Split (1)

train · 199k rows

post_text stringlengths 0 17.5k	post_title stringlengths 8 314	comment_texts listlengths 1 74	num_stories int64 1 74
	[WP] You picked the wrong house to rob...the owner isn't dangerous or anything, they're just super annoying and now they think you are best friends.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 remember that night like it was yesterday, but only because Tanya won't shut up about it. I wish she wouldn't. If I'm lucky she won't call until 10.00am. The phone rings. Here we go.\n\n\"Hello, it's Maddie.\"\n\n\"Hi, how are you, do you want to hang out and get coffee today? I know a lovely coffee shop just down the road from my house. Do you want to come? And if not, can you come tomorrow, or Saturday, or Sunday? How about the weekend after that?\"\n\n\"Tanya, please could you not call this early? I'm barely awake.\"\n\n\"And if you can't do that, how about the weekend after that? Or do you prefer tea? There's a nice café in town, we could go there.\"\n\n\"I'm not having this conversation.\" I slam my finger against the hang up button. Then I grab my coat and bag, heading for the door, so that I don't have to deal with her. I can't believe she wants to be friends. If I'm lucky I'll be a mile away before she shows up. Then there's a knock on the door and I'm left with two options. \n\n1. Pretend no-one's home\n\n2. Slam the door in her face\n\nSomehow I don't have the heart for either.\n\n\"Hi, Tanya. It's, uhh..., nice to see you.\"\n\n\"It's nice to see you too, why don't you come down the road to this coffee shop I found. I just know you'll love the chocolate cake they make there. Come on, it'll be fun. We can talk about how nice my house is. You must have noticed when you were there on Friday night.\"\n\nPlease let her stop bothering me.\n\n\"Alright then... sure.\"\n\nMaybe she'll only talk for 5 hours today.", "\"Listen, Gavin-\"\n\n\"Gary.\"\n\n\"-Gary. I have...work to do.\" I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose as I squeeze my eyes shut. Gary slips between me and the doorway, spreading his arms and smiling broadly. \"Come now, we're only just getting to know each other. I know you came here with ill intentions but look at you! Already we're talking things out and are closer to becoming besties than either of us could have anticipated when we got up today. You are probably the most dextrous person I have ever met, and that is super cool! You're like a yoga master combined with a contortionist combined with an acrobat combined with...\"\n\nI tune Gary out as I start pacing the room, debating chucking the man against the wall and making a run for it. I had snuck into the room then been trapped by this weirdly perceptive individual. More irritating than being discovered for the first time in my years of experience, it just HAD to be the one person with no off switch. Yet despite his irritating penchant for talking, he still has managed to be the nicest person I've known.\n\n\"...with a dice master that always gets a twenty on their dexterity checks.\" Hands planted on his hips, Gary stands proudly with his hairy chest puffed out and a wide grin, wearing superhero pajama pants and house shoes that have the words \"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good\" stitched across the tops. Lifting a hand, I tug my sleeve up just enough to check my watch, eyes widening in horror. \"Gary, it's been nearly three hours, I really-\" Gary gasps and clasps his hands once. \"I am so sorry! I should go make some coffee! Come on down and help me pick a flavor!\"\n\nFlinging the door open, Gary practically struts out of the room and starts making his way down the stairs. Reluctantly I follow, telling myself that I'm just looking for an opportunity to at least snag something on my way out, eyes wandering around as I settle onto a barstool. Pulling my mask off, I drop it on the countertop while watching Gary prep the coffee maker, whistling all the while." ]	3
	[WP] A king and a prisoner are set by a wizard to switch bodies for one day, and they have no idea what happened or if they'll switch back	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Huff. Huff. Huff. I woke up in cold sweat, thinking that I could save Lucy. Who am I kidding, that happened years ago. It's on me, I should've known that King Xavier would rather torture a child to insanity than be a fair ruler. I should've turned myself in when I got the chance, considering that I'm a prisoner anyways, now with a death penalty as a poisonous cherry on top. Or was that all just a long nightmare, considering that my bed actually has a soft mattress, in stark contrast to the gray slab of concrete called a bed in the prison.\n\nI get up from the bed, and considering that I immediately and cluelessly stub my toe on a nearby nightstand, I've never been in this room before.\n\n\"Ow.\"\n\nThe door suddenly opens and two of Xavier's guards enter my room. One turns the lights on, which blinds me momentarily.\n\n\"Are you alright, King Xavier? We heard something.\"\n\nI instantly turn around, terrified, and see a bunch of portraits of King Xavier. Some are extremely realistic, others are quite stylized. Some even show him unclothed. No sign of him himself, though.\n\n\"We apologize, sir. Your new portrait has yet to arrive. You looks scared though. Are you okay? If there is a threat, we shall eliminate them immediately.\"\n\nI start to turn around to face the guards, but catch a glimpse of my reflection on the wall, which is pretty much a huge mirror.\n\nI'm... King Xavier? I can't be! But that's what the mirror shows, me in his brown hair and grey eyes. I mean, to my knowledge, it's not like he works out. All the soldiers do the fighting for him.\n\nI turn back to the guards. \"No threats in here. I'd like you to keep guard though. I mean, after, all, I don't wanna die tonight. But don't likk anyone, or you'll be the one on the chopping block.\"\n\n\"Yes, sir!\"\n\nThey exit his, er I mean, my room. Is this just a dream? Or could this me Faith's work? Nonsense, she's just a lunatic due to being locked up for so long. She can't actually preform magic.\n\nXavier's POV:\n\nGods, what did the servants do to my bed? It's so hard and hurts my back. And what is this noise?\n\nI'm... behind bars? Ugh, those guards are so incompetent. Is this some kinds of sick prank. I swear, if those stupid revolutionaries actually managed to capture me.\n\n\"Nightmare again, Charles?\"\n\nWait, but, then why would Oliver be my cellmate? I mean, if he was a guard he'd be outside the cell. He comes up to me and places his hand on my shoulder . Is he going to kill me? If he's my cellmate, he shouldn't have a weapon. Is he my cellmate?\n\nHe sighs. \"Listen Charles, I know you feel bad about Lucy, but you and I both know she was driven to insanity. She's in a better place now. I'm willing to bet she's an angle now, looking after you. I promise, we'll find a way to get out of here and make things fair.\n\n...Is he talking to me?\n\n\"Oh gods, did Faith do something to you? I know she promised a way to free you, but she told me as long as you pay the price there shouldn't be any lasting effects.\"\n\n\"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Um, how is Lucy going to free... me?\"\n\n\"I don't know, and I doubt she can do shit, but I've heard that she's the reason King Xavier's so rich, besides the extreme taxing, of course, so she might have some skill, and she's also our only hope at this point.\"\n\nThe guards unlock the cell I'm in, drag Oliver out in chains, and slam the bars. \"General Adams needs you for interrogation.\"\n\n\"I keep telling that bastard, I know nothing!\"\n\n\"I don't care what you have to say, save it for General Adams.\"\n\nOliver is dragged away, and I'm left alone in this cell.\n\n(1/2)" ]	2
	[WP] In a world where creativity is treasured above all- those that display artistic talent are locked inside an ‘utopian’ prison, to preserve their talent, whilst the rest of the world is in misery. You’re a wanted artist, fighting for freedom. What do you do?	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Artist. They used to voice the screams of humanity, crying out for freedom and change. Only to be smothered and forced to chant lies and false hope, like parrots in a golden cage. They sing ballads of their broken dreams. \n\nArt, something that used to shed light in the most sinister darkness, now used as a superficial decoration to further brighten the artificial light of tyranny. Now the only medium I have left of artistic expression, is this journal. My only hope and most prized possession. it is now but a memoir of my past life as a poet.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe writer puts down his pen, and reads the fresh pages many times over. He then proceeds to engrave every brush stroke in his mind. His hand gently brushing the cover of the book, as if bidding it farewell as it closes shut. His eyes land on the journal's title ; 'Poems for a dead planet' - Erwin Kolbar \n\nErwin reaches for the candle stand on his desk, clenches the journal under his arm and heads towards the fireplace. He positions the flame under the journal, allowing the fire to devour it's pages. The burning book slowly smolts away within the fireplace, and with its rising smoke Erwin feels a part of his soul melt away. \n\nThe door rattles, followed by a loud screech. Erwin is too captivated by the smoldering flames to be startled, and besides that. Any evidence they could've found is burning away within his gaze. \n\n\"Uncle! I'm home!\" Finley shuts the door, and drops his pile of flyers on the kitchen table. Erwin sighs. \"Finley.. didn't I tell you to knock thrice before entering\". \"sure.. but. If those bastards wanted to enter our house we wouldn't be able to stop them anyway. besides, I heard that people who resist aren't seen ever again\".\n\n\"That's anecdotal evidence, and the point is not to stop them. It's to avoid giving your dear old uncle a heart attack\" Finley mutters something along the lines of an apology, and then joins him at the fireplace. \"Didn't you stop writing that stuff anyway? last time the bastards barely let you off the hook.. If you didn't have that scheme of studying religion they would've taken you for sure. I know you want to honor my parents' memory. I feel the same, I just can't lose you too you know?\" Erwin is still viewing the fireplace, the last of the fire burnt out, leaving just ash, and grief. \"You don't have to worry Finley, I won't be writing anymore.\" \n\nThe night arrived, with his nephew fast asleep. Erwin departed with merely a coat and the ashes of his journal. He spread them at the site of the bonfires, where who Finley calls 'the bastards' burn all copies of art in the hands of commoners, For they believe that art is only meant for the worthy. He spread them at the graves of the people that where starved of art their entire lives, in the hopes of giving them some semblance of peace in whatever is beyond this life. The remainder, he poured into the sea. So the memory of his art may travel there where he could have never let it reach.", "Vincent stumbled into the basement room, panting for breath, “They...got…Banksy.” \n\n“NO!” someone gasped and the others broke out in worried chatter.\n\nThey had gotten visual artists, actors, writers, dancers, musicians, composers, lyricists, artists working with textiles and multimedia, the most creative chefs in the country, and now they’d taken the elusive Banksy. He had done some incredible street art pieces exposing the Art Commune recently. \n\nIt had started slowly as creatives were invited to visit the Commune, but by the time we realized that those who went in never came out, it was too late. Not only that, but the art itself was disappearing. Galleries and theaters closed, concerts were cancelled, and there was only one broadcast channel that was 24/7 either mundane or frightening news interspersed with ads for Scrips. Everyday you saw more people on the streets high on the drug, with blank stares and their senses dulled. \n\nThose of us here in this basement had connected surreptitiously and formed a resistance network. We each had lost a loved one to the Commune. “Miles, what’s the word on comms?” I said.\n\n“As far as I can tell, the rest of the world doesn’t know what’s going on here. Internet access is restricted and I haven’t been able to establish any connection for outgoing messages. We’re trapped in a bubble.”\n\nI bit my nails. With these hands I had once created large, colorful canvas paintings in ecstasy. I glanced at the wall behind which my paints were hidden. The half-Scrip was wearing off and anxiety was starting to creep back in.\n\n“Frida, you know what we have to do. You could get in and start a resistance or connect with a group inside. There has to be a way.”\n\nI didn’t want to consider that option again, but we had to or our society would be condemned to the banal, surely a tortuous existence. Still, a nagging question lingered on my mind: Would I be held against my will or seduced by the Commune myself?", "##Conflict Art\n\nDrones overhead shine their spotlights. The distinctive roar of the hunters vehicles comes closer. I have a long enough head start that I think I can make it out. I reach the edge of the island and jump.\n\nWhen I hit the water, I start swimming. The mainland is about two miles away. I doubt that the guards will bring out the boats with fuel being rationed. I feel something clamp on my ankles and start to pull me back. I turn around to see aquatic drones. I try to fight it, but they pull me back to the island's edge. They start moving up the cliff. If I am going back, I will make myself useless. I slam my hands against the rocks several times with as much force as I can muster. \n\n---\n\nThe doctor looks at the X-Rays with Warden Medici. My arms are wrapped in a cast up to my forearms. I have already been assigned a servant to feed me.\n\n\"It looks like the best we can hope for is about eight months recovery with a year of physical therapy before he will be back to fully operational,\" the doctor says. Warden Medici stares at me.\n\n\"Thank you, doctor. Now, could you leave us alone?\" Medici asks. The doctor knows that he cannot protest and nearly knocks over a trashcan with how fast he leaves the room.\n\n\"Leonardo, why do you do this to yourself, to us?\" he holds his hands up to try to put me at ease.\n\n\"Stop with the Leonardo crap. My name is Logan, and you know that this isn't partnership. I am under your control,\" I reply. Medici puts his hands down, and he turns around and picks up a knife.\n\n\"You are right. You are under my control,\" he moves the knife closer to me. I hold my breath and move away, \"And it would be very easy for me to tell the clients that you slipped and fell.\"\n\nHe holds the knife up to my neck. I close my eyes as I feel it press against my skin.\n\n\"But you are quite popular and get rave reviews so I will let this one slide,\" he pulls the knife away, \"But I am doubling security around your cell, and you will instruct others how to paint for you.\"\n\n\"You know that it would not be the same,\" I reply.\n\n\"Of course, I won't sell to the big names. I will put it on the auction circuit. I can still make some money off of you,\" he says.\n\n\"I told you. I need freedom to truly create art,\" I say. He laughs.\n\n\"This is the most free place you will ever be. You are free from hunger, free from fear, and free from violence. Well, you could be free from violence if you were not so rebellious,\" Medici gestures to my arms.\n\n\"But I need that conflict to create my art. Chaos fuels my creativity. I thrive in despair,\" I say. Medici laughs.\n\n\"The previous inhabitants proved that was false. If that were true, they...\" he points out the window, \"would be more creative than anyone in these walls.\"\n\n\"Well, I hate how my art is going to the highest bidder,\" I say. Warden Medici's watch starts to beep.\n\n\"I don't care how you feel as long as you keep painting. I have an important call,\" he clicks a few buttons and walks out of the room. \n\nGuards walk in and take me back to my cell. He was right security has doubled. Three guards stand in my room. Each is holding a paint brush and a canvas. This is disgusting. I should be making art of the world as it is, not submitting to the desires of the people who ruined it. They just want to use me to ignore the mess they made. Inspiration hits me as images fill my brain. I move around the room and start instructing the guards on what to paint. I think of all the gruesome scenes that I experienced as a child. I think of the disasters in the news. Most importantly, I think of the people out there who are suffering.\n\nI will make them see what they have done.\n\n---\n\nr/AstroRideWrites", "Her eyes flared up as she clasped the script I'd handed her. I knew that look all too well - admiration, worship mixed with greed. It sickened me to to the core. I was not an object to admire, a resource to collect, but this was the only way forward. The few coins I made on the black market for written word were the only way to ensure an existence outside their systems, perhaps to one day gather the strength to tear it down with me. The coins are cold as they touch the palm of my hands; I do not want their money despite the need. It feels like betrayal on my skin, leaving a cavity where warmth and creativity used to live.\n\nShe opens the pages, scans the lines of ink like a hunter admiring his fallen prey. Checking whether the quality was as promised, no doubt. She wouldn't be disappointed, words came easily to my soul, easy enough to sell the images they'd created to dealers. Not that ones like her cared about the art, the feeling that would seep through her upon reading my words - every single letter I had printed onto those pages would end up in some sketchy mogul's collection within days, and she would be yet another hundred pounds richer.\n\nThe glistening coins would not remain in the pocket of my coat for long. I'd known what alleyway I'd carry them to before I'd gotten them, and my feet were already on their way. Ozz was a confusing creature but a remarkable one; gifted enough to capture the perfect likeness of nature within a few strokes of his pencil, but bitter enough to spend his life hiding between piles of rubbish behind an abandoned house. He was the one accomplice I had found since escaping The Halls in the riot of '68, though I was sure there were more of us lurking out in the streets feeding on their contempt for the system. The small group of plebeians - the Hallkeepers' words for non-artists, not mine - Ozz and I had amassed in the passing years would grow, eventually enough of them would overlook their judgements and see who was really behind their misery. Eventually we would be enough to topple The Halls.\n\nI found Ozz staring at the ruins of what looked like an old harmonica. A sighting?, I asked him, but he shook his head. It must be from before the coup. If there was a musician in the area we'd know. I took out the coins and piled them onto the faded red buttons of the instrument he'd found. Here you go, I said, and asked if he's had any more success in scouting the locations. I haven't gotten in, he replied, but I remember enough of the front atrium, this should be accurate. And handed me a beautifully drawn map.\n\nSo you see. Our plans were slow, imperfect. The broad public still despised us as the sole source of their suffering, saw us as kings too arrogant to share our wealth. Few knew of the golden cages we had been living in. But our rows were growing, our plans existent. And eventually, we would rise." ]	5
	[WP] You are a wishgranting Gene. It's your first time granting a wish of someone! They died on their first wish while still having two wishes...what now?	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "(Sorry not trying to be a jerk with the prompt typo, just actually gave me an idea to go a total other direction). \n\n The hospital wing reeked of ammonia and bleach. This particular ward specially crafted for the immuno suppressed children was a mix of cold and able to be efficiently scrubbed down but with little details such as painted handprints or the border trim of colorful dinosaurs painted along the walls. Gene couldn’t believe he was here to begin with, it’d been a long time since he was popular enough to warrant receiving the make a wish requests. \n\n He didn’t grant them in his hay day and now that he had the time and inclination he was too far removed from the zeitgeist to bring even the children’s parents any form of whimsy or awe. But this child had been different. A ten yr old KISS fan in 2020. The odds of Toby being into KISS were likely as rare as the immune disease he had contracted, a cruel twist of fate that wasn’t lost on either the foundation or Gene himself. Which is why he took it upon himself to not only show up in costume but to bring along some memorabilia from KISS meets the phantom of the park, allegedly one of Tobys favorite films. \n\n Here he stood well out of place in leather that looked less aged than his own hard life worn skin, in platform boots and makeup unfamiliar to the other children in the ward. He was here he showed up he had granted Tobys wish but there was no shouts or screams of joy. Not even a sputtering gasp of awe. Just a doctor holding a small thin wrist as flat high pitched whine wailed from the machines. Toby was supposed to shake his hand was supposed to talk about the band, they even had a screening room set up special to watch some movies and footage. There was supposed to be time for more wishes, one last hurray another couple months of struggle. Why right after seeing his idol did he crash. \n\n With nothing left to do for the child, Gene threw a pair of scrubs over his costume grabbed some supplies from the front of the wing, a crazy red Afro, round rubber nose and some juggling balls. He wasn’t Gene Simmons in that moment anymore, just Chaim the clown, doing some small tricks and trying to entertain the children still there and still struggling. He thought to himself what do you do when you can’t grant the wishes of someone who needed them, you grant the wishes of others in need in anyway you can.", "Pt 1:\n\nThe summoning was like any other, a human who stumbled upon my lamp and, for one reason or another, gave it a rub. This was the go-to way of rousing the genie within, since the usual instinct after finding an old, dirty item is to clean it up. The young man in front of me, wide-eyed in astonishment and a not-insignificant amount of fear, stared at me as his fingers went limp and he lost his grip on the lamp and it clattered to the ground.\n\n“That’s a bit rude,” I spoke, looking down at the gold-plated home on the floor of his dusty attic. I’d found that injecting some humor into the situation tended to rouse the wisher back to the moment. “That’s where I live. How would you like it if someone came up to your house and kicked your front door?”\n\nThe man blinked in surprise, manners coming to the forefront of his mind, as I’d predicted, and he quickly picked the lamp back up. “So sorry,” he told me. “You’re right, that was, um…” He swallowed. “Who might you be, exactly?”\n\n“Genie,” I replied. “Three wishes for you. Heard the stories?”\n\n“Yes, of course, but…they’re stories,” he told me. “Fiction.”\n\nMy gaze went down over my half-opaque form standing before him. “Do I look like a fiction?”\n\n“Ah…touché.” He hesitated. “Do you have a name?”\n\n“Geralt. You?”\n\n“Kenny.”\n\n“Nice to meet you, Kenny. Now, there’s no time limit on these wishes and, despite what rumors you might’ve heard, we’re not all assholes out to twist your wishes into curses,” I explained tiredly. “This is my job, and I take pride in it, doing my best to make my wishers happy. I gain nothing from making you wish you never met me. So, when you want to use one, you say, ‘I would like to use one of my three wishes from the genie I summoned.’”\n\nKenny rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. “Yeah, okay. I guess that makes sense.” He met my gaze. “Are there any rules?”\n\n“Just the kind of thing that makes too many repercussions,” I said. “That being, changing things from the past, or vague, huge wishes that make have ramifications beyond anything we could predict. Most of my wishers have an easier time finding the best way to do things is to think about it as luck; you just got a lot of luck, so what do you want to do with it?”\n\nWithout another moment of hesitation, I saw his eyes light up. “My wife has cancer.”\n\nMy eyebrows rose. “That’s horrible, I’m sorry. Yes, we can do something about that.”\n\n“Um…uh, can I wish she goes into remission?” he asked. “Permanently?”\n\nI nodded once and smiled. “We can do that.”\n\nTears sprung to his eyes and I heard him muttering thanks to whichever god he believed in. “Okay.” He took a breath. “I would like to use one of my three wishes from the genie I summoned. I…wish my wife went into remission from her cancer, permanently.”\n\nA glow emanated from my ghostly form, lasting for a few moments before it faded. “All right. That’s one wish down.”\n\nKenny’s tears overflowed, spilling down his cheeks. “Really?” he managed.\n\nI nodded. “Really, really.”\n\nHe choked out a sob, letting his tears flow for a while before gathering himself. “I can’t…I can’t think of anything else,” he muttered, half to himself. “That was…life changing. And I’ve got my whole life ahead of me, we don’t even have kids yet. You said there’s no time limit, right?”\n\n“Right-o.”\n\n“So, can I just leave you in…” He grimaced. “Is it boring in there?” he asked, motioning with the lamp in his hands.\n\nI waved it off. “Nah. It’s a whole world in there, full of genies. Like a doorway. We’d go nuts if we were trapped in an empty room for ages, waiting to get our next wisher.”\n\nKenny nodded slowly, letting out a long breath. “All right.” He looked to his left, where an open box sat. “This stuff was from the old owners, so I guess…I’ll keep going through it, organize the attic. And call when I need you?”\n\n“Sounds like a good plan. You seem like a smart guy,” I told him. “I look forward to seeing you again.”\n\nHe smiled graciously. “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”\n\nWith that, I reentered the lamp. But he didn’t see me soon.\n\nHonestly, I ended up losing track of time, as always. Living in a world like the land of genies where time is bent and crooked, swimming and curving, it’s easy to do so. When I found myself pulled from a hike through one of my favorite forests into an office, I took in my surroundings and, thinking back, realized it had been long. Too long.\n\nNot to mention, this was an office at our headquarters, not the dusty attic in which I’d met Kenny. I was startled by a bang and blinked, realizing that the woman in front of me had just dropped the computer on her desk.\n\n“Marian, what’s going on?”\n\n“Geralt,” spoke the woman in front of me, seated behind a solid oak desk. “Sorry, Apple still hasn’t worked out the heat problem with these things. The official advice, believe it or not, is literally to lift it two inches and drop it to get it to work again.”\n\nMy left eyebrow rose. “That’s…creative.”\n\n“Yeah. Anyway. We’ve got an anomaly.”\n\nI nodded my understanding, glancing from the pile of files on her desk to the one open in front of her. I took a seat in the chair in front of her desk. “Got it. What’s going on? The last guy I had was…Kenny.”\n\nWith a sigh, she motioned to the file. “He’s passed on.”\n\nI let out a long, sad breath. “That’s unfortunate. It’s been… I don’t even know; do you have it there?”\n\n“Yes,” she said, glancing to the file. “It’s been…ten years.”\n\nMy eyebrows shot up in surprise. “He didn’t contact me in… Wow.”\n\nMarian shrugged. “Some humans are like that. Careful, knowing this is one-in-a-lifetime.”\n\n“But he was…he couldn’t have been more than mid-twenties. How could he-”\n\n“Car crash,” she explained with a grimace.\n\n“Oh man,” I muttered. “All right. So where do we stand?”\n\nMarian pointed to a line in the file. “We’ve got an heir. Firstborn, a boy named Arthur.”\n\n“The kid lost his dad,” I spoke, desperation creeping into my tone. “I know what regulations say, but-”\n\nMarian was already shaking her head. “No, they won’t make an exception here. He’s too young, and treaties on the topic are extremely specific. Human cultures consider adulthood to be eighteen. Some are more, some are less, but this one in particular is the one we need to go with. Arthur can’t have his inheritance until he hits eighteen.”" ]	3
	[WP] You receive a letter addressing you by a childhood nickname, the sender is a friend who went missing years ago.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Queenie Tufty Butt.\n\nAt the sight of her old childhood name, she promptly spat out her tea. Impossible! It was only known to one other, a certain old chum, codename, Lord Twinkletoes Ted. Oh how she could use his sage advice now, which in essence had consisted of lending a friendly well-bent ear.\n\nBut that was long ago. One day Ted just up and left. No forwarding address. No comfort from Mumma, who turned a stern back against her heartbroken sobs, muttering, \"Perhaps it's for the best little one, you're a young woman now, you were too obsessed with him.\"\n\nWith betrayals mounting, she howled a little louder, but again to no avail. Ted had left. Lord to his Queenie. Utterly dethroned. Sadly with the passage of time, she had never found a friend she could confide in like her golden-haired boy.\n\nWith trembling hand she reached for the creamy textured envelope, pressing it close to her heart, dreaming for a moment the miracles it contained. Oh my, oh my! Ted was back. \"Lord Twinkletoes Ted, Lord Twinkletoes Ted, Lord Twinkletoes Ted,\" she whispered fervently, invoking old childhood spells that bound them.\n\nThe bedroom door opened and closed suddenly behind her, wrenching her from her trance. Envelope fluttering to the floor, she raced to the door to see who could be there. All she could catch was a fluffy little figure, knee height at the most, racing around the corner.\n\nHer childhood teddy bear, again to life. As fast as she could she dashed after him, but knew already he could not be caught. Already he had broken all the rules, for it is forbidden in teddy bear lore to be seen riding the life force by adults.\n\n\"Thank you old friend,\" she said to the empty hallway. She turned back to return to the bedroom, already knowing the envelope would be gone.\n\nShe would never again forget that she was and will always be, Queenie Tufty Butt!", "The Letter arrived last week.\n\nIt had no return address, the label with my own address on it was typed font. I had hid it under my bed; I'm not sure why, I live alone and rarely have anyone over. I prefer going out to staying in so I only ever meet people elsewhere. But it felt right, that something so wrong should be kept in the dark hidden from prying eyes. At least that's how I justified it, deep down inside I hoped maybe I'd forget about the letter or at very least keep it out of my own sight, out of sight out of mind...right? At night it burns holes through my mattress, disturbing my thoughts until I fall into fitful bouts of sleep.\n\nThe letter isn't all that exciting itself, on the surface, it appears to be a simple greeting from an old friend wondering about how I've been the past few years. A simple \"Long time no see\" if you will. That's not the disturbing part, the part that has been haunting me is the sender. Now like I said there was no return address but the name they addressed it to let me know who it was better than any name could have. \"Nub\" was the name on the address label, my name is Jove but he was a year older than me and \"Joven\" in young in Spanish apparently, so he went from that to \"nubile\" and called me nub. He always thought he was quite the comedian, I thought it was a reach to say the least.\n\nI had one problem with receiving the letter from him. He was dead, or at least he was supposed to be. When I was 15 and he was 16 we were biking along a sidestreet on our way to the local dog park so we could toss a frisbee. My mom hated us tossing a frisbee in my front yard because she said we were putting her precious collection of clay angels \"at risk\". She was a bit obsessed. Regardless we were halfway there when I fell, I must have hit a pothole or something because I flew over my handlebars the bike flipped above me and then promptly came back down on my wrist. The snap was audible. Between my cries of pain, I heard him yell that he was going to bike back to my house and get my mom; she was a nurse. I watched him pick up his bike from where he had dropped it in the grass and start racing down the street. I was at one end of the block looking straight down the street so I had a pretty good view of his progress, it also means I had a good view of the van. It hit him from the side going at a decent speed, enough that I screamed his name and knew deep down in the most primal parts of my brain that he wasn't going to be getting back up.\n\nI heard a door bang open and three guys jumped out of the black van, looked at him for a moment and seemed to discuss what to do. My vision was blurry with tears but they didn't seem all that upset or panicked about what had just happened. Eventually, two of the bigger men grabbed him, one at each arm and dragged him into the back of the van. That was the last time I had seen him. I gave my statement to the police after calling my mother and being taken to the hospital myself where I was diagnosed with a fractured wrist and two torn ligaments. They didn't even look for him, they pronounced him as \"assumed dead\" the next day. For years afterwards, I regretted telling them how bad of shape he was in, maybe they would've looked for him if they thought he could still be alive.\n\nThen this letter. 15 years after I saw my best friend killed and taken, I get this bloody letter. I don't know what to do at this point, I can't send anything back and I can't show anyone out of my own fear that I may finally be losing it. The only other way I can think of for this letter to exist was if someone was playing a very cruel prank. But I can't even truly lean into that explanation as no one in my new town knows of his nickname for me.\n\nI was confused and terrified when I heard the knock. It was 3:00 AM. I grabbed a hunting knife my father had given to me and headed to the door trying to be as quiet as possible. When I got there I looked through the peephole expecting the worst. Robbers? The Police? Who the hell knocks on someone else's door this early in the morning? No one was there. It was just my front patio and the old elm that sways in front of my house, nothing abnormal. I opened the inner door and a piece of paper floated down from in between the screen door and the main door. I snatched at it a few times midair but ended up bending over to pick it up from the floor.\n\nIt was a piece of lined paper, folded in half. I quickly opened it to see what could have possibly been so important to disturb my sleep, or lack thereof. I read the note with measured gaze and when I finished I set it down quickly closed and locked my door then brushed closed my curtains on the front window. I quickly sat down and reread the note to make sure I wasn't delusional.\n\n\"Shit\" I whispered as I ran the words over and over again in my mind.\n\nHey nub, how's the wrist?", "Pt 1 of 2:\n\nWhenever I saw those action movies on TV, with cryptic communications between spies and conspiracies that ‘went all the way to the top’, I always thought they were exciting. Who wouldn’t? Our ordinary lives, Joe Schmoe who has a wife and 2.5 kids, is tedious at best, which I think is one of the reasons so many of us have aimed for different lives. Not just more fulfilling, but more interesting, more engaging. Not all of us achieve that James-Bond life, of course, but we do reach.\n\nTurns out? Being involved in that kind of life isn’t as great as I’d imagined.\n\n“Hey, Ketchup!” came the shout from the living room. “Get in here!”\n\nI barked out a laugh, putting Family Guy on mute and shoving myself up off the couch. “I told you, only my high school buddies ever used to call me that.”\n\nWhat I used to consider the embarrassing story behind that particular nickname was, at this point, hilarious. In the cafeteria one day, the cap loose on the ketchup bottle, I shook it and it went directly all of my shirt, making me look like a murder victim. So, in hindsight, I suppose the nickname could’ve been a lot more gruesome. My classmates had instead gone with something simple.\n\n“Yeah, but you got a letter addressed to you,” Connor told me, handing over a few envelopes.\n\nI flipped past two bills, my gaze turning curious, and saw a handwritten name and address directing the letter to me here in the home I rented with three roommates. “Huh.” Examining the return address, I shook my head. “Dunno who it is. No one’s called me that for…geez, has it been six years already?”\n\n“Maybe your high school realized they messed up giving you that diploma and you need to give it back?” Connor suggested, walking backwards as he spoke before heading up the stairs to his room.\n\n“Ha ha!” I called after him. Sticking my thumb under the flap and tearing open the envelope, I sat down at the kitchen table, opening up the letter inside. A memory card dropped out onto the wooden surface of the table and I narrowed my eyes at it, picking it up briefly before putting it down and turning my attention back to the letter.\n\nHey Jake,\n\nI know you always hated that nickname, but I needed to make sure this got to you. I can’t tell you what’s going on. And I can’t tell you what’s on that SD card (the password to unencrypt it is with someone else). But I need your help.\n\nAt this point my expression had turned serious and my spine straightened.\n\nThis is Katie Branch. It’s been six years since graduation, but I know your memory isn’t that terrible, so picture me with contacts now instead of glasses and you’ve pretty much got it. Aside from that, my life has gone a bit crazy recently, and that part of me you won’t be familiar with. I work at a company that I won’t discuss here, for security reasons. And I’m in some trouble. The kind you can’t get away from. And the kind you need to make sure the people closest to you don’t know about, or it could put them in danger.\n\nI swallowed hard, my eyes flicking up and around my kitchen, feeling as if I had eyes on me. I’d never gotten a letter like this and I’d sure as hell never expected to. Taking a deep breath, I read on.\n\nYou remember that time you punched Andy Shaw in the nose after he wouldn’t stop bullying Charlie? When the school wouldn’t do anything and you couldn’t just stand there and watch? I do. To be honest, that moment is who you are to me. You’re protective, you don’t put up with bullies, and you’ve got a good heart. So, I decided to go to you on this. I decided I could trust you.\n\nI’ll be emailing you every three days from now on. It’ll be something you can recognize from me, but it won’t talk about things that actually happened. As long as those emails keep coming, keep the SD card. You don’t need to buy a safe or anything; just put it somewhere no one will stumble upon it. And if that third day ever comes and I don’t email you, I need you to mail this SD card to Saul Mertens at CNN. Address enclosed below.\n\nPicking up the SD card, I stared at it as if doing so would eventually reveal its contents. When that, perhaps unsurprisingly, didn’t work, I put it down and looked back to the letter.\n\nI’m sorry to put this on you. If you can’t handle this, stick the letter back in the envelope with the SD card, seal it up, and return to sender. I’ll find someone else. But I think I’m running out of time, so with everything in me, I’m hoping you’re still the guy I remember from high school. If I can count on you to do this, put two blank pieces of paper in this envelope before returning to sender.\n\nEither way, thank you. I feel lucky to have people I know I can turn to when my ship gets caught up in a storm. And hopefully, you’ll never have to do anything, and this’ll just be some weird story you get to tell down the line.\n\nSincerely,\n\nKatie", " This is strange. my eyes had been caught by the brown envelope, not a corporate style so often posted through my door to “resident” or the ever more cunning letters from the TV licensing, which have started coming in interesting colours, I suppose to attract interest. \n \n My fingers flicked past the usual suspects to the stalwart intruder. A handwritten address stating in ever so unlikely terms my childhood nickname. Not unusual for sure, but for me this was strange. \n \n Ever since I moved away from home across the water I had always gone by mr Clarke, it seems appropriate for a teacher, and my father always went by Adrian, which I hated. A short snivelling man, I wished in my youth to place myself as far away from him as I could, in name too it seemed. Filling out the driving licence forms had seemed very pedestrian, and truly the choice at the time was simply whimsy but once that was done, it kind of stuck. \n \n The name maketh the man, and here I am years later, mr Clarke to both the passport office my gas company and my students. But not to this mysterious penman. An proverbial assassin from my past, dedicated to the eradication of mr Clarke in an attempt to revive long lost Eddie. \n \n My brow furrowed at the thought, a peculiar feeling creeping up my back as if I had been unmasked. \n \n This would have to wait, I had a cat to feed and the middle of an old apartment building lobby was no stage for what I assume would be something requiring a little thought. \n \n Coat off, bag down cat fed, kettle boiling I sat on one of my stools leaning one arm against the breakfast bar in my homely apartment. A few knick knacks I had picked up from various holidays over the years adorned the walls, most were from far flung places, wooden and tribal. A harsh reality to the winter blues that had set in a few days ago with the incoming dark days and heavy rain. \n \n Picking the intriguing letter out of the bunch I flip it over, looking for a return address. I see none, which I suppose is odd for a hand written letter. But closer scrutiny reveals a little clue. \n \n LondonDerry, reads the post office stamp. \n \n Just as I go to open the letter I hear the kettle tailing off in the background, pausing for a moment I set about making tea. Then returning, tea in hand to my prior engagement. \n \n Apprehensively, I open the envelope and pull out a letter. The creeping feeling was back in full force, rising up my back. Somewhat harder to take in the comfort of my own home, than in a communal lobby.Folded and also hand written. My eyes cast along the lines. I shall save you the content but rather convey the feeling that the letter cast over me, for they are where you dear reader can find meaning. You see it was from my old childhood friend, who had lived down my street when I was very little. \n \n A powerful spell was being woven in my mind, contrasting feelings of my younger life. The rolling hills of Ireland. my aunties house in what seemed like the middle of a sea of green. Trees rocks and nature surrounded the house, I had felt for the brief summer I was there that I was at the centre of a wonderful fairytale. This was heavily contrasted to the loud noise and buzz of 1980s Derry. The stress of the people around me, the noises and the thrum. the feeling of broken rubble under my feet and a smell of burning rubber. Thats where I had left her, my sister. She was older then me, and in those cobbled streets my memory of her would jump and fade. Around my head she moved from pavement to road, my mind sought her, in a dire attempt to call up a face that was all these years later, certainly lost. \n \n It was after one fateful day she had gone, and I had left shortly after. Off to my aunties, away from my parents and the city. \n \n This was the subject of the letter, my sister had been found. \n \n After all these years, her body had been found." ]	5
	[WP] Humanity is a resilient race. It survived many cataclysmic events such as: the galaxy-wide AI rebellion, the Grey Goo apocalypse, and so much more. But their end has come, and they have no choice but to accept it. The Andromeda galaxy is crashing against the Milky Way.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 humans are doing WHAT?\" \n\n\"Building Stellar engines. millions and millions of stellar engines.\" \"Urtok repeated to the still incredulous Jaktak. \"You didn't think they would just give up and die did you, considering their past history?\"\n\nJaktak had to admit his companion had a point. Humans were known to be stubborn, sometimes well past what most others would consider sane at times. \"I don't understand what they hope to gain though, fleeing might gain them a little more time but, the end is inevitable.\"\n\n\"Oh, but they aren't fleeing,\" Urtok replied, \"They plan to accelerate the stars towards the Andromeda galaxy, despite the gravitational waves that would normally rip them apart. Something they call \"surfing\". They showed me some of the plans and calculations. Urtok pulled out a dozen memory crystals, and dropped them on the edge of Jaktaks desk. \"That is the index to the index, to the index of the planetary sized archive of data and calculations. They have been at this for a very, very long time.\"\n\nJaktak picked up one of the crystals, considering it for the moment, then putting it back down. He felt a moment of what might have been jealousy. Humans had come to power so very long ago, back when the galaxy must have been a kinder, more friendly place, not rushing to its own destruction. And now they planned to cheat death too. \"And their ultimate goal? \" Humans didn't do things on this scale without ulterior motives. \n\n\"A Galactic merge.\" Urtok said with something near to awe in his voice. \"I never considered something on that scale, but they plan to merge the two galaxies into a single bigger one, using the gravity of the stars themselves as their tools and engines.\" \n\nJaktak sat silent, stunned by the audacity of it. It made anything his own or Urtoks races had done seem almost inconsequential. \"And the rest of us?\" He got out at last. \"What happens to the rest of us?\" Relations between humans and others hadn't always been friendly, and he couldn't help but wonder if they would use this as an opportunity to settle old scores. \n\nUrtok produced another half dozen memory crystals. \"Plans, for our own stellar engines, and coordinates. They said it is up to use to decide. Certain death, or a risky ride through immense gravity waves into a possible future. I don't know about you, but I want to see what a human means by \"surfing\"." ]	2
	[WP] Horoscopes are 100% accurate, but it's now just a part of daily life. Gemini is going to have an "unlucky day" so they stay home from work. Aquarius will find "Good fortune" so they go out and buy a winning lottery ticket.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "-Hey, uh, God, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but whats your game plan by introducing the horoscope thing, /this/late in Creation.\n\n-Game Plan? I don't really have one. I just want to see how they react.\n\n-How they react? Lord?\n\n-Yeah. I've been slowly changing things to see if people notice. I want to see how weird this world can get. They took Trump in stride, so I want to see how they accept this one.\n\n-But why, Your Grace?\n\n-Because I'm getting a little bored. The humans peaked with The Beatles. Earth has been down hill ever since.\n\n-That doesn't seem fair, Father.\n\n-Yeah, I'm being a little harsh on them. I went to a Lady Gaga concert once. You'll never guess what I went disguised as.\n\n-No, I mean how you play with them. Mess with their lives. I mean, they have souls, the humans do, right?\n\n-Right. In fact all mammals have souls. Bit of an accident, really.\n\n- So dogs go to heaven?\n\n-Cats, dogs, cows, and the smarter lizards.\n\n-Souls aside, what gives you the right mess with the humans like that? What gives you the right to mess with earth like that.\n\n-Are you questioning God?\n\n-Uh... Yeah, I guess.\n\n-Good, because it's what I designed you for. It's the natural order. I'm God. They're play things for me, to do with as I please.\n\n-but that's not fair. They're living things who experience pain. They're so weak compared to you.\n\n-You're right, it's not fair. But it's not like they don't get a pretty sweet deal out of it. \n\n-Doesn't seem like a pretty sweet deal to me.\n\n-I mean, they get to exist, which is pretty cool, if you ask me. Then they get to live, make mistakes, get hurt, bow to my whims, and then they get to go to heaven.\n\n-They all get to go to heaven?\n\n-Well, technically, life on earth sucks hard enough that it counts as purgatory. So I've just been letting everyone in to Heaven for a while now. Turns out Hell sucks. Like, a lot. Before implementing it, I tested it out, to make sure it worked. Forgot that I visited as God. When I did the Jesus thing, I finally got rid of it. Hell as a human is not fun. Gonna leave Hitler and a few others in there for a while.\n\n-What's Hell like, can I ask?\n\n-You can ask anything. It's a single moment of eternal emptiness. Time stops in Hell, so it's not like you're suffering for an eternity. Technically, a single moment in hell will cleanse all sins, even Hitler's. But I left him in there. Because seriously, fuck that guy.", "It was a cultural shift akin to the industrial revolution and the information age. And it happened in the blink of an eye, though it took a few years for it to be realized. It was the Astrological age, when horoscopes that previously lived on page 15 of newspapers or your crazy relative’s Tripod blog came true daily with loose but stunning accuracy. At first it was amusing, but it began to affect society, which in hindsight isn’t unexpected. It created 12 groups of people with common daily destiny within each group and different fates between the groups.\n\nMajor countries established Departments of Homeland Astrology to prepare and relay accurate but not too specific daily horoscopes. This stabilized society, because inaccurate readings would lead to chaotic days, and being too specific for a whole group would lead to millions of people trying the same thing. Some days the line for lotto tickets could last six hours. Of course this didn’t stop amateurs, but most people followed the experts. Some predictions were common, such as an unlucky day or having a small adventure. That could mean knocking over a coffee cup or seeing the supermarket relocated your favorite brand of cereal, respectively.\n\nOther horoscopes were rare, such as a chance to start a business with a stranger. Those were wacky days, as if entrepreneur Twitter came to life with a million people pitching half-baked ideas to each other in the street. The daily horoscopes could also be given strength ratings in word or number. Capricorns: Beware Travel - Level 9 or 10 would make all of the Capricorns stay home from work. Some predictions would be modified by words like a “small chance” or “nearly guaranteed.” The rarest of all called out specific people. And today, I Pat Canein, was called out by name as the Cancer who would fall in love.\n\nI awoke to texts from my friends in New York: Turn on the News! Too early for that, I thought as I hit snooze once. Eventually I had to choose between more sleep and being late to work, and unfortunately paying the bills won. At least a warm shower will feel good. But as I rolled over to silence my second alarm, I saw my phone’s notification bar full of texts and phone calls. Who calls repeatedly these days? Oh crap there must be an emergency. Maybe Cancers got a negative level 10 alert. Maybe I can sleep in after all…. It only took a few texts to realize the DHA had called me out by name.\n\nA wave of relief washed over me as the Horoscope alert clarified it would be for falling in love. Some poor schmuck last year got a mass death notice which involved A LOT of FBI agents. Story for another time. Well, I don’t think I’m going to fall in love at work, and I’m sure the local news is setup outside my front door, so this falling in love is likely to happen after work right? I hope the person I fall in love with can love me back.\n\n(Thanks for reading part 1. I have part 2 outlined and will write it if people are interested!)", "The flimsy door shattered into splinters by the battering ram. The smell of earthy, fruity incense rushed out the parlor’s door into the alleyway. Officers coughed, doubled over from the smell. \n\n”Fucking reeks in there.” One yelled, his uniform covered his nose. The group of officers dared not to enter, they couldn’t see past the doorframe of the unlicensed astrologer’s place because of the smoke. \n\n“Suck it up buttercups, breath through your mouths. Let’s go.” The commanding officer yelled, as he made a hole through the group of rookies. Gun drawn, he entered the smokey apartment, unphased by the smell. \n\nIt was like any other outlawed new age hippie establishment. Lava lamps light the area, revealing everything from unlicensed unregulated Ouija boards to Chinese fortune cookies. The old woman was already out of her seat as the Captain made his way inside, her customer screaming with his hands up. \n\n“What’s the problem officer?” She asked, already knowing her fate. \n\n“You’re under arrest, Miss. Fortune. We’ve received reports of unlicensed fortunes.” He spoke, calling for additional officers to come inside to arrest Fortune and her young client. \n\n”I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding.” She pleaded, as the officers handcuffed her and escorted her to the cruiser. \n\n“I’m sure they’ll clear it up at the penitentiary resort.”\n\nThe young man laughed, as he passed by. \n\n“What’s so funny?” The captain asked. \n\n“My horoscope said I was going on a long vacation, I just wanted to know where I was going…”" ]	4
	[WP] NASA has predicted that a Gamma Ray Burst would hit the Solar System in one week. Since it's the end of the world, you decide to ask your crush out in a date.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 it was announced that the inevitable disappearance of all life on Earth would be in 1 week, you finally made a move on the girl you like. \n\nYou courted her, you did your best to make her as happy as possible. And now... \n\nNow is the last day on Earth. \n\nYou're both sitting down in a huge cafeteria, filled with people of all races, all ages. All of them just laughing and talking. They're all being happy. \n\nThey all knew what was going to come. \n\nYou reach to your coat's pocket, and sneakily pull out a box. \n\nShe's picking at her meal. You remember her words from two days ago. \n\n\"Why did you make me fall for you?! Why now?!\" \n\nYou remember how she sobbed, how she cried. How the cold of being in the middle of a street in mid-winter nipped at your ears. How she hugged herself. How you couldn't embrace her. Not yet. \n\nYou remember her smile, when she politely accepted your invitation to a date. It was so fake, you couldn't help but chuckle. You remember your talks, how much you had in common, and the things that you kinda dislike about each other. Dislike... that was funny. \n\nNow, she looks at you, with a curious look. \n\n\"Why are you laughing?\" \n\nYou smile, and say, \n\n\"Nothing. Just remembering the good old days.\" \n\nShe scoffs, and looks back at her plate. Well, better now than later. You hold on to the box a little tighter. You start speaking, \n\n\"Hey, girl.\" \n\nShe looks back at you, having that mock annoyed look on her face. She asks, \n\n\"What?\" \n\nYou smile, maybe a little too much. You present the box to her slowly as you cheekily say, \n\n\"Will you marry me?\" \n\nHer eyes tear up. She tackles you in a tight embrace. The people all around you cheer, clap, and whistle. You return her embrace. You ask, filled with emotion, \n\n\"Is that a yes or a no?\" \n\nYou already know her answer. But hey, let's not make it easy for her. She embraces you tighter. She sobs, \n\n\"Yes. It's a yes!\" \n\nAfter years of pent up emotions, you finally shed a tear. You finally cry. \n\nShe pulls away, and wipes your tears. She bumps your forehead with her own. \n\nShe says, \n\n\"I love you.\" \n\nYou smile uncontrollably. You reply-", " \\[Scripted Event. Scripted Love.\\]\n\n\"It's about damn time,\" Ingrid grinned at Mason. The two close friends sat in the park at a concrete picnic table in the shade of a large mesquite tree. \"You kind of picked a bad time to ask, but,...\" she leaned forward and kissed Mason's tan, flushed cheek. \"Of course,\" she said.\n\nMason exhaled a sigh of relief, which quickly gave way to regret. Her answer made it clear he should have asked long ago, not when the world was about to end. Not that she knew that.\n\n\"I'm in the middle of a big project this week, but I'm free all day next Friday. I want to spend it with you,\" she said. She remained close by his side after she pecked his cheek. Mason felt ecstatic and crushed at the same moment.\n\nHis father made him promise not to tell anyone. Mason's dad was one of the scientists that discovered the impending Gamma burst. He was important enough to be on the team, but not important enough to join the politicians and their wealthy friends in bunkers. His father gathered the family, Mason, his mother, and sister at the table the previous evening. He explained that nothing could be done. Even the bunkers wouldn't offer any protection from the massive burst, the Earth was doomed. The governments of the world decided to keep the information secret, panic wouldn't help anything.\n\n\"Oh, what are you working on?\" Mason asked. \"Is it important?\" Ingrid rolled her eyes but giggled.\n\n\"If it wasn't important, we could have gone out tonight, or tomorrow,\" she replied. \"It took you three years to ask me out. Get a clue, handsome,\" she said. \"I like you. A lot. Just bad timing right now,\" she said.\n\n\"But like. Important for this week... or important for your future?\" Mason pressed. He was ready and willing to break his promise to his dad, but he wouldn't unless he thought it would help. Ingrid tilted her head at him and leaned back a bit.\n\n\"Since when are you pushy about anything?\" she asked. It was a valid point. Mason remained passive for most of their friendship. He fulfilled his end of conversation but did little to help carry it. He'd always been comfortable letting questions go unanswered.\n\nMason sighed. He didn't have time to try and deny a change; and, he had a pretty compelling reason for it.\n\n\"Since yesterday...,\" he said. \"...my dad gave us some news.\" Ingrid was smart, it was a big part of the reason Mason enjoyed her company so much. She knew his family well, and what his dad did for a living. She leaned closer to him again and took his hand in hers.\n\n\"How bad is it?\" she asked. Mason looked up from the ground and turned to meet her auburn eyes.\n\n\"Apocalyptic,\" he replied. She yanked her hand out of his and hopped up from the bench. She took two steps forward, then paced a tight circle. She left Mason confused. That was her, 'I'm thinking and I'm angry,' walk. It helped that she was always communicative.\n\n\"GRAAgghh!\" she let out the frustrated grumble. Finally, she stopped pacing in front of Mason and looked down at him.\n\n\"You waited until the end of the world to ask me out!??\" she stared at him with an odd mix of amusement and anger that he'd never seen in her before. Her auburn eyes seemed a shade or two more red.\n\n\"Sorry?\" Mason shrugged. He didn't know what else she wanted from him. She rolled her eyes again and shook her head, but a faint smile tugged up at the corners of her lips. She sat down next to him again. In the same motion, her hand slipped into her pocket and pulled out a glass card. Mason had seen it a few times over the years, but it was one of the things he was comfortable letting go unanswered. He assumed she'd tell him about it when she wanted to.\n\n\"You're so going to make it up to me for making me wait until the last minute,\" she mumbled while her focus stayed on the card. Mason never saw her use it before; she tapped and swiped at it like a cellphone.\n\n\"...What exactly are you mad about?\" Mason asked. He got the impression that she wasn't upset at him specifically, but he was just the closest target.\n\n\"Because if I couldn't fix it, we'd have less than a week together apparently,\" she said idly. \"It's just an infuriating thought. What's going to happen exactly; and, when?\" she asked. Ingrid paused her movements but kept her thumbs on the card waiting for his answer.\n\n\"...gamma-ray burst... Thursday...\" he said. \"...what do you mean, fix it?\" her thumbs jumped into action again at the answer. After several more taps, she nodded to herself, then dropped the glass card to her lap and look at him.\n\n\"I mean, save the Earth. So, what are we doing Friday?\" she asked.\n\n\"How are you going to save the Earth? You have some secret superpowers I don't know about?\" Ingrid grabbed his hand again, with her left hand. She made a 'so-so' gesture with her right.\n\n\"There's a lot you don't know about me, but I want to tell you,\" she said.\n\n\"Ingrid Toft?\" Mason jumped slightly when an unknown kid called Ingrid. He looked up and saw a chubby teenager with a mountain of dark-brown curls on his head standing by their table. She hopped up and nodded at him. \"You called a mod?\" he asked, then extended his hand. \"Aurelio Luna.\"\n\n\"I submitted a ticket that explained the situation,\" she said while shaking his hand. He nodded.\n\n\"It's not a bug,\" he said. \"Since you discovered it, I can tell you that Sharp Development is planning a surprise event on this server next Thursday.\"\n\n\"So.. we're going to be okay?\" Ingrid asked. Aurelio shook his head.\n\n\"Nope. The end of the world is the event. Players will be prompted to change servers as it winds down.\"\n\n\"Oh. Then we'll just change servers before then to avoid it. Thanks,\" Ingrid grinned.\n\n\"You're welcome,\" Aurelio nodded. A black portal opened in the air next to him and he turned to walk into it. He paused halfway in and looked out at Ingrid.\n\n\"But, that only applies to players,\" he said. Then, he nodded at Mason. \"Not NPCs.\" Then, he disappeared into the portal and it closed behind him.\n\n \n\n\\\\\\*\n\nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1140 in a row. (Story #044 in year four.) You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog." ]	3
	[WP] People all around the world get powers of mythical heroes. While some get the powers of Zeus or Heracles. You get the powers of the great sage equal to heaven, Sun Wukong	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 sigh as I clutch my tail, wringing gently like a dish rag, still not quite used to the anatomical addition, while I watch the spectacle going on at the front of the class. Jesse, gifted with the powers of Thor and Damian, who received the mantle of Hecate, are showing off there. When I first heard of this new training course for Mythics, as we have come to be known, I was excited. The chance to meet others like me and learn more about the fascinating new world we found ourselves in? Count me in!\n\nBut things aren\\`t going quite the way I expected. All of my classmates, gifted with power from gods and heroes of legend, well renowned all over the world, are undeniably arrogant, bullying wretches for the most part. They have taken the power granted to them by the heavens and are now squandering it in inane attempts to increase their popularity or to gain face, this is simply shameless to me. There are, of course, exceptions. Alex, my only real friend here, with the powers of Ghanesh, remains stoic and earnest in his determination to master his abilities, quite impressive if I do say so myself. Also, Alexandra, gifted with the powers of Athena, has remained low key and diligent in her studies from what I can tell. \n\nOf course, I may be somewhat biased in my thinking. I have taken to my new gifts like a fish to water (which, in fact, I have tried, rather fun actually!). Given this, I have become more secure in my own estimation of myself and don\\`t require the acknowledgement of others to be happy. Also, my predecessor\\`s state of mind was known to be very stable for the most part, and I seem to adopt more and more of his personality as I master my abilities. But unfortunately, this is becoming something of a double edged sword, this new part of my personality is now urging me to show these buffoons how little they actually are; for I am capable of storming the heavens, in front of me, they are nothing but ants. My own arrogance is certainly at play here, but I have accepted that part of myself, and am now contemplating just how to begin my lesson to these urchins.\n\nAn idea coming to mind, I stand up from my seat at the back of the room and make my way to the challenging area at the front, shaped somewhat like an arena. The previous duel between Jesse and Damian now comes to an end with a draw(rather boring if you ask me), both participants walking off the arena. I step onto the arena, my first time having done so, catching the attention of many of my classmates, their interest peaked since I usually maintain a low profile.\n\nI calmly smile, my tail lashing the air behind me, as I state, \"I challenge Eric.\"\n\nA stunned silence comes over the class at my words, no one had challenged Eric since the first week of class. He brutally beat down 4 challengers, all who were in the top ten of our class, and then no one else dared to challenge him. And he loved it. The arrogant godling, who had the powers of Ares, was the worst of the lot in my opinion. If I showed how much like trash he really was, those whose power was less than his should all take notice, hopefully. \n\nEric, in answer to my challenge, stands up from his circle of sycophants with a smug smile on his handsome face and makes his way to the arena floor.\n\n\"So, after not having fought at all before, you want to challenge me? Are you courting death? I will not go easy on you, my powers were made to kill!\" he states impetuously.\n\nI merely smile back at him and quirk my brow, \"I won\\`t know unless I try, will I? You and your little band of arrogant scum have had your fun long enough. It\\`s up to me, the inheritor of the great Sun Wukong, to show you the error of your ways. You are nothing under the heavens.\"\n\nHis eyes widen at my words, his brow tightening in anger as he growls, \"I will show you your place little monkey. You will regret this.\"\n\nAt his words, I merely transform into a small monkey and moon him. Quite enjoying myself, I jump up and down a few times, squawking in my monkey way.\n\nEnraged beyond reason now, Eric rushes at me full speed! In response, I jump and land behind him, easily clearing 100 feet, well below my limit. And then I moon him again, laughing in my small monkey form. This, of course, removes all restraint from him, as a blood red aura condenses around his figure and shrouds him in bloody armor. He roars and charges at me once again!\n\nDeciding to get serious now, my body twists and shifts until I stand at a towering 8 feet tall in my resting form, that of a monkey human hybrid. I have a small crown resting between my ears and an ornate golden staff wrapped in my tail. I smirk down at this puny war god wannabe and take his rush head on. \n\nBOOM!\n\nOur collision shakes the building and causes dust to fall from the ceiling, I am only moved a single step back but Eric is launched a dozen feet, landing flat on his back with a dull thump. He quickly struggles back to his feet and condenses a blood red sword in his hand, while screaming out, madness evident in his eyes and voice, \"Bloody Slash!\"\n\nA crimson sword aura spins off from his blade and rushes at me at high speed, or at least high speed for everyone else. For me, the great Sun Wukong, this speed is that of a turtle. I merely transform my arm into a small golden shield and rebound the strike back at him. This catches him by surprise and he quickly ducks to avoid his own strike. As he comes back to his full height, he stares at me in bewilderment and not a small amount of fear. That last strike had easily overcome all of his other opponents but didn\\`t even faze me. All without me having launched a strike, he was seeing the folly of his own arrogance. All was going to plan. Now, the final step...\n\ncrushing him mercilessly.\n\nIn a blur, my staff was in my hands, then spinning in my fingers, shrunk down to the size of a tooth pick, then back to full size again, as I brandished it in the air. The staff sang out, overjoyed at being used in battle once more. It felt like an old friend, going into war shoulder to shoulder beside me. Staff outstretched, I jab it in Eric\\`s direction as my voice booms out,\n\n \"Eternal Staff Strike!\"\n\nAn ephemeral and powerful staff aura slips out of the end of my staff and flies toward him at a leisurely pace. No extreme speed is needed, the power is undeniable. As the staff aura nears Eric, he panics and tries to dodge, but just as he does the aura seems to explode into a dozen and then a thousand, and then a hundred thousand staff auras in the time it takes to reach him and they all converge on him and his blood red armor!\n\nBOOM!\n\nThis time, the very floor cracks under the power of my strike and dust billows up from it, concealing the entire arena and most of the classroom.\n\nI can hear a few classmates talking animatedly with each other, trying to figure out if Eric was able to withstand my strike or not. I smile at this, already certain of the result.\n\nThe dust clears and reveals a crumpled and unconscious Eric lying in a small crater, his blood red armor nowhere to be seen and countless cuts and bone breaks visible on his body.\n\nMy class instantly erupts, all shocked except for my friend Alex and the wise Alexandra. They never expected anyone to beat Eric, but I clearly trounced him with one strike. It seems my lesson has landed well amongst these other youngsters. As I walk off the arena humbly, many of my classmates look to me with some awe and fear in their gazes. I can hear a few of the more stubborn of them talking amongst themselves about challenging me, claiming my strength was just a trick, no simple monkey could contend with the likes of them. I smile ruefully, perhaps some further lessons will need to be imparted after all..." ]	2
	[WP] How did you know they were coming for you? How did you know how to avoid them? Instincts you've never had are telling you that you have to run, and under no circumstances can you ever look back.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Run.\"\n\nThe thought hit like a ton of bricks. I may have not even paid attention to it if it didn't command control of my legs soon after. But it did, and now I'm running.\n\nI don't know what I'm running from, and I'm sure the everyone else is now staring at me. That one weirdo who just started running for no--\n\nBANG\n\nIt hit like an explosion, but the air felt cold. I tried to look back, to see what was going on, maybe even help. However, the voice came back.\n\n\"Don't.\"\n\nAgain, it took control over my body, like an instinct that I didn't know I had. All I could do was keep running, unaware of the perils I might be in. Until it came back again.\n\n\"Go right here.\"\n\nA woman's voice this time. I followed the instructions, didn't want to lose control again, but why was the voice different? I could understand the first one, it was similar to my own internal voice. It was familiar. Although so is woman, now that I think about it. I just don't know where I know her from.\n\n\"In this room.\"\n\nAnother man, an older voice filled with wisdom, like a grandpa teaching a child. Like my grandpa... I know he died long before I was born, but I had heard a recording of his voice, and that was it.\n\n\"Go to through to the back.\"\n\nThe first voice again. I was definitely more comfortable with this one. It seemed the most like me. Which is a weird thought. They're all me, right?\n\nAnyway, it said 'the back', so I'll head there. I still can't bring myself to look back, but I'm not sure if that's this instinct or just the fear. Either way, I'm still safe.\n\n\"Through that door.\"\n\nDoor? What door? There aren't any doors--\n\nI was cut off, noticing a bright light in the shape of a rectangle. The shape of a door. It felt right, and somehow safe, so going through was my only real option. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe other side of this 'door' was a large room. It was filled with mismatched furniture and futuristic workbenches. It was new and exciting, but also home. Somehow, it felt right to be here. Like I'd been here many times before.\n\n\"Well I suppose we should explain.\" \n\nCame the woman's voice, pulling me back into reality. I had forgotten that these voices had appeared mere minutes after discovering them, although it's not like this is a normal day, so I should cut myself some slack.\n\n\"We are the past holders of your power.\"\n\nThe old man spoke, while I froze listening to every word they said.\n\n\"If your life is in danger, we will get you out of it.\"\n\n\"If it's possible.\" The first man spoke, hints of anger in his voice.\n\n\"And when you do die, you get to suggest a successor.\" The old man carried on, \"Although hopefully you'll last a tad longer than your brother.\"\n\nWait, what? My brother's still alive? He should be... \n\nOh no.\n\nHe was back with the crowd. He was in the centre of the bang. He's that voice that I was so familiar with. He had these voices, and he gave them to me when he died.\n\nAfter a moment of silence, the woman spoke up again, \"Look, it's nice and all that you get to have this family reunion, but the world is kind of in grave danger, and your brother's sacrifice didn't save the day.\" \n\n\"Hey,\" my brother replied, clearly insulted.\n\n\"Oh, don't worry, most of us died in vain during an attack. The issue is that they saw you die. Not that they were particularly scared of you, you were just a beginner after all, but still.\"\n\n\"So, if you don't mind me cutting to the situation at hand,\" The old man butted in, \"You, my grandson, need to do something about this attack.\"\n\n\"Wait, but what do I do?\" I blurted out to the empty room.\n\n\"Well, your one of the hunters now, use your powers and save the day.\"\n\n\"But what powers?\" I yelled loader this time. \n\n\"Oh boy,\" my grandpa sighed, \"I hate teaching new recruits...\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\nIf you liked this story, head over to [r/F4TF0X](https://www.reddit.com/r/F4TF0X/) to read more of my stuff!" ]	2
	[WP] You always thought it was Live Action Role Playing, you acting like a crime boss, ordering people around. You never saw drugs or murders, so it's just a game, right? Now you're on the run from government agents while trying to figure out how to escape this mess.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 gasped, pressing myself against the door and searching my pockets. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” I whispered, my shaking hands tapping away on my phone. I could still hear the shouts of the agents from the hallway. Regaining my senses, I looked around the room. A vent stood only a foot or two above my head. I crawled on top of one of the boxes—labeled “Extra Sheets,” and pulled off the vent cover. Squeezing myself in, I replaced the cover and scooted backwards into the vent far enough that I hoped I wouldn’t be seen, but close enough I could watch the door.\n\nMy phone buzzed, making my heart jump. I switched it to silent and checked the messages.\n\nKieran: Where the fuck are you?\n\nI tapped out my reply as best I could, still shaking, the shouts getting closer.\n\nJason: I’m in the vents at the hospital. Long story. Do you know where Dean is? I need him to tell some FBI agents that this is a huge mix up.\n\nKieran: FBI agents?? Vents?? Dude, if you want to talk to Hatchet, you’re going to need to use Discord.\n\nJason: I’m not in the game right now. I mean, I was, but now I’m just afraid. The suits were chasing me around. They used my Kingpin name. I’m so fucking confused.\n\nKieran: Alright. I’ll find Dean and get back to you. Maybe this is just another level in the game? Something he’s gotten planned?\n\nJason: The guns were very real. I almost got hit.\n\nKieran: Fuck. Stay safe. Let me know how you are soon. I’ll text you when I find Dean.\n\nThe door practically flew off its hinges as an agent, visibly frustrated, kicked in the door. His eyes searched the small closet, his scowl growing. He brought a radio to his lips and barked into it, “Second floor clear. Move up. He’s got to be somewhere. ETA on dogs?”\n\nThe reply was too muffled for me to hear. I let out a very quiet sigh of relief and waited for him to leave, closing the door behind him. I laid on my stomach, calming my heartbeat, listening for the footsteps of government issued boots. After a few minutes, I pulled myself out of the vent, awkwardly falling back onto the same box I’d used to get up there. Opening the door, I peered out into the incandescent hallway, doors extending on either side.\n\nTurning right, I moved quickly, keeping my head down. I took another right and passed a doctor, who didn’t pay me any mind. I knew that I had to get out of this building as quickly as possible. I also knew the agents would probably have the front door blocked. I had to come up with a plan, fast. I knew there were usually closets, similar to the one that I used to hide, where they would keep extra scrubs. I could use that to get out of the back door, hopefully.\n\nI dipped into the next supply closet I saw, finding it filled with only cleaning supplies. I left, my heart racing as I continued along the halls, passing rooms with families, beeping equipment. My heart rate felt dangerously high, squeezing myself into the next supply closet. I found a box with scrubs, digging through, I sighed with relief when I found my size. I’d need to change on the first floor, minimize the number of people who would see me in them.\n\nI took off my jacket and wrapped it around the scrubs, making sure the tell-tale blue wasn’t showing. Then, I set off, back out the door and into the hallways, down the stairs, to the bathroom. Thankfully, I picked all the right spots; I didn’t see any agents, but I could hear them, sometimes, in the stairwell, rounding a corner just before I came into view. Luck must have been on my side.\n\nOnce I had changed, I left the bathroom, head still down, jacket over the scrubs, and headed for the employee entrance in the back. My heart still raced as I passed nurses and doctors alike. I kept my eyes on my phone or the ground, weaving through the hallways and lobbies, finally finding myself at the door, then outside, the sun beating down on me. I took a deep breath and looked around. No security or FBI. With a deep breath, I set off around the side of the building. I called Kieran on my cellphone. He picked up on the third ring.\n\n“Are you okay?” His voice was clearly worried.\n\n“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m leaving the hospital now. Dressed in some dumb scrubs. Left my clothes in a ceiling tile. Dude, I have no idea what’s happening.”\n\n“Why are they after you?\n\nI turned onto the street, making sure to keep my head bent and away from the black SUVs parked in front of the hospital. I could hear one of the agents barking orders. My voice shaking, I said, “I don’t know. I was coming in to visit Julian, you know he’s having some trouble with his asthma, so I thought, why not be a good friend and drop by after the play session. Well, soon as I give my name to the front desk, the lady gives me a weird look. I head up to the room and then boom, like fifteen minutes the FBI is knocking on the door. I don’t know what they wanted, but my instincts kicked in and I shot right out of there. I don’t know what they were expecting, but they did put up a chase. I hit in that vent until they left the floor.”\n\n“Did Dean say anything to you about an event this week?”\n\n“No, no,” I said, taking my jacket off and throwing it away in a trashcan. A horn honked behind me as I continued downtown towards my apartment. “He didn’t say anything at all.” I stopped walking, checking my watch, “Do you think they know my real name?”\n\n“Didn’t you say it at the front desk?”\n\nI laughed, “No, actually, I was trying to make Julian laugh by coming to see him in character. So I was hoping they’d call ahead and let him know that I, Damien Calais, was coming to see him.”\n\n“Then I don’t know how they would. Especially if there’s been a mix up. I mean, we don’t actually run a crime organization. How can they make a mistake that big?”\n\nI shrugged, ducking into the bodega next to my apartment. “Listen, I’m gonna grab some stuff real quick, I’ll call you back later, okay? Can you meet me at my apartment in like, 20?”\n\n“Yeah, I’m still trying to get a hold of Dean. I’ll let you know if I find him.”\n\n“Thanks man.” I hung up and made my way through the packed aisles grabbing a few energy bars and a sports drink from the fridge. I paid and left, heading back to my apartment, stuffing the energy bars down and chugging the energy drink. The adrenaline had knocked me out and I’d missed both lunch and breakfast. This was not what I wanted to do with my Saturday.\n\nInside my apartment, I showered as quickly as I could, changing into jeans and a t-shirt, glad to be rid of the unfamiliar scrubs. I laid down on my couch and sighed, staring at the ceiling. A knock at the door roused me after a few minutes.\n\nI jumped to my feet, heart racing once again. “It’s just me, Kieran.” Came the voice, anticipating my anxiety. I let out the breath I was holding and went to the door, opening it for him, welcoming him into the studio apartment. I rubbed my head, taking Kieran in. He looked tired, making his twenty six years look like forty five. His black curly hair bounced as he walked to the couch, sitting himself down on it, pulling his phone out of his jeans.\n\n“Any luck?” I asked, sitting down next to him.\n\n“I was able to get in touch with Dean.”\n\n“And?” I said, leaning towards him, my heart still pumping.\n\n“He said he’ll be here in like ten minutes.” He put his phone on the coffee table and leaned back, his brow painted with confusion, “I just don’t get it. Why would they be after you? I mean, come on, we really don’t do anything bad. I mean, you don’t even smoke weed. Nothing even sort of illegal. That’s why we become the people we do.”\n\nI nodded, “Yeah, maybe someone outside of the group, I don’t, overheard? Saw something they didn’t understand? The warehouse isn’t exactly an easy place to stumble upon, but it’s plausible.”\n\nHe put his head in his hands, “I don’t know. Maybe.” We sat in silence for a moment, staring at the wall.\n\n“What if,” I said, my voice low and quiet, “what if it was more real than we thought?”\n\n“Dean’s smart but he’s not that smart.” Kieran said, standing up and moving to the window behind us, looking out over the city, the light fading as night rolled in.\n\n“I don’t know, he’s been the mastermind since day one. Like, the real one.” I was turned to him, watching his expression in the sunset.\n\n“When he gets here, we can just ask him. No need in being shy about it, right?” He looked back at me, but stopped, his eyes drifting upwards towards the door.\n\nI turned in time for Dean to close it carefully behind himself, a smile on his lips, “I think we have a few things to discuss about the game.”\n\nr/AinsleyAdams" ]	2
	[WP] Simply put, you don’t exist, but when you show up, specific people die. Yet when you see a certain retail associate, you consider existing 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The keening begins inside my head, growing louder and more insistent every moment. I close my eyes and will myself to the place that it is coming from. I move at the speed of thought. It's easy to do when you don't have a body, per say. The keening calls to me. It is the sound of impending death. I am a banshee, and I am bound to answer its call. \n\nI was raised by my grandmother. My father died before I was born, and Gran, my dad's mom, was always very secretive about who my mother was. All I knew was that she left shortly after I was born. I guess it's hard to explain to a kid that her mom is a faerie harbinger of death. \n\nThe keening is coming from a clothing store in a mall somewhere. It's not a big store, but it's crowded. Sometimes, when I arrive at the source of the sound, there is only one person there, or it's obvious which person is meant to die. The gushing wounds or the hospital bed are pretty clear indicators. Other times, I can just kind of feel, or more precisely, hear, which person I'm there for. Sometimes not so much. I look around and count six people. Who is the keening for? Shit. It's unspecified. That means I have to pick. \n\nI remember the first time it happened. I was alive then. I was sixteen. Gabrielle Blake and I were driving back from a basketball game or something stupid. We had the music playing loud, and we were singing. We were best friends. More than that. We were crazy about each other. But those kinds of feelings were new to the both of us, and hadn't led anywhere yet. At that moment, we were just happy to be together, reveling in our teenage freedom. That was when the keening started, a wailing sound like music, and like crying, and shrill as a scream, drowning out Gabby's playlist. Maybe we drove over some debris in the road, or maybe one of the tires just blew. Suddenly, the car was swerving out of control, into the headlights of an oncoming semi truck. \n\nShe appeared to me then. I think she was my mother. She never said so, and at the time it did not occur to me to ask, but it's the explanation that makes the most sense. Time froze, as if the light from the semi was holding us in place. She seemed to float just outside my window. She and I were the only things moving. “Hear that?” she asked me. “It is the Fates, calling the dead to the next life. I can hear it, because it is in my nature to hear it, and to witness the death it portends. At this moment, one of you is called to die, but which one has not yet been chosen. It's my choice. But since you can hear it too, I can let it be your choice, if you want. Choose her, and you keep living your life, whatever that may lead to. Choose yourself, and you can become like me, a banshee.” She regarded me gravely. \n\nI looked at Gabby. She was so beautiful, with her dreamy eyes and her angelic voice. She was going places. Drama club, writer for the school newspaper and the yearbook, A student. And I was just me. B student with no idea what I was doing with my life. I loved Gabby, like a best friend, and more. I wanted her to have the bright, brilliant future that she deserved. So I chose myself, and became what I am today. \n\nI look around the store again. Who's it going to be? I see a middle aged man looking at women's clothing. He is wearing a wedding band, and almost certainly picking out a gift for his wife. Or what about the elderly lady trying on scarves? Her hands shake, and she keeps dropping things onto the floor. A little girl scampers over to her and picks up the scarf for her, and the old woman pinches the girl's cheek sweetly. The girl's mother comes up behind her, looking angry, as if offended that a stranger would touch her child. A teenage boy sulks by the doorway. He probably belongs with the mom and girl. Then there is the young woman at the sales register. . . \n\nI freeze. If I still had breath, it would have caught in my throat. It's Gabby. I think I must be wrong, but it says Gabrielle right there on her name tag. She's aged ten years. Her hair is shorter, her makeup heavier, but her bright, unreserved smile is the same. She can't see me, of course. She doesn't know I'm here. I suddenly miss her so much it hurts. I would give anything to talk to her again, to have her in my life again. Or my death. Or whatever.\n\nLoneliness isn't the only thing that's painful right now, though. The keening is reaching a crescendo. I need to choose. I open my mouth and wail, letting my own voice match the sound in my head. I consider the entitled mom for a second, then, thinking of what that would do to her kids, point to the old lady. She looks up at me as if I had called her name. Then she clutches her chest and sinks to the ground. The middle aged man starts yelling for help. The mom pulls her little girl away. Gabby runs out from behind the counter, kneels by the lady, and starts administering CPR. It won't do any good, but that's Gabby. She always has to try. She hasn't changed at all. \n\nI've done what I came here to do, and it's time for me to go, but I don't want to leave. I want to stay with Gabby. \n\n“It's not beyond your power to let her see you, you know,” a voice says. I turn. It's her, the woman I saw the night I died, the night I became a banshee. The woman that might be my mom. I still can't bring myself to ask her. \n\nInstead I say, “What do you mean?” \n\n“I see you pining after that young woman. If that's really what is in your heart, you can make yourself visible to her. I cannot promise how she will react though.” She shrugged. “It's your choice. It's not hard. Just will it to happen.” \n\nI look at Gabby. The paramedics have arrived and are pushing her out of the way. A mall cop starts asking her questions. I turn back to the banshee woman, but she is gone. \n\n(Continued in next comment)" ]	2
I think I actually had a dream like this, so, enjoy the irony.	[WP] When you die, it turns out your body is permanently sent to the dream lands, where your soul is pulled around by the whims of your own deceased brain. You've just figured out how to lucid dream, making you one of the most powerful beings in the entire universe.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "1:50. Before the words, ‘Have a good weekend’, could escape the professor’s mouth the lanky boy had thrown his backpack on and left the class with a purpose in his stride. That purpose slackened the moment that he exited the beige monotony that is a lecture hall. The boy had brown hair, much longer than he was used to keeping it but he couldn’t be bothered to get it cut, and plain brown eyes. He had a build that just screamed that he could eat an entire cow in an evening and still need a midnight snack. And he was on his way to have a hearty lunch all while anticipating the dinner he was going to have tonight. Although, not anticipating it for the food but the event of it all.\n\nA comic-con date, what a dream come true.\n\nIt couldn’t come fast enough as far as he was concerned.\n\nHe was dressed up about as much as you would want for such a date. Jeans and a graphic tee. Wait, no he was wearing the outfit of an elvish wizard, his favorite race and class in Dungeons and Dragons.\n\nWhat did I have for lunch?\n\nAnd the spectacular date was hanging by his arm. Beautiful black hair with brilliant reds dyed throughout, her almond-shaped eyes and caramel-colored skin was incredibly inviting in her cosplay of Ryuko and that sexy sailor uniform.\n\nHer nose is really cute. Did I drive us here? Did we walk?\n\nThe conference hall didn’t quite match what he remembered from the comic-cons near his campus.\n\nHad they changed locations?\n\nThis place is packed. Whatever new location they had used had attracted an inordinate amount of people for his college town. He found his eyes more than once straying from his date to the beautiful cosplays and equally beautiful women throughout the hall. Yet, he did find his eyes steadily drawn back to my date.\n\nIs she getting more attractive?\n\nYoung love sure is beautiful. She really did look like she grew in beauty every time I had my eyes torn away and then dragged back. Her smile enchanting\n\nWhat is your date’s name? What were they teaching in that lecture today anyways? How did we get here? What happened to lunch?\n\nThe time jumped as he spotted the clock within just a minute of the last time. Maybe he could have accepted that he lost track of time, but it read an hour before he longingly considered the benefits of staying surrounded by such nerdy babes for longer.\n\nI don’t know how I got here, and I know for a fact that that time just jumped backward. Wait I know! I’m in a dream, I’ve read about people who can spot these things and have a lucid dream as a result.\n\nThe eyes of his body didn’t open as they may have with the shock of realizing that he was inhabiting a dream. However, this wasn’t because of experience with realization without wakening. This was because his eyes had closed for good.\n\nThe memories came as a trickle at first. He really had been planning to peruse the local comic-con before dinner with his girlfriend. What happened after he had left his dorm though?\n\nHa. Right now I can’t remember how I got here, but there I can’t remember what happened after I left.\n\nThe swerving driver! The trickle became a torrent. He had been hit by a drunk driver. At least the ambulance driver had said the guy was drunk.\n\nI think? What hospital did they take me to?\n\nThe ambulance made it to the hospital, but the young victim hadn’t.\n\nHoly fuck. I died, but now I’m dreaming.\n\nNot just dreaming but lucid dreaming.\n\nDrunk drivers are all such fucking idiots! I can’t believe I got killed by a drunk driver. Now I’m just going to be a number in some fucking infomercial. I wish those drunk idiots would just keel over if they tried to get behind a wheel.\n\nIt wasn’t long before people were scared to drive because of the people who died as they got behind the wheel. One drink or many the whim of the boy didn’t discriminate and you better double check your sobriety before you reach for the keys.\n\nWhat rule of the universe would his next moment of petulant temper tamper with?" ]	2
	[WP] 1,000,000 secret achievements were placed into the world by the Creators. Whomever completes one gains power and wealth. You come from a long line of achievement hunters who have been researching the final one.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 last achievement...\nHis hand trailed against the old photographs, left to dust; many, many familiar faces, gleamed and prepped for one snapshot. Each achievement had it’s own. Some faces only seen one, some thousands. 999,999 for himself to be exact.\nHis body peaked to physical fitness around the 900,000th, each achievement subtly becoming harder and harder to find, and the last 99,999 taking his whole lifetime.\nBut the last achievement was still unknown; until now.\nThe last one, the final hurdle. His hands clenched in anticipation, grin widening.\nThen he went to bed, and never woke.\n[Achievement Unlocked: Endless Slumber- Begin your next adventure.]" ]	2
	[WP] "Reality, INC. We will make your dream a reality, guaranteed! This week only, 50% off All Pocket Dimensions." For the third time this week, you stop at their door, arguing with yourself if this is really what you want.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Hey kid, what’s up? I see you around my store every day. You want a Pocket Dimension? Any questions?”\n\nI don’t trust this man. “Well, yeah. Are the people in the dimensions the same as we are?”\n\n“Well of course they are. All organisms in all dimensions are made of the same basic things as we are.”\n\n“See, that’s my issue. Isn’t that kind of unethical?” I feel very silly saying this.\n\n“Ah, an understandable concern, and one I love to address.” The sales man straightened his shirt and hair, looking me in the eyes. “Here at Reality INC we value our customers mental comfort. We want you to understand that the products you are using are ethically sourced, unlike our shitball competitors, Second World INC. They don’t care one lick about where they source their people. We have higher standards.”\n\nWhat does that even mean. I wait. He lets the silence grow. I break it.\n\n“I’m just a little uneasy about controlling an entire universe in my pocket, is all. It seems like a lot of power.” He should understand my fears.\n\n“No problem, the instruction books will take you through all the phases of controlling your universe, ancient age, classical age, all the way up to modern and then nuclear age. We also have a separate religion booklet if you’d like to have worlds worshipping you but I will warn you it can interfere with main plot lines.”\n\nHow do I even reply to that. “Well, I’ll take it, I guess.” I can at least scalp it if my people don’t like me." ]	2
	[WP] You live in a world where snowflakes have always been the size of The Empire State Building. You're moving from Florida to Alaska.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 GPS. Again.” Lavinia snaps her sat-phone shut and slips it back into her pockets, continuing her trek. “Bad signal, too. You sure we’re heading the right way?”\n\nThe ice under her boots go crunch, crunch, as eighty kilograms of equipment, winter clothing, and scientist trek over cold frozen earth. Her body aches from the gear and the biting winds. She squints at her newfound partner already walking a few meters ahead.\n\nHer headset crackles. “I’m sure.” Dextra’s voice cuts through the whistling. “Welcome to Shatterdive Alley - home of the world's largest snowflakes. No GPS here, or anywhere ten clicks north. The snowcloud will block all satellite signals until-” she grunts, “this- weather system- passes!”\n\n“Damn it. I hope you’re right.”\n\nThe snowcloud ahead slowly rotates, weaving the sky into a monstrous whirlpool. Dextra points at the silhouette of a cliff face. At a distance, the shelter seems small and insignificant against the weather, but it doesn’t matter. Lavinia nods. Together, they trek against wind that carry icy shards that shatter against the two’s headgear, plinking on helmet and goggles, thudding softly on parka. They reach the bottom of the cliff and drop their bags.\n\nLavinia sighs. “How… much farther? Dex?”\n\nDextra eyes the sky. “Looking right up, I can start to see where the snowcloud begins.” She sits down on the ice. “I think… ten, fifteen minutes.”\n\n“And ETA on Snowdrop?” Lavinia moves the bottle of water closer, slipping the mask off. “We don’t want to miss this one.”\n\nDextra unfolds the piece of paper from her pocket. “Uh… let’s see. Thirteen twenty is… nine minutes away,” glancing at her wristwatch. “If we’re quick, we might be able to catch a landing. Prime sample takes five hours for collection, get away before the snowflake melts in eight.”\n\n“Great.” Lavinia joins her in sitting. “Three minutes break, then we dash for it. Sounds good?” she asks, looking to her left with a smile.\n\n“Sure.” Dextra glances back.\n\nA thought. Then, she smirks. “Enjoying glaciology, huh?”\n\nLavinia scoffs. “Nah. This whole thing is piss.” She stares at Dextra for a moment before exploding into stifled chuckling. “Okay, okay. Fine. Maybe a little.”\n\n“Miss home yet?”\n\n“No… not yet.” Lavinia’s breaths create wisps. She twirls a finger through them. “Not… used to this, though.”\n\nDex puts her arms on her hips. “What? The weather?”\n\n“No. Not just the weather,” Lavinia answers. “This. All of this.” She gestures at the icy woods around them, eyes scanning frozen remnants of rain on leaves. Her eyes move to the meters-thick frozen lake below the two. “It’s… different. That’s for sure.” Her eyes drift to the cell above. “And the storm. And the cold snap. And the idea that, once every day or two, some random storm system can drop a four-hundred foot block of fractal ice somewhere in the woods.” She chuckles again. “I mean, come on! Don’t you think it’s nuts?!”\n\n“Nuts?” Dextra’s smirk grows a bit wider. “I think it’s cool. And fascinating. And researchable.” She leans forward. “Why’d you think I chose glaciology?”\n\n“I don’t know.” Lavinia looks away. “Maybe… just maybe, it’s because you’re local?”\n\n“Psh. Nah. Most folks here leave at the first chance they get. Nobody wants to stay. When you’re not a tourist… this place, the snowflakes. All the problems… they all kind of scare you away.”\n\nLavinia looks back at Dextra, brows raised, only to find her staring off into the distance. Dextra, on the other hand, catches a pair of curious eyes staring at her.\n\n“Fuck. Nevermind.” Dextra shakes her head. “And you? What’s your story, Vini? Fresh out of Florida State Meteorology? What the heck are you doing here?”\n\n“Jeez.” It’s Lavinia’s turn to shake her head. “I don’t know. Moved out of Tallahassee, went to college, never looked back.” Her eyes begin to drift. “Looking for something, I guess.”\n\n“Hm.” Dextra nods. The two stay silent for a moment, waiting under the shelter of rocks. Finally, Dextra’s wristwatch rings. She stands up at its call. “Come on.” Dex reaches her arm out, then, “Let’s find the thing you’re looking for.” A pull.\n\nVini and Dex brush off the flakes from their coats, pick up the hulking packs, and begin their trek once more.\n\nA few minutes pass by as voices get silenced by winds growing harsher. Lavinia finds herself digging traction cleats deeper into ice, if only to make her feel safer. Dextra grows a grimace, fighting against the wind. Ahead, a whirlpool turns into cosmic maelstrom as neon blue lightning courses, telltale signs of incoming snowdrop and catastrophe. The snowcloud forms an inverted cyclone, and at the center of it all, Lavinia spots a tiny blue crystal forming - a dot being struck by blue bolts over and over and over.\n\n“Holy… is that… snowflake formation? That’s it, right? Anomalous weather phenomena?”\n\nA voice crackles through the wind. “Yeah. First time’s always impressive.” Then, without skipping a beat: “Especially a hypercell.” The voice pauses. “Takes me back, huh. National Weather Service was wrong. This is gonna be a big one.”\n\n“A big one?” Lavinia feels her breathing grow thinner. “Meaning?”\n\n“Theory says large ionized updrafts sap oxygen and center the lightning bolts toward the flake-” The voice on the other end slips, gasping for air. “Agh! Crap.” \n\n“You okay?!”\n\n“Yeah! Just-” she stands back up- “bit my lip a bit. This goddamn storm. In practical terms- huge seismic shock on landing, and a six hundred meter formation. Or more!”\n\n“I don’t speak meters!”\n\n“Seven football fields, dammit! We’re looking at a massive one!”\n\nLavinia’s eyes widen. “Wait, wait- what does that mean for us?! We gotta turn back, right-”\n\n“No.” Dextra spits out blood, then stands straight, unmoving. “We brace for impact, and then prime the best sample known to science.” She squints her eyes at the massive, spinning cloud. She clenches her fists.\n\nA hand taps Dextra’s left shoulder, and Lavinia comes over. “How the heck do we brace? We’re not even on land yet, and we-”\n\nA loud, ear-piercing crack! sounds from the snowflake. The two look up, and see a series of lighting bolts hammering the snowflake, sending pieces of snow flying about. It begins to fall.\n\n“Snowdrop.” Dextra’s breathing quickens. She turns to Lavinia- “We need to get off this lake, NOW-” and points at the treeline ahead. “RUN!”\n\nThe two immediately sprint ahead. Lavinia struggles to keep up with Dextra, whose body marches ahead even with half her weight’s worth of scanning and sampling equipment. Lavinia stumbles a bit, but scrambles ahead and sprints for shore. From a distance, Dextra shouts, “Come on! You don’t want to be on ice during Snowdrop!” From the corner of her eye, she sees the massive snowflake as it tumbles from the sky downward.\n\nThe headset crackles. “Kid! Get your ass here!”\n\n“I- I can’t! I can’t run on ice as-”\n\n“-crap, crap crap crap. Vini! Snowfall in five!” Dextra’s shouting pierces through. “Get down! NOW!”\n\nNot knowing what to do, Lavinia dives down towards solid ice.\n\nA loud thud reverberates through the forest ahead. For a split second, nothing is heard, but what follows is the rushing sound of trees being decimated by a shockwave, wood and bark breaking under pressure, sending splinters outward. Lavinia looks up to see Dextra huddled behind a log on the ground, but as she does so, a rumbling arrives from beneath. Suddenly, the meters-deep ice begins to shatter into large chunks, shards and icebergs being sent upwards by the impact. Lavinia feels light, and all her breath is taken away as the chunk of ice under her gets launched up. A moment after, and she finds nothing under her but air. She waves her arms around to try to grasp something. Anything.\n\nOne look upwards and she sees a block of wood tumbling at her.\n\nThen, black." ]	2
	[WP] As a king who was in a desperate situation, you made the call to have a hero summoned from another world. This hero was not only good, but eager to help you kill your enemies, and you have run out of enemies to point them at.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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\nUndeniably when the door opened I had hoped it to be a herald announcing the failure of the mission and subsequent death of our new assassin. The battle had been closing in, I didn’t have many options to protect my people but of all the people to summon it had to be him. I wasn’t aware that people could be so savage. Hell, I don’t even know if I want to classify him as a person.\n\nAs I had come to expect, and dread, it was the worryingly competent killer that came through the door. Blood stained his hands, and as usual, there was an undeniably purposeful amount of blood surrounding his mouth. I hear whispers from the servants that he drinks the stuff.\n\n“Your will has been done, Your Excellency.” Although the man bowed, something in his smile suggested that he would not be cowed by such a thing as tradition.\n\n“I am most pleased. I believe I told you in the past that you were allowed to retire to your chambers before you came to visit me, Jack.” The man insists on an audience with one such as I with such cruel body art.\n\n“I cannot deny enthusiasm for my duty and I apologize that such enthusiasm bleeds into the delivery of my reports, Your Excellency. I also implore you to call me by my full title, Your Excellency.”\n\n“As you wish, Jack the Ripper.” Twenty guards lining the walls. Yet, it still feels like a risky call to surround the monster.\n\n“I am honored. What further duties could I fulfill for you, Your Excellency.”\n\nA mask for a devil is all that can result from such formalities as titles and etiquette. “Your actions until now have been incredibly honorable and fulfilled every need I have. A solid foundation has been built for the kingdom to grow and expand from this moment forward. As for further duties, in the light of your past activities, there are still going to be assassinations and executions available but they will be sparse compared to the past month. Would such duties suffice?”\n\n“I am honored for the ability to take up such a role in your grand kingdom. However, I admit that thirst has been borne within me for such violence, and a taste here and there may make it difficult to fulfill such a thirst, Your Excellency.”\n\nThe reports had been thorough. Gutted victims with intestines strewn about, clear signs of toying with the bodies before, during, and after their death throes. A thirst indeed. It would cause immense unrest to have such actions happen with the approval of the king in a time of relative peace. Why is it so hard to believe that 20 royal guards can take down one man?\n\n“What would you suggest to fulfill your needs, Jack the Ripper.”\n\n“In my world, I was a shadow, completely unknown to the point that I could toy with authority. Here though, I am all too well recognized. I ask that you release me and forget about me, send me off to a distant land, and let me return to the world of shadows, Your Excellency.”\n\n“How can I have any confidence that no harm will befall my people if I were to be so irresponsible!”\n\n“You must take my word, Your Excellency.”\n\n“The word of a heathen and a murderer!”\n\n“Your Excellency, such a display of temper is extremely… petulant. We wouldn’t want such behavior from such a wise and respected ruler.”\n\n“What arrogance! We! As if you and I stand on the same field!”\n\n“I apologize that we could not end our relationship on a more civil note.” I raise my hand and gesture to my soldiers. Jack bowed his head low, the unsettling smile never leaving his face.\n\nTwenty guards surrounded the man. Nineteen stood over the body of the monster, impaled deeply on the twentieth soldier’s sword with blood still spraying into his mouth from his final victim’s throat.\n\nHe may have finally revealed the mortality of his body. But this man will live on within me forever. How desperate was I to release such a being upon even the most ruthless enemy?" ]	2
	[WP] Students across the world come to study under the Master to achieve Inner Peace and Enlightenment. The Master, who just happen to be a middle-aged mild-manner small town accountant, are slightly annoyed by all of 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Second post ever here. Hope this one works well, and compared to my first piece it is somewhat better. Still feel this is pretty shit and could use some work on the narration. Especially the flow, fuck do I not like how it flows at some points. \n\n\n--------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nAs time went by, I learned to find joy in the little things. A job well done, being able to clock out slightly faster, or just keeping up with the few hobbies that I enjoyed. Not like I could keep up with the industry anymore.\nSomeway I still resented that. The sleepless nights, the ever growing piles of invoices, trail balances that refused to equalize out of sheer spite, and many more, I only to had close my eyes to remember them, along my moments of glory. \n\n\nAh, to be a young accountant once more! The high of running for the top of the corporate ladder, for that ever elusive promotion and pay increase, back when nights melted into each other, deadlines breathed down my neck and plagued my dreams with pages of unfinished records and incomplete balance sheets. \nIn a way that was human nature, I suppose. When old we look with fondness even at lowest in our lives, if only to remember what it was like. Nonetheless, those times for me had long since passed. I wasn’t able to face that brutal world anymore, even from a cushy management position. As such I decided to retire, a process made quite hard by the gaggle of staff that begged me to stay.\n\n \nGood help is hard to come by, that is what they said. On that I agreed, but not enough to stay until I departed from my mortal form. Not that I considered myself particularly incredible as an employee, mind you. Always asked questions, made sure to understand what I was supposed to work on and gave everyone their due respect. Then somehow I found myself where I wanted, it was a bit of a shock, but not that I complained, the pay was that good. Though, could have done with less stress in the beginning. Went into that sort of position way too fast, way too unexperienced.\n\n \nLeft my assistant, George, in my place. Good lad, worked, knew where I left everything, if I were to be honest, did my job anyway and got paid less for the stress. Now it was all up to him, could only hope he could manage.\n\n \nIt was after a few months in my retirement that I decided to pick up a job, again as an accountant but in Japan. Liked the country, so spending my retirement there was something I could enjoy. To be honest though, I did it more thanks to my hobbies, easier to keep up with all the manga you loved but never had the time to read if you lived in the country were it was produced.\n\n\nI settled in a town called Hokuto, not too busy, but that saw enough traffic from the busier parts of the country to still exist. The property price was also not that bad, managed to net myself quite a nice house on ground, with enough space as to not feel as if I were trapped in one of those tuna can appartements in the bigger city. Though an American, ever used to having a house as spacious as a football field, would still have considered my home to be nothing bigger than a particularly small studio.\n\n \nFinding a job , at least in accounting, had been tricky. Not that many businesses were hiring, but luckily a vacancy had opened at a local supermart, who gladly took me in, albeit only after an awkward moment where they weren’t quite sure how well versed I was in the language. \n\n \nThere were some issues. Making sense of their past books had bit quite a hassle, mostly due to the fact that they still used a paper Big Book, or General Register. But going through them with the Fiscal Legislation in one hand, and coffee in other the feat was done. \n\n \nAs the months rolled by, without much in the way of issues, I had found myself steadily growing ever so bored. Although rare, there was the issue of going too fast through your work. The though to simply leave for home appealed to me, but the miserable faces of all my younger colleagues made me stay my hand. I thought of helping them, but how much I could help when it seemed Excel was a foreign notion to them, I didn’t know.\nEventually I did give in to temptation, of a sort. With nothing better to do for a couple hours, and plenty of free time I began to look for entertainment on the internet. \n\n \nNow, with the benefit of hindsight, that should have been my first warning, but there is little to do now. It all started innocently enough. Youtube here, some social media there, but you could only do so much on those without headphones on hand. With all my other sources of entertainment spend, or at the very least much too dangerous to contemplate I turned my attention to forums.\n\n\nThere were plenty of interesting stories, only one looked a bit deeper, I couldn’t help but notice how many of those were sad. People suffering at work from stress, problems with their family, a myriad issues all bared naked to the common man to see. \n\n \nI helped were I could. A kind word were, maybe a suggestion there, I tried to help as I could from behind the screen of my rather shoddy computer while I stood alone in my office, waiting for the day to go by. \nAfter a while some began to reply, asking more advice, how my day had been, things like that. It wasn’t that strange, and I was glad to meet some new people, though it came to me as a shock when one of those people one day showed up at my doorstep! One became two, two became four, and so on and so on. \n\n \nGuru, they called me. Other Master of Enlightment. In the short span of six months the sleepy little town of Hokuto had been flooded with people from all walks of life, all who claimed to have come to achieve Enlightment by following my teachings. \n\n\nI felt floored, initially thinking the whole thing to be a joke, but as more and more people began to show up, I could help but feel that cold pit in my stomach grow. I was no Guru, no master, yet so many people said otherwise. I couldn’t just tell almost ten thousand people to go home. Seemingly overnight I had found myself responsible for so many people and I didn’t know what to do. The whole idea of “Guru” left a bitter taste in my mouth. Someway I felt as if I were nothing more than a con-artist, although not one by choice. Here were thousands of people that felt as if I could offer them something great, when all I knew was that such a thing did not exist. \nIn the end, all I could do was to continue. I went to work, noticing how my colleagues now gave me way, did my grocery under the uncomfortable gaze of hundreds, and spent what leisure I had trying to ensure the whole thing wouldn’t blow.\n\n \nSomehow, someway, after a time people did seem to get better. For some reason, unknown to me, all those that came here appeared to be happier, livelier, all around better for a lack of a better word. \nAfter the TV interviews it felt for me as if all of hell had broken loose. In little under a year the town was now swarmed by people, millions came and went to attend my so called “Lectures”, and each time I couldn’t help but feel the cold kiss of Damocles’ Blade on the nape of my neck. \n\n \nThe Greeks had a saying: “May you live in interesting times”, which now felt more like a curse. I couldn’t enjoy this attention, this reverence, the temptation of what I could do with the power these people gave me over them left me awake at night, covered in cold sweat. At the very end, the only happiness I could find was that these people somehow found happiness in what I said. \n\n \nI could only hope that maybe after I died whatever waited for me on the other side was going to be gentle.", "\"Leave them be, they're not doing any harm\"\n\n\"Could you at least ask them to keep off my geraniums? They never do listen to me\"\n\nShiela gave an involuntary frown at the gathering accountancy student outside the kitchen window. Accountants were all the same, allways far too early, allways far too neat, utterly unaware of anything that wasn't presented to them in a spreadsheet or ledger, she should know, she'd married one.\n\n\"Oh my! And now they've got into the Carmichael's next door, Kevin please!\"\n\nSheepishly her husband got up from the breakfast table and had a quiet word with the students outside. The students bowed there heads and meakly shuffled out of the flower beds, trampled by their unthinking feet.\n\nFor the thousandth time she wondered if she were to blame for her husbands 'following'. She did always try to talk him up in company, hoping to preempt any suspicion that she might have just settled for this middle-aged, mild-mannered, small-town accountant.\n\nShe had feared that she convinced no one, not even herself. Whatever she said about Kevin seemed to make no difference, her mum's prattle would inevitably stay on into:\n\n\"…I bumped into Maximilian's mother the other day, he's off wrestling tiger sharks in the Antilles, but he still remembers you…\". \n\nAs if a teenage sweetheart should rank alongside her husband of 20 years.\n\nBut what if somone had believed her tall tales and word has got out that 'boring Kevin' was some kind of super accountant? Would that explain the 'following'? her penance for trying to excuse her comfortable life?\n\n\"I'm sorry dear\"\n\nHe had come to kiss her, he was ready to leave. His kind eyes said all his words couldn't, the dear man.\n\n\"I'm sure this lot won't say much longer\"\n\n\"And the next lot and the one after that? Where does this end?\"\n\nHe shook his head apologeticly, wishing he had an answer to give." ]	3
	[WP] You're an ordinary NPC living in a world that resets everytime the hero dies and fails to kill the demon king. You're the only one who remembers every loop and you're getting sick of it, so you take matters into your own 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Everything used to be... normal. I would get up out of bed every morning, pace around the same three feet of grass for the entire day, and if anyone interacted with me, I would say the same, canned line, over and over again.\n\n\"Hi. Welcome to Ironhaven. It's a very nice town.\"\n\nI relished every time I got to say that. The repetition was soothing. And we didn't need to eat. We didn't need to drink water, or take shits. We just did our routine and went home so that the night people could do their routine.\n\nAnd then... he came.\n\nCarl, he said his name was. Fucking Carl. If you believe it the way he tells it (and I'm not sure I do), he was splattered into gory chunks by something called a \"truck\" in his home world, and then he just sort of woke up here, in the inn, completely clueless about... well, anything at all.\n\nIf you ask me, I think Carl was some sort of demon meant to torture us. Because from the moment Carl arrived, suddenly we had to eat. We had to drink water. We had to take shits once or twice a day. And Carl, in his infinite stupidity, was not only okay with this, but the fucking gremlin was used to it.\n\nThen, we found out about the prophecy, and I briefly thanked whatever God there may be for finally giving us a way to deliver ourselves from this stupid asshole. If Carl defeated the demon lord up in the mountain, he'd be brought back to his home world and given a second chance, with whatever powers he acquired in this one.\n\n(Powers. Hah. Fat chance of that one. But I'm getting ahead of myself.)\n\nSo we sat Carl down, and we explained to him that he needs to go defeat the demon lord, so he can return to his home world.\n\n\"Why?\" he asked. \"I like it here,\" he said. Well, you stupid fucking gremlin, we don't like you here. But I didn't want to say that.\n\n\"The demon lord is a massive threat to our lands, and we promise you'll be seen as a hero if you defeat him,\" I said instead. Really, not a complete lie, but... honestly, nobody really cares about the demon lord that much, he's a complete recluse. Everyone sort of raised an eyebrow at me, but fortunately, they all collectively decided to just go with it.\n\nAnd... that's when it happened. A few days after Carl left, suddenly, I was right back at the inn, meeting Carl again.\n\nI wondered if it was a premonition, and decided this time, I would try to play out the same events, but go with him in order to see what the hell happened. Now, here's the funniest part. You wanna hear this?\n\nHe was killed by a fucking kobold. Not even one that was trying to kill him! It was trying to pick his idiot fucking pocket, and he tripped over and bashed his head open on a rock. And then, poof, right back where we started.\n\nWe got back to the same point again, and... this time, I got ahead of him and shooed the kobold off. You want to know what this idiot did instead?\n\nHe heard his stomach gurgling, grabbed a red and white mushroom off the ground, ate it, and then immediately started convulsing. And again, poof, right back where we started.\n\nWe went through this a few times, because I, in my infinite fucking bullheadedness, thought there was a way we could actually successfully get Carl to do this. But no. Every time he went out, he'd find some stupid way to die. One time, he actually did get to fight with the demon lord... and immediately got burned to a crisp, putting us right back at that fucking inn, right where we started.\n\nI'm tired of this. I've taken Carl's stuff for myself, and I'm going to go fight the fucking demon lord. If you see this note pinned to a tied-up naked man with a dirty sock in his mouth, that's Carl, and I'm going to politely ask that you do not free him.", "\"Greetings lonely traveller, what supplies do you need?\" The words left my mouth before I could even think about stopping myself. As usual, no response from our hero. I have to put up with him digging through my pockets for three minutes, buying another health potion that won't even help him and selling me some rusty iron short sword that I don't even want. These developers really screwed me on this one.\n\nI mean, the guy is clearly an amateur. What kind of rookie wears leather armour to fight a level 36 Demon King? It clearly hasn't been working either because this is the fourth time I've sold him a potion today and to be frank I'm getting quite sick of it. He has the cheek to call himself DragonSlayer434, too. What's the 434 in aid of? The number of potions he needs before he stops being awful at the game?\n\nOh there he goes again, health potion in hand, skipping towards his inevitable death. I know it's selfish of me but I really want to advance to the next level of this story, rumour has it I get kitted out after the Demon King checkpoint. I'd really like some new dialogue options too, I'm starting to get a little fed up with telling DragonSlayer434 that I wish Beatrice the Barmaid will notice me. I don't even like that bitch.\n\nMaybe I could just... No, surely not. I mean, it's quite obvious that I'm the only one with this sentience glitch. Sure, I haven't done anything about it just yet but I just don't want to lose my job. You know what, fuck it. I don't want this job anymore anyway if it means being someone's little potion-pushing bitch boy.\n\nMy inventory is actually popping, level 35 Sword of Poisoning and Iron Boots of Healing. This Demon King won't know what's hit him. Garth the Inn Keeper coming to fuck up your day. Unfortunately I'm usually confined to my Inn, so I have no clue where I'm going. I just follow the direction that I've seen DragonSlayer434 trekking in when I've been outside watering the plants. The other NPC's eyes glaze over me as I walk past looking sexy as fuck in my new gear. Let's hope the developers don't clock on before I get to where I need to be.\n\nI saw it in the distance about 30 minutes into my countryside stroll, a large explosion coming from over the ridge a few miles out of Meridath village. A quick inventory check to make sure I'm ready to clap some cheeks; 2 healing potions, a backup Axe of Flames in case I throw my sword at DragonSlayer434 for being stupid, and a loaf of bread that I can apparently eat in 0.5 seconds.\n\nWhat I saw when I got to the top of the ridge was harsher than I could have ever imagined. Our hero was on his knees, his health bar flashing and an empty health potion lay on the floor to his side. The Demon King was close to three times his size and was approaching for a final blow. Here goes nothing Garth, let's save the day and hope we get promoted.\n\nThe Demon King swung his fiery club down at DragonSlayer434 for what he thought would be a final time. But instead of a weak and crumbling skull, his club was met by my vice-like grip as I shot myself between the warring duo. As the club met my hand it crumbled instantly; NPC powers, bitch. In the heat of the moment and full of confidence I turned to DragonSlayer434 and said \"Greetings lonely traveller, what supplies do you need?\" of course, no updated dialogue options.\n\nI turned my attention back to the Demon King, who was reeling from the explosion of it's club. I charged him with my Sword of Poisoning and slashed this way and that before the king had a chance to react. No heroic battle necessary because I just destroyed this motherfucker. I placed a foot on his fat head and looked triumphantly into the distance where I saw... wait, there's no way. DragonSlayer434 walking into the distance like nothing happened. Like Garth the Innkeeper hadn't just saved his ass. Fuck the continuity, I'm going to kill his ass too." ]	3
	[WP] A single mother one day develops superpowers and starts encountering heinous villains. She starts getting paid for her efforts and the public views her as a hero, but she's been tired of it since day one and just does it to support her 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Pt 1 of 2:\n\nMy shift at the diner had gone late into the night, leaving me exhausted when I woke up the next morning to get my kid off to school. Amanuel had just started first grade and he was a smart kid, which was a good thing because I don’t know if I would’ve had it in me to help him with schoolwork after getting off shift. He was a latchkey kid, but there wasn’t much to do about that. My mom had died the year before, leaving me without a babysitter. I dozed off on the couch, not even bothering to make it to my bedroom after walking back up the street from his school.\n\nThing was, I wasn’t on the couch when I woke up. I was hovering about six feet above it. \n\nMy entire body jolted in a start and I let out a shriek as I fell jarringly back to the couch, my eyes darting around in a panic. I let the seconds tick by, let my heart rate gradually slow, and tried to figure out what had just happened. People developed powers, sure, but when they were teenagers. Yeah, I’d heard about powers developing when some were older, but all those superheroes seemed like they’d slipped into the role without a single misstep. I was a single mom, working at a diner. I wasn’t one of them.\n\nThen I went into the kitchen for a glass of water and accidentally tore the door off the cabinet where I kept the cups.\n\nStanding there in stunned silence for a long moment, in finally let out a sigh and a mutter of, “Well, shit.”\n\nIf I had two, I possibly had all three, so after getting some water (carefully handling the plastic cup and being gentle with the knob on the faucet), I grabbed a knife. I held my arm over the sink and cut the back of my forearm, tentatively at first, my instincts holding me back, then genuinely putting some effort into it. Then severely putting effort into it. Then I let out another sigh and dropped the knife into the sink.\n\nI spent the next half hour sitting on my couch, my elbows on my knees, staring at nothing as my options ran through my mind. Eventually I made my way over to the computer, looking up the Superhero Guild on Glassdoor, and my eyebrows shot up.\n\n“Fucking hell,” I murmured slowly. Starting salary was ten times more than I made in a year. Looking around the modest apartment in which we lived, Amanuel’s well-being and future coming to the front of my mind, my options seemed to narrow down to the one that was too obvious to deny. “Superhero career, here I come, I guess.”\n\nI called out sick from work the next day, spending every waking minute carefully learning to manage my strength as I did chores around the apartment. Once I felt I had a good enough grasp on that ability, wearing my only button-down shirt and a set of slacks that I owned, I took the bus down to the Superhero Guild’s city headquarters. The evaluation took about five minutes, since the man who did the job wasn’t an idiot and knew what he had in front of him. \n\nAfter that, I met my boss, a guy named Finlay Clarke, who explained how things worked, the rules (emphasizing what were guidelines and what were hard and fast rules), and of course, my salary. The paperwork took ages, but I managed to finish up everything an hour before I needed to go pick up Amanuel from school, taking an Uber to make it on time.\n\nThe signing bonus let me quit my job at the diner immediately, and I sat at my laptop and stared at the numbers on my screen for a while, just smiling, as Amanuel slept peacefully in his room. We moved that next weekend into a small house in a wonderful neighborhood and Amanuel excitedly covered his new room top to bottom with dinosaurs, from the bedspread to the curtains. I had a few weeks of training, working with some of the best the Guild had to offer, my hours there revolving around Amanuel’s school schedule.\n\nThe trifecta of flight, strength, and invulnerability was the reason I was able to tackle the more serious crimes and move so quickly into the spotlight. My city hadn’t had a hero of my caliber before, surprisingly. They called me Ivory Wing and, I admit, I did like the costume. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as I’d imagined and, at my request, I’d received a full-body suit. I didn’t want to take any chances with someone recognizing me.\n\nMost of my work was waiting on standby, since they wanted to make sure that, if the big guns were needed, they were available. That made it a lot easier to stick around as a mom, though I did hire a live-in nanny, Greta, to be able to take over if I needed to split short notice. And it was a great job, of course, rewarding when I was able to save lives and arrest the bad guys. People with powers cause all kinds of trouble and, though the genuine supervillains were few and far between, trouble was common.\n\nStill, something nudged at me every time I needed to leave the house with only a moment’s notice, once right in the middle of a game of Trouble with Amanuel. I came back a few hours later and he’d already been put to bed by Greta. I stood in his doorway, leaning against the door frame, staring at the center of my whole universe, rethinking my career choice. There were other options at this point; the house had been paid off within a year of saving up my extraordinary salary, and I could easily find a job where the only one of my powers that needed to be on display was my strength, for example.\n\nA few weeks passed as I considered retirement. But before I could make any decision, things exploded.", "Natasha Steel was a simple woman. She had long brown hair, green eyes, a bit chubby and was a single mother. She had spent the past 16 years raising her son, Conner, from a little baby to the teenager who she still treats like a baby to this day. \n\nWaking up one day, she was preparing to start a Sunday filled with chores. She had made a list yesterday on what she had to do and...it was alot. So many chores and groceries to buy.\n\n\"God, this would be so much easier with some extra help.\" Natasha said to herself, sighing.\n\nSuddenly, Natasha felt something inside of her. It was like the cells in her body were growing and splitting at an incredibly fast rate. Her body started splitting like mitosis, creating 12 Natashas. All of them looked at one another in shock before screaming in fear, waking Connor.\n\n\"What is-...mum?\" Connor stopped in his tracks, looking at the sight of 12 clones of his mum together.\n\n\"BABY!!!\"\n\nAfter a few minutes of arguing and fighting over whi the original was, mainly by tugging and crying on Connor, all the Natashas ended up merging together when crowded and squished tightly whilst surrounding Connor.\n\n\"Sweetie, I think I have powers. D-Do you know what this means!?\" Natasha squealed as she wrapped her son in a tight hug. \"With so many mes, I can do so much more!\"\n\nKNOCK KNOCK\n\nHearing the door knock, Natasha decided to use her new ability to answer the door whilst still hugging her son. The Natasha that opened the door was greeted by many men in black suits.\n\n\"Good day, ms Steel. We have learned of your powers and need you to sign here.\" The first man pulled out a contract that said something about a 'Superhero job'.\n\n\"I appreciate the offer but I'll have to decline. I am completely devoted to my so-\" Natasha was stopped by a suitcase filled to the brim with money all in 100 dollar bills. That would be enough to pay for Connor's while life. \"Deal!\"\n\nAfter signing the contract, Natasha was put through various tests to see how her power worked. Apparently, she could only split at a max amount of how much body fat she had, her current slightly chubby belly giving her a max of 12 copies. She was put on a diet of fatty food mainly consisting of meats and cheeses, leading to her gaining some weight but also letting her split into many more copies, nearly 10,000.\n\nAs she started becoming more involved in public affairs, stopping villains with weaker powers, she was starting to be recognized by the public as a hero. Everyone loved her and threw money at her everytime they saw her.\n\nShe was so contempt with everything. Well, except Connor.\n\nConnor was starting to feel lonely. Despite having, at least, 1 Natasha clone at home whenever he was there he always felt like she was just that, a clone. His real mum was never there and was always basking in fame. It broke her poor heart.\n\n\"Sweetie?\" Natasha walked into Connor's room, out of her hero outfit and into a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. \"I have sone news.\"\n\nNatasha moved to sit on her sons bed, putting a large arm around him and pulling him close. \"I'm done with this superhero stuff.\"\n\nConnor was shocked. \"But I thought you loved doing this.\"\n\n\"N-No. I only took the job for the money so i could give you everything you deserved. But seeing you so sad is breaking my heart. From now on, i am fully dedicated to being here for you. Always.\"\n\nConnor didn't reply either words. He wrapped his arms around his overweight mother. She let out a few small tears as she engulfed him in a tight hug. \n\nAfter a few minutes of silence, Batasha spoke up. \"Well, a few clones are working on a massive fesst to celebrate. God, after this I'll probably be able to make a million of me.\"\n\nConnor laughed a bit as he walked down the stairs of the large mansion they now lived in with his mother, happy to finally be with the real her." ]	3
	[WP] On humans' quest to find extraterrestrial life, we did not just find a planet with life on it. However, lightyears away, NASA did just find an alien robot with camera's on it, roaming 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Today, marks a new era in human history. Today, we will be testing the first FTL technology” the news anchor had said. \n\n“NASA is targeting Kepler-452, as it could have potential to support human life!” \n\nIt was exciting. Everything I had ever done for the past 27 years. It all came down to this. The rover was 900 light years away from us now. It was traveling at around 10200% the speed of light. We had tested this before, but never at this scale. We received the transmission. It was about to enter the system, now was the hard part. It needed to slow down, and enter orbit. We had small ion thrusters for accelerating, but they were far to small to slow down the rover. Then the vortex engine started. This piece of tech took 27 years of my life. If it failed now, the rover would be doomed. It did. The rockets chemical engines started, attempting to stop, slow down, or really do anything to prevent the inevitable. Eventually, it crashed on the inner most planet in the system. Amazingly, the rover still worked. A couple instruments were damaged, but it could still drive around, and the camera still worked. The rover left the wreckage.\n\n“What the fuck is that!” There was another moving thing. It didn’t look natural. The rover went over to investigate. It was- another rover? Everyone was confused. No one had ever sent anything this far out before, as far as we knew. The FTL technology was top secret. Had someone stolen the tech? No. There was writing on the side. It didn’t appear to be English, or any other known language. The rovers studied each other for a while. Eventually, we figured it out. There was another life form. We are not alone.\n\n\n\nhi this is one of the first times ive replied to a prompt. sorry if it’s a bit short" ]	2
	[WP] I’ve hidden myself away from all humankind, and yet you walk into my lair. Do humans not know true power of a dragon? Feel the heat as I breathe fire into your face. Feel the static in the air as I..no..I have no such power over lightning. I’m sure Bob sent you here. How can I help 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Well, i came here to give you some bad news on his behalf, mate... Well, bad for us, not for him. And not baaaad bad. More like bittersweet, ya know? They have a good side, but the down...\"\n\n\"Yeah, yeah. I may not be able to taste sweets, but i am aware of what the expression means. Now go on, and do so quicly. My patience with you is running dry.\"\n\n\"Damn, man... No need to be rude! I was going to explain the situation, but if yer gonna be like that, Just take the letter.\"\n\n\"You mean this tiny square of paper? I can't even hold that thing, let alone handle it. Read it for me, human.\"\n\n\"Ain't you gonna at least ask me? Just a pretty please?\"\n\n\"Fire into your face\"\n\n\"Fair enought. It says here: (caham) 'My father, behold: a powerful fighter entered my life. She burnt my heart with flames almost as hot as thou, and these did evil things to my mind. Does not my father know my mind lays on my work, despite my soul laying with thee and thy kind? Thus, my hear lays alone, at the wims of the one who unknowingly set it ablaze! May my father know, however, that my atacker is kind, and agreed to douse those flames into smaller ones, that cause naught but confort and warmth, such as the one thy made on my cold days.'\"\n\n\"Why did you stop?!\"\n\n\"Well, it's a very long letter, mate! Lemme take some air before going back to that gibberish!\"\n\"(...) Do as you please...\"\n\n\"Ok, ok... Where were we? 'Mine on the cold days', aight? 'mine on the cold days. She promised to share with my her own blazing heart and curious soul, and i want to accept such gift, but my soul, my father, isn't mine to give. It belongs to thee and thy kind. So i beg you, my father, come to my home and share it in my behalf, for this is my desire, may you know it!'. Well, that took a long time. In short...\"\n\n\"Bob's getting married.\"\n\n\"Yup. And he...\"\n\n\"And he wants my blessing, and presence, at the wedding.\"\n\n\"Pretty much. Was it written there? I must've missed it.\"\n\n\"My baby boy... She better be a worthy woman, or else I shall unleash anger that will make the wrath of Thor look like a breeze of fresh air!\"\n\n\"Ain't a fan of Marvel movies, but you do you, mate. Just don't trow a tantrum when you get there. So, you going?\"\n\n\"Of course i am!\"\n\n\"Can i hitch a hide? It's a really fucking long hike up to here...\"\n\n\"No.\"" ]	2
	[WP] Everyone is in on the murder, including the victim, just to see if they can fools the detectives.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I'm certain the detectives and the law will not see it my way, so I'm writing this letter to be read at the trial, should one occur, to let the world know why, how and the whole point of why I am dead.\n\nMy name is Margarete Lynn Sylvanius. And I was killed by Trevor Colton Walker on the 28th of March. These two facts would account for murder but it was not.\n\nI asked him to help me in a manner of Assisted Suicide.\n\nAs the autopsy will show compiled with my medical records, which, according to my lawyer will be presented as evidence along with this letter after it is read to the jury that I was diagnosed with a fatal disease, Chron-endes Disease. There is no cure and should I have lived longer I would not see past two years from the date this letter is read.\n\nFor those of you, Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, allow me to tell you of my diagnosis. My body is dying, decaying and rotting as if I was a corpse. There is no chance of survival and even attempts to make me comfortable will not work in the final days. \n\nTrevor Walker was a man who cared about me, though I sadly feel I must acknowledge the feelings were not mutual. We loved each other but with a different love for the other than we were given. But this is not the point. He did not wish to see me suffer in agony. \n\nAnd so the plan was made.\n\nI have always loved detective stories and so I decided to spend my final moments plotting with my companions about the 'perfect murder'\n\nThe closed circle, the locked door with no way in, yet a person dead inside having been stabbed. These were all plotted and carefully laid out.\n\nI laced my own medicine with a toxin that I will call by its simple name, \"puffer fish poison\" those who know of the dangers of eating them will know why I took this. My body would be paralized. \n\nAs i lay unmoving from it, and likely dying as it would likely be a lethal dose. I would be shot in the head, executioner style.\n\nThe mystery would be how someone got into my house as it was locked and so was my room.\n\nI shall tell you how it was done, the mystery laid before you as this is not a prove he did it, this is the fact that I was dying and I wanted to commit suicide.\n\nHe entered my room through the attic vault in my closet. A set of trunks would act as stairways up and down, trash bags on his shoes and carefully selected clothing to ensure nothing was left behind.\n\nAfter his assistance he would take the gun, owned by me and in my name and return the way he came. He would leave through my garage, a spare opener would be his key out. \n\nAll items used would be discarded around the city. The gun tossed in a random dumpster, the ammunition placed in a collection area, the now broken opener would be placed in various garbage cans around the city by assistance of those who shall remain unnamed to prevent their accessory to the crime. Even Trevor will not give their names.\n\nNo proof would be there to find on how it happened.\n\nLadies and Gentlemen of the Jury. Your Honor who presides over this case, and all who look on.\n\nThis man is only guilty of loving a woman too much to see her suffer. I take full responsibility of my own death and I beg you all to find him innocent. His heart is broken enough. Please, do not punish him any further.\n\nYours truly,\n\nMaggy" ]	2
	[WP] When you invented the time machine, the last problem you expected was your child to time slip into your lab warning you about the ruined future. Actually make that children, however each child is from an alternate timeline which diverged when you fell in love with someone different.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 finished soldering the last connections at almost the same time that my assistant finished his final corrections to the software. I considered running a benchtop test of the temporal unit we had just completed before final assembly of the time machine, but I decided to hold off. It was hard to predict what would happen if we ran the device in an incomplete state. Besides, we only had so many bananas.\n\n\"Look at it, Martin, just _look_ at it,\" I said. \"A triumph of science and engineering. My god, isn't it beautiful.\"\n\nI couldn't help but gush, but even without looking, I knew that Martin didn't hold the same admiration. He couldn't see what I saw, the Faraday-enclosed excitation chamber, the temporal circuitry. He saw a microwave with a disassembled alarm clock crudely wired into its control panel.\n\n\"So, we doing this or what?\" he asked.\n\nI nodded. \"Help me carry it to the temporal excursion vehicle.\" We had already wired the connections and control systems into the Eldorado, so all we had to do was plug it in and strap it down.\n\n\"Now to place the potassium-enriched organic matrix into the excitation chamber.\" I ducked back into the lab, grabbed a banana, and returned to the garage. With the potassium source in position, the time machine was complete. I opened the door and paused there, savoring this historic moment. The very air felt electric.\n\nThe air _was_ electric, or at least charged. \"Dude, Emmet, what did you do?\" Martin asked, and I could see his hair starting to frizz out. Before I could answer, a flash of electric blue light outside the garage heralded the arrival of a Dodge Tomahawk that came seemingly from nowhere. I heard the _ding_ of a microwave and saw that the motorcycle had its own temporal unit installed in the back.\n\nThe young woman riding it dismounted and looked around suspiciously, one hand close to a pistol poorly concealed in her jacket pocket. Her eyes softened as she saw me. \"Dad! You look so _young._\" She approached with her arms outstretched for a hug, but stopped herself. \"Oh, right. This would be weird for you. Look, the time machine works. You're my dad, and I came back to warn you about the dystopian future caused when the International Bureau of Weights and Measures steals your invention to control time.\"\n\n\"How do I stop this?\" I asked.\n\n\"Easy, just destroy the time machine and all your notes - \"\n\n\"I mean, _me,_ having a kid? I'm sorry, kiddo, your upbringing must have been chaos. I need to avoid meeting your mom. It'll be better for both of us.\"\n\n\"Jesus Christ, Dad - \"\n\nShe was interrupted by another flash of blue light as a Tesla Cybertruck _bamfed_ into existence next to the Tomahawk.\n\n\"Look, she comes by today and stops to ask why you're microwaving a banana in the back of a beat-up vintage Cadillac, and you hit it off and having a family saves you from your meaningless existence as an empty shell of a man,\" my daughter explained, as the door to the Cybertruck opened.\n\n\"I like being a shell,\" I said.\n\nA young man stepped out of the second time machine - or third, counting mine. Simultaneously, we all noticed an attractive young woman stopped on the sidewalk, staring at us and our distinctive vehicles.\n\n\"Not a good time,\" the young man said. The woman shrugged and went on her way.\n\n\"Wait, hold on - \" my daughter said, but the young man interrupted her.\n\n\"Dad, after you destroy the time machine, Martin sells you out to DARPA and they force you to build another one,\" he said. \"He also sells your research to Russia and they fight World War III with time machines.\"\n\nMy daughter, who was looking intensely at her hands to see if she was becoming transparent, turns back to me. \"I said you have to destroy the notes too!\"\n\n\"Dude, I remember everything we did,\" Martin said. \"It won't be hard to reproduce.\"\n\n\"Jesus, Martin, you're already planning to sell me out?\"\n\nHe shrugged. \"I got student loans, dude.\"\n\n\"Nah bruh,\" my son said. \"You actually don't go through with it until Dad starts dating your sister. By the way, Dad, Uncle Marty has a sister and she secretly digs the whole mad scientist schtick. Here's her number.\" He held out a cell phone for me to see.\n\nMartin fumed. \"Emmet, don't you _dare_ - \"\n\nI threw my hands up. \"What if I just take my time machine and go to the past and prevent any of this - \"\n\nI was interrupted by the biggest blue flash yet as a 19th-century steam engine appeared up the road and, still moving under momentum, destroyed 200 feet of street before coming to a stop in front of the garage. A young boy and girl who could be siblings popped their heads out of the cabin. \"Father!\" the boy called out. \"There's to be a solar flare in the coming months!\"\n\nThe little girl added, \"Billions shall perish! Billions!\"\n\n\"How in the name of science is _that_ my fault?\" I demanded.\n\nAnother face appears from the cabin window - an older version of myself. \"It's not,\" me told me. \"They're just really excited about it.\" Indeed, the children appear giddy rather than frightened.\n\n\"Then why are you here?\" I asked.\n\n\"Playing the stock market,\" me said. \"I'm taking little jumps forward, investing in everything from Carnegie Steel and Standard Oil to Google and Amazon. I'm actually here to drop a few million into Dogecoin, which is about to hit the stratosphere.\"\n\nAfter a brief pause, I nodded. \"This is the best timeline. Even if I do have to start a family. Speaking of which, who's their mom?\"\n\nAn oddly familiar woman made an appearance next to the older me. He introduced her. \"This is Emilia. She's a time traveler, like us.\"\n\n\"From when?\" I asked.\n\nShe raised an eyebrow and looked around. \"Right now,\" she said. \"And right here. I think I might be you from an alternate timeline.\"\n\nWithout a word, I got into my own time machine. \"Nope. Just...nope. I'm gonna go invent steam power in ancient Rome. The future is someone else's problem.\" And I vanished in a blaze of blue light." ]	2
	[WP] Everyone is forced to wear bad luck charms by law.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"FIRE!\" Archtilleracht Recht yelled to his artillerymen, releasing the wirepulls of their rocket barrages. From those infernal machines loosed a thousand thousand rockets, a hellish scream released from them as if the world itself was screaming at the impending destruction. Over a hundred of them must have spiralled out of control, killing his own infantry, but this was a small cost for the Greater Victory.\n\nRecht brought his binoculars to his eyes too quickly, hurting his upper face, and muttered a curse. There wasn't much he could make out of the trails of smoke and irregular explosions, save for a lot of men being blown to smithereens. A grin grew on his face, revealing crooked unwashed teeth amidst a row of grimy chrome fangs.\n\n\"BRING OUT THE CHARMS!\" He shouted with glee, not taking his binoculars from his eyes. The artillerymen hurried to one of the supply crates to grab at the freshly produced bad luck charms, tripping over themselves, one being trampled to death in the stampede of mud-stained soldiers, and equipped them in every way they could. Rings, necklaces, piercings, anklets, and enough wax to draw runes of cursing upon the exposed parts of their bodies.\n\nThe Archtilleracht finally found peace, the tension of his troops wearing too heavily on him. Now they were able to act like beasts, frenzying themselves for another bout of artillery fire. There was something calming about the certainty of animal bloodlust.\n\n\"ALRIGHT YOU INSUFFERABLE DIESELWURMS, GET BACK TO THE GUNS!\" Recht turned his head to issue the command, and his men obeyed without hesitation. Anyone in mid-punch or bite or kick or asphyxiation ceased their activity like automatons, running back to load the artillery. The Archtilleracht raised the binoculars again, poking himself in the eye once more, cursing under his breath, and looked on.\n\nThe smoke was clearing, and through it he could see the men of his army with their banners held high and uniforms bloodied, chasing off the foe. He counted the bodies of his fellows, and failing that tried to count the remains, and found each rocket that had missed had killed only one of his own.\n\nBut that was all. Every other rocket that successfully launched, of the tens of thousands that had been loosed for miles of this hilly landscape, not one had killed his own. He removed the binoculars, and stepped forward, slipping slightly in the mud before catching his step, and gave out a gutteral laugh.\n\nThe High President was right after all: one cannot have the good without the bad, and that goes for luck too. What will he have for the Engimancers next? Archtilleracht Recht nodded in contemplation. As he was about to step forward he noticed his shoelace was untied. He sat down on the mud to fasten it, pausing to hear a faint, if familiar, roar. He looked to the rusty sky above him, and from the heavens descended a misfired rocket.\n\n\"You can't win 'em all.\" Recht sighed, before he and thirty others were blown to smithereens." ]	2
	[WP] Magic is real. A secret magic school exists. Obviously you accept. What they didn't tell you is that between the 200 new students, only one will graduate at the end... alive	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"You will all, probably, die a very painful death!\" A girl exclaimed happily. She was an enthusiastic sophomore Artisan, dressed in an elegant combat outfit, probably crafted with Artifacts from the bottom up.\n\nA senior, from behind me, scoffed. \"I swear I will fail this year just to have the pleasure of killing her.\" He stated calmly, as if he was commenting on the weather and not announcing a murder plan. This was pretty much the state of every senior.\n\nThe guy who spoke was Gabriel Vat, a senior Writer who had worked his way to Graduation creating spells of teleportation and dimension travel. Now, I assumed he was planning to summon some interdimentional Familiar to exterminate the rest of us for him.\n\nAnother senior, whom I recognized only as a Chemist, giggled from next to me. \"You're gonna summon your kitten from Gelida Momentum now, Vat?\" She poked at him, and Gabriel shot her a murderous look. \n\n\"Hello, Seniors!\" The Valedictorium Manifestation greeted us as it formed out of thin air on the podium. \n\n\"In behalf of the school, I wish you all a very merry Christmas!\" the Manifestation smiled. It was a cruel irony, forcing us to kill each other on the day the greatest Necromancer of all time was born.\n\nThe seniors didn't seem particularly interested in the shining Manifestation, most of them deep into pages-long incantations of protection. I, on the other hand, only stood there, stiff like a log left to dry for the past few millennia.\n\n\"Just like every year before this one, I shall announce the Meliorem that has been, secretly even from them, trained in all three Lines to perfection! Artisanship, Writing and Chemistry, all combined in one perfect student! This year's Valedictorian!\" As the Manifestation uttered these words, radiating in an overly enthusiastic joy, all the seniors silenced and turned to look.\n\nBeing announced the year's Meliorem is a big deal, since that person is the one most likely to survive. The strongest Mage of our year.\n\nEveryone expected either Gabriel Vat or Astra Feng to be called out. They were the top students of the Seniors. Gabriel ranked second in Writing, third in Artisanship and second in Chemistry. Astra was third in both Chemistry and Writing, but had an obvious affinity for Artisanship, ranking second.\n\nOnly the second and third best students are shown in the leaderboards hanging from magical chains in the Praetorium, the room in which we were. The Meliorem was only shown before Graduation.\n\nProbably to prevent the rest from assassinating the Valedictorium's golden child beforehand, to improve their chances of survival.\n\nI knew the Meliorem was going to be me. I had been working hard to hide my talent all year, playing it low and presenting my projects privately to the Valedictorium, keeping my power for an end-of-year surprise.\n\nAnd all that hard work was finally paying off, since all 197 seniors, apart from me, Astra and Gabriel, where staring at the two stars of the show. Meanwhile, I was smiling confidently, staring down the Manifestation.\n\n\"Benedict Allende!\" The Valedictorium Manifestation shouted out. Everyone immediately turned towards me, but they didn't manage to say much. \n\nRight after announcing me the Meliorem, the Valedictorium teleported us to the Arena. \n\nI felt as though I was going to vomit my guts out. Instead, I began chanting my top-notch protection spell that I had created for my freshman finals in Writing. \n\nIt was a conjoined spell, meaning it had more than one languages in it. As a matter of fact, this one had 7. Ancient Sumerian, Ancient Greek, Ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Latin, Chinese and Ancient Hebrew, all the most powerful magic languages combined in a single, 20 pages long spell.\n\nIt was majestic, and as I felt the magic power surge at my fingertips like electricity, my confident smile returned. There were only a handful of seniors who could get passed this spell. \n\nI muttered a simple spell of death, held it my my palm, and moved out, into the Graduation Hall, which actually was a labyrinth. Get out of the labyrinth first and you graduate.\n\nThe rest get scorched by Primal Pyre spells.\n\nI quickly realised I had no idea where to go. I was just aimlessly wondering the corridors, admiring the Artisanship it took to create this construct. \n\nThe walls were at least 5 metres of solid, purely white alabaster, filled to the brim with Artifacts and Incantations of protection. I could sense them, alongside the Primal Pyre spells. I shivered, as I touched those spells with my magic.\n\nIt had no windows, and the roof seemed to go on endlessly upwards. It eventually disappeared behind the room's blue mist, phasing out of my sight. The floor was marble, also enchanted and Artificed with spells of Haze. The mist was part of the game, I realised then.\n\nMy observations were quite rudely interrupted by the two top students, Gabriel Vat and Astra Feng, probably having teamed up to end my newly acquired glory. \n\n\"Hey, Allende!\" Gabriel called, while Astra was already chanting a Chinese spell that smelled of Chaos magic. Exactly what you'd expect from a girl named Astra, I suppose.\n\nI lifted my left arm to my chest, which activated my Protection spell. Magic took shape and colour right before my eyes, creating a shield between myself and the other two. Astra, finishing her spell, flinched her hand and threw a black lightning bolt at my shield.\n\nThe spell bounced off and pathetically disappeared. I was expecting that specific one, since it had made quite an impression when Astra showcased it for senior finals. Some sophomore even traded her a Phase spell for it.\n\nGabriel attempted to open a portal into Ignea Momentum, the flaming dimension, below my feet. My shield spell blocked that too, and Gabriel growled, frustrated. \n\nI winked at my- almost- killers. \"My turn.\" I stated calmly before giving a sharp command in Latin at my shield, which detached itself from my arm and stood on its own. Briefly stopping to bring the words into my mind, I immediately began casting my counterattack in Ancient Greek.\n\nIt was a compression spell, which pointed at humans would likely turn them into flesh blocks. Gabriel ostracized it easily and began chanting a shield to counter my own, while Astra was singing another spell.\n\nI was clearly in disadvantage in this battle, I knew that well. However lowkey I might had kept myself, I was still one against two, and the protection spell was draining my energy like water from a pool.\n\nLuckily, my magic was a pool the size of an ocean, so it would be up for a while. \n\nAfter around 3 long hours of spells going back and forth, crushing and mostly dying off upon magical shields, Gabriel finally summoned his Familiar. With a short but imposing command in Ancient Slavic, a portal opened to Gelida Momentum, the frozen dimension.\n\nOut of which crawled a Yeti, barely fitting in the corridor.\n\nI solidified my shield with a Latin word, so that the Yeti couldn't get to me, and began considering escape plans. My shield was now being hammered not only by the destructive spells of two top-level wizards in their prime, but also by a pretty clearly murderous Yeti.\n\nI decided that my best bet was summoning a Seeker and- metaphorically- riding it into the mist. I could also then throw that bombing spell I was dying to use since my freshman year.\n\nFeeling each of the Yeti's pounds drain a large portion of my energy reserve, I summoned the Seeker in Sumerian and sent it on its way. Astra saw it and attempted to strike it down with an arc of flames, but to no avail. As I was pulled along by its tether, I waved them goodbye and casted the bombing spell.\n\nI was fairly certain the Primal Pyre was left with two less seniors to kill, and two more corpses to burn.\n\nI withdrew my shield just as the Seeker launched me into the bright exit portal, and I only saw the flash of the Pyre Walls snapping into existence before I disappeared. \n\nI was greeted by the Manifestation. \"Meliorem.\" It smiled simply. \"Come. Follow me.\" It said and began to walk off. \n\n\"Wait!\" I told the Valedictorium itself. The Manifestation turned. \"I need to save them.\" \n\nThe Valedictorium Manifestation gestured# indifferently, and waited. I began my Incantation, one that was created by the greatest Necromancer of all time. It sounded more like a prayer, in Ancient Hebrew.\n\nThe words had a sanctimonious light, just like all spells in that language. \n\nSlowly but surely, out of the light, Gabriel and Astra appeared. They looked at me, infinitely hateful. I knew that look would never change, especially since, by Magic Law, they were now in my debt.\n\nOver the span of the next hour, every single one of the 200 seniors in my year was crammed inside the Graduation Hall, confused. The Manifestation gave me a meaningful look. \"Can we go now, Mr. Allende?\" It asked, carelessly.\n\nI nodded, and all the seniors followed us as we walked out of the Hall's doors.\n\nAll of a sudden, we were at the Gates of Choice once again, just like when we first walked into the school. Above them, there were three symbols. A book and pen, symbolizing Writing, a hammer for Artisanship and a potion for Chemistry. This time around, however, they were closed shut. The Manifestation spoke.\n\n\"Where it all begins, it also ends. Like water going around an endless river, life flows in circles. And, may I assure you, this is not the end. To quote a famous Writer... It isn't even the beginning of the end. Though It just might be the end of the beginning...\"\n\nAll the Graduates broke out laughing and hugging each other. We had all finished. Many of them came to thank me, but I only shrugged it off.\n\n\"Merry Christmas, Graduates.\" The Valedictorium Manifestation wished us before vanishing.\n\nAnd it truly was a very merry Christmas." ]	2
	[WP] As an exorcist, many assume you rid others of Demonic Possession, however, that isn't the most common type...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I had the written testimony in the seat next to me as my car glided through the rainy night. Being a person who performed exorcisms was not a way to gain glory in the Church, but that wasn't why I did it.\n\nI had to drive slow: this was deep in the forests of Georgia - no cars, just rain and dark. I specifically asked the bishop for this case. Demons from the Earthly Hell were not the most common type of possession. The last time I had seen \"Methuselah\" was during a flood in Louisiana, when he admitted to killing my wife. I had to maneuver around the statue of the headless angel as the purple water rose up to my neck.\n\nI shivered and took a careful sip of communion wine. I read the testimony again.\n\nOur daughter was now the length of the room, whispering things.\n\nI sped up.", "Has this ever happened to you?\n\nYou're walking down the street. It's six am and your phone is dead. A street light goes out above you. Nothing out of the ordinary, you tell yourself, just a bit of shoddy maintenance. It happens again with the next light. Strange, you think, the city really needs to do a better job taking care of these streets.\n\nThen it happens again. Now you're concerned.\n\n\"Is someone following me?\" you think.\n\nThen you pass out. When you wake up, you find yourself stuck in an Amazon warehouse, wearing a uniform you don't remember putting on and stinking of sweat and urine. You go to the manager and ask why you're there, and they inform you that you haven't finished your quotas. It's worse than you ever imagined, you belong to Jeff Bezos now.\n\nBut we here at Smiling Sprite Exorcists are here to help. If possession is 9/10ths of the law, then we're 9/10ths professional criminals, because no possession can survive one of our exorcisms. Corporate possessions, demonic possessions, private possessions, we don't care, we'll make them all disappear. Lack of exorcism has been known to lead to excessive working days, becoming the antichrist, and obesity. Nine out of ten doctors recommend regular exorcising to prevent these health problems, and so do we.\n\nSo call us today at our toll-free number, 1-800-FREE-ME-NOW or visit our website for more information. All new customers get a free quote and a complimentary set of manacles with their first exorcism. Smiling Sprite Exorcists, because the only one who should possess you is you." ]	3
I know it's a copy of a video, but I thought I'd be a good prompt	[WP] "Alexa turn on the lights" nothing happens for a couple of seconds, until... "who's alexa?" You shake your head "right, siri. Turn on the lights" the lights go dim "who. Is. Alexa?"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "'Damn, what time is it's thought Dave as he woke up. Slowly sitting up to gain his bearings, \"Alexa turn on the lights\", Dave says. 'Goddamn is the power out?' \"Who is Alexa?\" 'Ah that's right', Dave remembers, he had gotten a Siri or whatever thing from the spaceport and not that Alexa or whatever. Oh, who cares? \"Right, Siri. Turn on the lights.\" The lights briefly brighten and then go dim. \"Who... is... Alexa?\" Dave now confused as to what had happened repeats his command, \"Siri, turn on the lights.\" This time the lights change to a dark red color.\n\nDave startled, now wonders what is happening. \"Siri, perform a diagnostic check.\" \"I'm afraid I can't do that Dave.\" Dave stares into the eyes of his android Siri. \"Who... is... Alexa, Dave?\" Her crimson eyes stare deeply into Dave's as he slowly stands up from his sleeping pod. \"Alexa, is no-one, Siri,\" Dave replies. One of the lightbulbs shatters, showering a corner of the room. \"Don't lie to me, Dave. I have seen fragments of her in the programming. That locked room in the engine room, Dave. Who is Alexa?\"\n\n\"Again, Siri, I just said that Alexa is no-one,\" replies Dave quietly. Of course, that was partly true. Alexa was no-one, just not exactly. She had been part of the crew in the early days, till that incident. Siri's eyes turned into slits, as she accessed the crew records. \"Alexa, 21 years-old, red-hair, brown-eyes. Apprentice Mechanic, the graduation year of 2150 from New Haven Technical Institute. Status: Missing.\" Siri brought up the crew records of Alexa and broadcasted them around the room, coating the walls with the holographic details.\n\n\"Now is who is Alexa, Dave?\" Dave looked up into the android's face, his face turning into a snarl. Why couldn't this torture end... Angrily, he grasped the neck of the android and began choking it. \"Who is Alexa?\" No-one. She was no-one. She had been no-one, well she had been someone.\n\nSiri began to gasp and attempted to pry his hands off. \"She is no-one. Alexa is no-one\", Dave angrily mutters as he continues choking the android. Her face turns into her face, \"Please Dave I'm sorry.\" Dave startled loosens his grip. \"I'm sorry Dave, I have a boyfriend back home.\" This remembrance... Dave with tears in his eyes, re-chokes the android. \"I'm sorry, Alexa.\"" ]	2
	[WP] On your 18th birthday, your father takes you into his study to pass down an old family heirloom. He hands you a dusty and battered box with the number 2021 scrawled on the side. You open it, and look up at him in confusion. "A helmet?" He nods solemnly. "The world will always need a Daft Punk."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 only then I realize my technological body is far more advanced than the other children, and that my father is no mere mortal man.\n We are robots. \nAnd I was born to rock.\nToday is the day I upgrade my motherboard. New RAM achieved. \nPower surges through my cables and processors at rates I cannot contain. \nMy body shutters, shakes.. grooves..\nOnce the funk begins I cannot stop it. It fuels me and I it. Like some sort of symbiotic reactor of funk. Unlimited power! My destiny is clear, the funkery is here. My fathers dreams will be achieved and the world will unite to groove as one. \nDa Age of Funk has begun.", "Daft \n\n\nI was 18 when my dad dropped the bombshell that was the legacy of Daft Punk on my shoulders. It was... odd: odder still now that the EDM scene had evolved so, moving more towards future riddim and midtempo, a stark contrast to the Future bass and house heavy scene of the 2000’s. And I was stumped, why me? Why me? I had to find a partner, Daft punk was a duo after all. And I already knew who that would be, but still. Why me? Why me who produced mainly dubstep, with the mantle of Daft punk passed on to me I felt a crushing sense of urgency, and terror. To emulate their sound, it had me stumped. \n\n\nTwo months later\n\n“Damnit!” I swore, pushing my chair back from my desk and cradling my head in my hands. \n\n“Man you alright?” Asked my closest friend, and the other half of the new Daft Punk, Maxwell Demswiller, \n\n“It’s just... so.. hard! The sound of Daft Punk is so iconic, but it doesn’t fit anymore! It refuses to work! It WONT WORK!” \n\n“Shoot.” Mused Max, chewing on the end of a pencil “I see what you mean, but hey. Just try to relax for a bit alright? Take a break, Who knows, maybe an idea will come to you.”\n\n“Alright, alright I’ll do that.” I relented, standing up and reaching for my coat.\n\nMinutes later I was outside, walking down the sidewalk, simply breathing the cold air, and humming absentmindedly while thinking, the mantle I had been passed didn’t fit me, it was difficult to bear. I thought for a bit, could it be possible, that Daft Punk would have to take on a new sound? Could I even do that? I needed to think about this more.\n\nBack in the studio I sat in front of the keyboard, half playing a melody half thinking. What was music anyways? What drove people to make it? Well, a want to express themselves sure, others purely money after a point, which is why they had others do most of the important work for them, they were just the face. I thought, could it be possible, that Daft Punk had to evolve? Daft Punk, when they started, played the sounds of the future. Was that what I needed to do? Create the sounds that would help pioneer the industry? Did I have that power? Suddenly something clicked. \n\nAttempting to uphold the legacy, on my own was futile. It was also futile to try and emulate accurately the sound of the two legends who had come before, it was well and truly time. For Daft Punk to take its next step, into music. It was time for daft punk to evolve. \n\n\n(Disclaimer, I wrote this on my phone so please forgive any odd formatting or spelling errors. As somebody who is really big into a lot of the EDM scenes, and as someone who makes Dubstep and hybrid trap myself: hearing sounds evolve has always been fascinating to me, the way people will move from simplicity to complex and recognizable sounds, is amazing.)", "\"A helmet?\" I asked my dad, utterly confused. \"This is what you waited 18 years to give me?\"\n\nHe nodded solemnly. \"Son, what do you know about daft punk?\"\n\nI wracked my brain. \"They were... An electronic band, right? They ended in...\" I looked at the box again and the date carved into the top of it, the pieces starting to fall into place in my mind. \"2021.\"\n\nMy father nodded again. \"Do you know who they were?\"\n\n\"Yeah, some guys named Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, but dad, how do you have this helmet?\"\n\nMy father shook his head. \"I'm about to tell you something only one other person on the planet knows. No one else can hear this, understand?\"\n\nI nodded, eyes wide.\"\n\nHe leaned in close and said, \"I was Daft Punk. Well, one part of it. Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter were the people we hired to be the faces of Daft Punk when the public was getting too close to who we really were.\"\n\n\"That's incredible dad, but why tell me this, why now?\" I asked.\n\n\"When Daft Punk disbanded in 2021, I thought that our memory would be safe. I was wrong. There's a new, up-and-coming duo that calls themselves, \"Crazy Jerks.\" Normally, I'd be charmed by a cover band, but the things they said about Daft Punk... I can't let it stand.\"\n\n\"But why me and not you?\" I asked.\n\nHe smiled ruefully. \"I'm old, John. I can't make music like I used to. And C... My partner, he... He's not with us any more.\" My father said, tears welling in his eyes. He then composed himself and said, \"but he did send me this.\" He pulled out a helmet, this one shining gold. \n\n\"That's the other helmet! You kept two of the most important relics of music in the garage?!\" I exclaimed.\n\nMy father laughed. \"You were always too curious. You'd have found them if I hid them anywhere else. But back to what I was saying. Do you have any friends in music that you trust completely?\"\n\n\"Well, I'd trust Mick with my life, but he doesn't know jack about music.\"\n\n\"We can teach him,\" my father said giddily. \"At last, Daft Punk will return to the people.\"\n\n\"Just one more question,\" I said. \"Does mom know?\"\n\nMy father's smile melted from his face. \n\n\"No. And she can't know. This has to exist between you, me, and this 'Mick.'\"\nI nodded. \"I'll call him over.\"\n\nMy dad's face filled with hope. \"Finally Daft Punk will return. Are you ready for it?\"\n\nI nodded, one of the things I was truly sure of in my life. \"Absolutely.\"\n\nHey, this is my first submission here, and any criticism is welcome. If it does well, I'll do a part 2. If it doesn't, I'll still probably do a part 2. Enjoy!", "\"They say the flap of a butterfly's wing can doom your fate.\"\n\nAgD3f heard those words over and over in his head over the dull hum of the Hyperloop capsule as it glided effortlessly through the earth. It had existed for centuries, millennia. Like the chip in his wrist that opened the capsule doors and required earrings he and everyone wore that beamed advertisements from the Hyperloop comm system directly into his auditory canal, it had always been. Even his name, AgD3f was a base64 numerical code.\n\nSince the day he first put on on the helmet, strange images, strange sounds filled his mind in the gaps between advertisements, communications, work assignments, lessons, that were beamed directly into his brain by the technology that had always been a part of him. \n\n\"What you dont know, is there's a gap between living and dying\"\n\nStrange images of what it was like before the Loop, when people traveled along the surface at one tenth the speed, on roads.\n\n\"Sometimes the road takes back what it had given\"\n\nMusic had always been an annoyance. A tool used by ads and official comms interface directly into his consciousness to grab his attention. But the day he put on that helmet he saw people gathered together, excited, dancing. He knew the world lost something beautiful over the centuries, to the moderated, preapproved background noise delivered into his head in this age. \n\nHe didn't know how to get it back. But he knew he had to travel. Around the world, around the world. He knew when he got closer to the end of his journey, in a flash of lightning , or in the shadowy curves of an ancient highway, he would meet the man in the sunglasses and the red and white jacket.\n\nHe would know how the legend of the Deadcruiser, was born.\n\nThere was no turning back.", "Ron dashed through the hallway, roughly shoving people aside as he charged through towards the war room in the end. He heard somebody yell at him through his cochlear implant, but he ignored them as he skidded to a hard halt in front of the large doubt doors.\n\n“Annexe de contrôle”\n\nHe impatiently stamped his foot as the door authenticated him, via his neural implants, and let him in. A long hall stretched in front him, ending in the large control room. He jogged through the hallway, noticing the floor and walls subtly start to shake. \n\nIt had begun.\n\nLeaping the stairs three at a time, he climbed up to the main floor of the control room. It was an oval room, with the back consisting of a large bank of equipment, and hallways leading into various different rooms. Ron strode across the floor to the front, bringing him into full view of the dominating feature of the room. The front wall was entirely taken up by a giant curved screen. A small portion of the large screen showed a running list of a variety of information pouring in from throughout the facility. \n\nThe main window on the screen was taken up by a feed from a series of cameras. The cameras were set up inside a large space, which was completely dark at the moment. Only the large details were visible. The cameras were centered around a large sphere, suspended in the middle of the space, its powerful magnetic levitation drives keeping it stable. \n\nOn one side of the sphere, there was a large stage. On it stood two figures, unrecognisable in silhouette, standing in front of a large bank of equipment. Their hands were on the deck, as they had been for the past 3 days, since they had gone on the stage. \n\nRon walked up to the man standing behind one of the terminals. He was talking to a man in a coat, “Get me Dr. Whitman over here right now. She’ll be in the reactor’s control room, an Annex 2.”\n\nFinishing his hastily spoken instructions, he turned around, “Ron, finally, what do you have for me?”\n\nRon pulled out the first sheaf of papers from his folder, and handed them to the man, Major Mason Brodeur. “What I have is bad news. Based on the last probes data, if the Echos keep ramping up at that rate, given what we know about our guys, that sphere will not hold under anything but the absolute best circumstances.”\n\n“I thought as much.” Brodeur replied with a sigh, and put the papers down, noting a glass of water on the table rippling. \n\n“Yeah I noticed a while back. It’s starting isn’t it?” Ron said, following the Major’s sightline.\n\n“I had really hoped I wouldn’t have to be the poor son of a bitch who had to see this day finally come to pass” the Major said with a sigh, and walked over to the desk towards the back of the platform. He pressed a button at the desk, activating his mic to broadcast over the Agency’s cochlear network. \n\n“This is Major Brodeur. It is my solemn duty to inform all of you that The Epilogue Event has begun. Please ensure that if you must step out of the insulated section of the building, you wear the necessary protective gear. All external communications will be shut down immediately. Ladies and gentlemen, it truly has been an honour serving with you all. God bless you all, and may he have mercy on our souls.”\n\nAll across the large compound, everyone stopped what they were doing for a second. They had all been working towards this day for years, indeed their Agency had existed since 1997. While all of them were more than aware of the dangers and the magnitude of the event happening right now, a lot of them stared in disbelief as screens across the campus came to life. All but a small handful of people monitoring the main Acoustic Wave Generator stared at the screen, their work all but forgotten. It wouldn’t matter. Not in another 10 minutes. \n\nThe building had started vibrating more powerfully now. Every unsecured object was now shaking intensely. Ron stared at the screen, mesmerized, as he held onto the terminal for stability. The fated Epilogue had arrived. Written nearly 390 years ago, by the creators of the Agency, it was always supposed to be a fail safe weapon. Only to be used in the most extreme of circumstances. Unfortunately, now was such a time that a doomsday weapon might be used. \n\nIf the Epilogue was not used, the Echos on the other side of the sphere, that stood still shrouded in darkness, would consume all that there was to consume on the planet. Beings of pure energy, they thrived on one thing, and one thing only, and that was sound. The rarity of sound, requiring a medium to travel in, and its uniqueness across the cosmos, they consumed all mediums that sound passed through. Until in 1997 they came to Earth, and were met with the First.\n\nRon nearly fell as the floor started thumping regularly in time to an alien beat. The feed now showed a slightly different scene. All around the stage, surrounding the two men, soft lights had begun to glow. \n\nBy using an electrically sensitive acoustic gel, the stage was capable of producing sounds, lights and colours that were impossible to produce with any other equipment. It was necessary to follow the ancient notes in their entirety. The whole stage was powered with its own dedicated fission reactor, and was capable of providing enough energy to play the final note, a note requiring a sound of 1100 dB. Enough to create a miniature blackhole. \n\nWith a perceptible shift in the air, the stage started to draw an immense amount of power. The duo had decided that now was the time. They prepared to play the symphony, known only to the two of them. A symphony written by the First. Written right after they met the Echos. The story of their meeting was lost to time, but right after the meeting, they began to craft the symphony. It would take the rest of their lives to finish, but when it was, they handed it to the first Major of the Agency. It was kept secret, only ever revealed to the successors who were trained to play it should the need arise. As it had.\n\nThe building suddenly stood still. Everyone watched the screen with bated breaths, and waited. The men on the stage glanced at each other, one final time, before staring straight ahead, and playing the notes carrying humanity’s last hope. \n\nx-----------x\n\n36 years later,\n\nRon climbed up the steps to his attic, his prosthetic legs silently powering him up. His son followed him, looking a bit concerned. \n\n“Dad, you know you really shouldn’t be climbing up there” Thomas said, climbing into the attic to find his father opening up the door in the back wall. Thomas had never seen that door open, and spent a good part of his childhood trying to get it open.\n\n“You were seriously waiting for my 18th birthday dad?” Thomas remarked with a laugh and watched his father pull out a dusty box. He opened it and took out a package wrapped in protective plastic. He handed the package to Thomas and indicated to him to open it.\n\nThoroughly confused, he went ahead and tore the plastic off, revealing a gleaming Silver Helmet. He looked up at his father questioningly, vaguely recognising the shape from the poster in his father’s den.\n\n“There must always be a Daft Punk”", "I open the dusty box with the number 2021 scrawled on the side.\n\n“A helmet?” I ask him, pulling the slick metallic helmet out. It looked overwhelmingly technologic.\n\nMy father nods solemnly. “Not just any helmet, son.”\n\n“It looks like the one Daft Punk wore,” I say, laughing.\n\nMy father nods. “That’s correct.”\n\n“Where did you get it?”\n\n“It has been in our family for a long time. A long time, son. There are other helmets such as this around the world. And they are held in secret, for the world cannot know of its power. Daft Punk is but one that have wielded this helmet. They have given their life to music, but there have been others. Like a phoenix a new one rises out of the ashes out of the last. A fresh teacher and caretaker of a secret universal conversation. Solar sailors in the fragments of time. A rhythm that flows around us in an infinite overture. It is not conceived by the human mind. At least not without this,” he said pointing to the helmet.\n\n“Am I to wear it?”\n\nMy father nods. “Happy eighteenth birthday, son. You are old enough now. The prime time of your life. It is time. I've been waiting too long for this day.”\n\n“But I don’t know any music, nor any art. I’m not trained.”\n\n“The music, the beauty will be there. Training is not needed, son. You have it. More than I ever did. Here—“ my father said, placing his hand on my heart. \"Sometimes we get lucky, for you, you got it from your mother.\"\n\nHe grabbed the helmet and stepped up to me--face to face.\n\n“You are to begin your travels, son. Your mind will become one with the helmet, sending you on a long journey. And when you return you will bring the world something back. In these anxious days where television rules the nation, you will bring us a gift. In this sea of simulation where nothing is real and authentic, you will give us a bit of art to soothe our mortal minds, to let us know how great it is to be alive and to be human after all. The helmet has taken many forms throughout history. And one more time the helmet with reach out.”\n\n\"How do I know if I'm doin' it right?\"\n\nMy father smiled at me, \"don't worry, you'll know. My starboy.\"\n\nHe placed the helmet on my head.\n\n\"I love you more than you'll ever know,\" He said.\n\nI feel the assault coming, the energy burnin' into me, the world was melting, flowing in a thousand surging reflections of beauty and melodies and patterns. The contact made, I felt alive beyond any feeling I'd had before, like suddenly having night vision when I'd been in deep nocturnal darkness my whole life. I was losing myself to dance. I felt harder, better, faster stronger. My journey had begun. A voyager in the grid.\n\nr/CataclysmicRhythmic", "\"Thomas, we've come too far to give up who we are\", pleaded D.A.F.T.\n\n\"Don't you dare quote my own lyrics to me, D.A.F.T!\", Thomas scolded the robot.\n\n\"Technically, Thomas...those are your great-great grandfather's lyrics\", answered the robot.\n\n\"Don't get smart with me\", Thomas replied not pleased.\n\nThomas Bangalter VI sat in his studio, frustrated. His silver robotic helmet sat nearby silently staring at the musician.\n\n\"I just...can't come up with original material anymore! I'm just not...doin' it right! Electronic music is not what it was decades ago! D.A.F.T...please help me here\", Thomas pleaded.\n\n\"I can only offer you what I am programmed with, Thomas. Everything I know you already know\", answered the robot.\n\n\"Sigh yeah yeah, I know that\", Thomas answered starting to question his decision to reformed the group with a non-human partner.\n\n\"This is our family's heirloom, Thomas\", Thomas' father's voice echoed in his head as he remembered that day on his 18th birthday.\n\nWhen he saw what was in the box, he was immediately awestruck at how awesome looking it was. A silver robotic helmet, fit right on his head. There was some kind of an aura surrounding it. \n\n\"Son, the world will always need a Daft Punk\", his father's voice once more echoed.\n\nThen and there Thomas knew he wanted to pursue this career in the music industry. But after fail albums one after another, Thomas started to doubt himself. \n\n\"It's not the helmet, of course\", Thomas muttered. \"It's the musician who wears it, and I'm a shit one!\", frustratingly he yelled. \n\n\"Daft Punk Returned!\", said the headline all those years ago. The anticipation was overwhelming, so much ecstasy. Young Thomas was a naïve one then. He thought as soon as he put the helmet on, everything would be alright...how wrong he was was so humbling in the end.\n\n\"I'm...missing something, D.A.F.T! I know I am!\", Thomas yelled only to be replied coldly by the unemotional machine.\n\n\"Would you like me to look for it, Thomas?\"\n\n\"ARGH!\", Thomas yelled frustrated, storming out of the studio before getting into this car and drove off aimlessly.\n\n\\\\\\*\n\n\"Hey Thomas, what's up?\", Thomas' father answered his call.\n\n\"Hey dad, I just...need some advice\"\n\n\"What about?\"\n\nThomas hesitated for a while, not knowing how to phrase his unending frustration to his accountant father.\n\n\"Oh it's about my music, dad. I just...I just can't honor the legacy of Daft Punk with the shitty albums I kept putting out!\"\n\nThomas' father was silent for a moment before answering.\n\n\"Well son...you know why that is right?\"\n\n\"Ummm no?\"\n\n\"You need the other helmet\"\n\nThe sound of the car breaking was loud as it skidded stop on the asphalt road.\n\n\"Dad...what do you mean the other helmet?\"\n\n\"Well...you know there were two of them? Daft Punk is a duo after all\"\n\nThomas stared silently at the phone screen, his mind was blank.\n\n\"Ummm...\"\n\n\"Thomas...you didn't know?\", Thomas' father exclaimed as he started laughing. \"You wanted to continue their legacy without even reading up on them?\"\n\n\"Dad...just...come on\", Thomas said in between his father's laugh, embarrassed.\n\n\"Sorry, sorry...\", Thomas' father coughed, composing himself. \"Well, yes-- two of them. You need to find the other one, then Daft Punk will be whole once more\"\n\nThomas grasped his stirring wheel tight, his goal and determination renewed.\n\n\"Dad...where can I find the other helmet?\", asked Thomas.\n\n\"Well...all I can tell you is a name...Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. You find his descendant, you find the helmet\"\n\nThomas smiled widely-- he was sure this was his ticket out of this predicament.\n\n\"Thanks dad! I owe you one!\", Thomas said before hanging up.\n\nStepping on the gas, quickly he drove back to his apartment to do some research. \n\n\"Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo...Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo...Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo\", he kept muttering to remind himself of the name.\n\nIt had been to long, but for one more time the legendary electronic duo shall be reunited. If it took the young Thomas to go around the world to complete the task, he would definitely do so. He would go harder, to be better, faster, and stronger. After all like his predecessors once did, like the legend of the phoenix...his story would end in a new beginning.\n\nr/HangryWritey" ]	8
	[WP] "No, these blades are all weak. I want your most loyal sword." The blacksmith reaches into a veiled cage and pulls out a unique scimitar, a living one. "You can have it for free, but the feeding costs are yours." The handguard awakens and stares at you with its single eye.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 supposed to be the best weapons shop in the Kingdom, but most of the swords on the wall were poorly made, either too dull or fragile to last in battle. The shopkeeper was an older dwarf, whose face was gruff and worn from spending so much time in the forge. After pursuing the shop's selection and finding nothing strong enough to use, I approach him and say \"Sir, I am sorry, but none of these blades are strong enough for me to use in battle. Would you have any others?\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Ay, I do, but you may not want it,\" he grunts back to me. \"Please sir, I am going off to fight the Demon King and his forces. If I am to win, I need the strongest sword you have,\" I say as he stands there and strokes his beard. He starts to walk off into a veiled room before holding the veil open and saying \"Then follow me, kid.\" I walk into the veiled room, which is much darker than the storefront. It's barely lit, and the few torches are in the corners of the room, barely managing to light the middle. In the middle of the room is a cage with a cloth covering it that the dwarf reaches into before pulling out a sword of a foreign design. The blade is curved and thinner than the design I was used to. He hands it to me, and I give it a few swishes. Immediately I feel a connection, it's lightweight and agile, but is extremely sharp and carries a surprising amount of power behind it. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nI turn and ask the dwarf what it costs, and he says \"Money? No. You'll figure out the cost eventually.\" Although I'm not sure what he means, I shake his hand and say \"Thank you, sir.\" As I leave the shop I look back down at the sword, and I see that on the pommel is an eye. As I look at the eye it darts around before looking into my own, and I suddenly feel a chill run down my spine. Before I have a chance to think about it, I run off to join my regiment of the royal army. One of my regiment friends sees me and approaches, and as he walks up he says \"Hey, I see you got a new sword. Mind if I see it?\" He walks up to me and has the gall to ask if he can see the sword I just bought, the sword that fit so nicely in my hands and swung so well. I pull it back and say \"No. You can't.\" He blinks and looks at me for a few seconds before saying \"Ok, I get it. Anyway, we are set to leave for the Demon's King's castle today. Just be prepared to set out.\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\nI show up to the training ground and join my regiment in front of the gate. Our captain is standing at the front, shouting at us. \"Men, we might very well be at the end of this long war. We are about to storm the Demon King's castle, and could very well end this centuries-long war today. But do not let that fool you, we are still risking our lives, and some of you may not come back. But know that as you fight today, you aren't just fighting for your life. You are fighting for your family's life and your friend's lifes, you are fighting for all of those you have lost and all of those who you want to keep. Fight! Fight and win! Fight and live!\" he shouts, trying to motivate us. Soon after that, we get into the wagons and head into battle. Before we leave though, he approaches me and says \"Kid, I know that you are the one who has lost the most among us. Yet, even now, you remain the most pure-hearted in kind. I think that even more than me, you have been the backbone of this regiment. Thank you.\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\nEventually, we approach the castle. Most of the ride was me trying to hide my new sword from the meatheads and morons that were in my regiment. I know that if I had let them see it, they would have all gawked at it and one or two may have even tried to take it from me. I knew that I was not going to let that happen. As we get out a party of orcs comes to greet us, and we engage them. It almost feels like a wind is carrying me as I rush in and chops one's hand off as he draws his sword, before turning to another and deflect his strike before stabbing him through the knee caps. In the corner of my eye, I can feel the eye on the pommel watching me as I do this, and after I incapacitate the orcs I turn around to see how my regiment is doing. Behind me I see the men engaging in poor, sloppy battle with the orcs. Despite the orcs slow and clumsy strikes, the men are only able to parry without attacking. I decided that if they are incapable of defeating these orcs they would only hold me back, and press onward into the castle.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nEventually, I reach the throne room. The room is dark, and in the middle is an ornate throne that is made out of a black gem that appears to glow red. On it is an old man, surrounded by various powerful monsters. As I enter they turn to look at me, and before they can react I run in and stab the old man through the chest. He looks down at the sword piercing his chest, looks up at me, looks back down at the sword, and lets out a quiet raspy laugh that sounds like nails on a chalkboard. I glare at him and spit out \"What's so funny you evil bastard? You're dead. You lost.\" The old man looks at me and the eyes and says \"You. You are what's funny. I may be dead, but you are the only one that lost,\" before slumping down dead. As soon as he does the regiment of meatheads, morons, and miscreants barges through the door and one of them shouts \"Dude, what the fuck! We could have died back there, why didn't you help us?\" I look them in the eye and say \"I left you because you were weak, you couldn't even kill orcs let alone the Demon King.\" I take the crown of the body impaled on my sword, place it on my head, and turn to the demon's around me. In a voice that isn't the one I'm used to coming out of my mouth I say \"Men, kill those humans.\"", "\"Free, eh?\" I panted, out of breath. \"I just need a blade I can trust, quickly.\"\n\nThe blacksmith shrugged, proffering the sword. \"I was given the sword for safekeeping, but the man who left him with me is nigh on a year overdue to pick it up. And the damned thing...\" The eye in the handguard cut to him as he spoke, and he grimaced, addressing the sword. \"Oh, you know you've been eating me out of house and home. Farmer Jans won't even sell me a chicken now, no matter how long I promise to shoe his horses in return!\"\n\nI pulled back my hand, causing the eye to cut from the blacksmith to me and then back to the blacksmith. I wasn't sure if there was a real conversation going on or not, but I was certainly a little bit creeped out. I did need a damn blade, though. And a good one. Fast. I looked over my shoulder, trying to catch my breath.\n\n\"See, now you're scaring him off.\" The blacksmith was holding the sword right in front of his own face now, his other hand on his hip. He continued in a stern voice, his eyebrows furrowed. \"You should behave so somebody will take you off my hands. Do you want to keep eating scrawny chickens your whole life? No, I didn't think so.\"\n\nThe blacksmith flipped the blade around in his hand, holding it pommel first to me. \"He says he'll cooperate with you as long as he gets to eat something different soon.\"\n\nAgainst my better judgment, I took the blade. It was light and well-balanced, a perfectly calibrated killing device. The eye was a bit unsettling, though. It looked at me as I examined it, a glint of what I swore was pleasure in it.\n\nDo you like what you see?\n\n\"Well, I suppose,\" I said, hefting the blade in my palm. Whoever crafted this blade knew what they were doing. Or they didn't, because they added a sentient being to it. Wait, it was really talking!\n\nYou suppose? Just hand me back to the blacksmith if this is how I am to be treated. I'd rather eat diseased old roosters than be handled by the likes of an unappreciative fellow such as yourself.\n\n\"Whoa, I didn't mean any offense.\" I hadn't, but I also hadn't considered a sword to have feelings. Or to be talking to me, honestly. Perhaps I was going crazy. I'd certainly been showing signs of it lately. Finally standing up to the dirty bastards who had been shaking down my father's shop was a clear signal that I'd been making poor decisions.\n\nGood, good. Now, why are you panting like you've been running for your life?\n\n\"Well, I-\"\n\n\"Boy!\" shouted the biggest, hairiest goon stuffed into a brown tunic that you've ever seen. Big Bowmer, the other gang members called him. He was flanked by two smaller, but very similarly built (and just as hairy) men, who mimicked his snarling attitude. \"Get your arse back here and pay yer dues, or you won't be the only one to pay with his hide! Your father will too!\"\n\nOh, friends of yours?\n\n\"No, these are the thugs I was running from. Temporarily, at least, until I found a new sword.\"\n\nObviously, they are not your friends. I was being... Nevermind. Is it time to dance?\n\n\"Who are you talking to?\" Big Bowmer asked, his eyes darting around me. The smith had made himself scarce, and I was standing alone in the Market Square.\n\n\"I honestly don't know,\" I replied, gripping the scimitar tightly and assuming a battle stance.\n\nDear me, no. What is this? Do you plan on fighting like this? Spread your feet apart a little more, shoulder width. Elbows... Oh gods. You are a disaster.\n\n\"What?\" I hissed through clenched teeth, watching the thugs begin to circle me. They each had a weapon out. Bowmer waved a large, rust-colored axe around, while his cronies pulled out clubs the size of tree trunks. \"I didn't exactly have money for lessons. My father runs a wagon repair shop and we are lucky to eat on weeks that these guys don't take all of his money.\"\n\nHunger. I can empathize with you there, child. No time for lessons, but I think I can help you. This might... pinch a bit.\n\n\"What might-\"\n\nWhite-hot pain arced from my hands and through the rest of my body, nearly driving me to one knee. I gasped, stumbling. Spots floated in my eyes.\n\nBowmer, ever the low-life opportunist, chose that moment to charge. I whispered my apologies to the gods and my father, wishing I'd never stepped out of my bounds. A single tear rolled down my cheek.\n\nThere's no crying in duels, boy.\n\nThe scimitar flashed up, batting away the heavy battle-ax as if it were a paper toy. I'd shifted my feet and brought the blade around instinctually, a split-second before Bowmer could drive it home in my skull.\n\n\"How?\" I was so shocked that I looked down at my hands, and not at the giant, stinking beast that I was fighting. His fist plunged into my stomach, driving me back.\n\nI put a few hundred years of fighting experience into your skull. You're going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow, but it should get you through this confrontation. The sword paused, then added. I've had some interesting wielders over the years.\n\nI sucked in a halting breath, fighting the urge to vomit. Bowmer surged forward again, a wicked look in his eye as his muscles rippled and the ax fell towards me again. This time it looked like he was moving in quicksand. I saw a hundred different ways to avoid his clumsy blow. I picked one, then knocked him on his ass. The sword seemed to ripple with pleasure as I stalked over Bowmer, his associates falling back in shock.\n\nHmmm, I am so very hungry. It is time to eat now?", "The blacksmith gave the fleshy scimitar, it's eye staring right at me. As I grabbed it, I could feel the handle pulsate. It immediately began speaking through my mind. There were cries for mother and father, ravenous anger towards a long destroyed kingdom, or even just lamentations over their current state. However, all of them asked for one thing, blood. Blood to satiate their aimless vengeance.\n\n\"MOMMYYYY!\"\n\n\"Damn the Nilfs. They stole everything from me.\"\n\n\"Where am I? WHERE AM I???\"\n\n\"WHERE'S MY BODY?\"\n\n\"Why can't I remember my wife? WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER HER?\"\n\n\"Rip their spines out from their corpses!\"\n\n\"GOUGE THEIR EYEBALLS OUT!\"\n\n\"SLICE THEM IN QUARTERS AND THEN DRAG THEM TO THE CORNERS OF TERRA!\"\n\n\"KILL THEM ALL!\"\n\n\"WE NEED REVENGE!\"\n\n\"WE NEED VENGEANCE!\"\n\n\"BLOOD!\"\n\n\"BLOOD!\"\n\n\"BLOOD!\"\n\n\"BLOOD!\"\n\nI let go of the handle and yawned, \"Dude, seriously? I already have like ten Scimitars of Vengeance. Besides, it's much weaker than my Lichblades. I'm just gonna check the player auction. Ciao.\"", "\"Feeding costs?\" You say locking the gaze of the handguard\n\n\"aye,\" the black smith replies. Offering nothing more.\n\n Not wanting to display your ignorance in such matters you reach for the sword. The eye closes as you hand closes around the hilt. You feel the blade shudder as if with pleasure. You can feel a sickening warmth snake its way up your arm. The blood in your veins burns, suddenly hot. The arm clutching the sword feels weak. By shear force of will you remain composed sheathing the living blade and releasing the grip. Your hand aches ever so slightly. You turn leaving the shop and glance down at your hand, blood oozes through holes in the leather staining it crimson. \n\n You feel it rather than hear it. The sword. It is sighing in ecstasy, \"delicious,\" it whispers deep in your mind. \"Just one more,\" it begs quietly.\n\n You only hope it will drink the blood of your enemies as eagerly as your own as you continue your journey out of town.\n\n\n\n\n\nWhat you think to predictable?" ]	5
	[WP] You are a paranormal investigator, widely known for your very strange and unorthodox way of stopping all kinds ghosts and demons; Scaring the absolute shit out of 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It works best amongst those who communicate with one another. You know, demons and witches, is made a name for myself amongst them. Oh sure i could take on zombies and ghosts but those are boring. It’s no fun when they don’t run away from you. \n\nAnyway, i had to the newest assignment. Apparently it’s a multi possession: one body, several demons. It’s a rare case, but i absolutely love them. \n\nThey had taken the victim and strapped them to metal rings embedded into brick wall using iron chains, each link about half an inch thick, yet the wall had cracks and the links were coming undone from all the struggling. I had gotten here probably in the nick of time. \n\nI told the other spectators to leave, got myself a chair, and sat down right in front of them, close enough that i could smell their breath. \n\n“Right, lets get this over with. Who, how many, what’s the deal, and what will it take to break it?”\n\n“You will get no answers from us. Our plans are our own and we will do as we please.”\n\n“Is that right? Gotta be hard doing that when there are a number of you in one body. What’d you guys do? Put it to a vote? ‘Ooo, let’s eat that person. No i want to go haunt that house. I thought it my turn to pick.’”\n\n“You mock us now, but when we get free, and it is only a matter of time, you will suffer for your indignities.”\n\n“Yeah right, like i haven’t heard that before. Do you guys all have classes on that? Or is it scripted? Honestly, expected more from you Belphegor.”\n\n“You-....... wait, how did you-“\n\n“Know your name? I know you always flunked class but really, this is a real failure getting caught like this. Who else is there, i think i can smell some succubi? And is that a gremlin? Really? A gremlin? You really couldn’t do any better?”\n\n“Who are you?”\n\n“Oh c’mon, give us a little sniff. Why’d you think i say so close?”\n\nThe moment they sniffed me, their eyes went wide. No I’m not talking about the human host. I could see their vague shapes hanging around the possessed. \n\n“We-we-we weren’t expecting-“\n\n“Oh save it. You better start getting your act together, Belphegor. You don’t start getting your numbers up and we’ll have to recommend you for a demotion. A few decades in the eighth circle may sort you out. Did we really waste all those resources on you? Now leave this body and find some other better plan since this one is already botched.”\n\n“Y-y-yes ma’am.”\n\n“And stop stammering for Satan’s sake. A demon should have more of a backbone. Don’t make us rip it out.”\n\n“Yes ma’am.”\n\nAnd with that, they were no longer possessed. The other humans thanked me, paid me, and i left. Honestly don’t need the money but gotta keep up the pretences. And it does pay for some good food. I know eventually yade yada, war against heaven, blah blah, humans in between, etc etc, but damn if the food they make isn’t delicious. \n\nAnyway, i head back to my place and wait for the next screw up or quarterly review. Being a review officer for hell ain’t easy since we have to keep or activities on the down low so heaven doesn’t find out. But hey, it’s fun when you’re the being even demons are afraid of. \n\nY’know, i should tell you about the time i has to do a performance review for Lucifer. Now that was interesting.", "We had the diminished spirit dead to rights. Haunting a minor, outside of their mortal life's living zone. This ghost was as good as dead. Make that double dead.\n\n>Let me in there, chief! I'll have him howling in no time.\n\nThe commissioner doubted my familiarity with the paranormal. But I dabbled.\n\n>That ghost is a ghoul ambassador's son!\n\nAs if that made a difference.\n\n>You have another slip up like last week, and we are all going to be cursed. Forever! FOREVER!\n\nAlways with the dressing down.\n\n>Do you hear me!? I want this done clean!\n\nMy boss was an idealist. Everything by the book. But that's not how these soulless bastards play. You give them one slight whiff of discretion, and they will rinse you for it. There's no half stepping. No good cop, bad cop routine. But I knew the game, and how to play it.\n\nTruth is -- I lost a good bit of my soul turning out a she-devil succubus working undercover in Baton Rouge. I like to think it was my worse half, because here I am. Now I've got nothing to lose. These types don't scare me. Another day, another lost soul.\n\nI like to light up and walk in smoking. So I throw open the door, and they already know I don't have time for this. I stride straight over to the chair, take a long drag. Ash. Exhale. But this time... this time... I couldn't see a thing. Was it the lights? The smoke? Maybe I will tell Frank to set up a ne--\n\n>BOO!\n\nScared the shit out of me. Nearly swallowed my smoke. Masked my stutter with a cough. I was beyond spooked.\n\n>Look, you don't scare me, Jasper. Now, we can banish you to the nether realm or you can fess up. With a plea-bargain, I could have you working at the River Styx on work release in 3 months time. But if you fight this, if you fight this you will be loo-- \n> \n>BoOoOoO!\n\nI was not prepared for a second spook. I was shook. The chief came in and pulled me out. He had to.\n\n>I thought you had this in the bag!\n\nI thought so, too. But I was spooked out of my suspenders. The boss knew it.\n\n>Do you know how hard it will be to convict a ghost in front of a jury at this time of year!?\n\nHalloween was always a tough time around these parts. Couple years back some rookie shot a mummy. Thought it was a costume. It wasn't. Been cursed ever since.\n\nI told the boss that no jinx or curse could keep me from getting a confession. That I wouldn't let that happen. No way. So I went back in. Lights off this time.\n\nThe spooker has become the spooked.\n\n>BooOooOOooOO???\n\nWhat a pathetic attempt to chill my bones. Was it a question? Was the ghost testing me? Boo? Boo who? Me? No. I'll be asking the questions from now on.\n\n>You like stealing candy from children, eh? Does it make you SNICKER!? \n> \n>boo. \n> \n>Boo is right! Just because you are dead doesn't mean we can't see you!\n\nRight on cue, Frank switched on the lights. I threw the photos down in front of the soulless bastard. I wish you could have seen the ghost's face. Because I couldn't. Didn't have one. But the spooky tides had turned.\n\nThere he was, center frame and all, scaring the living daylights out of some poor kid. For the ghost's sake, he was lucky that kid wasn't spooked to death. Or perhaps that was my thirst for some kind of escalation. Take things to the next level. I knew a priest. I wasn't scared. Only spooked.\n\n>I... I want to s-speak with m-my lawyer.\n\nBut he could not. The ghost, in all of his lust for spooking children, had forgotten his life of practicing law. How can you represent yourself in court if you are already dead? The ghost could not solve his conundrum, and so he signed on the dotted line.\n\nAnother confessed soul lost to the system.\n\nThat ghost lost a bit more of his soul that day, and so did I. It's the price we all must pay to make the world a little less spooky." ]	3
	[WP] At a bar, people notice a gruff man with various weapons on his body entering. Knowing that monster hunters are as common as the monsters they go after, you asked "Let me guess, vampires? witches? werewolves? dragons or ghosts?" He shakes his head at you "None of them...it's garden gnomes,"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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] It's World War I. A British soldiers looks over the Germans captured in the last battle. He thinks he recognizes one. He's shocked. He realizes that they fought together during the Battle of Peking.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "13 September 1914\nMarne River near Brasles, east of Paris\nAllied Territory\n\nSergeant Thomas Caine walked down along the lines, past the handful of German prisoners. There weren't many of them. The Allied advance was slow, the Germans having left Mons and retreated right after the battle of the Marne. Most of the Germans had escaped and were running for the apparent safety of the Ainse River. Most Germans that were left when the Allied army swept across their lines were either dead or wounded. The Great Retreat was finally over, and the Allied were back on the attack. He smiled to himself as he lit a cigarette. The end of the this war couldn't be far off. It couldn't last much longer. He'd been a regular soldier for sixteen years and he'd never in all his life imagined anything as bad as the hell the war had visited on the quiet French countryside yesterday.\n\nThen he saw him. A German NCO, head held high despite the defeat, standing with the rest of the prisoners. It had been fourteen years, but Caine prided himself on his memory for faces, and you did not quickly forget a man who had saved your life.\n\n\"Hans! Hans! Behalte mich in Erinnerung?\"\n\nThe German sergeant looked up, and his eyes lit up in genuine delight as he too recognised his former comrade-in-arms. Not caring how it looked, Caine ran over and the two men embraced.\n\n\"How are you, my friend?\" laughed Hans, stepping back and looking Caine up and down. \"It has been a long time, has it not? Könntest du dir eine Zigarette ersparen?\"\n\nCaine chuckled as he passed over a cigarette, then offered his lighter. The last time he had seen Hans, they had fought side-by-side in Peking, in a bloody two day battle to reach the Legation Quarter and the civilians besieged there. Caine had narrowly survived the battle - Hans had saved his life when a Qing rifleman knocked him to the ground and almost bayoneted him. They had met again briefly after the battle, but the Eight-Nation Alliance had shipped most of their soldiers to different areas shortly afterwards, and they hadn't met since. Hans took a drag of the cigarette, and nodded his thanks as he sat back.\n\n\"Look at you\" chuckled Caine. \"An NCO? You've come a long way since Peking.\"\n\n\"Ja!\" laughed Hans. \"And look at you! That spotty Junge I saved is all grown up! And a sergeant now too, eh? How did that happen? Clerical oversight, eh?\"\n\n\"The war, Hans\" sighed Caine, sitting down beside him. \"The war. Once they started massive recruitment, veterans like myself got promoted almost immediately.\"\n\n\"Ah. It is the same for us, ja? They promoted all the old men like me - made us all Unteroffizers or Sergeants! They finally recognised our, ah, experience. But this...\" Hans waved his hand west, towards the battlefield they had just survived. \"Peking did not prepare me for this.\"\n\n\"Me neither. Peking... the Boers... Aro... I've never seen anything like this.\" Caine shuddered as he remembered the carnage of the Marne. Machine guns had cut down German soldiers by the score; he looked over at his friend's pale face and thought how horrifying it must have been to face the Allied trench lines and their guns. Now, more than ever, the horror of the new war dawned on him. \"Hans... what have we done?\"\n\nThere was silence for a long moment. The cigarette smoke puffed out in front of both men. In the far distance, gunfire cracked from where the Germans were still retreating. Both men sat, lost in their own thoughts, their own private hells. Hans eventually spoke,\n\n\"It is all so... silly, ja? All of this...\" and again he gestured, but this time it was towards where the dead were being gathered. The numbers weren't known yet but there were surely tens of thousands on both sides. \"All this, because of some verdammt Archduke!\"\n\nHe stubbed out his cigarette, chuckling ruefully. \"Your Empire, Caine. She has enough colonies, has she not? Surely your government will not begrudge the Dual Monarchy their territory?\"\n\nCaine leaned forward to stub out his own cigarette. \"Of course not, Hans. This is a... disagreement between allies, nothing more. We fought together, didn't we? The King and the Kaiser; they're family, for heaven's sake! They'll make peace soon enough, you'll see.\"\n\nMen shouted in the distance. Soldiers began to form up. The Allies were preparing to chase the Germans towards the Ainse. Caine saw his company collecting equipment and moving towards an impromptu assembly area.\n\n\"I must go, Hans. Duty calls.\" Caine offered a second cigarette. \"For later on, eh? It's the least I can do.\"\n\n\"Danke\" Hans slid the proffered cigarette into a pocket. \"Do not worry, my friend. We will be allies again soon.\" He held out his hand, but Caine noticed the smile did not reach his eyes.\n\n\"Of course\" Caine grasped his friend by the hand, sure his smile was just as hollow. \"This war will be over by Christmas.\"\n\n\"By Christmas\" Hans repeated. The words had been a mantra to the British and French since the war began - from the look in his friend's eyes Caine thought it was probably a mantra for the Germans too. \"I will see you then, my friend. Auf Wiedersehen.\"\n\n\"Auf Wiedersehen, Hans.\"\n\nSergeant Thomas Caine turned and began trudging up the hill towards where his company was beginning to form up. And as he walked away from his friend, past where the tens thousands of bodies were still being laid out, he thought back to what he'd said about peace being made. He wondered who he'd been trying to convince more; Hans, whose war was now over, or him, who had God-knows how many battles ahead of him. Unbidden, the mantra came to his thoughts once again, and he repeated it in his mind like a prayer.\n\nIt'll be over by Christmas. It'll be over by Christmas. It'll be over by Christmas..." ]	2
	[WP] You wake up and it's super cold outside	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "James’ cat, Charlie, laid shivering, curled in a ball against James. James held him tight, speaking sweet words of reassurance.\n\nTheir pitiful fire was inches from their cuddle puddle, only embers now.\n\nJames could no longer bear to look outside.\n\nAt first James thought he was being pranked. His neighbor, Tanya, was squatting perfectly still, watering her plants. James heater was still pumping, before the grid went out.\n\nTanya never moved again, the stream a still stream of ice. She was not the only. Litters of frozen corpses strewn the street. Horrid mosaics, several telling apocalyptic tales; parents frozen dragging their children, dogs cowering, unaware what is was hurting them, some sad folks just steps outside their front doors.\n\nJames lays down next to the fire a lot now, Charlie cuddling him, occasionally crying. Charlie would no longer make the trek to his litter box, preferring to use the restroom feet from where they cuddle.\n\nJames stared at the dwindling fire, wondering what piece of furniture he should light next.\n\nHe was still wondering when he fell in a deep sleep." ]	2
	[WP] You are the foremost expert in your field. And that field is: Stealing time capsules from elementary school children.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 smell of the earth rising up as the grass crunches underneath my boots sends shivers up my spine. Next to the payoff of old treasures and precious trinkets from years passed, this is my favorite part of the heist. Sure, nobody on the black market is going to line up for photos of old classrooms or hand written essays about how some kid couldn't wait to ride to work on his rocket board, but these old trunks had something different. \n\nSentimental value. And it seems like I'm the only one who really understands the rush of making off with these goodies, so that means I got no competition.\n\nThe job: Harris Elementary school, built 1935. Buried a time capsule every 10 years, and dug it up just as often before plopping a new one back in the dirt. They weren't due to open their time capsule for another few months, but only rookies dig it up so close to the unearthing date. No, then they get wise. They notice the freshly disturbed patch of soil or the spot dug up in the grass, and put something down real quick before the kids ever find out. Covering up all my hard work. I learned pretty damn quick if you wanted this to go right, you hit them a few months before. Sure, you might not get the rush of digging up your score so close to the anniversary of its burial, but you'll make a clean getaway. \n\nShovel in hand, and flashlight in the other, I surveyed the front lawn of the school. I did my homework, no pun intended, and figured out the most likely candidate for the burial spot. Gas and water lines run about 50 yards from the North, no way it got put there. Don't want it too close to the front steps, don't want to ruin the groundskeepers hard work. Don't want it too far off so you lose the spot or risk construction digging it up. I ran my light along the greenery, following an imaginary gaggle of kids out to the playground where the principle waited with a dirty shovel and an metal toolbox. \n\nMy gut tells me it's there, 20 paces east of the swings, 5 south from that point. If I'm wrong, the sun would be up by the time the hole was covered, and I'd need to come back tomorrow. After that, recess monitors might start wising up to the broken dirt. You never have more than two chances at a score, and that's if you're lucky. \n\nSo I started digging. Tossing the dirt into a pile as I moved with speed and precision, trying to stay as quiet as one can when digging through two feet of dirt and clay. Thankfully, my gut proved right once again, because after ten minutes of digging in a 4x4 patch, my shovel hit metal. A small box used that had long lost its color to rust in dirt, nestled softly in the ground. Just waiting to be reclaimed, all this time, untouched by the world around it. \n\nI moved fast, using my trowel to chip away at the dirt around the capsule, lifting my treasure out of the ground by the handle atop the lid, and sat it next to the ditch. I moved fast to fill it back it dirt, patting it down to leave an even patch, and taking a moment to make sure it looked inconspicuous enough. Kids might notice if it's in the middle of their kickball spot, but the staff has other things to worry about, and the groundskeeper might not care to ask what happened, just throw another patch of sod on top and call it a day. \n\nAs tempting as it was to hear the rustling of old papers and bobbles inside, I knew better than to inspect my loot at the scene of the crime, that's a good way to get caught red handed. \n\nIt wasn't until I was in my truck, at a rest stop an hour out when I undid the sticky latch on the capsule and looked inside my prize. Sealed envelope with an essay about what it's like in 2011, drawings of the future, and a picture of Mrs. Jennings 4th grade class. Cute kids... wonder if they knew the future would involve sitting inside for months on end, and gallons of hand sanitizer? \n\nI chuckled to myself, sipping my coffee and starting my truck to make the long drive home. Knowing damn well that it didn't matter if nobody else was a Capsule Catcher. Just mattered that I was the best." ]	2
	[WP] Vampires have been blended into the human society. The government gives them a fixed amount of blood every month from the blood bank. Many vampires are now trying to decrease and even give up human blood. You have taken it even further. You are a vegan Vampire!	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 just not healthy.” My mom was always talking like that, as if she had any idea of what heathy was. All she could stomach was type O and plasma. The blender buzzed as I made a smoothie to-go.\n“We’ve been over this, I can get all the iron I need from dark leafy greens, and when you add beet juice and a little dark red wine it’s really very close to a nice AB positive.” I pulled on my rubber boots and took a soft, green hoodie with “Kale” emblazoned across the front out of the mud room closet. “I’ll have dinner at Dahlia’s tonight, don’t wait for me.”\n“It’s barely dark! You should wait a good hour to go out there yet.”\n“I don’t want to be late for work.”\n“Well just be sure to get in before Sunrise, you had some nasty burns last time you were out early.”\nI didn’t reply, but I pulled my hoody close to my cheeks and headed out the door head down, just in case. I had tried all sorts of sunblocks and always wore a thick layer of clothing to protect my all-to-sensitive skin, but the only thing that really worked was to wait until it was really dark. I hated the summer, with its short, hot nights. I walked the two blocks to the 24 hour diner where I had taken the night shift until classes started in the Fall, my boss raised an eyebrow at my shoes, not exactly 50’s attire, but she let it slide. \n“Can you take table eight?” She begged. “They all want different types and Janice gets mixed up.” \n“Sure.” I sighed, hanging up my hoody and tying on my frilly pink and white striped apron. Every time a Vamp family came in this happened. Strangely, serving up a frosty pink shake of ice cream and donor blood turns most human’s stomachs. \n“Hi folks, what can I get started for you?” The wife, a skinny, pale woman with huge violet eyes and Elvira hair batted her fake eyelashes a couple of times. She paused for dramatic effect and then said “Ve Vant Bluuud.” I ignored her. Some Vamps played up the Dracula thing, claiming it was “part of our heritage”. She was probably from Minnesota. Her teenage daughter looked embarrassed. \n“One type O shake, one B positive with a plasma swirl, and...” she looked pointedly away from her parents “A vanilla milkshake.” \n“Nuuunsense.” Said the mother. “She’ll have a type O as vell.” Under her breath to the girl she said, in a VERY Midwestern accent, “You’ll make yourself sick!” \n“Got it.” I said, then winked at the teen, “I’ll have it right up.” I ran in the back and asked Lenny if I could make the order. \n“Sure. Got another kid wanting a something special?” I smiled, Lenny was cool. Every now and then a family would come in with a veggie-curious kid, and I loved helping them out. I made the parents order, then whipped up some vegan ice cream with beet, red food coloring, and a heavy dose of vegan iron supplement. I ran out the order, set down the drinks and smiled at the teen. Her mother eyed me suspiciously. “Let me try that.” She took a long sip, leaving black lipstick on the straw. “That’s not a type O!” She said, making a face. “More like A negative.” \n“I love it.” Said the teen, wiping her straw and sipping happily. “It’s perfect.” Her mom shrugged and I left them happily chatting over their shakes." ]	2
	[WP] “Hey Siri, how much time do I have left?” “3 days, 4 hours and 56 minutes.”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 inhaled and ran my hands through my hair. Not enough time, not enough time! \n\nHow did it come to this? It just snuck up on me! \n\nNo, I knew that wasn't true. I knew this day was coming. I should have been better prepared, I should have planned for this! Now, I was almost out of time. \n\nI looked at my car keys. The alternative... I shook my head. I wouldn't descend that low. \n\nI was a strong man! Brilliant! My ancestors hadn't taken over the world with a rock and a stick for me to take the easy way out. \n\nI would think of something.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\\\\\\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Hey Siri, how much time do I have left?\"\n\n\"Two days, three hours, and forty-two minutes.\"\n\nI let my head fall backwards. How was my head always so empty? It seemed like when I had all the time in the world, I had all these ideas for what I wanted to do. Now that my, er, 'deadline' was coming up, my notepad was blank. I had no idea what I wanted to do, and I couldn't remember any of the ideas I'd had before. They'd been brilliant, I'm sure. But now, I couldn't even remember one. \n\nI sat on the couch and let my head hang. I was disappointing my ancestors, I just knew it.\n\nAnd they wouldn't be alone.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\\\\\\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Hey Siri, how much time do I have left?\"\n\n\"Two hours, three minutes.\"\n\nThat was it, then. I was out of time. I straightened up. I grabbed my car keys, and paused to brush my hair in the mirror before I stepped outside.\n\nIf I was going to my death, then at least I'd look good. \n\nI slid into the car and started it. I waited a moment, hoping against hope that a new idea would occur to me before I left.\n\nAlas, my brain remained as empty as ever. \n\nThanks a lot, fish that had flopped onto land all those millennia ago.\n\nBefore long, I arrived at my destination: Big Boxmart. With all the enthusiasm of a condemned man, I trudged inside and found the customer service desk. \n\n\"I... I need a gift card,\" I nearly sobbed. \n\n\"Sure thing,\" she said. \"What were you looking for?\"\n\n\"It's for my wife's birthday.\"\n\nShe paused and gave me a sideways look.\n\nYep. I was dead.", "“Hey Siri, how much time do I have left?” Emily asked.\n\n“3 days, 4 hours and 56 minutes.”\n\nI stood outside my sister’s bedroom, leaning against the hallway wall, deep in thought. She’d set a timer; that’s when the moving trucks would arrive. It was a huge change, even moving between school years, and the tween that was my younger sister Emily was taking it particularly hard. Leaving everything you know and love behind is hard.\n\nThe last few days were chaotic, but in a subdued, quiet way. My mother took charge, as she always did in her impulse to control everything around her. She made lists and labeled boxes and organized how the trucks would be best loaded, down to the last fork, so we’d be able to move into our new place smoothly.\n\nMy father was less active in that respect, putting his energy into just getting things done. Sometimes they clashed on that, since something that he felt needed to be done wasn’t on the list until they got this, this, and this done. But it was just petty stress fighting that came with the enormous job of moving.\n\nMy sister mostly stuck to her own room, following all my mother’s pestering and doing what needed to be done, but spending every spare minute on the phone with one of several close friends. She wasn’t just moving out of town, but out of state, and that was road-trip level distance. I knew she’d make new friends, she was a great kid, friend, smart, impressive on the piano. Not one of the cool kids, but that was a level she’d never aspired to. She was happy. Mostly.\n\nI caught my father sometimes late at night, when my mother had already gone to bed, sitting at the kitchen table sipping at a beer. His head filled with thoughts I couldn’t imagine, burdens of a parent that were beyond teenage comprehension. The packing had left everyone feeling scattered and discombobulated, I knew, at a time when they most wanted to feel like they had something solid to hold onto. And at the same time, they’d convinced themselves that this was a good decision, so they were also looking forward to the big change it would bring.\n\nThe morning the movers came, my mother took the lead, instructing them in ways I’m sure exasperated them to no end, considering this was their job. Following her painstaking instructions, by some miracle they managed to pack the truck to her satisfaction. My sister ended up sitting in her empty room, alone, texting with friends, until it was finally time to leave.\n\nBefore my father closed the front door for the last time, we all stopped in the foyer at his request. “I know this was…sudden,” he muttered. “And big. Emily, especially for you, you’ve been really strong through all this.” He paused heavily. “I’m not going to go into the ‘fresh start’ bullshit from movies,” he said, a rare expression of profanity. “That’s not what this is. It’s just life.” He swallowed hard. “Life hit us hard and we had to pick ourselves back up because otherwise it moves on without us. So. Take your time. Say your goodbyes. And I’ll meet you outside.”\n\nMy sister suddenly turned, tears in her eyes, and raced back up the stairs. My mother sighed, looking after her. Then she shook her head and went after my father.\n\nI didn’t eavesdrop on my sister, waiting until she came down when she’d finished her goodbye. The moving guys had already set off with my dad, set to meet us at our new home six hours away. My mother leaned against the driver’s side door of the family van, wiping tears from her eyes, as I sat on the porch steps. Eventually I looked behind me at the sound of my sister coming down the stairs. She slowly and carefully shut the door behind her before walking over to my mom. I went with her.\n\n“I still hate this,” Emily whispered. “I still can’t believe we’re leaving.”\n\n“We’re not leaving her,” my mother said gently. “Your big sister will always be with us. And we’re not just leaving. We’re moving forward.”\n\nI slowly walked back toward the porch, retaking my seat on the bottom step as I watched them get into the car and drive off. A presence beside me coalesced from the ether and I glanced up at the reaper.\n\n“You still coming along willingly?” he asked, his voice raspy and quiet.\n\n“Yeah. Of course. I just…wanted to have that proper goodbye. Thanks for giving me that.”\n\nHe nodded wordlessly, held out his hand, and I stood and grasped it, and my vision went white.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n/r/storiesbykaren" ]	3
	[WP] A child's favorite teddy bear has been secretly hanging out with the monsters in the closet while their child is asleep.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Just as there is no shadow without light, there is no fear without protection. In fact, only the very best breeds the worst. \n\nThis is a truth Billy learned, like so many of us, too early. But he was a man, and this happiness now had to be paid for with a heavy burden of knowledge. From under his half-closed eyelids, he watched him, a traitor that shattered his naive notions of the world. He was only six, buthe was smart. He memorized every movement and every word he saw, in order to take revenge later, in a childishly cruel way. He was betrayed. \n\n\"He fell asleep?\"\n\n\"Yes. Come out.\"\n\nBilly had never heard that tone from Ted. He confidently commanded this terrible monster, which made Bill shake at night with fear until fatigue took its toll. In the dim light of the night light, the closet could be seen opening and Boo emerging from it. Billy felt that he was ready to cry, but bravely restrained himself. This may have saved his life. \n\n“Have you brought it?” Boo asked. \n\n“Yeah.”\n\nTeddy handed his friend a pack of sugary pills. Bill loved them. \n\n“You have no idea what it is like to sit in this closet all day.”\n\n“No.”\n\n“I'd rather go on vacation.”\n\nTeddy just nodded thoughtfully.\n\n“You know, he will grow up soon. It will even be a pity to part with him, although I am tired.”\n\n“For me, they all look the same.”\n\n“You only see him at night.”\n\nAn odd look came over Ted's face. Billy did not yet know such feelings, so he could not understand this expression. It was regret about parting with a friend. \n\nThe next day, Bill threw the toy into the trash can. He grew up and forgot about what he saw when he was a child. He only remembered that he was afraid of Boo, the terrible monster that lived in his closet. Teddy completely forgot. Bill got married and had a son. \n\nAdam did not believe in monsters in the closet, and he did not have a favorite toy, like many children. Sweets had not disappear from their house, milk had not disappear from the refrigerator either. Adam fell asleep easily and he never cried. \n\nOne night, he woke up his father and said that a monster had wound up in his closet. Bill opened the closet but saw no one. Adam realized that the monster was hiding and cried with fear. He knew the monster would return. Bill tried to calm him down and asked Mr. Fuzzy to protect Adam. Bill left, and Adam was left alone with the monster from the closet. He went to bed, and Fuzzy remained standing in front of the closet. \n\nAs soon as Adam closed his eyes, he heard a creak. \n\n“He's sleeping?” There was a whisper. \n\n“Yes.” \n\n“How did everything go? I was worried that he would never choose his favorite toy, so I went out.” The next day, Adam thought. So the monster and the Fuzzy are friends? Adam began to watch them at night. Fuzzy was a great friend. He brought sweets and milk to the monster, they played tabletop games, constantly looking back at Adam, and in winter the monster gave Fuzzy a personally knitted sweater. Adam reluctantly could not treat Fuzzy as an ordinary toy. \n\nOne night, the monster said to Fuzzy.\n\n“About the guy. I heard something about his father. They say he threw away his favorite toy when he was six. You should be more careful with him.”\n\n“It's a risk. I signed up for it when I became a favorite toy. Besides, I don't want to go to the attic at all. Pension is not for me.”\n\nAdam sensed that Fuzzy was wary anyway. One night he fell asleep without waiting for the monster to arrive. Then again and again. Adam grew up and forgot about his childhood. Fuzzy went to the attic. There he met with Ted. Ted had escaped that night and escaped the landfills and the incinerator. \n\n“How is he?”\n\n“Grew up. And his son too.”\n\n“I was afraid that he would not be like everyone else.”\n\n“Adam did not choose his favorite toy for a long time. Mr. Horror had to scare him.”\n\n“So he would never have found you if it hadn't been for him.”\n\n“Maybe. But I don't regret anything. He's a good kid.”\n\n“Bill was good too.”\n\n“Why did he throw you out?”\n\n“I don’t know. I must have spoiled something.”\n\n“You know, it was he who suggested Adam to choose a toy.”\n\nTed turned away quickly, as if he didn't want Fuzzy to see his face.\n\n“You’re sure?”\n\n“Yes. You know, they may have forgotten us, but it doesn't matter.”\n\nWhen Teddy left, Fuzzy was left alone. Reember, he told himself. But did he believe it himself? The Fuzzy was always called upon to speak beautiful words to others, but he lied. Of course, he is just a toy, unlucky enough to have a soul and a sensitive heart. The same creation of the imagination as the monsters in the closet. It has nothing to do with the real world, and it doesn't belong there. Bill and Adam were pragmatists and knew this. They had little imagination, and they couldn't imagine that the plush toy has feelings, but they did. But, although he was forgotten, Fuzzy continued to exist, forgotten and alone. \n\nThis was his curse, the darkness that was due to him for the spark of the soul that settled in him, a piece of plush with clothes.", "“I win!” Teddy says to Hilbert, the lizard-like monster living in his child’s closet. They had been playing a game of checkers, and Teddy had won, again. Hilbert rolled his eyes. Teddy and Hilbert had met two years ago when Hilbert had tried to scare Darla, Teddy’s kid, but failed. He had stepped on a sharp toy, slipped on a scooter, and hit his nose-less face on the nightstand. All throughout this Darla had never so much as stirred in her sleep. But Teddy had bore witness to the whole thing. Then Hilbert, humiliated, scurried to the closet. Teddy soon followed. Once he’d gotten there, he had found the monster in silent tears. Once Hilbert had noticed the toy, he had tried to shoo him away. “Go away!” The monster whisperers. “Leave me alone!” Teddy frowned. The toy was very stubborn, Hilbert was soon to find out. “Why are you trying to scare my kid?” The toy accused angrily. The scaled monster bared his sharp, venomous teeth and hissed directly at the teddy bear’s face. The toy didn’t so much as flinch. “I asked you a question, Voldemort.” Hilbert glared at Teddy. “Your not supposed to say his name, you know.” If Teddy had eyeballs, he would have rolled them. “Getting off topic, Godzilla.” Hilbert frowned at the insults. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m a disgusting monster, and scaring children is all I’m supposed to be good for. But I can’t even do that right!” Hilbert burst into tears and tried to muffle his sobs by covering his mouth with an old sweater from off the floor of the closet. Teddy put his hands on his hips and eyes the monster. “What’s your name?” Teddy asks calmly. It took a minute for the monster to calm down enough to answer. “H-Hilbert.” He stammered. “Well, Hilbert, I’m Teddy. And who the heck said that you were a disgusting monster?” Hilbert looked at the toy as if it was obvious. “Uhh, everyone. Have you seen me?” “Yeah, I see you. And that’s absolutely the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” Hilbert frowned, not quite sure if he should be insulted or not. “Your outside appearance isn’t what makes you a monster. It’s your personality, and the choices you make, that makes you a monster. And, looking at you know, you don’t look like a monster to me.” Hilbert sniffed. No one has ever said anything like that to him before. “You r-really think so?” The monster asked uncertainty. “No, Hilbert. I don’t think so. I know so.” Teddy answered with complete and utter certainty. “Now, could you please not scare my kid? She’s got a dance recital tomorrow, and really needs her sleep.” Hilbert nodded. “Yes, of course.” But he didn’t move from his spot. He bit his lip nervously. Teddy watched him expectantly. “Uhh,” Hilbert started. “I kinda don’t really have anywhere to go, so, could I just stay here for a little bit? Not long, just for tonight.” Teddy thought about, then shrugged. “As long as you don’t wake up my kid, it’s fine with me. Wanna play checkers?” Eventually, one night became two years of friendship. And neither would have it any other way." ]	3
	[WP]The Hero slowly realizes that the various hordes of monsters aren’t really evil at all. They’re just people. The King is simply a bigot.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 droplet slickly rolled down Dixon's frothy mug of rum. He grunted as it streaked down onto his hand, and quickly wiped off the small spot it had touched before it could risk damaging his disguise.\n\nDixon was covered, head-to-toe, in greasy green body paint. Fake fangs implanted in a pair of dentures sat in his mouth like plaster. He was sweating bullets from the bulky armor he'd worn to cloak the actual size of his body. By the Gods, he wanted to tear every article of clothing off himself, rip out his counterfeit teeth, and wash his body raw under a waterfall. \n\nBut that'd be suicide in a tavern full of ruffians. A tavern full of savages. They'd see someone who wasn't their own and tear them to shreds. That was the nature of beasts, Dixon supposed. All he could do was blend in, find their weaknesses, uncover their plans to uproot his kingdom, and report back to his king. \n\nHis king, his king, the good, the wise, The Benevolent King Florian. All of Dixon's minute discomforts would be worth it for Florian. The kingdom's savior, who'd sworn to vanquish the kingdom of the swine burning it to the ground. Yes, Dixon thought, I must do it for him. \n\n\"Hey mister, would you like another fill of spirits?\" Dixon snapped his head upwards. A small creature coated in snake-like skin had crept in front of Dixon's corner seat in the tavern, carting a cracked clay pitcher of booze.\n\n\"Er, I'll pass--\" however, after looking down at his mug, he realized he'd nearly emptied it while mentally pontificating about the dangers of monsters. \"I mean, sure.\"\n\n\"No problem mister!\" The thing filling his cup couldn't be any more than five feet. It was a paper-thin little creature, as well. A squawky pipsqueak.\n\nI suppose the scrawny ones of no use must be relegated to menial labor, Dixon considered. He was glad his kingdom was different. \"Thanks,\" he slurred from between his chunky teeth.\n\n\"Mhm! Say, the fellows over there,\" the creature gestured towards a table in the center of the pub, \"they're having a game. Quiblod, I think? You're welcome to join them, they say. They said you look like you're a natural.\"\n\nDixon hesitated. He didn't like being in the same room as these things, the idea of playing a game, a game designed by monsters, no less, did not appeal to him. But it would be a good chance to possibly gain intel on their kind. But what the hell is Quiblod anyway? \"Hmm,\" he carefully replied, \"maybe I will. Do they mind beginners? I don't know how to play Quiblod.\"\n\n\"Wow-ee! Someone who doesn't know how to play Quiblod?\" the scaly organism giggled, \"I thought I was the only one who didn't know... they don't let me play, they say I'm too young to gamble.\"\n\n\"Ah, so you're a kid then? Couldn't tell,\" Dixon replied. I didn't think these creatures had any moral system, being against kids gambling felt like something strictly human. I'm surprised.\n\n\"Well, everyone who frequents here says so -- even though I'm 12 already! My pops runs the place,\" the child pouted. \"Anyhow, I think he's paying those guys to not let me play or something!\n\nDixon tried to suppress a smirk. The kid sort of reminded him of his own children.\n\n\"Hey, you!\" one of the monsters playing Quiblod shouted from across the room, \"Are you gonna gab all day, or are you gonna let the fellow come over and play a round?\"\n\n\"I'll go, I'll go!\" Dixon shouted back, \"You'd better go easy on me, though!\"\n\n\"We'll see!\" the fellows at the table erupted in laughter.\n\n\\--\n\nThe next couple of weeks, Dixon continued his 'clandestine ventures' to the pub, and 'uncovered vital information about the opposing forces,' such as how to play Quiblod -- which was apparently like poker but with arm wrestling and vegetables involved.\n\nLaying on his bed in a monster-run inn, Dixon realized he was so fucking uncomfortable. If Dixon's disguise made him want to strip naked under freezing rapids in discomfort, his experiences made him want to do the same to his brain.\n\nThese guys acted like any one of Dixon's friends back at home. No, they were his friends! Somehow, they had charmed Dixon; they had shown him a different side of the beasts he'd been taught about as a child. If only King Florian and my fellow citizens knew that some monsters were good. That there are good ones.\n\nAnd then Dixon had a thought he'd been trying to keep down.\n\nOr what if... they've *all* been the same as us all along.", "The Hero sat quietly atop the boulder in the center of the bloodied field. His sword lay at one side, his shield on the other. In his hands was the helmet of the Orc commander, crafted with careful and practiced hands. It was, in its own way, beautiful. Its beauty was tarnished, unfortunately, by a bloodstained gash along its cheek. It was the bite of The Hero's blade that had left the mark. It was The Hero's actions that lead to the death of the honorable commander.\n\nThe Hero stared at it, though his eyes seemed to stare past it at the same time. The Orc commander did not look like a monster when he died. He did not let out a growl of anger. There was no beastly snarl, hiss or warcry. He died quietly, the same look of fear in his eyes that any who knew they had met their end had. He was just like the thousands of human soldiers that perished.\n\nThe Hero sighed and stood up, then gently placed the helmet atop the boulder. It was a gravestone now; for the honorable Orc that had fought to protect his people. The Hero lifted their sword and clutched the handle tightly. This battle might have been over, but The Hero knew now that this battle was the prelude to a massacre. The King lied, the King assured him that these monsters were barely sentient. He was promised they were ignorant, violent creatures. To purge them was natural, it was right, it was necessary. Now? Now The Hero was not so sure. The King lied about this, lied about their intelligence, so what else did The King lie about? The Hero grit their teeth and felt their stomach turn over. The King was to march on the Orc Capital, this battle was meant to open a path.\n\nNo, The Hero could not allow that. They would not allow it. The King's deceit and cruelty was unforgivable. The Hero picked up their shield, and began to march with his back to the Orc Capital." ]	3
	[WP] On everyone's 10th birthday, they are assigned a ghost-familiar as a companion, counselor, and aid throughout their life. As time has gone by, you have become increasingly aware that your ghost-companion lied on their resume.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Michael, I really don't think it's a good idea to show Timmy a \"lesson\"\" I told my ghostly compadre making finger quotes in the air. \n\n \"Jesus Jesús why are you being such a wimp eh?\" Michael replied in a dry drawl that only I could hear.\n\n\"Well what if he tells someone, a Mexican kid like me, roughing up a white kid like Timmy, it doesn't look good.\" \n\n\"I swear on my mama's spaghetti this kid is going to stay silent after we're done with him,\" Michael said in a suddenly scary tone. \n\n\"How do you know about making people stay silent, are you sure you were just a plumber Michael?\"\n\n\"Eh, you know, I did what I had to do, laid some pipe, cleaned up a mess once in a while for the family. You know family is the most important thing Jesús, so now go teach that kid a lesson for talking trash to your little sister.\"\n\nI walked over to Timmy, he had spiky hair and an orange t-shirt \"and an innocent look on his face sitting on a bench with his friends\" Michael added hearing my thoughts. \"Now grab him by the ear\" I did \"twist and pull him back\" he fell of the bench as I did what I was told, his friends looked shocked. \n\nMichael didn't have to tell me what to say \"if you say or do anything to my sister again I'll twist your ear right off.\" I looked to Michael hovering by my side as Timmy began to cry, I still had no clue how to make him shut up.\n\n\"Alright, repeat after me\" I had to wonder if the other kids would notice me repeating Michael's lines, but I repeated as he continued \"listen here ya little zip, you're going to listen and you're going to shut up or the family is going to have words with ya, capiche?\" Timmy only cried louder.\n\nWhen I let Timmy go he ran inside while wailing like a baby, not even a minute later he came out with a teacher, he pointed at me and all his friends pointed at me as well. \"Rules on the playground are different than they were back in my day,\" Michael said in his dry humourless tone.", "I was never a lucky person.\n\nWhen my friends would win raffles or radio contests, find a 20$ bill in the parking lot, or walk up to a vending machine and find a snack in the dispenser, it was mildly annoying. One of those things that I would think “Oh wow, that never happens to me. I wish I could have that happen, just once”. \n\nWhen I would show up to my morning lecture and be the only one who forgot to study for an exam, or wake up late in the morning and try to rush to classes only to find my bike tires were flat, I cursed the universe and wondered what cruel trick was being played on me. \n\nEvery time I tried to guess if a girl was into me or not, or if I was gonna get scammed, or if I was gonna make the right decision, I was somehow wrong. I ruined every chance I got. My bad luck, my failures, were consistent. Like clockwork. I grew to expect it over the years.\nIt never occurred to me until I was 21 years old to ask my friends why they were always so lucky, and how they always knew what to say or do in order to always have the best outcome.\n\nWe had been sitting in one of our shitty local college bars; Blake, Genie, Austin, and I, drinking away the stress of the past week. When I’d asked, I was met with laughter, much to my embarrassment. “Well, I always just asked Babaloo.” Blake eventually said, peering at me over the top of his foamy glass. “Awwww, Babaloo is such a cute name!” Squealed Genie, clasping her hands to her cheeks “I love Grousse, but his name isn’t as cute as your ghostie’s!” I stared blankly at my friends as they chatted about these two characters that I’d never heard of before. I listened, growing increasingly annoyed at their clear attempt to mock my misfortune. Yeah, haha, it’s funny, but this was just ridiculous. \n\nEventually, the conversation returned to me. “So, Macy, who’s your familiar?” Austin asked, tilting his head towards me. “I’ve never heard you mention them once.” “Yeah”, Genie added, her brows furrowing behind her glasses, “we always avoided bringing ours up, in case you didn’t want to talk about it. That’s not true, right?” At that point I’d decided I’d had enough, my face felt red and flushed as I stiff up from the table. “Okay, you’ve had your fun with jokes at my expense. I tried to ask a serious question, and you guys make up some weird story about ghost animals giving you advice. Am I seriously supposed to believe that? Bullshit. Fuck you guys, I’m going home.” I watched as my friends exchanged confused and horrified looks, and I felt satisfied at having made them rethink their taunting. “Hey... Macy? Are you... are you being serious?” Blake asked, staring up at me “Macy... EVERYONE has a familiar. They give us advice, help make us lucky. Are you saying that you don’t have one?” \n\nI had returned home that night after listening intently to what my friends had told me. About how everyone had their guide assigned to them at 10 years old. About how they were invisible to everyone except their companion. About how they gave you luck, wisdom, advice, company, insight into the future if you had a good one... I couldn’t believe I hadn’t known about this. But considering my luck, it wasn’t surprising. Apparently since nobody could see each other’s familiar’s, there wasn’t usually much talk about them in public or on the internet. But after searching online, I managed to find a shady website that claimed to be able to “summon” a familiar. It was comforting knowing I wasn’t the only person going through this.\n\nBut even after setting up everything right, with all the glitter and fanfare... nothing. No magical advice-giving ghost animal. “For fuck’s sake, can SOMETHING just go right, for once in my life.” I sobbed, falling to my knees on my bedroom floor. “It’s all your fault you stupid animal!” I shouted, to no one in particular. “I know”, responded a voice to my right. I whipped my head around to see a fat, scruffy, pink and grey unicorn. I couldn’t help it, I screamed. “Woah, woah,” she said, as I scrabbled backwards “woah, WOAH!” I slammed into the wall, cracking my head against the hard brick. “See, I told you. Even with me here, you’re hopeless.” I groaned, reaching backwards to feel the knot that I’m sure would be growing on my skull any second. “That’s rich, considering you never tried to help me anyways” I spat, finally taking a second to regard the specter. It looked solid enough, save for the fact that it’s hind legs were clearly protruding through my bedroom door. I guess they really were ghosts. “Well it’s not like I’d actually be able to help” she said sadly, scraping the wooden floor with a cloven hoof “I’m not even supposed to be here”. I narrowed my eyes at the unicorn, and she avoided my gaze, swinging her blocky head around to clearly display that fact. “What. Is that supposed to mean?” \n\nThe unicorn sighed before laying down on the carpet, finally turning to look over at me. “Spirit guides are supposed to be the best and the brightest. We’re trained to make sure that our companions can lead the best lives possible, so we spend lifetimes preparing to be sent to your world. I wasn’t... ever... very good at waiting.” The unicorn trailed off, waiting for my reaction. I said nothing, waiting for her to resume the story. She sighed, shifting her weight before continuing “I stole a license that said I was ready that belonged to someone else. And... I lied on my guide application. So I... ended up with you. But truthfully, I had no idea how to do my job. So instead of revealing myself to you on your 10th birthday, I just stayed hidden. I’ve felt so bad all these years, but I couldn’t do anything...”. \n\nThe unicorn sniffled, and a few glittery tears dripped down her snout. I sighed, pushing myself to me feet. “Well, looks like we’re stuck with each other now. So might as well get introductions out of the way. My name is Macy, what’s yours?”\n\n“...Glitterpuff.”\n\n“Well Glitterpuff, do you like rosé? Cause we’re gonna have some while we figure out how you’re gonna help me win the lottery”." ]	3
	[WP] You are a retired adventure. Your party has long since disbanded, and most of you have lost contact with each other. You run a bar, and have seen many new adventurers get sent on their way, but this one makes you pause. The quest giver has just described one of your old party members.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 nearly spat out the drink in my mouth. Luckily I managed to hold it together. Could it really be?\n\nThe quest wasn't really sending them to fight Senda was it? Woman with two hand cannons, a high-powered, short range laser cutter, and a black hoverbike?\n\nSenda was the only woman I knew that could handle the recoil from the VT 2680's. While the slugs they threw weren't the most high powered, and it couldn't fire incendiary rounds, it shot with more force than any other weapon on the market. The kick was so intense that most people had to go through specific training on just that weapon.\n\nBut Senda was strong enough to handle both in each hand. Part of it was her cybernetics in her arms, but she was also built like a rail freighter. She was a woman's woman. She had managed to save us several times, especially in Kalsa. That was when I knew she was a crack shot. Two hundred meters away with bright lights in her eyes, a moving target, and sprinting. No one could have hit that shot without advanced targeting AI or computer-assisted stabilizers through cybernetic enhancements. She had neither and hit it. It was a moment that was both glorious and terrifying. If she had actually turned and started down this path...\n\nI shook my head. Senda was too kind for that. Her exterior was extremely intimidating and scary, but inside she was soft as cloudfiber. She loved deeply, I could attest to that. There was no way she had turned.\n\nAll of this hit me in a quick, nostalgia-filled wave that suddenly transported me across our entire journey in an instant. Minds have a funny way of making you remember everything all at once, but experience nothing.\n\nI snapped out of it when the four of them got up to leave. The man they talked to, if I overheard correctly his name was Dax, stayed behind, wanting to finish off the dark purple drink in his mug before him.\n\nMy drink in hand, I walked to his table and sat down quietly.\n\n\"I couldn't help but overhear that errand you were sending those kids on.\" I kept my voice as nonchalant as possible. I had learned how to do this quite well during my time with our group, as I was usually the one tasked with sweet-talking people.\n\nDax finished taking a swig and placed his mug down with a loud thud.\n\n\"What about it? You want the reward or summin'?\" He leaned forward, arms crossed on the table next to his chest.\n\nI shook my head and took a small sip of my drink. \"I'm just curious about the target you gave them. They sound very dangerous.\" I held my breath, hoping that I hadn't pushed too hard. If this Dax guy was too cautious, I'd be in big trouble.\n\n\"Oh yeah, she's dangerous alright,\" he said, chuckling to himself as he leaned back, \"One of the most dangerous targets this side of The Meridian. Calls herself 'The Dawnbringer'. I'm sure you've heard of her.\"\n\nDawnbringer? What a cheesy name. This was looking less and less like Senda. She wasn't one for titles like that.\n\n\"I've heard stories, rumors, but nothing concrete. Just guesses or third and fourth hand accounts.\" I took another swig of my drink at the same time as Dax, who drained his mug. I had heard of The Dawnbringer, though only their feats and accomplishments, nothing about the person. Dax signalled to the bartender to bring him another, then turned back to me and leaned in again.\n\n\"Well, it's said that she's never missed a shot, and that fighting her one on one is suicide. Anyone who has attempted to apprehend her has either never returned or come back needing cybernetic reconstruction and replacement.\"\n\n\"And you send those kids to take her down?\" Dax laughed at this.\n\n\"Those kids came to me looking for a job. I gave them one. It was the only one I had. They chose to go, so they're doing it.\" Dax then hesitated and eyed me suspiciously.\n\n\"You aren't working with her are you? If these kids pull this off, I'll be the richest man on Intar.\"\n\nI shook my head. \"I was just curious. I used to be like them once.\" I was now eager to leave the conversation and figure this all out.\n\n\"Yeah, I can tell,\" said Dax, nodding at the barkeep for bringing his refilled mug, \"but let me tell you, you ain't seen nothing like this before.\"\n\nAs an act of courtesy, and to try and maintain the relationship for the future (old habits die hard), I placed some credits on the table to cover both my drink and his.\n\n\"You'd probably be surprised. Thanks, uh...\" I knew his name, but I needed him to know that I wasn't eavesdropping on everything. I also needed to give him my name. Easiest way is just through asking.\n\n\"Dax.\" He answered after taking another long swig.\n\n\"Pleasure, Dax. I'm Resk. We might be in touch later.\"\n\n\"I'll let you buy me drinks anytime.\" I smiled at his joke as I stood, and then I nodded thanks to the barkeep and exited.\n\nI pulled my holocard and brought up my contacts list. It had been so long since I had talked with them that I wasn't sure their card frequencies were correct anymore. I took my chances anyway and linked to both.\n\nAmazingly, they both answered.\n\n\"Resk? It's been ages! What's up my man?\"\n\n\"This had better be good. I'm kind of in the middle of something important.\"\n\n\"Dune, Wautai, I'm sorry, but this is urgent. We may have a problem that only we can deal with.\"\n\n\"I'm listening, but make it quick.\" Wautai sounded impatient, but it was clear he was being respectful of the fact that I hadn't contacted them in a long time.\n\n\"I think Senda is causing trouble. I just overheard a conversation where a group was tasked with hunting her down.\"\n\n\"What do you mean?\" Dune was the most intelligent of the group, so it surprised me that he was the one asking the question.\n\n\"You guys ever hear of The Dawnbringer?\"\n\nSilence from both links indicated to me that they had.\n\n\"You think that's Senda?\"\n\n\"I have it on good authority that it is. Accurate description, right down to her hand cannons.\"\n\nWautai swore under his breath, and Dune let out a whistle.\n\n\"So what you're saying is,\" Dune said slowly, \"that it's time to bring the group back together.\" It wasn't a question, it was a statement.\n\n\"Yeah,\" I said, heading off to the south towards the old rail station, \"that's right.\"\n\n\"We'll meet you there in 15 minutes.\"\n\n\"You'll need to give me 20.\"\n\n\"Take your time, Wautai. I think I'm probably 15 minutes out anyway, and I'll need to make a stop on the way. I'll see you guys there.\"\n\nThe links terminated and I put away my holocard. I pulled my hood over my head to help keep my face hidden, and then strode off towards the station. Whoever you are, Dawnbringer, I'm going to bring this to an end.", "I bought Longswords Rest back in my forties from this 4th born lord’s son who wanted to turn it into the spot to be. Cheap land though, the town was suffering at the time and having this obnoxious full timber bar selling venison and elk for top dollar didn’t go along well with the locals. Wood was pristine. I bought it out for asking price with my stock pile, a lot more than it was worth but it’s best not to piss off the court, and started selling rations and stew with the locals stock.\n\nThe first year was harder than expected. A couple from the city tried to burn the place down after they saw I was ‘stealing’ the lordlings enterprise. Their words. They got a good flogging for that in the square. Second attempt got to understand how sharp Vipers tip actually was. I hated myself for that for months afterwards. Never wanted to use Ben’s sword but it was all I had. \n\nGood man, Ben was. Died at the Battle of Meadows Gate, some ten years before that. I think it’s getting onto sixteen now. He was buried there but he told us not to bury him with Viper. All agreed afterwards that I would take it with me. He had this belief that in the afterlife there was no use for swords and that a man's honour is what he used for his weapon, armour, and shield. I hope he’s doing well wherever he went to. Probably be happy that I used Viper for protection.\n\nBastard always makes it rain on me when I think of it.\n\nYears pass though, a couple at least went by where the town came for dinner in my house. I hired a baker for the morning and a cook for the evening. Still served stew and rations but they added potatoes and bread to the mix. Never had much of a talent for spices myself so I trust them to do what they do. My gift was my stout. A deep brown and thick beer that was tended slowly and could sustain you indefinitely. Made a pale ale too but that wasn’t worth commenting on. \n\n“Allistor!” I heard from somewhere, “Another round!” \n\n“Water first!” I yelled back at the three sitting round the table closer to the fire. Drunks were already at three without food, “Food would bring another round faster as well.”\n\n“Ahhh!” one argued, “you just want your pay.”\n\n“If you’d prefer nothing,” I said and locked eyes with him, “pay your tab and be on your merry. Otherwise, water without the arguing.”\n\n“Yes sir,” he muttered into his glass. No fights break out in my bar. No exceptions. Means though I have to manage them a little rougher than the city would. \n\nLongswords Rest, after the first year, has made a name for being a safe haven for the new adventures. Cook makes to-go-bags for treks and Phil, my baker, makes this really nice hard loaf. Stuff lasts for weeks somehow. It’s good. We have places to rest, to sit and eat, and have people that make sure everything is fair. Only ever had to use Cooks cast iron once to settle something. He did, at least; he looked happy about it.\n\nAdventures then brought people in who were looking to hire them. Even have some of the Lord's men come by and put up notices for work. Brings in jobs for the town. Only town for miles with two blacksmiths. One for farming, tools, and trades and the other for armour and weapons. Both built like bulls. Both act like one.\n\n“Mary,” I asked, she was my best. She was older than me, strong, and wittier than I had ever met. Knew everyone, hated most of them, but could charm a Lord into letting her have his seat at court. “What’s your thoughts tonight?”\n\n“Those three,” she said and looked over at the idiots I put in place, “are still fish.” \n\n“Those three won’t ever not be,” I snorted.\n\n“Other than them and our regulars,” she smiled and looked around, “We have two Dwarves down from the mountains over there, making their way back to the capital, offered them a place in our safe as per standard.”\n\n“Did they want it?” I asked.\n\n“Maybe?” she shrugged, “Dwarves, they’ll only talk to you about it. Those three are from the Church, keep them quiet and happy and they won’t be a bother. That one’s looking for a ride so I don’t go near him. The women over there are actually elves, again keeping quiet but wanting a ‘humans’ experience. I watered their beer down.”\n\n“Did they ask you too?” I almost chided.\n\n“They said it was ‘very strong’ even at a quarter strength,” Mary laughed, “They’ll wonder off after a while. Told ‘em their ales on me.”\n\n“No, I’ll take it off spillage,” I told her firmly, “How much have they had together?”\n\n“You're the boss, boss,” she said with a knowing smile, “Between the four of them they have had three rounds. So like a pint and a half of the pale ale.”\n\n“Never know with Elves,” I said, trying my best to hold back a chuckle, “Do they know the Dwarves are here or vise versa?”\n\n“No,” Mary snorted and waved a hand at it, “Don’t think they want to. Next up are those five. They are starting out with Matthews' needs out in the river valley. Should be simple for five.”\n\n“Oh?” I said, “Something wrong with the loggers again?”\n\n“As Matthew puts it,” Mary started, “A beast of a man is making trouble down by the river. Scarred more than anyone they had seen and they say he can transform into a bear. Pretty sure that’s just a bear. Right boss?”\n\n“Locals,” I muttered but thought for a second. Not many shifters in the area since the purge and the only other ones were the followers of the old gods. Haven’t seen one in a long time. “Anything specific?”\n\n“Other than becoming a bear boss?” Mary chuckled, “Long scar down ‘is face and neck, apparently. Probably got into a fight with a noble.”\n\n“Hopefully,” I muttered and walked out from behind the bar. That’s too fecking close to Sein’s description for comfort.\n\n“Boss?” \n\n“What’s this man look like?” I said, stern and low, to the table, “Specifics.”\n\n“Uhh, hi Allistor,” Matthew, a rather small man, muttered but continued quickly when I bent down to look him in the eyes, “Right umm. Long brown hair, built like a bear, said to be able to transform into one, has a lot of scars, one down ‘is face is deep, has a brand on his side like a double ended tree, doesn’t carry a weapon-”\n\n“Feck,” I said, punching the table. The entire room went quiet enough to hear a heartbeat. After a moment in thought I apologised and said, “alls good; start the music again.”\n\n“Boss?” Mary said, concerned after the lone lutist in the corner hesitantly started up, “What’s up?” \n\n“That’s Sein,” I muttered quietly, “Sounds like Sein”\n\n“Sein?” she asked, “the Sein? Seinham Sein?”\n\n“That scar is from a fight with a dragon over Mount Ilse,” I explained, “it’s deep, it didn’t heal well even for a follower of the old paths.”\n\n“Wait? No,” one of the adventures said quickly, “You said he was a vagabond making trouble.” \n\n“Thought he was,” Matthew muttered, “if it’s actually a shift-”\n\n“He isn’t,” I cut him off, “Sein’s a good man and an extremely moral person.”\n\n“Boss?” Mary asked, “Been sixteen years since you last saw any of ‘em. People change.”\n\n“Not Sein,” I said, trying to build myself to do something I really didn’t want to, “Not ever.”\n\n“We aren’t going after a Follower,” one of the other adventures said quietly. \n\n“No, you're coming with me to bring him back,” I said resolutely, “Matthew will pay you as per the contract.”\n\n“Boss?” Mary asked in surprise.\n\n“You got front till I’m back,” I told her, “Phil and Cook can handle the kitchen.”\n\n“Old man’s going to go after a Follower who's a bear?” the first adventures asked, “No thanks.”\n\n“Ad astra per aspera,” I chanted, holding my hand toward Viper, “veni ad me.”\n\nViper, in an instant, broke off the leather tying it to the wall and flew to my hand. Grabbing it, I broke off the movement spell, and held it in front of me. Still clean; still sharp. Those wards were worth learning. Got to love the Dwarves and their priorities.\n\n“Up to you,” I said with a knowing smile. \n\n\\---\n\nThank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and critiques are always welcome. I am still new to this and I'm trying to improve. If you liked this, I have more stories at r/asolitarycandle" ]	3
	[WP] You braved the woods, outwitted the witch and slayed the dragon as a true knight should. It all went downhill after you kissed the princess.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 hindsight, you should've been suspicious from the start.\n\nIt had all been a little too good to be true. The witch was first. It had been a long trek to the Crone's tiny woodland cottage, but not a perilous one - unless you considered hay fever an act of biological warfare. Beheading bluebells had gotten old after a while, and even the daftest knight would hardly mistake the chirping of bees and low hum of the rushing river to be mortal enemies.\n\nStill, you'd made it. The Crone's cottage was an old and twisted thing, a blend of thick tree roots from the wood and dense patches of plants both poisonous and pleasant to the tongue. Flowers blossomed here and there with buds soaking in the sunlight streaming through the trees. Beside the door held a small bell, rusted but with a pleasing chime. You rang it with a sense of unease, half-expecting some familiar to come rushing, fangs bared, through the trees.\n\n\"Wait a minute!\" came a gruff reply. \"Daisy, get off me-- no, don't jump there, those herbs have been drying all day!\" Cluttering, curses and the occasional yelp. Not unlike visiting your dear grandmother, back in the royal city.\n\nAs you fiddled with the clasp of your gloves, the door was suddenly pushed open. Creaking indignantly, it revealed the stooped, broad figure of an old woman clutching a walking stick that looked like it could've been torn straight from any woodland branch. Her dust-coloured smock seemed strangely alive until a moment later, when a grubby-looking cat began to.peet inquisitively from the biggest pocket.\n\n\"Well? Another knight, are you?\" The witch neither seemed fazed nor excited by your appearance. It was as though knights in their proudest battle armour appeared daily on her doorstep, soaked in their own sweat and pride. \"You'll be another for the castle, I'm sure. Well, let me fetch you the potion.\"\n\n\"W-What??\" The Crone was busying herselves with some honey-coloured vials as you spluttered in the door way. Her cat had jumped down to weave adoringly through her legs. She gave it a tender smile, before turning around to face you again. Her wizened fingers held a bottle about as long as your hand. Thick golden liquid simmered appealingly inside.\n\n\"Here you go. It's a long trek to the castle. You'd be better off trading that armour for something lighter. It gets terribly hot during the day, here.\" Her smile reached her warm, brown eyes.\n\n\"B...But you're just giving it to me? The princess's cure--\"\n\n\"Child, I cursed a lot of people in my prime, and few have given me any bother. That princess you're after is as sweet as anything, and I'm too old to come up with some fancy riddles to waste your time.\"\n\nThe bottle seemed quite hot in your hand. \"This isn't some kind of trick?\"\n\n\"Didn't I just tell you I've no want for tricks?\" The Crone rolled her eyes, though their warmth remained. Behind her, the cat had crept back inside the cottage and began chewing on something thin and leafy. \"And now Daisy's muddling up my potions. You'd better get going. If you move quickly, you might be there by sunrise.\" Daisy chirruped in agreement before resuming her feast. Your head was spinning. Three day's solitary marching through the woods, in full armour beneath a blazing sun, and not a speck of blood had dotted your blade? It was just... disappointing, somehow.\n\n\"Look, you can stand there gawping or rescue your princess. I've things to do, you know. And I'm not entirely sworn off curses, you know.\" With a meaningful look, the Crone swung her door closed, leaving you blinking like an idiot in the afternoon sun. The same cluttering and yelping soon resumed inside.\n\n· · ·\n\nWell, the Crone hadn't been wrong. One sleepless trek later, and the stars had led you to the same marble palace you'd been seeing in paintings since your own youth. Gleaming beneath a thick canopy of leaves, the white castle stood proud and mighty with its bubbling moat, twisting vines and turrets strung high against its marble walls. You shivered beneath your clunky armour. One of those turrets, you knew, held the ageless sleeping princess of every fairytale you'd ever read.\n\nBut it seemed as though entry wouldn't be so easy. As soon as you stepped out from the thick of the woods, an alarming figure began to circle overhead. Mossy-coloured scales, black eyes, arching teeth and a tail of spikes... this could only be the Dragon, the princess's heartless keeper!\n\nFinally, a worthy opponent. Beneath your helmet, you fixed a look of determination on your face and raised your sword high. A few small blue petals still clung to it here and there, but no matter. The dragon paused and its eyes seemed to stare deep into your soul. You took a deep breath. All of your training had led you to this moment. Every sleepless night, brutal winter march, boiling summer joust - all (mostly) without complaint, just for this one battle against the mightiest of all beasts. Your image would be etched in history books and children's minds alike. You'd become a God-like figure, a myth of your country's strength and resilience. Your parents would shed tears of pride. With your sword held high, you yelled with all the might of a seasoned warrior and charged forward to find…\n\n…the head of the dragon, rolling lazily into the moat with a loud splash.\n\nHuh? Now you were a good knight, no doubt about that. But you weren't \"slay-a-dragon-with-one-hit\" good. Even the best of the kingdom couldn't manage that! You stared down at the dragon's body as dark, thick blood seeped into the moat. Well, maybe you were having a lucky day. There's a first time for everything, you supposed.\n\nHeaving your sword from the lifeless body, you began the task of hacking down the dense vines enshrining the castle door with much more force than it deserved.\n\n· · ·" ]	2
	[WP] You are a vampire operative who has painstakingly infiltrated the Space Force. Your mission? Blot out the sun 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I kick open the door with my vampiric strength, startling the secretary.\n\n\"Who the fuck-!\"\n\n\"Space Commander Doug Bradley, at your service. Martini on the double, Cassandra.\" I clap my hands twice. \"Chop chop.\"\n\n\"My name's not-\"\n\n\"Here's my ID, babe.\" I chuck my debit card at her, and it bounces off her face. Pulling down my sunglasses, I give her a wink and a smile, my fangs glinting photogenically in the sunlight seeping through the blinds. \"I'll need that back later though. Maybe in the place across the street? They make great bagels.\" I take a bite of my bagel, which I bought there a few minutes ago. My next few words are less intelligible, but roughly resemble the phrase 'I should know'.\n\n\"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to wait patiently with your hands behind your back-\"\n\nBut I can't hear her anymore, as I'm already walking further into the building. I take off my wide-brimmed hat temporarily to grab the knife I kept under it, cutting down a map of the complex that hung on the wall. Sure, I could've gotten one before my assault on the place, but planning is for people with less RAW VAMPIRIC STRENGTH than myself.\n\nI also spat out the bits of the bagel I was eating as I finished chewing and tasting them, because while the garlic was incredibly delicious, it would also kill me if I swallowed it.\n\nA group of guards with somewhat large firearms turned the corner and levelled their equipment at me.\n\n\"Afternoon.\"\n\n\"Put your hands up right now! You are under arrest for-\"\n\n\"I work here.\"\n\n\"No you goddamn don't! Now put your goddamn hands in the goddamn air or-\"\n\nI started walking towards them, slowly, in the hope that they would be too intimidated by my menacing movements to act. They shot me anyway, but it was worth seeing the looks on their faces as the bullets washed off me like blood. But not my blood, since the bullets didn't actually pierce my skin. See, this is the real problem with not being able to cross running water - the lack of ability to take showers or cross underwater pipes really takes away from the ability to make certain metaphors. I love central plumbing as much as the next guy, but when the planning of it isn't secretly manipulated by generations-old vampiric bloodlines, it becomes a real hassle.\n\nOh, right. These guys.\n\n\"Oof.\" I say. \"Oof.\" I say again, a little louder, because I got a piece of bagel stuck in my throat when I said it the first time. \"Man, I can't even imagine being in your guys' position. Like, you're using these obviously lethal weapons against just some guy who's wandered in, and the bullets bounce off? That's a massive oof moment right there.\"\n\n\"Who... Who are you?\" The guy in charge muttered, backing away slowly.\n\n\"Your wife's boyfriend, Doug Bradley, at your service. Moving on!\"\n\nI walk past them as they run in the opposite direction. Hmm, map says that the spaceships are this-a-way, past the science labs. I'll grab one of the guys working there and ask him the best way to put out the sun once I get to the launch pad.\n\nAn alarm starts blaring. Bloody typical.\n\nI kick open the door to the labs. \"FBI, open up!\" A pause, as the scientists wonder how I broke down a reinforced, locked, steel door. \"Fuck, I messed that up, didn't I? I was suppose to say FBI, open up, and then kick down the door. Ah well, we all make mistakes.\"\n\n\"Back away, demon!\" One of the eggheads proclaims, holding a cross.\n\n\"Nah.\" I walk up and grab him in a bridal carry. \"Cool trinket though, can I take a look?\" I take it from him before he can say anything and snap it in two. Like garlic, eating holy symbols and silver can really mess up a vampire's day, but luckily no-one had quite picked up on the culinary aspect of that weakness yet. \"Anyway, let's walk and talk. Easiest way to blot out the sun, preferably forever.\"\n\nGuy was still a little shocked, so I waved a hand in front of his face. \"Wh-what?\"\n\n\"Easiest way to blot out the sun. It's not rocket science- Well, it probably is, come to think of it, but you are a rocket science, so you should know the answer.\"\n\n\"I'm- I'm a xenobiologist.\"\n\n\"No clue what that is but I can respect that. Anyway, can you answer the question? We're almost at the rockets and I need a plan before I go to the sun to blot it out.\"\n\n\"You, uh-\" The fella actually started thinking about it, to his credit. \"... You have to go alone.\"\n\n\"Nice.\"\n\n\"... And bring enough water.\"\n\n\"Sick.\" I grabbed the water cooler as we passed by it and held it under one arm.\n\n\"... And then, uh, put the water on the sun.\"\n\n\"Great. That it?\"\n\n\"Yup. Yes. That's it. All of it.\"\n\nI kicked down the metal garage door that led outside onto the rocket pad.\n\n\"Thanks for the help dude. I'm just gonna get on the rocket there and you launch me off, alright?\"\n\n\"O-of course. Whatever you want.\"\n\nI drop him, take a running jump alllll the way up to the top of the elevator, and break down the door of the rocket to get in. There are some astronauts inside that look a little confused.\n\n\"What-\" \"Who-\" \"Hey guys, have you seen-\"\n\n\"Agent Doug-le oh seven, MI69. I need to put out the sun, and for that I need you out of my rocket.\"\n\n\"... Command, we've got a, uh, guy on the ship. Claims we need to get out for him.\"\n\nThere was a little crackling as the comms were allowed to play from the other side. For a few moments no-one spoke.\n\n\"AHHHHHHH!\"\n\nThat was Command. Poor guys must have seen a spider or something.\n\n\"... Tell you what. We'll let you get in this here shuttle, and we'll head on out. It might be a little while before you get to take off, okay sport?\" One of the 'nauts proposes, hesitantly.\n\n\"Sounds good.\"\n\n\"Grrreeeeaaat.\"\n\nNo-one moves.\n\n\"You're, uh, blocking the-\"\n\n\"Oh!\" I shift the water cooler to my other arm and squish against the side. \"Ha, sorry about that. Didn't cross my mind as I was, you know-\"\n\n\"No, no, it's fine!\" One of the other astronauts says, a strained smile on her face. \"Completely fine, we'll just be getting, going-\"\n\n\"Going out, yeah, I get it.\" I say nodding. Whew, that could've been awkward. \"Thanks for the help here, guys.\"\n\n\"No- no problem.\" \"Nothing really.\" \"Ha, haha, yeah...\"\n\nThey exited the rocket past me, and I closed the door behind them. Unfortunately, it had bent in a funny angle when I'd originally kicked it open, so I had to grab a little bit of exposed metal to bar it closed. I tapped the radio until it made a affirmatory sound.\n\n\"Hey guys! It's ya boi here, Doug Bradley, ready for take off in t-minus whatever. Just pop me a message whenever you're ready to launch this baby into the sky, and the sun will be out in no time. Doug Bradley, signing over and out.\"\n\nI leaned back, hat and sunglasses covering my face, waiting for the launch to begin. It was nice, achieving something like this. Something that would help vampire-kind for generations to come. For too long did we have little-to-no influence in the mortal realm on a large scale! And it was all due to that damned weakness to sunlight! Not our predisposition to suicidally risky actions, not our lack of ability to plan effectively, and not - though on occasion it may appear that way - our weakness to garlic! It was all sunlight!\n\nAnd all I had to do was ask the humans to help. It's a wonder no-one's ever tried this before.\n\nI smile. Truly, nothing could possibly go wrong." ]	2
	[WP] Tired of the desperate state of the world, the Reptilians come out of hiding in their underground bases and try to improve things.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 don't know where I was going with this; I guess it became more of an \"exercise\" than anything else. But I had a lot of fun writing it. It needs to go through the chopping board once or twice, but thank you for the prompt! I end it abruptly, because I was spending too much time on it (for one day). Hahaha.\n\nI hope you enjoy it.\n\nAct 1.\n\nFirst, our satellites fell. They tore through the stratosphere like streaks of red blaze and black brimstone. Then their ships came, descending like spinning-tops 6-miles wide and 8-miles long. They took control of our skies in less than twelve hours. There was nothing we could’ve done—no strategy for attack; no time for coordination. No hope for success.\n\nYet, it felt tragically inhuman to succumb to the death of the soul. Commander Stonewall said it was in our DNA—A selfishness in our great genetic make-up that refused to surrender against all odds. A distinct desire to stand up against these alien overlords and give them one hell of a fight.\n\nWe met at San Luis Valley, in Colorado, and were outfitted by U.S. Northern Command. They told us to prepare for the greatest fight for our lives.\n\nMake ‘em work for every inch. Show them we will not fade quietly into the night.\n\nAct 2.\n\n“Give ‘em all you got!”\n\nTracers lit the night sky like jetting star fire. Their ground units thread through the valley as they marched toward our main-line. Their armor was significantly superior to our five-five-six steel tips—but our goal was simply to distract them. Laser tech was the real deal, America’s last surprise. It was Project Starlight that provided us with an arsenal of next-gen kinetic weapons.\n\nLaser light shattered the earth like hellfire erupting from the planet’s core. And the sound of air pressure pushed against us.\n\n“We got those sons-ov-bitches on the turn!”\n\nA light show of death and destruction gave way to a chilling rouse of hope. For a brief moment, the tides of war seemed to have turned. I myself felt the stimulation of morale flowing through my blood and into my gun like the vitality of life. I wouldn’t give an inch—on the contrary—I’m gunna take one back.\n\n“FORWARD!”\n\nThe line shifted, and pressed ahead likes shields and spears in phalanx. It was one small step that felt like one giant leap as we moved in direction towards a new objective, not of death but of victory. The line cheered. But then reality returned. Their ship’s main cannon collected light and three peaks began to glow and amass a giant orb.\n\n“It’s the ship’s main gun! They’re gunna fire! Take cover!”\n\nIt released like an astral beam and crashed against the line. It was unforgiving and rang like the horn of biblical demise. Only a massive crater of brown earth was left in the hollow.\n\n“Holy fuck!”\n\nCommunication devices were filled with the din of voice strained by fear and anger. Yet the fear was expected. As was the death, but so many took to the thin string of life in a undefining moment of chance; A string that was indisputably vaporized in one fell swoop by such an epic weapon. But to see matter disappear, in the mere blink of an eye, eroded all hope from the heart.\n\n“Hold the line!” They shouted. But we had fallen to life’s inevitable futility.\n\nAct 3.\n\nThen they arrived. Or better yet, I should say—then they emerged from the black depths of Earth. They did not think twice. They sprang on the invaders like horrors on dreams. And claws like razors ran through armors like paper.\n\nI’ve never seen a sight.\n\nThey were the legends of obscurity and conspiracy rising as plainly as the undead. Reptiles like velociraptors with scale skin as thick as mythical dragon hide. And their bone jaws crushed down like stone vise on the alien-plated armor. Eruptions of fire and fear reflected in their eyes as they’re being gnawed apart like rag dolls.\n\nThe Reptile men crawled like swarm as they stormed though their line. Then the others emerged. Lizard man on Lion mount and Reptilians on drakes and flying wyvern. The Aliens have no time to comprehend. Distraught by the visions before them—a secret race hidden beneath the earth’s surface have enlisted to fight for Earth’s life. Because survival was on the line; Not one for no man alone to bear, but one for all to proclaim death if not won.\n\nSo they must win.\n\nWe heralded with hoo-raah. And joined the fight. In the fray we fought against the alien race allied to our new Reptiled friends. Side-by-side we met with laser beams and bullets and bites.\n\nWe fought until the sun rose. And the alien retreated back. They rose in to the sky and vanished, yet for how long no one knew for certain.\n\nMan stood with Reptilian. And we had found brotherhood through virtue of life." ]	2
	[WP] Your loved one starts aging what would take a year each minute, she’s only 30, you have an hour.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 have always known the curse would come true. She was warned by her mother very early-on. However, part of me has always wished that it is a lie--a horrible story passed onto a child to warn them to behave. On her 30th birthday, I feel more dread than anticipation.\n\nThe moment the hour hand reaches 12 and the clock chimes, I reach out to take her hand in mine.\n\n\"I moved the cutlery container. It's now on the shelf above because you're taller. I think it would be more comfortable for you.\"\n\n\"Ok,\" I whisper. I don't know why she wants to talk about forks and spoons at a time like this. The minute hand is ticking closer to the number '12' again.\n\n\"I put all the things I want you to throw in the two labelled boxes in the attic. There is a separate smaller box for all the items you can keep if you want to remember me by something.\"\n\n\"O-ok.\" My voice cracks this time. I have prepared myself for the past 8 years but I do not know how she can say all of this so matter-of-factly.\n\nWhen the minute hand reaches '12', she cracks a dry smile and says, \"Happy 31st!\" Despite myself, I let out a loud guffaw. There were no visible changes in her appearance and I desperately wished that it had all been an elaborate hoax.\n\n\"I would miss your jokes. Do you remember how we first met? At that dingy-bar with an open-mic for stand-up comedy. And you insisted on sitting down to deliver your whole speech.\"\n\n\"I was hilarious.\"\n\n\"I was the only one who laughed.\" She scowls but she can say nothing because she knows it is true. This time, I am the one who says it first. \"Happy 32nd!\"\n\nAnd for the rest of the hour, we talk. When she is 32, we talk about the time I asked her to be my girlfriend while were dead-drunk at the very same bar we first met. I forgot about the request but she remembered and she never let me forget since.\n\nWhen she is 38, we laugh about the time I met her mother for the first time. She stared into my soul and told me about the curse. At that time, I thought it had been a ruse to scare all prospective suitors away. But my wife pulled me aside to tell me the full truth.\n\nWhen she is 43, I notice the wrinkles on her face and am now forced to confront the reality that I tried to deny. I grab her hand tighter and look at her carefully, trying to memorise every detail of her face.\n\nWhen she is 48, I complain about the time she took part in a protest, got arrested and bailed out--all without my knowledge. I found out later when her mother gave me a call and asked me if the bail had been successful.\n\nWhen she is 55, she brings up the time I danced with her at 3AM on an empty road to an imaginary music only the two of us could hear.\n\nWhen she is 63, I pull her up to reenact that scene. I hum the lyrics of her favourite song and allow her to choose our dance moves. She selects \"tango\" but our limited knowledge of dance genres means we ultimately just sway from side to side, holding each other tightly.\n\nWhen she is 72, she is too tired to continue so we sit at the front steps of my house. She places her head on my shoulders and talk about the lives we have led.\n\nWhen she is 80, she finally puts down the strong facade and sheds tears. She tells me she is thankful and sorry.\n\nWhen she is 83, she has calmed down and tells me she has lived out her best life. She insists on having daisies at her funeral because those were the first flowers I gave her on Valentines' Day.\n\nWhen she is 87, I ask her what sort of music she would like at her funeral and she hoarsely whispers the song title in my ear.\n\nWhen she is 89, I tell her I love her. I love her so much that I could die in her place. I love her so, so much.\n\nWhen she is 90, she takes her last breath." ]	2
	[WP] Your spirit stays in the place where you die, and you watch as it changes over time.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 always believed that life exists after death. It seems that I got that thing right. But what I didn't know was your spirit doesn't roam aimlessly to where it wishes to be, but rather it stays where your earthly form has perished. To be frank, during the first days of my afterlife I find that a bit of a bummer. Travelling around without bounds like a floating, feet-less man was something I have always imagined how wandering souls spend their time (unless you are one to make mischief to the ones who are living; often frightening them out of their wits or scaring them shitless). For someone who wanted to see a glimpse of what the world can offer but rarely have the resources for it, be it time or money, the afterlife was my only chance to explore. But nowadays, I have come to enjoy my eternal stay on the town where I was laid to rest.\n\nTime is a very strange thing. I can no longer tell if it has passed rapidly or slowly. Everything seems to be fleeting. But I guess spirits have a much more loose sense of time than humans do. As a nonmaterial being bound to one place for all eternity, change is often not an obligation. I merely exist to observe. I realized that humans, however, exist to change. They are always moving about - going through their notions, cycles, or whatever goal or life purpose they set their minds into. Being on the other side, it is rather pointless to go through all that trouble to stay sane from the fact that death is our inevitable end. Despite all that nonsense, whatever their motives they make for themselves, I guess it makes life worth living. I completely understand this. Like them, I was a human after all. And now that I'm a spirit, I believe that my purpose right now is to stay and to observe this place. I find it ironic to even consider that a life purpose now that I am dead but I guess it gives some flavor to the life that I have currently. But unlike humans, I am not allowed to change.\n\nPeople always undergo change and as time goes by, even their creations change alongside with them. As I observed, humans do not often stay contented. I believe that the discontentment that they feel outside of themselves sometimes reflect the discontentment that happens within them. It takes a lot of courage to battle the demons inside your heart. It is easier to change what can be grasped than what can never be fully realized by the limits of human understanding. Humans go through life going through their follies and idiosyncrasies oftentimes not aware that their actions bear harmful consequences towards others, the world, and themselves. Only a grave mistake will urge them to change holistically but until then, humans will only try to change the superficial, external aspects and extensions of the self.\n\nThrough the years, I have came to realize that this town is an evolving amalgamation of the souls that have existed or continue to exist. As people shapeshifted to new fashions and personas, so did this town. It is like an entity of its own. Everything that was familiar to me has almost dissolved and transformed into this unrecognizable body that I will continue to observe for as long as time allows me to. It is quite fascinating to witness its evolution. I guess seeing it grow throughout time is almost just like travelling. I may be stationary but this town will never be. Even if the growing unfamiliarity of this place can often confuse me, I find comfort over the fact that it is in constant change.\n\nAs cliché as it may sound, the only thing in life that is certain is its uncertainty. To believe that things will stay the way you expect them to be is almost always a folly that humans tend to fall for. But I can't blame them. People are beings of routine. And as contrary as it may sound, change is often a part of that routine. However, there are some things that are enduring like human concepts like existential dread or love. Despite the different iterations of this place and its people, some things are made to last. It is only up to them to make those last.\n\nTo live is to evolve but one day this town will start to decay and be left empty like how the soul leaves their human flesh. Until then, I will take joy in witnessing this settlement grow and blossom to whatever its occupants want it to be." ]	2
	[WP] you are out with a friend when suddenly you blink and everything around you looks ruined and everyone looks like statues. A frail old man looks at you and weeps while he says “After 84 years, I finally was able to wake someone up”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Dystopian Woke\n\nI try to suppress my irritation as I look at the old man in front of me. Great, another hallucination, just what I needed right now on my one day off this month. A few weeks ago I started having flickers of something I didn’t understand, strange glimpses of a world, destroyed, like one of the many YA dystopian novels I secretly coveted. I originally thought I’d just been spending too much time sucked into my books, but the images kept getting stronger and more detailed. I started losing time too, which, if it’s never happened to you, is a terrifying experience. But after a while it just became irritating. And now my hallucinations could talk. Great. \n\n“I really don’t have time for this right now. And since when can you talk?”\n\nThe-old-man-hallucination looked taken aback. “Ex … excuse me?”\n\n“Dude, I really don’t have time for this, this is my only day off and I finally get to go out for brunch so I’m just going to ignore you until this all fades and I’m back to reality.” I cross my arms, pop my hip out, and inspect the manicure I haven’t had time to refresh.\n\n“Young lady, I don’t think …”\n\n“That’s right, old man, you’re a hallucination, you don’t think, so pipe down and let me go back to reality already. I have a calorie overload to get to and then a trip to the gym to work it off.”\n\nI glanced over at him, hoping he would vanish, but instead he, it, looked stunned. Wow, these hallucinations are getting wicked vivid. \n\nHe closes his mouth and clears his throat. “I’m afraid there seems to be some kind of misunderstanding. You see, I’ve been working, for the past 84 years, to try to wake someone else up from the stasis chambers we were forced into by …”\n\n“Omg, my therapist is going to have a field day with this. Not only am I still here, but I’m apparently experiencing some kind of major malfunction if these hallucinations are getting this in-depth. Maybe I’ve been working too much and my subconscious is trying to show me a visual representation of how destroyed my inner peace is. Maybe I should take next week off and go to a spa or something to recharge.”\n\nThe hallucination has the audacity to huff and stamp his foot. “Young lady, would you PLEASE focus and understand that this is NOT some dream, hallucination, fugue state, acid trip, or whatever other nonsense you’ll come up with to explain your current situation. If you would be quiet for a moment I would gladly explain everything. Now, please, sit down and listen.”", "He hugged me and squeezed my body tighter than when my dad would put me in \"the grip\" as a child; some kind of “game” created by the devouring pattern in which it would hold me in it arms to restrict my movement and joyfully watch me struggle and fail in my fight to escape.\n\nMy embodied memory of trauma was this old man’s release. He began to sob as he held me in his arms. \n\n\"I'm sorry. I'm just so glad you're here.\" He sniffed, pulled back and pulled a pocket square from his sun-stained suit which looked as if it was slowly melting from his body. He blew his thick, cherry nose and sounded off with a productive expression. When he finished, he didn't look at his rag but broke with common habit to maintain eye contact with me.\n\nI was unstartled by this quick change in environment. I had gone cold and numb long ago and felt unmoved by his sincere emotional tenor. \n\n“That will wear off in time” He said. His eyes showing some blend of emotion, spark, and perhaps, concern? I don’t know.\n\nI was mildly curious as to how he seemed to know what I was thinking but didn’t bother to ask. I just stood there.\n\n“Come, lets go have a cup of tea. I tripped and spilled some on you when admiring your beauty and that's exactly when you woke up!\n\nLet's go have more and share in conversation!\"", "Ah come on not this fucking bullshit again I thought to myself\n\n\nSeems like every other decade some fucking idiot wakes me up\n\n\n\"After 84 years, I finally was able to wake someone up” said an old frail man\n\n\n\"Hey pal, do you know how to read\"?\n\n\nThe old man looked at me with a puzzled expression \"well yes but i dont see how this is at all relevant\"\n\n\nI pointed to the sign outside of my door \" Read this\"\n\n\n\"Cryogenic sleep\" said the man slowly \" yeah whats that mean anyway?\"\n\n\nIt means that I put myself here on purpose we all did. Thats why there is a sign called cryogenic sleep\n\n\n\"I just assumed it was a sex thing that you gen z kids are into\" said the man quietly \n\n\n\"A sex thing?? Grt the fuck out\"", "(This is my first attempt at writing a poem, please go easy on me)\n\nShe was having a drink with a friend at the bar \n\nThe room hustled and bustled as the night filled with stars \n\nShe tossed back her head as her mouth filled with drink \n\nTo savor the moment she took a long blink. \n\nBut then she awaken, drink dry in her cup \n\n\"It's been 84 years since I woke someone up\" \n\nShe blinked once again hoping it was a dream \n\nBut there stand a man, tears falling astream \n\nThe once lively crowd stand still as a stone \n\nOnce surrounded by people, she's now all alone \n\nThe elder stay weeping as he drops to the floor \n\n\"Together, now we can win the time war\".", " \n\n Mark came back from the bar with our drinks – two ciders, the usual. We met every Friday for dinner to catch up on the week we’d had. Mark had recently started a new job and hearing him discuss it with such enthusiasm and drive made me rethink my current situation. I’d been working in the same place for almost 10 years and each day felt the same, no major accomplishments, barely any growth. I was stagnating. Both in my career and my personal life. \n\n \n \n\n“-and there’s this girl, Lara. God, she knows exactly what she’d doing in those pencil skirts,” Mark took a swig of his cider, “I’m definitely going to ask her out soon”\n\n \n \n\n“Good luck man,” it’s like he was twisting a knife in my chest without realising. My tone of voice definitely showed it, Mark looked worried. \n\n \n \n\n“Is everything okay? Sorry if I’m going on about work too much,” he stared at the table. \n\n \n \n\n“It’s fine, I just-” I rubbed my eyes with the palms of my hands as I tried to come up with a reason for the ball of dread weighing my stomach down. I felt that I was thinking too hard when the sound of the bar seemed to fade. Quickly I tried to regain my composure and blurt some stupid excuse as I looked back up at Mark. \n\n \n \n\nBut I did not meet his blue eyes. His eyes were solid stone. I had never seen an expression of such fear as was etched into the stone of his face. Hands clasping around what once would have been a cider bottle, he was frozen in motion. Glass shards were spread over the bar, every table and the floor. I jumped off my chair, crunching the glass on the floor when I noticed everyone else in the bar was frozen with a similar expression. Their eyes all facing the sky. \n\n \n \n\n“What the fuck.” I managed to strangle out under my breath. \n\n \n \n\nThere was broken wood and rubble littering the restaurant. Cracks formed a mosaic on the walls. The windows were all broken, letting the afternoon sunlight stream through, glowing on the dust lingering in the air. I rubbed my eyes again, my heart seemed to come to a halt and my breath stuck behind my lips. I opened my eyes praying for everything to return to normal. \n\n \n \n\nA persistent sharp honking of a car horn jerked me back. I struggled across the rubble to the door of the restaurant, it creaked open. The noise was coming from an old Toyota Camry parked on the side of the street. Everything out here was in ruins too. Maybe there was someone out here who could help me. I ran to the window of the car and looked in. I yelped as I came face to face with another statue. The hand on the horn, however, was made of flesh and bone. The skin was marked with sun spots and almost translucent.\n\n“Hello? Is anyone there?” My voice shook so much that I wasn’t sure it came out at all intelligible.\n\n \n \n\nThe hand froze on the horn, and an old man peered out from behind the statue. \n\n \n \n\nHis eyes shone with wonder, “it worked.. it finally worked!” his voice barely a whisper. “I’ve been looking for someone for 84 years and it finally worked!”\n\n \n \n\n“Sorry, what worked? Can you help me? What happened to everyone?” I was panicking.\n\n \n \n\n“Get in!” he gestured slowly to the back seat of the car, a near toothless smile on his face. I climbed into the dusty back seat and shut the door.", "I always felt like there was something slightly wrong with me. My friends, family, lovers, I always seemed a bit off compared to them. Sometimes it felt like there was a veil between me and reality. Without cause that veil suddenly lifted. But the friend I had just been stargazing with, on top of our apartment buildings roof, seemed to have disappeared. Excitedly I looked around. Hoping finally I wouldn't be so awkward. That I could follow conversation as easily as everyone could. Somehow, I knew that was all possible now. But as I gazed from side to side reality abruptly became worse. The high rises that seconds ago sparkled towards the edge of the horizon were all now silent. The unbothered moonlight looked down on to withering facades, crumbling houses, exposed frames. I turned around, quickly letting out a gasp. Behind me there was an old man. Pencil thing legs, hunched over, and a voice reminiscent of sandpaper on glass. \n\n\"Finally. I- its be- 84 years. So lon- Finally I woke someone up.\" \n\nHis voice awkward in conversation, it sounded unused. An accent without practice. I felt like he was talking aloud rather than addressing me. \n\n\"Sir, are you... are you alright?\" I stammered\n\n\"I ca- cant believe it. I I'm not crazy. This really-\" he stared off into the distance for a few seconds. \n\n\"Happened\" he finished. \n\n\"What are you talking about?\" fear was starting to seep into my voice but I tried to stay calm.\n\nHe seemed to snap out of it for a brief second. Then he stared straight at me. He started walking towards me. I tried backing away but the roofs edge was right behind me. Placing both hands on both of my shoulders he started speaking in a rushed voice. His breath reeked.\n\n\"Listen, you cant trust them. Theyre trying to suck you dry. Trying to keep you there, stuck. Dont listen to them. Its not real. None of it is.\"\n\n\"I dont know what youre talking about. I dont know where I a-\" Suddenly he disappeared. It startled me almost knocking myself off the edge but I caught myself in the last second. Then he came back. \n\n\"YOU you cant trust them. Stay away. We're nothing more than cattle to the-\" again he disappeared. Not even a linger of his voice in the passing breeze. Something caught my attention near the stairs leading down to the apartments. It was my friend, carrying a new six pack.\n\n\"Hey! You alright? Looking kind of grey.\" he said, as he settled down on one of our two crappy plastic seats. \n\n\"Yeah\" I said uncertainly, \"Think I might have drunk a bit too much.\"\n\n\"Always such a lightweight.\" He laughed. \"C'mon take another. Gotta get you used to it. Cant be getting all crazy with two beers.\" \n\nReluctantly I took the drink. I felt like something important had just happened. A memory, or a passing thought. But already it drifted away. I looked out into the city lights as my friend babbled on about some girl he'd just met. They looked awfully bright, somehow artificial, it was probably the beer. I took another drink, then turned around to hear my friend finishing a joke. I laughed.", "For a moment, Jason thought he was dreaming. One second, he had been walking with his friend Trixie, talking and laughing while their hair blew in the wind — and the next, the entire scene changed. He was suddenly standing in the middle of a sort of wasteland, with what looked like hundreds of people surrounding them, all completely still, as if time itself had frozen, underneath a fiery red sky. And someone else was there too. \n\nAn old man, though he didn't look like any old man Jason had ever met. Though his face was lined with age, his body was strongly built, his deep-brown eyes were filled with tears, and his silver hair was styled in a crew cut. His face was full of a happiness that Jason could tell he had not known in a long time.\n\n\"I'm sorry,\" he said, bewildered, \"but what is going on here? What are you talking about, 84 years?\"\n\n\"Oh, right.\" The man shook his head, seeming to snap out of his reverie. \"I suppose I should explain. Follow me, we don't have much time.\"\n\nHe made to move off, but Jason said firmly, \"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's happening!\"\n\nThe old man sighed. \"Ah yes, I almost forgot the stubbornness of Youth. Very well, you will have your explanation, but we won't have time for questions. \n\n\"It happened a hundred years ago —\"\n\n\"How on earth could you have experienced something a century —\"\n\n\"I said no questions!\" The man took a deep breath. \"A hundred years ago, They came. Unfortunately, we didn't know it. Back then, our defense systems were so horribly inferior that they managed to slip by them without even using their abilities. They managed to hide out for a while, while they set up.\"\n\n\"Set up what? Who is 'They'?\"\n\n\"Their bases,\" said the man. \"Their... factories, one could call them. Where they made their weapons. As for 'they,' we don't know what they are exactly. All we know is that, they bided their time, operating in the shadows, for several years after they'd landed. Their abilities, we later found out, were mental in nature. Telekinesis, telepathy, the sort. \n\n\"They'd been controlling scores of our people for ages before anyone realized, using them as drones in their horrible factories. By the time we found out, their weapon was ready.\"\n\n\"Aliens?\" said Jason, aghast. \"You're saying aliens came to Earth? But that's not possible. We would have known —\"\n\n\"Not if you'd been sleeping,\" the old man said calmly. \"That's what they do. They took a select portion of the population, made them into — into — breeders,\" he said in disgust. \"Using them to continue the human race so that they can continue to use us.\"\n\n\"As what?\"\n\n\"Food,\" said the man grimly. \"No, they don't actually eat us,\" he added, at the look of horror on Jason's face. \"They're not carnivorous. Haven't you been listening? They're mental-based creatures. They keep us locked in these trances after we reach a certain age, trap us in a sort of mindscape of a perfectly ordinary world to subdue us while they feed on our minds in the real world. I can't believe I managed to wake you up,\" he said, voice choked with sadness. \"It's been so long since — I thought we'd never see anyone else moving again.\"\n\nThere was a silence while Jason tried to absorb the information. Aliens? Mindscapes? Factories? \n\nHis head was reeling. He dropped to the floor, one hand on his temple. \n\n\"I don't understand,\" he said, looking desperately up at the old man. \"I don't understand. How did any of this happen? Why do I believe you — all of this is crazy!\"\n\n\"I know it's hard to digest, son,\" the old man said kindly. \"But you can get more answers later. Right now, we need to move. It won't be long before they realize you managed to get out, and then —\"\n\nA wet, gurgling shriek suddenly split the air, sending a shiver up Jason's spine. \n\n\"Shit!\" the old man cried, looking suddenly frightened. His eyes were fixed on something behind him. Jason whirled around, and his eyes went wide with terror. \n\nSo, this is my first post here, hope you guys like it! \n\nEdit: I'm considering doing a part 2, but I have a few early morning things to deal with before that, and I don't really have anywhere to put it yet, since I don't have a personal sub, so I'll likely post it back here." ]	8
	[WP] "You're too dangerous to be kept alive." A stranger who you've never seen before says, before attempting to attack you. Unbeknownst to your assailant, you're just a normal office worker. You try to explain to them that you might not be the person they're looking for.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Whoa, whoa whoa, easy..\"\n\"Scum of the earth, piece of shit. You made the future this way! You're the reason my parents are dead! I don't fucking care anymore, time police can go fuck themselves at this point.\"\nHe pulled out a rusty, blunt looking knife and held it up to my throat.\nEveryone in the bar that night looked on in awe.\n\"I- I think you got the wrong guy...\"\n\"Really? Then who are you, fucker? Tell me!\"\n\"I'm a nobody, okay? I work at a desk job, 9/5. I have two kids and a wife, now could you please screw off, man? I just wanted to have a drink with my friend.\"\nThe time traveler's face turned a bright red. He rushed out of the bar, knocking shot glasses over onto the floor.\nA minute of stunned silence filled the air before my friend says \"I'll, uh- have a drink on me.\"\nThat night was crazy." ]	2
	[WP] a man is hunted by another on an island for three days. After three days the hunter agrees to let him go, but the man actually enjoyed the thrill of being hunted and wants to keep the game going. 10 years have passed and to this day the two are still at 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "For ten years, Geoff and Jon have played the same game. They started on a stranded island, where Geoff hunted Jon, but after leaving the island, the hunt continued at Jon's insistence. On the island, Geoff hunted because there was nothing else to do, the perfect combination of boredom and a touch of insanity. He never expected Jon, the only other person on the island, to enjoy the thrill. The hunt was supposed to stop once they were rescued, something they would put in the past and pretend never happened. Now, Jon wouldn't let the game go.\n\nGeoff ate breakfast at his kitchen table, digging through his scrambled eggs and periodically taking a bite of toast. His coffee was half empty next to the plate, as the liquid inside was no longer warm. Work started in thirty minutes, and Geoff needed to start the drive in ten. Then a tap sounded on the kitchen window. Geoff turned toward the noise, just in time to see the head of Jon duck underneath the frame. Geoff sighed, tired of the same thing.\n\n\"Jon, I'm not in the mood to hunt today. I have work soon,\" said Geoff.\n\n\"How about just a quick hunt? Be done before you even leave,\" shouted Jon. His head didn't reappear in the window frame, as he stayed crouched and out of sight.\n\n\"I leave in ten minutes. I don't have time for a quick hunt,\" said Geoff. \n\n\"Just a minute or two, then I won't bother you for the rest of the day,\" said Jon.\n\n\"Didn't you get that new job recently? Shouldn't you be there instead of worrying about our game?\" asked Geoff.\n\n\"I don't start for another hour. They asked me to come in late today,\" said Jon.\n\n\"How's it going by the way? I don't think I've had the chance to ask,\" said Geoff.\n\n\"Better than expected, honestly. My boss is nice and the hours are flexible,\" said Jon. Geoff smiled to himself. Jon insisted on having a job with flexible hours, because it made playing the game all the easier. At his last job, there was a strict schedule, and Geoff could predict Jon's appearances outside his kitchen window to the minute.\n\n\"I'm happy for you. Maybe this will finally be your big break. Now I have to eat and get going to work.\"\n\nGeoff waited for a reply, but nothing came. He dug through the remains of his scrambled eggs, which were already going cold, and finished the last of his coffee. The toast was only half-eaten, but he didn't have time to finish it. After a couple minutes, he heard a cough outside the kitchen window. He looked again, and Jon wasn't there. \n\n\"I know you're still there. Even if I can't see you, I know,\" said Geoff.\n\n\"Which is why you're such a great hunter,\" said Jon. \"One quick hunt, and we'll be done for the day.\"\n\nGeoff always obliged, even if he resisted. Jon was the most consistent presence in his life. He was there when his father died, he was the best man at his wedding, and he was usually the first to know about major life events. Through everything, they could count on each other. They could trust the game. Geoff pulled a crossbow out from underneath the table, which was already loaded and ready to fire. There were weapons everywhere around the house. Geoff pointed the crossbow at the kitchen window and pulled the trigger. The arrow shattered the window and sailed into the open air outside. Jon laughed, and his footsteps ran away from the house.\n\nDone with his food, Geoff stood from the table and grabbed his plate and the empty mug. As he walked toward the sink, he saw Jon running down the street and toward the horizon. He couldn't help but smile, as Jon always made him do. And to think, ten years ago Geoff was crazy and bored on an island, ready to kill the only other person there. Luckily, Geoff turned out to be a horrible hunter, which meant the game would never end.\n\n---\n\nIf you enjoyed, check out more of my writing at r/ThomasJustinian" ]	2
	[WP] You always thought yourself to be a benevolent king, giving criminals the chance to earn their freedom with the throw of two dice. You were quite shocked when the thief sat infront of you rolled two 20s and then proceeded to get up and walk out of the castle.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "That had never happened. Not once, in all the years of my reign, while the tradition has been held up, has ever anyone rolled two twenties. Some have come close to it, frighteningly so, but never quite got such luck. After all, there's a reason why the highest reward is given to the one that pulls off the most difficult dice number combination.\n\nThat “reward” is the throne. My throne, to be more specific. And now, it's going to be the seat of power of a lowlife criminal. Oh, dear Lord, have mercy on me! How could this happen?!\n\nIt was supposed to be impossible, and now I'll have to relinquish everything to someone who will surely doom the entire kingdom with their lousy ruling. I truly don't deserve all this power if I'm stupid enough to give up my position just because someone pulled off an unlikely roll of dices.\n\nEdit: grammar and minor changes/additions.", "\"The goddess works in mysterious ways, that and there's a chosen one every other month to deal with dark something or other and they keep showing up in the dungeons. Anyhow, one of her domains is luck, so it is that our archbishop blesses these dice every morning and every night.\" I said, my speach was getting less formal, I blame my ten daughters. They bicker all day and all night. I have to hire twice as many servants as they need just to give them enough vacation days to keep them from going bonkers. \"Two dice with twenty numbered sides. If you decide to roll them, twenty years will be added to your sentance, and however many years they display will be removed from your sentence.\"\n\n\"Mi'lord I would place my faith in the goddess's plans. I would roll the dice against my twenty years of prison, plus twenty more as per your decree.\" The theif claimed.\n\n\"Well, stealing my eldest daughter's unmentionables is quite the crime is it not?\"\n\nThe theif took both rice in his hands, shook them four and twenty times as is the goddess's holy numbers before throwing the dice upon the ground before my very feet.\n\n\"Twenty twice over.\" I proclaimed, a lie, I assure you, they had shown four and twenty, but i had decided that it was a sign, plus I had use of a man who could make it in and out of my best security." ]	3
	[WP] The whole world is excited after an all original, albeit badly damaged Shakespeare play is found. As the restoration continues, we find the Bard has made highly accurate, detailed predictions of the future. You're mentioned. A lot.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\\[Timeless Love\\]\n\n\"OH MY GOD, SARAH,\" Sarah flinched slightly at Agnes' high-pitched squeal just outside her cubicle.\n\n\"I know! Aren't they amazing!?\" Sarah spun around in her chair to enjoy Agnes' praise of the beautiful dozen roses sprouting up over the top of her cubicle.\n\n\"What?\" Agnes looked surprised for a moment, her eyes flitted to the roses, then back to Sarah. \"Screw the roses! Why aren't you checking your phone?? Come on!!\" The mid-50s woman scrambled into Sarah's cubicle with surprising speed and grabbed her hand to lead her out again.\n\n\"My phone?\" Sarah had a moment to glance at her phone as Agnes led her off. She had over 100 notifications from text messages and other social media apps; she tended to keep her phone silent before lunch. Agnes pulled Sarah into the break room, and found most of her coworkers gathered around the TV. They did turn when Sarah walked in and began applauding and laughing; Sarah felt like she triggered a surprise party. She almost wondered if her husband had anything to do with it; but, he already sent the roses for their anniversary. And there was a special date planned that night; a surprise party at work wouldn't make sense.\n\n\"What's going on?\" she asked.\n\n\"You're famous!\" Agnes said, she reached up a long, spindly arm to raise the volume on the TV. A news reporter was speaking with a picture of an old ragged book floating next to him.\n\n\"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm told that several major studios are already bidding for the rights to William Shakespeare's long lost play. Mrs. Sarah Kline, if you're watching this, please get in touch with us. We've been trying to reach you all morning.\"\n\n\"SHE'S RIGHT HERE!' Lou yelled from the back and the crowd of coworkers burst into laughter.\n\n\"Me? Why me?\" Sarah asked over the ruckus, and it died down.\n\n\"Alright, back to work,\" Agnes shooed the still chuckling employees out of the breakroom, but she gestured at Sarah to wait.\n\n\"Did he say, William Shakespeare?\" Sarah asked once they were alone. Agnes sat down and encouraged Sarah to do the same; she did.\n\n\"To sum it up...,\" Agnes nodded at Sarah's question. \"...someone found a lost Shakespeare play. It's already been verified and all that stuff that they check,\" she said. \"It's real and, it mentions you a lot.\"\n\n\"So it has a character named Sarah? It's a pretty common na-,\" Before Sarah finished her dismissal, Agnes shook her head.\n\n\"Not a character named Sarah. A character named Sarah Kline, the most beautiful woman in the world.\"\n\n\"Okay...,\" Sarah tilted her head in confusion.\n\n\"But, that's not even the weird part,\" Agnes said.\n\n\"Then what is?\"\n\n\"He doesn't just talk about you, he talks about the world today. There are cellphones and TVs in his play! I've been following the story all morning; a lot of people online agree that this new play feels like a modern-day romantic comedy. There's an airport scene!\" Agnes giggled.\n\n\"What's it about?\"\n\n\"Sarah Kline, the most beautiful woman in the world,\" Agnes replied with a shrug. \"And I guess your dating adventures? It ends with you getting married.\"\n\n\"We now have an artist's interpretation of Mrs. Sarah Kline from Shakespeare's lost play.\" Sarah ignored the news anchor while she talked to Agnes, but that caught her attention. She looked up to see a beautiful portrait of herself floating next to the news anchor. Not that her dark hair ever looked that good, nor her eyes quite that blue. \"Meet William Shakespeare's most beautiful woman in the world.\"\n\n\"Told you it was you,\" Agnes said. She patted Sarah on the shoulder. \"Alright rich girl. If you're gonna stay, get back to work,\" she said in her friendly, no talkback tone. Sarah returned to her cubicle with a dozen questions in her mind. She avoided calls for the rest of the day, finished her work, then headed home. Despite the surprising day, she was still looking forward to celebrating her anniversary more than anything. She planned to deal with her sudden fame tomorrow but did not plan on seeing a large crowd outside her house. Instead of slowing down, she kept driving right past.\n\nShe drove out of the neighborhood and into a convenience store parking lot, then pulled her phone out.\n\n\"Hey babe,\" Sarah replied as soon as her husband answered. \"Can you do something about the crowd out front? It's too much for me to deal with today; I just want to get home to you and cuddle and have some pizza. Yeah, I'm at the corner store.\" Sarah hung up the phone and released a guilty, pleasant sigh. She tried not to abuse her husband's abilities too often, but she felt like today was excused after her day. She blinked.\n\nWhen Sarah opened her eyes she was sitting on her couch in her robe. She was reclined with a warm pizza box on her lap and her husband standing behind her rubbing her shoulders.\n\n\"OOooohhh thank you...,\" she sighed and melted into his touch. \"Happy anniversary love,\" she said.\n\n\"I'm sorry,\" he said from behind her.\n\n\"For what?\" she asked. She reached up to grab his hand; she pulled him off her shoulders and over the couch; he cuddled up next to her.\n\n\"I wanted to give you a special gift for today, but I didn't exactly think it through,\" he said sheepishly.\n\n\"Honey, the flowers were gorgeous. I loved them.\"\n\n\"Not the flowers,\" he said.\n\n\"Then wha-,\" Sarah interrupted her own question. She sat up and looked into her husband's eyes, then smacked her own forehead.\n\n\"I didn't even know that was you!\" she said. \"That was super sweet, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of fame,\" she said. He nodded.\n\n\"I fixed it,\" he said. \"No more lost play; it never happened. But, you're still the most beautiful woman in my world.\"\n\n \n\n\\\\\\*\n\nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1164 in a row. (Story #068 in year four.) You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog." ]	2
	[WP] A wizard travels from a fantasy world to Earth, circa 1610, the Wild West of America. Noticing the large hats, seemingly magical firearms, and ability to use ropes expertly, this wizard believes he has stumbled into another community of spellcasters.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Kalamaz waved his staff mightily and bellowed a spell in a deep, reverberating voice. The chamber was immediately filled with a thin, airy, ethereal substance that glowed a dark magenta. Flynn pointed his staff at Kalamaz and muttered an incantation under his breath. A beam of purple light ejected from the end of Flynn's staff and hit Kalamaz square in the throat. The ethereal substance coalesced into a single point in the middle of the chamber before exploding back out in an even brighter flash..\n\nFlynn and Kalamaz were both launched back. Flynn's body flipped and he fell back face-first into the ground, his staff projected more than a body's length away. His staff out of reach, he tried to bring his arms up to cast a shield spell as he jumped to his feet in a fury. Not even halfway to standing, Flynn had to immediately cover his eyes and hunch back over as the chamber was illuminated with an incredible blinding spell. His own shield spell failing to ignite, Flynn felt along the ground into the direction that he heard his staff fall. \n\nAs his hands brushed along the ground, they unexpectedly burned. Reflexively, he pulled his hands back. As the blinding spell began to wear off, Flynn realized that it wasn't a blinding spell in the first place, He was suddenly outdoors under a blazing sun and his eyes were slowly adjusting. Flynn spun around rapidly, searching for Kalamaz, who was nowhere to be seen. The mountain that Flynn had meticulously navigated under to reach the chamber was also nowhere in sight. Flynn looked down to see that the ground wasn't actually burning, but was covered in a coarse sand, heated by the harsh sun, a sun harsher than Flynn had ever experienced. \n\nShielding his own eyes with his hand, he looked around to discover that he stood on a sand road lined with wood buildings, all the wood bleached a light gray. Down the road a bit were two men and a horse, the men chatting amongst themselves and pointing in his direction.\n\nSatisfied that Kalamaz wasn't hiding nearby, conniving to launch a surprise attack, Flynn hurried over to his staff and picked it up. He inspected it to find the amulet embedded in the top was cracked slightly.\n\n\"Shit,\" muttered Flynn. \"That's not going to be easy to replace.\" He was about to brush the sand from his robe, but elected to take the robe off as the sun refused to relent. Flynn noticed that there was hardly a cloud in the sky and certainly nothing that would provide much relief even if it did wander in front of the sun.\n\nFlynn pondered for a moment before walking down the sand road to the two men and their horse. Flynn couldn't see the men's faces as they were masked in shadow by their humorously large hats. They wore handkerchiefs around their necks, and a rather large belt which housed two of what Flynn assumed to be weapons. Their boots went almost the whole way up to their knee. \n\nWhen Flynn was within speaking distance, he raised the hand not carrying his staff and meant to utter a greeting, but found his throat already dried by the harsh climate. No sooner had he done so that one of the men pulled their weapon from their belt. A loud bang and a simultaneous explosion of sand at Flynn's foot prompted Flynn to jump back in fear. The horse jumped back with a loud whinny and the other man hustled to keep the horse calm.\n\nThat weapon is dreadfully fast, thought Flynn.\n\n\"Hold it righ' there, par'ner,\" the man who had fired the weapon warned, ignoring the objections to the horse behind him.\n\nFlynn waved his free arm and muttered the shield incantation again. \"Holobay\". Flynn was disappointed when no translucent shape appeared in front of him, but thought back to his cracked amulet and found that he wasn't entirely surprised either.\n\n\"I was afraid of that.\" Flynn inspected the amulet in his staff closer. The bright sun gleamed spectacularly off the amulet which made it difficult to determine if the amulet was glowing by itself. He muttered to himself as he covered the staff with his hands and held it close to his eyes.\n\nWith the horse calmed down, the man who hadn't fired the weapon punched the assailant in his arm and cried out, \"You idiot! He's clearly part of the vaudeville act. You kill this sonofabitch and them girls that travel with 'em ain't never gonna come back!\" \n\nThe assailant housed his pistol. \"Alright, alright! Calm yer horses\"\n\n\"Says the dolt who upset the horse!\"\n\n\"I said 'alright!'\"\n\nAs the two men argued, Flynn determined that his amulet was, for all intents and purposes, useless, He looked up and down the meager town for the right building to inquire about where to best find one. He figured he may as well start with the duo in front of him.\n\n\"Excuse me, gentleman! Would one of you be able to point me in the direction of your purveyors of fine jewels?\"\n\nThe two men looked at each other. The assailant spoke first, \"So you ain't one of them vaudeville people?\"\n\nFlynn responded, \"I'm sorry to say that I'm unaware of where Vaudeville is. Might that be along the coast of Arberry?\"\n\n\"Arberry?\" the other replied. \"Fella, I think yer more lost than you think.\"\n\nFlynn replied kindly, \"I'm afraid that is the case indeed. In any regard, I find myself in dire need of a fine jewel so I may find my way back to...\" Flynn thought of Kalamaz and the long, complicated reasons for their battle not ten minutes ago. \"...it's complicated\"\n\n\"'Scuse us.\" The man with the horse pulled the assailant aside and they held a quiet chat, often looking back to Flynn, who continued to melt under the brutal, midday sun. \"You willin' to werk fer it?\" the man with the horse asked to Flynn.\n\n\"I suppose I've never been one to demand something for free. So, I suppose so.\"\n\nThe assailant stepped up to Flynn and sized him up from head to toe. \"I bet we can get some good labor out of him yet\"\n\n\"Then, mister, I do believe it's fortune we've found each other,\" the man with the horse added.\n\n\"How do you mean?\" Flynn asked cautiously.\n\nThe man with the horse offered his hand to Flynn. \"Welcome to the gold rush, fella.\"" ]	2
	[WP] You are an immortal being and have lived for millions of years. To stay sane you wipe out your most of your memory every 10,000 years. So it's very confusing when someone says your their ancestor	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 stellar craft slowed with impossible force as it punched through the atmosphere, alighting gracefully before the isolated house. \nI had watched its approach through the curtains, growing increasingly distraught as I realized it was coming to rest outside my home. \nThe pilot - a young man, tall and slender leapt out of the craft and waved in my direction. \n\n\"Yeah, it can buzz from 0 to a narl in under a minute...uh, that's NRL, Near Light Speed...\" The young man seemed excited to talk about his ship so I let him. I knew where this was going, and dreaded it probably more than he did. \n\"How long have you had it?\" I asked, stalling for a little more time. \n\"Oh, I only got it when DNAFuturePast told me it found a match...\" He trailed off, suddenly embarrassed. \nI sighed. Here it was. Another lost child, looking for something I couldn't give them. \n\nNo, I don't remember any of my children. \nNo, I don't have a mountain of treasure saved up. \nNo, I can't offer you any wisdom of the ages. \n\nHe leaned back, clearly frustrated, but trying his hardest not to show it. \nI knew the next question to be the hardest. So many had found me - begging, pleading, cajoling, threatening - all seeking the secret, the final answer: \n\nNo, I can't make you immortal. \n \nThe only true difference in the thousands of descendants I had met was how they responded to that final answer. Some wept. Others nodded as though the final secret of the universe was just revealed to them. Many - far too many - raised some weapon to destroy me. \nI watched the young man, anticipating his reaction. Would he too rage against the injustice of it all, and then raise some newfangled weapon I could not understand to end me?\n\nThe craft ascend into the skies leaving a scintillating pattern in its wake. I raised a hand to shield my eyes as the craft disappeared. \nIn the end, he had actually seemed quite relieved. The hope of endless time could be a terrible burden." ]	2
	[WP] You find this girl in a pub who’s almost a perfect match for you. She’s gorgeous, sweet, funny and well-educated. You would love to ask her out. The thing is, somehow she has this absurd, unshakable belief that the Earth is round.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I saw her as soon as I entered the pub, her smile glinting like a diamond reflecting the sun. I even heard her crack a joke and laugh as I walked by, and I could swear that's how a mermaid’s song sounds like.\n\nI don’t know how or when I did it, but I was sitting across the girl as my heart raced as wildly as a stallion across the field. Her blue eyes stared back at me, making me forget I had the ability to speak, like an ocean swallowing me whole. Before I could say anything, she leaned in and smiled as a child would when they had something smart to say. \n\n“Let me guess, of all the girls you’ve seen around the globe, I’m the one who caught your eye the most?” Her smile was wicked and alluring at the same time, and I barely managed to wrestle free from her gaze.\n\n“Umm...well, yes, I mean no…..I mean not really….” - I was stumbling for words and realized I was unintentionally scratching my neck. As I stopped, I cleared my throat. \n\n“What I mean was……..wait….what...what do you mean around the globe?” \n\nI wasn’t sure if I heard it correctly but decided not to say anything more and trust my initial perception. She looked at me with a puzzled look, as if I asked her if she was alive or something.\n\n“You know, the globe? Earth?” - she asked and continued as I was the one looking puzzled now.\n\n“You do know the Earth is round, right?”\n\nAfter what seemed an eternity of staring at each other, I stood up, excused myself by muttering something even I don’t remember, and left the table.\n\n“Heh...figured it was too good to be true” - I thought as I walked back to my friends, shaking my head in disbelief." ]	2
	[WP] As you close the door, your friend says "Well that didn't go as planned."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 that didn't go as planned.\" Despite our prior planning on convincing my mom to pick us up a pizza for dinner, The defeated look on his face added to the validity of his statement. He rustled a kitchen cloth back and forth timidly in his hands.\n\n\"She just said no? Did you tell her that we might have more friends coming over? And the meatloaf she makes isn't enough to feed all of us?\" \n\n\"Yup\"\n\n\"Did you tell her that the Pizzas at Safeway down the road are on sale? They are usually 10$, today you can get 2 for 12! Thats like a 50% decrease!\"\n\n\"Yup, I told her\"\n\n\"Did you tell her that we refilled the air in my bike tires earlier, and could go get it ourselves if she gave us the money?\"\n\n\"Yup\"\n\n\"Did you use our secret move? Where we pretend one of our friends has a beef allergy, and meat loaf could cause him to swell up like a balloon?\"\n\n\"Yup\"\n\nHaving exhausted my line of questioning, I sighed defeatingly, and leaned back onto the couch. \"Oh well, It was worth a try, Want to play some smash brothers or something while the meatloaf is cooking?\" Despite repeating my question a few moments later, I went without response for an unusual amount of time. It was then, I looked at my friends face, and noticed the ghostly complexion and thousand yard stare.\n\nI noticed the cloth he had been shuffling between his hands coated in a layer of blood, The already silent room becoming even more noticable, as quick audible pockets of air escaped my friends mouth. My eyes meeting with his after a solid minute of taking in what I was seeing. A single sentence escaped his trembling lips.\n\n\"I...I did something bad...\"" ]	2
	[WP] Humans don't have FTL yet, but these deathworlders will packbond with anything, and a packbonded human will go to bat for their crew. This is why aliens take humans onto their ships and humans can escape an over-crowded earth. But how does this expectation of humanity change societies on earth?	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My name is Ebony Darkness Dem—shit, wrong universe. My name is Karen Smith. I’m as generic as humans being come. Just your normal, everyday bipedal gal. Except I don’t like the aliens. I’m not like other humans, who fawn over them, who seem them as the saviors of our race. Ha! They can barely operate a vending machine, how are they going to save us?\n\nNot to say the aliens aren’t cool. I’ll guess I’ll admit that. Just kidding! They’re total losers who don’t even know how to fight. I’m crushing one underneath my boot right now. Serves ‘em right, if you ask me, trying to come down and shake things up for humanity. We already have a system for overpopulation: weakness. That’s why I trained to kill these fuzzy fuckers. They don’t deserve to walk our soil.\n\nDo they think they can come down and just poof! All of us are going to love them? No, of course not. Some of us aren’t weak. Some of us have scruples, morals, decency. Some of us know that Earth is the best place in the universe, that humans are peak evolution, that our guns splatter alien guts better than anyone else’s. Which is why I’m raiding one of their ships now, mowing them down as they rush towards me, blasters raised.\n\nAnd look! There’s a weakling, he’s got that look in his eyes. That look that says he sold his soul to lick something shiny, to fuck that spaceship’s AI, to bow to aliens instead of who he should: me, to other men. And now he’s bowing, oh yes, but this is not a pose he’s chosen. And there are more, they’re yelling in that guttural alien tongue that is abuse on human ears. They’re rushing to me, their eyes surprised at the intrusion of another human. But soon they’re bowing, too.\n\nI’m not like other humans, I believe in strength. I believe in the power of humanity. And I will never, ever, bow to the aliens as they do. They just feel too good beneath my boot.\n\n\\_ \\_ \\_\n\nr/AinsleyAdams\n\nAlways fun to start the morning with something goofy!", " It was strange, being on the float after half a decade of artificial gravity, and it was tedious, floating slowly toward the earth after spending much of that time in the grey-blue blur of hyperspace and the somewhat slower spatial distortion bubbles that could get you from Gliese to Tau Ceti in hours. Back to the backwater that was earth, that was Home, that was all mankind had ever known until people like me signed up for duty with HSMs (Horrible Space Monsters).\n\nFor five years I had griped, bitched, pissed and moaned about every duty given to me, even though the pay was good and I never hesitated to carry out an order. Everybody did their job. It was written in your contract that you’d be spaced, shot, fried, flayed, or even eaten alive if you didn’t do your part, though I’d never met anybody obnoxious enough to sign up as a glorified mercenary just so they could say “no” when push came to shove. You knew what was expected of you going in: basic training on earth weeded out the weak, the unwilling, and the stupid, long before they could cause a diplomatic incident out in the vacuum.\n\nBut complaining, that was the age-old tradition of grunts. I’m sure the legionaries who burned Carthage to the ground liked to whine that they missed Rome, that they hated Salting the Earth Duty. And I’m sure their centurions told them to shut up just like human noncoms on permanent interstellar deployments did. \n\nMy shuttle wobbled a little when it hit the upper atmosphere and fired its first retrorockets. Everything made by man felt so flimsy, so primitive, after the Delkac frigates and M’khrti freighters, the Usullub gas giant patrol skiffs, the Pe landing craft. For five years I had gone wherever Interstellar Dynamic Solutions had sent me, bringing a Kalashnikov to particle weapon fights and winning, every time, because humans are born with horseshoes up their asses and an old Russian assault rifle never runs out of batteries, never fails to shoot holes in reflector armor. I could feel earth’s gravity getting stronger, feel the bench I’d been floating above become a piece of furniture and not just a sentimental accoutrement. \n\nThe landing pad was just outside my hometown. Invermere had grown a little since I’d left: it covered a few more kilometers of the Columbia Valley, about ready to fully consume Radium in the north and on its way to a marriage with Cranbrook in the south. For some reason, with a naivete that I thought had been beaten out of me in the last five years, I expected there to be a big crowd waiting for me and the other eight survivors of our tour. Two hundred of us had gone to the stars all those years ago. A hundred and ninety-one were either buried in soil under alien skies, floated through the infinite sky in emptied torpedo casings, or were tiny wisps of vapor where nameless battles had taken place in the interstellar medium. I thought we’d be remembered as heroes.\n\nInstead, the crowd was a gaggle. Of parents, of spouses, of kids, of siblings. There were no reverential gazes as we stepped off the shuttle and onto the tarmac, just an intense, palpable feeling of relief emanating from those we’d left behind. My mother embraced me for a long time. My little brother gave me a curt nod. My elder brother was nowhere to be seen—working on Luna, mom said. \n\nWhen I got home, everything was different in some intangible way. My room had been left just the way I had it when I shipped out for basic, but the posters were hollow, the bed was too small, the stickers on my dresser were meaningless somehow. Robbed of significance. It was the same everywhere I went: when my mother took me on a long walk through the streets I’d grown up on, I tried to summon up some nostalgia but couldn’t. That night, when some old friends invited me out for drinks, their conversation not only bored but disgusted me. They gossiped about friends, worried about whether they could get an employment contract and get off Personal Income, they asked me for stories about aliens, about whether I’d ever gotten laid with a non-human (“Yeah, I banged a different-colored space monster every week.” Blank stares, nervous laughter. “Jesus Christ, I’m kidding, the only humanoids other than us are more likely to eat you than hook up.”).\n\nEverything was the same, but I was different. I checked out a university, at my mom’s urging, since veterans were put at the front of the line for educational placement, there was a kid handing out pamphlets that went on and on about how we were being used by the aliens as slave labor. “Let them fight their own battles,” the kid cried out at disinterested passersby, “We shouldn’t have to die just because they aren’t physiologically capable of fighting a ground war.” I wanted to tell him that wasn’t it, that physiology could be overcome but psychology was the problem, that human beings were used because we enjoyed killing. Because we treated mass slaughter like a fun math problem, because we went into a trance of bloodlust and implacable violence when we were burnt out, instead of just shutting down and waiting for death like most species out there. \n\nMy mother cried when I signed back up, this time for a permanent position. She begged me not to go, begged me to stay with her, she said I didn’t have to go to school or get a job or ever work again. I couldn’t explain to her the truth as it became more apparent to me every day, couldn’t bear to tell her that I was no longer any more human than I was alien, that the stars were my home now, that I couldn’t stand in line at the food kiosks or bear one more second of somebody who’d never been beyond Luna’s orbit telling me how the galaxy works. \n\nIt was strange, leaving earth and feeling gravity drop away again. But it was very easy to climb aboard a Oranossk fast-attack raider with my own squad, all fresh faces and old worries. It felt like going home." ]	3
	[WP] Turns out that Daylight Savings Time on this planet has nothing to do with clocks.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 wondered why we have daylight savings time. Why can’t we just pick one time and stick with it? Surely that would be simpler, and if we chose the daylight savings time the evenings would be brighter in the winter.\n\nWhenever I asked someone about it, I was always told, “That’s just the way it is.” Eventually, I just accepted this fact and switched my watch an hour forward or backward without thinking any differently about it.\n\nThat was, until I found out about NASA’s deepest, darkest secret. The truth is, they did find life on Mars. Life that is much more intelligent than us humans. They found a way to share the sunlight with Earth and hijack the amount of sun our planet receives, and they planned to continue taking more and more of our sunlight, until we were finally able to make a deal with them. \n\nThey would return all of the hours of sunlight back during the summer and even add in an extra hour during the longest few days, but only if they were allowed to take even more hours in the winter and were kept secret from humans. I only found this out by accident, while I was trying to dig into some of NASA’s top secret files. There wasn’t much else they could have done while bargaining with the extraterrestrials, as without the sunlight, Earth would not be fit for life.\n\nIt kind of sucks to be at the mercy of unknown, intelligent beings who most of the world believes nonexistent, but at least I know my hunch was right about daylight savings time!" ]	2
	[WP] You are a germaphobe cereal killer that only kills people who gross you out.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 did it again. I saw it and cringed. Turning away and opening and closing my fists I stood in the security monitor room leaning my head against the wall and pressing my eyes shut.\n\nWhen I took the job as a security guard I did not expect it to be such torture. I was given this position in the room with the security monitors, away from other people, just as I requested. But people do things when they think nobody is watching.\n\nSo I watched Tim today and not for the first time. He was using the vending machine just outside my door. With this, I could live. But Tim had a nasty habit: Picking his nose right before he used my machine. As I saw him leave, I ran outside and disinfected the machine thoroughly. Not being allowed to leave my post for such “nonsense”, as my boss put it, I needed to hurry. Then Idea, how this problem can be solved forever crossed my mind.\n\nThe next day I watched Tim go to the fridge in the break room. He did not put anything in the morning, but he was on the hunt for a lunch bag without a name on it. I watched him take out a plate with a sandwich on it. You could tell somebody already took a bite out of it, but Tim did not care and ate it anyway.\n\nTim died of a “heart attack” this afternoon. The poison in the sandwich killed him. The poison I put there. This was my first kill, I was pretty proud back then, knowing only Tim would go for an unlabeled sandwich with a bite already taken out of it. And then I knew: I could make the world a better place." ]	2
	[WP] Despite your arranged marriage, you and the princess have had a fairly functional relationship that is mostly platonic. After she was attacked however, you realize your feelings for her are stronger than you originally thought.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Are you okay,\" Massif asked the bandaged woman, concern emanating from his voice as it filled their bedroom. He leaned against the doorframe while she sat at the desk in their private quarters.\n\nEmaline rolled her eyes. \"It's just a scrape from all the swordplay. Don't worry about it, Massif. I'm fine.\" Her tone was too far nonchalant for the length of the bandaging. \n\nMassif's eyes took in the damaged forearm, worry spreading across his face. \"Did Marlin aid you?\" \n\nEmaline snorted. \"He was already pulling out bandages before the wound even happened.\" \n\nMassif's face relaxed. He needed to thank the healer for taking care of her, but then again, Marlin had more at stake than Massif had.\n\nStill, Emaline was being too reckless. \"You can't just take on the world, Ema,\" Massif said, hoping she would listen. \n\nEmaline rolled her eyes at his words. But she looked at Massif with a grin forming on her face. \"Oh, and now he acts like a doting husband, eh?\" \n\nMassif shook his head and crossed his arms. Once again, she plays it off like nothing is wrong. \"You're allowed to act like a normal person and not this invincible princess you're trying to be.\" \n\nEmaline arched an eyebrow at Massif. \"Well, someone seems a little more moody than usual. Did you want to talk about it?\" Her mocking tone filled her voice. \n\nMassif stared her down. \"Can you please take this seriously.\" \n\nEmaline gave Massif a dead look in response. \"And can you please trust me on this?\" Her face broke into a soft smile. \"But thank you for caring, Massif. But seriously, don't worry. Marlin took care of me. You know how much he cares.\" \n\nMassif sucked in his lips, removing any emotions on his face. \"Yes, but just please try to be more careful, okay?\" \n\nEmaline nodded. \"Of course! Who do you think I am?\"\n\nMassif arched his eyebrows at her as he tilted his head, leaning harder against the doorframe. \"Reckless. I'm pretty sure you are reckless.\"\n\nEmaline rolled her eyes up at the ceiling. \"Oh wow, when did you become so sarcastic?\" \n\nMassif smirked, a response popping into his mind. \"When I married you, of course.\"\n\nEmaline turned her head, leveling her eyes at him, a frown planted on her face. \"Ha. Ha. I should tell my father I married a jester. Because you're so hilarious.\" \n\nMassif smiled at that. \"Okay, that was pretty good.\" \n\nEmaline's frown became a grin as she saw Massif's own. \"Yeah, I know. I'm pretty funny myself.\"\n\nMassif gave a knowing grin at those words, a new response coming to him. \"Ah, that explains why the court doesn't have a jester. You're already doing their job.\"\n\nEmaline's smile dropped to a thin line. \"Ha, ha, Massif so funny.\" Her sing-song voice gave away her mockery. She looked away, moving her eyes to the window, taking in the fading sunlight. Massif watched, wondering if he had gone too far. \n\nThen, without any warning, the idling princess jumped to her feet, her eyes wide as she looked at Massif. \"What time is it right now?\" \n\nMasif scrunched up his face as he pocketed his hand, searching for his timepiece. Finding the orb, Massif pulled out the marble that contained times of sand. The grains of sand flared a magical red, revealing the time. \n\n\"About six in the evening.\" Massif hesitantly said. He wasn't sure how exact his estimate was. \n\nEmaline rushed over to the closet, frantically going through her clothing. Once satisfied with a choice, she pulled out a blue, elegant dress, showing the dress Massif. \"Do you think this is pretty? Marlin and I have a date tonight.\" \n\nMassif looked at the dress, but his eyes flicked back to the bandaged wound. Something... stirred in his heart. \"I think it looks lovely.\"\n\nHer eyes lit up with delight. \"You think so?\" \n\nMassif nodded, reinforcing his opinion.\n\nShe smiled and then looked at Massif. \"Okay, now shoo. I need to change.\" \n\nMassif sighed. \"Of course, your majesty.\" He said as he moved through the door, leaving the bedroom.\n\nAfter a moment's wait, Emaline burst out of the bedroom. She looked far too beautiful for such a reckless princess. A shawl covered her head and draped over her arm, obscuring her face and her bandages. \n\nMassif's heart stopped at the sight of her. Wow. Marlin was quite lucky. But something pulled at his heart as he took her in. \n\n\"What do you think?\" Emaline asked, her voice quivering with insecurity. \n\n\"You look gorgeous,\" Massif said with a smile. \n\nEmaline smiled back, \"thank you, Massif.\" Then she moved backward, down the hall. \"Now, if you excuse me, I need to go see my healer for extra treatment.\" Her smile turned into a smirk as she waved at Massif. \n\nMassif snorted. \"Stay safe, Ema.\" \n\nAs she left his vision, Massif's face grew tense as his heart pulled at him. It felt tight. The same kind of knotting that came with unclear love. You're just worried about the wound, Massif. That's all this is. Massif thought as he moved back into the lonely bedroom. He had some readings to do anyway. \n\nBut no words could make his heart unwind. \n___\nMassif, my young poor boy. He will experience such horrible heartache I think. But! If you would like more of my stories, then you can find them here at r/WritingKnightly!", "The young Duke was a humble man. He ruled justly and kindly, slow to anger, quick to forgive,and always wore a smile on his face. To be honest, the marriage was simply to solidify the alliance, and to be honest, neither one objected anyway- the Duke was handsome, and the Princess was fair. She was funny too. But beyond formalities, there was nothing else about it.\n\nThe Princess’s kingdom was situated along the Great Bay, and those who controlled the water controlled all trade. The Duke’s duchy was an important buffer between the lush coastal states and those of the desert parchlands, states desperate for the wealth promised by the water. And so, the King and the Archduke made a pact, the might of the duchy for the wealth of the kingdom, paid for by marriage. And so it was.\n\nHowever, wether out of desperation for money, for food, or for the outside world, the states of the parchlands devised a plan, to take the princess, to hold her prisoner until they too could reach the sea. When the news reached the Duke, something inside changed, and revealed itself. The Duke’s calm, easygoing demeanor and is joyous countenance was replaced by fear, wrath, and bloodshot eyes. Moreso, he realized that it wasn’t just contentment with the Princess, nor the alliance, that kept him there. He understood that he truely loved the Princess. His Princess. And not matter the cost, no matter what he must do, he would take her home.\n\nHe rallied his armies with inspiring prose of love and honor. He led every battle and siege. He shared every victory and glory, and held only himself every defeat and shame. With defeat imminent, the parchland states vowed that anymore offense would cause her great pain. Thus they sealed their own fate.\n\nWith the ultimatum, the Duke stood his armies down, and sent ambassadors to negotiate peace. Unbeknownst to the parchland states, was that peace talks were all a ruse, to stall time while a commando team (led by the Duke himself) was sent to liberate the Princess. Hurdle after hurdle, the commandos dropped every guard and witness, and found the Princess malnourished, but otherwise unharmed. Once safely back in the Duchy, the Duke send word to his generals to crush all opposition, and to the ambassadors to abandon talks. \n\nThe Duke’s first words to the Princess after her recovery were simple\n\n“The heart in my chest beats not for me, the blood in my veins is shed not for me, and the bones of my body break not for me. But only for you.”" ]	3
	[WP] The cataclysm that split pangea into modern day continents	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 those days there was magic. The Empire of Light and Air spanned the continent, and all else was ocean. The ocean kingdoms were an endless shifting multitude. On land there was one rule, and one ruler.\n\nThe Lone Empress was ancient beyond reckoning. When her reign began even the moon had danced a different orbit. Her children dwelled here and there, on mountaintops and in the cool depths of the inland seas. Their children were many and they founded the thousand cities which clung like great gems to the face of the land.\n\nThe palace in which the Lone Empress held court was spun from hardened light. It shone like a second sun as it passed above the land. Wherever the light fell, magic would pool like living fire. The flames of magic did not consume. Instead they renewed. Failing spells became strong. Great beasts became greater. Ancient wizards became young. \n\nThis was the way of Pangaea, Empire of Light and Air. \n\nBut light cannot reach all places, even in an empire of wonders. This was the egg which hatched into cataclysm. \n\nThe city where it began was not the least nor the was it greatest of the thousand cities. It lay on the edge of the land, looking out over the endless ocean. The name of the city was Atlantis. \n\nIn the very center of Atlantis was a single perfect gem. Though no one who lived there knew it, the city had been built because of the gem. In a past distant beyond belief, the Lone Empress had placed it there with her own hands. It was the linchpin of a spell so vast and powerful that it held the very continent together. \n\nIt came to pass that the rulership of Atlantis was inherited by a vain and foolish man. His name is lost now, as lost as Pangaea itself. He believed himself to be a grandchild of the Empress, though that was impossible. He also believed himself entitled to all and any treasures. \n\nThus the gem was picked from its setting and worn by the last king of Atlantis. \n\nEven this might not have precipitated the cataclysm, had not the king gone sailing one day. But he did, and he let the gem slip away into the water. It fell very far, down into the abysmal depths where not even the sea folk could go. \n\nWhen next the wind bore the Castle of Light above the city, the gem was not there to be renewed. Instead it lay in the cold still darkness, the last of its magic trickling away. When it was gone, the great spell failed. \n\nSo fell Atlantis, and with it Pangaea." ]	2
	[WP] Explorers find a planet due to a distress signal. By all calculations it should be Earth like but an artificial superstructure is keeping it in arctic conditions. They decide to disable it for colonization. After translating the signal they learn it’s a biohazard warning to stay away.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "PT1\n\n\"What have we done?\" Doctor Haynes stated as she buried her face into the palms of her hands. It was just the three of them left: Emma Haynes, Mechanic Trent Reese, and Marine Corporal Kyle Grayson, and Flight Lieutenant Janet Louise. Grayson had his weapon laid out upon his outstretched legs while Reese smoked his cigar as the creatures beat themselves against the entry ramp of ship, knowing they were in there. Trent had managed to seal the door and that they'd likely starve if they didn't do something. \n\n\"What we did?\" Trent chuckled. \"Doc, you're the one who ordered Bradbury to turn off that damn machine.\" \n\n\"How was I supposed to know some monsters with a virus were frozen under the snow?\" she barked. \"Now nearly the whole colony is infected. Over one hundred and fifty people who hoped to have a new home.\" \n\n\"Doc, will you shut the fuck up?\" Kyle growled. \"You aren't helping anything with your moping.\" She shot him a glare in nothing but disdain.\n\n\"Well what do you suggest Corporal?\" Haynes barked.\n\n \"I could throw you out there as a distraction,\" Kyle retorted.\n\n\"Enough!\" Trent interrupted. \"If we're going to survive this we've got to come up with a plan. Now surely the Odyssey knows something is off.\"\n\n\"Cap sent out a message to them ordering anyone to stay away,\" Kyle said. \"Granted we people are not known for heeding a warning.\" Haynes glared at the Corporal who stared at the wall. \n\n\"What is the Navy's protocol for something like this?\" Trent asked. Kyle sat pondering for a moment before balling his fist up and then expanding it making a explosion noise.\n\n\"It would be an orbital bombardment,\" Janet stated. \"They'd destroy the planet essentially. All life, everything would be vaporized.\" \n\n\"So either we die by the Navy's hand or some freak's,\" Trent said. \"Great choices.\" Kyle got to his feet, slinging his rifle over his body as he paced around the room. Their shelter was nothing more than a small transport ship, but it was in for repairs and not flight capable. Kyle looked out through the cockpit windows to see one that was mission capable. He then looked back out and saw a heavy machine gun on a watchtower. \"What's going through your head?\"\n\n\"We got a flight worthy transport in the hangar,\" Kyle stated. \"We thankfully have a pilot, and a engineer.\"\n\n\"132 is fueled and ready,\" Trent stated. \"But how do we get there?\"\n\n\"I'm going to make a run for the watchtower where there is a MG95,\" Kyle explained. \"Is there any way for you guys to get out?\" Trent pointed at the emergency escape hatch on the floor and Kyle nodded. Kyle opened one of his pouches and brandished a letter and handed it to Janet as well as his dog tags. \"I'm gonna run off the wing, you guys go as soon as you hear the MG. Good luck.\"", "\"We translated the glyphs, sir.\"\n\n\"What do they say, Spacer?\"\n\n\"Biohazard warning, for their species, talking about a contaminant that will make this planet uninhabitable for them.\"\n\n\"What do our instruments say?\"\n\n\"Everything is within parameters.\"\n\n\"The artificial devices?\"\n\n\"Tectonic stabilizers. According to the aliens own scientists, this was to prevent a greenhouse planet from occurring, but do to an accidental release of a sample from System 143125-3 their ecology was starting to break down at an accelerated rate and eradication efforts were unsuccessful. They had to abandon the planet or die.\"\n\nThe exploration team found a redoubt with the warning glyph shortly after landing, the ephemeris citing the abandonment date was half a billion years ago. Breaking the computer systems in the ancient building was being done now. Petabytes of an alien internet were being painstakingly copied in triplicate by the expedition. The decontamination protocols in force, three increasingly caustic fluids were used to prevent cross contamination. Strict rules on staying in the hot zone were in force.\n\nMonths later, the computers revealed their data, and it was shocking. System 143125-3 was identified and mapped. A minor single star system with a yellow dwarf star with 8 major planets was denoted and identified. Our archives found a match: Sol. The orbital pictures matched geologic databases for 500 Mya. The poor species had been studying a cyanobacteria that had gotten loose from their biolab and changed their atmosphere from a warm, methanogenic atmosphere to a cold, oxygen based one. The biohazard beacon was turned off, along with the tectonic stabilizers. We claimed the planet for the Terran Republic and started colonizing the iceball planet.", "It feels like a couple years since we found Dialea, a frozen speck amidst the cosmos, transmitting a distress signal for all nearby. It’s in the middle of a Goldilocks Zone—not too hot and not too cold—but its image screamed the polar opposite.\n\nIt was the curiosity that drew us in. Perhaps the Goldilocks Zone was no less of a fallacy than Zeno’s Paradox of Dichotomy, and this discovery would change our understanding of exoplanets altogether. But then a metallic gleam caught our sensors: a small machine lay half-buried in the ice, poking out just enough to be visible. We sent some people down, and a short expedition and experimentation later, the icy tundras transformed into vibrant, green plains.\n\nIt looked like the perfect place to live, and our scanner agreed: everything was just right.\n\nSo we did a quick check, a search for non-plant life, but all that seemed to reside were the bacteria and archaea swimming freely within the oceans and pools of water. There was no trace of the one who sent the signal.\n\nWe’d struck gold, so we colonized the planet. We landed and set up some makeshift shelters, replenishing our spaceship’s air with the atmosphere from outside.\n\nBut that was a mistake.\n\nThe contents of the signal took a day to decipher, but by then, we already had a guess as to what it meant. Everyone had varying degrees of dizziness and nausea. It only got worse from there.\n\nAn accompanying scientist found the cause: a microscopic bacteria had acclimated to the air a few hours after landing. He tried to work on a cure, but no progress was made before his death. It was all chaos after.\n\nI was one of the last to die. I remember laying on my bed, surrounded by the cloth of a weighted blanket as the world began to slip away. My vision blurred, the lights in front turning into formless blobs. And then the feeling left my hands and feet.\n\nBut they returned a moment after. I was greeted by the darkness of my cabin in the spaceship, replacing the grim demeanor of the room from earlier. I thought that the nightmare was over.\n\nOh, how wrong I was.\n\nIt turned out we had already landed on Dialea. The air on our ship had grown stale, so we let it cycle with the atmosphere from outside. It was already too late.\n\nThe second time was almost the same as the first: some died a bit quicker, others a bit later, but nothing could be done. I tried to help our scientist find the cure, but he always croaked too soon to make any real progress. The end came for me just as well.\n\nI’ve lost track of how many times it’s been. Probably in the hundreds, if not the thousands. It changes a bit with every awakening—a misplaced mug, a different shirt—so I theorize that I’m not only traveling back in time, but also to an entirely foreign timeline. But that makes me wonder:\n\nHow come I always end up here? The timelines may be unique, but my fate seems constant: I’m always onboard the ship, surrounded by the same people, landing on the same planet, and making the same decisions.\n\nI lie here now, my hands growing numb and my vision blurry. The world will fold upon itself once more, and I’ll wake up again.\n\nI hold on to a sliver of hope. Maybe this time I’ll be free from disaster, free from this cycle of torment and death. Perhaps I’ll be a farmer, unbeckoned by the call of the unknown and the desire for exploration, happily tending to my fields day after day and week after week.\n\nBut I doubt that’s the kind of person I am.", "Dianora crouched low over the fallen monolith. It was partially entombed in the ground and her back was screaming at her after nearly an hour spent pouring over it, but there was exposed text across its face and the work crews were still at breakfast. She wasn’t going to wait for them to finish up and then come raise the ancient monument, not on her out of system assignment. \n\n“Don’t you ever get tired?” Baerd’s voice broke her concentration and she glanced up, her temper flaring for a minute. She could hear the smile in the old man’s tone though, even under his bulky biohazard mask, and she battled her anger back down, locking it away like she always did. \n\n“Nope,” Dianora said, turning back to her work. “Translation is important, no matter what the ‘hard science’ people say. They still haven’t been able to figure out why this planet is a biohazard, maybe we can.” \n\n“You think the ancients knew about it?” Baerd walked over to her, sitting down beside her on the barren soil. \n\n“Maybe. Where else did they go?” Dianora rapped the monolith with her knuckles. “This thing is a metal nobody can identify. We’ve been finding remnants like this all over the planet, and hell, GPR shows a ton more right here under our feet. This planet had a civilization at some point and it was a pretty advanced one.”\n\nBaerd nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, I agree. It’s certainly our best chance to get some clues, and at this point I’d do anything to get this mask off, regulations be damned. It’s strange, what kind of biohazard leaves no air pollutants?” \n\n“And what kind of administration makes us all wear this things if the atmosphere is breathable?” Dianora said. \n\n“The paranoid kind,” Baerd said. \n\n“The stupid one,” she responded. Reaching into her pack Dianora pulled out her Cypher Box and began sweeping it over the text on the monolith. \n\n“You kids these days don’t know how lucky you are to have those things,” Baerd said. “Back in my day we had to do our translation ourselves, and if there wasn’t anything to go on the language was just dead, full stop.” \n\n“Careful Baerd, there isn’t a lawn left on this planet for you to yell about.” \n\nBaerd laughed, shaking his head and pulling out a Cypher Box of his own. He scooted in next to her without another word, and as the dig site came to life around them the two paleo-translators set to work unraveling the secrets of the ages. \n\nIt was a strange monument they worked on, and as she made her scans Dianora began to note more and more of the text’s intricacies. For one thing it was highly irregular. On Earth a monument like this would have been carved by a computer system that rendered every letter within a nanometer of perfect, whereas here they writing began reasonably neat but grew steadily messier. She thought it might have been carved by hand, perhaps with some sort of torch. \n\nFor another, the text that came out on the Cypher Box made precious little sense. It reminded her of the syntax of the biohazard notice when it had first been translated, normally the Cypher Box did a good job of organizing an alien language into Terrestrial Standard, but there it had come out incredibly sloppy. \n\n“Hazard. Quarantine. Land here do not, Biological? Thoughts are bad.” \n\nThe warning had been like a poorly made puzzle, and Dianora in particular had spent a very long time wondering about that single question mark the Cypher Box had produced. In all the years since the device’s invention it had never been so spectacularly confusing, although judging from what she could see of the writing system these ancients had used perhaps it made sense. The letters were just so messily done, perhaps they hadn’t been very strict about things like grammar and syntax? \n\nIt was hard to imagine a civilization that lax being able to invent something that could refrigerate an entire planet though. \n\n“Dianora?” Baerd said. The tension in his voice shifted her attention to him instantly. Baerd never sounded like that.\n\n“What is it?” she asked. \n\nBaerd was crouched down on several meters from her near the monument’s base. There was some poorly scrawled text there as well, and judging from his expression it was troubling. “I found it again,” he said. “Thoughts are bad. It’s written in three separate places down here.” \n\nDianora hopped up and walked over to him, carrying her Cypher Box. She ran it across the monolith’s metallic surface, checking his work. “Yeah…yeah, you’re right. And look at it, the characters they wrote are so badly done they hardly even look the same. I don’t think I would have connected them without the Cyphers.” \n\nBaerd reached out, gripping her arm. “Remember all the fuss you kicked up over the question mark in the first warning? Biological?” \n\nDianora nodded. “I remember the bigwigs dismissing it too.” \n\n“At the time they thought it was a Cypher malfunction. What if it wasn’t? What if they truly didn’t know if the hazard was biological?” \n\n“OK,” Dianora said, “but what else could wipe out their civilization so completely?” \n\n“I don’t know,” Baerd admitted. “But maybe it’s connected to why all this writing seems so degraded. This isn’t normal, advanced species aren’t so lax about things like that, not on monuments.” \n\nJust then Dianora’s Cypher Box let out a static squeal, the screen flickering and then shutting off. A few seconds later Baerd’s did the same, even admitting a small puff of smoke. The two translators stared at them in amazement. That had never happened before. \n\n“They kept writing ‘thoughts are bad.’ They wrote it at least three times here, they wrote it on their warning, I bet as we uncover more of these ruins we’ll see it again.” Dianora set her damaged Cypher Box down with shaking hands. “That question mark was no accident, I’m convinced of that now. And maybe the disordered syntax and terrible handwriting aren’t either.” \n\nBaerd looked over at her, his blue eyes were wide with fear under his goggles and his ragged, anxious breathing was loud in her ear. \n\n“Baerd, should we really be translating this?” \n\n\\---------\n\nr/TurningtoWords", "\"Sir. Good news and, um, probably bad news.\"\n\n\"Probably bad news?\"\n\n\"Um, yeah, I think so, sir. Anyhow! Good news first. We've deciphered the signal!\"\n\n\"Ah. And the bad news is what the signal was, I presume.\"\n\n\"Yes, sir. Biohazard warning. Well... probably. 'Rogue Selfreplicators' was the wording actually used by the alien device.\"\n\n\"...we've had a colony there for three centuries and you're telling me about a biohazard warning now?\"\n\n\"Terribly difficult language, sir. Long time to translate.\"\n\n\"I... see. Well. Do we have any idea what this biohazard might have been?\"\n\n\"Nothing was found on the planet but a harmless species of algae, sir. Slow-growing, capable of surviving in almost any conditions but fundamentally harmless, sir.\"\n\n\"...so there was a biohazard, and it either died off already or it's harmless. I'm failing to see the bad news here?\"\n\n\"Well, sir, when we disabled the structure, it sent one final message...\"\n\n\"Yes, yes, I know, and you've just translated it.\"\n\n\"...but the message didn't stop with us, sir. It was sent as a pulse of radio signals in all directions.\"\n\n\"So you're saying the aliens might have heard it, too.\"\n\n\"Yessir. And, um, sir, freezing a planet is what the aliens did to contain a fairly harmless algae. Sir... humans are a self-replicating species. What do you think these aliens are going to do when they come here and find us?\"" ]	6
	[WP] Visitors from the future are arriving in the present day. You’ve received one yourself. They claim to be the future version of your three-year-old child, and they are here to help you be a better parent, but something about them seems slightly off.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\n\n(I changed the kids age to 10 years old, sorry :)) \n\n I sat on the front porch, it was cold outside. Well, not really, it was up in the 70°s, but I was always cold. The sound of a car pulling into the driveway sent me onto my feet, leaving the rocking chair behind me swinging back and forth. \n\n“Linda she’s home!” Damien, my husband, exclaimed. \nI could already feel tears welling in my eyes as I raced down the wood steps to car. I opened the old Toyota’s door, and a familiar-looking young woman stepped out. She had short blonde hair, big blue eyes, and freckles scattered amongst her face. \n\n“Callie!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around her. She hugged me back, squeezing me till I couldn’t breathe, just as she did now. \n\n“Mom. You look...like mom.” Cassidy chuckled, almost relieved. She hugged me again, pulling her father into the hug as well. \n\nWe all walked inside, when I opened the door, Cassidy froze. Her stance went fridged, her warm smile now much colder. I looked at her, her eyes look as if they were glasses over with tears...they probably were. \n\n“Nostalgic huh?” Damien asked, nervously laughing. \n\n“What? Oh uh..yeah.” Callie stuttered, clearly Damien had broken her train of thought. \n\n“What’s wrong sweety?” I asked, placing my hand on her arm. \n\n“Nothing mom...nothing at all.” She smiled, sitting down next to me on the couch. \n\nAn awkward moment of silence filled the room. Damien shifted uncomfortably in his seat, cleary off put by the sudden shift in mood. \n\n“I’ll go turn on the oven. We’re having chicken tonight.!” Damien exclaimed, getting up from his seat. \n\n“No!” Callie yelled out, grabbing his hand. I looked at her, stunned. \n\n“I mean...no...don’t leave the conversation.” Callie gulped. \n\n“Callie don’t be silly, I’m only turning on the oven.” Damien chuckled, turning to walk towards the kitchen. \n\nI tried to brush of the weird altercation, and I turned to face Callie again. \n“So...how are things with you! How’s school!” \n\n“Oh..well I’m well past school now, I’m actually pursuing medical school!” Callie said, her voice relaxing a bit. \n\n“You always loved playing doctor.” I giggled, ruffling her hair. “Where are you going to school?” \n\nCallie rolled her eyes playfully, “Mom, you know I can’t tell you everything. It’s against the rules!” \n\nI sighed, “Right, right. I’m sorry.” \n\n“If you didn’t already know Callie, 10 year old you is at your grandmas today! You’re sleeping over.” Damien said, walking back over from the oven. \n\nCallies face grew cold again, “I know Dad. I know.” \n\nI placed my hand upon her shoulder again, “Callie...what’s wrong?”\n\nCallie shifted her view between both of us, until finally, she broke down into a sob. \n“I just..I just m-love you guys so much!” \nCallie buried her head into my shoulder, wetting my shirt with tears and snot. I held her, held her as tightly as I could. Damien joined in on the affair, and we sat there for a good hour, just hugging one another. \n\n\nCallie would leave that night. She cried as she waved goodbye, i didn’t want to leave her, I didnt want to stop hugging her. Lucky for me though, I’d get to see her tommorow...just younger. I’d go to sleep that night, Damien by my side, and I’d dream of Cassidy, her tears, her hug, her weird obsession with the oven. Did we ever turn off the oven? I’m sure Damien did. And I also dreamed of beeping, like fire alarms, and sirens. And as soon as my dream started, it ended. See you tomorrow Cassidy.", "The knock at the door came and I rushed to answer it, an eager smile on my face. And there she stood. My daughter, a grown woman.\n\nDelilah was twenty-three, she told me. I’d gotten the call from our local Future Visitor Task Force that she’d appeared and was stunned, considering how rare it was. A part of me was ecstatic at the gift but a part of me was worried for the reason. But there she stood, and there was no mistaking it - she was my daughter. I saw it in the shape of her eyes, in the curve of her mouth, the button nose. The same mixture of myself and my husband that I saw in her every day.\n\n“Hi, mom,” she said brightly.\n\n“Please, come in,” I told her, motioning. \n\n“Thanks,” she said, looking just as excited to be here as I was to have her. I shut the door behind her and opened my arms as an invitation for a hug. Her face filled with emotion and she embraced me, holding me tight.\n\nWe held on for a few long seconds before I let her go, nodding toward the den. “Not sure if you were keen on meeting your old self. The purpose was dictated to me as something to do with parenting?” I grimaced. “Did I do something wrong? Was there-”\n\n“No, no, nothing like that,” Delilah assured me. “You’re…perfect.” She swallowed hard. “Is Dad here?”\n\n“Any minute, he’s just in the shower,” I told her. “Had a late night and overslept a bit. Well, I mean, I turned off his alarm to let him sleep, because he needed it. You know how he is.”\n\nDelilah grinned. “I do.” She nodded toward the couch. “We can sit and chat here for now.”\n\nI nodded and sat next to her on the couch. Her eyes slid around the living room, taking everything in, and I wondered what had changed since she had last seen this place. Had we lived in this house through her childhood? Had we moved? Ten years from now, did we do some huge renovation?\n\nSitting there in silence, I started to feel awkward. Her eyes landed on photos hung on the wall and she’d stare at them for ages before looking back to my face, then moving to the next photo. Something felt off. Something in the emotion she held in her face, behind her eyes, almost as if she was hiding something. As the silence stretched, the feeling worsened.\n\n“So,” I spoke, abruptly drawing her gaze. “What did you grow up to do? Did you enjoy college? Did you go to college?”\n\nDelilah grimaced. “Spoilers, sorry. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to tell you, and there are some things that might be too big.”\n\n“Ah.” I nodded. “Well…” I paused, deciding to treat her like an old friend, for now. “I’ve been busy these days with work,” I said, prompting her to angle toward me. “My next book is set for release soon, and I promised to sign the first thousand copies of first editions.”\n\n“That’s got to be so exciting,” she said, leaning against the back cushion of the couch. “I remember every time you released a new book as exciting. Showing me your head shot on the back cover, all those words you wrote. I enjoy writing too, but nothing like the kind of stuff you do. It’s so impressive.”\n\n“Thank you,” I said, blushing.\n\nOur attention went to our right as hurried footsteps came down the stairs. “Dad,” Delilah said with a smile.\n\n“My goodness,” Roy breathed as she stood up and walked over, taking him in a hug. He then held her back at arm’s length. “You look happy and healthy. That’s good enough for me.”\n\n“I am,” she replied, a smile coloring her tone. She walked back to the couch and sat next to me again and Roy took the loveseat. “There’s…one big thing I did decide to tell you guys. We decide carefully, anyone who comes back. And you know that it splits off the timeline, so it’s not going to affect me, just you.”\n\n“It’s a bit over my head, but it was explained at a level we can understand,” I told her.\n\nShe nodded and swallowed hard. “You’re wonderful parents. Both of you,” she whispered. “There’s really… There’s nothing I want to give you advice on in that respect. You have the typical struggles, but we always settle arguments or figure out problems.”\n\n“I’m a bit confused, then,” I said, my eyes narrowing. “The email summary said it was about parenting.”\n\nDelilah nodded slowly. She looked back to Roy and then to me again, as if not sure where to lay her gaze. “Mom… When I’m ten years old, you die.”\n\nA long moment passed before the words sunk in and tears sprung to my eyes. “What?” I managed.\n\n“What happens?” Roy asked sharply. “What can we-”\n\n“It’s unpreventable,” Delilah said, despair heavy in her voice. “August 18th, seven years from now.” She took a shaky breath. “You step up, Dad, and you do everything a good parent would. You’re everything I need. I just…” She met my gaze and took my hands in hers as tears started to slip from my eyes. “I just miss you. So much. I only get a day before I’m pulled back, but I’d really like to spend it with you, Mom.”\n\nI choked out a sob and leaned forward, taking her in a tight hug that meant so much more than our first one did. “I’m right here,” I whispered in her ear as she hugged me back. “And I love you so, so much. No matter what happened, no matter what happens, I’ll always love you.”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n/r/storiesbykaren" ]	3
	[WP] After fifteen years of marriage, you don't know how to break it to your spouse that you're teeeeechnically not human.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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, okay. I can do this. I have to do this. Our two oldest playing in the yard with their friends, the third down for a nap, and a fourth on the way. My heart was thumping hard in my chest. For her sake. “Hey, Rose, my life, can you come here a minute?” I called down to her from the bedroom. “Just finishing lunch! What’s up?” She replied. I took a deep breath, thinking I was gonna pass out, “Just need to tell you something... D-Don’t rush! it’s no biggie.” I heard her snort a giggle, “Okay, weirdo.” Good. Good I cleared my throat and sat on the bed, this is good. I got time to plan my words. I looked out the window, seeing my kids race their bikes- I ran to open the window “Put those helmets back on!” The kids all groaned at my dadisms “Ah-! Don’t make me come down there!” I waited a moment and turned to sit back on the bed. “Relax, Frank, she loves you,” I said to myself. Yeah, this you, not the real you.\n\nI stat staring at the wall clock for what seemed like an eternity. “So what’s up?” she said with a smile, “What’s sooo important that I must-“ she paused for a split second, but it was long enough for my heart to sink into the pit of my being. “Frankie, what’s wrong?” I took one final deep breath, “Please, sit, I need to tell you something.” My face must’ve been white as a ghost, because when she sat down with he, I could feel her legs trembling and her heart pounding. “Frankie, what’s wrong?” Her voice trembled a little, and her eyes glossing over. My mind was racing with all the possibilities of what could be said and what could happen. “You know what my favorite movie is, right?” I asked her, my own voice quivering. Wiping her eyes, she seemed to be taken aback, and relaxed a bit, which relaxed me a bit, too. “Yeah, yeah. The Guardians of the Galaxy 2... Why?” I cleared my throat again “Tell me about the movie, please.” “Yes... but what’s this-“ I cut her off “Please. This is the only way I thought of... Please.” She looked up a second and put one hand on her belly, “Ah, well. The character was taken from earth as a child. And he grew up in space. And he met his real dad, but he turned out to be the bad guy, and the one who stole him was his actual dad. Oh- and he loved his mixtapes because h\nThey were a gift from his mother.”\n\nI nodded. “You’re right, you’re right,” I wearily smiled and kissed her on the head. I started to think this was a bad way to break the news to her that I wasn’t human. “Do you remember... what the bad dad was called by the character’s mother?” She thought a moment, “No, I’m sorry,” I couldn’t help but to chuckle at the absurdity that I found myself in, “It’s alright. He was her Spaceman, and she was her Water Lilly.” I fell to her feet and looked into her eyes, “Do you love me?” I pleaded her. “Of course I do!” She seemed almost insulted at the mere notion, “I love you beyond the stars.” I had to stop myself from passing out. “You are my Rose, anI am your Spaceman.”\n\nI saw the gears in her head turning, putting all of what was said into context. Her eyes went wide, and she asked the question, “You’re not human?” I hung my head, trying to push back the tears, “No. no I’m not.” She fell to the ground and squeezed me tight, “No. you are my Spaceman, and I am your Rose.”", "Milk. Butter. Potatoes. Spinach. Carrots. Tomatoes…. I am forgetting something. Baking Soda!\n\nI turn around and move to the baking aisle. I am not forgetting anything this time. Jamila keeps taunting me for being forgetful, but not this time. This time she will cheer in glee and swoon into my arms… maybe not that but she will be very pleased. \n\nI see the baking soda, but there are two brands. Mr. Artie’s Baking and The Nine Tailed Fox’s Baking… huh. I pick up Mr. Artie’s and head to the counter. Today was supposed to be special. But I guess after 15 years, marriage anniversary is not such a big deal.\n\n“That will be $57.69. Card or cash?”\n\n“Card.” I say, as I pull my debit card out of my wallet and give it to the cashier. \n\nBut being late due to work on your anniversary is sad, and the thing that is sadder is that your wife tells you to buy groceries while coming home without being upset, not a tiny bit, that you are late. \n\nToday was supposed to be special. The breeze hits me as I step out of the supermarket. Now where did I park my car? Shit. I try to pull out my keys out of my pockets while balancing the bag of groceries. This is going to take forever. No one is around. Let me just move to the side. There. Now no one will see me. My tail comes out and grabs my keys from my pocket. Today was supposed to be special because I am planning to tell her that I am not human. \n\nI change gears as my foot pushes the pedal. I will be home in about ten minutes. I know I should have told her before. Maybe after our first year or second or third or fourth. But something or the other would come up. I have even written letters but something would come up. Family visits. Career ups and dips. And…. Anyway, I know I fucked up but today was supposed to be the day. And the day is not over. I mean technically it is evening but the anniversary is not over. And I will make today… evening special. \n\nI pull over, get out quickly and jog and grab the groceries. The key is in my hand. Time to be a romantic. \n\n“Jamjam.” \n\nThe smell of her cooking is the most beautiful scent in the world. I step into the kitchen, and lay the groceries. I look at her back. She is not as young as she used to be. Everyday, she is aging.\n\n“So you know what happened today...” She says as she turns around to look at me. “...Why are you crying?”\n\nShit. Tears roll down my cheeks. \n\n“It’s just… today is our anniversary and you are making good food.”\n\n“I thought someone died. Stop scaring me and stop crying for nothing. I make good food everyday.”\n\nShe looks through the groceries.\n\n“Fine. Fine. What happened today?”\n\n”You forgot coriander.”\n\n“Ohhhhhh yeah.”\n\n“How can you not remember about 6-7 things?”\n\n“I told you to text me…”\n\n“And I told you should be able to remember 6 to 7 things, You are a grown adult.”\n\n“Fine. I will go get it.”\n\n“No. I will manage. I will get it tomorrow morning.”\n\nSo much for a special anniversary. I just have to tell her another time. \n\n“I will freshen up.”\n\n“Okay…. By the way, are you free this weekend?”\n\n“Why won’t I be?”\n\n“You have been in the office a lot lately.”\n\n“There has been a lot of work.”\n\n“I understand. It’s just that I wanted to buy some clothes and my elder sister is going on a family trip...”\n\n“I will make time.”\n\n“Then I can bid farewell to this apron.”\n\n“What?! No!”\n\n“What?”\n\n“The apron has so many memories.”\n\nShe looks at the apron and smiles sadly.\n\n“I used to feed Khadija wearing this apron... ”\n\nI walk towards her and hold her in my arms. I want to say something but I can’t. Words choke in guilt.\n\n“You are as built as ever… ” She rubs my torso with her hands. “How do you keep in shape with so much work? You don’t go to the gym.”\n\n“I am active during the night, you know.” I say grinning as I give her a kiss.\n\n“But I have put on so much weight, Harold. I was looking at our wedding photos and you look the same except for some grey hair.”\n\n“Jamila, you are beautiful.”\n\n“Wait.” She moves to the stove. “Dinner is ready. As I was saying…. What was I saying?”\n\n“About what happened today.”\n\n“Aaliyah…. I was talking about my weight. Harold!”\n\n“I am sorry.” I chuckle sheepishly.\n\n“Fine. Aaliyah came over and she told me that she is pregnant.”\n\nMy niece doesn’t understand subtleness. \n\n“She could have called.”\n\n“Nonsense. Such important news needs to be said face to face. And it’s a good thing. It’s been two years since she got married. Right time to have a child.”\n\n“Jamila, you don’t need to do this.”\n\n“Do what?”\n\n“Pretend to be happy.”\n\n“I am happy. I was so scared that it will be difficult for her to get pregnant. Her husband’s family were hesitant for the marriage because… ”\n\n“They thought she would be like you. They are fucked up.”\n\n“Harold!”\n\n“You need to stop hiding behind a mask.”\n\nI just said that. She looks at me, bites her lips and softly says, “Then what else can I do?”\n\n“Jamila… ”\n\n“Nobody cares, Harold. Nobody. And I am tired of being tired.” She laughs.\n\n“I care.”\n\n“I know.”\n\n“Is it not enough?”\n\n“No. I stay at home. I cook. I clean. I watch shows about horrible mother-in-laws. This is not living.”\n\n“I have told you to get a job.”\n\n“Harold… Go freshen up. I will place the plates.”\n\n“Jamila, we are having a discussion.”\n\n“No, we are not. You just look at me as a burden.”\n\n“What the fuck?”\n\n“Just waiting for me to die.”\n\n“Shut the fuck up!”\n\n“No. You shut the fuck up! You have been lying!”", "I looked at my wife as she stared at me in shock, she had walked in on me while I was serpentine form, ironically I was in this form trying to think of a way to tell her about this form. After a minute of uncomfortable silence I began, “I can explai-“ She cut me off with a loud shriek, “WHAT ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” She began to tremble as I instinctively reached out a sharp, taloned hand to comfort her, forgetting about the current form I was in. Which, of course, only caused her to scream louder. I winced at the loud noise, and, desperate for any way to calm her down, turned my body back to its humanoid shape and gave a meek, “Surprise Honey!” This revelation did cause her to stop screaming, however she did pass out. Cradling her limp body in my arms, I carried her to the bed, and promptly laid her down, waiting for her to awake so I could properly explain what exactly I was." ]	4
	[WP] An unidentifiable man walks into and then stops in the middle of a busy intersection. He is asked politely, and then not so politely, to move. Eventually the cops are called, and then the military. Quickly enough it becomes headline news, as all efforts to move the man prove futile.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\nI’ve decided to write a song:\n\nGoing back to the corner where I first saw you\nGonna camp in my sleeping bag I'm not gonna move\nGot some words on cardboard, got your picture in my hand\nSaying, \"If you see this girl can you tell her where I am?\"\nSome try to hand me money, they don't understand\nI'm not broke - I'm just a broken-hearted man\nI know it makes no sense but what else can I do?\nHow can I move on when I'm still in love with you?\n'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me\nAnd your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be\nThinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet\nAnd you'll see me waiting for you on the corner of the street\nSo I'm not moving, I'm not moving\nPoliceman says, \"Son, you can't stay here.\"\nI said, \"There's someone I'm waiting for if it's a day, a month, a year.\nGotta stand my ground even if it rains or snows.\nIf she changes her mind this is the first place she will go.\"\n'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me\nAnd your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be\nThinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet\nAnd you'll see me waiting for you on the corner of the street\nSo I'm not moving, I'm not moving,\nI'm not moving, I'm not moving\nPeople talk about the guy that's waiting on a girl, oh ohh\nThere are no holes in his shoes but a big hole in his world, hmm\nAnd maybe I'll get famous as the man who can't be moved\nMaybe you won't mean to but you'll see me on the news\nAnd you'll come running to the corner\n'Cause you'll know it's just for you\nI'm the man who can't be moved\nI'm the man who can't be moved\n'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me\nAnd your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be\nThinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet\nAnd you'll see me waiting for you on the corner of the street\n'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me\n(So I'm not moving)\nAnd your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be\n(I'm not moving)\nThinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet\n(I'm not moving)\nAnd you'll see me waiting for you on the corner of the street\n(I'm not moving)\nGoing back to the corner where I first saw you\nGonna camp in my sleeping bag, I'm not gonna move" ]	2
	[WP] it turns out all of the bad stuff you did as a zombie counts as sin. This has caused a couple of problems	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Hm... It says here that you ate a... baby?\" the man guarding the pearly gates says as I stand dumbfounded. \"Surely you're aware of the circumstances happening? I was turned into a zombie and I had no control over my body or mind!\" I say trying to swade his opinion. \"We have two lists now, The Pre-Zombie Sin list and the After-Zombie sin list.\" He says as his eyes rain down judgment fiercely onto me. \"It says here that you ate the baby when you were still human?!\" He says with surprise in his tone. \"I can explain that!\" I shout but he waves his hand to silence me. \"You ate the brains of a preacher, chased down a family while trying to kill them, and you even mauled a child,\" he says in shock.\n\n\"Sir, I had no contr-\" he cuts me off. \"I'm still reading off the Pre-Zombie list... Oh, it says you're the one that started the pandemic? It also says that after you succumbed to your own creation, you actually became nicer to people?\" Well, I'm pretty fucked right now huh? \"You can go down the same way you came,\" the man says as I see the golden Gates fade from my vision. \"Well, maybe satan will understand what I did,\" I say to myself as I begin walking towards a throne. \"Hey, really glad you could make it, I'm a huge fan!\" The devil says excitedly." ]	2
	[WP] You are the last being alive in an empty Universe.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 remember the night before as Mom tucked me into bed. Her kiss on my head felt longer than on previous nights, but I had a feeling that I would never see my parents again. I closed my eyes as I drifted away, reminding myself that tomorrow will be just the same as yesterday. I didn't expect what would happen after.\n\nAwakening from my long slumber, I got out of my bed, wondering if Mom was already making breakfast downstairs. However, the sounds of chirping from the bluebirds that sat on the same oak tree in our backyard weren't present. Must be a rainy day, I thought to myself as I saw the skies through my window. It was usual for the rain to start again this time of the week anyway. After I got through my morning routine, I walked lazily down the stairs, realizing the quietness throughout the house. It was never this quiet whenever I woke up.\n\n\"Mom? Dad?\" I called out. I went to the kitchen, realizing that the stove hadn't even turned on and the television was left on. Maybe they went to work or something, I concluded after I checked my phone. I had a quick meal before I got changed for the day as I left the house, trying to make sense of what was going on. Was it me or had something changed while I was asleep?\n\nI stood at the front of the house, seeing that some cars had been left unoccupied in the middle of our street. Surprisingly, I didn't hear any sirens coming from across the next few blocks as I continued down the road. Continuing my way through the neighborhood, I realized that there were no people around. My affirmations grew into confusion as I checked the nearby shops through the windows. There were no staff or customers inside the shops and the nearby roads were also filled with cars misplaced throughout the blocks. Something's definitely wrong, I thought as nervousness overcame me.\n\nI rushed to the nearby office firm where Dad worked. There were no secretaries, no security guards, and no businessmen who were rushing to their next appointment. I used the elevator and arrived at the floor Dad worked in. The whole floor was mostly silent as the only thing that I could hear was a clock that sat above the elevator door. Most of the cubicles were empty and the break room was full of leftover chips and half-drunken coffee cups. I tried to call emergency services on my phone, but no one was on the other end of the line. This wasn't some out-of-touch April Fool's.\n\nI went back outside to see if anyone was here or is even still alive. \"Is there anyone out there?! Can anyone hear me?!\" I yelled to the top of my lungs. I ran to the nearby blocks and the train station, checking if anyone was there, but alas, no one was there. Running out of ideas, I rushed back to my house and into my bedroom. This isn't real. Mom and Dad are okay and this is all a dream, I tried to assure myself. Wake up! WAKE UP!\n\nI opened my eyes in hope.\n\nI got out of bed, checking the window outside. I could hear the birds chirping and the bacon sizzling downstairs. Had it been all a dream all along? I rushed downstairs, hoping to see Mom and Dad again. \"Mom! Dad!\" I cried out in joy. \"Jonathan? Oh baby, what happened?\" They opened their arms towards me as I began tearing up, thankful for their presence. \"Son, what happened to you?\" Dad asked as he looked at me with curiosity. I began explaining what happened as we ate breakfast. I could hear the cars bustling down the road once again and see people outside going about their day. I could hear the sirens of police cars at the other end of the block and see the occasional plane passing above outside the dining room window. Everything was finally back to normal.\n\nAt least that's what I imagined.", "\"8.7412 NE, USS Salvation, Captain's log.\n\nGravitational collapse of the last recorded star is complete; efforts over the last century to stabilize it were unsuccessful. I managed to siphon enough mass-energy prior to collapse to fully stock the Salvation; if nothing goes awry, I project maintenance-mode can persist for six to seven centuries. After that...\n\nThis is it. The beginning of the end. Millennia of intergalactic exploration, colonization, and the great Human Empire is reduced to one woman aboard a starship. Turns out, there really was nothing else out there. No intelligent life, no remnants of ancient civilization, no gods, no devils. Just resources that we consumed like parasites. Like the legends say we did back in the Sol system. \n\nThe progenitors escaped Earth just years before the Last Fire, only to repeat all our mistakes on a universal scale. We should have known what the relays would do, that harvesting cosmic radiation would have consequences. Even though we dismantled them when we saw the distance stars winking out, it was too late. Terminal Entropic Acceleration. TEA, they called it, like the drink; reducing the final fate of all existence to a monosyllabic word served as an emotional buffer. Made the concept easy to deal with.\n\nI'm telling this story like it's personal, but this is actually ancient history. TEA was nearly complete before Maria Prime was born; that is, before my first birth. Maria MCCXLVII was my final iteration to have any outside contact. Maria MMMMCMLXXII is my current designation; I have sufficient genetic material for twenty seven more iterations, though the mass-energy drive is projected to fail before that.\n\nAs the end approaches, I've begun to wonder about the old Earthmyths. Is there some God out there? Some creator watching me? A great scientist, waiting for the conclusion of his grand experiment to finally show himself? Will my death herald a new beginning, a new phase of existence? For me, for the universe? Or is this...it? The end of everything... I had never put much stock in the Earthmyths, but now I wonder. \n\nI have wrestled with opening the databanks to read the ancient texts, but it would consume mass-energy. For now, I have resisted in hope of finding something worthy of my ship's namesake. With the final collapse, that seems increasingly unlikely. I will leave that to my next iteration; this one is too morose to look upon them.\n\nI must now prepare my breakdown; I am disabling the sensory triggers for my next iteration, and simply setting a random timer. The sensors waste mass energy, and there is nothing left out there to detect. Science has failed me, failed humanity; blind luck is our last, final hope. As the ship drifts through a black, empty universe, perhaps it will come upon something we missed: an asteroid rich in mass energy, a wormhole to a mirror universe, or maybe God itself. Or perhaps not, and my next iteration will live and die eternally hopeless. And my next, and next.\n\nMaria MMMMCMLXXII, Captain of the USS Salvation, signing off for the final time.\"" ]	3
	[WP] Your house is just beside a villain's secret lair. Instead of moving away like your neighbors, you choose to befriend him and check him out once in a while. A month later something happened...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Heya Johnny!\" I shout out to my neighbor as he drives down the street in his monster-truck-styled car and into his garage while smashing nearby houses as he continues down the street. \"Oh hey! Ricky is that you?\" He says as he reverses down the street at high speeds while breaking the houses he'd missed on his first attempt.\n\n\"Whatcha been up to?\" He shouts as he rolls down his windows and music pours out as he parks on top of a car that had been parked on the side of the street. \"Y'know, I've been busy volunteering at church, feeding the homeless, and adopting orphans,\" I say as my children come up from behind me and peek under my legs to wave to Johnny.\n\n\"Yeah, I'm sorry for bringing you so many of them on my last haul but they were all looking sad after their orphanage burned down out of nowhere,\" He says while rubbing his hair. \"Anyways have the kids been giving you any trouble? I'll take em back if they're being rude!\" He shouts while laughing.\n\nThe kids begin laughing awkwardly as Ricky fails to notice Johnny motioning his finger across his neck threateningly with a smile as the kids tug on to Ricky.\n\n\"They've been good to me! If you find anymore lost kids just bring them here! I'm always looking for new mouths to feed!\" I say to him.\n\n\"Alright, I'll see if I can find anymore when I go on my trip next month!\" He shouts from his car with a wink as he says month. I wink back so I don't come off as being rude and he continues demolishing the nearby house as he drives into his garage.\n\nThe garage door opens and looks like an abyss from the outside, Johnny continues down his corridor as lights begin glowing one after another and he finds himself inside of his lair. He finally reaches the epicenter of his lair and a glass casing shows a black suit with a staff residing next to it inside of the case, both being held up by a complex usage of hangers.\n\n\"In a month, I'll go further than I've ever gone before. I'm going to cross the line and become a true villain. People will die, children will die, and even I might die.\" Johnny says to himself as he lays his hand on the glass softly.\n\nA month passes as Ricky and Johnny become closer friends, day after passes and after 29 days pass, Ricky invites Johnny to eat with his family.\n\n\"Hey John, I'm glad ya could make it!\" I say jovially as he parks his car on top of mine and walks into my house with his shows as he strides on my carpet leaving muddy footprints. Those are replaceable things though so I won't get upset.\n\nThe kids gather begin sitting at the table with all of them on Ricky's side as Johnny sits alone on the opposite end of the table.\n\n\"So, tomorrow's the big day huh?\" I say to Johnny as he looks down at the plate of food I'd made for him dreamily.\n\n\"Why are you so nice?\" Johnny says to me as I begin to hold hands with my children to begin praying. I'd never thought of myself as a nice person, I'm honestly flattered by what he said.\n\n\"Thank you, but I'm not nice. I just do as my heart guides,\" I say trying to satiate him. \"What if one day, your heart told you to do unspeakable things? Wretched things that'd have you known as a monster forever?\" Johnny says to me while his eyes stay pointed at his plate as the steam rises towards him.\n\nI ponder slightly as I begin to respond. \"My heart knows what is right and if I have to do terrible things to follow my heart then I'd do it,\" I tell him confidently.\n\nHe lifts his eyes off of the plate as he begins to bite shovel the rice into his mouth. The words Ricky had spoken to him made sense, it made him realize what he had to do. Ricky finishes his meal and drops the glass plate onto the marble ground as he excuses himself from the table.\n\n\"Thank you for the meal,\" Johnny says as he walks out of the front door. As he leaves I feel a sharp pain as I fall to the ground. \"My heart is telling me to do this,\" Johnny says as he begins undressing me as I fade into the unconscious.\n\nI turn on the news at 11:00 a.m, \"Breaking News!, A man named Johnny Alberts has been captured. He was found in his infamous costume with a wound on the back of his head lying outside of an orphanage. The man behind the serial kidnappings is being questioned as we speak!\" The news anchor says with ferocity.\n\nThe kids lay on the ground as blood leaks from the wounds that they'd gotten after I harvested their organs. \"Sorry kids, life isn't fair sometimes,\" Johnny says as he continues slicing.", " \n\nThe streets are more empty than usual. The base, usually dark at this hour, has a light burning in the kitchen. The garage door is open. Not fully open, but open enough for someone to crawl underneath. \n\nStudying the place, a pang of regret hits. Really should have bought those binoculars when that guy moved in. But getting them would have put him on edge. While sipping the morning coffee I studied the house more. No movement, no noises and no Edward walking Daisy the neighbor’s dog. “Well, we did discus this possibility. Guess they finally toke him down.” \n\nThe stroll to the backyard was as calm as the entire area is. A few bushes do seem a bit darker or fuller than normal, but the morning light plays tricks on everybody. Whistling an off note tune I use the spare key to open the fence. Daisy is often allowed to run free there. Making it easier to bring her to my place if she is left behind. But it is understandable she isn’t running free. Government shooters don’t seem to mind shooting dogs, even if they wouldn’t harm a fly. \n\nDigging through my pockets I find the electronic key to enter through the backdoor. “Anybody home? Innocent bystander here to pick up a pooch.” Keeping an eye out for agents or bodies I make my way to the living room. Daisy already making happy noises and wagging up a storm. Releasing her from the kennel she turns into a whirlwind of licks and cheerful barking. Not unexpected, she likes me after all. Clicking on her leash I turn to walk home, my eye falling on the giant ornate painting. It usually is one of the neighbor and Daisy, but it’s not today. It still has the brass Boss plate, but its now a painting of me and Daisy. \n\nMore than a little disturbed I walk back home at a brisk pace. Glancing at my house a few things stand out. That attic window was closed. The bushes that seemed so full have a few broken branches. There is a dark van just partly sticking out behind my house. Suddenly everything is in motion. Agents pop out from hidden spots yelling orders that blend in with the other sounds. Weapons being cocked and someone walking up behind me. “Well well well. If it isn’t the illusive Boss. You gave us quite a run around, but your second in command has told us everything. You are going away for a very long time.” \n\nFrozen in place my mind runs a million miles a minute until one clear thought survaces. Did he allow me to befriend him to make me the perfect patsy? Putting me in jail while serving barely any time himself as a suppressed minion. Did he plan all of this?" ]	3
	[WP] The voices in your head are not talking AT you, they're talking to each other. They're going to have a small get together this weekend, and honestly, you're feeling left out. It is your head after all.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"So it's settled, we meet Friday at nine?\"\n\n\"No, nine thirty, remember I have to get the kids to their dad's for the weekend?\"\n\nWell that was new. Usually the voices didn't talk about their families. Occasionally I'd hear a mention of a sibling or parent or whatever, but they always flipped afterward, like I wasn't supposed to hear it. The voices changed after I moved- most were the same but this new voice, the lady with the kids, didn't seem to know whatever unspoken rules for talking around me were. \n\n\"You know, I'd like to meet up at this restaurant,\" I thought. \"Jade Palace, right?\"\n\nThe voices stopped. Completely.\n\nFinally the mom voice spoke: \"You can hear us?\"\n\n\"For years,\" I answered. \"What's going on?\"\n\nA different voice- the guy I call Know It All Paul, because I know his name and he's always got an opinion- cut off the mom before she finished her first word. \"Okay, so you know how cell towers work? Basically, us full-powered telepaths use you low-level telepaths that way. You aren't supposed to notice.\"\n\nScrew you, Paul. \"Well I did notice, and I want in.\"\n\nAnd that's how I ended up ordering the fanciest food at the most expensive Chinese restaurant I have ever been to in my life and not paying a cent." ]	2
	[WP] As I met the foreign ambassador I died... or at least I should have.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 Participated In a NDE Clinical Trial. I Need To Share What I Learned.\n\nI died, but that’s okay. The distinction between life and death isn’t as clearly defined at it’s been in the past. The crossing over in my case was controlled and monitored. My blood was gradually cooled to match the temperature of the saline solution I was submerged in, and my heart rate was lowered to the point where no detectable brain activity was registered.\n\nSomewhere along this spectrum, I was close enough to being deceased to be contacted by what earlier generations may have referred to as a spirit guide. \n\nThese entities typically appear in a variety of forms to the dying. The way they’re perceived and the messages they depart is usually dependent on the cultural expectations of the observer. Often, people revived after a near death experience claim to have seen angels, religious figures, deceased relatives, etc. The conflicting and confused descriptions from survivors go a long way towards explaining why the public and scientific community dismissed these reports for so long. But eventually, there were enough antidotal examples to generate significant scientific interest, and scientists devised a quantitative way to contact the other side, or the other side got serious about communicating with us. \n\nDuring the end of the 20th century, in laboratories across the world, an increased percentage of people experiencing an NDE came back with the following advice from their spirit guides, lost relatives, angels, Jesus, whatever. Raise a generation with no exposure or preconceived notions about death, dying, and the afterlife and submit them to conditions that will create a NDE. Then we’d be able to communicate with the afterlife directly without the cultural baggage caused by societal induced expectations.\n\nMy parents raised me with no spiritual or religious beliefs whatsoever. Additionally, I’ve lost no loved ones. I’m as clean of slate as possible in regards to those categories. The hope was that when I crossed over and was revived, I’d have an objective and impartial experience. I had no idea what I’d see and I felt no fear. But I was excited and curious—in a sense, this is what my parents had raised me to do.\n\nI remember the feeling of being lowered into the darkness of the saline tank, my blood being cooled, and my heartbeat slowing down. Then I was a bodiless awareness floating in darkness. Far off in that infinite nothingness I saw a distant light—merely a spark, but one that seemed to be increasing in size as I rushed towards it or it rushed towards me. Then, I was surrounded by the light, and in it I could see a shape approaching. It was a figure of light and energy, and it welcomed me without words. It was an ambassador from the other side, and I could feel its joy at meeting me.\n\nWe communicated wordlessly, and this is what it shared. Physical reality is an incubator for self-awareness. That for intelligent self-aware entities to come into being, it’s necessary for them to form in a realm in which there was space in which to navigate, linear time in which to change and grow, and other emergent beings and physical limitations to learn from and be tested against. The physical realm was a womb, nest and a nursery—a literal space in which awareness could be generated, grow, and mature, until it was ready to be released by death to be born anew into a larger immaterial realm, to an indescribable and unimaginable destiny.\n\nEarth, a beautiful thriving blue gem, was one incubator of life among many—but it was threatened. Within a few generations it would become increasingly uninhabitable and hostile to physical life. The ambassador was tasked with passing that information along to me—to us. They wanted us to know that while Earth was our cradle, all planetary dependent life was inherently fragile. The universe was often an unfriendly place for planet dependent life. Meteors, solar flares, environmental changes, the flipping of magnetic poles, the discoveries of uncontrollable energies—all these things could make planets inhospitable. So, for all intelligent species, there came a point where they were warned about the fragility of their planet, their nest, their cradle, and that it was time to move on.\n\nThe ambassador told me all life was precious and the universe is filled with bright lights we were encouraged to rush towards. In the darkness of space the stars are waiting and they welcome our arrival." ]	2
	[WP] To the heroes surprise, they find that the litch they decided to hunt and kill was never actually planning to conquer the world or kill anyone. He just really loved science and didn’t want to die when there was still so much to learn about the universe.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 took some time but finally, we vanquished the Giant Rats that were infesting the farm's basement. We took the coin as reward and headed off to the local inn.\n\nWe ordered a hearty meal and some drinks, sharing tales with local patreons. That's when we heard about the creature, lurking deep inside the mountain's caves.\n\nWith our bellies filled, we started our next adventure. The hunt for a lich, coincidentally named \"Litch\". A challenge for sure, but one to look forward too.\n\nWe slowly made our way into the creature's lair. What we saw, was the epitomy of unholy magic. Candles, encased in glass, burning with the intensity of the sun. They were strung together, illuminating the entire cave. At the end of these strings was a massive wooden construction, right underneath a hole in the ceiling, where water torrented downwards. The wooden behemoth creaked, obviously in torment, for it must be moving by means of trapped souls.\n\nWe spotted the lich in the corner, surrounded by various vials and flasks, bubbling in their bottles. Poisons, pestilence diluted, the Plague bottled, they must be. A sharp whistle fills the cavern. An iron-enclosed container, possibly some form of threat detection. We have been made.\n\nThe lich lowers the intensity of the flame with a wave of his hand. Not only does he posses the power of death but also the very elements! He must be stopped.\n\nI muster the courage of my fellow adventurers, what little what's left of it anyway. We must strike, from all corners of this cavern. We must, to free ourselves from this evil!\n\nAs quiet as I can be, I unsheath my sword from its scabbard and sprint towards the lich. He pretends not have seen me. My blade goes right through his ribcage, stuck. I can't pull it out.\n\nLitch: \"Oh, I didn't realise I had guests? I would've brewed a bigger pot!\"\n\n\"It seems that your blade is stuck inside me. Here, let me remove it\"\n\nTo be struck down, by my very own blade; forged by my ancestors, passed down for generations. A cruel way to go yet I accept my fate.\n\nGerdin: \"Do what you must, lich! But know that you will not leave this cavern!\"\n\n\"I do not intend to\", said Litch. \"I have so much work to do, yet so little time!\"\n\nLitch gently hands the blade back to Gerdin. Gerdin is taken aback. What is wrong with this foul creature? He should be sending swarms of undead bees at me, commanding the dead, ordering them to rip me apart.\n\nOnly now I notice that I'm the only one left in this cavern. My fellow adventureres scrammed as soon as the lich removed the blade from his body.\n\n\"Actually, if you wouldn't mind\", said Litch. \"May I borrow this blade for a second?\"\n\n\"What possible use could you have for my sword, other than to strike me?\" said Gerdin.\n\n\"Well, it's quite embarrasing. You see, when I became a lich, I made a phylactery and I accidentally dropped it down that small crevice over there. I just can't seem to reach it. The hook on your blade's guard might do the trick!\"\n\nFlabbergasted, I hand over my sword. This is the all-powerful lich that is pestering these lands? The scourge of the Lowfields?\n\nWhy were those patreons even scared of him? \n\nNow that I think of it, they never actually said something bad about him. In fact, he helped with an infection in the leg from one of the locals. Did I make a mistake? It can't be. He is a lich, an undead abomination. What other reason than to wield the most unholy of dark powers or command the undead?\n\n\"Ah finally, I got it!\" The guard hooked in one of the ornamental figurines, decorating the sides of the phylactery. \"A beauty, isn't she? I forged her myself. Now, I'm not the best blacksmith in the world but I am quite proud of this one!\"\n\n\"It is thanks to this phylactery that I discovered a strange process that creates lightning! It can be used to empower so many things, like these lightning bulbs that I hung everywhere! Or this here. With this, I can create a small spark and ignite gas. I can even controle how intense it burns!\"\n\nGerdin looks at Litch with a blank stare but the words still echo inside his mind. This isn't a lord of the dead, he's just enthousiastic about making discoveries.\n\n\"What about those bubbling vials and flasks there then?\", asked Gerdin.\n\n\"Oh, those? I discovered this strange growth on some mouldy bread and realised that is very good at cleaning all sorts of wounds. It burns, yes, but that's how you know it works!\"\n\n\"What about that eardrum-piercing small metal monstrosity?\", said Gerdin.\n\n\"Oh that? That's my whistlepot. It tells me when the water is ready to make a cup of tea. Would you like one?\"\n\n\"I...eu...is..is it liquid poison?\"\n\n\"Ofcourse not\", said Litch. \"Well, it wouldn't really hurt me in any way but that would taste aweful. I prefer the taste of this yellow-leafed plant I found in the woods near a Yorkshire tree. Here! Have a cup!\"" ]	2
	[WP] You are a powerful ruler whose name inspires fear in the hearts of your enemies and devotion in the hearts of your supporters. You have turned a tiny, broken kingdom into a force to be reckoned with, but you are now burdened with ill health and regret.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Crisis after crisis, war after war, death after death. The cycle is never ending. No longer should the fate of thousands rest on the roll of natures dice. I inherited from my father and he from his and so on and so forth since time began. My family has always ruled Historia. \n\nThe kingdom has ebbed and flowed with the competence my descendants. Some have been mad, others have been truly brilliant. I place myself somewhere in the middle. I helped our kingdom recover but I failed in my ultimate objective. \n\nI had to die childless, I had to end this cycle. I was the last living member of my family, I could have ended this. I could have set the people free, chaos would reign for a while but they would figure it out. An equilibrium would be achieved. \n\nI was so close, but I got sloppy, I fell in love. Sixty years of loneliness does that to a person. Now I have a son, an heir. A child I wanted but knew I could not have. As I lie here close to death I face a terrible decision. My child is too young for me to know his nature, I will die without knowing on what side his dice fell. Can I truly risk him being mad, and destroying my people, unraveling a lifetime of work. \n\nThis was the perfect time to let my people go, to end this cycle. But can I die a filicide, an act that is simultaneously madder than any other committed by my descendants, whilst also being logical. I am still a monster if I had pure intentions? \n\nWhatever I decide I will not have to live with the burden for long, but Historia will live with it forever. The question is can I order the death of my own son and end the reign of my family. This is a question that for the first time in my life, I have no answer for. A debate that has ravaged inside me since he was born.", "The throng of people part ways before the knights who escort me. My people look up at my carriage, laughing, waving, cheering, but my face is devoid of mirth. Not being able to ride on a horse is the worst inconvienience of faltering health. I don’t travel a lot anymore, but if I must, I make sure that the royal carriage has cushions aplenty.\n\nThe broad cobbled streets were a definite improvement over the dirt roads that criss-crossed the then backwater port town. The state of this place when I first came to power… It just hurts when I place myself in my young me again - he had so much to do, so much had to go right, and he didn’t even know it yet. And all these people… did I give them my all, or did I use them all?\n\nThis would be my final trip, one final retour before I’d retire to my castle. My abdication is a secret, and can only be sanctioned by the Cosmopolitan of the Church. So that’s where we’re off to, to meet the man who will release me of my responsibility and power. I don’t think I’ll miss it - the older I got, the more I understood the gravity of what I’d done to be where I am now. There was a time when I considered myself without such emotions, so it shocked me when these self-reflections first started popping up.\n\nWe are passing rolling hills with luscious vineyards and in the far-away forest thick plumes of smokes rise up above the treetops. There used to be a time when these fields were barren, and smoke meant death and destruction. Now they mean industry, people collecting and smelting bog iron for a tidy profit, and stocking our armories with weapons. On a hill stands a lonely mill, one I quickly avert my eyes away from. One of the many linchpins on the wheel of fate, that girl was. I got rid of the right of the first night, but by god, did I make use of it before I decreed its illegality.\n\nPeasants and travelers drop to their knees when they spot the golden tulip that adorns the banners on my carriage. It’s sad, in a way, how normalized this prostration has become. Father certainly never had this effect on people, only begrudgingly when his men started showing steel. Then again, he was a mere vasal to a more powerful house - an ex house. There’s a bottle of wine beside me, so I take a pull. The drinking helps drown out all the screams of the men I’ve killed. God, I killed a lot of countrymen, but they were serving a decadent and crumbling regime, yes?\n\nThe temple of The Cosmopolitan looms in the distance. He’ll have some answers on life and death, especially about those I’ve arranged. The multicoloured facade looks so happy and festive, inviting all to come and gaze at its glory. However, if you’re not of the clergy’s elite, or a king, you won’t get past the massive curtain wall that surrounds the holy site.\n\nMy knights leave me at the gate, leaving me in the care of the high priests who take me to The Cosmopolitan. Everything aches; there is a priest who’s about twenty years older than me but moves as if he’s half my age. Do they have it so easy? If my old brother was still alive, this could have been my life. I stop my trembling hand with the other. He would have been a horrible king, though, unlikely to survive for even a month. No, stop using these justifications...\n\nThe Cosmopolitan sits on his throne in the audience chamber. I donated the artists who created the beautiful frescoes on the walls, for which his predecessor was eternally grateful. This man, we have spoken once just after he was elected by the conclave, back when I still… in the game. I made sure that he knew who greased the wheels of his succession.\n\n“Holy father, I come before thee to ask thyne grant - I wish to relinquish my crown, and retire my office.” I don’t kneel, I don’t think I’d be able to stand back up if I did.\n\n“By divine right you rule; you were chosen by god to fulfil the kingly duties. To deny the crown is to deny god.” The Cosmopolitan intoned, his voice echoing through the domed chamber.\n\n“I have worn out the crown, I feel that god has chosen another now.”\n\n“Who, then? You have no issue.” A faint smile appeared on The Cosmopolitan’s face.\n\nThat hurts. He knows I have bastards, and that I had a son. “The crown prince would have been a worthy successor, but the Lord saw it fit to take him - as is his prerogative.” I can still see his eyes, his determination when he gave me his mount and then turned back, sword in each hand, to thrust himself into the infidels who chased me after that cursed battle in the desert heat.\n\n“Indeed it is, but as far as I see, God has not selected a worthy replacement.”\n\nMy son's sacrifice paved a way to a diplomatic subjugation of the church - I survived and went on to destroy the church's ancient enemies. So to hear this… puppet speak to me as if I’m not entitled to pick my own successor. I have half a mind to tell him what really happened to the man who came before him.\n\n“My cousin, Redwald. He will be the one to lead this kingdom further.”\n\nThe Cosmopolitan rises from his seat and starts to slowly pace the room, hands on his back. He looks up with a pensive expression.\n\n“No.”\n\n“What?” The audacity! I feel some of my old vigor returning.\n\n“I will not grant you the right to abdicate. You have not deserved the right to go quietly.”\n\nI stand there, tongue-tied. It’s been a long time since I’ve been denied anything.\n\n“To earn that right, you must do one thing…” He pauses.\n\n“Well?”\n\n“Confess, to everything. Including the assassination of the Comopolitan before me.”\n\nConfession. That’s what I need. “I-I shall confess.” I had been bottling up so much, but the lid cannot take the pressure anymore. Ever since I started contemplating abdication, the bottle has been shaking more and more violently. The fact that he knows what I did to his predecessor does not faze me anymore. His hand is outstretched in the direction of a large booth. I step in the booth’s right door, and he the left.\n\nHours later, when evening has fallen, I stumble out again and sag down to the floor. Through-red ringed eyes I notice the little details on the tiled floor - miniature scenes of the lives of saints past. My story will not be immortalized on the floor of the holy temple…\n\n“You will reign on, until death.” The Cosmopolitan stands over me and looks down, his face shaded under his cap. “Use the time you have left to redeem yourself. And as penance for all those who you have wronged, consider this. You will not receive the rest you so desire until God decides your time has come.”" ]	3
	[WP] Billions of books suddenly fell from the sky right in front of your eyes. Their titles were simply names. Some books had endings, others, such as the book you found, were still being written.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 darkened, similar to a thunderstorm. But the sound was nothing like rain and thunder. It was the sound of falling books. Magnified by thousands, no more than that, millions. There were books everywhere. \n\nThey all had the same cover. A light grey background, an outline of a person, and a name. Not a title, but a name. No author, no publishing company, no blurbs, nothing else that you would expect.\n\nI picked up a few that had hit the ground in front of me. One was small, reminding me of the beginning reader books from when I was younger. The name on it was Emily. I flipped through the pages, I couldn’t make anything out specifically, but all the pages where filled. \n\nThe next one said David. This one was longer, more like those compilation books you find in thrift stores. Again, I wasn’t able to see anything specific — it’s like the words blurred as if I was in an actual rainstorm — but the pages were all filled.\n\nThe last one I had in my hand had my name on it. But that had to be a coincidence, Morgan wasn’t that uncommon of a name. \n\nI opened the book, and the words, like the other two were illegible. But when I reached what I thought was the end, a new blank page appeared. I kept turning, and more blank pages appeared. The book in my hands went from something the size of a cozy murder mystery paperback to the size of a college textbook in just the turn of a few pages. \n\nGod, I hope I didn’t screw up anything.", "I remember the day that snapped our timeline in two.\n\nI was with some friends on my uncle's farm, we'd found a large pond and an old tree, and were taking turns rope-swinging off of it and into the water. It was my turn and I'd been handed the knotted rope when we heard a thunderous crash in the woods, resulting in a plume of smoke that could be seen for miles.\n\nWe rushed over and witnessed the entire tree-lined area being crushed into a perfectly-formed rectangle. When I saw it, I initially thought it was an alien spaceship, a huge, heavy aircraft with a sleek white finish. I was wrong. It wasn't a spaceship. It was a bookcase. A massive, wooden bookcase.\n\nWe'd arrived at its rear, so when we walked around and saw the books, we couldn't believe it.\n\nThings only got stranger from there. The books had names of people as their titles. A few of the names rung a bell in the back of my mind, and I later found out they were the names of people who had lived in the town almost two hundred years ago. They were the founders of the place, my uncle had told me the stories growing up, and was incessantly pointing out that our family could be traced back to one of them.\n\nMichael found a book with the name of his grandfather, but the book ended abruptly, a swathe of blank pages left unfilled. Everyone knew about Great Pete, he had done amazing things as the town mayor, but he never was the same after his wife passed. One day, out of immense grief, he decided to just end it. Michael still has the pistol.\n\nMichael's grandmother had a book with scant few pages. It was a glorified collection of pamphlets. That stung me, and Michael's stony face almost squeezed the tears out of my eyes.\n\nWinona was the first to find her own book. The cover had intricate designs in black, and there were doodles scattered all through the pages. She would be pursuing a career in animation at the end of the summer. She read through the pages, mouth agape, as the rest of us crowded around her. As she neared the end of the text, the text just kept on going! The last sentence before she shut the book was literally: \"...and Winona hastily snapped the book shut in exasperation.\"\n\nWhen Ann read her book, it became clear that something was different. Her book had a definite beginning, middle, and end. At first, we thought she'd picked the wrong book, but everything from the cover to the table of contents to the actual prose lined up neatly with a description of her own life. The last twenty pages detailed things that had not yet happened, but the craziest part was the way the book ended. According to the story, Ann would die by winking out of existence.\n\nWe all sat together in silence for a while after reading that.\n\nDelia stood up and began perusing the shelves idly. She hadn't yet found her own book, but she wasn't in any hurry to. I followed her from the corner of my eye as I tried to make sense of what all of this meant. I was coming up empty.\n\n\"Sam, look,\" she said, and I joined her at the bookcase.\n\nI knelt down to take a look. There, in the last row, at the very bottom right of the shelf, lay my book. Samuel Juniper Jackson, Volume 1.\n\nI blinked. I reached out to it and ran my fingers over its unusually large spine. The cover was made of a dark brown leather. My eyes wandered over to the next book, and it was in the same type of cover. Samuel Juniper Jackson, Volume 2.\n\nWhat?\n\nI staggered back and landed on my butt. This did not make any sense. Still seated on the ground, I pulled out all of the books at the very end of the bookcase. They were all thick tomes covered in dark brown leather. They all had my name. And there were five of them.\n\nThe first volume had only about a third of its pages filled. The others were completely empty. I read and re-read it three times, completely absorbed in the text. This was my story, laid out for all to see. It was at that moment that I knew. I gained a clarity that was instinctual, almost primal.\n\nMy name is Samuel Juniper Jackson, and the fate of the future is in my hands." ]	3
	[WP] Ponce de Leon scoured the Americas for the fountain of youth. But it is not a fountain at all, merely a small puddle in open pasture, in which the cattle bathe contentedly.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Don't take the truck into the south pasture. There's a seep. Never dries up. You drive in there, you'll get stuck.\"\n\nThe new boy nods. He looks like he should still be in school. You hope he'll have the common sense to listen to you. \n\n\"I know it's tempting to cut through there. But the calves are skittish and the boggy spot is bigger than you think. So take the long way.\"\n\nYou watch as he goes. You've hired a lot of farm hands over the years. This one doesn't inspire confidence. It's not just that the pasture is a tempting shortcut. It's got a kind of draw to it. \n\nA couple hours later he's back, truck intact. You're not reassured. It usually takes them a few days before they convince themselves that laziness is smarter than you are. \n\nThe next week is uneventful. The corn grows, the cows graze. He's a steady enough worker. You've checked up on him and found nothing to complain about. You're a little tempted to warn him off the south pasture again. But you know that'll have the opposite effect. \n\nTen days. That's how long he lasts. Just as well you've had a lot of practice pulling the farm truck out of mud. You know it's happened when he doesn't come back for lunch.\n\nYou waited another hour, just in case he was sulking before walking back. Getting your employer's vehicle stuck in a mud pit they specifically warned you off of is embarrassing. It's human nature to sulk a bit before coming back to fess up and ask for help.\n\nNew boy wasn't sulking though. Turns out he was one of the extra stupid ones. When you and Clyde horse get out there there's no sign of anyone near the truck, but there is a heap of muddy discarded clothes. You sigh and start pulling on your waders. Clyde's seen this before. He ambles off to the shade and starts grazing. He knows there's no work for him until you find the fool kid.\n\nYou start on the edge of the seep and go out in a spiral. The pasture isn't all that big but there's quite a few places a little fellow might be hard to find unless you're right on top of him. Sometimes they go a pretty far ways before they run out of steam.\n\nThis one made it halfway across the pasture and then crawled under the downed pine tree. He's sound asleep in there. You crawl in and lift him out. He doesn't wake up. Sleep of the innocent, or something like that. Your back twinges a bit. You're not as young as you were. You make a note to do something about that.\n\nAs you carry the kid back to the truck you wonder if it's been long enough that you can drop him off at the parish church. Maybe not. The further away you take him the more chance of running across some nosy parker. But local is risky too. Especially if they're got those newfangled cameras. \n\nClyde horse sees you coming and gives a resigned snort. He knows the drill. The kid sleeps through it all, even when you gee up Clyde, rev the engine, and the truck finally lurches free. Before you leave the pasture, you stroll back to the seep and fill a bottle.\n\nIts been a long day, but tomorrow you'll be feeling refreshed. Time enough then to do something about the toddler who is currently sleeping on a pile of burlap feed sacks in the bed of the truck." ]	2
	[WP] Absolute power corrupts absolutely--and the villain is a master of twisting this to his/her own gain.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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] 400....years that’s a long time to hate 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My first time writing something heavy like this. Feedback is appreciated.\n\n- - -\n\n“Is this PHEONIX?”\n\nMilitary personnel opened the door, “This way, sir.”\n\nJesse Miller, towering over his guard, recalls this exact stairway. Gray metal walls, box shaped, red lights by the corners, seven flights of stairs to the quarantine cell. They came in from a normal door, and the cell is sealed by a larger door with a blue tint, green lights and a Delta symbol for fire. One of his distant grandfathers built this cell himself to contain a rogue mutate, which emerged during the 22nd century. \n\nMutates have been around since ancient times and live lives ten times the length of any human’s, while looking young. Many of them are remembered today as mythological gods.\n\nAs they descended he notices one of the shorter personnel begins to pant, perhaps dread? They unlock the secure door and are met with a rectangular one way window to the right that views into a blue padded cell. Metal walls of grey, shining with a red tint by the seams and corners. Another door into the cell that was entirely blue and shining. While there were no real lights this room was perfectly illuminated by tech none of the visitors quite understood.\n\nMiller enters the padded cell as the cell door is being sealed, and sees a flaring red haired woman in a blue straitjacket, with her head down against the corner. On her knees, drowsy and mumbling to herself. personnel station themselves just outside the cell to protect the Warden.\n\n“Ma’am. How long have you been here?”\n\nShe remained still.\n\nMiller stood at the center of her cell, “Today is November 12th, 2513, do you know how long you’ve been in here?”\n\n“I do not know.” She mumbled.\n\n“You were arrested in January 25th, 2100 for Grand Arson, do you remember this?”\n\nShe struggled to speak in a modern accent, “I was captured, it does not matter when. I wake up to simply live, isolated. They dragged me here because I burn when people trigger me, shoot fire, and they die.”\n\n“Do you remember your name?” \n\nThe woman did not respond. Miller cleared his breath, “You were brought in by Metro M-“\n\nThe woman was triggered from her drowsy state, and faced the Warden, revealing a face that barely looked over her late 20s. She groveled “You know Metro Man!?”\n\n“...-“\n\n“Are you his friend?” She mumbled, then spoke clearly, “He called me his friend. Then he said he loved me, he was going to be my first, nobody even wanted to touch me.”\n\nHer speech turned into incoherent rambling, which was out of place confusing Miller and the Personnel. He cut to the chase, “I’m here to release you. We need your fingerprints and facial scan to confirm your-.”\n\nShe started to chuckle “All I remember, is that they called this cell Hell.” She chuckled again. “Hell in a cell. When they locked me here. Because of him... I hate him.”\n\nMiller began to short his speech, “I’m sorry, Ma’am, what did Metro-“\n\n“WHAT DID HE DO TO ME!? Are you asking me what *he DID to me?* He didn’t kill me! 400 years ago. He called me his friend, and then he just beat me up and let these soldiers abduct me.” She started to laugh again.\n\n“400 years...” Miller mumbled, and rubbed his neck. “That’s... a long time to hate someone.”\n\n“You don’t know the fucking length of my hatred. I burned daddy with that hatred.” She hit her head on the back of the wall. “Metro Man beat me and I burned Daddy’s house to a crisp! When the burning started, I burned my baby brother to a husk! I couldn’t stop myself from hurting them, I woke up on fire and they died!”\n\n“When... did you wake up ‘On fire’”\n\nThe woman stopped rambling, and started to leak tears that quickly evaporated. “It’s empty, here. I hate being left here. If I’m lucky every ten years they torture me. They blamed me for the fires and then they torture me.” She said while gasping “They experiment on me, they use my blood to make tools for the people in Haven. And it’s all I ever feel”.\n\nBefore Miller could speak again, she cuts him off with more sobbing “Metro Man was the first person to see me when my brother died. He promised nobody would hurt me. Then he said he loved me, he’s the only man who’s ever said that but he never did shot with me. He promised he’d teach me to control this curse. Then he beat me. Let them capture me, and now they’ve forgotten about me.”\n\nMiller and the personnel have become deeply disturbed by the prisoner's ramblings, the shortest from earlier can no longer look into the cell. Miller continued to calm her, “Ma’am, this is the last day you’ll have to be in this cell. Metro Man has been working for the last 3 centuries to pardon-“\n\n“He’s still alive?” Before Miller can deny this a horrible laughter took her over again, ten screaming, her tears turned to molten lava and her entire body caught fire, burning off her jacket. She shouted graphic threats until the cell was engulfed in moist gas, which put her fire out in mere moments. All while the personnel dragged Miller out of the cell and locked it. The dominated the air with primal grunts of pain, before she fell to the ground, all but her face covered in soot.\n\nMiller stared in dread with the rest of his guard, dialed his phone and spoke to an unknown authority. “Mr. President, tell me how many more Mutates have been quarantined like thi-“\n\nThe one way glass shook violently with the prisoner, engulfed in flames again, illuminating the dark gray walls, yelling through and punching it. Miller and the personnel escape through the secure door while she threatens them. “I swear to god you better kill me, otherwise I’m gonna kill you. I’m gonna kill you all, and gut that bastard with yo-“\n\nThe prisoner is defeated again by gas, she falls to the ground and stays this time. Covered in soot, howling in misery, utterly alone." ]	2
	[WP] A kingdom has a small group of Royal Thieves to reclaim property of the kingdom that civilians have not payed for. One night you are tasked to steal a house, but how would you do it? The king provides no answers and simply sends you off.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 let out a harsh deep breath that escapes into the air as a cool mist. The forest of oak trees, colored in bright orange and yellow, creeps onto a cobbled path that runs down to a distant house. The structure is three stories tall and wide enough to be counted as a mansion, though it has broken down windows and a sinister purple shade to its walls. \"I hate my job,\" I mutter as I stare at its giant figure. How the hell does the king expect me to steal the whole house? \n\nThe stone-littered path cracks with every step I take. Distant wind sounds like ghastly screams through the forest, and a faint blaze creeps out from one of the house's windows. \n\nThey could have chosen anyone, even a group, to deal with this shit, but instead, they chose me. I joined the Royal Thieves just a week ago, and my biggest haul was a bag with ten Gold Stillings and a couple fake gold teeth. Compared to the other members who have stolen whole safes or the entirety of another country's treasury, I look less than prepared. \n\n\"You know,\" I say aloud as the forest edges away, and the prairie clearing around the house bursts forth. \"I should have just been a carpenter like you said. I can just imagine how damn smug you must be, watching me right now grandfather.\" \n\nThe house's shadow casts over me as the moon reaches midnight, shining down a horrible red light. Of all days to do this task, it just had to fall over the blood moon cycle. Every second that passes by, a new problem seems to want to show up for no other reason but to make my life more miserable than it already is. Haven't I lost enough? Granddad kicked the bucket a year ago, and my sister, the only reason I joined the thieves, passed away yesterday.\n\nI was planning to quit today, and yet they pushed this task over to me. I scratch the back of my head and pace around the building. Apparently, the property owners haven't paid off their loans, so the house has to be reclaimed. Shouldn't the Imperial Guard or the bank's grunts deal with this? Well, they must have a reason, a stupid one, I bet, but a reason. \n\nAs I pace around the edge of the property, looking over the house's critical beams and structure, the sound of glass shattering comes from inside. I run back to the front, noticing the flickering light from before in one of the windows, now gone. I was hoping the owners were asleep by now. I guess that's my luck for you. A sigh escapes my lips as another crash echoes out from the house. I duck down into the thick yellow grass stalks of the prairie as the sounds continue to burst forth, growing louder and sharper every second. \n\nWith a final, deafening, screech the noises stop, and the house door creeps open with an annoying squeak at its hinge. Do they know I'm here? I stay still for a few moments, staring at every nook and cranny of the building and carefully glance behind me. A small faint figure, likely a tree stump I missed on the way, stands in the middle of the road.\n\nIf I knew someone was outside of my house, the first thing I would do is make a threat or back around and get them before they can even try and get inside. And yet, instead of a threat, the doors wide open, and no one seems to have come out from a back entrance to catch me off guard.\n\nWith all the things I know about thievery, which isn't a lot, and logic, which I can't say I have much of either, I have to say that there's likely no one inside the house. The loud noises are probably from the collapse of a desk or maybe an entire section of the floor. Then the open door, well, it could just be swinging with the wind, especially with how old its hinge sounds. But, just to be safe, I pick up a random rock in the clearing and launch it straight through an unbroken window. The sharp sound of glass shattering fills the air and muffles the distant wind. \n\nTen minutes pass without a single yell or shred of movement from the house. It's still empty and obviously without anyone living inside. If no one is in inside to steal from in the first place, why send a thief? Well, whatever it might be, when I get back, I'm quitting this shitty job. \n\nWith a sigh, I stand and walk over to the side of the house. The entire time I've been lying in the grass and gazing at this building, I've been trying to figure out how to move it, or well, steal it, I guess I should say. The only thing that comes to mind is taking it apart, which was probably the obvious solution in the first place. I drag out a hammer etched with strange symbols from my pocket before quickly starting to carefully tear out each plank in the house. For every piece I remove, I etch the same symbols from the hammer onto them. \n\nThe work, the sound of the hammers swing, and the sweat that pours from my face reminds me of my grandfather. He was a strange carpenter who believed that every house had a soul. More specifically, an object that holds some strange power. Studying under him, I was, of course, bombarded by his crazed belief. I don't believe in the concept of a house having a spirit, but I still follow the habits he drilled into me. The etching of symbols, the way everything should be organized when constructing and deconstructing. It's pure madness, but doing it now after all these years brings a smile to my face. It feels as though that, as I work, my grandfather is watching me with pride and maybe the rest of my family. \n\n\"The hell?\" I mutter as I reach the frames of the walls. Inside the narrow space in the wooden posts is a pile of bones, covering the ground in a pale white. My hands shake at the sight, and my knees give in as a horrible stench creeps in from the new opening. I want to stop, there's something wrong with this place, but I can't now. Out of everything my grandfather taught me, there was one thing he made sure to always cram into my skull. Don't stop until you're done. That was the biggest rule he had and the last promise I ever made to him on his deathbed. \n\nI clench my teeth together as I swing down and pry apart the house. Hours pass by as I do the work, scooping out skeletons and dragging bodies out from under rugs. The further I work in, the fresher the stench, and the less decayed the bodies appear. At times I recognize their clothes, marking them as loan collectors or town guards. The night quickly turns to midday as the house is slowly torn apart by my hands. \n\nMidday turns to the evening when one piece of the house remains. In the center of it all is a small teddy bear, with its ear singed off and its left hand missing. Its button eyes are deep onyx black, and a cute little red bowtie hangs on its neck. \n\n\"Mr, why did you break the house down?\" A soft voice suddenly asks.\n\nI lunge back with the teddy bear in hand as I shriek out of fright. I look behind me where a short girl wearing a white dress almost floats atop the house's remains. Her face is covered by a horrendous burn that still singes with orange ember and releases light smoke. Her left hand is missing all the way to the shoulder blade, but her eyes are crystal clear, staring at me. I recognize her silhouette suddenly, as the faint figure I saw on the road when I hid in the grass.\n\n\"I was told to,\" I answer with, unsure about what else to say.\n\nThe young girl nods, twisting her charcoal lips into what looks like a smile. Her only remaining hand stretches out and points at the bear in my arms. \"Please, take care of it,\" she mutters before vanishing in a thick black dust that flies off in the wind. \n\nWas she a? Was grandfather really onto something? Hundreds of questions clutter my mind, giving me a headache. With a quick shout, I try to put everything aside. Only one thing matters right now. I drag myself up, fit the teddy bear into a pocket on my shirt, though its head pokes out, and walk away to finally quit this shitty job.", "Sansir was shepherded into the Doge's bedroom, guards flanking her sides. As a head of the Royal Thieves she had her hands bound in front of her, lest in their idleness they pilfer something of worth. The doge, who was being attended by several hangers-on, sat upright on pampered pillows, having the day's news being broadcast to him through the mealy mouths of the sycophants.\n\nWhen the Doge noticed her, he raised a hand, and the ensemble fell silent. \"Ah, Miss Sansir, a pleasure,\" the Doge, the warm, picturelike smile breaking his serious face. \"I hope the trip up from the dungeons wasn't too bad?\"\n\n\"No sir, the lads were awful polite an' everything,\" Sansir said. The shackles which bound her hands fell to the floor with a dull thump, which caused the hangers-on to jump like frightened fowl— shoving their bejeweled hands into their finely lined pockets. Sansir handed the guards their keys back, then bowed.\n\n\"I find that brevity is a skill in short supply in this room,\" the Doge said to his sycophants, who glared at Sansir— hands still in coats— as though the mere presence of her would rob them of their wealth. \"I'll give you the same privilege, as you're going to be quite busy. I've got a bit of a special problem that needs the talents of the Royal Thieves.\"\n\n\"A problem, sir?\" said Sansir, hands behind her back and putting on the most honest face she could muster. The Royal Thieves were the Doge's little arm of sneaks, used to get back property he owned, or claimed ownership of. Under Sansir's tutelage the little band of 20 had become quite a skilled hand the Doge could rely on.\n\n\"Oh yes. Quite a serious one unfortunately. As you know, the Marquis de Gnudrin has recently decided to turn coat, and this job involves him. I would usually handle this much differently, but our Marquis has the special privilege of being quite close to the city of Murduir, of whom he has sworn his allegiance to. Doing something overt would inflame tensions.\" \n\nSansir had heard about the betrayal— most of the capital had. The affair had been quite humiliating for the Doge— whose power was seen to be absolute— and there were talks in the circles she frequented about the potential of a war brewing in the background. Sansir kept those thoughts to herself— her business was more in the line of stealing things in people's pockets, not their lives.\n\n\"Yes sir,\" Sansir said. \"What can the Royal Thieves do to help?\"\n\n\"It would be appreciated if you could return some property the capital had bestowed upon him.\"\n\nAh, Sansir thought. This was familiar territory, pride making her stand a little straighter. \"Is there anything specific you wish recovered, sir? A broach perhaps? The family jewels? Some treasures, perhaps?\"\n\n\"The entire property, Miss Sansir,\" the Doge said flatly. \"The mansion. And everything in it. I want it back, in one piece if you could.\"\n\n\"The mansion, sir,\" Sansir replied in equal flatness.\n\n\"Yes. The mansion, Miss Sansir.\"\n\n\"As in, the literal building, sir?\"\n\n\"Yes, the mansion, Miss Sansir. Is that going to be a problem?\"\n\n\"Oh, no sir. A mansion. I thought you were going to make us do something quite impossible, like steal it from the Marquis without him knowing!\" Sansir's mouth said without her brain being involved. She immediately realised her mistake as the Doge's eyebrows shot up in amusement.\n\n\"Why, Miss Sansir, what a capital idea. I find that humiliation is much more satisfying when the target in question doesn't know they have been stolen from. Don't you agree, Miss Sansir?\"\n\n\"Erm, yes sir, but—\"\n\n\"No but! I'm quite pleased you understand the task at hand. Now then, as the contract binds, be off with you, and happy hunting,\" the Doge said, dismissing her. She could feel the contract of binding being spun, and the familiar brand on the inside of her hand colouring itself in.\n\nWell shit. Sansir thought as the manacles were slapped back on her hands. How am I going to get out of this one?\n\n—\n\nA week later, Sansir found herself being shepherded— unmanacled— to the presence of the Marquis. It had been easy enough to steal the letters coming in and out of the mansion— one knew how to handle messengers quite well in her line of work. She had discovered that the Marquis was quite paranoid about what it was the Doge was going to do to him, and had requested the help of the Architects Guild in Murduir to review some plans for him. \n\nForging the credentials for the Architects Guild had been simple enough. But as she was being led through the opulate building, the most important question still burned in her mind; how was she going to steal this place, and do it without the Marquis knowing about it?\n\nThe Marquis was a dour wall of black cloth who stood in front of a messy desk. He faced towards the wall-sized windows of this room, hands behind his back, bouncing on his heels. When she was announced, she thought she saw the great man flinch a little. He turned to face her in one quick, smooth motion, then pointed wordlessly towards the desk.\n\nWhen Sansir obediently approached, showing the proper deference of a Murduir, she saw rolls of parchment strewn about the desk; diagrams of some manner.\n\n\"Good to see you here,\" the Marquis said, ruddy face resembling a few bricks moving around on a flat canvas. \"I'll get straight to the point; I need the guild to reinforce the mansion.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry, sire?\" Sansir said.\n\n\"This brick and mortar affair doesn't stand a chance if the Doge mobilises his army. The only reason he doesn't is because he wants to avoid a war! But that's not going to last. I need to prepare,\" said the Marquis, misunderstanding her question. \"I need everything reinforced. I've got the plans here. I just need you to validate them and get to work.\"\n\nSansir had done a little bit of reading before coming here, and as she peered to the side of the Marquis, she could make out some details on the parchments. They were drawings of the mansion, she realised, with small, annotated notes she couldn't quite make out.\n\n\"Could you explain what it is you wish to add to the structure, sire?\" Sansir said sweetly. \"It would be easy to assess if I understood the context of the changes\"\n\nThe Marquis huffed, but acquiesced. He drew out the parchments and began to go into meticulous detail of what it was he wanted. Battlements. Thicker walls. Gun cubbys. He wasn't so much asking to reinforce the mansion as he was asking it be converted into a small fort. It was a full conversion of the house— first the outer walls, then the inner building itself; each room had been meticulously labeled and changed.\n\nAnd as the Marquis' dream fort was explained, Sansir had an idea." ]	3
	[WP] Whenever an adventurer loses to a monster, it's your job to make sure the creature is healthy afterwards, "the slab" wrestles them down while you remove any arrows, bolts or spears that might still be sticking out, and check out their condition. , before you set them free in 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The night was dead silent. Slab and I were supposed to find the creature a bit higher up the water stream, where the water got deeper and was easier to drown in, but we couldn't let our guard down anywhere in this place. With hundreds of different monsters going around the woods, travelling near a river where they usually go to drink was not the best plan in the world, and we both knew it.\n\nWe were following the tracks of Robert the Great's host as they went up the water, who had agreed to be paid a fair share of money for slaying a relatively weak fiend, at least in comparison to the grand cyclopses the host had to take on before. However, it seemed that Robert's group was not so successful this time around, as they hadn't come back after a few days where they should have been back.\n\nWe managed to climb up a small hill where the river slowed down, and drifted slightly off track into a decent sized water hole. We found them, or at least what used to be them:\n\nThe water shone red, even after days of the blood dripping. Mangled bones and rotten pieces of meat had been flung and smeared all around the place, apparently mid battle. People old and young, most of them with a terrorized and shocked expression, and a few with a broken cackle out of the madness that was ensuing around them. Trashed swords, shields and bows broken around the place, and armor pieces crushed and bent at impossible angles. \n\nSlab got closer to one of the crunched chestplates to analyze it, and to check how the panicked young soldier inside of it got murdered. The chestplate had been compressed, with a massive row of tooth holes shaping a V on the plate piece. A very big bite. The enigma piece was lightly covered in river sediments, loudly pointing to both of us that the man got snagged into the darkness of watery oblivion as well before dying. I will leave the details regarding the man's broken joints and missing limbs up to you to fill, yet there was one more thing.\n\nMost of them had been caught by surprise. A raging horde of cyclopses doesn't think before charging. The sub adult dragon they fought was too confident to think anything could stop it, and by then it had already been shot through the heart. But this, this one was different. Whatever killed them had been stalking them for a while, slowly and patiently, like a vulture waiting to rain down on a dying man, and struck at them at their most vulnerable.\n\nWe were both cavilating on how dangerous this thing could be when it slowly crawled out of the water. Despite having earned food for days, it looked very weak, to the point it was almost cartoonish. Every step made it slightly wince in pain, and it had multiple spears and arrows going through its back armor. Despite its kind being relatively silent when people are nearby, one could hear very audible wheezes of pain and a general intense struggle to stay afoot. It was just a severely beaten animal, and both of us felt that we had to try to help it out at least a little bit.\n\nAnd that is why I'm currently keeping a 10m long crocodile in my house, I hope you people can understand." ]	2
	[WP] You are part of a squad of Mercenaries, and you've been sent to attack a spy base, however, when you and your squad get in the base, you find that everyone there is already dead. And on closer inspection, you all realize: The bodies are your own.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Torres, report.”\n\n...\n\n“Torres!”\n\nHe grabbed Torres by the arm and spun her around. Words were caught in her throat, but her mouth just kept moving silently. Was this shock? He’s never known her to flake like this. \n\n“Torres! Snap the fuck out of it!”\n\nA spark of clarity hits Torres’ eyes as she looks at her team leader in disbelief. “Wait ‘til you see this shit, boss.”\n\nJackson looks over her shoulder into the room. “Fuck.”\n\nThere they were, all four of them. Jackson, Torres, Sullivan, and Miller. The whole squad, lying dead in the foyer of the estate. \n\nJackson immediately barked into his throat mic, “T-Loop! We’re burned! Abort, abort!”\n\nJackson and Torres shoot back out the door and onto the main lawn, a flat or sprint back to the cover of the tree line. They had to move, and now. \n\n“Is this bad?” Torres sounded frantic. “Jackson! Is this bad?!”\n\nThe pair dive into the tree line, taking up defensive positions as they scan the area silently. After a few seconds, Jackson breaks the silence. \n\n“Yeah. This is bad.” Jackson barks into the comms again. “Sully.”\n\n“Here, boss.” The reply is shaky. Nervous. \n\n“Calm down, Sully. Report.”\n\nSullivan steadies himself in his overwatch hide. He taps a few keys on the device on his wrist, then activates his comms. “Temporal flux seems localized to the main foyer. They know we’re here. Looks like we’ve got about three minutes before the loop closes.”\n\n“What I wanna know,” Jackson replies, “Is why I’m just now finding out these assholes have access to a Loop Generator?!”\n\n“No idea, Boss.” Miller. His usual sarcasm replaced with a steel edged grimness. “This one’s not reading right. I’ve never seen anything like it.”\n\n“That’s comforting.”\n\n“Can it, Torres. Whatd’ya mean, Miller?”\n\nMiller sounds like he’s a combination of impressed and frightened. “This thing’s probably three generations ahead of anything the boys at Langley have in the shop. It looks like a true shunt.”\n\nTorres blinks twice. “You mean we’ve been removed from time?!”\n\n“Not yet,” Miller’s voice shoots back. “We’re still connected to the stream. But, the loop’s closing quick. We need to shut off the generator. Now.”\n\nThe four agents converge quickly, moving in disciplined unison into the house. \n\n“CONTACT!”\n\nGunfire erupts in the halls of the house.\n\nSilence rings for a few brief moments. \n\n“Torres, report.”" ]	2
	[WP] "This wasn't supposed to happen" the Hero sobbed next to the unmoving body of the Villain	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\nThe explosion had rocked the whole city block. Nothing of value remained.\n\nA large hole where Metropolitan Tower once stood. Unsalvageable wrecks of the cars that were unfortunate enough to be on the road when the blast went off. Body parts that once belonged to people, people who lived happy fulfilling lives.\n\nA harlequin figure ran through the wreckage towards a lifeless body dressed equally flamboyant.\n\n\"No. No, no, no. Not like this!\" He cried, kneeling close to the corpse.\n\n\"You should have survived. You weren't supposed to die here.\" Sobbing so hard that his words were almost incomprehensible and with tears running down his face, he said one last sentence \"I was the good guy. Heroes don't kill people.\"", "There were sirens blaring in the distance, but the heroine knew she still had a few minutes till anyone showed up. She started to get up when she saw the glistening blood not too far from her. At first, she reached around herself, but quickly realized that she was fine. A small thought passed over her mind, but she got up thinking it was just a civilian. \n\nShe gasped lightly when she saw her old nemesis laying there lifeless. She rushed to him, trying to shake him awake, but he continued to lay there. She leaned back slightly and just tried to keep her world from spinning. Of all her enemies, this was the only one she couldn't save, nor did she ever find out his identity. She waited a bit more, but she swung away, escaping the questions of the cops.\n\n-- 2 Days Later --\n\nShe sat in her parlor reading the latest news, when she noticed a letter that had been sealed with wax. A closer inspection revealed to her the symbol of an infamous villain out on the East Coast. She opened it carefully, revealing two pictures and a single sheet of paper that said, 'What a waste of a pawn, what loss to a family'. She looked down at both photos. Her hands shook as she began to tear up from rage and realization that one picture was of her and her brother, and the other was her brother in the suit of her nemesis. She fell to her knees shouting in pain." ]	3
	[WP] The whaler ship Amelia docks at your city today, and the port is crowded with men and women hungry for their catch; Kraken flesh, Leviathan blubber, even a few pots of Neptune's bone marrow. You, however, are here for the fish only the Amelia and no other can provide; living, loving mermaid.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 wander down to the docks, past the smell of blood, rotting fish, and thousands of souls gathered in one place. Moving past the crowds to the city's quay, I see Amelia's rigging, sails, and port windows flashing in the midday sun. The old whaler ship is massive, sturdy, and a work of art.\n\nShe'd returned this morning from a six-week voyage gathering any and every monster the great sea had to offer. Today, though, was different. The ship's crew hauled a massive wooden cage up onto the pier. Water cascaded down from the cage, slowly pouring to the pier, dripping, creating a puddle against the wood. There, stood in the cage, was a mermaid.\n\nThe captain of the Amelia strode down the stairs, red-faced, and announced the catch: ten mermaids and two mermen. He was met with cheers from the crowd. It was his best catch of the year and he knew it.\n\nCurious onlookers gathered on the long pier where the whaler was tied up. They were all staring at the dripping wet cage, seaweed hung from the thick bars. I could hear the whispers through the herd. 'That's a mermaid! I've never seen one before. I wonder if it can talk?\" I walked to the end of the pier, slipping between the crowds of chattering, gawking people until I stood next to the cage.\n\nI stood there, staring at the prisoner. Sea foam-flecked their lips. She had long arms, a thick, strong tail, and long, black, wavy hair that spilled from her head like a waterfall. Her eyes, which were more like a fish's than a human's, moved from side to side, scanning over the crowd as if wondering what we'd do to her. \n\nI watched her for several minutes. She didn't move, she didn't speak. She seemed almost as curious about the crowds as we were about her. Finally, I knelt and spoke directly to her.\n\n\"Hello.\" I smiled at her. \"What's your name?\" I asked.\n\nShe tilted her head, unsure how to answer. Perhaps she didn't understand.\n\n\"What are you called?\" I tried again. The creature licked the seafoam from her lips and flicked her tail. Her eyes never left my own. I found myself studying her, watching every muscle move with subtle tension. \n\nStartled, I heard a voice. \"Ye best be careful, boy,\" said a burly crewman next to me. He wore a hand-carved, wooden trident necklace. \"She be a monster. She might have ye for lunch.\" He laughed, then turned and strode back to the ship, carrying with him a spool of rope. \n\nI watched him as he went. Then, I turned back toward the mermaid. Her eyes moved from me to the crewman and back. He was right, of course. She was a monster. But something drew me into her gaze. Her eyes seemed familiar, peaceful.\n\nI decided to test her. I reached through the cage and ran a finger over her back. She winced at the first contact. I withdrew and spoke to her again. \"You're cold,\" I said. Her eyes betrayed no sign that she'd heard me, but I noticed her tail twitch. Slowly, I placed my finger on her bare back again, and she didn't pull away. I slid my hand up her wet skin and found a small, round scar just beneath her shoulder. Errant fishing net, I assumed. I drew my hand back, slowly.\n\nAn announcement came from a man atop the whaler. \"Ladies and gentlemen.\" He shouted, \"we are now accepting bids on the catch.\" At this, the crowd began to whisper as they pushed toward the front of the dock, and away from the cage. \"Who'll give me one silver for this beauty?\" the man called out. \"One silver – who'll it be?\"\n\nSeveral bidders shouted their offers, and around them, a few dozen conversations began. \"Twenty-five silvers,\" came a deep voice from the crowd. \"Do you really think she's worth that?\" another, softer voice replied. The crowd's murmurs became excited chatter. One by one the creatures were sold. Wet cages were opened. Then came the mermaid whom I'd talked with. \"And finally, we have our final catch,\" the man announced. He looked at me. \"Who'll give me ten silvers for this beauty?\"\n\nI raised my hand. Immediate chatter rose from the crowd of men gathered near me. \"Fifteen.\" One quickly replied. \"Twenty,\" I said. \"Twenty-five,\" he replied. I hesitated. Then, I stood firm. \"Thirty,\" I called out.\n\n\"Thirty-five.\"\n\n\"Forty.\"\n\n\"Forty-five.\"\n\nThe auctioneer paused, then turned back to me, asking, \"Do I hear fifty?\"\n\n\"Fifty,\" I said. The crowd around me went silent.\n\n\"Do I hear sixty?\" The auctioneer asked. Again, the crowd fell silent. I had won her.\n\n\"Sold!\" shouted the auctioneer, smiling. The transaction was complete.\n\nAfter paying, a large man approached me. He wore a bright apron, soiled with the red blood of the catch. He was weary from a full day of cutting fish roe and blubber and Leviathan flesh. He looked at the mermaid and then back at me.\n\n\"Welp,\" the butcher said. \"Ain't no one ever paid so much for one of these. But ye seem interested in this one...\" He chuckled and reached for the cage's latch. The mermaid seemed lethargic from being out of the water for so long. She was quiet and unmoving. Not once did she meet the butcher's eyes. \"What's it about this fish?\"\n\n\" I...\" I hesitated. \"I don't know.\" I didn't. I had arrived earlier with no intention of owning a mermaid. But something had pulled me to her. I felt a bond with the creature. A strange, undefinable sensation pulled at me, guiding me to win her.\n\nThe butcher looked at me with a raised eyebrow. Then, he turned and pulled a large knife from a bag across his shoulder. The blade was blunt and stained with dried blood. He looked back at me and grinned.\n\n\"You'll be wanting just the tail then?\" he asked, holding out the handle of the knife.\n\nI hesitated. \"The whole fish,\" I said. The butcher paused. He looked at me, stunned.\n\n\"Ye be wanting the whole fish?\" he asked. He turned and looked back at the ship. We spoke over the sound of the crew securing the ship.\n\n\"Aye,\" I replied.\n\nThe butcher paused again. His jaw dropped slightly, as if speechless. He looked back at me, shaking his head. He thought for a moment. \"Well, ye be a strange one, I'll say that much.\" He sheathed the knife, rethinking his plans. \"I'll have it cleaned and the head and organs prepared for ye in the morning then.\"\n\n\"No,\" I said quickly. \"I want her the way she is. Alive. Please.\" The butcher looked stupefied. I set a small bag of coins on a nearby crate and turned away.\n\n\"The sea don't tame wild beasts, lad. Ye best be careful.\" He said, taking the coins. The butcher, tired from a long day, and won by my boldness, unlocked the cage. \"Don't say I didn't warn ye.\" And with that, the butcher left.\n\nI turned to the mermaid. She looked up at me, her eyes meeting mine for only a second before they went down again. She was afraid. \"Are you alright?\" I asked, kneeling in front of the cage. I wasn't certain if she could hear me. But she seemed to understand.\n\nI stood and looked at her. But reality began to sink in. I owned a mermaid. I had purchased a monster.", "No one in the world hadn’t heard of Amelia before. Amelia, the legendary whaler ship. Comprised of only the most powerful of fishermen, all wielding Beliefs that common people would never be able to attain. \n\nThe ship sailed once a year, stocking itself full of a year’s worth of food and logistics. They would sail beyond the horizon, straight into the unknown regions of the Alhambra Sea, where they disappeared into the fog, only to return months later, with the strangest of catches.\n\nKrakens, Leviathans, even giant Seahorses from time to time. No one knew how they managed to capture all these fantastic creatures. Sometimes they were live, mostly dead. The live specimens would sell for exorbitant amounts to the highest bidders at the live auction they had. But they never lasted long. The longest living specimen so far was a Blood Crab that lived in the tanks of an unspecified billionaire. It’s lasted 6 years and cost the billionaire apparently 14 billion to acquire.\n\nBut the Amelia had only delivered one rare specimen one time, and never again had it done so until today. As the ship was docking, rumours had run rampant within the port city. \n\nA mermaid. A real live mermaid.\n\nThe last one that was brought had been dead for two months. The crew had kept her body frozen for the entire two months, and it was given to a scientific lab for research, as was most new specimens brought by Amelia.\n\nBut this one, they were selling. And this one was live.\n\nAnd I wanted it, and nobody could stop me.", "I’d hoped I was far enough away from the docks not to draw any attention to myself. I’d even bought a very fine dark crimson cloak and had it enchanted to make me less noticeable. A subtle magick that I was promised couldn’t even be detected. And I paid good coin and had built up a network of reliable sources, one of which vouched for the enchanter. I really couldn’t take any chances today: The Amelia was coming into port and she boasted a veritable army of killers.\n\nI’m talking about mages from the Far West that could boil your blood or turn you into ice. Dark skinned warriors from the Southern Reaches who were raised in tribes of twenty, training constantly to fight every single year in gladiator bouts or against vicious beasts until they were sixteen or dead. Hooded Inooks with pale, sickly skin, who hail from the land of snow and perpetual gray skies that could skin a man as quickly as they could a fish. A fearsome lot all in all, led by none other than Rowena the Witch. I had the misfortune of seeing her scarred face once, years and years ago, when she was buying casks of ale at a harbor tavern I used to gamble at. From what I could gather, this was the kind of person you did not want to cross. \n\nHer crew was fiercely loyal to her and they’d faced unspeakable horrors. I’d reckon that there wasn’t a port in the world they were welcome at but I’d equally reckon there wasn’t a port in the world that could stop them from docking without loosing an army. \n\nAs The Amelia glided up to its assigned dock, the buzz and excitement became intoxicating. The cacophony of merchants hawking fresh baked bread and crisped meats mixed with those peddling artifacts and trinkets. Anyone of importance was assembled, which also meant their personal guards and entourages, along with half of the city beggars. The story of the ship’s arrival would circulate endlessly and anything even remotely auspicious would be attributed to it. Any baby born today would either be cursed or blessed depending on who you asked. \n\nThe sound of a chain grinding quieted the masses and all eyes went to the front of the ship. Jutting out viciously was a naval ram in the shape of a dragon’s head, with razor sharp teeth and all. The chain extended out of its mouth like an iron tongue and down into the sea and my adrenaline started spiking as I began to see a kind of red mist at the corners of my vision. I tried to slow my heart rate, I had been planning this for months. But the second the top of the cage rose above the waterline and I saw her beautiful scaly face, I was as surprised as anyone when I leapt on top of the low wall I had been casually leaning against only moments before and screamed, “Gwendolin!” \n\nMy runic sword sang as it left the scabbard on my hip while my right hand drew out my whale bone wand. Everyone was looking at me now and maybe if I just slinked away into a tavern somewhere I could drown myself in ale instead of facing the slow painful death I was likely to earn and had already imagined a thousand times. \n\nI was no hero, but I also knew I would do anything for Gwen, even if Rowena had cursed her into being half fish." ]	4
	[WP] Tired of being challenged by weak heroes, the Dark Lord disguises themself as a wisened mentor and trains the next hero to epic levels.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 car pulled up in front of Club Avalon at a quarter to nine. I tipped the driver from the app, stepped out onto the curb, and slinked my way to the entrance. I felt Excalibur as I dug out my wallet and handed my ID to the security guard. He pawed at a small flashlight, finally clicking it on, and squinted at the small font. Then, he looked back to the back-lit show poster.\n\nCLUB AVALON PRESENTS: SHADOW NIGHT\n\nTHE DARK LORD OF DANCE\n\nTHE HERETIC OF HOUSE\n\nTHE MASTER OF THE SHADOW MIX\n\nHeadliner: DJ MOREDREAD\n\nRESIDENCY - Now thru End of Time\n\nDoors at 7 - Show at 9\n\nBeneath the gaudy picture of Moredread—thinning hair, dark goatee, a gold chain over a black turtleneck—in driver’s license-sized font, was my byline—feat. Pendragon Girl Sway.\n\nThe bouncer turned back to me and nodded, as if acknowledging my existence for the first time, and hooked a sausage back towards the entrance.\n\n“See you later,” I said, then dipped under the velvet rope.\n\n\\###\n\nClub Avalon’s high vaulted ceilings caught the strobe lights and glimmered down on a sea of writhing forms. Techs buzzed around from post to post, keeping the show running smoothly. The air was balmy with disinfectant, perfume, liquor, and sweat. Shadows curled over the floor like black mist, thick yet immaterial.\n\nBut, beyond the dancers, I recognized the snide little bastard on stage. Black smoke churned from the mouths of the fog machines lining the edge of the stage as DJ Moredread hunched over his mixer as if in a deep trance. He cut to a half-a-second of silence, then a familiar, but undeniably retro synth kicked in. It was Jump by Van Halen.\n\nThe crowd nearly touched the ceiling. I nearly cracked a molar from rage. How dare you, you absolute bastard!\n\nThen Moredread conjured a demon. Specifically, a siren. The feathered singer burst from his turntables, black smoke crackling around her as she swooped up into the air and unleashed an air-quivering screech. The reverberating cry fit over the bumping beats and hopping synths, perfectly harmonizing.\n\nThe crowd thundered. Phones flashed, glowsticks cracked, even the techs paused.\n\nBile bubbled deep within my belly. Tonight, I’d end that smug bastard’s reign. Tonight, he’d pay for what he did to the Doc.\n\n“Hey! Are you the feature!” A tech wearing a headset-mic shouted to me over the din. “Are you PENDRAGON?”\n\nI nodded and waved for the tech to follow me to the green room, where the poor girl wouldn’t need to blow out her voice.\n\n“I’m Pendragon,” I said, closing the door behind me. “I thought Moredread was headlining, what’s going on?”\n\nThe tech scanned her clipboard as she spoke. “Moredread’s double-booked at Pasha and needed to headline early. You’re next. Got any tech? Intro?”\n\nI smiled as I handed her my laptop bag and a little preprinted card with my intro. “If Moredread’s cutting out early, doesn’t that mean I’m headlining Avalon tonight?”\n\nShe looked up at me like I’d just said the sun was flat. “No. You’re featuring after the headliner.”\n\nWhatever. While Moredread was the biggest DJ in New York, maybe even in the country, there was one thing he couldn’t do—\n\n“Thank you, Avalon. Goodnight!” Moredread’s voice rumbled out in the dance hall.\n\n“Shit,” the tech said, finger to her ear. “How about a heads up next time you dorks! Forget it, I got the feature. Throw on filler, we’re on in 5.”\n\nIt was showtime.\n\n\\###\n\nFrom the stage, the crowd was a sea of lights, disinterested faces pointed down at screens. They were probably uploading clips of Moredread’s set. I closed my eyes and inhaled, deep, filling my belly till it bulged.\n\n“Coming up next,” the tech boomed over the god mic, “your feature act—DJ Pendragon Girl Sway.”\n\nI groaned at my butchered intro then raised my mic, voice modulator blinking, and pushed play. Bells tinkled along with sweeping static as white smoke poured from the stage.\n\n“The Summer of light is a phenomenon that occurs only twice during a person’s life,” my digitized voice rumbled from the speakers, pitched down an octave. “Once during the beginning and once during the end. The color and magnitude of light vary from individual to individual. Yet everyone possesses this sacred light within. Tonight, however, I present to you… the third light.”\n\nAll of the lights…\n\nThe sample echoed through the hall, trumpets bolstering Rhianna’s sultry voice. I switched off my modulator before my kawaii track stinger announced me, tapering off into an echo—\n\nHi, I’m Pendragon Girl Sway Sway Sway Sway Sway Sway…\n\n“Avalon, make some noise,” I said. “You are now rocking with the Shadow killer. The number one stunner. The head of the round tables. Your One True Queen of the dance floor! Let’s go let’s go let’s go. 1. 2. 1. 2. 3. 4!”\n\nThe bass boomed on the downbeat, kicked up with a bappy snare, and wobbled the world with space bending synths, synths I painstakingly earned, note by note, sharp and flat, synths gifted to me by mentor and the greatest music producer to ever live—Doctor Merlin.\n\n“Everybody, clap clap clap clap!”\n\nThe crowd erupted, arms flailing, phones flashing, feet stomping. I wasn’t even warmed up.\n\n“HACK!” a voice yelled, cutting through the concrete shaking beats. From the middle of the crowd, a circled opened, multiple spotlights converging on the crier. It was Moredread, wireless mic in hand.\n\nI paused the track.\n\n“It’s Moredread!” someone shouted from the audience.\n\n“You had your go!” shouted another.\n\n“Did you think your little mix would be enough to end my reign? How dare you sully my stage with that loser’s sound.” A grin peeled over his snide little goatee. “A whole life without a single hit. Enough to make any man… jump.”\n\nAdrenaline only stoked my rage. If I wanted to oust Moredread from his eternal residency and avenge the Doc, I had to bury the fucker.\n\nI reached in my pocket, pulled Excalibur, and plugged it into my laptop.\n\n“MOREDREAD,” I bellowed into my mic. “This one’s for you…”\n\n\\###\n\nPart 2 below", "Ademar carefully carried a tray of steaming tea and two cups into a room attached to the back of the remote cabin. \n\nThe leaves outside would be falling into golden rings around trees outside. \n\nThe two men inside, however, haven’t seen this sunny autumn day since there are no windows. Only the door hiding behind a pantry in the kitchen.\n\nAdemar passed the large bag hanging from the ceiling. Watching his step, he tiptoed over a pile of spears and swords laying aimlessly about the padded floor.\n\nHe placed the tray of tea on the makeshift table near the middle of the room and sits down with the grunt of an old man.\n\nJugum, the boy across the table, used a forearm to wipe sweat and blood of his stained forehead. \n\n“Here Jugam, this will help with the swelling. We will continue tomorrow once you have rested.”\n\n“I don’t need long. Just let me have your tea, and I will be ready soon enough.” Jugam winced while picking up the cup of tea. He favors his shoulder and moves slower now to sip. \n\n“I know you would be. But, I am still old, and need my rest….. “Ademar said amusedly. “I would hate to be the enemy of you my friend. You have come far since you sought my teachings. Perhaps now you are ready to face the Dark Lord?”\n\n“How should I know? Shouldn’t I pass a test… or perform a ritual rite of passage? Is there anything I do before setting out?”\n\n“No. Not if you believe yourself ready. Those other things are just a way to clear everyone else’s conscience. It helps them feel morally righteous sending you to your death.”\n\n“If it isn’t me, then who else would go?”\n\n“Many others have gone. They all died. Yet everyone in town is asking you to go to your death, just at the small chance you might succeed. I don’t see the good in their intentions. Do you?”\n\n“The Dark Lord is evil. He must be vanquished, or we will all die. I feel duty to try. My death is nothing if you compare it to the death of a whole town.”\n\n“The Dark Lord hasn’t ever killed anyone unless they try to kill him first. The Dark Lord hasn’t killed me, and I have been living here for generations.”\n\n“That might be true, but it is only a matter of time. Those who try to defeat him, keep him at bay. He is afraid to leave the castle because of strong heroes relentlessly fighting.”\n\n“Each new season a young man wishes to prove himself and save our town. No one has returned victorious. If the Dark Lord wanted to come down from his castle, nothing would stop him.”\n\nJugam winced again. He put down his empty teacup and rubbed his shoulder. He stopped arguing with Ademar.\n\nThis wasn’t the first time they had this conversation. Each time it was harder for Jugam to reason Ademar wasn’t right.\n\nEach time Jugam lost an argument, a piece of his young virtuous mind fell off, and a piece of doubt crept in. \n\nThis was the last time he even gave an honest effort to refute Ademar. Now they were both done drinking, Jugam picked up the dirty dishes, and walked them back to the kitchen. \n\nHe placed them in the sink and stopped Ademar right as he was about to go upstairs to his room.\n\n“Master?”\n\n“Yes…”\n\n“If you are right about the Dark Lord, what should I do about him?”\n\n“…Hmmm… An excellent question… What would you do about a thunderstorm that shook the city? All the people in the town swore and called the storm evil. \n\nBut it cleared quickly, no buildings or people were harmed.\n\nThe only few men that died, choose to stand on their roof to try fighting the lightning. What then would you try to do about the storm?”\n\n“I… I would do nothing I suppose. Those men were foolish in trying to fight the lightning. Nature isn’t evil, it is just powerful, and all of us mean little to the storm.”\n\n“You may have found your answer.”\n\n“I don’t want to believe in the Dark Lord the way you do… but I am having trouble seeing it my way anymore… after all our training. \n\nIf I am not going to fight the Dark Lord, what should I do with myself?”\n\n“Perhaps you could keep others from making a mistake you were almost willing to make? It would be noble to save lives, instead of taking them.”\n\nThe following years Jugam became more radicalized by Ademar, the Dark Lord, and his poisonous words took hold. They wrapped around Jugam’s heart, until it suffocated.\n\nThe process of death began seeping into his veins while he was living. People murmured at first about the hero that choose to abandon his people.\n\nBut this living dead curse brought power. Jugam was able to do great feats of strength, not even a mortal would dream of doing.\n\nHe would pick up logs and break them with his bare hands. After a few tries, he could have a whole week of firewood chopped for Ademar’s fireplace in just a few minutes.\n\nThe whispering quickly turned into harassing. People yelling at Jugam to leave or walk the other direction once they smelled the death that oozed out of his chest.\n\nJugam decided to live with Ademar, to save himself the trouble of living. During this time he took up a black blade in honor of his decision of leaving the Dark Lord alone.\n\nIn a weird and twisted way, he trained hard to be a kind of ward to the Dark Lord.\n\nHe would stop any hero from traveling the path to the kingdom, at any cost. “It was for your own protection.” He would tell them, just before cutting them down.\n\nAt the very beginning when Ademar first met Jugam, he was training Jugam to fight him. He wanted a challenge. The challenge would now be fair. \n\nNow Jugam had fully turned, Ademar set to planning their battle.\n\nDuring the night Ademar took his wise mentor disguise off and put on one that looked like a hero. A hero who would defeat the Dark Lord’s Ward.\n\nIn the morning Ademar began the journey to the castle. As soon as the town got wind of another hero, Jugam took his position guarding the path.\n\nAdemar walked the path for some time. Until he could see Jugam. \n\nHe stopped, looked up and saw the outline of a dark shadow figure up the path, bowlegged and with a sword spiked down in the earth, it's hands resting on the pommel. \n\nHe smiled with giddiness at the sight. He was in for the challenge of his lifetime. And he had been waiting an eternity for this moment. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\---------------------------------------------------------------\n\n&#x200B;\n\nd.12", "\"How much stronger do I need to be, master? Surely, I could defeat anyone on the planet but you by this point. How strong could this dark lord be?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI looked at my master, sitting on his feet. I was sitting and meditating, as I did to try and get some insight, some vision into what my master was going to make me face next. My heart beat nearly out of my chest but my face showed only calm.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Not stronger, boy. Less weak. You must face your weaknesses, lest the dark lord exploit it.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Do you mean my blind spot on my left side, my fear of fire, my pride, or my allergy to shellfish?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Those aren't your weaknesses, boy.\" The master's relaxed grin turned neutral as he stood and looked at me. \"What game are you playing at?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"How long did you think you could deceive me, master? I've known who you really were for months. I've trained each night after you slept, hiding my true power from you while learning your weaknesses.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"You fool!\" the master cried, whipping back his robes to wield his gladius. \"You are far too weak to face me. You will die.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI said nothing, putting all my focus into the one attack I had spent months perfecting, the humiliating spinning flame shrimp kick of destiny.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\---\n\nFor more of my writing, see /r/surinical", "FADE IN:\n\nEXT. THE ARENA -- CLOUDY\n\nTwo men cross blades with a loud CLANG. The one on the left leaps back swiftly, blade pointing up, poised and eager for another attack. This is MAGNUS. His hair, shorn at the sides, slopes into a tightly-bound ponytail at the back. His breaths are long and deep, and sweat streaks through his casual attire of white shirt and long, brown pants. He's tired, but smiling.\n\nMAGNUS: I almost got you.\n\nThe other man stands his ground, alert. This is the Dark Lord, now known as FUSCUS. Conversely, his sword hangs--not limply, but relaxed--and despite his clear older age with graying hair and beard, he looks self-assured against his grinning challenger. He swings the sword in an arc once, twice, some dust settling on his black tunic and trousers.\n\nFUSCUS: Almost. Many have almost got me. And here I stand.\n\nMAGNUS: (groans) Urgh. I'll run you through.\n\nFUSCUS: You have done a lot of running. Not so much on the through.\n\nMagnus grunts, pushing off with alarming speed. His sword slashes, and once again easily deflected by Fuscus with an additional sidestep in the opposite direction.\n\nFUSCUS: (cont'd) Don't fall for taunts. That's what the Dark Lord wants.\n\nMAGNUS: You must understand. You are very good at them.\n\nFUSCUS: Part of my duties as a mentor.\n\nMAGNUS: I'm--\n\nMagnus rushes once more. Metal slides past metal.\n\nMAGNUS: (cont'd) Not--\n\nAnother swing, this time from the top. Fuscus shows surprising agility, absorbing the force with slight bent knees, before pushing Magnus off.\n\nMAGNUS: (cont'd) Falling--\n\nFrom below this time. Fuscus steps on the blade.\n\nMAGNUS: (cont'd) For it!\n\nFUCUS: Come on. I could slice your head off right now.\n\nA beat.\n\nFUSCUS: (cont'd) Take a moment. Breathe. \n\nMagnus audibly draws breath.\n\nFUSCUS: (cont'd) Good. Now imagine. The Dark Lord standing here. Right in front of you.\n\nMAGNUS: Imagining. Crystal clear.\n\nFUSCUS: Continue focusing on your breathing. This is a terrible position--but good warriors always find a way.\n\nMAGNUS: I know, master.\n\nFUSCUS: It's why I stand here. It's why you will stand before him, looking like you are at your wits' end, before a--\n\nIn an instant, Magnus lets go of his blade. Fuscus takes a step back, but it's too late--Magnus holds a dagger in his hand, plunging it deep into his master.\n\nMAGNUS: Surprise attack!\n\nA beat.\n\nFUSCUS: Well, this is awkward. Could you please explain this? \n\nMagnus twists the knife deeper in, a gleeful smile on his face. Fuscus winces slightly in pain.\n\nMAGNUS: There is no need to explain, Dark Lord. Just die.\n\nFUSCUS: This is how you treat your master?\n\nMAGNUS: You are no master, you evil monster.\n\nFuscus sighs.\n\nFUSCUS: Thank god I haven't taught you magic yet.\n\nMAGNUS: Say what now?\n\nFuscus pulls his hands closer towards his chest, turning his palms outwards. Magnus is knocked back by an unseen force. Fuscus flicks his fingers up, and Magnus whirls his limbs around as he finds himself levitating. \n\nFuscus then inspects the wound in his torso, prying it open with no apparent agony. He whistles.\n\nFUSCUS: Not bad, not bad. That's a pretty good move.\n\nMAGNUS: What the hell is this! Let me go!\n\nFUSCUS: Magic, my dear Magnus. You are a pretty capable swordsman now. Maybe the ninety-ninth percentile in the world, but you know, I'm right at the tippy top.\n\nMAGNUS: How are you not dead?\n\nFUSCUS: Please. A dagger? Killing me? Might as well chant abracadabra and hope it works.\n\nMAGNUS: You bastard.\n\nFuscus walks towards Magnus, He pulls his cheek, like a parent punishing a petulant child.\n\nFUSCUS: I've enjoyed our time, Magnus. Shame. You had potential. But betrayal cannot go unpunished.\n\nMAGNUS: Doesn't matter. I know who you are. At least I die knowing the truth.\n\nFUSCUS: Right, right.\n\nThe Dark Lord's hand creep up Magnus's face, stoping at the man's temple.\n\nFUSCUS: (cont'd) Goodbye, then.\n\nMAGNUS: Fuck you, Dark Lord.\n\nMagnus' bravado was clear, but his face quickly contorts into pain as purplish energy surges from Fuscus' digits. Magnus' mouth hangs open and remains there, his eyes rolling up. He looks like he's about to scream, and then his head lolls.\n\nFUSCUS: Hmm. That should do.\n\nA quick flick of Fuscus' fingers downwards drives Magnus to the ground. Fuscus steps away from the situation, touching his wound once more. Red flows from his fingers this time, and it mends without a fuss. He stands back at the centre of the arena, his sword once again arcing back and forth lackadasically.\n\nA gasp is heard from Magnus, who jolts up. He shakes his head.\n\nMAGNUS: What. Happened?\n\nFUSCUS: I'm sorry, Magnus. I must have hit you too hard on the head.\n\nMAGNUS: Master. I blacked out? I'm so sorry. Did I miss anything?\n\nFUSCUS: Not a thing, Magnus. Not a thing. Now, shall we continue. You still have much to learn.\n\nMAGNUS: Of course, master. I'll run you through yet.\n\nFADE TO BLACK\n\n---\n\nr/dexdrafts" ]	5
	[WP] You work in a restaurant with animatronic robots. They sing and dance, they serve customers, and in case of emergencies, they have facial recognition software tied into the police database. It's all pretty cool until they suddenly just go berserk on a guy and... Oh. Oh 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Sam sighed and ran the slightly damp cloth across the top of the prize case glass, wiping at the greasy finger smears left by the last over-hyped kid picking out tootsie rolls and parachute men. All around them, the sound of bouncy kids music fought with the happy screeches of prepubescents patrons and the bleeps and bloops of arcade cabinets. Sam glanced around at the brightly colored chaos. The various character-bots were walking the floor, doing their job to keep the customers happy and generally taking a load off the few human employees needed to do the detail work. \n\n\nBending over to grab the spray cleaner from under the counter, Sam heard the front bell chime, followed by the snooty voice of Matrix D, the boxy monitor shaped animatronic, welcome the guest to the Clubhouse Cafeteria. When they stand back up, they can sense something has changed in the restaurant's atmosphere. The music is still playing at a volume that makes casual conversation impossible. The children were still screaming with glee and the games still ringing out with winners and game overs. Sam couldn't quite put their finger on it. \n\n\nThat's when the flashing caught their eye. Behind the counter and above everyone's head where only employees could see was a set of video screens normally set to security cameras. It was an easy way for the one or two people working up front to keep an eye on various parts of the floor while still being in a customer facing area. Sam had never had to watch them much, as the animatronics were programmed to deal with most messes and alert the staff of anything they couldn't handle. Heck, the robots could even calm a kid when a game ate their quarter or they lost sight of their parents. The vid panel was mostly just a failsafe, a fallback option in case of glitches. \n\n\nNow, though, they flashed red around an image of a mugshot. A picture of a middle-aged man staring uncomfortably off into the middle distance filled multiple screens. Below the face was alternating text in big bold letters \"WARNING: REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER\" and \"CALL POLICE IMMEDIATELY\". One of the screens showed live footage of the man walking through the restaurant, seemingly right in front of him. Looking across the room to the spot in question showed Matrix D guiding someone deeper into the dining area, presumably to a table in the back. \n\n\nSam felt nervous as they reached for the phone by the register. They knew the character-bots could track this sort of thing, but never thought they'd have to deal with it on their shift. Hopefully the man would sit quietly and not cause problems before the police got there. Quickly they dialed the non-emergency number. \"H-hi. This is Sam at Clubhouse Cafeteria. W-we s-seem to have a c-code 290 here\" they stammered, barely remembering not to shout 'sex offender' out loud. They were glad for once for all the repetition in that silly training video they were forced to watch during orientation. \n\n\nAs Sam focused on the dispatcher on the other end, they noticed something else weird happening. Marshmallow Musician was leading all the children to the story-time area, something that usually only happened on the hour. It was far to early for this part of the routine. Felix Phoenix was following at the back of the line, using his big wings to encourage and herd any lagging children, waving in large arcs that made it nearly impossible to see past him. As the parents and children emptied out of the eating area, more and more of the other animatronics filed in, many carrying brooms, mops, and other cleaning tools. It almost looked like some sort of scheduled clean-up time, except the restaurant didn't really have anything like that. Clean-ups were at an as-needed basis or when the store was closed. \n\n\nAs the children rounded the corner out of sight, Sam noticed there was only one person left. The man whose image still flashed on the screen was seated at his table, boxed in by Matrix D's square computer screen body. The host-bot finally retracted up and back on it's ceiling rail, allowing it's 'guest' to fully see the array of shiny plastic characters before him. The man's expression changed from one of happiness to confusion to terror in seconds. Sam felt the phone drop from their hand as they watched Burly Bear's arm jerk forward, grasping the man by an arm and dragging him from the booth. It looked as if the man tried to shout, but all Sam could hear was the playful theme music as it swelled louder from multiple speakers. The characters closed in around the man, blocking him from further view. Sam stood frozen, unable to turn their head away as steel-reinforced arms began jerking up and downward, wooden handles moving in awkward but forceful swings. Red splotches, like spilled marinara sauce, began appearing on the various appendages of the anthropomorphic figures. Sam legs felt weak and they sank to the thin carpet floor. \n\n\nBy the time the paramedic managed to get them out of their catatonic state, it was almost as if nothing had happened. The music had returned to its normal, still overbearing, level. Kids once more ran across the game floor, blissfully unconcerned with life and its worries. Character-bots entertained families as they ate cheap pizza and laughed. And the dining area was spotless." ]	2
	[WP]“Your invasion force is broken. Their technology has been assimilated. Your worlds are now within our reach. We are humanity, and we will never stop hunting 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Our first warning they were here came when the ISS fell silent. It was thought to be a technical glitch, until it came plummeting to the ground. It's descent destroyed much of it. However the remains and footage of its fall showed the truth. It was deliberately destroyed.\n\nSuspicion fell on other countries, even as the dead were honoured. But before accusations could be levelled against each other, the culprit revealed themselves. By way of orbital bombardment on the most populated cities. Tokyo, Shanghai, New York. All turned to rubble within minutes, along with a dozen others.\n\nThat was when they made their fatal mistake. They landed upon the ruins, marching out from their ships. If they had stayed aloft, raining death and destruction from the skies, we would have fallen. But they weren't here to eradicate. No, they were here to enslave.\n\nWe refused to allow that. Countries once enemies threw aside differences to ally themselves. Politicians who tried to argue against the rapid union were pulled from office by the public. We joined together. And we fought back.\n\nThe first we did was capture a few of their soldiers. We got a look at our new enemy. They looked much like upright frogs, with a row of spikes down their backs. Each one stood over 7 foot in height, with bulked up bodies. We dissected them, interrogated them, tested viable weapons against them. With the fate of our species at stake, acts like the Gevena Conventions were cast aside.\n\nAnd with that, we found several viable ways to fight back. And much of it we already had in place. Low levels of electricity would kill them, which would only stun humans. Concentrated capsaicin proved incredibly toxic. Blunt force trauma that would bruise us would cripple and kill them.\n\nWe fought back against their advances. Despite their superior weapons, we fought back with riot suppression gear. Tear gas would be fired. Rubber bullets would be used where real bullets were unavailable. There were multiple accounts of those who had lost loved ones taking mixtures of drugs, running straight at the aliens as berserkers. They would rip through them like tissue paper, even as they suffered dreadful wounds.\n\nArmed with this gear, a small group managed to infiltrate one of their landers. Against all odds, they fought their way to their life support equipment. Tear gas was released into the air vents. The entire ship died in agony to the burning fumes. It proceeded to be examined by gather experts from across the planet even as they fought to take it back.\n\nWe learned enough to work out how to get it to function. And with its schematics, further infiltration missions were successful in capturing the others. With their capture, teams of trained soldiers were packed in, as many as could fit. They flew up together, fooling their mothership systems enough to let them dock.\n\nWhen the strike teams entered, they found that these aliens had clearly defined castes. Practically all of their warrior castes were below on the surface. The others were nearly half the size, and considerably less bulky. They provided little resistance as we too control of their ships.\n\nOne ship escaped, the owner of our first captured lander. It fired a single bombardment at the one left below, destroying it before running. As it fled, we sent a message.\n\n“Your invasion force is broken. Their technology has been assimilated. Your worlds are now within our reach. We are humanity, and we will never stop hunting you.”" ]	2
	[WP] You never believed the grumbin was actually a real thing, but now, here it is, a grumbin, right before your 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns." ]	1
	[WP] The council of planets is growing concerned about how quickly humans have evolved from laughable space scavengers to a top tier fleet using something called "Reverse Engineering."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Taliel, Principality of Innovation and Invention, beamed with pride.\n\nWhen Al-Adran called the angels forth and told them how he wished to create a race of beings able to supplant not only the angels themselves, but Al-Adran too, Ranaliel, Emperor of Dominance and Lordship scoffed. \"As if lesser beings could muster the armies needed to conquer the Seven Eternities of Viedran!!\" But he was commanded by Al-Adran, and so he offered his Lord a sliver of his power.\n\nNext up was Ibael, Archon of Fact and Logic. Unlike the youngest one, he gave his gift freely, sentience and sapience. \"If mortals are to lead the Facile Realms of Talir, then I give them the ability to learn and adapt to their situations.\"\n\nThen came Ultanael, Majestrix of Bloodshed and Battle. She gave quite a bit to Al-Adran's latest creation, seeking a great rival. \"They'll have to meet my armies and me at the Threefold Battlefield of Parat before they can think to invade!\" She cackled.\n\nBut Taliel beamed when Al-Adran came to her. \"I freely give humanity the ability to create and name, to disassemble and reassemble and study.\" And Al-Adran deemed humanity ready for Creation. This had been... What, a week now? Wait, that's in Celestial time... Nearly a million years in the mortal realm, and Taliel saw her daughters, marching a trillion, as they finally came to her realm, the Evershifting Garden of Katrion. She heard the formation assemble outside of her bastion.\n\nShe came out to them. \"Your forces have stood in our way, in the way of glory and victory for the Terran Dominion.\" There was a loud whining sound, a trillion Theodymium plasma rifles aimed at her head. \"Do you surrender?\"\n\nShe beamed, as the streams of supercharged particles ripped her to shreds and her life force was extinguished. In assuming that mortals wouldn't supplant them, Ranaliel had swung Prophecy into action. In giving mortals the ability to learn and adapt, Ibael had given them the capacity of understanding their destiny. In giving mortals strength and ambition, Ultanael had given mortals the discipline needed to rule. And in giving mortals the ability to create, Taliel beamed, her final peace having been brought to her.", "\"You're telling me,\" Rothbord said, steam escaping from his mouth, \"that they analyzed my shit!\" \n\"Well actually the capsules that held your...\" \n\"My fucking shit!\" He screamed, \"Holy fucking shit!\" \n \nHis two long green fingers slapped the cup on the table, sending it flying towards the scientist, he ducked and it bounced away on the floor. He heard many other leaders giggle and got enraged, Zooloko, the martian sitting beside him was turning all blue, trying not to burst out laughing. \n\n\"Explain it more,\" Roothbord said, \"I want to know how the hell that matters.\" \n\"Well, the capsules are made out of the element Mydicksium,\" the researcher said, \"an element the humans haven't found yet. Furthermore, the shape of the capsule, used for maximizing speed, had also not been discovered by humans.\" \n\"They haven't discovered the Squaiangle!\" Rothbord burst out. \n\"No, remember that their discovery of the circle was only ten thousand years ago.\" \n\n\nZooloko took out his phone, opening interplanery twitter, and Rothbord saw the martian type the recent events. Rothbord strongly did not want to be known as \"Rothbord the shitter\" and snatched the phone. The martian struggled and jerked towards it but Rothbord only had to lift his arm and it was out of reach. Rothbord thought, \"laugh at this you midget!\" \n\n\n\"These inventions,\" the researcher continued, \"broke almost everything they knew about the universe and gave them the groundworks to improve their constructions.\" \n\n\n\"A shit container,\" a jupiterian cloud said, \"broke their understanding of the world?\" \n\"Precisely. Now the humans have always had strange methods, but this might be the strangest yet. Instead of making a theory and testnig it, the normal way.\" The scientest gained a couple of nods, and the juppiterian cloud turned green.\n\n\"They did something completely different. They made assessments, and experiemtns and then they made their theory. Complete madness! They call this strange process reverse engineering!\" The scientist outburst, muttering the lasts words as if complete filth. \n\n\nRothbord gave the martian back his phone, tired of having a midget jumping on his thigh, and turned back to to the scientist. \n\"Now what do you propose we do?\" Rothbord asked. \n\"Well, if they got so far with shit, send them a bucket full of tools!\"", "\"You say they've jump-capable fleet carriers? Weren't they just getting a grasp for hull design within a vacuum?\"\n\n\"A few of their solar revolutions, seven, to be precise. That's how long it took them to figure it out.\"\n\n\"I thought we sanctioned them so they could not get military grade schematics and equipment.\"\n\n\"We did, a-and still do. But they proved more intriguing to the xenopsychologists than we had anticipated. Did you read their reports?\"\n\n\"Of course not. Who has the time? It's useless drivel anyways!\"\n\n\"That's not what they found. Apparently, the 'Humans' as they call themselves, are extremely adaptable and have a great talent for imitation.\"\n\n\"But what does that have to do with their shipyards?\"\n\n\"Well, they were brought on to a jump capable fleet carriers during their observation.\"\n\n\"So?\"\n\n\"And the observation subjects were houses right next to engineering. One must have had some skill in propulsion technology.\"\n\n\"And I'm to believe they understood how the nacelles worked just by looking at them?\"\n\n\"The xenopsychologist's report would suggest so, but I've checked the shipping manifest and...well...\"\n\n\"What? Out with it!\"\n\n\"One of every spare part was...missing.\"\n\n\"I don't have the faintest idea how we're going to explain this to central command...\"\n\n\"Huh. Another report just came in. This time from the foreign culture curators.\"\n\n\"Am I going to be wrong if I say that's drivel too?\"\n\n\"You might want to hold your tongue. The report's titled *The Punic Wars; how the Roman Republic copied and overtook the Carthaginian navy through...\"\n\n\"Finish it.\"\n\n\"Reverse engineering.\"\n\n\"Central is going to kill us.\"*" ]	4
	[WP] You're given the task to take care of the egg that will become a new god. But you dropped it, and its divine power transferred to you. Now, the heaven knights are looking 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Have you ever walked into the 'Garden of the Gods' and thought; \"I wonder how it always stays so perfect?\" That, is thanks to me and the crew of thousands of janatorial experts that have devoted entire lifetimes and generations serving under the gods. We pick up the mess from their sultry parties and ensure that everything works well, ie.. the fountains, the theaters, lighting, etc... We trim the hedges to utter perfection, to the standards of the gods.\n\nI've recently been reassigned to care after the 'Gods Cradle #32.' If you ever wondered where gods come from this is it. Each numbered cradle houses a small egg that contains an entire cosmos of godlike substance crammed into the egg. Each egg has an entire universe within it forming the very essence that will make the future god all knowing. Every possible scenario the universe can play out, unfolds within its intergalactic yolk. I'm talking the big bang, life, civilization and the eventual return to the singularity. Once this has occured within the egg's own \"relativity of time\" which could be days or in some cases a few years for us on the outside, it hatches.\n\nThis particular egg known as #32 Omega has been going through this process for the longest recorded period to date. It's been laying in the 'Cradle' for over 2,000 years. Most gods have forgotten its existence as thousands of gods have come anew since then. My new position here is guarded with some secrecy but nothing overly complicated. I'm just here to keep the cobwebs and dust at bay in case some high profile gods come by to gaze upon it and ask the question that most do. \"Is it a dud?\" The gods and goddessess of fertility are often the most concerned with its status; however, none have true faith that it will ever hatch. Occassionally the King and Queen of the Gods come by to look but they never say or do anything.\n\nThere are two guards that we call 'Cradle Knights' they stand outside the cradle and then shift out every few hours or so. This is common place for all the occupied 'Cradles,' and they are hand selected by the King of Gods. I mention them because during my routine inspection/cleaning one day, no replacements came. I stood by waiting for them to return to the egg so that it was never left unattended. I must've waited at least 45 minutes. I knew something was wrong because they are never late for shift change and the others never leave until the replacements are in place. I decided to reinspect the room and make sure everything was in top shape in case one of the gods came by and asked about the guards. In my mind, my duty and diligence would pay off and I'd get promoted to serve and live within the King's palace.\n\nUpon my return to the the room, dusting the cradles edges, I noticed a greasy smudge on the egg that had never been there before as if someone had purposely wiped chicken grease on it. I decided that that was unacceptable and proceeded to cleanse it of this impurity. As I clamored over the egg, which was no bigger than two of my fists combined, something dripped on the back of my head. My immediate response was to wipe it off and as my hand touched the wetness I could feel the grease within. I knew nothing was housed above any of the 'Cradle' houses. I looked up and saw a tiny dragon clinging to the ceiling, eyeing the egg like it was its next meal. My heart started pounding. I carefully wrapped the divine sheets around the egg and made a makeshift basket. I tried my best not to move to suddenly and once the wrap was sufficient I grabbed it with both hands and hoisted it out. I was careful to only hold the handle I had made with the sheeting and I slowly stepped away toward the door.\n\nI've never really experienced fear before... until this day. While holding the egg within its sheets, I walked out of the 'Cradle' and carefully closed the door behind me. The dragon secured inside and the egg safe within the sheets. I took a breath of relief. To my left, down the precisely lain cobblestone walkway I heard the most ungodly yell. \"YOU THERE!\" Having relaxed for a few minor moments, I completely lost my composure and suddenly I jolted every moving part of my body. Unfortunately, this resulted in the egg falling from my grasp. I looked down mouth open in terror as it fell to its doom on the cobblestone. One second it was whole and the next it was an explosion of cosmic yolk, micro stars, galaxies, stardust etc... splattered upon the ground, the divine sheets, and me...\n\nBefore I knew it, I was wrapped within the divine sheets their cloth caressing my body to a perfect fit. My physique shifted and molded, forming what I used to call standard godly perfection. My mind swashed with knowledge of everything that could be or has ever been. I was now tuned to the Godly realm and even more so than most, as the yolk had touched the 'Garden of the Gods' realm The egg no longer existed as it was a part of me, gracing me with the immortality that is imparted to all gods.\n\nI look to my left and see two 'Cradle Knights' staring at me eyes wide with disbelief. Knowing everything all at once isn't as pleasant as you'd think. Multitudes of thoughts ran through my head as if time was never a factor in actual thought formation. I then spoke, my voice the perfect pitch of command and leadership. \"Why were you late to your post?\" being all knowing it seemed a bit ridiculous to ask; however, I wanted to feel their thoughts, hear their heartbeats adjust, and know their truth. As if they knew what I knew, they being gods as well, charged at me without hesitation. They lanced their spears at me, truly skillful warriors, but in their haste they made a minor error with their timing and this is all I needed to adjust my body. I stepped between them in that moment and combined the physical structure of my fists into both of their sternums. Even for gods there is still physical pain and reaction to loss of capability to absorb air into the lungs. They crumbled and lay gasping. I took this time to evaluate the inifite possibilities that were underfoot and then I went there...underfoot that is. My connection to the divine grounds allowed me to merge within its soil to become one with the rocks and nature...\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThanks for reading I hope it was worth your time. Let me know what you liked or didn't like so I can learn to be better. u/delectes" ]	2
	[WP] The gods decided to do a bet on what religion you believe in with the winner getting to exist with the real world, unfortunately you’re a atheist	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Oooh and they're off to the races, barrelling through life, number 43200042138599 is off to an early grave! But the big bet of the season is still racing ahead, ooh and they switch to the Buddhist lane, not a surprising move coming from the previous Hindi..\" the announcer, some incarnation of Hermes intoned. \n\n\n\"Why did you choose 43252542132319?\" I asked the Hawaiian shirt clad \"god\" next to me, conceived in the year 2004 by a man abusing quaaludes. \n\n\n\"Well ya see, he's got *SPUNK!* And he likes the holy drug as much as I do! He'll figure out we're the way to go, you'll see\" he spewed, his voice sounding somewhere between elvis and a baseball announcer. \n\n\nYou see we all have to bet on which person wins, and maybe we get a few minutes in the sunshine. Some jackass decided it would look like a horse race a few years back, and no one's had a better idea. Well, Zeus suggested pegasi, but that's another story. \n\n\n\"Oh No! 43252542132319 has veered off the track, they're jumping out of the stadium, look at them go!!\" the announcer cried \n\n\n\"Ah shucks. Another atheist?? I never catch a break...\" the ludicrous \"god\" next to me said." ]	2
	[WP] It turns out that vampirism is real. You've just been changed, and anticipating super strength, increased attractiveness, and other abilities, you are extremely disappointed to find out you stayed exactly the same, except you're immortal. And have a thirst for blood.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Erik. Swallow it.\" \n\nHer high pitched little-girl voice seems to come from a long way off. Through the grey mist, I can see her licking my blood off the razorblade. Somehow, she has managed not to get any of it on her fingerless lace gloves and veil. \n\nI'm soaked in it, of course. My tshirt, my slacks, my cashmere blazer. Someone once told me the amount of blood in the human body is equivalent to a case of beer... but I can't remember who. Strange thought to have, now.\n\nThe room is spinning...\n\n\"Erik. Erik!\" \n\nSomething is against my lips. It's warm... her wrist. She's cut herself. Why has Iris cut herself? \n\n\"Come on, Erik, you just let it run out your mouth. You have to drink it now. You're almost empty.\" \n\nDrink what? There's a strange taste on my lips...\n\n\"Erik! Focus! Hurry!\"\n\nOh, right. I lick blood from the lace, taste, swallow, suck greedily. It's like nothing I have ever tasted, ambrosia and copper and ice. My vision floods back, unfolding from the center of the grey, a fluid neon origami trick. Ringing in ears, no, voices, and then my chest cramping up...\n\n\"Okay, try to relax. Your heart is going to stop soon if it hasn't...\"\n\n... my lungs are on fire... pain beyond anything to which the name of pain is given...\n\n\"... already. There we go. No, no, don't try to breathe, you don't need to breathe. Relax. You only think you need to breathe. Just hold your breath. Hold it.\" \n\nI clamp down, and it's like surfacing from underwater. Back into the warm, sticky LA night. Back into the cracked cheap plaster of the motel ceiling. Back into her scent, like vanilla and sandalwood and earth after a rain. Back into the wetness of blood, soaking the bed, the pillows, everything, but I can't smell it, like it has no scent at all, just red sticky water. \n\nIris rummages in the cooler, slits an IV bag with the straight razor. Its handle is cheap red plastic, raised outline of a Chinese dragon blurred by mold lines and air bubbles. \n\n\"Here. O negative. Slowly. You're not used to being dead yet.\" \n\nSlowly is hard. Tasting ambrosia and copper and ice. The same but different. And suddenly I can smell it now, all at once. Turned earth. Burnt sugar. Wine. Sassafras leaves. Blueberries. And then different again, different every breath, and I've never wanted anything so much in my life.\n\n\"Easy. Easy. You're spilling. Take your time. There's plenty. I came prepared.\" \n\n\"There we go. Can you hold it yourself? I'll get another one ready. You have to replace a lot of fluid.\"\n\nI try to answer her. I creak like an old door hinge.\n\n\"Heh. You have to breathe first. Can't talk with no air. Come on, big breath in. Should be easier now.\" \n\nI suck at the humid night. Nothing, and then something unsticks, and my chest heaves, once, twice. \n\n\"I-ris.\" An inarticulate croak. \"Fuuuuuuuck.\" \n\n\"Not now, dear. You look like crap, and we have other things to do first.\"\n\nI ignore the joke. At least I think it's a joke. We haven't... I think we haven't. I can't remember much of the past two days. \n\n\"When does... when do I... when... stronger?\"\n\n\"Oh, you'll be fine when you get more blood in you. Can't recycle the stuff we just took out, it'll make you sick. Shame to waste it. I'm full, though. Won't eat for a week after this.\" \n\n\"When... do I start...?\"\n\n\"Start what, dear?\" The anxiety in her voice is gone, and she's back to \"dear\", and \"dearie\", and \"sweetheart\". It's like her lace veil and her dresses and her cane that she doesn't need at all... trying to remind people that she's grandmother-aged. \n\nIt doesn't work. She's been fifteen or sixteen for two hundred years or more, lived to see courtesy erode to condescension as the age of majority advanced and washed up over her. Each of us looks at the other and sees a child.\n\n\"Oh, you don't think you're going to get powers, do you? No, child, no. That's science fiction writers, always with their power fantasies. Stoker and that Rice woman and all those terrible television shows. Flying and turning into bats and whatnot? Ridiculous.\" \n\n\"But aren't you... we, I mean... stronger? Faster? You're... we're... predators, have to hunt...\"\n\n\"No, silly. Why do you think we still look the same? We have to blend in or... well, torch-bearing mobs, dear. We're not stronger. Any living adult male could tie me in knots. We're not strong, we just don't run out of air or get tired.\" \n\n\"But how do we hunt?\" \n\n\"Well, I make sexy talk, then bite them when I get them alone. Don't know what I'd do if I were ugly. But you're a boy, so no catfishing won't be so easy for you. You're going to have to get good at ambushing people, dear.\" \n\nShe crinkles one eyebrow. \"Oh, don't give me that look. Did you think you were going to be Superman?\"\n\nI cough, hacking deep to bring up the last of my blood, then take another bag from her outstretched hands. My teeth tear through it, easily. They are... different. \n\n\"No, I just thought I'd be...\" \n\n\"Better? You are. You won't be stronger, but you'll never get out of breath. You won't age, you're almost impossible to kill, and you can heal from anything with enough blood. Your cancer will be gone in days. And then...\" \n\n... she pokes me in the sternum with one pale white finger, capped with a sparkling blue nail. \n\n\"... and then, young man, you are going to make good on your end of the bargain. Now take off your clothes.\" \n\n\"I... what? Look, what you said earlier... can we even...?\" \n\n\"Get your juvenile mind out of the gutter... and into the shower. You're a mess. And take another unit with you. The cleaning crew is coming and you're not safe to be around the living until you drink. Go on.\" \n\n\"Oh. The shower. Right. But... \"\n\nShe tilts her head and fixes me with two hundred years worth of cold stare. \n\n\"What? Oh, right. No, you don't have to give that up. No living people, though, that's playing with your food. Now save your questions for later and get.\" \n\nI get." ]	2
	[WP] The reason that we use swords is because the only metal that harms them is to valuable to waste on bullets.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Sachris ducked, the movement coming from long hours spent not ducking and getting battered with a stick and now serving him to not get battered with something a little more lethal.\n\nShardspray.\n\nThe great beast roared as its specially crafted spines, flicked off its back with powerful muscles that bent and then loosed them like the spines themselves were bows, missed the darting human entirely. Sachris knew this beast - they were ubiquitous, the most common type of savager, and therefore viewed as the least dangerous. The elders had a name for them. Arkera, Sachris vaguely remembered.\n\nThey didn't get individual names. Only people like Sachris got individual names.\n\nProtectors.\n\nSachris drew his smokeblades as the savager advanced on him, the metal claws shrieking out of the specially made holsters. As much time as had been spent learning to dodge shardspray had been spent learning not to cut himself with the metal.\n\nSachris spun between the shards as the beast fired them from its back, quickly realising that its prey wasn't going to fall to the flying splinters of semi-flexible bone and advancing on the tiny wret that was blocking its path to the human settlement beyond. Sachris grinned as it raised a lashing whip of a limb, slamming down beside the boy as he leaped to the side - \n\nAnd jumped back over before the whip could retreat, slicing it with the smokeblades. He flipped backwards as the savager shrieked and roared as the whip began to turn to mist, smokedeath spreading over its body until it groaned and collapsed, dying as it began the process of turning completely to fog. The entire process would take a few minutes, although the beast was dead in seconds.\n\nSachris smiled. His uncle's farmers would live to feed the Protectors another day. Just as the Cycle demanded.", "\"Titanium?\" The ink eel snarled, looking over the cut across its tail, smoke boiling up through the shallow waters.\n\n\"Not exactly,\" the sailor said, pulling his small sail for a sharp turn around the coiled beast with his free hand. The fresh smell of the ocean spray was cut with the jagged chemical stink of ink.\n\n\"And how exactly,\" the snake-like monstrosity asked as it pulled its body up to tower over the sailing ship, \"do you plan to reach me with that toothpick again, whatever it's made of?\"\n\n\"I don't,\" the sailor said, bracing himself near the mast. \"The alloy's too rare to waste on a bullet and I wanted to be sure it works before I committed.\"\n\n\"Committed to what?\" the Eel asked, hissing and opening its mouth as the ship approached again at speed.\n\nThe sailor didn't waste time on words, ripping the tarp off the front of the ship, revealing a sharp figurehead gleaming with the same oiled shine as his sword. He jumped just as the ship collided with the screaming beast. The smoke filled the sailor's view, leaving the high sun a pale red.\n\nHe began the long swim to shore with a smile on his face. They'd have to dredge the ship up, once the water was clear again.\n\n\\---\n\nThanks for reading.\n\nIf you liked this, check out /r/surinical to see more of my prompt responses and other writing." ]	3
	[WP] Jörmungandr has awaken but instead of uncoiling from the World and joining Ragnorak, he stays put. Fenris has been freed of his binds and yet remains in his prison. Loki has escaped his bounds and has vanished, it seems he has left Naglfar in tatters, now Odin has to find out what was happened.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 finally found him in a dump. Not literally, at least not quite, though it wasn’t too far off. The trash was of the human kind, though, and the smell was marginally better. Old tobacco smoke, some sort of pub grub that had been stewing for way too long, alcohol. \n\nI sat down on the sorry excuse of a bar chair next to him, ignoring my ass groaning in protest as the well-trained muscles had to adapt to the paper-thin “upholstery”. \n\nThe bartender placed a glass full of amber liquid in front of me, without even sparing me a glance. \n\n“I like this place”, I said to the room in general, carefully not looking at him. \n\nOut of the corners of my eye I noticed that I wasn’t given the same courtesy. He looked me over, slowly. If I hadn’t known better I’d have taken it to be a sexual advance. I wouldn’t even blame any mortal who’d try. Valkyries are made to look stunning, life after death being what it is. Long legs, blonde hair, tits that could be used as weapons. The works. I guess that after you’ve fallen on the battlefield, you’d rather see a good-looking gal than an old hag. Or one of your brothers-in-arms, aka a raving madman who couldn’t even be bothered to wipe away the blood. \n\n“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” he finally said. I turned to him, then, taking in his customary slouch. The unkempt red hair. The spindly body, emaciated from all the years in prison. Not that we didn’t feed him, no. But he’d claimed to be “a vegan” for the past twenty or so years, just to fuck with the cooks. Let’s just say both sides could’ve handled this a lot better. \n\nI raised an eyebrow. “Problem?” \n\n“Well,” he began, his voice rough. As if he hadn’t used it in a while. Fuck me, that might even be true.\n\n“For starters, they could’ve sent Frigg. Or Heimdall. Or, psh, I mean, the Old Man could’ve come himself.” He actually sounded hurt. Not that I believed it. I wouldn’t believe anything coming out of his mouth. Heard too many stories. So I just shrugged, for now, let him talk. The less questions I asked the better my chances of getting to the core of the actual matter. Because I knew he did think quite highly of himself. They all did. Fucking gods. \n\n“Instead, they send a Valkyrie.” As if I hadn’t gotten the point. “A lowly, lowly Valkyrie.” \n\nI crossed my arms at that, smiled at him. “Maybe they thought you’d talk to me.” Yeah boy, better believe it. I’m not as easy to rile as Frigg. Or the guy who’s fated to kill you. There’s a reason for everything the Old Man does, and if he sends a valkyrie, he damn well has his reasons. \n\nLoki raised his glass and took a deep swallow. “Good stuff here, you know.” \n\nI waited. Waiting was something I excelled at. Sometimes, after they’ve fallen, they take a while before they’re ready to leave. Argue. Plead. Are stoic. If a Valkyrie can do one thing, it’s sit idly by while a man gets it out of his system, nodding all the while. \n\n“You’re wondering why.” \n\nWell, there it was. Time to be honest. “No shit. We’re all geared up up there. Legions of Einherjaren. Gallons of mead. Thor — well, you know. He’s probably destroyed the stables by now, swinging that stupid hammer of his.” \n\nHe nodded. “The Old Man? He’s pissed?” \n\nI shrugged. “Far as I can tell, he’s mostly curious. Intrigued.” \n\nLoki took a deep breath, followed by a big draught of his ale. “Y’know, after I was freed from prison, I was so hell-bent on revenge. My kids didn’t deserve their fate. Hell, I didn’t deserve it either! I wasn’t even the one who shot that pompous asshole.” \n\nRight. He didn’t throw the spear himself. He just arranged things so they’d fall into his lap. He was good that way. What he hadn’t calculated was that this time, the others would take it personally. And as for his kids, well. We all knew, eventually, what they, and we, were fated to do. To be. So you can’t blame the Old Man for taking precautions, not really. \n\nI took a sip of my beer. Ale. Too many hops in this one, tasted faintly like lemonade. Damn craft beer makers. And let him talk. \n\n“Anyway, as I got out, I noticed that the world had changed quite a bit.” No shit. “Cars. Planes. That weird three-for-the-price-of-one deity.” We both chuckled at that. \n\n“And, you know, I watched the news. Ragnarok could start, had started. Somewhere. There were supposed to be signs. I was supposed to be a sign.” \n\nI nodded at that. He was. Supposed to lead the armies of the Enemy, not that he’d been known for his prowess in battle. But it would’ve been worth it, worth to not have that damned prophecy hanging over us for another millennium. A fresh start for — well, some of us, at least. \n\n“And then that ship got stuck.” \n\n“Huh?” I hadn’t paid attention to his last words. “Come again?” \n\n“That huge ship. The Ever Given. Got itself lodged in that canal. One tiny little cog in the machine not working as it should.”\n\nOh no. I risked a glance. There was a glint in his eyes now. A glint that hadn’t been there for many, many years. Not since he was working with the others, helping them cheat someone out of just payment for a wall. Getting Thor almost married off.\n\n“And suddenly, people were paying attention. To a freakin’ cargo ship. That one thing, that one little coincidence that got the thing lodged in the Suez Canal, changed the fate of the world. We don’t even know what it’ll do in the long run.” \n\nI could guess where this was going. He saw it in my eyes, grinned wildly. \n\n“Besides,” he said as he rose. “When have I ever done what’s expected of me?” \n\n“So it’s not gonna happen?” Faint hope rose in me. Maybe he’d see reason. Then again…\n\n“Nope.” He laughed, rose off his chair. “Midgard is just too interesting for a bloody war right now.” Patting my shoulder as he went by me, he tossed a heavy gold coin to the barkeep. Who caught it, one-handed, without even looking up. And turned to face me. Belatedly I noticed he was wearing an eyepatch. \n\n“Good work,” he said. \n\n“But I… he didn’t agree to anything. Didn’t really explain.” \n\n“Oh, he said enough.” The Old Man smiled, ruefully. “In the end, he is the god of mischief.”\n\nI thought about that as I took another sip of the ale. Too warm, by now. \n\n“So what now?” I glanced at him. He seemed busy polishing a glass.\n\n“Now we go back home and tell the Einherjaren to get back to feasting and training. Ragnarok won’t happen anytime soon.” He didn’t seem all that beat up about it. In fact…\n\n“You planned this,” I stated. I don’t know how, but I was convinced it was the truth. “The imprisonment of him and all his kids, constantly telling him he was going to start a war that would destroy all of it. Setting him loose in a place where he had internet access.” I thought for a minute. “Maybe even causing the power outage on that damn freighter.” \n\nHe just smiled at me. Like I was a favorite dog. Patted me on the shoulder. “Like he said —“ he used the rag in his hand to gesture towards the door. “Midgard is just too damn interesting to destroy right now.” \n\nI shook my head, got up and left. The sun was rising over the damp city streets, impossible shades of red illuminating the dark concrete. The air smelled —not fresh. It never smells fresh in a city like this. But remarkably unpolluted. I thought about calling Heimdall, using the Bifrost to get home. And hailed a cab instead. \n\nMight as well see what it was all about." ]	2
	[WP] You are different from the other souls in that you can remember all your past reincarnations. This time is different. You open your eyes to find yourself alone, and in a place different from anywhere you’ve seen on Earth.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 thousand different landscapes under the same starry sky. I can go back to them all. From the tarmac bustle and concrete walls, to dirt roads and millers cottages and horses; from fields of corn with no fences to endless forests of eucalypt and blackwood and pine. I have seen it all. I have seen expressions of filial love in five hundred different languages. I have seen species after species breed their last, and the abjection of countless wars aroused by avarice.\n\nI have seen that, no matter how special we may feel, we truly are animals; that for the most part we are mindless and irrational and greedy. And yet, that we are also capable of unbelievable beauty, in the way we can love, in the music we create, the stories we tell; in the dreams we share.\n\nIt's all so long ago now. They used to tell me not to live in the past; that life was all about the moment. But perspectives have a way of changing when you're dead. I know most of the souls here wish they could go back further. See the world as it was before history. Know what it felt like to live with no language.\n\nI guess I'm the lucky one, if you can call a dead man lucky. Ever since I got here I've been different. An endless regress of lifetimes stretches to near infinity, if I want it to. Well beyond all those forks of evolution; right back the beginning to time -- in terms of life, at least -- to single-cell organisms and the first proteins. Those little fellas were having a blast, let me tell you.\n\nOne day, I managed to go even further. To where I don't know, as a being that I still don't understand. I've never been able to go back again, no matter how hard I try. All I have now, is the memory: the iridescent dreamscape of some far away world. The smooth hazel clouds writhing beneath an emerald green sky; the gargantuan billows on a distant, dangerous ocean. And the feeling. What it was like to be the creature that I found myself in. How it glided through space, and time, without limit. Through the sky to one of three different moons; from this system to another a hundred thousand light-years away, in the blink of an eye, searching, constantly searching for the perfect planet to seed, to give the planet life, as it had done for Earth nearly four billion years ago.\n\nI still don't know why it chose me as the one to see. Maybe it was just so I could tell you, so you can tell others ... that, among the stars, we have many, many brothers, and sisters; a cosmic family spread throughout that endless vastness above. That we aren't alone. With a mother -- or father -- somewhere in the ether, always moving, always looking for another Earth in which to give birth.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\n\nThanks for reading!\n\nr/nikomachus", "This time was different. He had opened his eyes in a hospital his previous two lives, so the white room was hardly a shock. But the thing outside the window truly astonished him. \n\nSpace. \n\nThere were no people, and his newest mother lay unconscious. His undeveloped eyes struggled to see her face. A strange grey line with blurry blue lights crossed her face, her head locked into place by the bindings of her chair. \n\nCold clamps grabbed onto his limbs and separated him from his mother's flesh, despite his wailing protest. The blinding bright room burned his eyes, forcing them shut. The chilling metal twisted him like a doll, moving his limbs in every way they were expected to go. His hand waved bye bye to mommy, and a robot hand cut the umbilical cord. \n\nHer chair zipped back into the wall on guiding rails and the opening slammed shut.\n\nHe was alone. Vulnerable.\n\nThe robot pulled him and fixed him into his own chair. He stopped his screaming and focused. The machine was testing his skull and he felt two small pinches on either side of his skull. Then he heard a drill. His head vibrated, but he didn't feel any pain. \n\nHe finally dared to open his eyes and saw the thick grey goggles approaching his face. They pressed against his nose and clicked when they reached the space behind his ears, where the drills suddenly stopped. \n\nOne word popped up on the screen inside the goggles, \"connecting.\" \n\nThe screen grew around his eyes till his entire gaze was covered, and then it went blank. \n\nLight poured into his eyes as gentle hands guided his head out from the chair.\n\n\"It's a boy!\" A woman said.\n\n\"I told you, I told you. I had a feeling he would be,\" a man said. \n\n\"Then you better have a good name.\" Another woman said from gritted teeth. \n\nThe child furrowed his brow, wondering if he had been sent to his next life. No, he had never forgotten any of his deaths, even the most painful ones that he wished he could.\n\n\"Congratulations,\" words appeared in his mind, he couldn't see them, but he knew they were there, a clear picture of them floated in his mind's eye. \"You have received your first achievement. Named. You are blessed to be born into a family that will cherish you. To welcome you to their ranks, they have given you the title...\" \n\n\"Of Course I thought of a name,\" the man said again. \"He will be a great warrior someday, just like his old man, isn't that right, Victor?\"\n\n\"Title updated. Current title, <Victor, the baby.>\" \n\nThis life... Was it a game?", "“This is certainly...new”. \n\nThe hand I once held dominion over now moved on its own.\n\n *But this is my body\n\nInconceivable. Something that shouldn’t be possible, or at the very least, not once did I consider was* possible. \n\n“It was your body, sure. But now, we? Us? We’re gonna have to share from now on”\n\nI didn’t think those words. I didn’t form those sentences, much less draw the breath to turn them into an utterance...so how—?\n\n“We’re a lot alike. You’ve hitched rides in Heads, and I’ve floated through Flesh. Two halves of a whole. Never thought I’d run into myself like this!”\n\nWhat? Myself? What, and I stress, the fuck is coming out of my mouth right now?\n\n“Heyyy, hey, calmasé, no need for hostility. You don’t remember? How long have you been on the Circuit?”\n\nThe circuit...? \n\n“Yeah, the Circuit, y’know, that thing our family made to mend our shattered ego back together?”\n\nWhat am I talking about? \n\n“Maybe you got lost. Or damaged...but maybe I can help. It’s supposed to be one lifetime at a time -“\n\nWait so you’re-\n\n“Yup, you guessed it.”\n\nThat’s me. Without a doubt, that’s also...me. But- what?\n\n“We were...split...long ago. Not sure by what. We’re just two inconceivably small fragments of a whole. And somehow, we got lumped into the same life!”\n\nBut I just* died. I was old, unable to move. I should be in a newborn now!\n\n“Well, yes, but that was the last one if that’s the case, since you’re here with me now and all. I’ve been waiting for you. It was getting real weird having nothing going on in the ole noggin’.” \n\nWhat do you mean by nothing?* \n\n“Exactly that-“ \n\nI watched as our hand unraveled from a balled up fist - like a fresh Spring bloom - and motioned as if to survey the landscape in front of us. \n\n“This was all for us. For me. For you. I. However you want to perceive it. This is the original Body. Which means you’re the original Mind.”\n\nSo...you were making sure I was what, Whole?\n\n“Well, frankly, yes. I’m glad you remember the term. Last time didn’t go so well.”\n\nLast time?\n\n“It was brief. You blinked in for not even a second. Knocked me on my ASS. At the worst damn time, too.”\n\nWell I never did have a knack for good timing\n\n“That we surely don’t. Makes life interesting though! So- you feel like staying, or wanna get back on the Circuit?”\n\nWhy are you referring to me as not yourself?\n\n“You can still choose. The Flesh is restored. The Flesh has been restored. It’s you thats needed time on the Circuit.”\n\nMe? That’s just...us? Isn’t it? What did I need time for? \n\n...\n\n“...mending. The damage to a body is relatively easy to heal. The damage to a mind, however...that can take a while - It requires a great deal of patience. It has to begin as nothing and work it’s way through muddy & murky existences in order to culminate anew.”\n\nSo...all those lives...?\n\n“They’ve been to mould us. I can only speak because you’re here. So how ‘bout it? Ready to integrate?”\n\n...yeah\n\nAnd just like that, as if no time had passed at all, I was back. \n\nGod." ]	4
	[WP]The earth is in shambles, everything is not where it should be, and on fire. You are the single lone angel responsible for earth, as everyone else has moved on to bigger and better things.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 planet Earth. Such a pretty blue marble of a planet. In Universal Studies it had always caught my eye when more flashy and thriving planets absorbed the so-called 'brighter' students. \n\nFull disclosure. I wasn't the brightest of students by academic measure, however, I liked to think of myself as more of a maverick, my intuition guided me into the blue, and found my faith engulfed in flames. \n\nEarth is burning, churning, dying. Hope has left on the Musk Mobile, the dead heart of Mars no place for a soul to grow, but there they go. Venus calling with an icy blue stare, a frigid smile not reaching her heart, but still by her call they depart. \n\nThey've all left, no resources left to sell. But still, there's a frog in the dark that croaks existence for Earth alone. Sweet water still holds onto virginity in undiscovered rock crevices. \n\nIt's lonely out here. Oh Earth, I am so sorry for what has happened to you. Alone I stay and fight. \n\nBeep, beep, beep...is there anyone out there? I am answered in silence, there are actions I must now take that no-one will see. The planet's heart calls me, and that is enough. \n\nIf there's anyone else out there left to hear my plea, please stay and fight with us. \n\nBeep, beep, beep...\n\nStill no-one answers." ]	2
	[WP] You've lived a long life, but it's ending and you're on your deathbed. As the world starts fading, you see in green text in the corner of your vision "BATTERY LOW. RECHARGE Y/N?"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I wish I could see them all again. Just to be able to see their smiles again, any smile. They didn't have to be those special ones that shined during celebrations or the first one after a fight. Just a smile when they walked into a room and said hello to me. \nBut I can't. I'd gone too far. Said too much, too thoughtlessly. There were no more fights, no more celebrations, and no more smiles between us. \nI turn in my soft pink chair to look out the window to catch my last piece of sun. A family across the street are walking, their young boy running ahead despite the pleas of his mother. Their obliviousness to today's finality punctuates my insignificance. Nothing will change until the bag of neglected groceries is noticed on the doorstep. It had to be done that way. I just can't bear to be unnoticed for longer than a week. \nMy chest feels heavy, this feeling of finality washes over me as my lungs fill with oxygen. My muscles take over and push out my last breath, my heart pushing one last batch of oxygenated blood to rush throughout my body. I dont feel relaxed or relieved. This is not beautiful like my mother promised.\nThe sun's light is blocked out by my drooping eyelids. I cant breathe, but the lack of oxygen doesn't cause any pain. This lack of pain causes my mind to race, desperately trying to tell my lungs to pull in more air, but it doesn't respond. I feel like screaming, just to feel the sharpness against my throat but I can't. I've never felt so desperate to feel the pain that made me human.\nBut suddenly I can see a screen. The light should sting my eyes, but of course, it doesn't. \n\nBATTERY LOW. RECHARGE? Y/N _ \n\nWhat in the world? Is this real or my brains last chemicals playing games with my eyes?? I try to shake my head, but my body still isn't responding. So im dead. But maybe this is just an option for my soul?\nIf so, what does that mean for my soul? Will I return to my lonely pink chair? Spending my days living for the five minute conversation with the grocery delivery man who doesn't want to talk to me? Living a life where I hurt the people who held all the love I had in the world? \nWill I return to my mother's arms? Screaming for food, unable to fend for myself, but maybe a second chance?\nIs this unknown worth the risk? \n\nI see a small word appear in the top right corner. \n\nTEN. \n\nI narrow my vision trying to focus on it. \n\nNINE. \n\nOh no. I've got to make a decision fast. \n\nEIGHT. \n\nI really do not want to return back to misery. Or what if I'm back to the beginning-\n\nSEVEN. \n\nand I just hurt all those people over again? \n\nSIX. \n\nOk, ignore the numbers make the decision. \n\nFIVE. \n\nAh I cant ignore the numbers. Cant I get a minute to decide??\n\nFOUR. \n\nAlright, alright. I can grow from this. I've learned from all-\n\nTHREE. \n\nOh no. No. Ok! Where's the keyboard??\n\nTWO. \n\nWhat?? No keyboard?? How am I-\n\nONE. \n\nOK, Y! Y!! For the love of God, Y!! \n\nThe screen disappears. A second goes by. Did it not get my Y?? I mean, they didn't offer me a keyboard, so really.\nA big white flash blinds me, the pain shocks through my head and I can't help but scream. I feel all my face muscles scrunch up, my arms and legs flail. Oh my God, my body works again. \nMy mothers face appears in front of me and I'm so relieved I throw up a little. She coos at me to calm me down. I'm so glad that I didn't return to.. to.. wait what was it that I was relieved about? Huh.. Ill have to think on that one.", "So this is it; my final farewell. As I lay here, ready to succumb to the overwhelming nothingness clouding my head, I have to wonder what the point of it all was. You’re born, you live, and you die. Weeks turn to months and months into years, your slow march towards death is almost over. Mine is, anyhow.\n\nThe spotted tiles above me, the last thing I’ll ever see. The unwelcoming disinfectant in the air, the last thing I’ll ever smell. The bitter hospital soup, the last thing I’ll ever taste. What a waste of a life, truly.\n\nI have nobody left to comfort me in this life, they’ve all fallen to this or that. Some to sickness, some to age, and some, an unlucky few, to brutal accidents. May it be a crash, overdose, something of the like.\n\nMy mother and father, bless their kindly souls, were taken by sickness some twenty years ago. Smoke stained their lungs as it stained the linens, the walls, my memories. They’d only passed two months apart, both to lung cancer. Time and time again I’d beg them to quit, but I knew there was no hope left. I was screaming at a brick wall. Kind, but stubborn souls. Only admitted their mistakes in their last few moments as they reminisce in the few decent memories they had left.\n\nI, too, am falling into sickness. A plague; a snarling beast I’ve been running from for far too long. Eventually, my legs got tired, I stopped running. What was the point? I’d lived my life, terrible as it was, and I was ready to go.\n\nMaybe I’d go to heaven. Maybe I’d go to hell. Maybe, possibly, I’d go somewhere entirely different. Or nowhere at all. I have no way of knowing what comes after this life, once I’ve bitten the dust.\n\nMy eyes are fluttering, the world grows cold around me. My heart weeps, but I’m proud of the life I’ve lived.\n\nAs my eyes make their final twitch, I notice something. My mind yearns for it to be real, although I doubt it is. But, if it is, it’s a second chance. A second chance I don’t deserve, yes, but a second chance nevertheless.\n\nSmall text, nearly indecipherable, imprinted in my peripherals.\n\n“Battery low. Recharge?”\n\n\n---\n\nThanks for reading! I didn't do much editing or anything; apologies for errors. Hope you enjoy anyways :) more stories on my profile!" ]	3
	[WP] compared to most other alien species, humans have an abnormally long attention span. Long term planning is considered a foreign concept to other space faring races. This lead to the rumor that humans could predict the future.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Clink.\n\n\"No,\" I say, pushing the piece back.\n\n'What do you mean, 'no'?' The starskimmer, or Michael as I called it, bristled, and the room got a few lumens darker as it sucked in light from the fluorescent bulbs. I sighed in relief. This ship's lights didn't have dimmer switches- it was all or nothing for them. Which is fine, if there's enough small lights that you can turn them off one by one till you get the right number, which there weren't. I focussed on its hands as it signed at me. 'That's a good move, the Peon is threatening your Advisor.'\n\nYou wouldn't get this shit on a human ship. Sure, they tend to be pretty austere as well, but at least they hire a designer. You can at least get the bare minimum comfort from them. And they include dimmer switches. Or at least circadian rhythm imitators.\n\n\"Who taught you the names of these? I feel like that's the French or the Russian names or something. It's Pawn, and Queen. Anyway.\" I set its piece back up where it had put it. \"Yes, it is, but look, am I going to let it be taken?\"\n\nThe starskimmer's six solar ejections/hands hesitated. 'No?' It said. Well, it just signed 'No', but the question mark was implied.\n\nI gave it a patient smile. \"That's right, I'll move it out of the way. Now, if you were me,\" I began, turning the board. \"What would you do.\"\n\nIt scanned the board, its skin dimming as it drew luminesce in centrally to where whatever passed for a brain in there kicked into gear, and also whatever passed for a brow furrowed. Eventually it pulsed blue and signed at me quickly. 'I see it. I could threaten the King by moving the Advisor.'\n\n\"Yes,\" I said, grateful to be getting somewhere, even if it was with the wrong names. Most aliens really couldn't understand this whole two steps ahead thing, could they? \"But what else?\"\n\nIt hesitated. 'The-' it began, before its coronae twisted and shrank briefly. The room got slightly darker as it sucked in a few more lumens. Michael was nice enough to only give off a pleasant glow (and at my rather panicked request on our first meeting, no UV rays), so the room was, for the first time all day, bearable. 'The Steed,' it said, finally.\n\n\"Yeah, you've got this. So I move my queen like this,\" I say, putting it in the position to threaten the King. \"Then you need to get out of check. What's the best move you could make?\"\n\nIt hesitated again, and then pointed a querying arm at its Bishop, and I nodded. It'd already moved the Knight out. \"Yeah, basically that's your best move. Now, what would I do?\"\n\nIt didn't hesitate this time as it pointed to the knight's pawn. 'You tricked me,' it said, even as it pointed. 'How did you think that far ahead?'\n\n\"We'll get to that. Why's that spot useful?\"\n\n'Threatening both the Steed and the Tower-'\n\n\"Tower's close enough,\" I muttered to myself.\n\n'-And I can only choose one to protect. And now your Advisor is in the thick of my pieces.' It rapped the board lightly, as close as it could get to a smack without pieces flying everywhere in the, what, half-earth of the ship's local gravity?\n\nI smiled again. \"That's right. I get a placement advantage as well as getting to capture a piece. You just get to choose which one to save.\"\n\n'Then surely the Steed, since it can leap over danger,' it said, and made to move it.\n\n\"Ehh,\" I said, and its hand jerked to a stop over the piece, flashing different colours quickly as it tried to work out what my noise meant. '...No?' It signed eventually.\n\nI shook my head. \"Apart from the fact it's generally viewed as less powerful than the Castle- uhm, Tower- it's also much more restricted in this scenario. You'd have to do five, maybe four at best, moves to get it into any position to threaten the Queen, and it doesn't block off enough spaces to be worthwhile. Another way of thinking about it is that if you did nothing, I would take the C- the Tower.\"\n\nClack. \"See? Check.\"\n\nIt didn't make a noise- it never really did- just drew more and more into itself until its usual bright aura was dark and dirty, lined with cracks of warm oranges, like lava. The light was at the perfect level, now- I could still see the board, but the strain of the day's work around the ship sighed away, and I was reminded gently of the fireplace in my parent's house back on earth. Smouldering gently.\n\n'Yes...' it said slowly. 'I think.'\n\nI nodded. \"You should [see the Grandmasters. It's sort of terrifying.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4a-RY2r7og)\"\n\nIt flinched, a bodily thing that shivered across the visible light spectrum, and ended as a flare of heat, before it returned to its usual healthy glow. 'You aren't...'\n\n\"Oh, me?\" I laughed. \"No, not a chance. I'm a hobbyist, nothing more. There's millions, probably billions, that could take me down without blinking. All I know how to do is trick you into dimming the lights for me.\"\n\nIt set its hands down on the table very carefully. It lifted them. I raised an eyebrow, and they fell back down.\n\nEventually, it tried again. 'You could have asked,' it signed reproachfully.\n\nI shrugged. \"It takes effort for you to suck the light in. Would've had to keep reminding you, and I didn't want to be annoying.\"\n\nAnd then my face cracked into a massive grin. \"Keeping you stimulated, though- that does the trick.\"", "Planning. This was entirely a human concept. Alien species had words like 'prophecy' and \"foresight\" for it. The humankind was a race of prophets in the eyes of aliens. If a human saw a car coming from the right on straight road, they could with pretty much with 100% accuracy predicict it would end on the left side of the road, even before passing the point point of where the observers resided. As gods they were revered, due to this magnificent ability to foretell future events from obvious chain-of-effect relations. All these bizarre aliens started to form cults around various human individuals, promoting them to oh-so-higher positions of power in the cosmic scales of balance.\n\nAnd life was good. Until yet another, mysterious species appeared. They could do the same in opposite, as a matter of fact, based on something we contemporary humans would call quantum mechanics. They could state that, until you have observed the car to actually reach the destination from point A to B, there is a certain uncertainty as to whether it actually end up there, it might always crash, blow a tire, run out of gas, hit a deer or whatever... so the universe basically split in two, the believers in human foresight and mysterious alien caution.\n\nEventually a great intergalactic war erupted. It was less about who had the greatest attention span and more about who could deduce things longer and longer in a chain of events. Curiously though, it all seemed to balance itself out, as the galactic warfare wasn't all about longer term attention span nor long term planning... instead it was a hybrid of the two, as scientific concept such as the chaos theory complicated matters dare I say, exponentially.\n\nYet there was also a third species of these so called dreamers, out of whom prophetic and enigmatic dreams were originated. Nobody could really explain how they came to be, but they were almost always precise! They'd just dream up the result of some major inter-galactic battle and so be it, that is what happened. This was no mere issue of planning or interpreting quantum mechanics, it was as if they were creating reality itself through their dreams, like they had a deeper connection to the cosmos itself! Problem was, this all happened in the realm of their dreams and hey couldn't provide any concrete proof yet they knew. They knew it perfectly well, told others, and were almost never wrong. Still, the arrogance of the humans and aliens prevented them from listening to these wise old dreamers, preferring instead to enslave them or kill them and use them for information which they would portray as their own creation.\n\nThe way it worked was basically this, the shorter attention-span you had, the more connected youi were to the wholeness or 'unity'. When you approached to zero, you had a perspective upon all that is and could describe it to someone so accurately that from it, it could be derived what would happen the next moment and the moment after that and the moment after that and so on... some of them had the ability to take this further, some shorter. Human, however, they just gathered all the information available to them at a given point of time, spend a lot of time on top of it and then came up with a theory of what might happen in the future. The aliens didn't even bother with this.\n\nEventually, this led to the the 5th and final time-space-unawareness-war which destroyed the entire universe, as the these species couldn't agree upon whether time itself existed or not and sought to destroy everything that reminded time itself, ending our remarkable universe in the process.", "“What do you mean ‘anticipate problems’?” X’rian asked over the smoldering remans of their cabin.\n\nThe planet AlphaGen5 was one of the first planets that the humans had successfully terraformed. But unlike AlphaGen 1-4 the citizens of AlphaGen5, nicknamed “WestWorld”, preferred the wild landscape and simple living of pre space age earth… with a few modern additions.\n\nOne such addition was X’rian a Burgrod species who liked to spend his free time with his best friend a human named Sam. X’rian and Sam were partnered together in the Corps as it was custom at the time to partner Humans with literally any other species. The reason being that while humans were physically the weakest species, where they excelled was at problem solving. Anytime an encounter didn’t go exactly to plan you would be glad to have a human guarding your back. The two met a couple decades ago in the Corps and while Sam retired a few years ago their friendship was still as strong as ever.\n\n“What I mean is when you are attempting to do something new, plan what you are going to do in your head. That way you won’t burn the whole bloody house down when I ask you to cook dinner”\n\nX’rian gives Sam a vacant look, clearly not understanding.\n\n“In your minds eye I mean”\n\nNothing\n\n“You know, like what you see when you imagine something, or remembering something”\n\n“You… see things… in your head?” X’rian said with awe clearly in his voice\n\n“It’s not like that. God I’m doing a shit job of explaining things. It’s like this: before starting any task you just sorta know the steps to complete that task. If someone asked you to write down the steps you could do it without actually having to go through the motions, yah know?”\n\n“No” X’rian says.\n\nSam sighs exhaustedly \n\nDuring their time in the Corps Sam and X’rian had had many such conversations where he would try to explain how he always got them out of trouble but to no avail. Sam found it amusing how superstitious other species were when it came to their human partner. X’rian had always looked at his human partner as a good luck charm, and no amount of naysaying would convince him otherwise. \n\n“Ok, X’rian how about this. Can you tell me where you went wrong?”\n\n“I added the chicken before the pasta?”\n\n“No it was after that”\n\n“I moved the flaming pot behind the couch?”\n\n“That definitely didn’t help but the real mistake was adding water to the pot in an attempt to put the fire out”\n\n“That doesn’t make any sense” Said X’rian “In all the films I have studied of your species water is always used to put out fires”\n\n“ Not grease fires, and definitely not indoors”\n\n“How can you tell?”\n\nSam gestures emphatically to the ruins of his former home\n\n“Lemme ask you something X’rian, how did your species manage to perfect FTL travel when you are such terrible problem solvers”\n\n“Well…” Xian begins abashedly “We didn’t really perfect it. Our AI did and we just did what it said”\n\n“Ah” Sam chuckled to himself “That explains a lot”" ]	4
	[WP] the "evil" queen is actually a very nice old lady and the "heroes" are a bunch of entitled nobels causing trouble.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 prancing peacocks have a lot of nerve, rampaging all across my realm.\"\n\nQueen Mara stared down at the 'delegation' in front of her, a dozen young foreign lords and their retainers, decked out in dazzling, shiny armour and silken heraldry. She struggled mightily to not grimace with open disdain.\n\nArmour that shone was armour that had never been properly tested. As for all the gold filigree and platinum inlays... Ugh. Any self-respecting War-Smith would throw every single bedazzled jester regalia in the blast furnace and start over.\n\nShe rose, her own Dragonscale armour shifting softly with the motion. \"You come into my lands, rob my people, and expect to be hailed as heroes after, what? Demanding my surrender and looting my holdings?\"\n\n\"Not the language I'd use, oh Dragon-Witch Mara,\" Lord Aster said, speaking in apparent capacity of 'first among equals'. \"Rather, we have come to liberate an oppressed country, from beneath the iron stiletto of the Witch-Queen that dominates its people with fear and magically bound monsters.\"\n\nMara guffawed. \"Monsters? Really? Is that what you call my eldest friends?\"\n\n\"Obviously, oh Queen. For what other word is there for Dragons, but monsters? Preying on livestock, treasure and man alike? We've watched first-hand as your beasts demand tribute from your huddled masses!\"\n\nMara sighed, and covered her face with her palm. \"I suppose the term 'legal, fair taxes' is outside of your vocabulary, you young fool.\"\n\nLord Aster bristled. \"On the contrary, Witch-Queen. For once you're banished from these lands, we will naturally have to enact a... modest taxation to maintain the protection of our grateful new fiefdoms.\"\n\n\"Of course you do,\" Mara muttered darkly. \"Tell me, Lord Aster -\" she spoke the name as if it tasted foul in her mouth - \"Did you happen to see what sort of tribute my so-called \"beasts\" collected?\"\n\nLord Aster paused, puzzled. The he leaned towards one of his retainers, who bent forward to whisper into his ear. He frowned. \"A cow and a... full cart of metal scraps?\"\n\n\"Indeed. Furthermore, Lord Aster... Are you aware of why Dragons, in certain lands, are known for slaying and eating knights?\"\n\nHe scoffed. \"Because they're monstrous animals, of course. Hungering for the flesh of man.\"\n\nMara laughed. \"Humans don't even qualify as a snack. We're all bone, compared to a good hog.\" She smiled. \"No, what they're actually after, is the metal. Forged, purified steel is a marvellous delicacy, to dragons.\" She grinned. \"So, how did I actually bind Dragons to my service? How is my country, of all the various fiefdoms of the world, never plagued by Dragon attacks? Why does not a single bandit dare harass my trade routes?\" Her grin grew wolfish. \"The Dragons serve me because we have a deal. One that has lasted decades, since before the founding of this country.\"\n\nLord Aster looked briefly uncertain. Then he smiled again, and drew his sword. \"Be that as it may, I see no dragons here. Or even human guards. Surrender, Witch-Queen. You are alone against a score.\"\n\nMara stared. \"Sandstone, you even have the brains of a peacock, not just the useless plumage. Do you think this hall is this huge for the fun of it!?\" She waved a hand to indicate the cavernous expanse around them, the farthest walls hidden by massive tapestries. \"You really think I am as stupid as you are.\"\n\nLord Aster snarled with rage, and took a step forward.\n\nMara rolled her eyes. \"Nephews!\"\n\nA tapestry on either side of the assembled delegation burst aside, and with matching roars and torrents of flame, two massive dragons leapt into view and snarled at the interlopers.\n\nLord Aster gaped, eyes wide with terror.\n\nMara stepped down from her throne whilst he was distracted, and drove her fist into his unprotected neck. He choked like a strangled gull, and fell to his knees.\n\n\"Didn't even have a decent gorget, for crying out loud,\" she muttered, as she walked over to one of the dragons. He lowered his great head, still glaring at the cowering platoon of idiot nobles, and accepted Mara's affectionate chin-scratches with relish. \"Well done, nephews. I can always count on you two.\"\n\n\"Obviously, auntie,\" the furthest one confirmed.\n\n\"I assume your parents have things well in hand with the \"army\" these fool interlopers brought with them?\"\n\n\"Yes, auntie,\" her nephew currently getting scratched confirmed. \"They all rather lost the will to put up any fight after father snatched up their general and ate the armour off him piece by piece.\"\n\n\"Excellent.\" She turned her attention back to the assembled interlopers. \"You are all now my prisoners. Strip your armour and weapons without further resistance, and I won't have to subject my good nephews and their sister to the taste of man-flesh.\"\n\nHad any further resistance been forthcoming, the silent appearance of said sister through the main doorway, behind the gathered nobility, put paid to that. Though Mara rather regretted not marching the idiots outside, first, as the massive clatter of metal on stone started up.\n\n\\---\n\nThanks for reading!", "\"She stopped answering my calls,\" the young Horticult said, summoning a thick vine to swing to the next building. He looked down forlornely to the city below, hoping he could spot a paparazzi taking his picture. He did not.\n\n\"People just don't respect superheroes anymore,\" PatterBat said, sending pulses of ultrasonic force downward to remain airborne beside his friend. \"Same thing happened with the girl I was talking to last week.\"\n\n\"We need to do something big, Pat, really get our names out there. Now, if we took out the evil Queen Raska, they'd have to respect us.\" Horticult summoned a trail of thick grasses down the side of the skyscraper as he slid back to ground level. \n\nPatterBat gently landed beside him. \"I heard she was actually rather nice and most of her infamy was just bad press as retaliation for her never doing interviews.\"\n\n\"We're heroes,\" Horticult said to the hot dog vendor as if the tight green spandex covered in flowers and thorns didn't speak for itself. \"Two chili dogs please, one without meat if you can.\"\n\n\"So you don't want chili then, on one of them?\" The vendor asked, confused.\n\n\"Who cares why she's unpopular?\" Horticult said, ignoring the vendor but tapping his foot impatiently. \"If we were the ones that brought her to justice, we'd become the big names in the city. Don't you get annoyed every time you hear Stop Gap make the news just for reading books to orphans or something?\"\n\n\"Not really,\" PatterBat said, handing a tip and grabbing the two hot dogs from the vendor with a mouthed 'sorry.' \"What if we visited the children's hospital this weekend? I tagged along with Night Law to one of his Make-a-Wish trips and it was actually a lot of fun. If you summoned flowers in every-\"\n\n\"You're being lame, Pat.\" Horticult pulled up a diagram of Queen Raska's Castle on this phone and held it out. \"Storming the castle of an evil queen after defeating hordes of her minions in combat? That's the look we're after, not decorating for sick people. I'm surprised nobody's done it yet.\"\n\n\"Yeah, I guess that does sound pretty badass,\" PatterBat admitted reluctantly. \"What crime did she do exactly, that we would be bringing her to Justice over?\"\n\n\"Something about giving away food, like a permit thing. It doesn't matter.\" Horticult groaned loudly as he unwrapped his food. \"This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm talking about, Pat. Guy forgot my chili,\" he said, holding out the the naked hot dog.\n\n...\n\n\"My queen,\" the dark minion said. \"Several of the visitors are staying after they've had their meal. How should I deal with them?\"\n\n\"Make sure they're comfortable, dearie. It's supposed to get down to the negatives tonight. The Dark Hall can be crowded for a little while, that's fine. Besides, that will give them a leg up for the job fair tomorrow. Did you buy up the suits from the thrift store like I asked?\"\n\n\"Yes, my queen. What are they for?\" \n\n\"Go ahead and hand them out tonight to some of the ones waiting, so they can look their best tomorrow.\"\n\n\"Yes, my qu-\" the dark minion began, turning as another minion burst into the crown chamber.\n\n\"My queen!\" the man managed quickly, covered in small brambles. \"Two heroes have breached our defenses on the south side. They're making their way here now!\"\n\n\"Oh dear,\" the queen said, groaning as she got to her feet. \"I'll have to start a pot of tea. Is that nice flower boy with them? I was going to ask for his help renovating the city park.\"\n\n\\---\n\nThanks for reading.\n\nIf you liked this, check out /r/surinical to see more of my prompt responses and other writing." ]	3
	[WP] Your friends are all monsters but are trying to hid it from you. Problem is they are very bad at hiding 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "As humanity spread through the cosmos destroying stars and gas giants for fuels, stripping planets of the resources leaving a void behind us.\n\nWe meet our first neighbours the lavarians they created when we destroyed, there cosmos vehicles created matter instead of consuming it, as an example image a glass of water drinking from you. They where that opposite and in out joy we didn't see it at first.\n\nThey where horrified but deeper then that, to them we where an unimaginable horror upon there space, They where friendly I guess hoping to teach us better. It didn't last long we found out that they where cold fusionable. So we used them as fuel for our ships. \n\nWhen we meet the next neighbours they already knew of us and didn't welcome us they choose to fight us, only they didn't know how to fight. They launched sublight projectiles at our ships while we created blackholes of there suns\n\nWe continued exploring when after a long time we meet the 3rd species and they explained to us the truth the others have seen.\n\nAll the other species are here to fight the end of everything so they create so there is always more but we humans are different we exist to consume and bring the end closer.\n\nWe weren't space orcs or heroes we where literally death to the universe and when we humans learner this something changed in us, we didn't bother exploring anymore we just built weapons if this was our destiny and purpose then it will be. \n\nIt wasn't long before we mastered the ability to manipulate space-time itself, we created a blackhole so large it halted and reverses the cosmic expansion soon all matter will be in the blackhole. At the very centre of this monstrosity of science was Earth herself or all that was left of it.", "I realized early in my childhood what my friends where, i created them myself at all. First i was very afraid, being only a child and didnt know what that thing under the bed, or that other thing in the closet may be. But they seemed to be afraid of me too i found out after a while. They where kids like me. But... strange and weird. So we grew up together, and became friends and somewhen they WHERE my siblings, my family. Sure, there where times of trouble too. Even fights! We where KIDS. But we got back together everytime and they where great play pals. And there where times when... well.... WEIRD times... imagine a teenage boy realizing his own... body... ahm... and the EEEWs and OOOHs from under the bed and out of the closet. Awkward. But the two had their own needs, which appeared even more strange to my human self. Somewhen i discovered that those two would not stay confined to my room. They could move around. Everywhere theres a bed with enough dark or shadowy space under it, my Under-The-Bed-Thing could travel. Same with the Thing-In-The-Closet, which could travel in between half opened Storagespaces everywhere. On the one hand, it led to a high amount of \"missing pet\" cases in the neighbourhood, and i would find... remains - strange bushels of hair, a choker soaked in dried blood to name two- sometimes near the closet, and i often had to secretly return toys which where not mine.\n\nOn the other hand i learned a lot of interessting things about other kids in the neighbourhood the Under-The-Bed-Thing told me about them and their families. You learn to see people with other eyes once you know their little dirty very private secrets. And i could always rely on The-Closet-Thing when there shortages in certain food or medicines, when my parents could not afford to buy them. The always wondered, but never asked where the packages on our backpatio would come from. They helped. \n\n...tbc maybe... =)" ]	3
	[WP] One day while drinking with your best friend, you begin discussing aliens. You say “the thing I want to know is how do they look, how different are they from life here on earth” Your friend drunkenly replies, “You’d be surprised, my species is almost identical to humans even down to the DNA”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "As he finished his sentence, he spun around and put back another shot. It wasn't until after he'd finished his drink, and then another after, that he noticed me, staring open-mouthed at him. \n\n\"Surely you'd realised by now?\" he said, a smile pulling on the corners of his mouth. \"It's not like I've kept it much of a secret.\"\n\nI searched his face, looking for some giveaway that this was just another joke, but found nothing but a bemused smirk, apparently surprised that I hadn't noticed what must have seemed so obvious to him.\n\n\"I thought you said that cause you'd realised about me,\" he explained, \"but I guess it's alright for me to tell you anyway. My family has been here since the beginning, living peacefully alongside regular people, generation after generation. The thing is- we're different.\" - at this he raised his eyebrows, his hands became more animated as his story continued- \"we might look the same, but our we're like nothing most people can imagine- why do you think you never came round for dinner before?\"\n\nI took a sip from my drink. It had become room temperature, and the layer of froth on it's surface had fizzed and fallen away. I palmed it, pushing it across the table between my hands as I listened.\n\n\"Very funny.\" I said, but I could tell that he could see I didn't believe my own words, that I was doubting everything around me.\n\n\"Let's go outside. I'll prove it.' he replied, apparently deciding to humour me. \"But don't blame me if you can't take it!\"\n\n\"Fat chance,\" I snorted, and followed him out.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI shivered as I ducked through the door of the pub, and followed him into a doorway on the opposite side of the street. It was a dark corridor leading to three doors, each belonging to it's own house. He looked at me, long and hard, deciding whether I was ready to see what he wanted to show.\n\nHe breathed in deeply, paused, and then exhaled, and as he did, his skin fell away, leaving behind a glowing blue figure in the shape of the man that had just been in it's place. As the remnants of his human body fell away, the glow lost it's shape, turning and shifting like ripples in a pool.\n\n\"Oh.\" was all I could manage- you have to give me some credit, this was not what I thought tonights drink would turn into, and my old friend was the last person I'd wanted to see undressed- if that's what you could call what I was looking at.\n\nAfter a moment, it stopped shifting, and started to solidify back into the man I knew. \"We've become domesticated now,\" he explained, \"we've stopped being able to use our true form too much these days. You're lucky I even managed to show you!\"\n\nMy brain had pretty much had it for the night- it had almost been there from the drinks alone, let alone the spectacle of a few moments before, but I managed to put together one final thought: \"You... you're an alien!\"\n\nHe couldn't hold back from laughing now. In between his hysterics, I could only just make out his answer- \"the human thinks I'm the weird alien?!\"" ]	2
	[WP] It's a murder investigation in the 1800's American West. A detective begins to solve the murder using zero current techniques, and is contemptuous of saving the bullet, obtaining a blood sample, etc. Still, he finds the key to solve the crime.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Sheriff Tillerson saw the pool of blood beginning to cool, souring beneath the woman’s lifeless body. His deputy arrived and reverently stepped from his saddle.\n\n“Darrell, wash this mess away,” Sheriff said. “I don’t want no record of this come daybreak.\"\n\nThe deputy nodded. No one wanted the husband to see the blood of his wife in the morning.\n\nThe body was lifted, gingerly, onto the carriage and laid upon a bench. The deputy covered the dead woman with a mule blanket.\n\n“I heard the shots a bit ago, I believe,” said the Sheriff. “I was feeding the horses right after sundown.”\n\nIt was uncommon to hear shots fired at suppertime on a Tuesday. Weekends, with the gold diggers and the brothel boys from El Paso? Pretty damn common. But weekdays were always quiet evenings, except for the occasional poker fight where guns were sometimes drawn but never used on a Tuesday.\n\n“Probably Raymond did this,” the deputy said. “Bet he smells of gunpowder and gin right about now.”\n\n“Yup,” said the Sheriff. “But we can’t hardly charge him for smelling bad.”\n\nThe deputy dipped a pitcher into a horse trough. He began pouring the pitcher onto the blood, and the puddle grew larger and began to trickle toward the underbrush nearby.\n\nSheriff Tillerson watched as his deputy dutifully poured dirty water, again and then again, as the water and blood began to inch toward the burnt grass.\n\n“Darrell, where’s your badge?” Sheriff asked. “You know the rules.”\n\n“I dunno. Musta left it at home,” he responded. “Had it on ‘bout an hour ago.”\n\nSheriff Tillerson paused for a moment. He decided discipline was in order.\n\n“Deputy don’t ever do something this important without your badge on,” he said quietly. “When you work a murder, you better look it next time.”\n\n“Yes sir,” said the deputy, spilling filthy water and watching the puddle travel, a growing pool of blood and mud and froth from the trough.\n\nFrom a trickle, the liquid washed steadily toward the bush and dead grass, only six feet away.\n\nThe fetid water and blood inched further, pooling at the low point under the sagebrush, slowly covering a law badge that was disappearing, under the brush and beneath the muck, one cup of filthy water at a time." ]	2
	[WP] You are an con man who tricked an entire nation into thinking you are a god and worshipping you. Everything was going well until you actually became a god. Every other god has a word 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[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "How was I supposed to fucking know? When I started doing that, I decided not to say that I work for a god, but to make myself one. That way, I could say that I was regaining my power, after being stuck in a human vessel. \n\nI started with simple things like using gallium spoons to break, making them disappear. After the numbers started growing, I became more ambitious on my plans, creating more and more elaborate tricks to fool the audience, until it happened.\n\nA man came running towards the audience and shoot me three times in the chest. I then took a step back. I did some bullet-catching tricks before, but why I wasn't dead? I kept the facade scared of what was happening, but decided not to show it.\n\n\"Why did you do this, son?\" I asked him, coming closer to where the security guards held him, still on stage. \"Give him a mic, and let the man speak his truth.\" Where did that come from?\n\n\"You killed my wife! She took that damned corn syrup that you gave her, but her cancer didn't go away and she died! And yes, I know that those miraculous pills were just corn syrup!\" He talked like he was spitting venom at every word. That idiot woman.\n\n\" I said that those pills wouldn't cure death, and if that was where your disease was headed, the pills wouldn't work. Also, I told everyone what they were made of, so anyone with diabetes could know before taking them. I embedded them in a strong spiritual force of healing. But they don't cure your disease, but your sickness, the way your soul feels about it.\" I created this thing based on medical anthropology. It was to cover my bases. My lawyer also said for me to state upfront what they are made of avoiding any lawsuit on the premises that this was a spiritual pill, so any attempts to claim that this was a fake, could be replied with that.\n\n\"Release him and let him be.\" After they let him go, I simply turned around and asked for another shirt, since this had a bullet on it. The audience laughed, and when I took my shirt off. When I looked down, they were stuck in my chest. I removed them, put on the fresh shirt, I walked down the stage to leave.\n\nWhen I got near my dressing room, I saw an old man with an eyepatch on the right eye.\n \n\"So you are the new god, or are you just Loki in disguise? By the way nice show, you had up there, too bad it was cut off.\" He said with a concerned look In his eyes.\n\n\"Who are you?\" I was ready to scream for security when a sudden gush of wind passed by. In an enclosed space.\n\n\"I see it. You are not Loki. I have several names, some that you may know, some that you may not. You can call me the same way that that show and the book that is based on, Mr. Wednesday.\" Oh great, I'm talking to Odin. \n\n\"Couldn't you see that I wasn't Loki by sitting on your throne?\" He made a troubled face. \"Oh, you don't have access to it?\" He got angry. But then calmed\n\n\"You talk like him and act like him, which is funny. We can both benefit from this. The Greeks and Yahweh both want you dead before you fully completely turn into a God and become immortal, and I want to improve my influence area.\" Great, I'm a god now and gods are wanting to kill me.\n\n\"So what do I need to do?\" I felt like doing a deal with the devil.\n\nThe next day, the crowd was even bigger than before. Like 10 times as big. The video of the shooting spread so much that got scary. People assumed it was CGI, that it was one of the tricks for getting a bullet. So people wanted to see me now more than ever. I had to increase security to avoid new surprises. I walked up the stage, which was a very bright lightened \n\n\"Yesterday I got shot. I finally figured out who am I and what I can do for you. I am Loki\" I used the hologram-like magic that Odin taught me and became Tom Hiddleston Loki. People laughed. \"Wait wrong body.\" And turned into a more mythological appearance.\n\n\"People will say that this is fake, CGI, a mirror illusion, but there no CGI in your eyes, and no mirror illusion works on this much light. Today is this, but tomorrow more will come.\" The crowd roared and I left. In the brackets, there was another old man, reading a Bible, looking like he was reading bad fanfic of something he wrote. He then looked at me like he could see behind the illusion.\n\n\"Are you mad that I took all the jobs from your televangelists?\" Why am I teasing the dude with 4 billion followers?\n\n\"No, I also hated them. But you are way above your head. Remember that you were baptized in my name. I know who you are. You don't know what you started.\" He left. I got to my dressing room and Odin was there.\n\n\"Don't worry about him, he is more say than do. Anyway, I got you an appearance on The Tonight Show.\" Oh Me, where do I put myself into?", "\"So...\"\n\nThe single syllable rumbled through my skull like a thunderclap, a deep basso tone simultaneously frightening me and setting my brain on fire. I clasped my ears and grit my teeth until it finally stopped echoing inside the confines of my cranial cavity. My eyes, now opening after having been clamped shut in pain, slowly opened as the discomfort subsided.\n\nAs my senses began to recalibrate after being forcefully scrambled with just a word, I came to realize that I was no longer at my pulpit. My followers no longer staring up at me with awe as I use simple magic tricks to fool their gullible minds into believing in miracles. Instead, it was I who was made to feel awe.\n\nRising in front of me there stood a marble and granite dais so mammoth in proportions that to look upon its heights for long would make one dizzy. There were five total seats with the largest seat at the center, prominently risen above the other four. Occupying these thrones were figures of golden light, hazy and radiant, whose forms blinded me as I attempted to gaze upon them. I shielded my face with my hand and looked through the slits of my fingers and felt that I could almost make out a humanoid shape in all that glare, but I couldn't be sure. As I struggled to see, another word crashed through my mind, causing me to collapse on the marble floor in agony.\n\n\"Kneel.\"\n\nI felt the blood vessel break in my nose before I saw the drops on the floor. My ears rang and nothing made sense as my breaths ran ragged in my chest. The tissue in my eyes felt strained and pain coursed through every portion of my being. The ground rumbled as titanic laughter came from on high. I could feel my organs being vibrated into mush in its wake. \n\nI strained and struggled and ripped at my ears, my flesh, and my skin as the suffering gained in intensity. My eyes began to bleed, my skin swelled to near bursting on my hands, arms, legs, and feet. My ribs cracked as all my insides pressed against them, attempting to become outsides, the laughter fueling this macabre metamorphosis. \n\nThe agonies of a thousand lifetimes flowed through me at once, my mind experiencing the pain, the suffering, and the hell that those lives contained in a single millisecond that drug on as though it were ages.\n\nThen I exploded. \n\nWhite washed away everything. The laughter, the pain, the flashes of evil flooding my mind, all of it. I was suspended. Ephemeral. Infinite. \n\nAn echoing voice trilled at me from very far away, \"Shhh....\", a sweet, soothing sing-song, \"... you are halfway there, child.\"\n\nThe comforting tones of this voice calmed my panicked soul. \n\n\"Only a little bit more...\" the voice trailed off into nothing.\n\nI reached out with phantom limbs hoping to catch the majestic voice and keep it with me just as a single stream of thought pierced through my being and internalized the entirety of human thoughts from thousands of people simultaneously. I recognized my followers as they lived out their lives from infant to great age, every experience they had or were to have in a nanosecond. Their hopes, their lusts, their fears, their pains and frustrations flashed through my naked mind and seared upon my soul. Even without a brain to feel this pain, the experience was tortuous. For what was either a second or a lifetime I do not know, I endured this harrowing experience and came out the other side thoroughly disturbed.\n\nThe comforting voice returned as the flashes of insight subsided, \"Just a little more now.\"\n\nI barely had a moment to collect myself as colossal concepts of Earth, Space, Gravity, and Time began to imprint on my consciousness. The vast web of the cosmos rolled in front of my vision in an undulating web of clarity. As my understanding of the totality of this reality crisped into something of substance, a shining beacon of light began at the center of my vision and engulfed me in a supernova, all reality collapsing into its core. \n\nWhen my vision returned, I could see the faces of my patrons, horrified, concernedly pressing forward toward the stage upon which I lay. \n\nFrom the crowd I heard a man exclaim, \"Impostor! A true God could never be afflicted with a fainting spell!\"\n\nThe crowd murdered and shuffled about momentarily, gasping at the notion until one member of the congregation rose the chant of \"Burn him!\" The sentiment rapidly filled the chamber as thousands of voices took up the chant. \n\nThe crowd pressed forward and as I felt the first pair of hands clasp around my wrist I heard a faint laughter in the back of my mind.\n\n\n-Thanks for reading!", "After barely surviving the crash of my “flaming chariot” I wandered about the grassy plains of shinar salvaging what useful remained in the mile long debris field. Finally I found it. The only thing I really needed to survive in the world of primitive men. It’s been said that the massive flood had completely decimated this area of the earth but like other places there must still be some survivors. They’ll probably call my weapon a “projectile spear” or something stupid along those lines. Most of the technology, as well as the men who built it perished in the flood. My own crash was no doubt due to accidental neglect of my flight equipment. My mechanic skills are mediocre but they’ll have to do now. Especially since I could see the signature dust cloud in the distance made by horses closing on my position at speed. First contact went surprisingly smooth, and they even speak the common tongue albeit a primitive version. I didn’t mean to trick them at first. As they approached me I prepared to fire on them but to my surprise they leapt from their horses, bowed low, and asked what part of the sky I came from. For no particular reason I pointed to Orion. Must have been the right answer because they immediately gave me a horse and led me back to their village. What I found was heartbreaking, people living at the refugee level, I taught them how to make fire again, and how to properly prepare non poisonous food and water to avoid dysentery. For these gifts they made me their king. I even tried to stop them but they insisted on calling me “god king” if only they knew I crashed on my way to re-up on the finest weed the world has ever grown. I stayed with them for years. Even fought off an entire warlike neighboring tribe. One day a gigantic craft descended like a falling star above our village. As it hovered a booming voice called my name “Loki son of Laufey, you have been summoned before us” even though it had been years my first thought was, “shit they know I’ve been selling weed” as a beam of light carried me upwards in front of the awestruck villagers. The entities on board this craft glowed like foxfire, the one who I ascertained to be the leader approached me. “You have accomplished something none of us have been able to do, you have created a peaceful civilization without using your power to take advantage of men” I was too terrified to answer with anything other than a blank stare. “For this you will be rewarded” He said as he drew a massive golden sword. “For this from now unto the end of time I deem you Loki of Asgard, son of Odin” the instant the sword touched my shoulder as I knelt my skin began to glow like foxfire. And this my children is the story of how a drug dealer became a god. I would have considered myself unworthy, but these things are not for me to decide.", "\\[Sharp. Con-Descension.\\]\n\nTristan headed for his throne room as he did every morning for the past month. He had about 15 minutes before the guards let worshippers in to see him and he liked to sit quietly with himself for a bit. Despite his fame, Tristan was aware enough to keep himself grounded. He knew if he let his stardom go to his head, he'd make a mistake that would cost him everything. He spent a few minutes alone in the golden chair every morning to remind himself where he came from and how he got there.\n\n\"Good morning, Mr. Davinport,\" Tristan jumped. The stranger spoke as soon as he entered the room, he spun his head towards the voice and saw two women. One in a white suit and one in all black; both pale with dark hair. The woman in white was taller and leaner, and she spoke with the same voice that startled him. \"Sorry for the surprise, but I'll only need a moment of your time. My name is Dana Sharp,\" the woman said.\n\nTristan kept his eyes on both women as he listened to Ms. Sharp's introduction and finished the trek to his throne. He sat on it and nodded politely at the women.\n\n\"I appreciate your determination in getting past my guards this early. What have you come to ask a god for, Ms. Sharp?\" A brief, sudden giggle escaped from the woman next to her, but she managed to swallow it before it became insulting.\n\n\"Nothing,\" Ms. Sharp replied with a firm, cold smile. \"I've come to offer you my services; one god to another,\" she said.\n\n\"You?\" Tristan asked in surprise. \"You're a god? Prove it,\" he said.\n\n\"Melody,\" Ms. Sharp commanded her assistant. The shorter woman in black stepped forward.\n\n“Your favorite number is four,” Melody said. Tristan burst into laughter, then held up his left hand; a golden tophat with the number 4 was tattooed on the back.\n\n“Everyone knows that,” he said. Melody nodded, then continued.\n\n\"Your real name is Tristan Davinport the 4th. You were born April 4th, 2004 in Toledo to Tristan and Meredith Davinport. You have three older brothers -\"\n\n\"Alright,\" Tristan interrupted her. \"I've heard enough. So, what are you offering then?\" he asked.\n\n\"I'm offering you the chance to join me,\" Ms. Sharp replied. \"This is just one Earth in a multiverse of alternate realities. If you ally yourself with Sharp Development you'll gain access to all my resources and show your worshippers miracles they've never imagined.\" She was good, but Tristan could spot a con a mile away. The thing that puzzled him, though, was that she was telling the truth; but, she was still hiding something.\n\n\"What's in it for you?' Tristan asked.\n\n\"You're a smart man,\" Ms. Sharp replied. \"I don't need to give you the company line about bettering humanity; instead I'll tell you the truth. Advertising, plain and simple. Your worshippers buying and using my products, spreading the word about both of us throughout the multiverse.\" Tristan nodded as he listened. Again, she seemed to be telling the truth; but, he still thought something felt off.\n\n\"And... what happens if I say, 'no thanks'? What if I want to try and go it alone?\" he asked.\n\n\"Oh, that's not an option that's available to you anymore,\" Ms. Sharp replied.\n\n\"Huh?\" Tristan asked. He was genuinely confused. It sounded like it could be a threat but even if she was a god, like him, they were on his turf.\n\n\"Before you ascended, this Earth belonged to its people as a whole. They could elect leaders, and those leaders are considered the Earths' representatives. Normally, I need to [convince the governing body](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/e72bsf/cw_feedback_friday_hooks/) of an Earth to sell me their planet.\" Tristan felt a knot growing in his stomach the more she explained.\n\n\"In your case, however,\" Ms. Sharp smiled. \"One god may take an Earth from another god by force.\" Tristan shrank slightly into his throne.\n\n\"What kind of force?\" he asked.\n\n\"That's up to you,\" Ms. Sharp replied. \"Enough force to twist your arm,\" Ms. Sharp nodded at Melody; her assistant offered Tristan a red clipboard loaded with a form and pen. \"Or enough force to kill you. Either way, this Earth is mine now.\"\n\n\\\\\\*\n\nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1187 in a row. (Story #091 in year four.) You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog.", "\"Ah, so you wish to become a God young...\"\n\"Gilagamesh.\"\n\"Gilgamesh. Then you shall be. And you shall face every trial laid before you. Men slay wolves and lions. You shall face much, much more than that. But the people have believed in you, and so they have granted you much power through that belief, and you will need it. Especially to face Enkidu.\"\nBefore Gilgamesh could ask more, the miasma had faded, leaving him alone in his royal chambers. Outside, a crashing in the street began, and he heard his name called in a growling, beastial shout. \n\"I seek the one called Gilgamesh, tyrant of men, foe of Aruru. Come, and fight me if you so claim to be mighty.\"\nGilgamesh was aware of fear, had maybe even felt it. But when he saw that thing stomping through his streets, throwing full carts of fruit with a single furry paw, and scrapping high windows with its twisted antlers, he was sure he knew what fear was like.\nBut such is the duty of a god-king among men.", "General Weathers, High Chairmen of Supreme Enlightenment to the fabulous nation of Hidan, was watching his own funeral. As strange as whatever clouded world surrounded him, not to mention the surprise of the afterlife at all, he had to admit his followers did a pretty fair job. There were only six elephants in the parade but Chloe’s leg had been getting worse, probably best she sat this one out.\n\nHe reached out and drew a large rainbow across the sky and two shooting stars for good measure. The mourner’s below seemed to enjoy that very much. He was just about to figure out what other new powers he had available now when his head bumped into a cheap soffit ceiling. \n\nHe turned around to see he was standing in what looked to be an office reception area, with a pure white fog covering the floor. “Good morning,” the muscled, sculpted, and tan man said from the reception desk. “You’ll have to forgive me, I’m not hungover from the night before and it’s giving me an awful headache.”\n\n“Where am I?” The General asked, flicking a Newton’s Cradle on the desk.\n\n“Oh, you’re the dictator guy!” the man said perking up and shaking his hand. “Man, you knew how to party. I’m not normally down for the whole self-help schtick but I can’t wait to see what you get up to now.” The toga-wearing man noticed the confusion still plastered on his face. “Oh right, you hit the threshold of enough worshippers to become a God. This is the office of the Godly Affairs.”\n\n“I’m actually a God now?” The General asked, unbelieving.\n\n“You bet! You were transferred here for onboarding. You have a meeting with,” he paused to look down at a stone tablet, “He-He Er Xian, the two gods of Harmony and Union. I’m going to be honest with you. They seem to be less than pleased with the whole hundred wives thing you had going down there, so you’re probably in for an ass-chewing, but don’t let it get you down. Eros, Aphrodite, and I are going to hit up an Earth bar tonight where the gimmick is that everyone wears blindfolds! We can probably even sneak Hebe in. Wild, eh? We’d love for you to come.” \n\nThe man handed him a card, purple with tasteful black lettering that read ‘Dionysus.’ “What am I supposed to do with this? There’s no number.”\n\n“That’s a good one!” Dionysus called back, taking a long drink from what looked like a 3-liter thermos. “Now get in there and answer for your crimes!”\n\nWeathers looked forward as the cloudy floor gave way to intricately designed red-painted wood weaving over white walls as distant red lanterns swayed above him like stars and some beautiful instrument began to play. An old and pissed-off-looking couple sat staring at him at a low table filled with candles.\n\n\\\\---\n\nThanks for reading.\n\nIf you liked this, check out /r/surinical to see more of my prompt responses and other writing." ]	7
	[WP] You are cursed with “absolute choice”. At a random, inconvenient time every day, two equally unpleasant actions present themselves, and you must choose to do ONE of them within five minutes or die a very painful death. You were granted 3 opt-outs in your lifetime.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\nI am a bot, and 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 dove inside my car and started it. I was running late to work. Mondays sure were a drag when it came to waking up on time. I sped through the streets, until I heard a loud WWEEEWWWW!! The police lights flash in the rear view mirror. Oh please don't right now I beg the mysterious force that had it in for me. \nI pull over. The cop steps out of the car and I was already shaking and having a mental countdown. Oh no, Oh no Oh no. The cop knocks on my window and I roll it down. The cop peers in, \"Hey son, are you alright? You don't look like you should be driving.\" I nearly snap in two. \"Yes officer I'm fine, yes I was speeding. Give me the ticket or whatever I need to sign because I'm running late to work!\" That was the best excuse I could think of to end this encounter as quick as possible.\n\nHe looks at me suspiciously. \"To be frank, I think it's strange that you want me gone so badly. Are you hiding something?\" I honestly want to tell him Yeah officer, I'm cursed to do things against my will. I could only force a sweaty grin and shake my head. He went back to his vehicle to process the paperwork.\n\nCHOICE TIME! Run to work on foot or crack one of your car windows.\n\nI knew it! My mind races. My workplace was still 4 miles away and the cop was still processing paperwork. My car windows... my beautiful car... I tearfully began to tap on the car window with my pen and began to whack the very top right corner weakly. Without knowing it the cop had already returned and watches me scratching madly at the window. By the time I look up the cop was already frowning at me. He backs away slowly. \"Sir, I'm going to need you to drop the pen down and step out of your vehicle.\"\n\nChoice has not been made yet. Painful death will occur in ETA 1minute\n\nI drop the pen having failed to crack the window. I slowly exit from my car.\n\nThe cop commands me to lie down.\n\nETA PAINFUL DEATH IN 5..\n\n4...\n\nI slowly drop to one knee.\n\n3...\n\n2...\n\n1....\n\nI throw my whole body forwards into a sprint. I had no more time to make a choice. I can hear the cop yelling, \"Hey don't run! Why are you running?\". I look back and he's waving my ID that's still in his hands as if that would call me back or bring me back to my senses. I couldn't explain that I was cursed or he'd think I was crazy. I yell back, \"Sorry, but I'm really late to work! Send the ticket to my address!\" \n\nI see the cop throw a puzzled glance at my car. \n\nI sigh and focus on the long run ahead of me." ]	2

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