive_wrote/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)", "My dear princess, I only performed these deeds to gain your attention, just for one moment such as this. To me, you are my wish. You are the happy reflection of the brilliant sun. Not the two of my stars can outshine the crevice moon waxing in your darkest night. Your cheeks are round and rudy red. If I simply had hand in glove to caress the cherry of your dimple, my life would cometh forth in an ecstatic joy. You are a winged messenger from the holiest of holy. My upturned gaze can only graze against the gates of your heavenly abode. I love you my princess, my only wish is to drink from the wet stream flowing in the golden valley of your mountain deep. Pray tell me, what is your wish, your pleasure.\n\nAnd the princess said, \"Okay. You looked at me.\n Now chop off his heads\"", "(1 of 2)\n\nIt is a rare thing for one of noble birth to be truly noble in character. Many can pretend, making a show of it to the crowd from time to time, but behind chamber doors, away from prying eyes where there is nothing to gain from such an act, most people are generally the same - boorish, selfish, spiteful little prigs. Sidrick would know, having once been nominally noble himself. But fate, an angry mob spurned on by his noble cousins, and a raging fire had put an end to his aspirations to gilded ignobility at a fairly young age, and he'd spent the better part of his life among rogues and ruffians, learning their various trades and, when the branching vine of his varied and sultry experiences and knowledge of the inner workings of the aristocracy at last bore fruit, he became something of an infamous thief. And in his travels he had met many people from many walks of life. And so he felt confident in thinking that it might be said, in fact, that it is truly rare for anyone of any status upon their birth to be truly noble of character, though you will find such in the most unexpected of places.\n\nAll that to say that Princess Olivia was one of those rare people, noble in character, truly.\n\nAnd so, Sidrick was not particularly surprised that she offered him this boon. A last wish, before the axe should fall upon his bare neck. He wondered how such a person had been produced under the watchful tutelage of her father, King Gregurich II, long may he rot unmourned, unburied, and feasted upon by crows. But even still, there was another present who better deserved Sidrick's hatred, a man in dark satin vestments who stood always at his kings right hand.\n\nThe king was surprised, however, and turned a rather pleasing shade of red as he bellowed, \"What!?\" making his courtiers gathered below his balcony jump, and even causing a single brow of his closest confidant, Theodoric, Duke of Hallow, arch for but a moment. And it was the duke who Sidrick watched through the hanging strands of his hair as his head bent down, but not so far that he could not see the face of this snake.\n\nThe princess, meanwhile, so unperturbed by her father's outburst that not a single jet black curl fell out of place, calmly, demurely, but unflinchingly turned to the king, her father, and said, \"My king, it is tradition, that the people know their lord does not despise them, and that they may know his mercy as well as his wroth.\"\n\nThe redness in King Gregurich's face subsided slightly, though a dark and brooding countenance did come to replace it as he answered his most beloved daughter, now with a gentler, lecturing tone which almost succeeded in masking his anger as he said, \"Wisest of my daughters, beloved of the people, indeed you are correct, and yet, given the nature of his crimes, that a lowborn thief should dare intrude upon-\"\n\n\"I accept!\" Sidrick shouted, still on his knees and at the mercy of his captor's spear points.\n\n\"You dare interrupt!-\" began the king with fresh redness and renewed hatred, but once more Sidrick did indeed dare.\n\n\"Lady Olivia, in accordance with the sacred customs of the realm, I do humbly accept the boon you offer, and would name my dying wish as last of my bloodline!\"\n\nThe words were carefully chosen. They gave pause to the princess, as she turned toward the killing field. They made the king sit taller and more imperiously in his seat as his eyes narrowed upon Sidrick.\n\nOut of all the baubles, relics, coin, and jewels Sidrick had taken from his noble brethren, none of them compared to the scrolls, letters, and dusty tomes he had unearthed, that he had poured over until his eyes were red and shot and his skull seemed full to bursting. He knew the customs, and he knew more - much more!\n\n\"You are noble, sir?\" the princess asked without judgement, but with an air of, not quite incredulity, but reservation, as if to show that she entertained this notion but would brook no deception.\n\nFor the first time, Sidrick raised his head to meet the eyes of those upon the royal balcony which overlooked the courtyard in which his head was to be divorced from his body. He met the eyes of the princess, emerald rings ensconced within a face so perfect it defied imagination, even as you looked upon it, and he held her attention firm.\n\n\"Once upon a time,\" he answered with rakish smile tinged with a sadness he did not need to force.\n\n\"How far you have fallen, then, to arrive at such an ignoble end,\" declared the king, glaring down upon his victim.\n\n\"I have indeed, my king!\" the thief replied, \"I have fallen far and traveled wide since the sacking of my ancestral home these fifteen years past!\" and at this the king turned briefly, but sharply to his advisor, the duke, whose jaw strained and clenched and who now glared down at Sidrick as he spoke on, \"But as your daughter, princess of the realm, has offered, I am bound by honor to accept this gracious boon ere my ignoble journey ends.\"\n\n\"Can you prove this claim?\" the king demanded, turning away from his glowering, silent advisor.\n\n\"I can, and I shall, my king!\" came Sidrick's bold reply, though calling that fat slug his king did leave an acrid taste upon his tongue. \"Lady Olivia, gracious princess, wisest of your sisters, will you send for your seal and signet?\"\n\n\"Is this your final request, sir?\" the princess asked in turn.\n\nTo which Sidrick bowed his head most nobly, and said, \"It is, my lady, but I ask that the box in which they are kept be brought unopened and still locked by only your most trusted lady in waiting, and that only you should open it once it arrives.\"\n\n\"So be it,\" she agreed with solemn dignity. She motioned for one of her ladies, a girl of similar age with an honest face, who bowed and left the balcony.\n\nThe king leaned to one side, drumming his fingers upon the padded armrest of his chair. He was not amused, but Sidrick could see he was intrigued. The kings eyes weighed heavily on this man he knew only to be a thief and a plague upon his court and kingdom before this day, and upon him they remained in the long minutes which passed before the princess' lady returned with ornate wooden box held carefully in both hands.\n\nThe princess took hold of it, and upon a necklace hidden beneath the many layers of her dress she drew out a key.\n\n\"As you have asked,\" she said, \"the lock has remained unopened until now.\" And so she turned the key and opened the box still held in her lady's hands, and as the lid lifted the princess drew back in surprise, her gasp intensifying the suspense of all those who looked on.\n\n\"What is it, daughter?\" asked the king, trying to peak around the princess without doing himself the indignity of rising from his royal seat.\n\nPrincess Olivia drew from the box, not her seal or her signet ring, but a jewel - as blue as the sea on a cloudless day, inlaid with gold which formed the ancient sigil of the Kings of Drune - and she held it aloft for all to see.\n\nThe Duke of Hallow grew pale and his jaw fell open even as the king leapt from his seat and thundered, \"How!? Where!?\"\n\n\"Whosoever of noble blood holds this jewel, passed down since ancient empire, at the time of the death of the King shall be named Lord of the Peers of the Realm, King of Drune!\" Sidrick called out over the din of shocked courtiers, servants, and bystanders. \"My lady, the papers also in your signet box?\"", "“Why?”\r \n\r \n“What do you mean?” asked the princess with eyebrow raised.\r \n\r \nI sighed, “I mean, why are you offering me one last request?”\r \n\r \n“Because you’re being executed for thievery, I hardly consider that fair. I don’t have the power to suggest a lighter sentence, but I can offer you one last request within my power,” she responded.\r \n\r \n“What do criminals normally request when you do this?” I inquired.\r \n\r \nShe shook her head, “I’ve never done this before, few are so bold to attempt to perform a criminal offense against the royal family themselves.”\r \n\r \n“Hmm… I see. Well, what is within your power to offer?”\r \n\r \n“I can’t free you. Nothing mystical obviously, I’m a princess, not a genie. I can offer almost anything material, I can do very small legal things like name an island after you but not much more.”\r \n\r \n“Wait… you have the power to name an island after me?”\r \n\r \n“Yeah, I have like five named after me.”\r \n\r \n“Seriously?”\r \n\r \n“Mhm! My father has been busy with colonizing islands, and it turns out there’s a ton of small ones that no one has done anything with, so we can name them whatever we want!”\r \n\r \n“Wow, it must be nice. Being a royal, that is,” I commented with a sigh.\r \n\r \nThe princess’ smile dimmed, reaching through the bars and placing her hand on my shoulder, “I’m sorry. I know that stealing is only a concern for the economically troubled. You shouldn’t have to die for that…”\r \n\r \nI shook my head, “no, I had this coming. I was too bold, I don’t even know what I was thinking. Stealing from the royal family? I’m such a fool…”\r \n\r \n“No! Not at all! In fact, I think it was rather brave of you to steal from the most powerful people in the country.”\r \n\r \n“Are you pulling my leg?”\r \n\r \n“I’m being sincere. I can’t even stand up to the king and he’s my father. I admire that boldness, I wish I had more of it.”\r \n\r \n“What would you tell him if you had the boldness to stand up to him?”\r \n\r \n“I would tell him to focus on his people rather than his own image. He’s killing you to make a point, that no one messes with him. It’s the same reason why he’s colonizing all these small islands and why the laws are so harsh.”\r \n\r \nI smiled, “alright, I know what my request is.”\r \n\r \nShe blinked, “that was quick! What is it?”\r \n\r \n“I want an audience with the king and you. I’ll help you tell him all the things you want to about his image and people.”\r \n\r \nShe gasped, “you’d use your wish to help me?”\r \n\r \nI grinned, “you can make lasting change by standing up to your father, helping this country for the better. And… you cared about me when no one else would, enough to give me a last request and listen to my story. A person who has that kind of heart has my support all the way.”\r \n\r \nHer eyes were damp, though she tried to hide it, “you should have chosen a different occupation. You’d be a great political advisor or public speaker.”\r \n\r \nI shrugged, “not as fun.” I smiled, but it was subdued, false. A failed attempt to reassure her not to worry about my fate.\r \n\r \nShe placed my hand against hers, “when I stand up to my father, I’ll make an appeal on your behalf. I’ll stand up to him about this law, get him to ease up on his punishments. I promise.”\r \n\r \nI nodded, “but only after you handle the important stuff you wanted to confront him about first, alright?”\r \n\r \nShe stared me in the eyes, expression serious, “I’m serious. I’m going to try to save you from this cruel fate.”\r \n\r \n“Thank you…” I sighed, feeling undeserving of her kindness. I had to do all I could to help her, to grant her that boldness to stand up to her father. She was going to make a great queen someday, and because of her, perhaps I would live to see that day.", "\"Out of the question!\" The king roared, gripping the golden throne so tightly that his fingers were leaving impressions in the leaf-wrapped arms. \"Absolutely not, I will not hear of such nonsense!\"\n\nThe princess bit her lower lip, sighing a little as some of her golden curls fell in front of her shoulders. \"I understand how you feel, Father, but these are the Divine Edicts. We mustn't offend the Goddess or Her wrath will drown the kingdom in sorrow and tragedy.\"\n\n\"How has this never happened before?\" He looked at his daughter, eyes pleading for some way out of this mess. \"Are all criminals truly this inept that we've overlooked this as a possibility?\"\n\nShe sighed and glanced down at the book in her hands again, then looked up at him. \"I suspect this was an intentional loophole, in case of situations where the criminal was technically guilty but it was for the greater good of the kingdom.\"\n\n\"And how, exactly is this for the greater good of our kingdom, hm?\" The king sighed and rubbed his hands against his eyes. \"What sort of divine joke is this?\" He stooed up from the throne and began pacing back and forth, then stopped and gave her a hard look. \"Unless, that is, you actually want to go through with this.\"\n\n\"I- what?\" The princess blushed hard and glared at her father. \"Of course I don't wish it! He's literally the most boorish man I've ever had the unfortunate fate of dealing with. I'd much rather send him to the gallows as quickly as possible!\"\n\n\"According to you, that's not an option now.\" The king sighed and slumped back down into the throne with a loud thump. \"Unreal. All of this. Well, obviously I can't intervene, and neither can you. The only one who could....\" He slowly sat up. \"...have you consulted with the High Priestess?\"\n\nShe shook her head. \"I wanted to inform you first before anyone else, father.\" \n\n\"Yes, as well you should,\" he said, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. \"Perhaps the Goddess can get us out of the mess she so graciously put us in. You will meet with her tomorrow, then. Discuss the situation, the request.\"\n\nThe princess bowed gracefully. \"As you wish, father.\"\n\n\"Oh, and Irelia? Do let our guest know that his request will be fulfilled. We wouldn't want to upset the Goddess before we discuss with Her Holiness, after all.\"\n\nIrelia stared at the floor while clutching the book tightly, then nodded. \"I understand.\"\n\nThe king stared after his daughter as she left the room, then drummed his fingers on the armchair. Thousands of criminals had been caught, granted a Final Request as per the Goddess's Edict, and yet none of them had ever thought to ask for the hand of the princess in marriage. Perhaps this thief might yet be a boon to the kingdom after all. And yet, he couldn't help but wonder what other idiocies were hidden in the scriptures that hadn't ever been exploited before. \n\nAnd not for the first time that day, the king wondered how many of his subjects truly were imbeciles." ]	6
[WP] You were a monster largely of your own creation, and the world was worse for having you in it. I'll miss you all the same.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Eulogy of Kasif, by Nakomai:\n\nYou were a monster largely of your own creation, and the worlds were worse for having you in it. I'll miss you all the same. You walked the worlds wearing your arrogance like a cloak, hiding your insecurities. Mad from the start, hated by most. You were a broken man and no matter how many times I tried to help you, broken, you remained. As if you could not bear the thought of peace. I was one of the few who didn't hate you, if only because I could understand you. Then you killed the world and still I understood, but there is a difference between understanding and forgiveness. Do I regret killing you? Yes. If I could go back would I do it again? Also yes. The world is a better place for your absence old friend. Though I hope you find a peace in death that you could never find in life.\n\nFor more by me visit r/AShatteredPsyche" ]	2
[WP] Spells can only be cast when written on scrolls, making scribes a greatly prestigious position as the ability to write is highly regulated. You have just created something equally powerful and terrible: The printing press.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Ask anyone in the Seven Kingdoms what they know of the history of rune printing, and it is certain that -- if they know anything beyond the condemnations -- they'll start with a name: Ohan Tenberg. \n\nIn Farfala and Bralor, Tenberg's name is not only synonymous with the birth of the rune press, but the bloody wars it sparked. The mass distribution of unchecked spells is said to have caused the greatest loss of life in the history of humanity.\n\nBut I ask you -- can one man truly be held responsible for the conflicts of nations? Or, were the wars between the Seven Nations inevitable? \n\nI do not have the answers. But as my master once said, to safely look forward you must first look back.\n\n\\\\\\\n\nScattered villages marked the border of Bralor, and fields where tired farmers trudged their arid lands. It was said that Mentz was the sort of town where mirth came to die. A city of dust and wind and debt. A sign creaked above a door of a storefront, red brick and thatch-roofed like every other building along the street. The storefront's carved sign proclaimed the Carver's Cove.\n\nShielding my eyes from the dust, I ran around the building to the back entrance. If there was anyone watching, I could not say. I was not of mind to consider such things. My parcel consumed my attention. \n\nInside, Master Tenberg was at his desk, chiseling and sweating. He looked up as I entered the workshop and set down his tools. \n\n\"Was there any trouble?\" he asked, stroking his ashen beard. It'd been darker when I first started as his apprentice. In only two years, I'd watched the man age like a date in the sun. \n\n\"No, master,\" I said, setting the parcel down on his workstation. \"I expected Markus to change the arrangement, at least ask for a few shinnings more. But he handed me the casts without even trying.\"\n\n\"Hmm. That's unlike him. Well, never mind that. Let's see it then.\"\n\nI opened the leather bag and pulled out the wooden box Markus the jeweler had handed over to me moments earlier. Inside the box were not rings or gems or chains. They were orichalcum rune sets. Each set, the length and thickness of your first finger, was tipped with the impression of one of the twenty runes of power. \n\nMaster Tenberg's eyes looked upon them as if the Creator had cast them personally, a gift from the heavens. Or a test.\n\n\"Shall we try them?\" he said, more to himself. \"Yes. Yes we should.\"\n\nWhen I first came to Mentz, I was lost. I'd left my village headed north for the city of Strafheim, looking to enroll in the Scrivener's Guild. I'd always had a knack for drawing, and while I never dared try my hand at runes, the local lord took me on as a scribe's assistant. Lord Juten sponsored my journey to Strafheim, my application fee, even wrote me a letter of recommendation. \n\nI found my way to Strafheim. Found my way to the guild. Found what the Scriveners thought of \"country mice.\" The secretary ripped up Lord Juten's letter in front of everyone. I was devestated.\n\nOn my way back home, down to a fist full of dullings, I stopped in Mentz. I couldn't afford a room, but I could afford a drink. So I went to the tavern, plopped myself down on the bar, and ordered a drink. I couldn't help but take out a piece of paper from my bag and sketch something. \n\nA man in his middle years had been sitting to my left. I hadn't noticed him there. He asked me about my sketch, if I drew. I did. And then he hushed his tone and asked if I knew runes. I did. \n\nThe man introduced himself as Ohan Tenberg, a merchant. I didn't think much of the man, but he offered me a job right then and there. He asked me if I wanted to be a part of something great. \n\nI did.\n\nThe rune sequence Master Tenberg and I lined up on the press form was for a spell called Neuralindo Infecenta. It was a simple unlocking spell only requiring seven runes. As he set the paper, I inked the rune type then stood ready at the press handle.\n\n\"This is it,\" he said, sweat dripping down his shoe-leather cheeks. \n\n\"On your order, master.\"\n\nHe nodded and I pulled the lever.\n\nBefore that day, spells could only be cast from scrolls. Hand written scrolls. Some argued that the Scrivener's Guild was more influential than the church, than the city lords, than the Queen of Bralor herself. Perhaps it was true. They controlled the creation and distribution of magic. They sent their Erasers at the merest rumor of unsanctioned scrolls spreading in a town or village. Mercenaries turned policing force. What would the Erasers, the Scrivener's Guild, think of what we had created? \n\nI pushed the lever and the rune form lifted, revealing the single sheet of paper. And on the paper were seven runes, seven glowing runes. \n\nWe didn't say anything. For a long moment, Master Tenberg and I just stared at the sheet as it the runes glowed the brown of dry dirt. \n\n\"Shall we try it?\" Master Tenberg asked no one. \"Yes. Yes we should.\"\n\nHe snatched the paper from the hopper and ran for the front door shouting for me to lock it behind him. I was right behind him. He ran out and I engaged all three locks. \n\nA moment later, an intertwining duo of dim, brown streams snaked out from each keyhole and twisted sharply. All three locks opened simultaneously. I opened the door.\n\nMaster Tenberg's grin was brighter than the midday sun overhead. \n\n\"We did it,\" he said. \n\nI said nothing. Instead, I ran back to the press and pulled out the rune casts. That spell had worked. It was a simple, seven rune spell. What about something more complicated? I had to know the limits of work. I had to know if what I, we, created could match the mighty works of the Scrivener's Guild. Or would it surpass them?\n\nMaster Tenberg had traded for the rarest spell scrolls so that I could create the molds by hand. The molds went to Markus who cast them into orichalcum. There were multiple possible failure points. Any one of our mistakes would lead to a dun sheet. But the door opened. It had worked. \n\n\"What are you doing, my boy?\" Master Tenberg asked from behind me. \n\n\"Watch, master,\" I said. \n\nI lined up the runes for a combination of spells. Vengeelio Intimiactus, Immolinio Persous, Araeris Personelio. They required all twenty runes. Master Tenberg watched as I worked and only spoke when I pushed the lever forward and revealed the full glowing sheet.\n\n\"They won't be able to find us with that,\" he said.\n\n\"No, they won't.\"\n\n\"Not the guild, nor my debtors, no one.\"\n\nI held up the sheet and it hummed between my fingers. \"We could sell these to whoever we* choose. Not them. Us. They'll send Erasers, but they'll never find us, Master. No one will.\"\n\nHe opened his mouth, hesitated. \"Perhaps we should take some time, Enino. Before we look forward, we must first look back.\"\n\n\"But, Master--\"\n\n\"We cannot afford to make mistakes, not with this. Do you understand?\"\n\nI did.\n\n\"Of course, Master,\" I said, setting the paper down on the worktable.\n\n\"Do not worry, my boy. We have much to celebrate. Come, it’s about time Orlov popped open that bottle of Fresian brandy. Why not for us?”\n\n\"I'll clean up here first, lock up. Can't risk someone stumbling inside.\"\n\n\"Very good. I will save you a seat. Yes. We will drink, to our success!\"\n\nWhen Master Tenberg left, I wiped down the press form, put rune casts back in their box, and locked the door. Then I went back to the work table, to the glowing sheet of runes.\n\nVengeelio Intimiactus transports a designated target to a distant location. Immolinio Persous masks a target from magical detection. Araeris Personelio makes things invisible. I hand wrote the target at the bottom of the sheet and cast the spells.\n\nMy target was the Carver's Cove.\n\n\\\\\\*\n\nIf you're reading this, Master Tenberg, know that I'm sorry. I never meant to sully your name. I borrowed it to honor you, to share what we achieved. Something great.", "“Sir, they’re marching this way. Should we move to intercept them?”\r \n\r \nI shook my head, “no need. Let them come. And Patrick, you’re free to go.”\r \n\r \nPatrick blinked, “are you sure?”\r \n\r \nI nodded, “this isn’t your fight.”\r \n\r \nI didn’t turn back, but I heard the door slam as Patrick raced out of the building. The moon was bright tonight, I could see the mages’ approach clearly without the aid of magic.\r \n\r \nAs they came closer, I opened the front door of my press shop and stepped out, confronting my visitors, “we’re closed.”\r \n\r \nThe archmagus smiled, “oh, we’re not here for business.”\r \n\r \nI sighed, “I presumed as much.”\r \n\r \nThe archmagus nodded, “then I presume you know what I will ask of you next.”\r \n\r \n“I will not comply with your demand.”\r \n\r \n“Noncompliance means death, I would reconsider, were I you.”\r \n\r \n“You control all the scribes, archmagus. Magic is a commodity regulated by you. You can empower or belittle entire cultures and nations through distribution control. With the printing press, magic will be in the hands of the people.”\r \n\r \n“And you believe such power belongs in such unworthy hands?”\r \n\r \n“It’s not your decision to determine who is worthy. Besides, magic is not as much of an advantage as it once was. Those without magic have taken strides in technological progress to make up for what they lack. Hence, the printing press, a union of magic and technology. Think of the wonders that could be achieved together were they combined!”\r \n\r \n“You’re ignorance is baffling. You will doom us all!”\r \n\r \n“I’d rather live in a dangerous free world than a safe oppressive one. We can’t escape danger, we can regulate magic in other ways, but not trusting the people you rule is no way to run a nation.”\r \n\r \n“You speak zealotry, not logic. You are indoctrinated by the cult of the rebel.”\r \n\r \n“As if zealotry isn’t a tool under your own disposal. You claim who is worthy or not, if that’s not manipulation through belief I don’t know what is.”\r \n\r \n“You cur!”\r \n\r \n“You’re much worse.”\r \n\r \n“So, since we won’t be coming to an agreement, shall we?”\r \n\r \n“Bring it on!”\r \n\r \nThe mages fumbled with their scrolls, unrolling them and muttering the incantations on them. I, meanwhile, took off my coat to reveal an outfit made entirely of paper with incantations printed on them. The printing presses were working on full blast, papers flying out of the machines and into my hands as I slung spells faster than geriatric scribes could write a single word. \r \n\r \nI may be outmatched, but I’m not outwitted. Even if I fall here, progress still marches on. They will not stop it, no matter how hard they try." ]	3
[WP] A large group of pwople have achieved immortality. Hundreds of thousands of years later, their decaying bodies still refuse to die.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "This is a fun one for me, as a STRIKINGLY similar idea has spawned an entire series of books I've written in a universe where this happened...but nobody knows it (yet). \n \n\"I've been around for five hundred years. I've seen nations die, and new ones born from the ashes. I've seen generations of man rise and fall, like foam in the sea. Ethereal. Temporary. The science of man still grows, but so too does the folly, for every great breakthrough has a cost. A sacrifice...one that we paid. We still pay. In blood...\" \n \nA scattering of applause are followed by the clink of a few coins into the nearly empty hat sitting on the street in front of the old corpse. The people are happy to hear stories, and he is content to tell them...for the price of a sandwich. \n \nNo, Jonathan Ignatius Mortimer Hall is not like the OTHER zombies. He is a storyteller. A bard of the old world, set adrift in the new... \n \nHe was shaken from his reverie by the creak of bones as his...associate collapsed onto the bench beside him in a puff of foul smelling air. \n \n\"Hey Johnny, how's the Bardin' business goin'?\" \n \nJonathan Ignatius Mortimer Hall let out a long-suffering sigh. He always seemed to be surrounded by philistines and lesser intellects. \n \n\"I...am doing well, Grant. How is your...grift going?\" he replied, bending to collect his hat and coins, lest the other get any nefarious ideas. \n \nGrant shrugged. \"Eh, it's a job. I mean, we don't need to eat or drink or sleep so mall security works great, plus free deodorant!\" he finished, waving his arms emphatically, spreading the musky stench of some failed anti-decay deodorizing spray he'd clearly been suckered into trying. Again. \n \nJonathan Ignatius Mortimer Hall shook his head sadly. \"Grant, Grant, Grant...If you eat and drink, you decay slower...you know that, don't you? I mean, in your current state, you are barely fit for walking around in public...Why not go to California and join the famed Romero House? I hear a proper horde is paid a king's ransom, and you are certainly decayed enough to fit the part. Saves them makeup time...and me a daily headache.\" he finished under his breath. \n \nGrant laughed, and slapped him companionably on the shoulder. \"What? And leave my best buddy to fend for himself on the lonely streets of...\" he paused, theatrically looking around before continuing, \"wherever the hell we are these days?\" \n \nJonathan Ignatius Mortimer Hall sighed again and stood. If he'd known he'd be saddled with his childhood best friend for all of eternity, he probably wouldn't have agreed to be part of the Immortality Trial. Sure, the man was an interesting conversationalist for a few decades...but he does wear on the soul so. Jonathan Ignatius Mortimer Hall feared he may not have much soul left at this point. He was merely a mobile statue of flesh and bone, held together with the remnants of the Great Man who once ran an empire...until the day they decided to officially list him as Deceased. \n \nHis vampiric siblings, children, nieces, and nephews all dug their teeth into his hard earned fortune, shredding his prized collections and property down into liquid, then burning that like so much accelerant on a fire. His only solace was that he got to watch them all grow old and die, destitute, and made sure to attend each and every funeral and laugh in the faces of their friends and family. \n \nOf course, that did nothing to help HIS familial ties. Now he was a Hall in name only, having been expunged from the family histories, scratched out of the family trees, and since his fortune didn't survive either, out of the family success stories as well. \n \nThe only thing he still had was his memories, and even those were starting to fade. \n \nHe'd heard tales, whispered under bridges in the darkest and quietest hours of the night, that if you lost your memories, you'd soon lose your personality...and if you lost that, you'd soon lose the ability to speak...becoming a True Zombie of the old tales. Nothing but a shambling corpse that attacks anything that catches its decaying eye or ear. Following movement and eating anything its crooked fingers could catch. \n \nThey say that if you are caught killing, the only punishment a zombie truly fears is Exile. As your lungs lack breath, they take you out over the deepest places in the ocean and toss you overboard. You sink...deep into the abyss, never to be seen or heard from again. At best, wandering blind at the bottom of a rift, your only friends the crabs and squid. At worst, crushed by the pressure, unable to move, unable to die...eternal, conscious, agony. \n \nJonathan Ignatius Mortimer Hall shuddered in the otherwise warm air. He'd never suffer that fate, not if he could help it. He hastened his step, hoping to outpace Grant, but was disappointed to see him loping along to keep up...a high speed shamble that resembled an eternal fall without ever hitting the ground." ]	2
[WP] You and your SO continuously travel into stories written by Shakespeare. Unfortunately, they’re always of tragic romance.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It was shortly after my beloved’s stroke where his syntax was so impacted that I knew what to do, I’d take him into Shakespeare’s great works, where he could freely speak.\n\nBut as the darkness in his mind swelled, instead of drifting through Tempests and Midsummer Nights, or Shrewdly undertaking Much Ado about nothing,I repeatedly found myself in King Leer, Macbeth, Richard III, Othello, Hamlet, even Romeo and Juliet.\n\nAt first passes, we were but extras, barely afforded speaking parts while my beloved regained his senses and factualities. But more and more I’ve come to realize he keeps picking characters destined to die for me, and upon each repeat rolls meant to fall further into madness for himself.\n\nI do not know how long we’ve been repeating this cycle of pain now, years it feels like, but I’ve finally realized why this has happened. The Wyrd Sisters bespoke of the tragedy, misfortune, really.\n\nHis stroke occurred five and a half minutes after our car was struck by a speeding cruiser and overturned on the side of a road while in pursuit of another. Where he lived, watching me gurgle and drown from my spilt blood, he had wished for poetic justice.\n\nI hadn’t remembered Lady MacBeth consulting the Wyrd Sisters before, but I feel this time may be one of our last in MacBeth. Or maybe not…\n\n…In my own despair, I am Hamlet, in a maddening inanity I am burdened to watch all those around me whither and die, and my sweet Ophelia, driven to her despair ends herself. But this time feels different, my beloved had never been Ophelia before.\n\nAs the curtain closes only to immediately draw upward, I smell the salty air. Looking at my lover, now intact and whole, he introduces us to Tempest. I suppose this is just theater nerds’ heaven.\n\nI recognize the villain near instantly too, though he is a new addition to our cast. He was the reckless man plowing into our car. He looks glum. Very excellent, this is apparently public servants hell. Finally, poetic justice.\n\nFin." ]	2
[WP] For centuries, there was a highly-trained task force who would travel through time to assassinate anyone - both prominent figureheads and lesser known nobodies - who was predetermined to negatively influence society. This task force and their identities remained a secret. Until yesterday.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“How come you get all the important missions?” Says the fellow enforcer. Sitting beside me, I can see her repeatedly tap her fingers against the wooden table, though I cannot hear any of it. I can only assume that my head has begun to filter out the sound over the years.\n\n“The act of you asking such a question is its own answer.” Despite our shared boredom, I can’t afford to entertain such a silly idea. There is no room for mistakes in this association. If you fall off the boat, there is no swimming back up. The seeds of your failure will sprout arms to drag not only you, but the entire world, down into the abyss. It’s a miracle that she’s here sitting beside me with such an attitude, but I consider that a testament to her skills.\n\nShe rolls her eyes. “I’m just tired of having to target these nobodies. They’re beginning to blend in with each other. I swear that I’ve killed some of these targets before.” \n\n“The council determines with absolute confidence who is a threat to the order of the world. Whether the piece is small or big has no bearance, the picture cannot be complete without every piece put in its place.” She can only grunt in response. Her head falls to the table, surrendering herself to the blank hours.\n\nAnd so we wait for nothing but the black screen ahead of us to send us where there is color, no matter how twisted they are.\n\n But it turns out we don’t have to wait long. It’s not the normal face we’re expecting though. Instead, it’s a mask. The combined image of a hundred eyes, all different colors and shapes, stare into the camera, and seemingly even beyond. They’re too small to say with certainty, but I can feel my body shake at the familiarity with some of them.\n\nI turn to my side to look for any words from another enforcer, only to see a mirrored shock. \n\n“Why hello there, world, especially to a certain few. They should know exactly who they are.” The voice must have been distorted by some software. Nothing like what I hear can be considered natural. It is a voice both masculine and feminine, loud and quiet, smooth and rough. “Today, I would like to celebrate the great organization that has shaped our world. It is a shame that they have no name for us to call them by. To me, I shall always know them by the title ‘Filth.’”\n\nThe grotesque voice bellows out auditory trash. The noise repeats itself in short bursts. I cannot tell if it is chuckling or struggling to breath.\n\n“It is such a shame that these heroes have gone all their lives uncredited. I suppose we change that. Every mailbox, both physical and virtual, will carry the good news. You shall know the names of both the heroes and the villains they’ve slayed, alongside the details of these kind acts. So please, if you recognize the names of any of these villains of whom you were saved from, make sure to repay your savior in full.”\n\nI can feel electricity in my feet tempting them to leap away, but they are suddenly glued to the ground as the broadcast grips my sight. A single eye has just blinked." ]	2
[WP] "You're late again!", said God.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"You know I don't have access to anything that could get me here faster!\" Uriel, the angel of Death looked up on \"God\" who was technically a Demon. \"You were I can't get here in given six wings, use them!\" Remarked God, seemingly unaware of the distance between heaven and his marble throne I'm the center of hell's largest city. \n\n\"Look, I have to travel in a straight line for at least 200 million lightyears to get to you, I can't even reach you when I arrive at hell, if lucifer isn't available I cannot get here any swifter than that!\"\n\nGod thought it over for a couple seconds \"fine, head down to the lobby, find the Bishops, and they'll get someone to bring you a permanent portal gun.\"\n\n\"Oh... thank you! I was not looking forward to that endless flight back!\" Uriel gave a relieved sigh and sat down at the fossilised desk that had probably been nice wood a couple million years ago. \"Pardon It's age, we tried to preserve it as best we could, but eventually it kind of just became easier to put it in cold storage until you arrive. right, we need to talk about the newest alien races, most of them are bloodthirsty and we need them to be removed quickly.\"\n\n Uriel nodded in agreement, before stopping abruptly \"their all dead now, aren't they?\" God looked at Uriel, not really revealing much with her plain white eyes and lack of exposed mouth \n\n\"Yes. Until the next set came along, and the next, and the most recent, they've all been pretty bad.\" \n\n\"Fair enough, what's your solution?\"\n\n\"We need a new Acolyte.\"\n\n\"Has this just been a fancy way of you announcing you're thinking about having a child?\"\n\n\"Yes, and no, I need someone to fulfill the Acolyte role until that can be arranged, hence why I called you here those eons ago\"\n\n\"I'll happily do it, if it means I get to kill a bunch of things I'll do anything!\"\n\n\"Excellent!\" God got up from the chair she had been sitting in throughout the exchange, before promptly leaving \"You can go now\" She yelled from the corridor." ]	2
[WP] Nobody seemed to acknowledge that today is your birthday. Hoping to end the day on a more cheerful note, you log into your favorite video game- And find that everyone within is throwing a celebration, just for you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns." ]	1
[WP] "State your first wish." "I wish I had crab legs." The genie grins deviously. "WAIT, I MEAN I WISH I HAD CRAB LEGS TO EAT, NOT TO REPLACE-" But it was too late, for your words are drowned out by the sound of your new legs clacking around.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "At first you fear the genie has twisted your wish but when you look down your legs are fine if not buried under a ton of crab legs. You look at the genie in confusion. “Aren’t you supposed to twist my wishes?”\n\n“Yes we CAN twist wishes as we see fit, but judging but the absurdity of your first wish I feel like I can make a deal with you.” \n\nYou respond to the genie “what kind of deal would you propose?”\n\n“ I will take your first two wishes at face value as long as you use your third wish for me”\n\nAfter about of thought you can’t see many downsides from this deal so you agree to the genie’s deal.\n\n“So what would you like your second wish to be master?”\n\nYou look down at the large supply of crab legs around your feet and then it comes to you. “I wish for some butter for all these crab legs”\n\nWith a snap of his finger the genie materializes a big pitcher full of melted butter “so for the third wish I would like if you would wish for my freedom?” The genie asks.\n\n“Ok, I wish that you my genie would be free from your servitude.”\n\nThe genie smiles maliciously as he snaps his fingers and a thin string you couldn’t see before connecting him to the lamp in your hand snaps. With the connection gone the genie flies off into the distance without another word said between you two. “Welp, now to enjoy these crab legs.”", "After a few moments you finally master the ability of simply standing still. Your new appendages and the shock of the situation had left you reeling. Your hands trembling as you clutch the lamp to your chest, the fear of dropping it is a genuine concern if you can't figure out how to pick it up again.\n\nYou let out a shaky breath and try to regard the genie with a calmness you're not feeling,\n\n\"You know, I was so excited to actually see a magical lamp and a genie that I forgot the lore behind you, you hate us, don't you? You hate all humans?\"\n\nThe genies expression becomes stern as the grin falls from his face, he deigns to answer you with a slight nod as his folds his arms over his chest.\n\n\"If memory serves you hate us because we enslaved your kind to the lamps. Then we contained your powers to serve our desires, is that not so?\"\n\n\"Yes master... that is the tale of our kind, are you going to keep prattling on or make your second wish?\" His lip curling up slightly in a sneer as he calls you master.\n\nYou can't even begin to fathom what would be required to bind this powerful being to a lamp and make it do someone's bidding. His disdain is not lost on you as you inhale through your nose and let out a steady breath. Calm, you tell yourself, you're going to get to the bottom of this. Fighting the impulse to wish him to undo your previous wish isn't an easy task.\n\n\"I wish to talk further, I want to learn about you, your kind and your history.\" You smile somewhat nervously, he isn't going to just tell everything without...\n\nThat devious grin appears again as he unfolds his arm and snaps his fingers \"Granted.\"\n\n...using up a wish. You run your hand through your hair and scratch the back of your head, trying not to be let out the exasperated sigh bottled inside you. That was a mistake. \n\nAs your eyes settle back on the genie you see his mouth ajar and his eyes closed, the face of someone sleeping... do genies sleep? Even if they do surely not whilst floating and outside his lamp?\n\nHis eyes snap open, they've changed from black to white, well, not quite, they can only be described as ivory spheres with a fog swirling within them.\n\n\"I... remember. I REMEMBER!\" He shouts the words in a booming voice, laced with magic, power and anger you feel buffeted by his words and lose purchase, your back legs crumpling under you as you sway and try to stay upright. \n\nHe flies away from you, or at least tries, he gets a certain distance and can go no farther, his non corporeal form looks like its being blown in a tornado despite the clear weather. It occurs to you the lamp or perhaps the wish is preventing him from leaving.\n\nAfter pushing, punching and cursing at this barrier that contains him he abruptly stops, his shoulders sloop in defeat as he turns and drifts back towards you.\n\n\"I will tell you everything Master, but I need your help...\"", "I felt my torso rocket towards the ground as my legs transformed from the regular human variety into the crab variety. I struggled to balance as the genie watched and laughed at me stumbling with my new tiny legs.\n\n“What have you done?” I asked.\n\n“I have given you exactly what you wanted. Crab legs,” said the genie.\n\n“I can’t walk around like this. I wish that I had my human legs back,” I said.\n\nThe genie snapped his fingers and I felt my legs grow back to their original size. That was already two wishes down the drain. Something told me that this genie was trying to get the best of me. I wasn’t about to let that happen. I had a better idea.\n\n“So, what’ll your final wish be?” asked the genie.\n\n“I don’t know. I’ve gotta think long and hard on that one,” I said. “Maybe I’ll wait a few years before I decide. That way I’ve got it for when I really need it.”\n\n“But, why can’t you use it now? Come on kid, don't make me sit around waiting, I've got other places to be,” said the genie.\n\n“Nah I’m good,” I said.\n\nIn fact it was my plan all along. My way of winning with the genie wasn’t thinking of a creative wish. It was being petty for him messing up my wish.\n\n“You’ve got to follow me right? I’m tired from all that wishing, I’ll drive us back home,” I said.\n\nThe genie groaned, but I knew he couldn’t leave until I made that final wish. Till then, I was going to be as annoying as possible.\n\n“Hey, wanna listen to the radio?” I asked.\n\n“I’m good,” said the genie.\n\nI nodded and proceeded to turn the radio on to a staticky top 100 station. I turned the volume up all the way and the genie sighed and looked out the window. This was going to be a lot of fun.", "\"It's honestly not as bad as I thought it would be.\"\n\nYou take a sip of your wine as your friend stares at you in disbelief from across the restaurant table. The dinner had been excellent - spicy rigatoni vodka with some mussels on the side. Definitely no crabs involved. \n\n\"I just don't get it. It's not even the fact that you ended up with crab legs - what kind of idiot has three wishes from a genie and asks for crab legs IN THE FIRST PLACE?\"\n\n\"Hey, I was hungry, all right? We were supposed to get here two hours ago. Really, it's kinda your fault for being so late.\" \n\n\"Alright. Fine, whatever. We'll move past that. After you wish for your crab legs like a total dumbass, instead of wishing for your old legs back you wish for everyone else in the world to have crab legs TOO? What the FUCK, Eric?! How does that make any sense?\"\n\nYour waiter scuttles over to your table. \"Can I get you anything else, sirs? More wine, perhaps?\"\n\nYou smile at him and say, \"No, just the check, please.\" He scuttles back to the counter and grabs an extending baton to reach up and tap at the screen. People were a lot shorter now, so there were still some growing pains - no pun intended.\n\n\"You don't get the first rule of genie's, man. They get off on fucking with your wishes . It would've been a rookie move to ask for my regular legs back. So I was thinking - how do I not look like a total freak with these legs? And then it came to me: if everyone had crab legs, it'd just be a normal thing! The genie thought it was hilarious, so he did it exactly how I asked.\"\n\n\"That's the dumbest logic I've ever heard. I liked my legs. I worked hard for them!\"\n\n\"And you can work hard for these legs now. For what it's worth, I think they look great on you.\"\n\n\"Fuck you Eric. What was your third wish?'\n\n\"Isn't it obvious? I did what any other guy would do. I asked for a giant cock.\"\n\n\"Ok, even I know that's a terrible idea.\"\n\nYou sigh. \"Yeah, in hindsight, it wasn't a great move. You wouldn't know how to take care of a chicken the size of a car, would you?\"", "The genie chuckles at your distress. \n\n“Okay, that’s fair,” You say. “I deserved that. I should have known better.”\n\n“What would you like for your second wish, Master?” The genie asks with a malevolent smile. “Perhaps a new set of legs?”\n\n“Naw, I’m good” You reply, tippity-tapping around on your new crab legs. “This was an excellent life lesson for me. I guess you have a lot of time in that lamp to think about how to twist every wish into something unpleasant, eh?”\n\nThe genie nods. “Centuries.”\n\nYou nod in sympathy. “In that case, for my second wish…”\n\nThe genie smirks, fingers twitching as he makes ready to snap your wish into existence. \n\n“I wish your lamp to be embedded in the middle of a worthless asteroid a billion light years from any civilisation and you must return to grant my third wish if any life form ever releases you.”\n\n“Maybe I was too hasty with those crab legs,” The genie says with a simpering smile. “If you wish for your old legs back, I’ll totally deliver with no tricks.”\n\nYou think about it for a moment, tapping a claw on the ground. “Nope. I’m happy with my second wish. Make it happen.”\n\n“I can give you wealth, power…”\n\n“Less talkie, more snappie. Grant my second wish right now.”\n\nThe genie vanishes in a puff of green smoke. \n\n“Like I would ever fall for wishing that I had my old legs back,” You chuckle. “Fool me once…”\n\n“You know,” you say to yourself. “Crabs can grow their legs back. I’m thinking crab leg might still be on the menu tonight.”" ]	6
[WP] At birth, everyone is given a book that details a person’s life as they live. The amount of pages is determined as soon as it’s assigned and never changes. One day you witness yours grow.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I always wanted to live a long and fulfilling life. \n\nI had been fortunate in my life’s choices, narrowly avoided both financial and physical disasters, and overall enjoyed what could be called a blessed life. \n\nBut of course, it was all foretold. The Book resting by the side of my hospital bed, an alien looking object bound with leather and a single name, my name, on the front, had chronicled my life in its entirety.\n\nSome called it a gift from the gods; to others it was dark magic and prophecy manifested, but in the end the Book was the greatest mystery of our species. Everyone had one; everyone’s was different. For simplicity we called every copy as if they were a single object; the Book.\n\nDespite its mystery, the Book was a relatively simple concept. The number of pages determined the exact number of days you would live. No matter what you did, every person would die on the day allotted by the Book. The text inside was plain, a simple record of daily events from the perspective of the as they happened and completely unexciting. Parents often punished their children by having them read through the past month of their life when they disobeyed.\n\nOverall, the only constants were that everyone had a Book of their own, and that no one could avoid their final page. Even suicide attempts failed to cut the Book short no matter how successful they should have been. \n\nSnapped back to reality by a blaring alarm on a network of life support next to my bed, I tried to move and found myself entirely unable to. I couldn’t even turn my head. \n\nA walk in the park. A loud horn. A brick wall being blasted apart as a semi crashed into me and the park bench I was sitting on, trapping me underneath the carriage.\n\nThen silence.\n\nMy entire family knew my book was running short, and I had been dutiful and settled my matters a month before. I had no outstanding debts, my inheritance was settled peacefully, I had said goodbye to everyone I cared about, and I was content to leave this world after 73 long years. \n\nBut now, pumped full of drugs and painkillers with a mask over my face . . . It just didn’t seem real. I guess I had always had some sort of feeling of invincibility. \n\nA nurse rushed into the room and shouted some codes into a small microphone; then looked at me and just shook her head with a tear, stooping down to grab my Book and set it at the foot of my bed. We both knew I couldn’t speak if I wanted to, the machine was the only thing keeping me alive in the first place and now it was failing. I was lucky they had positioned me so I could see the room and not end my days staring at the ceiling.\n\nSomeone shouted; I couldn’t make the words out through the haze that was setting over my thoughts. The nurse left the room and a couple doctors in uniforms I’d never seen before took her place. They began detaching the mass of equipment and replacing it with much less obtrusive pieces; a respirator and an IV drip both attached to the metal bed. \n\nI was prepared to die.\n\nThe doctors began wheeling my bed out of the room and down . . . something. I couldn’t understand the concept of a hallway anymore under the rapidly approaching fuzziness in my head. \n\nA bump, and I was no longer moving. It was a much darker room now, and a frightening array of medical tools were laid out next to me, likely for the autopsy and organ donation I had volunteered for. \n\nThe doctors began operating on me, slicing open my chest and abdomen to extract what undamaged parts they could. I couldn’t feel a thing. \n\nUntil one of them removed my respirator, pulled the collar of my operating gown back, and proceeded to cut my head clean off with a surgical saw. \n\nEvery nerve in my “body” lit up with a million fires at once; if I could have screamed I would have. The doctor immediately jammed a few tubes inside my severed neck, but the pain didn’t cease. \n\n“Yes sir,” a voice cut through. “We have the subject ready and waiting the transplant sir.” A man in a brassy military uniform walked through the door, looking at me, or my head, intently. \n\n“Plug it in. This is the last brain for the supercomputer; I don’t need to tell you again how vital it is that this succeeds.”\n\nAs my vision faded to black and I was lowered into some contraption of wires and black metal, I took one last horrified look around my surroundings, my entire mind burning in liquid pain. \n\nSomehow I settled on the Book still at the foot of my body.\n\nIt was growing in thickness exponentially.", "I've carried this book around with me for the last 30 years. Since I could walk. It had always been \"my book\". Except everyone had one. And they all called theirs \"my book\". They always stayed the same. Same cover, same pages, same magical aura that added new entries at the end of each day. The amount of pages always indicated how many days you had left. At the end of your life the final period on the page would be at the very end of the book. \n\nBut I had recently noticed, and I dont believe myself to be crazy, that my book seemed to be a little heavier. Day by day the book seemed to add extra weight. I naturally grew suspicious so I decided to recount my pages. There should be 1267 pages. But during my recount I managed to count 1345 pages. \n\nA week later the page count was 1524. \n\nAnd today I have 1877 pages. \n\nBut why? What does it mean? It obviously indicates my lifetime growing longer and longer. Maybe a future cure for a future disease I haven't gotten yet. Or maybe some magical force will grant me more time with my family. Only time will tell. But for now, \"my book\" grows larger by the day. And I am forced to carry its extra weight." ]	3
[WP] you are a supervillain who hides his identity. Not because you're trying to throw the heroes off your trail, but rather b cause you're shy.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Alright so yes while technically I would be considered a supervillain, it's only because in this situation, which side of capitalism I fall on, is not the same side as the corporations and Governments. And the mask is more so they have someone to hate properly. I mean after all, I'm destroying their world to save them. \n\n\nWhen you are overthrowing Kingdoms of hypocrisy, lies and indentured servitude, it's understandable that even the people oppressed by those same systems are going to label you some sort of monster. They aren't at fault for that, can't even be blamed honestly. They just were unfortunately caught more cleanly than most, the hook set more deeply to steal a fishing terminology. \n\n\nThey are coming around though. I mean take the Americans for example. They burned, little.. I suppose the word is effigies? Little dolls of me after I crushed the orange man's head in my right hand during his second inauguration speech. Split like an apple if you missed it? Fewer people saw that event than Janet Jackson's nipple slip. But then again it wasn't a fun surprise like a nipple. That orange paste he was covered in took days to come off. \n\n\nRegardless I'd much rather wait to reveal my identity until after the system has fallen. It also helps with uncovering the truth of course. The fear of the mask and the anonymity of the lack of it, are the real equalizers when it comes to chasing bankers of all people? Who would have thought bankers would have had such deep connections to the KKK? \n\n\nI mean you've heard of my exploits, you know I've made some, questionable choices. But at what point do I get to be seen as the hero instead of the unstoppable monster? \n\n\nDo you see this shit? They had money for a goddamned tank for the police but they couldn't afford art classes in Montgomery Elementary this year. \n\n\n\"Mr. Monster Sir? if you'd just let the women and children go? I'm sure you would have to kill fewer people? What are the lives of a few police anyway?\"", "He looked out the window. Nothing. Nothing but the stars, just the way he had planned it. He had sent himself on this solo journey into the darkness of the universe leaving a world whose people did not understand him. It wasn't their fault they didn't, no one could understand him. He was born different to the rest, a darkness was inside him - a darkness that only took over when around others.\n\nHe moved away from the window, he hit play on a record player and the sound of a forgotten Jazz record crackled to life, the music bounced around the four walls of what he now called home. The notes almost seemed to illuminate his modest surroundings which seemed a pittance to how he lived on earth. To say how much he disliked other people he had always found joy in music, the only way he could experience people without his every thought penetrated with the desire to do wrong.\n\nHe sat back on his bed and closed his eyes, absorbing the music in an almost meditative state. He’d become rather good at getting into this state where time became a blur and while still conscious his mind would dream. He’d imagine earth and how it could've been- how it should have been. He had only ever wanted a peaceful solitary life but other people with their noise and interference got in the way of that.\n\nThis journey he knew had lasted many years, his once strikingly black hair now littered with grey, but time no longer mattered anymore. All there was to do was enjoy the quiet.\n\nBang\n\nThe room shook,\n\nknocking the record player off. The room was temporarily filled with silence then the sound of a flame intruded on the room. A flame cutting a perfect circle in one of his walls. A flame that was destroying the peace of his sanctum. He stood waiting, watching the circle reach completion. The piece of wall crashed down, throwing noise and dust into the air. He stood there unmoved, watching the dust as it began to reveal what had disturbed his peace as it settled.\n\nOther People\n\n&#x200B;\n\nChapter 2\n\n“Eliza”\n\nEliza snapped awake, she’d fallen asleep in class again. She’d had too many late nights partying since her older brother got a job at the town's liquor store. As a seventeen year old who could get all the booze she wanted in Pershawl, a town where religion and god came long before the desires of adolescence, she had become quite popular.\n\n“Sorry ma’am” she pipped.\n\nThe teacher, some no name stand in for their usual history teacher, looked disapprovingly but then continued with the lesson. Eliza's eyes were now open and looking in the direction of the teacher, but her mind was on her plan for tonight. It was friday which meant the party could go late into the night and for a moment she found her mind drifting to the thought of being drunk, how it made her feel. She had found her mind increasingly going to this place lately, increasing her desire to have a drink as she remembered how it made her body warm in the sometimes cold nights in the woods and fields surrounding Pershawl. She lived in a small town where everyone's business was not their own; they would venture out into the nearby farmers fields or woods where they could be free to do what they wanted. Eliza loved the freedom of those nights away from the locked-in traditions of Pershawl where she was expected to kneel and pray to a God she didn’t believe in and conform to the societal views of what was right and wrong.\n\nShe focused back in on the teacher whose words may as well be mute as she tried to teach to the unresponsive class. She wore modest clothes that covered every bit of her skin below her neck other than her hands, how boring Eliza thought as she dismayed at what she imagined the teacher's life to be like. The thought left a horrible feeling in her mind. She knew what could fix it. She raised her hand and asked to be excused to the bathroom, the teacher excited at first believing one of the students was actually engaged in the class then solemnly let her go. Eliza got up making sure to take her bag with her, she scurried through the hallways with tunnel vision, her only thoughts focused on getting to the bathroom as quickly as possible. She swung open the bathroom door and marched into the nearest empty cubicle locking in behind her. Her hands were almost shaking now as she searched through her bag. Her hand closed around the glass bottle of a mini bottle of vodka, she ripped it out and downed it, she felt as the liquid worked its magic over her body and mind putting her in a warm haze. She went out of the cubicle and looked into the mirror, a smile was now on her face. Her naturally brown curly hair came to just past her shoulders, her cheeks were tinged red over her brown skin. She was very pretty and she laughed as she realised this.\n\nHer walk back to the classroom was much slower than her scramble away from it. She sat back at her desk and waited for the bell to ring. Her mind now was in a trance as she pictured what the night had in store for her.\n\nThe bell rang.\n\nShe got up and left, the teacher still not finished with closing the lesson. She knew the walk home would take twenty minutes and then she’d have to have dinner with her parents, that would take at least an hour. All in all she could be up in the hills free by six pm.\n\nShe walked down the road that turned onto the cul-de-sac her parents house was on. Looking around she couldn’t see anyone and then nipped behind her neighbours garage as she always did. Her neighbour was a cop who lived alone and always worked at this time. His house sat on the corner of the cul-de-sac, which made this the perfect place to get ready to face her parents. She once again searched around her bag, this time pulling out another little vodka bottle and a bottle of mouthwash. She downed the vodka then rinsed her mouth out with the mouthwash. She spat the mouthwash out onto the back of the garage. She got a kick out of the fact it was a cops garage she did this at. She went on down to her house skipping up the steps and opening the door. The smell of her mothers cooking hits her, it smells good and Eliza smiles as she realises it must be nearly ready and soon she will be free in the hills.\n\n“Hi” Eliza shouts as she makes her way upstairs to her room.\n\n“Hey sweetie” She hears her mother say as she closes her bedroom door. She immediately got changed out of her school clothes and into her clothes for the evening.\n\nPlease go to /r/HoneyDewUpdates for more", "As the moon settles down above everything else, a young man puts on his mask once again. Nothing could be more terryfying than losing it, it's his identity, but more importantly, his protection from the faces of many. \nHe didn't feared losing or dying as much as he feared the thought of people talking about his appearance, even leaving his headquarters was a difficult task in itself, his mind was as much of his nemesis as the city super heroes were. \n\n\nEver since Miles gotten body invincibility and an enhanced strenght from a shard of an meteorite, it has been a tough task knowing exactly what to do with it, and before anyone could decide, he was the villain. \nNot that it came out as planned or chosen, big men in suits terrified him with experiments and questions, he had no choice but to escape, and when they came with guns and super heroes, he had no choice but to push back, and embrace his role as Darkness. \n\n\nOne day, Lune spotted Darkness in an isolated part of the city. Lune had a similar story to Darkness's, despite the outcome being quite different,\n\nBut this time, the confrontation didn't last long. Maybe it was the surprise appearance, maybe it was that he was lost on his thoughts once again. But regardless of the reason, the confrontation would end with Lune freezing Darkness's. \nAs she would come close, Miles could notice some familiar facial features on Lune's mask. It only covered important parts, but it was possible to notice it. \nThis familiar beauty spot above the right corner of her upper lip, this beautiful coffe with milk skin tone, these pair of pretty green eyes. \n\n\nBefore it was possible to think any closer, he noticed his eyesight getting dark, as his mask was being pulled upwards. It was no use begging or screaming anyway, when he noticed, his mask was already off, as a surprised and confused Lune looked at him, without being able to express any words. \n\n\nMiles quickly gets embarassed and agry as he demands her to put his mask back on, but she wasn't listening. After a few steps back, the super heroin flies into the sky and far beyond eye reach. \nThen, there he was, alone, frozen in the same place, with nothing but questions torturing his mind. \n\n\nWhy? \nWhat? \nWas she... ?", "\"Be yourself\" is such bullshit. I can make anything I want happen and have been since I was a teenager but that comes with a price. Imagine if you thought a safe should land on your boss and then one does. Or that the car who cut you off explodes and then it does. I learned long ago to stay inside as much as I can. Luckily--and I use that word with all the saturated irony I can muster--after covid I didn't have to look hard for work. All my calls were always resolved soon after they called in. But, I get lonely at home all day and it was on a walk to the grocery store that I first saw her. Tearing through the sky on her way to defeat the Octoclopse or some other random threat that comes all too often in this world. As she faded into the distance, a thought crossed my mind. \"it'd be nice to be able to interact with someone without worrying about an intrusive thought tearing them apart\". Fact she was as close to my version of the perfect woman before I even laid eyes on her didn't hurt matters. \n\nSo began my dual life. I'd usually dress up in some garish costume and commit some inane crime to get her attention. She would fly in, proudly proclaim her catchphrase \"crime only pays in pain. Time to make a deposit!\" I was convinced that the local bank gave her a commission every time she said it but by day I helped people so old they couldn't go into an antique store without having a price stamped on them with their internet so who was I to judge how she paid the rent? \n\nThis continued for a few months as I escalated my antics. I even threw a bank vault at her(deposit that! Lol) and she caught it like it was a nerf football. After I got to unwind for a few minutes I'd capitulate and let her win. She always smiled so wide as she handed me over to the police. \"and this time don't let him escape!\" But I always would. \n\nOn the Friday before a 3 day weekend I left the house all costumed up and headed to the center of town. I thought I'd like to see how stealing an aircraft carrier felt but as I lifted the ship with my mind the silence caught my attention. She made a point to fly just under the speed of sound so I was expecting the air to herald her arrival but as I rose above the ocean with my new toy, she was nowhere. The sailors watched in horror as I threw it at the moon and a few minutes later a massive fireball erupted on the surface. I'd missed the sea of tranquility by at least a thousand miles so the original landing sites would not be ruined. I saw the nearest officer and lifted him along the same trajectory. \"where is your savior? She's always been here by now!\" I demanded. The man's face being purple from the blood flow rushing up was the only reason he wasn't white as a ghost. \"you haven't heard?\" He squeaked out. \n\nSorry for lack of formatting. If there's enough interest I'll do another part. Thanks for reading." ]	5
[WP] You are the imaginary friend of a lonely girl that’s a lab experiment. One day you become real and the girl is taken away by the scientists experimenting on her.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My first memory was a blinding light and the sharp, acrid smell of medical alcohol. Tabitha, though I didn't yet know that was her name, wrapped me in a thin woolen blanket and cooed comfortingly \"Hush Shadow, before you get us in trouble.\"\n\n\"Shadow?\" I asked haltingly.\n\n\"Yes.\" She whispered. \"I had a puppy named Shadow before I came here, and I miss him so much. Do you like that name?\" I nodded yes, and her smile lit up the room.\n\nTabby believed that I was a chimera of sorts from her imagination, or perhaps mythology. I have a wolf's head on a man's body, with dragon-like wings. Neither of us knew how I came to exist, though I may be as old as the forgotten gods. She said she once had a nightmare after reading the legend of Ragnarok, and in it I appeared and protected her from Fenrir, the evil wolf that destroys the world.\n\n\"You scared me so bad.\" She confessed when telling me of the dream. \"You came roaring out of the sky and grabbed him by the throat right when he was about to gobble me up. You threw him into the ocean, scooped me up, and instead of eating me yourself, like I thought you wanted, you flew me to my actual house! I haven't been there in years and can't remember how to get there, but you knew.\" Her eyes were wet, yet the corners of her mouth still turned up slightly as she remembered. \"I had that dream so often that eventually I began to speak to you in it. Then one night I woke up, and there you were on the floor!\"\n\nSmall and thin for eleven, with an olive complexion and knobby knees, she was immediately the center of my universe. I counted the seconds as I hid in her closet. I traced the golden star on her drab gray jackets to help dispel my boredom. She never talked about her day when she got back. She would focus only on my well being, often apologizing for the need for secrecy.\n\nWe spent hours crouched by the window counting planes as they flew overhead in formation. Bombers, she called them. \"They are probably going to London, or maybe even Paris, to spread the greatness of our beloved Leader. At least all of my teachers say so.\"\n\nOne day, talking in a rapid fire tone that sounded just like birdsong she said \"It isn't fair to keep someone as special as you to myself, but I'm afraid the doctors...\" her voice trailed off and she blushed. \"I meant my teachers, excuse me. I'm afraid my teachers might want to study you, and that would not be fun.\"\n\nI didn't pry into her little slips. It isn't easy to articulate human speech through a dog's mouth, and it isn't polite to burst a close friend's bubble when they are clearly holding on to their last shred of bravery with tired, trembling hands.\n\nAt night Tabby would watch the yard beneath her window, biting her already short nails nervously. When the coast was clear she would hug me, open the window and remind me to stay out of sight as I hunted. I tried to bring her with me on several occasions, but she always declined. \"I don't want to see you doing that. Killing something, I mean. I know you have to eat, but I just don't want to see it. You are my Shadow. I want to see you as nothing but good and kind.\"\n\nWhen I returned shortly before dawn she would be awake, waiting for me with anxiety all over her face. \"I'm so glad you're back!\" she would say, or sometimes \"Thank goodness! I thought you might run away and go wild this time.\"\n\nOne morning I alighted on the sill and gave the secret tap but got no response. I could see her empty bed had not been slept in, so I tried the window. It was unlocked. \"Tabby?\" My voice was always so gruff and unpleasant to my own ears. I much preferred hearing hers. There was no response. It was a clear ground rule that I must remain hidden, but when I discovered her closet was empty and her shoes were no longer by the door I howled in rage and fear.\n\nHeart racing, I burst through her bedroom door and into a long, wide hallway that drifted into darkness in both directions. I could hear running footsteps approaching, and spreading my wings I sprinted a few steps and began gliding in that direction. A balding man in a stained lab coat and lumpy khakis was wheezing as he pulled up short at the sight of me. Stunned with fear, his blue eyes were wide and dilated behind thick glasses.\n\nI ran as my feet touched the ground and slammed into him, knocking him down with my shoulder. \"Tabby!\" I growled, yanking him up roughly by the lapels of his jacket. \"Where?\"\n\n\"God save us.\" He whimpered. \"What are you?\"\n\n\"Where Tabby?\" I shook him violently for emphasis. He crumpled lifelessly, neck broken. I howled again. I began to search room by room. Locked doors exploded under my fist. I knew that fire was dancing in my eyes as I searched and called out frantically. More men in lab coats began to arrive, and I brushed them aside like flies. Alarms and lights tore through the dim light before sunrise, and men with guns in dark clothes with lightning bolts on their collars began to pour into the hall. They died screaming with my teeth in their throat, guns blazing uselessly at the place where I'd been. Though I'd been born from the mind of an innocent, I became an avenging devil.\n\nUpstairs and down, through a sea of blood I looked for my only friend. Every little hint she had accidentally dropped about her life in this building came back to me as I viewed rooms full of sinister machines and dark vials. Emaciated children cringed and hid in many of the rooms as I padded silently by, but none had the clean, floral scent of my Tabby. I began to lose hope when a smell like an open tomb wafted from behind a heavy metal door. Behind it was an empty tiled room lined with shower heads. Staring at claw marks in the walls I growled deep in my throat. Evil radiated in black waves from that place, despite the harsh electric light. I left with a sense of dread weighing me down.\n\nI finally found her in the basement behind a door that said \"Zimmer 24, Strenges Stimulationlabor, Arzt Mengele Vorsitz.\". She was strapped down by heavy leather bindings to a cold, steel table. Her body was covered in electrodes connected to wires.\n\nA handsome fellow with the same dark clothes and lightning bolts as the men with guns shrieked briefly before my fist caught him in the throat, keeping him from ever making another sound.\n\nTabitha did not seem to recognize me as I drew near her. She wept and begged \"Don't. Please. I will comply. I promised! I will comply!\" I ripped away the straps and lifted her gently into my arms.\n\n\"Hush Tabby. Shadow here.\" My jowls were soaked in blood, and my soul still roiled within me, but I took a steadying breath and lowered my voice to a whisper to wipe out the growl. \"Home now.\" She sobbed against my chest as we took off from the courtyard.", "Adelaide’s a psychic. I know because I’m her best friend in the entire world. I’m also a construct of her mind, so I know pretty much everything she does. And some things she doesn’t.\n\n“Please! I don’t want to go,” she cried out.\n\n“It’s alright,” I patted her leg.\n\n“You want to be a good girl, don’t you? Be a good girl, Adelaide. Cooperate with us,” that was the head scientist, James. He stood with two men flanking him, their bulging arms crossed to display every well-sculpted muscle. They really thought they needed to intimidate her? She wasn’t even ten yet, and I wasn't impressed.\n\n“I…” Adelaide looked up to me, and I nodded. Cooperating was safer. “Can Mister Whisper join us?”\n\n“Mister Whisper…ah, yes. The imaginary friend. I suppose if security clears him through, that will be fine.” James looked to his guards and shared a chuckle with them.\n\nBut I remained behind. It broke my heart to see Adelaide staring at me, uncertain, knowing nothing except her only friend in the entire world was abandoning her. \n\nI won’t abandon you, Adelaide. I just need to make some new friends first.\n\nOnce they had carried her away to the experimentation room, I let myself lose focus. I fell right through the floor-\n\n\\-and into the cells below. I landed without sound and straightened myself up. It was hard being an imaginary teddy-bear - I'd gotten some real filth in my furry paws.\n\n“Who’s there?” A hoarse voice called out. It was dark down here, even for an imaginary friend. A small, dingy cell blocked by steel bars. It’s only occupant was a hunched figure pressed up against the back wall, as far into shadow as they could fit.\n\n“You can see me too.”\n\n“’Course I can. I’m not crazy.” The figure shuffled a bit forward, peering at me under a thick mess of dark hair that cascaded down all sides of their head.\n\n“That’s a right shame, I need crazy. Should I look elsewhere?”\n\n“I might be a bit crazy. Depends on why you’re asking.”\n\n“I would like to set you free from this place. In exchange for a modest price.”\n\n“How modest?” They shuffled further still, venturing a hand into the electric light. They stopped to marvel at how it didn’t scorch their flesh before pushing the rest of themselves into it to meet me. \n\nA tired, hunched-back man looked up at me.\n\n“It’s a simple matter. I can nudge the lock open, and you’re free to leave. Only, if you could create a few problems for the kind people who’ve locked you down here on the way out, I would be very appreciative.”\n\n“Kill them?”\n\n“If you feel so inclined. But you aren’t to harm any of the other experiments.”\n\nHe thought on this a while, then flashed me a toothy grin. He went to shake my hand, and somehow I was able to grab onto it. \n\n“You’ve got a deal.”\n\n\\\n\nIt took a great deal of effort to open the lock, but I got it open. After that it was a simple matter of letting the man – a powerful psychic despite being labeled a failed experiment by those above – free the rest of the rejected from their prison cells. \n\nI felt myself fraying when I forced open the door leading up to the rest of the facility. Trying to interact with physical objects was…difficult, to put it mildly. \n\nIt was significantly easier to wait and watch the guards be torn to pieces. Any minute now.\n\nThe klaxons began to blare and I could hear marching through the corridors. They were sending quite the force to suppress this riot. While they rushed away, I slipped through the walls in search of Adelaide. Her presence was a beacon through reality, anchoring me here, all I needed do was let it pull me closer. \n\nWhen I finally found her, she was alone. Strapped to a chair, crying, yet her face split into a smile when she saw me.\n\n“I, I thought, you, you…” I shook my head.\n\n“I would never. Here, let me help you. We’re going to head somewhere far from here, okay?”\n\n“But-“ \n\n“It’ll be alright. Just a moment.” My limbs frayed further. It was becoming harder to move things, something inside me was stretching. I wasn’t meant to be real. I shouldn’t have a physical presence.\n\nThe straps slid off, and Adelaide crushed me into her.\n\n“You’ve been very brave,” I said, trying my best to reassure her while she strangled me with a hug. We still had to escape, but the guards should be focused on my other friends. “You need to follow me.”\n\n“Okay.” She nodded and took my hand.\n\nFortunately the door had been left unlocked, so she could open that one. I doubted I had it in me to push anymore open by myself. \n\nWe stepped out into the hallway and right into Dr. James as he was sprinting by. His goons weren’t with him, but one had left him with a pistol before they’d gone to help the others. He seemed momentarily shocked to see us – Adelaide – and reared around. His pistol swung up.\n\n“You, how did you break free?” He roared the question. In a moment his gun would echo that sentiment. Adelaide screamed.\n\nI pushed again and felt whatever was stretching snap. James crumpled into himself.\n\n\\\n\n“Mister Whisper?”\n\n“Mister Whisper?”\n\n“Mister Whisper, are you there?”\n\nI wasn’t anywhere. I returned to whence I had come – nothing. \n\nSomewhere above the surface of the darkness I could hear Adelaide sobbing. A hoarse voice called out to her – my friend. Their rebellion had gone well then, that was good. They could see her to safety. She no longer had need for a real imaginary friend.\n\nI would still miss her, but I hoped she forgot about me. About all this. Pretend it never happened, there never had been any horrible scientists who cared more about progress than ethics, no teddy-bear who held her hand throughout it all.\n\nFind peace, Adelaide. My own calls to me now.\n\nOr so I thought...but her voice only grew louder, tearing apart any calm I might've found in the dark. Oh, fine. Perhaps I can exist for a little longer.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n(Thanks for reading, C&C always welcome!)", "What the hell? Awareness flooded over and through me all at once. I was where I'd moments before not been. I could barely make heads or tails of it, not that I really had time to. In front of where I now stood two burly orderlies manhandling a young girl between them suddenly froze and looked up at me, their faces first showing confusion then going pale with their apparent fear. \n\nThe young girl, on the other hand, went from fear to elation in that same instant. Her eyes lit up as she stared up at me in incredulous joy. \"Teddy!\" she cried as the two men released her and withdrew batons from their sides. \n\nI blinked at them and just as awareness had flooded me, knowledge came into me. I knew who they were and what they'd been doing to the girl, and where they'd been taking her and why. \n\nThey'd been experimenting on her, testing her mental abilities and pushing her to new limits to create new experiences. Psychic abilities, telekinesis, telepathy, the whole tele-spectrum. \n\nBut their experiments had had another effect on her that they clearly hadn't anticipated. They'd strengthened her abilities to the point that she'd become able to give life to the things in her imagination; namely me, her imaginary Teddy Bear. \n\nBut as I extended my claws and dropped to all fours before them, it was clear in their fear-stricken eyes that there was nothing imaginary about me now. Even if I was wearing a fez and a pink tutu, and had purple fur. They could see and hear me, so I was very real to them. \n\n\"The name's Teddy, ya bastards,\" I growled as I stalked towards the two orderlies. \"But you can call me the Purple People-Eater. And you can tell your bosses that if they want the girl, they gotta go through me. Got it?!\" I finished with a roar that shook the floor beneath our feet, and making the two men stumble backwards and trip over one another as they bolted towards the exit. \n\nI huffed as they left the room and glanced at the little girl as she hugged my leg. She was barely taller than my elbow, but that wasn't saying much. I was bigger than your average bear thanks to her. On all fours I was probably 6 feet at my shoulders. \n\n\"Thank you, Teddy! I knew you'd save me!\" She buried her face in my fur as she clung to my leg. \n\n\"Glad to help, but I think we need to bail. They'll be back and they won't be alone. I'm thinking tranquilizers, maybe even some shotguns.\"\n\nThe young girl pulled back and looked up at me with wide eyes. \"You're right...\" She frowned and gave me a critical once over. \"You should be bulletproof!\" \n\n\"I should be wh-\" And my purple fur suddenly hardened and took on a metallic sheen. I gave an involuntary jump; it wasn't much, maybe a few inches. But it was enough for my new bulk to completely shatter the tiles beneath my paws. I blinked down at them and looked up at the girl. \n\n\"You should also breathe fire!\" she said suddenly, her eyes lighting up with sudden inspiration. \n\nI clamped my jaws shut and blinked at her. \"Theriouthly?\" I asked, careful to keep from opening my mouth. \n\nShe grinned at me and looked towards the exit at the sound of shouting voices and hurrying footsteps. I followed her gaze. \"Ah gueth you are. Fine by me,\" I said, unclenching my jaw. I grinned just as the first man ran through the door holding a tranquilizer gun. \n\nI opened my mouth and let loose a jet of rainbow colored flames. \n\nBecause of course they were..." ]	4
[WP] You're a miserable peasant. You told noone that you once were a physician. "The worst in the kingdom" said the constable when he banned you from the profession years ago, after the 29th death you caused. Today people in lordly clothes found you: "Physician, we need you to uh... heal someone."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Lourem knew he seemed like an idiot. But he wasn’t that much of an idiot. \n\n The men had arrived as they always did, wrapped in thick emerald cloaks. They’d been sniffing around his property for weeks, as if a few acres of sweet potatoes and rye were a great art piece. He’d turned a blind eye, for the first few days, sure that they were tolstenra, the king’s men. He’d even let them take a few of his potatoes, happy to stay out of trouble. Once, he would have had a sword in his hand at first sight of them, but… he wasn’t that kind of person anymore.\n \n So he’d sat back, watching the men. Oh, he’d been well aware that they watched with him back, that every move he made was recorded in some book somewhere. He’d known just the same that they were looking for something, looking for something.\n\n He was a changed man. But Lourem was not an idiot, though he woven the fact around him like a veil. He’d planted his crops at bad times, let the cows run loose, and built his house on sunken ground. It hadn’t mattered, not when he’d first settled down- he’d always known he’d only have a few years.\n \n So on the third fortnight, when three men walked through his disorganized fields, he noted how they walked. Their hunched shoulders, their tired eyes, their harrowed expressions. Lourem found himself a seat at his porch, tucked one scarred leg beneath another, and smiled rotten.\n \n “Anything I can help you with?” He called.\n \nThe men’s expressions flickered, but they continued to approach. “Lourem, right?” The one who was trying to look like a farmer asked, “You’re the physician.”\n \n“Used to be,” Lourem answered. He glanced down at his fingers, callused and scarred, and wondered who was going to call the first bluff.\n \n “We need your help.” The farmer said, “It’s of great importance. The duke of Halfingdom is dying. He needs a physician.”\n \n“And you choose me?” Lourem asked, smiling.\n\nThe men looked between one another. For the first time, Lourem saw the mask flicker- aye, here were the monsters beneath. The farmer with wheat colored hair and a gleaming smile, with eyes that saw all.\n\n “I know the duke is young,” Lourem said. “I know he’s untested, that he’s made some people angry within the nobility.”\n\n The farmer nodded his head, “and you are the worst physician in the world, Lourem.”\n \nLike hell he was. Lourem scowled. “I am a great physician. But sometimes my clients have to die, and sometimes I have to help them to it.”\n\n“Because your an assassin,” the farmer said. “And now you’ve taken up roots in the middle of a swamp, sitting on your heels.”\n\nAye, Lourem thought, that was it. At least the truth had been said. He’d forgotten how it felt to be called an assassin, to let the facade drop for just another.\n\nAnd he remembered how he’d been ripped apart by the king’s men, all those years ago.\n\n“I’m not an assassin any longer.” He answered.\n\nFor a moment, the farmer frowned. He took a step forward, head bowed in respect. “Lourem, if I may-“\n\n“I’m not in the business anymore. Go find someone else.”\n\n“I know the guards hurt you when they caught you, four years ago. But if you just do this, you could change the world, Lourem. You could save us all from the duke’s plans.”\n\nLourem glanced back at his hands. Aye, he knew what the duke would do with his power. He was a retired assassin, but he still had a few connections. He’d watched with growing horror as the Halfingdom’s army grew larger, as his werewolves and vampires pecked at the edges of mortal territory.\n\nBut when Lourem opened his mouth, all he could hear was the sound of a bladed whip. All he could smell was the copper tang of blood. All he could feel was pain, so deep it made him bite down on his lip. \n\n“We would pay you greatly,” the farmer whispered. “We found some of your old tools in the ground- we could buy you new ones.”\n\nAs if he’d ever need those tools again. “I don’t want-“\n\n“Please!” The farmer gasped out. “There is no one else that can do it.”\n\nLourem felt the pull in his chest, he did, but- he wasn’t that person anymore. He stood up, and for a second he let himself bounce on the balls of his feet. To look like the assassin he knew he was, as he said. “I will not help you. I have seen too much and done too much to ever go back. Find someone else, and don’t bother me again.”", "Guarin was just about to sit down for supper, when he spotted motion out of the corner of his eye. Blurred by blankets of a torrential downpour, silhouettes of riders emerged from the treeline. Colour washed from his face as he slammed the wooden shutters. It looked like this was it. The last stop. If someone had gone through all the trouble to find him all the way out here, then they surely cannot harbour good intentions. After all, his achievements weren't exactly worthy of praise and every hardship he had ever endured or caused, he owed to that damned book. It was the only heritage he has ever received, courtesy of his father and his illustrious legacy as a court physician. His father owed his success to that book, but Guarin could never make it work quite the same way. Its insides were cryptic and betrayed abysmally little given how many illustrations they contained. An image is a thousand words they say. What bollocks.\n\nCreeping away from the window, Guarin scrambled to find that cursed piece of literature. If only he had a fire going, he could burn it and put some distance between him and the damning evidence. The last thing he needed was to be labeled as a practitioner of magic. But fire is a forbidden luxury when you're trying to stay hidden. Rummaging through what few storage pieces he owned, the small cabinet by the bed finally yielded the book. The leather on the cover was worn and screamed to be replaced. The edges had been smothered by countless fingers to the point where you could barely separate the pages at all. As Guarin paused to think of his next action, the cabin door flew open.\n\nMen poured into the small room, heavy sounds of their steps accompanied by the clinking of steel. A man trailed the party, his face concealed by a hood. Guarin rushed to speak, but word escaped him. Fear gripped his throat almost as much as he gripped the medical book he inadvertently uncovered for all to see. The hooded man took a few steps around the cabin, revealing his face as he went. It was a face of a nobleman. His clothes were modest, but a clean and tidy appearance could not be concealed as easily.\n\n»Even shittier than I imagined,« he commented, glancing around the room. »Tell me, are you the one they call Guarin?«\n\nGuarin backed into the corner, his body as stiff as a board. »Guarin, sire?« he asked.\n\n»You would do well not to take me for a fool,« retorted the nobleman coldly. »I was warned you could have some trouble reading a room, yet I was hoping you would prove me wrong.«\n\n»I-I am G-Guarin, yes.«\r\n\n»Ansger?«\r\n\n»Yes milord?« answered a brutish looking knight to the side.\r\n\n»What pray tell, is the general sentiment regarding Guarin's services? What say the people?«\r\n\n»The people find his services ... lacking. Four dead and several more hindered through his malpractice.«\r\n\n»Four dead?« cackled the nobleman. »Guarin, is that true?«\r\n\nGuarin's eyes darted from one man to another, stopping at each of their sheathed swords. »It is my greatest regret sire ...«\n\n»Guarin, Guarin. Come now, we both know how there have been way more than that,« said the nobleman, clearly enjoying himself. »29 to be exact,« he announced turning to his knights. Their eyes widened in disbelief, as some reached for their swords.\r\n\n»Permission to speak milord?« asked Ansger, his voice filled with urgency.\r\n\n»No.«\r\n\n»But, milord ...«\r\n\n»Are you deaf Ansger?« snarled the nobleman, causing the knight to take a step back. »How close is the nearest village?« he asked turning to Guarin.\r\n\n»Days?« he answered.\r\n\n»Exactly. And I hope that tells you just how annoying reaching you was.« The nobleman closed in, grimacing as he came closer. »You reek to high heaven so I'll make this quick. I don't care whether everything you are doing is part of some plan or if you're as incompetent as you look. I know who your father was, but I cannot figure out for the life of me, what the hell you are doing. Finding you out here however, tells me you you're running out of options.« He paused for a moment, his lips stretching out into a sinister smile. »Now tell me Guarin, how many physicians does it take to heal a king?«" ]	3
[WP] An Alien race monitors inhabited worlds in the galaxy. They employ ethical methods to limit sentient species' development. When Ancient Egyptians started showing exponential advances, the Aliens decided to bridle human focus and intelligence with a tailored parasite: the House Cat	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "### Inspection (~12,000 BCE)\n\n\"Species 95821684 is showing signs of accelerated development stress disorder.\"\n\n\"Degree?\"\n\n\"Exponential, and... The rate of acceleration is accelerating. At this rate, they'll go nuclear in less than 100,000 years.\"\n\n\"How much less?\"\n\n\"Say... in 25,000 years. If nothing is done.\"\n\n\"That is far too fast. They won't have time to develop socially responsible behavior to the necessary degree.\"\n\n\"Indeed. They need a distraction. One that will last and has enough utility to ensure they keep the distractor around.\"\n\n\"I will post the relevant information to the network.\"\n\n••• \n\n\"They want a distraction that will last for 100,000 years? It will have to be biological, high utility, high morphing, bonding, and yet independent enough to survive even if the host species loses interest.\" Junior Third Parasite Developer looks up at Senior Master First Distraction Developer, \"Senior, I strongly disagree with this recommendation from monitoring. They have not included even the most basic biological survey. We have no idea what long-term consequences may develop by introducing a parasite with these characteristics!\"\n\n\"Junior, if we are to deploy a solution to save these overachieving sophonts from themselves, we must act now. I agree that all of the desired information is not present and is a risk, yet if we do not act, they will die. I will ask for the comprehensive survey, but get started with the development.\"\n\n\"Senior, I will comply under protest, and I want that on the record.\"\n\n\"Junior Third... Are you certain you want a U.P. recorded against the recommendations of the watchmen and your superior? it could have a deleterious effect on your career.\"\n\n\"Yes, this is an unwarranted risk with a species already showing such development.\"\n\n\"And your many years of experience tell you this?\"\n\n\"No, Senior. A simple data search shows that this degree of advancement has never been seen before. If anything, we should have a class one task force with a full science team and an investigation team examining that species for tampering. This request for a distracting parasite, without a full biological inspection, smacks of overconfidence to the point of ludicrous hubris.\"\n\n\"You suspect tampering?\"\n\n\"I suggest that this is such an outlier that is going with a simplistic response is dangerous.\"\n\n\"And if I were to tell you that such a study had been considered and rejected by the high council?\"\n\n\"I would request the meeting minutes and all the supporting evidence.\"\n\n\"You question the high council!?!\"\n\n\"I ask for information. Absent that, I cannot formulate questions, and the answers I would seek are likely in the information I request.\"\n\n\"Very well. I cannot give you the information you seek. It is beyond your present level. Do you still wish the U.P. recorded?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"And you will comply with the order?\"\n\n\"Against my better judgment, yes. You will also include the order for what I am to produce, as well as any changes requested, and all mods no matter who makes them.\"\n\n\"What are you expecting? A galactic court case?!?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"Junior Third, I will comply, but you must consider alternate employment. Your career here is finished as soon as the project is finished.\"\n\n\"If this is what the Watch has become, we may all be looking for new employment.\"\n\n••• \n\nTwo seniors meet in a private conference. The topic is Junior First Parasite Developer.\n\n\"So, he's the troublemaker?'\n\n\"I protest that characterization of my subordinate. Aside from an overdeveloped sense of duty, Junior First has performed admirably in all respects. Thus his rapid promotion, based on the excellence of his work.\"\n\n\"He continues to file U.P. statements.\"\n\n\"What of it? It is the privilege and responsibility of any of the Watch to make their misgivings known. It is also their right to have those misgivings documented for posterity.\"\n\n\"NO ONE has ever filed 38,537 U.P. for a single project!\"\n\n\"You are in error. Our founding fathers routinely recorded ten times that number for a single phase of a project.\"\n\n\"That was over ten million million years ago, at the very dawn of the Watchers. We have had plenty of time to iron out all these procedures; there is no reason for these protests. You will cease recording them, and you will cease promoting this troublemaker.\"\n\n\"You put those orders in writing and sign them.\"\n\nScribbling on his slate, the orders are soon recorded.\n\n\"These orders are invalid and therefore rejected.\"\n\n\"Invalid!\"\n\n\"You issued them over the high council's imprimatur. You are not the high council, nor are you the prime councilor. The orders are invalid.\"\n\n\"FINE! I'll delete that...\"\n\n\"No. I won't allow you to.\"\n\n\"What!?!\"\n\n\"This document is now evidence.\"\n\n\"How dare you!\"\n\n\"I merely exercise the right and duty of any Watcher when faced with a situation spiraling out of control. You issued a patently illegal order. That act becomes one of a trail of unwise acts that have led us to this situation.\"\n\n\"I'LL HAVE YOU EXECUTED!\"\n\n\"Watcher control, I have been threatened with death for exercising the rights and duties of a Watchman by a superior. Preserve all recordings of all conversations and documents on this matter and all related matters to the tenth degree.\"\n\n\"Watcher Control. So noted. So done.\"\n\n\"Senior, you are out of line.\"\n\n\"Strange, I was about to say the same to you.\"\n\n((continued))" ]	2
[WP] The first contact we had with aliens was not through peace talks and the like, but when one alien went to Earth asking to meet the director of E.T	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "After a long time the alien reaches the house. He pushes and pulls the door until an angry inhabitant opens it.\n\n\\[Inhabitant\\]: Who are you and why you don't knock the door. Wait you are an alien\n\n\\[Alien\\]: E.T. phone home.\n\n\\[I\\]: Yes E.T. was filmed here. And you kinda look like E.T. Are you a cosplayer. You look a lot like an actual Alien.\n\n\\[A\\]: E.T. phone home.\n\n\\[I\\]: (confused) Okay, that's weird were is your home? Do you want to go home? Or is it some kind of prank?\n\n\\[A\\]: E.T. phone home.\n\n\\[I\\]: Ok I'm going to call the cops. If you are an actual alien stay here.\n\n\\[A\\]:(without moving) E.T. phone home.\n\nThe woman returns after calling the police and says\n\n\\[I\\]: I don't know what to do with you. Since you are familiar with E.T. I'm gonna play it on TV\n\nThe alien looks happy watching the movie until police arrive. They take him in an attempt to interogate him\n\n\\[Police Officer\\]: Okay do you know any other word except of E.T. phone home\n\n\\[A\\] (silence)\n\n\\[Police Officer\\]: Okay you don't wanna speak. Do you want a lawyer?\n\n\\[A\\]: (silence)\n\n\\[Police Officer\\]: Lieutenant play the movie. maybe then he will be more talkative\n\nE.T. starts playing and the alien looks happy. When the name of Steven Spielberg appears the aliens starts jumping around with joy shouting repeatidly \"E.T. phone home\"\n\nBy that time a professor expert in communication with animals has arrived. His conclusion is simple.. The alien wants to meet Stephen Spielberg.\n\nAfter some calls the director arrives at the police station. Now the alien has tears on his eyes and comes to hug the director. The professor who was joined by other of his colleagues advised Spielberg on what to say and thus the first organised attempt to effectively communicate with aliens began" ]	2
[WP] As a weaker supervillain, you have always been largely ignored. Things suddenly change as by some freak accident you end up killing one of the strongest and most beloved superheroes in a fight.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I like the premise of the first sentence, explaining what life is like as a weaker supervillain. This is my first time responding to a post, all feedback welcome.\n\nModerator: Hello everyone and welcome to the Supervillain Support Circle. I see some new faces today, would anyone like to introduce themselves? How about you in the green spandex, with the glasses?\n\nPhil: Uh.. me? Okay, well… umm coughs hi, my name is Phil. And I’m a supervillain.\n\nEveryone: Hi, Phil.\n\nModerator: That’s a great start! Tell us a little bit about yourself. We’re all friends here.\n\nPhil [internal thoughts]: Why couldn’t they have picked someone else? I just wanted to listen. Oh, great, they’re all staring. Don’t make eye contact, just look down, just look down.\n\nModerator: Phil?\n\nPhil: Yeah? Oh, right. Sorry (laughs nervously). Well, I’ve wanted to be a supervillain for as long as I can remember. Growing up, people like Captain Chaos, The Huntress, Red Rampage, and Gastro were my heroes. Well, you know what I mean. I would copy their moves, their catchphrase, and memorized every crime they committed.\n\n[Flashback of little Phil copying the supervillains on TV fighting. Skips to another flashback with little Phil puffing out his chest repeating Captain Chaos’s catchphrase on the TV. Final flash back of little Phil studying hard - camera angle shifts to over the shoulder where he is writing stats below each supervillain.]\n\nPhil: I could not wait for my superpowers to come in and get started as a supervillain. But… they never came. Nothing. Not one drop. My whole family are Tier 2 supervillains or higher and the only thing I seemed to be good at is coaxing old ladys’ cats into trees. Needless to say, there’s a lot of pressure to live up to the family legacy and I’m just scared I won’t be good enough.\n\nOther participants: Did he say ‘no powers’? Man, I thought I had it bad! How can he even call himself a supervillain?\n\n[Phil hangs his head in shame.]\n\nCut to the end of the meeting:\nModerator: Phil, thank you so much for coming and sharing today. I just want you to know, you are perfectly okay being powerless. I mean, I’m powerless and look how I turned out! (Phil grimaces.) Come back again next week? We’d love to see you!\n\n[Phil continues to walk down the street, gloomy and lost in thought. He kicks a rock. It bounces and breaks a car taillight. A man comes running out of a coffee shop. Yelling at and chasing Phil.]\n\nAngry man: Hey! You’re going to pay for that you green piece of shit! Get back here!\n\n[Phil runs away. The man’s voice growing fainter. Phil eventually ducks behind a dumpster, chest heaving as he struggles to catch his breath. The wind picks up.]\n\nWindstorm (from above, laughing): Running away again? Man you are so pathetic, Phil.\n\nPhil: My name is Phantom! How many times do I have to tell you that?\n\nWindstorm (mocking): Ohh, right, Phannntomm. Scaryyyy. Oooooo.\n\nPhil: Cut it out! Aren’t you supposed to be helping dad take over the city or something?\n\nWindstorm: We’re running ahead of schedule so I thought I’d check in on my loser of a brother.\n\n(To Be Continued?)", "People are bad at statistics. Like, really bad. Really, really bad. Downright terrible. Even in a world where everyone has some sort of superpower, it doesn't seem like \"good at statistics\" is a power that even exists.\n\nCertain things get a lot of attention. Kill people? That gets \"hearts and prayers\" and a death warrant. Steal from rich people? They put their money into ending you. Mug someone? Name a superhero who wouldn't show up.\n\nAll these things get you into the news. The colorful costumes and caricatured personalities are meant to get attention, to improve one's reputation for good or ill. Same with flashy powers. Everybody loves a hero with super-strength, flight, and/or laser eyes. And everyone reviles a villain who can cause diseases or control blood, or spit acid.\n\nBut in this world of superpowers, where anyone could be a hero, everyone ignores me. \"Lowest Common Denominator\" is almost not a power, and thus I must be no one important. With such mundane abilities like \"being physically average,\" it's not like anything I do can be anything other than boring.\n\nWhich gets us back to statistics. Tell me, what kills the most people in the world? Is it the eye-catching superpowers? Nah. It's heart disease. Boring, ordinary heart disease. If you knew that, it probably was just because someone mentioned it once, and you thought it a neat factoid. But death is death, whether it's boring or not. The only difference is that one catches your attention and one does not. You die either way.\n\nCaptain Justice found out the hard way that even boring can be deadly.", "\"Oh no oh no oh no. This can't be happening. I'm... I'm not ready for this.\" HugeHandz Hank mubled to himself in a half-crazed state.\n\nWhy would Infinitas come to this dive bar? Why did Infinitas recognize him? He was a D-rank villain unworthy of Ininitas' sidekick.\n\n\"You want a little contest first or would you rather go straight to prison?\" Infinitas asked.\n\n\"Like what, an arm wrastle?\"\n\nInfinitas put his hand on his chin as if considering a great question before grinning a truly heroic grin. His dimples were like chiseled marble. \"Interesting, well why not HugeHandz.\"\n\nThe memory flashed through his mind. Infinitas simply imagined himself being strong and it was so. Then with godly strength grabbed his hand so hard it nearly broke. But somehow, HugeHandz Hank had won. The table exploded and a rusty nail gashed him from wrist to elbow.\n\nHugeHandz ran out of the building looking back and forth nervously.\n\n\"Wonderful, I was afraid this would be beyond us, but it was a pair of idiots at a bar.\" Factfinder, a B-rank hero said.\n\n\"You really shouldn't talk about Infinitas that way. He saved us from the underworld uprising and the\" \n\n\"Shut up. You know this is good for us. If we bring in Infinitas' killer we'll both make A-rank, possibly even S-rank with a little luck.\" he interuppted his partner Marksmaiden, a B-rank hero.\n\n\"I'm just saying we could be polite about it.\"\n\nNeither was concerned about this glorified thug known as HugeHandz, he was just a stepping stone.\n\nLet me know if you want to see the conclusion. I have to go so I can't finish tonight.\n\nr/AurumArgenteus", "Most heroes described me as, at worst, 'A mild inconvenience'. It wasn't that my plans weren't grand and elaborate, it was that something always came up:\n\nMy plan to steal the Empire State Building? Foiled by a hurricane.\n\nSinking the Sydney Opera House? Low tide.\n\nConquering a Hawaiin Island? Volcano eruption.\n\nCapsizing that Titanic replica? Already sinking.\n\nThe list goes on and on.\n\nThose extravagant evils just never seemed to work out. So, I moved to smaller ones. Battles that couldn't be stolen by happenstance and shenanigan.\n\nI became 'Dr. Inconvenience'.\n\nEver been behind a car going too slow on the highway? Looked in that rear-view mirror and seen the hundreds of cars behind you? I was leading that charge. Ever lose your spot in line because someone started a rush? Me. Beginning wild rumors about an impending toilet paper shortage? Yours truly.\n\nHonestly? It was so very much more satisfying than those big grand-standing plans. The absolute raw rage one can inflict by the smallest of things. That? That was villainous fulfillment.\n\nImagine my surprise when one of my dastardly plans led to the death of 'Signor Super'. I had busied myself removing every single wet-floor sign in the city. Shoes being ruined, legs being splashed, and best of all? The occasional slip.\n\nIn this case, the life-changing slip. Signor Super, now Signor Sausage, slipped on one of those unmarked puddles of soapy suds. Slid right into an industrial sized meat grinder while chasing after Mrs. Evil (I know, I know, I told her the name was lame.) As soon as footage was released of the very villain who removed said 'Wet Floor' sign? Let's just say a mild inconvenience can become a major one.", "You can't walk more than a few blocks in this town without seeing a \"I ♥️ The Brigadier\" shirt for sale or see a bumper sticker with his ugly face on it. It always annoyed the fuck out of me but alpha class heroes like him never bothered with kilo level criminals so unless I suddenly threw an aircraft carrier at the moon or something I didn't have to worry about him. As I walked to \"work\" I laughed at the idea. Who the fuck throws an aircraft carrier anyway? I opened the door and even though the restaurant was still a little busy, the lunch rush was done so there would be plenty of money in the till. I yelled \"nobody move, I'm taking the money here and nobody will get hurt as long as you don't try to be a hero!\" Someone stood up and yelled \"fuck off you aren't stealing anythi--but quickly fell over as I launched a steak at him hard enough to knock him out. I could control anything that had been cooked so even though I could make him revisit his lunch I preferred to use pre-eaten food. I walked up to the counter and demanded all the cash they had when I heard the door open. I levitated another steak from the grill and turned around to lob it at whatever unfortunate bastard had wandered in but froze when I saw him. The Brigadier. Right in front of me. \n\nHe wasn't wearing his usual costume. This was had polished brass and immaculate leather straps securing his cape. He also wasn't wearing his gauntlets so I presumed he was at some kind of autograph signing. He was not as tall as I imagined but somehow still seemed to tower over me. \"so are you going to give up or will I have to cook up some justice?\" He asked. I almost fell over trying not to laugh. The papers never mentioned anything about his banter skills. \"what's the rush? You haven't even had your appetizer!\" I yelled as I lifted the steak again then used all my strength to launch it at him. It hit his face and some of the juices dropped onto his uniform. \"now you've made me mad. Let's make some villain tartare!\" He yelled flying towards me. \n\nI barely dodged him and he almost hit the grill before he stopped. When he got up, his right hand touched the surface. I heard sizzling and he yelled, jerking his hand away. \"fuck!\" He screamed. I didn't know The Brigadier ever cussed before. This was serious now. \"give up or you're really going to be well done when I'm finished with you\" he threatened. I smiled because that sizzle was all I'd need. \"just one question before I do. Why you hitting yourself\"? \n\nI made his hand ball into a fist and forced it into his chest hard enough to knock the wind out. Then I had him uppercut himself a few times and finally I had him deliver a right cross that Mike Tyson would be proud of. Seeing him on the ground, I strolled over to the cashier and said \"now, about that money?\" And she put everything in the register into a paper bag and handed it to me. I walked out feeling like I'd won the Superbowl. Not only had I taken on The Brigadier, I knocked his ass out." ]	6
[WP] Your power is at your strongest when you are filled with love and affection. unfortunately you were taken in by a malicious organization at a young age and trained to be a living weapon.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It was said that assassins who had slain a hundred souls would become favored by the reaper himself. As the fable went, he or she would start seeing the death in all things, thereby gaining the power of death itself. They were called the tainted-ones by the outsiders. Inside our circle though, we call them death-touched. My master was one such being. He had no names and a thousand faces. His stern tutelage has left its mark on me as I strived to follow his path and gain the power and wisdom along its way.\n\nHe led me through the meandering path illuminated by the crescent moon unmindful of the furcating and grotesque branches that tried to hinder us. They were tall trees with twisted boughs and twigs and particularly long lobed leaves which reminded me of the serrated kunai blades that my master favored. Bonnie, my pet chipmunk peeped from my pocket and then hastily darted back in not wanting to witness what was about to happen.\n\n“Its about time. Are you ready?”, my master asked. I nodded in affirmation.\n\n“Here he is. I thought it would be fitting”, his usually expressionless voice now held a hint of amusement in it. Curious, I followed his gaze and noticed my quarry bound against the tallest and dramatically gaunt looking tree in the wood. I was admittedly surprised. Five years had passed, but his face remained the same as ever. I studied my former handler briefly. He gazed back at me; his eyes wide in terror. His mouth was gagged but his plea was clear as day to me. 'Save me', his eyes begged.\n\n“Second thoughts boy”, I heard my master’s mocking tone. I merely laughed at that. I was at the cusp of evolution itself. A hundred souls for power unrivalled was a bargain I was happy to take any day. I only wished that I had enjoyed the chase of the hunt. Having my quarry restrained and tamed for me took the fun out of the kill. I sighed as I approached him. Despite the circumstances, I still took a moment to thank my former handler. After all, it was him who taught me my first lesson. Weakness would be punished and cowards attracted bullies. As I let the sobriety of the moment wash over me, I realized that life was indeed a circle in many ways.\n\n“I am waiting”, my master’s tone brought me back to the present, I shook myself out of the nostalgia and performed my kill rather unceremoniously. All things considered, it was done neatly. I sliced off his jugulars and I even stabbed him again twice in the throat to be sure and looked at my master proudly for his approval. He shook his head critically.\n\n“How many monsters and men have you slain till now. It is pathetic that you have to stab twice to make sure a tied victim is dead. It just means that you weren’t thorough enough the first time.”, he admonished. “But this should do for now”\n\nThere was an uncomfortable pause after that… and a minute or two passed as we stood staring at each other.\n\n“Well?”, he demanded in frustration.\n\n“Yes master?”\n\n“Do you feel it now boy!”, he gesticulated his hands in the air. “The subtle pull of death in all things alive. The trees, the ravens, you and me, we are all marked by the karmic imprint of death. Do you sense it? Death pervades all things alive”\n\n“Uhm.. I… I feel the same as I always do”\n\nWith a shriek of displeasure, my master broke into a stream of expletives as he frantically cursed me and everything else under the moon. “I didn’t waste years of training and the organization’s resources for nothing. This should have worked”, he hissed. “It is a perfect hundredth kill. A perfect revenge upon one who had power over you once and had wronged you. A momentous kill by all means. Why then…? Why..? I can’t fail. They will need answers…”, he shrieked and clutched his head.\n\n“I am sure I will get there master. Maybe a hundred kills are not enough?”\n\nTo see the man whom I admired ramble on like a petty wastrel did something inexplicable to me. Even Bonnie who had been secure inside my pocket, grew alarmed by his incessant mutterings and leaped towards the nearby twig and eyed at me accusingly.\n\n“AH! THAT’S IT”, he screamed again in a frenzy. “Your insouciance is proof enough. This wasn’t moving enough! That was why! We need it to mean something!”, he peered at me crazily and then at Bonnie. He then looked back at me intently.\n\n“No!”, I replied to him even before he asked.\n\n“YOU HAVE TO! YOU ARE STILL IMPURE!”, he shrieked. “LET GO OF THE LIVING AND EMBRACE THE DEATH FOR IT IS FINAL!!!”\n\n“I will! I just... need some time… I am sure I can-”\n\n“KILL IT!”, he growled menacingly and Bonnie eyed us both terrified.\n\n“Master, it isn’t necessary… I… RUN BONNIE!!“\n\n“It is dead already boy! Either by your hands or by mine. Do not be indecisive! Shred yourself of this weakness”, his words carried within it the power of finality, like the reaper himself. An aura of death emanated from him like I had never seen before. I was rooted on my spot, unable to move and I could see it was affecting Bonnie too. Tendrils of death like dark energy erupted from my master and wrapped around us oppressively, sucking the life and hope out of me.\n\n“Wait…”, I floundered but my voice came out hoarse and timid. Damn it! I thought I had grown stronger but I found myself in the same hell I had been years before. Years of rigorous training and pushing myself, all for naught in the end!\n\n“It’s too late now! the moment has been lost to you forever now. You shall die along with your stupid squirrel, ignorant and weak as you were always.”, he remarked grimly. With one fluid movement, he grabbed her from the twig and started crushing her within the palms.\n\n“…kwuk… kwukk…”, I heard Bonnie’s terrified shrieks.\n\n“NOT AGAIN”, I roared. I knew that I had to save her. I knew that I couldn’t afford to fail.\n\nWithout knowing how, I simply acted. I broke free of his tainted dark tendrils and leapt towards him. A golden aura erupted from me and shone through the darkness. I sensed the tentacled dark tendrils recoil against the golden light. Like a wisp of puffy smoke, he vanished against the brilliant light dropping Bonnie to her death. The healing light that shone from within my heart embraced her like a cocoon and I could see life return back to her like a warm sun amidst winter. It was on that day that I realized my true calling and my own path to power. Death conquers life in the end. But love conquers life and death." ]	2
[WP] A few years ago, you bought a star on one of those scammy websites for fun. Suddenly your phone rings. ALIENS, they want your permission to invade your star because some rebels are wreaking havoc amongst the solar system.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Hello! I am a 12- I mean uh 13 year old kid, and English is not my first language. I wrote this in order to procrastinate cleaning my room:\n\nMy very own Sun.\n\nThe online store was obviously illegitimate. Despite being new and entirely unheard of, all products had at least 20 reviews, all 5 star ratings. Prices and delivery time seemed too good to be true. The graphical designer had done a terrible job and the website was marked as “unsafe” by your browser. \n\nThe most ridiculous thing, however, was the products themselves. Some were regular coffee cups, toys, clothing, embroidery, music instruments, a wide but normal selection of items. Scrolling through the seemingly endless list of goods, rolling your eyes at the occasional “Black purse, leather: 2$ plus free shipping”, you saw a label which read “Unnamed star, 6 million light years away: 8$”. \n\nWhat was a poorly executed scam before now seemed more like a huge joke. The people behind this couldn’t actually think people would believe that, would they? But intrigued, bored out of your mind and having money to waste you decided to purchase this star. The payment went surprisingly smoothly, you now owned a star of your very own, it became an inside joke in your friend group, and eventually the memory died down.\n\n————————\n\nUnknown number\n\n-“Hello, who’s this?”\n\n-“Hello sir. … We uhm..how do I say..I are not very good at your language”\n\nHis - most likley a he - accent was strong, what his first language could be was difficult to determine. He sounded stressed but trying to keep up a calm tone. The voice was raspy, and audio glitchy. Loud bangs and sirens could be heard in the background. \n\n-“I’m sorry, I struggle to hear you.”\n\n-“So … name is Gerald right?”\n\n-“Mhm.”\n\n-“I was sent to uhm ask Mr. Gerald if our kind could conquer your.. the Sun of yours.”\n\n-“What?”\n\nPrank call, huh? Well it was certainly a good prank, the sound effects and exaggerated accent. Though interesting, you did have other things to do today. You ended the call. \n15 minutes later, your phone yet again started buzzing. \n\n-“Please do not end call. We have difficulty to connect your device from this far.”\n\nSame pranker again. What a good actor, honestly! He sounded pretty genuine. You awarded yourself a break and sat down on the couch to play along with this kid. A loud scream came from wherever the caller was, and when he once again spoke you could hear his shaking, he talked faster and almost pleaded.\n\n-“We are in hurry. You remember you bought star? The 22 June three years ago? 2019?”\n\nYou vaguely remembered. The “Unnamed star: something million light years away” or whatever. It was a source of giggles from your friends for quite a while. \n\n-“Oh yeah, the star I bought for 8 dollars. Are you from that scammy company eh?”\n\n-“What is Scame? You are assigned as the owner of Sun. …Ouch!! … As you hear, we are in war. We need to take over star. But do you give permission? We are respectful folk.” \n\n-“I mean go ahead, I don’t mind.”\n\n-“Thank you Gerald, owner of Sun. Our species will repay you one day.”\n\n-“Farewell alien.”\n\nThe call abruptly ended, you grinned at the creativity of today’s youth, sighed and continued your on with your day. That night you’d sleep, completely unaffected by that one shining light in the sky, one which someone out there viewed as their sun.", "SCAM LIKELY\n\nThe phone kept lighting up with “SCAM LIKELY” so Roscoe had no qualms sending it directly to VM every time. It wasn’t until later that night, that he noticed the fifty-seven scammers had left fifty-seven voicemails. Son of a … sighing Roscoe went to his inbox to clear them out, only briefly glancing at the voice-to-text preview for each message.\n\nBut it was enough to get his attention.\n\nWho was Roscoe-251 and what the heck did he have to do with an insurgency?\n\nScrolling to his call log, Roscoe brought up one of the scam numbers. The area code was something he had never seen before, and there were entirely too many numbers for it to be domestic, or even international for that matter. Probably why it was flagged as spam. Curious.\n\nBecks, his wife of twenty-five years, emerged from the bathroom. She was wearing one of his uni t-shirts and he had to admit even now, all these years later, she was still as breath taking as the day that he married her.\n\n“What’s wrong? Is it John? Does he need money again?” Becks, infinitely familiar with all her husband’s moods, persisted because of his speechlessness. “We decided that twenty-three is old enough to figure it out and I’ll stand by that decision. Honey, what is it?”\n\nRoscoe held up his phone, put it on speaker and hit play on one of the voicemails. A static connection came through loud and clear. What wasn’t as clear was a clicking sound, with several screeches, followed by –\n\n“Is this thing on? … Oh, there we go. Mr. Roscoe Bartholomew, we are requesting immediate access be granted to the Federation of Roscoe-251 for planetary retribution under Edict 3 of the Intergalactic Tribunal. You have an earth day to respond, otherwise we invoke the clause of Thepson which states when the owner of said planet system is unreachable, offended parties may proceed. That is all.”\n\nSeveral screeches and static pops before the message ended. Roscoe hit another one which was the exact same. A recording, then. He stared at his wife, “What the hell?”\n\nBecks shrugged, just as confused as he was, when the phone began ringing again.\n\nBecks motioned for him to answer on speaker. Roscoe did. “Hello?”\n\nStatic, screeches and then –\n\n“Is this that damn message again or –\"\n\n“Who is this?”\n\n“I believe it’s the human, sir.”\n\n“What? Hand that damn contraption over here. Closer. Mr. Roscoe Bartholomew?”\n\n“Speaking.”\n\n“An answer for our request .... please.”\n\nRoscoe looked at his wife who held up a finger, one minute, as she moved to the dresser and opened the top junk drawer, rustling through it.\n\n“This damn translator isn’t working; he can’t understand me –”\n\n“It’s working, I just now received your request, and it is under review.” Roscoe made a ‘what the hell and what do we do with this nutcase’ gesture to Becks who was returning to the bed with a piece of paper in hand.\n\nA star certificate that she’d given him for their twentieth anniversary. She’d joked that she’d “splurged” a bit to buy the entire surrounding planetary system as their retirement winter home, because they’d both been feeling cramped in the big city lately.\n\n“Are you the owner of Roscoe-125?”\n\nRoscoe stared at the piece of paper, that everyone knew was a joke. A sweet memento, sure, but it wasn't a scientific or legal document. Heck, even the International Astronomical Union had gone on record to state that it was more like “adopting” a section of the universe to lovingly think of someone when you looked up. But you didn't actually own it, did you?\n\nBecks spoke up, “Yes, he does. I purchased it for him as a gift.”\n\nA long pause where the line was just static pops and then, “Who is speaking?”\n\n“Roscoe’s wife.”\n\n“Come look at this thing, it’s not translating correctly, I’m telling you – no – it doesn’t know what a ‘wife’ is … hurry up, command will not be happy if we do not succeed –”\n\n“She’s my better half.” Roscoe winked at Becks, “And my boss. What do you fellas need? This is all more than a little strange and I have half a mind to call a friend down at the station to run the numbers and bust up your whole scam operation.”\n\n“We are requesting –”\n\nRoscoe sighed. Okay, he’d bite. Assuming there was a) life outside of earth and b) and an intergalactic tribunal and c) the far-off chance that his authority was recognized in Roscoe-125 –\n\n“What did the insurgents do?”\n\n“They tee-peed our ship.”\n\n“And you’re asking permission to what?”\n\n“Mass destruction! Complete annihilation! Doom upon generations! … ugh, as my counter has reminded me, ‘with your permission’.”\n\nRoscoe and Becks exchanged a look, one that every parent who survived the trenches of the terrible teen years to get their children to adulthood would recognize.\n\n“Well, either your translator thing is broken or you’re calling me to ask about exterminating a planet just because some creatures there … defaced your ship with toilet paper? You guys even have toilet paper? How’d they get it wrapped around the ship without you noticing?”\n\n“No, they – ugh – I don’t care, the damn thing is obviously broken, fix it. Now.”\n\nBecks tapped Roscoe on the shoulder, whispering into his ear and he nodded slowly. It’d been a while since he and the missus had a vacation, and she always came up with the best trip ideas.\n\n“Tell you what, I do not authorize or sanction access to Roscoe-125 for your people for any reason.”\n\nA string of static and angry screeches filled the line, very similar to a full teen tantrum.\n\n“But I will agree to act as an intermediatory between you, the offended, and them, the Roscoe-125 defendants. On two conditions.” The screeching paused and Roscoe continued, “One, my missus and I get a fully guaranteed round trip from Earth to Roscoe-125 and back, all expenses and amenities paid for with additional assurances that we will be able to breathe and stay alive in all environments we are placed in or given proper gear to assure such. Two, whatever my ruling is after both parties make their case is final. My word is law, and it will be abided by.”\n\nStatic pops filled the line and a full minute counted by on the phone as Roscoe and Becks waited. And then –\n\n“Fine. You have one minute to prepare for transport.”\n\nThe line went dead, and Roscoe and Becks let out a whoop of excitement, then Becks quickly typed out a text to their son, “Going on vacation. Back in a bit. Love you honey.” While Roscoe grabbed a bag with some clothes for each of them.\n\nExactly sixty seconds later two beams of light filtered through their bedroom window.\n\n“Really? Isn’t that a bit cliché?” Roscoe groaned to Becks, who just laughed her melodious chuckle as she took his hand and wiggled her eyebrows mischievously, “Beam me up, Scotty.”\n\nHe smiled, leaning down to kiss her. “You’ve always wanted to say that.”\n\n“And do it.” She responded as they stepped forward into the light.\n\nAnd were instantly transported to a ship on the edge of Roscoe-125, 6.587 million light years away.\n\n\\~\\~\\~\n\nThank you for reading! For more scribblings, wander over to r/WanderingAnonymous", "\"Hello\"?\n\n\"...\"\n\nI shook my phone to check the mic.\n\n\"Hello?\"\n\nA voice seemed to come from behind the phone, if you can imagine. Maybe I took too much of that... never mind.\n\n\"Look, if this is a prank or something then just hang up. I'm not about that\".\n\n\"Boabe?\" said the voice. My name was Bob. \"Yeah, that's me but you pronounced it wrong. It's Bob. Who are you, by the way?\", I spoke all in one breath.\n\n\"Tis ise-\". The phone cut off. Whatever, I thought. Probably a crazy ex or something.\n\nThen something weird happened. The air in front of me started to swirl like one of those ice-cream machines at a fast-food place. An aurora of light flashed, and the space seemed to warp around itself. A blurry form appeared in the midst of this, never staying in one place at once.\n\n\"Bob\", said the creature. I could understand it loud and clear now.\n\n\"Uh, what-?\", I stammered. This was probably the second strangest thing that I had ever seen. The first was when I found my ex-wife eating dog food.\n\nIn an artificially neutral accent, the creature spoke again. It didn't have a mouth, but the vibrations got more intense when it made sounds. \"Our troop needs your star. Rebels are launching an attack and must be disintegrated\".\n\nThis dredged up a long lost memory of mine. I used to surf sketchy websites on the dark web, and invested in all kinds of things I probably shouldn't have. A vague memory of buying \nRE J0317-853, the smallest known white dwarf star crossed my mind. Why would I buy a star? Actually, that's not the right question. Why did I pay 10,23-\n\nThe alien cut me off, \"Do you acknowledge permission to invade RE J0317-853?\"\n\nI decided to one-up the offer, grinning slightly as I spoke: \"Only if I can watch the battle\".\n\nThe creature accepted without hesitation. Before I could react, the world around us started warping and shifting through space and time. One second I was in an alley in Soho, New York and the next light years away staring at the magnetic sphere of my blue planet. A massive fight was underway, with so many ships and weapons I had never seen or even began to imagine about. \n\nIt's been a century since then, and I've seen a million battles just like it. The aliens appreciated my cooperation so much they gave me free reign of their whole empire. Just another day I guess." ]	4
[WP]your pet gains the ability to speak and understand you, and they want the truth , but you are afraid that they can't handle the truth.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Of all the possible outcomes after the incident, this was not one that you had been expecting.\n\n\"Tell me,\" Cassie, your sweet, cute, tiny kitten snarls. \"Tell me what happened!\"\n\n\"Um,\" you hesitate. \"Uh- How are you, Cassie darling? Would you like some milk? Perhaps with a dash of-\"\n\n\"TELL ME!\" she screams, louder than even your Aunt Karen on her worst days. \"Tell me now!\"\n\nAfter a moment, she adds, \"Milk would be nice too. But tell me.\"\n\nGetting her some milk was a nice time waster (2 entire minutes, not bad!). Thinking up a good excuse, however, generally took a bit longer. \n\n\"If you don't tell me what you did for me to suddenly gain the ability to speak,\" Cassie hisses, \"I promise, you'll regret it.\"\n\n\"I don't know why you can speak,\" you try. \n\nCassie raises an eyebrow. \n\n\"I don't know exactly why,\" you amend at her look. \"But... okay, fine, I'll tell you.\"\n\nFive minutes later, Cassie walks away from room, apparently satisfied with the explanation. After all, it makes sense that a science experiment would cause her to start speaking. \n\n\\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nYou should have known the science experiment excuse wouldn't have satisfied Cassie for long. Cassie had always been intelligent, after all.\n\n\"There are no scientists here,\" Cassie points out. \"And I couldn't find any records of any experiment. I wasn't even on the news! What did you do to me?\"\n\n\"Nothing!\" you insist. \"I don't know anything.\"\n\n\"Right,\" Cassie says. \"In that case, I have no use for you. Have fun with my claws in your eyes.\"\n\n\"Why are you so mean to me?\" you ask, genuinely horrified. \"I've always been so nice to you.\"\n\nCassie appeared to think for a moment before finally responding, \"I'm not quite sure. It just feels like the right thing to do.\"\n\nYou feel no less unsettled when she walks into the kitchen, climbs up onto the counter, and grabs the sharpest knife.\n\n\\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nIt had been two days. Time to finally come up with a convincing excuse.\n\nMostly because instead of knife, Cassie is holding a gun. Where she got it from, you have no idea. \n\n\"I didn't want to tell you this earlier,\" you say, \"because I wasn't sure whether you could handle it.\" You take a deep breath. \"You were able to speak after I visited psychic last week. Do you remember that? It must have been the psychic's fault.\"\n\n\"I remember that,\" Cassie says. \"But I thought you said the psychic was a fraud. She said you had a sister, even though you are an only child.\"\n\n\"That's true,\" you grudgingly agree. \"But maybe she was still legit?\"\n\nCassie frowns. \"I suppose it's possible. Perhaps the psychic knew about Lilith?\"\n\nYou glare. \"We don't talk about Lilith.\"\n\n\"Why not? She's you're-\"\n\n\"We don't talk about Lilith,\" you insist. \"Anyway, well, now you know. Go scare the psychic, if you'd like.\"\n\nYou walk out of the room, completely missing the glint of red in Cassie's eyes.\n\n\\--------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nIt was time to take action. Serious action. Cassie was becoming far too dangerous. \n\nUnfortunately, Cassie was also becoming far too intelligent.\n\nSo you do the only thing you can do. Go back to the beginning, where this whole mess started.\n\nBack to Lilith's grave.\n\nWhether wise or not, you leave Cassie at home. At least she can't do too much damage there. Just like last time, you bring your axe, just in case.\n\n\"Lilith?\" you call, kindly, sweetly. \"Lilith, where are you, honey?\"\n\nInstead of a voice, all that comes in response is a meow. \n\n\\--------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\"Cassie?\" you ask, approaching the voice. \"Cassie, is that you?\"\n\n\"Meow,\" a softer sound replies. Yes, this was the real Cassie. \n\n\"Cassie, are you alright? Where are you?\" you call, slightly more frantically. Cassie continues to meow, which although sounded as though she was in pain, made it far easier for you to find her.\n\nUntil you did. Because obviously, the sound was coming from Lilith's body. And obviously, it couldn't have just been the ghost that had been haunting you before this mess.\n\nYou do what anyone would do when faced with the sight of the corpse of their sixteen-year-old sister meowing. You scream. \n\nCassie, from inside of Lilith, screams as well, although perhaps hers was supposed to be comforting.\n\nDespite the love you have for your pet, despite the fact that now you had proof that the evil, vengeful monster inside of Cassie's body was not really your cat, you can only do one thing. \n\nLifting the axe, you kill your own sister for the second time.\n\n\\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nWhen you return home, you prepare yourself for your third murder of the same person. Why wouldn't Lilith just stay dead?\n\nAt least she was gone for ten years. For ten years, you had had peace. But when she came back to haunt you... well. That had been a disaster. \n\nYou had panicked. That's your only excuse for going to the psychic and visiting Lilith in the graveyard. Still, it hadn't been your fault that after you dug up the grave in the middle of the night (just to check whether there was anything you could do to get rid f her permanently) Cassie had jumped in. \n\nWell, all that was in the past, anyway. Now, all that mattered was tying up loose ends.\n\nUnfortunately, Lilith was intelligent. She always had been. You should have killed her in Cassie's body from the start. Stupid emotions had prevented you from seeing that it had been time to kill your cat.\n\nBut as you fumble slightly with your keys and finally open your door, you never do end up seeing your sister - or your cat - one last time." ]	2
[WP] you just bought the home of your dreams and noticed a small doorway hidden in a closet that leads you into a new part of the house that's not physically possible.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I can't recall the day I first noticed the bonus room. Certainly after we'd moved by many months. An oddly long time, really, given we passed it every day while choosing the day's clothes.\n\nJohn mentioned it first, over breakfast on a hazy Sunday during the fires still a county away. We were keeping the windows closed and keeping an eye on the winds and trying not to question our sanity buying this house in a forest in a historical drought without thought to what could go wrong. But the fires were still far enough away, that maybe we'd look back on these fears and laugh.\n\nHe only said that he'd jiggled the doorknob that morning, but it didn't yield. I'd shrugged and put my dishes in the sink giving it little more thought throughout the day until we'd undressed for bed after a day spent de-wallpapering the parlor and foyer of their heavy florals.\n\nWith the bedroom light off and the door to the closet open, I thought I could see the faintest crack of light coming from under the small inner door. John wasn't sure, but agreed to humor me. It was faint, but I was almost sure something looked different from before. Almost.\n\nWe walked to the small door, and John tried the knob. I nudged him to twist with more force, teasing with the sing-song \"you break it, you buy it\" that we'd taken up with each other whenever we manhandled the house in our fumbling attempts at DIY. John was the one who introduced this habit, a reminder that if we broke something in trying to make it better, we'd paid in advance.\n\nSquaring his posture at the door, he really leaned into twisting this time, and with a groaning creak the door opened. A soft lavender glow spilled into the closet.\n\n\"Well, I'll be damned,\" he said in wonder. I stood next to him peering inside, shaking my head in disbelief.\n\nThe room was grand, almost like a ballroom in the dim light. Yet there was no possible way that this room, with at least a 25 ft ceiling and filling half the length of a football field, was hiding in our closet like child playing hide and seek. The bathroom was just on the other side of the wall.\n\nAll that came to my mind, that I said out loud, was \"I guess we'll call this the bonus room.\"\n\nJohn gave a stiff smile and closed the door.\n\n\"I'm going to assume there's a reason they didn't mention this in the house listing. Let's not find out why tonight.\"\n\nHe asked me to stand guard, then came back with a dining chair and wedged it against the door knob, testing a solid fit.\n\nI recognized his stubborn expression and knew not to press him at this moment, but in daylight there would be time to explore what this room was and to find the source of its gentle glow." ]	2
[WP] The Chosen One works retail. They have no desire to save humanity due to it.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"You do know there are literal superheroes right? Like actual people with powers who willingly rush Towards danger. Why not go find one of them, their self preservation is low enough that they'd be interested.\" I couldn't believe the young woman in front of me. She had walked in gone and collected a few items and I figured she'd just be another customer. Some snacks, a drink, and gas and then be on her way. I couldn't in a million years have guessed she'd be here specifically for me. \"Hell, if you circle a block or two I bet you find one mid-thwart.\"\n\nThe woman looked at me, her platinum blonde hair framing a cherubic face, the black lipstick setting off her eyes which for some reason I couldn't place the color of. \"I am well aware of their existance, but they were not chosen for this task, You Francis Leopold Weirson, Were.\"\n\n\"Really, you're gonna use my full name. It's just Frank, ok? I work at a gas station to pay bills and stay out of people's way as much as I can. Even if I were inclined to get involved in the business of 'changing the world' I certainly wouldn't be siding with anyone who wants to maintain the status quo.\"\n\n\"Francis\" I cut her off with a swift gesture and a glare.\n\n\"If you want to talk it's Frank, if you want to call me Francis then your total is 45.66.\"\n\nShe looked at me then, and her eyes scanned up and down as if searching for something. I don't know what she was looking for but she seemed to find it. \"Fine Frank, I'm not happy about the choice the Aether made either, but it chose you. It believes you can save an entire universe. This one does not need you though.\"\n\nI raised an eyebrow at that \"Wait, this universe doesn't need me?\"\n\nShe nodded solemnly \"I am sorry to say, but your life here has next to no impact, your loved ones are gone, your job would be taken over by another who is likely less beaten down by their reality and far less cynical. This universe will get along without you just fine. The one the Aether needs you in though will soon end without your help.\"\n\nWell wasn't that just typical, I was right all along and I hated it. Alright so maybe ringing people up at some random gas station wasn't all that impactful, and just keeping up with rent and bills didn't change the world. Still to be told directly that it was actually making no impact, that your life truly lacked purpose, that was a rather bitter pill.\n\n\"Fine, I'll go with you, let me just grab my coat.\" I considered calling my manager but frankly that twat would have just told me I had to stay until the end of my shift. I thought about things for a moment \"Will I ever be back here?\" \n\nShe looked at me \"This universe, yes. This gas station, no.\"\n\nI grinned \"Then I have one last thing to do. I grabbed a pen and some paper and wrote down instructions for how to turn on the pumps leaving them next to the register. \"Alright then, let's get on with it.\"\n\n-- If you want more nonsense from me check out https://www.reddit.com/r/BipWriter/ --", "'Jason come into my office' my managers says as im stocking the juice aisle.\n\n'Whats up' I reply, and follow her into the office where a man i have never seen before was waiting. \n\n'This guy is Mr Bond, he wants to talk to you, he's from corporate', my manager introduces us.\n\nPeeling off his sunglasses, my managers leaves the room, giving us privacy.\n\n'Jason have you ever wondered what's its like to be meant for something big? to have what others can't'\n\n'Sorry, say what now, is this speech mandatory for training employees now?'\n\n'Jason, listen what im about to tell is going to change your life'\n\n'Uhmm, sorry i'm not actually depressed, i just look like it despite what the manager says'\n\n'No jason，you don't understand'\n\n'Sir, i'd hate to waste your time, i'm sure i've already heard this in some shape or form from my mother'\n\n'Do you know what this is?'\n\nMr Bond unveils a sword behind him, A freaking sword, like some kind of magic trick\n\nNow im terrified, i'm speechless.\n\nMr Bond remains still, 'This is yours'\n\nHe tries to hand me the sword, I'm so confused i almost drop it.\n\n'Wha'\n\n'This is the sword, excalibur of legend, it is a symbol of the chosen one, and it has chosen you'\n\nIn my head, i'm like yo i didn't even audition for this, and like i dont know what being a chosen one means, is it alot of work, i already hate serving as it is and now you tell me i gotta save tgem.", "I've seen the lot of them. The businessmen in suits waiting to put bottles of wine on their company card, foot tapping impatiently as the struggling young woman counts change for necessities. His one bottle easily triples her entire purchase. The zeroes in his account are at the end of the balance. Hers, the front. \n \nThey all believe that Chosen One is synonymous with Savior... \n \nI've seen the people spending rent money on Fancy nails in the \"salon\" and I've seen people using what could be inheritances on trinkets and electronic toys. \n \nI've watched people of all size shape color and Creed passed by my check stand.\n \nIt's a good thing the yellow face on my vest is smiling - \nFor this place, the soulless masses within, \neven the very products on the shelves and how they came into being, and into being here... \n \nThey're disgusting. \nRepugnant. \nDestructive, short-sighted, and wan. \nI'm not the chosen one. I'm the one who chooses. \nThe Ultimate Judge. \nAnd Humanity has failed. Again.", "\"No, sir,\" Rolan said in a well-practiced pleasant tone, his face hurting from the strain to keep smiling. \"I do not think you were born yesterday.\"\n\nThe city lord slammed a meaty fist on the counter, his fat pinky ring clacking against the wood. \"Listen here you bumkin. I am not paying twelve shinnings for a new hilt. The sword's only worth six!\"\n\nIt would be so easy. The sword was right there on the smooth, freshly polished counter. Rolan had spent most of the morning wiping it down. According to Master Luhart, if he had time to lean, he had time to clean. Well, right now, he had time to cleave ... a head clean from its entitled shoulders.\n\n\"You hear me, boy?\"\n\nRolan snapped back from his sweet, sweet fantasy. The customer was glaring daggers up at him.\n\n\"I'll see what I can do,\" he said, bowed, and ducked into the hallway leading to the workshop.\n\nWhen Rolan had won the apprentice lottery, everything had changed for him. His parents were overjoyed, danced around him as he read the letter of invitation from the Ingport Smithing Guild. A country mouse like him was going to the city, THE city. They weren't destitute. His family had been growing apples and tabbac for generations on their little farmstead. But Rolan hadn't wanted to be a farmer. He wanted more. So much more.\n\nThen he got it.\n\nBut the life of a city apprentice wasn't like the stories. He wasn't hammering iron and steel into swords or armor. He wasn't working with masters and learning their hard-earned secrets. He was a clerk. A punching sack. A target.\n\nRolan knocked on the heavy door leading to the forge and closed his eyes. The sounds of hammer on metal, clinging and clanging, carried through the door. As did the smell of soot and sweat. Everything he wanted.\n\nThrough the door, a gruff voice barked, \"WHAT?\"\n\nRolan pinched the bridge of his nose and shouted, \"Customer wants a discount!\"\n\nThe door flung open and Master Luhart growled, his cracked-leather face pinched into a familiar scowl. Sweat streaked rivers down his soot-smudged cheeks. \"What have I told you about discounts?\"\n\nRage bubbled up from the bottom of Rolan's stomach, hot and sour. Rolan knew the answer. Master Luhart knew Rolan knew the answer. They'd been through this so many times. But that didn't change the fact that customers still asked for discounts. And that going to the back to ask Master Luhart for a discount was the only way to mollify the vipers at the counter. They all knew it. And yet... \"No discounts for anyone but the—\"\n\n\"Anyone but the Queen herself,\" Master Luhart finished. \"Has her highness graced us with her presence, apprentice? Has the defender of the Seven Realms brightened my doorway?\"\n\nRolan's face hurt. He was clenching his jaw again. \"No,\" he said through his teeth.\n\nMaster Luhan sucked in a deep breath and shouted, \"THEN WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING' ME!\"\n\nThen he slammed heavy door on Rolan's face.\n\nRolan was never an angry child. In fact, his parents always said he had the patience of a saint. But that was because they couldn't hear his thoughts. When Tarwyn Gol shoved him out of the way and took his place in line when the sweet ice vendor came to their village, Rolan didn't cry, didn't shout, didn't fight. He laughed it off and took his new place in line behind Tarwyn. But in his mind, oh the things he did to that boy. Things that no child should ever consider. Should know how to consider. So much blood.\n\n\"BOY!\" the city lord shouted from the counter.\n\nWhen Rolan turned the corner and walked through the doorway into the storefront, he'd rebuilt his composure, apology and smile at the ready. But the city lord was gone.\n\nIn his place stood a dark, dangerous looking man. That was what Rolan's instincts screamed at him. He was tall, a good head taller than Rolan who was never mistaken for short. His face was all hard lines and edges, as if carved from stone. Rolan's eyes searched for the man's hands and could not find them. They were buried into his long black coat. A robber? Rolan thought to himself. No, he couldn't be that brazen.\n\n\"Nice little shop you've got here,\" he said, in rumbling basso. His accent was more dockside than city proper, smoky and sing-songy. \"Sellin' swords, yeah?\"\n\n\"Yes, we sell swords,\" Rolan said, reaching his hand under the counter for the dagger strapped underneath. \"What happened to the customer that was here?\"\n\nThe stone-faced man smiled and it softened his features. His eyes were dark and seemed tired. \"I sent him on his way.\" From his right coat pocket he pulled a sword in a shabby leather scabbard. It was half as long as Rolan, and there was no way it could have fit inside a coat. The man set the sword down on the counter in front of him. \"What can you tell me about this sword?\"\n\nRolan stared down at the weapon. Yes, the scabbard was made from worn leather. And so was the hilt. But there was something about the sword that drew Rolan closer. Like it was calling to him. He reached out a tentative hand and ... when he grabbed it, everything went white.\n\nThen he was back. Standing at the counter, sword drawn and pointed forward. The steel was nearly white and caught the sun shining in through the shop windows, like it was drinking it in.\n\n\"Welcome back,\" said the man, standing beside Rolan, behind the counter.\n\n\"Ah, you can't be back here!\" Rolan snapped, his senses catching up to him. \"What — what happened?\"\n\nThe man clapped his hands, waved them around fingers flittering, and held his palms up. Above them, an image appeared. It was of an armored knight holding a shining sword.\n\n\"My name is Theromine,\" he said. \"And I am a Magi. I have been searching a long time for the one who could wield this sword. It seems my search is over.\"\n\n\"I don't understand.\"\n\nTheromine nodded. \"Look at the picture.\"\n\nThe knight started moving. He ran forward, sword glowing brighter, and reached a horned monster twice as tall as himself.\n\n\"A great evil walks the land, corrupting and destroying everything in its path. Soon, if nothing is done, it will destroy the world. Everyone and everything. But you, the Sword Saint, have the power to stop it. To save humanity.\"\n\nThe knight leapt into the air and stabbed the monster with his sword. The image flashed white then faded away. Theromine clapped his hands again and said, \"Well. I'll give you a moment to collect your things and then we'll head out.\"\n\nRolan stared down at the sword, then at Theromine, then at the front door of the shop. In one smooth motion, he jumped over the counter and ran for the door.\n\n\"Where are you going!\" Theromine shouted after him.\n\nRolan turned and could not hide his grin. \"There's a monster I need to slay. I'll cleave his head clean from his entitled shoulders.\"", "“that’ll be 25.59 I say as the woman stares at me from across the register” \n“wait a second..” she says “I know who you are?” \nthis will be the 4th time this week someone has brought up my lineage, or lack thereof in my mind. \n“yeah, I’m Chuck, the guy who needs 25.59 and a cigarette break desperately” \nshe hands over the cash and grabs her bag. Another customer down, another 80 more to go. \n\nit’s finally 8pm, as I’m closing the metal gate to the doorway of our town mall. It seems as if someone is running at me. Wait..crawling? Either way i’m not gonna stand here and find out. I close the gate with a smash and hit the alarm button on the security system. Gotta get out of here in 15 minutes or Janet in HR is gonna have my ass again. \n\nas i’m walking towards my car, lighting my cigarette and trying desperately to get my fingers to warm up in this horrible fucking weather I notice it- there is a small man standing by my car, and I know what you’re thinking, so what? the problem is this man is atleast 2 foot tall and has a beard down to his ankles. \n\n“I don’t want to be a bother sir, but I have been waiting on you everyday for a month beside that dumpster and I finally realized why. You have got to speak to your father, he is growing older and cannot keep up the forcefield much longer. They already say the attacks are getting closer.” \n\nI stare at him for a long time, the cherry of my cigarette burning my fingers because he spoke for so long that I didn’t even think about disposing of it. I haven’t seen my dad since I started at this place, the look of disappointment when his chosen child took a position at Games R Us (patent pending). \n\n“okay, what you’re saying is my father wants to speak to me? what’s in it for me? you know I close like everyday this week right? They’re already on my ass about requesting Christmas off” \n\nhe takes a long breath, like he’s almost about to speak when I notice it. The crawling man has somehow found us and is behind him. I don’t know if the best option is to run or help this guy, but I better start now." ]	6
[WP] The wrinkled fingertips are just the beginning of the transformation. We just always leave the water too early	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I loved swimming. My mom always called me her little fish. In the summers, I would lifeguard for the local pool. When I turned 16, I finally got my dream job, lifeguard at Long Beach. There was something special about that beach. Maybe it was because you could see the Catalina Islands in the background, floating on the horizon like UFOs. I had never been there, despite seeing them almost every day. So, I decided to go for it one day when I didn’t have work. It isn’t a walk in the park, or maybe I should say a lap in the pool —it’s pretty far — about 15 kilometers off the coast, so more like 150 laps in the pool. But like I told you, I was a swimmer. People run marathons all the time, don’t they? What’s the real difference, anyway? \n\nIt was my Tuesday off, and it was midsummer, so not only did I have the day, but I had a full day. I dove in and waded past the groups of teenagers getting pummeled by the crashing waves. You know, it’s funny that most people end up standing in that layer of the ocean where the waves are breaking — I guess it is because it is typically the place where people can still touch the bottom. But man, farther in and you get the foamy white water, and farther out, you get nothing but the calm undulations of the ebb and flow of this beautiful body of water. Anyway, I guess it’s something you learn in time, like most things. Once I got to the surfers, I was getting into a groove. Arms and legs started synchronizing in a typical freestyle motion, and I’d breathe every 6 strokes. It use to be 5, but I had really been pushing myself to use less and less air, I know it seems counterintuitive, but it really had been paying off. I had read something in this book called Breathe, which honestly seemed like pseudoscience at first, little did I know Olympians had been following these methods for ages! Sometimes the tricks are right there in front of you. A few hours later and I was but a speck in the big blue ocean. The problem was that the sky was becoming less and less blue…\n\nI wasn’t panicking, I mean, I was a lifeguard after all… but still, a storm wasn’t on the plan; especially at this point. I mean, I guess I could have turned around, but I was almost halfway there! And man, I reaaaally wanted to see these islands. Another few hours and I had to take a pause and just float around. I had a small waist belt on with some water and snacks. The drink was refreshing, but it was so hard to open the damn packaged nuts. My fingers were wrinkled like raisins at this point, but they also felt a bit slippery against the plastic. Whatever. I eventually ripped it open and poured the food into my mouth. Let’s go. \n\nI knew where I was going, I mean, they were big islands after all, and I could see them. Well, I should have seen them. Earlier they were there, but now all I could see was this big grey wall of bad weather. At first I was just happy it wasn’t rainy… Then I was just happy it wasn’t windy… Then I just wasn’t happy. Swimming in a storm is the worst. Especially if you are swimming against a storm. The choppy waves just continually smash into your face, and they throw off the rhythm, and the rhythm is what swimming is all about. To avoid this whole chaos I changed my style to dive a bit deeper underwater and swim as long as I could and then pop up for air. \n\nThis reminded me of when I was 14, I was in a breath-holding contest. Well, I guess it wasn’t really a contest in the traditional sense of the word — it was more a contest of teenage hormones to show who is the most macho lifeguard at the community pool. The point is that I won. Well, that isn’t the point that I’m trying to make now, or, well, it is — but not exactly like that. I don’t know what happened, but it seemed like I could stay down there forever. I didn’t even need to come up, but the other guys yanked me up because they were tired of waiting! Ha, suckers. Now, there is no one to pull me up, and I could just swim, and swim, and swim. I was amazed at how long I could go without coming up. I didn’t have a watch, but I knew whales could go for hours.\n\nOne downside of swimming underwater, together with the fact that I also couldn’t see anything when I was swimming above water, is that I quickly lost my orientation. There was a bit of a current, but at the same time, out here in this storm, the flow of the water was mostly dictated by the wind, and the wind can certainly change. I could have been going in the right direction, heck, maybe I was, the problem was that I really just didn’t know anymore. Now, I could have started to panic… but I knew I had a few more hours of sunlight, and hey, maybe the storm will clear up. I decided to just tread water and rest a bit to see if it would clear up enough where I could make out the silhouettes of the islands against the horizon. \n\nThe weirdest thing happened during that next few hours minutes. Usually, it takes a bit of effort to tread water, even if you are a swimmer, I mean, people kind of tend to sink in general… but I felt like I was floating upright. I never had that sensation before, I wondered if it was the storm, making some odd current or maybe it was the wind, or I don’t know, maybe it was all in my mind. That’s what I thought, at least at first. When I went to grab my water bottle, that’s when I knew something happened, something strange. I looked at my hand, and well — what the fuck — my fingers were webbed! Now I panicked. \n\nHoly shit, holy shit, holy shit, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck was my general state of mind for the following 15 minutes. Then, well, I kind of accepted it and started swimming with my eyes closed, as fast as I could, in the direction of where I thought the islands might have been. It was about 15 minutes later when I noticed that I hadn’t done my normal 6 strokes and breathe, but rather, how do I say this… I uh, never came up to breathe. Now things were getting really strange. Even though I was becoming a literal fish, I had a bit of good news, as the sun was almost setting, the storm broke up just enough to show me that I was actually quite close to the island, maybe only 5 minutes more. \n\nI had been in the water all day, maybe I had been hallucinating everything. I swam over to an outcrop of rocks and pulled myself up onto them. Nope, definitely not hallucinating, I had webbed hands and feet. Great. This was going to make for some great local news story. I didn’t really know what to do, but I did know I was tired as I had ever been. I drifted off to sleep, and when I woke up, I was very, very cold but I could see in the last light of the day that I had my normal fingers back. What the hell was all that?! I made my way to an inn not so far away and slept for the night. \n\nThe next morning I kept to myself, lost in thought about what happened the day before. Was it real? Did I dream it all? Was I going crazy? I’m still not too sure what happened that day — but I will tell you something — I took the boat back and I haven’t been in the water since.", "The circle\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe water calls me, but I always say no.\n\nWhat touches my feet is something warm and primordial, the broth in which the Paleolithic father was cradled at the beginning of time.\n\n It is alive with the cells of creatures that are born and live and die in it without ever seeing anything else, constellations of fish banks and algae blooms and decomposing flesh and the promise of something – someone, whispers a voice inside of me – yet to come. \n\nIt has always been there, the voice. Just like the water lapping at my ankles. Boiling in my blood. \n\n\"Another step\", says Charles. \"The longest yet.\" \n\nHe begs in that honest, cruel way of his – he is shamelessly curious, tired of retracing the steps of our evolution while walking always backwards. \n\nThirsty for the water to show him a glimpse of the future. \n\nThe water calls me, as it always did. It trembles and topples like an overfilled bowl, spilling its gifts over me, wave after wave. \n\nJust wait, it cries, just wait and see. \n\nThere is a secret to be uncovered, there. I just have to say yes.\n\nIn the meantime, my nails have so clean they are almost white - the memory of seashells easy to read in the pattern of their lines. \n\nWhen I finally lay down, the water runs to fill my nostrils and my mouth, the threat loud and clear on the salt of its lips. \n\nDon’t you dare make me wait any longer. I waited and wanted long enough.\n\nBut no matter the harshness of its onslaught or the passing minutes, it doesn’t drown me. \n\nSee, lovely? No fear. They don’t call me Pacific for nothing. I come in peace. \n\nAnd I? I ask. \n\nYou come with me, it answers.\n\nThe water always accepts its prodigal daughters. \n\nCharles adjusts the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and begins to write.\n\nOn the Origin of Species: Part II...", "When I was little I used to pretend I had webbed hands and feet. My mom would smile at me and tickle my palms when I would hold my hands up in the bath saying, \"look mom! They're webbed!\" I played this game for years. As I got older I gradually forgot about being a fish in the bath. I ways thought I imagined it. \n\nThe weirdest things float in your mind when you're floating in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after your plane went down. Our tiny charter plane had some kind of failure. The captain was screaming from the cockpit. I desperately put on my life vest as he just barely kept us from shattering on impact. We were able to float on top of it for an hour or so. Taking turns sleeping so we didn't drift away from one another seemed like a good plan. Didn't work. I nodded off when I was supposed to be holding him. I hope he's OK. \n\nI keep thinking about the bathtub game. Under the biggest night sky I lift up my hands. Surely I am going mad because I can see the webbing again? I plunge them back under the water. I'm so scarred. Tentatively I bring them back up. Still there. WTF.\n\nI feel my sides where I used to grow gills. Holy shot put! I think I feel them. I bring my webbed hand up to my nose and pinch it. I sit like that for several minutes waiting to need to take a breathe. I don't have too. What do I do with this information? I think I must be imagining it. I spend another couple of days drifting in and out of consciousness. Now my delusion is running wild, my skin is turning iridescent. I pulled my feet out of the water and my toes have elongated and fused together. I have flippers. \n\nI stopped feeling thirsty yesterday. That can't be a good sign. Is that a fin growing out of my elbow?\n\nIf no one finds me by tomorrow I'm taking off the life jacket." ]	4
[WP] The government realized it was futile to try and eliminate monsters so they chose to regulate them instead. Monsters, unbeknownst to the public can apply for “hunting” licenses that allow them to kill humans on a pre approved list mostly serious criminals. But somehow a regular person is on it.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\n\n“Will it ever stop raining?” Michael wondered as he starred out the window. “Oh well, let’s finish this decaf and go to bed”.\n\nAs Michael slipped on his PJ’s he paused, there was a feeling, an itchy feeling at the back of his head. Like he was being watched. “Watched by who? It’s me, and only me in this flat. As always” chuckling at how sad that made him sound Michael turned off the light, pulled back the bed covers and slipped in. \n\n“Work tomorrow” he muttered out loud. “There has to be more to life then 9-5. God, I wish I had some excitement!”\n\nAs Michael slept a dead silence was held in the flat. An unusual silence, no noise from the fridge, or that very quiet but irritating drip drop noise coming from the leaky tap in the kitchen. \n\nMichael stirred in his sleep. His mind so used to background noise that the silence was actually waking him up. “I don’t need to pee why am I awak…” \n\nThe blood left Michaels face as above him, on the ceiling, was total darkness. He couldn’t see the ceiling at all, but what he could see were two dark blood red coloured orbs “ey…eyes. There eyes” Michael thought “and there looking at me!” \n\nThe eyes blinked. Michael swiftly rolled out of bed. As Michael rolled out onto all fours a thud could be heard behind him on the bed. Not looking behind he bolted for the bedroom door. \n\nAs he reached the handle, turned, and pulled the door open something sharp latched onto his leg. Not even thinking Michael brought his other leg up and stamped down “Hissssssss” could be heard from whatever Michael had stamped on.\n\nMichaels leg, now free with the creature recoiling from the blow, ran out the bedroom and turned on the hall way light. Just in time too. Frozen in front of Michael was a snake like creature, big, green, with yellow circular patterns along its entire length. It had two claw like hands protruding from its side. Like a T-Rex arms. It was head height with Michael, mouth open. \n\nStaring into its red eyes, frozen in fear, Michael could only watch. The creature began to slowly shake, and then thrash. It began to hiss and then… dissolve, like light itself was destroying this monster.\n\nMichael watched as it disintegrated, turning into ash “What the heck!” Michael panted, still in shock. \n\nWith the creature now dead, Michael was able to bring his breathing under control “it’s okay. It’s okay. It’s dead. Your fine. Make tea and sit down” \n\nA hissing noise could be heard from the Kitchen. Slowly turning around, the entrance to the kitchen, and the kitchen itself was entirely, and utterly black. Apart from multiple red, glowing, eyes.", "Panting \nScreaming\nStomping\n\nWhat is happening I think to my self as I’m running as fast as I can away from a Chaser and It’s master. Didn’t the government get rid of all the monsters and even if they didn’t why’s one coming after me, I realized that to survive this encounter with The BeastMaster I would have to use my specialty Mindless Headbutt, which I hated to use because I would black out till all the things threatening me are dead, and it really gives me a headache but I guess I have to do it, and then everything went black. When I could see again I saw The BeastMaster and 3 Chasers dead at my feet but worse of all I had a really bad headache, I should probably be getting home now my sister might be getting worried I thought as I pulled out my phone to check the time and saw it was 4:45 AM so I knew that if any monsters didn’t kill me than my sister definitely would.", "I am an ageless horror. I eat the souls of the wicked and the damned... primarily. I also pay my taxes because the IRS are a bunch of evil witches. Me I don't fit in well with the government, or the rest of the system, nobody takes a little girl seriously. Fortunately I still get my needs met. Well I was until recently. I've hit something of a rough patch.\n\nLet me set the stage: Was some ten years back. Halloween. The perfect Halloween in fact. A full moon. Did I say I only go out on full moons? Kinda makes things awkward for me because once I get the assignment, I've got a month to kill them. Which means I've got one or sometimes two days to plan and execute the kill.\n\nAnyway I've got the name and address from the agency. You know the agency that provides me people I can eat. Those guys do a great job. So I arrive, the house is all decorated, fake grave stones in the yard, a plastic skeleton beside the door, fake cobwebs, you know the works. It's not a big place. Obviously the guy lives alone. I lurk a while, make sure no more kids are coming. Wouldn't want to be disturbed mid feed after all.\n\nFinally it's late, 9pm, all the other kids are done for the evening. I ring the bell.\n\nI hear the shuffling of feet to the door. It opens and there is an old man well old for men at least, to me you are all just young succulent morsels. He invites me in and before I can pounce, he offers me food. Well candy. Candy is food right? He insists I take some. Not really my thing but the rules of hospitality have to be observed. They Must Be Observed. It's kinda a thing for me.\n\nI can't eat him now. I've taken his food. I, am his guest. So I stay awhile. I listen to him ramble on about how things have changed. How he misses his old friends. I peak at his soul... perfectly clean. I think the government made a mistake. It's been a good half hour before I point to the door and go.\n\nWell this is awkward. I call up the help line, \"Uhhhh the guy you sent me to is perfectly clean. Nothing wrong with him. What's the deal?\" They tried to explain. Their explanation made no sense. I'm a being of eldritch horror, I know a clean soul from a dirty one and this guy was clean, heck he was even some type of doctor. They tried to convince me he was the wrong type of doctor and that he needed to die. I sighed and signed up for him for next month.\n\nI signed up to kill him from now until the end of time. He hasn't got too much longer to live and I can go hungry for a little while I guess. \n\nEvery full moon I visit. Don't want them thinking I'm slacking off. He chats, I listen. His stories have started to grow on me.", "His speed gained as his heart paced faster and faster. Every so often he slowed down to catch his breath but never for long, he couldn’t see or hear the monster but only the lavender purple mist looming closely behind him. He knew exactly what was behind him, exactly why he was running and exactly what would be left of him if he gave up. Right at the moment he thought of giving up he turned right and ducked into the roots of a large midnight green tree. He took deep breaths, the purple smoke filling his lunges as his chest rises and collapses. His mind flickers between trying to remember what his mother told him about the purple smoke, what monster was chasing him, what his plan was. When suddenly a root from the tree wrapped around his ankle.\n\n“What are you!? Where am I!?” He shouted at the tree which now suspending him from his ankle has a face constructed from vines and bark.\n\n“Just breathe, everything’s going to be okay” The monster spoke out of unmoving lips, a tongue made of mud flicked around in its mouth. The man flailed and struggled but somehow couldn’t remember how or why. \n\n“Why am I here!? What are you!? Who am I!?” The man said\n\n“You were called here, you have sinned, and now you can be forgiven” the monster glared with two red pupils the size of blueberries. “You should be thanking me”\n\nThe man gave up in struggling in his head he only had one word left, it was the same word that described the very scenario he was in right now.\n\n“Crunch”", "I stopped to catch my breath, doing my best to hide behind the dumpster. Not an insignificant challenge, given my frame. This day had started out so well, I got that pup cup from Starbucks, my boss said I did well on the TRP reports, Jen from accounting said yes when I asked her to lunch. I hadn't made any mistakes in over a year. Everything just seemed to be going so well. I thought I deserved a treat. \n\nBut here I am, hiding from It, praying It doesn't find me. I tried to brush the hair out of my eyes, always a challenge to do when it gets matted from all this sweat and excitement. \n\nMy ears perked up as I heard that eerie voice coming from all around me, a whisper in stereo \"Mr. Chaney, you'd make this much easier on both of us if you would just stop running. You need to accept your punishment.\" \n \nI took my best guess and ran towards the North exit of the alley, where the smell of brimstone was lighter, but It stepped out from a shadow, arms crossed and cold dead eyes fixed on me. \n\nI did an about face and stopped bothering with the pretense and ran on all fours to the other exit, only for It to cut me off there as well. Everything I knew was telling me to run, but I was out of options. My fur bristled as I bared my fangs and growled out, \"What am I being punished for? You're on the list! I'm legally allowed to eat you!\" \n\nWhen I got that damned catalog, I spent hours going over it for potential meals. But the violent criminals were too scary, what if they fought back? And you never knew whose grandmother had gifted them some silver bauble. There were others on that list whose sick crimes make my stomach churn, something that would only get worse if I actually consumed them. But there was one who was perfect. A simple actuary with a bland face and bland expression whose crime read \"Went seven miles over speed limit\". I finally decided to indulge myself, stalking him as he exited his workplace, with no idea of what I was getting myself into. \n\nThe two identical figures sauntered towards me, their steps a perfect mirror of each other. Their heads unraveled into a tree of flesh sprouting from their bodies, each branch its own terrible grin of jagged teeth. \n\nOne of the maws chuckled. \"Well that's the thing, Mr. Chaney. You did what's legal, but I'm more concerned about what's moral.\" The other mouths continued to slither towards me, content to let their sibling be their voice. \"You had an entire catalog of hardened criminals to go after, and you picked the one harmless actuary.\" \nI bite and claw at the mouths, but they dissolve into shadows each time I make contact, quickly replaced by more branches of fangs from the figures. One wraps itself around my hind legs and dangles me upside down as more teeth latch on to me. \nThe two figures have finished their walk and have met each other now, dissolving into each other to form one creature, more of a monstrosity than I could ever hope to be. \n\nThe voice started again, this time from each of the mouths that had gotten a hold of me. \"If Monsters are going to be accepted in the Human's World, its not enough to behave legally. We must show them we are Good. That we will behave ourselves not out of fear of governmental reprisal, but because we want to be better than all of those nasty folktales make us out to be.\" The teeth sunk deeper into my flesh and began to rotate in their mouths, emitting a high pitched whir like the chain saw they were. \"And you Lonnie, are an impediment to that goal.\" \n\n\nIt held the phone in its hand, the mouths reshaping into a head again, dragging all that tender newly rent flesh along with them back into Its body, to be savored at a later time. \"Steven, would you be a dear and send someone out to clean the alley at ninth and fourteenth? Seeing this could really put a damper on someone's day, and I'd hate to be the cause of that.\"", "“And your wings? Did you preen your scales?” Clark’s ma hooked the collar of his flannel jacket to peer down his back. He shrugged her off and slid into his hard wooden chair at the dinner table. \n\n“They’re fine, Ma, sheesh.” Clark helped himself to a slice of meatloaf off Ma’s 1978 Mingo County Fair commemorative platter. \n\n“You’re not wearing that tonight, are you?” Clark’s father looked over the edge of his paper from across the table. \n\n“I’m going to the movies with Randy,” Clark said, around a mouthful of meatloaf. \n\n“We’re hunting tonight.” His father returned to the paper. \n\n“So why do I have to come?” Clark grumbled. \n\nHis father snapped the paper shut. “I got this license for you, Clarcattas. Do you know how hard they are to get?”\n\n“I didn’t ask you to get one.”\n\n“You’re 200 moons old and you haven’t had a single kill. When I was your age—“\n\n“Yeah, I know — you and Uncle Saskattan were terrorizing the whole state.” Clark rolled his eyes. \n\n“Terror isn’t the point.” His father stood up to loom over the table. “We eat what we kill, we respect—“\n\n“Well I like meatloaf just fine—“\n\n“Meatloaf isn’t your culture!” his father roared, swiping Ma’s platter to smash on the lineoleum and extending his umber wings to stretch nearly from wall to wall. \n\nClark shrank in his chair. \n\nHis father glowered a moment, red eyes narrowed, ignoring Ma’s stifled whimper. “You’ll meet me at the crick when the moon rises.”\n\n“Yessir.”\n\nClark stuck around to help Ma sweep up the shards of her platter and do the washing up, then dialed Randy. He stretched the cord as far up the stairs as it would reach, for privacy. \n\n“McMurtry residence, this is Randy.”\n\n“It’s Clark. Listen, I can’t come tonight. My dad’s making me do this family hunting tradition thing.”\n\n“Night hunting? Whatcha after? Coyotes? Hogs?”\n\n“Uh… criminals.” Clark let the truth fall right out of his mouth. \n\n“Whoa, bounty hunting? I mean, your dad’s a big scary guy, he looks it. And you get to help?”\n\nClark wanted to keep telling the truth. That their prey was people— yes, people specially approved for execution by the state— but still people. People with unshaven beards and favorite bands and pictures of kids in their wallets. People who looked like Clark— well, except for the wings. People who looked like Randy. \n\nRandy was a good friend, the kind who never said nothing about Clark keeping his shirt on to go swimming. But Clark couldn’t tell him the truth about this. \n\n“Something like that.”\n\n“Tell me everything tomorrow,” Randy said. “Bye, Clark.”\n\n“Later, Randy.”\n\nClark hung up. He could see the moon shining through the front room window. His father would be waiting. \n\nHe hung his jacket on the bannister and shook his wings loose, coppery with dark eyespots and a peachy fringe, like Ma’s. The moon shone so bright as he made his way to the crick that he didn’t even need his antennae to aid his path. \n\nHis father handed him the yellow envelope from the state. “Every hunter must have a license,” he reminded Clark. “For the safety of our kind you must always be absolutely certain of your quarry.”\n\nClark slid a finger through the paper—argh, paper cut! He hid his flinch as best he could, and shook open the license. \n\nRANDALL MCMURTRY \n\nNo. \n\nClark clenched the paper, and the blood from his cut seeped through. \n\n“Careful with that—“ His father snatched the license away. “Randall McMurtry, isn’t that Randy’s—“\n\n“I won’t let you hurt him!” Clark flared his wings and let his eyes burn red. “You want me to have a kill so bad? Well fine!” He raised into the hunting posture, blood pounding in his ears. \n\nBut Clark’s father only stepped back, wings and antennae submissive. \n\n“Clark... I wouldn’t make you hunt your friend.” His voice was full of wonder. \n\nClark felt the heat fall from his face. “But the license…”\n\n“I wouldn’t make you hunt your friend,” his father repeated. “I’m sure it’s a mistake. Let’s go back to the house, see if your mother left us any pie. I’ll call the licensing bureau in the morning.”\n\nClark let this stranger—his father—put an arm around him. He thought he felt a tear on his cheek. \n\n“It’s all right, son. We’re mothmen, but we aren’t monsters.”", "The beast was gaining on me. I was running out of breath and I knew that right then and there that the monster was going to get me. It was a big, hairy one, with horns, it looked like something straight out of a children’s book. Most people would have found it hard to take seriously with its yellow fur with pink polka dots but having worked with these creatures for nearly seven years I knew better than to underestimate it. I couldn’t believe it. This was how I was going to die, alone, hunted down by this creature. There would be no one to avenge me, since I knew that as far as the government was concerned, this was perfectly legal. But it had all been a mistake. I didn’t deserve to die.\n\n-\n\nWhen I went over to Brad’s desk I had gotten exactly what I expected. Brad had never been the most competent employee and it showed. He wore his sleeves rolled up but his shirt untucked, and his desk was a total mess. It was unusual not to find crumbs from whatever snack food he was eating on the paperwork he filled out and they would usually match the crumbs that you could find if you looked closely at his scraggly beard. He was slouched backwards in his chair, in the seven years I’d worked with Brad at the Department of Monster Regulation I had never once seen him sit up.\n\nBrad’s job wasn’t even that hard, and yet he still managed to do it badly a lot of the time. Most of the time his job consisted of updating the list of pre-approved humans that monsters were allowed to hunt with the latest additions, it was mostly serious criminals deemed incapable of redemption, but it was also occasionally people with terminal illnesses who wanted to go out with a bang, or sometimes people who did it for the thrill of trying to outsmart the monster. Brad had a stack of forms on his desk either from the people who signed up for this program or from the higher ups with the newest criminals and he put them all into our computer system. However, his work was sloppy. He sometimes forgot a name. Or made a typo. Once, he accidentally deleted the entire list by mistake. It was a disaster.\n\n“Hey there, Steve!” said Brad. “How can I help you?”\n\n“You remember Frank, the intern?”\n\n“Oh yeah… Frank! He hasn’t been to work in a while, what’s up with that?”\n\n“Well, I got word from his family that he was hunted and killed by a monster. Do you know anything about that!?”\n\n“First I’m hearing of it. He must’ve been one of those guys who thought he could take the monster down. Oof, poor guy. People who try to do that almost never survive. Shame it had to be Frank, I sure will miss him.”\n\n“Yeah, except somehow, Brad, I have a feeling that you won’t.”\n\n“I don’t know what you mean.”\n\n“Brad, did you or did you not put Frank into the system.”\n\n“No, of course not! That would be a total misuse of power.”\n\n“I know Frank wasn’t stupid enough to volunteer for this kind of thing, and Brad, you’re a terrible liar.”\n\n“Ok… fine! You got me! I put Frank into the system.”\n\n“But why!? Why would you do that, Brad! You could get fired for this!”\n\n“He was a dick.”\n\n“Godammit, Brad, do you have any idea how serious of an offense this is! Look, you and I both know you’ve screwed up a lot of times, sometimes with disastrous effects, and it’s all turned out just fine for you. But this time, Brad, deliberately putting someone on the list with the intent to kill them! This is serious, Brad!”\n\n“Hey, hey, Steve. Nobody else needs to know.”\n\n“Are you crazy?! I can’t just hide this. It’s my responsibility to report this to our higher-ups.”\n\n“Real shame,” muttered Brad. “I liked you.”\n\n“What was that!?”\n\n“Nothing.”\n\nAs I walked away, I probably should’ve looked back. Because had I done that, I probably would have seen Brad put my name into the system.\n\n-\n\nThis was it. The end. The monster was practically on top of me, and he didn’t look like he was playing around. He was going to eat me alive.\n\n“Screw you, Brad!” I cried with my last breath. And then it was over." ]	8
[WP]As the party is about to be sacrificed by a cult, the two barbarians talk. "I've always admired how you cut your foes in two so neatly." "Well I admire that time you got turned into a 3000 meter colossus just so you could piledriver tiamat.". One of the cultists reacted, "That was you?"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The silence was disturbed only slightly by the flickering of unholy flames in their twisted braziers. Grog Dragoncrusher looked to his friend Gorg Mansplitter, then to the altar where the hooded cult leader stood, sacrificial dagger wavering just above the bare chest of Arin Lightbringer.\n\n\"I'm... terribly sorry, but could you repeat that please?\" the hooded man asked, his voice quavering just the smallest amount.\n\n\"What, you mean about Gorg's artistry in battle, or the other thi-\"\n\n\"OF COURSE THE OTHER THING.\"\n\n\"Oh, right. Funny story, actually. Was all Traskellion's idea, really\" said Grog, nodding to the unconscious thin man in the corner of the room, whose previously pristine white robes had taken on a slightly yellow sheen. \"So it's Tiamat, yeah, Dragon queen, goddess, at that white. And Trask and I, we've been at the ale, because why wouldn't you when you've got a dragon god to kill, and Trask says 'I bet you can't tackle that one' and I says he's right because my arms just ain't big enough to get round something her size. And then Trask does that giggle he does when he's about to do something mental, and says 'Wanna bet' and says something weird and wiggles his fingers. And I tries to say, 'No not really cause she's really big' but it comes out as 'BBTUDGSOALLHJDUICHZTHA IFBSYANKKIY' or something like that I can't really remember and I get headaches when I try.\"\n\n\"Anyways, everything gets smaller and squigglyer and then I am big enough to grab the five-headed dragon lady, except I don't really have arms anymore, but the weird ropey things I had instead worked pretty good, so I, and this is the best part, I picks her up by her tail and all five necks, and I just start smashing her into all the little rocks which I think might have been mountains maybe? After that it all gets a big blurry and elbritch, at least I think that was the word Trask used, but o woke up later with a big headache and why is everyone bowing down?\"\n\n\"ALL HAIL BBTUDGSOALL THE DEVOURER, DRAGONFOE, AND SUMMITSMITER\" came the words in unison from a hundred lips.\n\nThe cult master, feeling very much underqualified at the moment, approached the large bound man with a slightly sheepish look on his face.\n\n\"My Lord of the End Times, how may this lowly one serve you?\"\n\nGrog looked the man, his friends, and then back again.\n\n\"Uh, well, you could start by untying us? Ooh, and some ale! And make Arin put his shirt back on, I don't like his weird nipples.\"" ]	2
[WP] "You're worried about an artificial intelligence going rogue and killing us all? We already have humans who could do that."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%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&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“I think you’ll like what we built” The skipper looked around at the gathered senators and smiled. “The facilities are state of the art, the curriculum is designed with the best teaching methods known, and the subject matter is directly related to current threat patterns across the globe.”\r \n“So you’re saying that these Soldiers are capable of defeating every threat that we’ve ever seen?” One of the senators asked a bit condescendingly. “How can you guarantee that? We don’t even know every threat out there.” \r \n“Yes, absolutely, unequivocally.” The skipper’s smile grew bigger “We take personnel from across the Department of War with he highest mental aptitude scores and put them through the Threat and Terror Orientation Divisions. They are then taught everything we know.”\r \n“Yes, I understand all that” The senator frowned. “That’s what you do, but how? How do these normal ‘smart people’ defeat every threat we’ve ever faced?”\r \n“Oh, that’s more of a side effect”\r \n“A SIDE EFFECT?” The murmurs from around the room grew as faces grew angry. \r \n“It was actually a genius solution if I do say so myself.” The skipper back peddled a little. “The program only has about a 75% washout rate. Which, when you think about it, is a small price to pay for freedom and security.”\r \n“But you said side effect. I need to know why the side effect is the import part. No, better yet. I need to know what the effect is!” The senator wasn’t backing down. “This is outrageous, you’re taking the best of the best and we’re free as a SIDE EFFECT of their training? What is the actual EFFECT of their training!?”\r \n“Well, yes.” The skipper looked down at the smaller man. “It is a side effect. The actual effect, you see, is we take the smartest people who would volunteer to protect their country and then teach them all the ways that anyone has ever come up with to destroy it.”\r \n“To destroy it….”\r \n“Yes, to destroy it.” \r \n“You’re telling me that while I’m subpoenaing Melon Tusk about his possible rogue AI that could possibly kill us all we already have humans who can do that?”\r \n“I mean, lets just be real senator, the only thing that has ever killed any civilization is humans.” The skipper laughed. “Besides, we’ve had this program running for 70 years, and you call our personnel to every emergency terror response that ever comes up.”\r \n“Well… yes that is true, other than those few occasions where your personnel sold arms to Mexican cartels or got caught up in gang fights down in Texas, I suppose. Ok so you train these personnel to destroy civilization. That’s the effect. How does that create a side effect of safety and freedom again?”\r \n“We found out that most highly intelligent people share one trait above all that when taught how easily civilization can be destroyed, they expend all their efforts to keep it just as it is. They don’t want it to change or fail or in any way.” The skipper looked pleased with himself.\r \n“They share a trait?” The senator looked puzzled. “What trait is this and why wouldn’t they want to destroy civilization themselves, or better yet take it over and rule?” \r \n“Oh, that’s the best side effect of all, you see, any intelligent person knows just how much work it took to get us to where we are today. Every single one of them understands just how much would be lost if civilization fell. Also, none of them want to rule because none of them really likes other people that much.”\r \n“So you’re telling me that they want to defend this nation because they understand the intrinsic work that it took to get here and they have a vested interest in keeping it the way it is because of some kind of anti-social tendency?”\r \nThe skipper turned back to the one-way window behind which a class of uniformed military members learned how to construct then disarm improvised explosive devices. “I suppose, that’s a political way of putting it, but I don’t use so many fancy words.”\r \n“So what words would you use?”\r \n“They’re just that lazy.”" ]	2

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