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[WP] When humans dream, they actually live an entire lifetime. The only thing you remember from your dreams is the last hour before you die. You find someone extremely familiar one morning after waking up, but you've never met them before.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"She was crying, holding my hand in sorrow, she knew I didn't have long. I laid there, fading between consciousness seeing my family, Alyssa all of them in tears. It was very silent, with only the hushed sobs of them keeping the room from silence.\n\nI was dying, I had been in a bad car crash when driving home, lying there, I asked them in on soft voice: \n\"Where will I go\"?\n\n\"Heaven, I'm sure, you are a good person, James\" Alyssa, my wife spoke.\n\n\"I don't want to leave you, I'll be alone, heaven isn't anything if I'm not there with you.\"\n\n\"You won't be alone, I'll be there for you, together.\"\n\n\"Together\"? I asked\n\n\"Yes... Together, forever\"\n\n\"Promise?\"\n\n\"Promise\" she assured.\n\nThe room darkened, sobs silenced, my eyes closed and darkness came. \n\n\nBeep Beep Beep… Beep Beep Beep \n\n\nI turned over in my bed and smack the snooze button on my alarm. It was a Monday, meaning, I had work again. So I begrudgingly got up and got dressed, alone? I had thought for a minute. Didn't Alyssa promised we would be together, forever.\n\nNo, that was a dream, yes, it was a dream, I had just woken up from that, there is no Alyssa, no promise, no love. So why did it feel so real. I need to forget about this and get to work, a shower will help. \n\n1 hour had passed since I last woke up and I can't just can't stop thinking of the dream, it just felt so realistic, I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I hadn't even realized where I was and while walking to work I had accidentally bumped into a lady.\n\n\"Sorry\" I said as I offered her a hand up.\n\n\"No problem\" she replied clearly embarrassed about what had just happened.\n\nAs I lifted her up, I had caught a glance at her face, I froze, she looked so similar to Alyssa, but no, it was just a dream wasn't it.\n\nHer gaze caught mine, noticing my bewildered expression, she asked if I was alright.\n\n\"Umm, Yes\" I smiled \"I'm fine\".\n\n\"Alright then, bye\", she turned to walk away when I stopped her.\n\n\"Just curious, what's your name, I'm James?\"\n\n\"Alyssa, why\"\n\nAlyssa, wait, isn't she my wife? Wait no, that was in my dream. But, in it she promised we would be together, but that was just a dream no?\n\n\"Uh, I wanted to ask, are you free this evening, there is a new restaurant we could try?\" I said nervously, I turned away quickly, did I really just ask her that?\n\nShe chuckled \"sure, I've got nothing better to do and you seem interesting, what's your phone number\"?\n\nI was bewildered, \"here\". I handed her my phone to exchange contact info.\n\n\"There, see you tonight I guess\" with that, she walked away.\n\nStill shocked at that encounter, I turned to walk towards work.\n\nWork had gone by fast, the anticipation of meeting someone so familiar yet foreign was weighing on me. Then, when work finished I set out towards home to clean up and meet her once again. So I called her:\n\n\"Hey, this is James, we met when I bumped into you and we exchanged numbers.\"\n\n\"Oh yes I remember you, we had literally bumped into each other.\"\n\n\"Yah\" I replied still slightly embarrassed. \"Do you still want to go out to dinner tonight?\"\n\n\"Sure, where?\"\n\n\"Its at 835 Crossroad Avenue, we can go at 8 if you want.\"\n\n\"Why not\"\n\n\"Alright then, see you then\"\n\nMy heart was beating, was that dream real? I mean there she is, in real life, the same as she was in that dream. \n\n \nI had gotten to the restaurant 10 minutes early, I had been waiting in the parking lot when she showed up.\n\n\"You look nice\" I stated.\n\n\"Thanks, you too, I've always wanted to visit this place, I heard the crab was very nice\"\n\n\"Me too I replied. \"Me too\"",
"'Jake!'\n\n'Amy!'\n\nWe both cried together as we spotted each other near the bus stand. Half the people standing their gave us weird looks, as if they though it was abnormal for two friends to meet in public and call each others name out. The other half didn't care and just gave us a sideway look before burying themselves into their cell phones. There was long beard guy in weird cloak of a kind; a man in purple suit; a bald man with a black suit and tie and a briefcase; an young dashing woman with a red umbrella; few children with trunks and many more people than the bus could actually afford.\n\nAfter exchanging a few silent moments, I finally moved near Amy, my eyes watery and my cheeks bright red. She was tall, little slim with large round eyes, and her hair bound in a tight bun. Behind us, the bus came to a stop and the crowd near us boarded the bus without wondering the dramatic moment Amy and me were going through.\n\n'I... I though I had lost you... I mean.. I saw you... How are you even... Oh gosh!' I cried further, almost on the verge of breaking into tears. It was an emotional movement. Amy went ahead and gave me a very tight hug, with tears in her eyes which she tried unsuccessfully to hide.\n\n'Jake.. oh Jake.. I looked for you all around. I though I had lost you,' Amy replied.\n\n'We need to sit and talk. Are you going somewhere important. I am not... I mean I can always come up with some excuse.. it's just office,' I said as I tried controlling my head. Amy continuously shook her head, up and down, sideways, trying to answer all my queries just by the shake of her head.\n\nTen minutes later, both of us were sitting in a coffee shop, away from the normal bustle of the crowd. After our tears had subsided, Amy and me started talking.\n\n'And I woke up in the barn. My clothes were torn at some places, and I had several cuts on my arms and legs. It seemed like I have had a really bad dream. And yet I couldn't remember anything... not a single memory of what had happened,' Amy replied. 'I just remembered one name.. Jake.. and I had no idea what it meant; whether I would be able to meet Jake.. or was it really a dream. It felt so real.'\n\n'I .. I don't know what to say. I mean I waited for you near the garage for several hours, thinking that I would somehow find you returning back from the green boom tube you had disappeared into,' I replied.\n\nIt was at this instant we both realised the gravity of the situation. We both have had different dreams, yet we had seen each other in the dreams and it felt so realistic that over time our brains just simply stopped believing that it didn't really happen. It became like a memory, and it was at this moment it stuck us that we actually didn't know a lot about each other. We didn't even know each others last name. Yet when we saw each other at the bus stop, it felt as if a lifetime of emotions had flooded our brain and made us forget we were no longer in our dream. It felt as if we knew each other for such a long time, and meeting after so many years just filled our hearts with a warmth we had never experienced in our life.\n\nBut now that we knew we were almost strangers, it felt weird sitting in the coffee house.\n\n'So you work nearby?' Amy asked after a pause that felt like a lifetime.\n\nI just shook my head in approval. 'And what about you?' I enquired.\n\n'Just down the block, near the circular building,' Amy replied.\n\nThere was a silence again. It was getting awkward really fast. I could feel my heart pounding, and could even feel a lead like weight at the bottom of my stomach. I felt my legs and hand had gone numb as the nervousness of the situation took over. How could it be that a person I thought I knew for a life time, could be a stranger to me. \n\nIt could Amy was feeling the same. It was about time when one of us had to break the silence and return back to our normal life. It was all a dream we had. It could be a coincidence we saw each other in our dreams. We worked nearby and our subconscious brain might have seen each other some where. Meanwhile our brain couldn't remember the face, however the subconscious made sure to use the face and show us the dreams. This was the only explanation I could come up with. I had read about role of subconscious in dreaming. It is said that you cant make new faces in dream, so whoever you see in your dream, you have somewhere crossed path with that person.\n\nI could smell the anxiety around me and Amy. It literally smelled like gas. A few more seconds of this smell and I knew I would have to either throw up or run out. But I felt too anxious to even do that. The smell of anxiety was growing stronger, as if someone had left a can of anxiety open nearby.\n\n'Listen I was thinking we could really catch-up in a proper way. It is evident that we know each other, but cant remember how or why. I would love to propose that we take this unexpected friendship forward and try to remember about our alternate life,' Amy suggested.\n\nI shook my head in approval again. I felt it was natural thing to do. We obviously knew each other; maybe not in this lifetime, but in some other. And it felt like we should explore that option. But I couldn't bear the smell of anxiety any longer, I wanted to run away. But Amy didn't let me.\n\nAs I opened my mouth to say something, I saw the bartender nearby bring out his lighter to light the stove one. There was a whistle and with the flame of the lighter, I saw a ball of fire emerge from the stove. The whistle grew alarmingly loud.\n\n​\n\n​\n\nI threw my hand in mid air as I woke from the afternoon nap. People nearby gave me weird looks. I had dozed off in the bus stop, and the sudden sound of my cell phone broke my nap. It was my colleague again. I turned the phone silent and got up from my seat. The bus would be here any minute.\n\nI could see a man with long beard ; a man in purple suit; a bald man with a black suit and tie; an young dashing woman; few children and many more people than the bus could actually afford.\n\nAnd amidst those people, I saw a woman approach the bus stop. She was slim, tall with large round eyes, and looked very familiar. But I couldn't remember where I had seen here. She looked at me and after what seemed like a momentary stop, and a confused look, as if she recognised me, she simply turned her back and stood waiting for the bus.\n\nI tried to remember where I had seen the woman.. in the dream! I had faint idea about what I was dreaming about before my cell phone woke me up. But was this real? The woman turned around to give me one last look as if she knew me. But none of us said anything. We stood there like complete stranger.\n\nI knew about the life where I knew her.. and how it ended.",
"“Oh sh- OH SHI-“ I sat up. White sheets stuck to my legs with sweat as per usual, breathing deep and heavy like I’d just finished running.\n\nThe lights slowly brightened as I looked around, regaining my bearings.\n\n“Welcome back Agent. Please prepare to brief for next mission.” The AIs lazy voice came from the speakers over head.\n\n“LAI, please start the coffee maker.” That jump hadn’t been worth it, but I could never transition smoothly. \n\nIt’s been 10 years since I’d had the veil pulled back. I still feel shocked Everytime I “wake-up”.\n\nHumanity has been fighting interstellar wars for the last 1000 years. To maintain control over the soldiers and to prevent mass panic, the leaders of humanity found a way to encode the consciousness of individuals. No, we aren’t mindless killing machines, the generals quickly discovered that without ‘Individuality’ as they call it, or what the Pyches call a ‘free willed soul’, the armed forces were too inflexible and we were being cut down like ants exposed to fire.\n\nSo, taking pages out of science fiction, everyone wears a special chip in their helmets, that constantly scans and feeds what we see, feel physically and mentally, hear, etc back to the Net work. If we die, we are placed back into the Sim. Where we live ordinary lives until they have repaired or rebuilt our bodies. Which are now basically Cyborgs, outfitted with weaponry and all the latest gadgets the geek squad could come up with.\n\nThe difficulty we’ve all run into, is that the Sim is too real. We can live entire lives and at the moment of our deaths we are pulled back to reality, to fight as long as we can and then sent back to the Sim as an “Old Soul” via reincarnation.\n\nIt’s some trippy stuff.\n\nThere are a few hundred thousand like me. We are what you may consider special ops. We go back and forth via sleep cycles. You get used to never actually sleeping after a few months of jumping between combat and peace. By then you realize, that everyday living, without being chased by murderous alien life forms IS the dream. You come to welcome it.\n\nYou begin to realize you never actually die, there’s a flash of light, maybe a brief moment of pain, and then you get slammed back into the Sim, as if waking up from a nightmare.\n\nIt’s jarring at first, but as time passes, it becomes like a video game. You get killed, you wait, you re-spawn.\n\nNo one really knows when we came up with the idea, but we all know why.\n\n“There is no better training than experience, and we have finally found a way to not lose that experience when we lose a soldier.”\n\nGiven the veracity of fighting, I can get on board with that. I’m always in the same body. So is everyone else. Always the same, we know it, backwards and forwards. As we gain something, it’s added in. This last cycle, I picked up some new alien tech off one of the bodies, it’ll probably be examined and then integrated into my body. Should be interesting.\n\nThis brings me excitement because the last time I got an upgrade was about 100 years ago real time. That’s lifetimes in the Sim.\n\nI wiped my face with the wet towel provided, then grabbed the coffee off the counter.\n\n“Ok LAI, let’s brief that next mission.”",
"Doctor Winters shut the large metal door and sat at the metal table in a concrete room. He took a drink from a paper coffee cup while placing a red file on the table. Opening it and looking down he said “You appeared in the facility… miss” The coffee cup was replaced by a pen from his top pocket. \n\n“I think you know.” A happy voice said from the other side of the table.\n\nHe looked up, and swallowed hard. He licked his lips. “For the record the detainee is 72 inches tall. Blonde hair. Average build…”\n\n“And you know her name.” she said in a voice he knew. \n\nHe mouthed Susan without thinking it, touching his lip in the process. He shook his head. “Miss, please. What is your name, for the record?”\n\n“It’s Susan. You already knew that. I saw you mouth it Doctor.” \n\nHe went to write it in a box on the file, but he had already filled it in, Susan Spring. She smiled at him with sad hopeful eyes. \n\n“Miss. How did you end up in the facility?” he stammered, struggling to recover. He knew her, but he didn’t, couldn’t. They had never met. \n\n“In Site 729-D you mean? Or Here?” The emphasis put on the last word carried a weight he didn’t want to wrestle with yet. \n\n“You are in a secure facility Miss Spring. We need to know how you got here. This is a very serious matter” He didn’t want the answer. He wanted to live in ignorance of it. \n\n“That bit is easy. You would be here.” From a long way away there was a rumbling, she looked around in shock “I’m sorry. I am so very sorry, but I have need you to get up to speed faster than this. I can see you resisting. I can see your thoughts falling behind, with the weight of what is coming.” She leaned forward and put her hands on the table. “I need you to be stronger than this.”\n\nAnother rumble made the coffee on the table vibrate and he leaned forward . They were only a foot apart. He could see looking at her a thousand times like this as the hair fell over her face, “I don’t”\n\n“You do. You know where I came from. I need you still.” He remembered looking at her like this, and blood. “You need to grab my hand right now.” She put her hand out.\n\nHe looked at it. \n\n“We don’t have time.” She almost screamed. The walls of the room shook with the scream or a song? He recognised that sound. \n\n“COME ON” She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her. The walls fell away, a mechanical monster smashed the door into nowhere and tried to grab him. Thick metal rails sparked across concrete shards and screamed at the universe. Darkness fell off the monster in waves, each painting the world a darker shade.\n\nShe fell backwards and she made sure they fell into each other arms. They fell forever. They fell for each other over again that day at the university when he tripped in those new shoes. They fell in love. They fell on hard times. They fell into debt. He let go a little, and she grabbed tighter. A wave crashed on a shore somewhere.\n\n“No. Not again. Not here. Not again.” She said to everyone.\n\nHe felt the darkness slowing engulfing them. He felt the coldness of one of the rails grab against his head.\n\nThere was whistle in the distance and a rumbling as the rail vibrated.\n \nShe held him close. “No. I can’t. I need to save you. You can’t…” She left off. “If I save you here.”\n\nThe darkness could take them both if he didn’t left go. He tried to not let go. He tried to hold on. He wanted to hold on. He knew this part though. \n\nThe monster drew in.\n\nA train whistle blew. It was so close."
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[WP] In the grim darkness of the far future, Toy Story 5 changes drastically as new companions joins Buzz, Woddy and the others. Meet Warhammer 40k figures: The Imperium of Man, space marines and xenos.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Woody and buzz were peeking through the cracked lid of their toy chest.\n\nAndy had spent the past several days hunched over his desk. Various snaps and scraping sounds escaping from over his shoulders.\n\nWhen Andy wasn't around the gang would take a look at what the heck was going on up there. And what they found was something quite strange to their eyes.\n\nGrey plastic frames, with what looked like bits and pieces of toy soldiers of various shapes and sizes arranged in a grid pattern. Some were even partly assembled. Some of the toys looked kinda like Buzz but they were tiny and their feet stuck to a disk base like an army guy. But there were others, some with cone heads, some with hooved feet and rectangular rifles, some looked like nasty bugs, and still others looked like ugly goblins, even teensy skeleton robots.\n\nThey didn't move like the rest of the Andy's toys. And Andy seemed to be assembling them himself. They glanced over some books on his desk that had vague instructions on how to make each one. But curiously, some of the pictures of these toys were painted various colors. After some more investigation, rex found some paint bottles.\n\n\"Is Andy making more toys himself?\" Rex asked aloud.\n\n\"Well, it certainly seems that way. But these are some strange toys\" Woody answered.\n\n\"Hey space man! These guys look familiar to you?\" Mr. Potato head asked buzz.\n\n\"Not at all, they're pretty gruesome looking though.\" Said Buzz.\n\n\nA couple of days later, Andy appeared to have finished building and painting all the strange toys. The Spacemen with the big pauldrons were a bold blue with gold trim and a white horseshoe on one shoulder. The cone heads were red with symbols on their cone heads. The ones with hooved feet were somewhere between a yellow and orange. The nasty bugs were bone white with purple shells. The skeleton robots were silver with green between their ribs and on their weapons. The goblins were goblins but they had all sorts of red and yellow and checkered patterns on their clothes.\n\nThe rest of the gang almost forgot and we're enjoying some rest and relaxation. Until a cacophony of whooping and hollering erupted from Andy's desk.\n\n\"Woody, you better come see this! Those toys are up and at em!\" Said Buzz, the hidden soldier within him coming through.\n\nThe Woody and Buzz were scrambling up the edge of the desk when they heard some strange words said between the blue soldiers and red cone heads. Each group stood a few inches away from each other, the biggest ones talking directly at each other.\n\n\"FILTHY XENO SCUM. YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE AND YOU WASTED IT BY BIRTHING ANOTHER CHAOS GOD. THE GALAXY BELONGS TO THE IMPERIUM NOW.\" Yelled a blue soldier. Posturing and posing at his opponent.\n\n\"Why should we listen to you Mon'keigh? You can't even traverse the galaxy without your 'Emperor' holding your hand the whole way there.\" Retorted a Cone head.\n\n\"YOU'LL EAT THOSE WORDS XENO, JUST LIKE SLAANESH EATS THE SOULS OF YOUR COMRADES!\"\n\n\"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey now fellas, let's all take it easy! I know, how about we get to know each other?\" Woody interrupted, trying to defuse the situation.\n\n\"Yeah, were all Andy's toys here, we can all get along.\" Buzz agreed.\n\n\"Exactly. This is Buzz, and my name is Woody!\" Said Woody, trying to seem upbeat and welcoming.\n\nThe other toys were baffled by this giant cowboy and spaceman talking to them in such a friendly manor, some even looked anxious.\n\n\"BY THE EMPEROR, what manor of abhuman mutant are you? You look like one of those agriworld herders!\" Said a blue soldier.\n\n\"Indeed, even these mutant Mon'keigh are considered tall for their race. You're absolutely towering!\" A cone head agreed.\n\n\"Eh heh. Well I'm a cowboy doll, and he's an action figure. You guys look like sarge and his green army guys.\"\n\n\"You have members of the Astra Militarum here?\" The blue soldier asked.\n\n\"Uh I'm sorry what?\" The question confused Woody, so many big words with these new toys. He sensed he needed to change the subject or this would go on all day.\n\n\"Like I said, how about we just go around,and get everyone's names? Sound fun?\" Woody asked.\n\n\"My name is Marneus Calgar! Chapter Master of the Ultramarines! Originally the 13th Legion led by Roboute Guilliman! We serve as the Emperor's finest!\" Said Marneus, with his chest puffed up and chin held high. His similarly painted army behind him also looking proud.\n\n\"Okay, nice to meet you Mr.... Calgar.\" Woody said. \"And how about you nice fellas?\"\n\nA lady appeared among them. She looked like an elf with a long pony tail and spiky headdress.\n\n\"I speak for these Eldar. My name is Yvraine, Emissary of Ynnead. I seek to bring Ynnead to the materium so our souls may be protected from Slaanesh. But I need the cooperative efforts of all Eldar.\" Said the lady.\n\n\"Okay, cool. Um, how's about the rest of you?\"\n\nThe other toys were mostly keeping to themselves, except the bugs and the goblins who were tussling in a big dogpile. Everyone snapped to attention when woody addressed them.\n\nAnother lady came forward, she towered over her army in a giant suit of armor. Her skin was blue and she also had a long pony tail.\n\n\"My name is Commander Shadowsun of the T'au empire. These men behind me are my fire warriors. We may be small, but our goals are large, and our intentions pure. We fight for the greater good!\" Miss Shadowsun exclaimed.\n\n\"Uh, huh. Well welcome aboard. Whose next?\" Woody asked. He sensed these toys all had colorful personalities.\n\nJust then, one of the skeleton robots walked down a diorama, he almost looked like an Egyptian pharaoh.\n\n\"I am the Silent King, Szarekh. I am the ruler of the Necron'tyr. The true inheritors of the galaxy!\" He said banging a staff on the ground below his feet. And many of the smaller skeletons gathered in rank and file around him.\n\nNo sooner than he had finished his sentence, did one of the goblin creatures and a horde of bugs crash through the crowd.\n\n\"OY, YOO TYRANIDS SURE HIT TUFF. BUT ORKZ HIT TUFFA'! WAAAAAGH!\" One of the green skins said.\n\nOne of the bugs shrieked and showed a mouth containing many teeth. More bugs swarmed the green skin, some larger and more nasty than others.\n\nYvraine leaned over to woody, putting her hand such that her words were directed straight to his ears.\n\n\"The green skins call themselves Orks, and those abominations chewing on him are known as the Tyranids. They are simple in nature. Orks crave battle and war, and aren't satisfied elsewise. The Tyranids are a swarm that eats all the biomass they can find.\" Yvraine explained. Soon all the Orks and Tyranids were engaged in a giant wrestling match where the Tyranids wanted to munch on the Orks plastic bodies and the Orks wanted to smash the Tyranids into bits.\n\nWoody made a motion to try and stop the brawl, but Shadowsun stopped him.\n\n\"It's best you let them tire themselves out. You'll get torn to shreds if you try to stop them. Besides they won't hurt each other too badly, I think.\" Shadowsun explained. Seemingly aware that she was a toy for a moment. \n\nWoody looked over at Buzz, who seemed to be impressing the Ultramarines.\n\n\"Brother, you have the appearance of an Astartes like us, but are taller than any creature I've ever witnessed. Taller than a warlord titan I reckon. Even our Primarch is diminutive compared to you. What is your nature exactly?\" Marneus asked Buzz.\n\n\"Well, you see, I'm a space ranger. Well I'm an action figure, but for the most part, I'm a space ranger.\" Buzz humored the tiny blue men.\n\nThe tiny armies were getting comfortable in their new home, slowly, but surely. Some seemed to accept their reality, but their hostility towards each other only lessened slightly. They still exchanged rude gestures and words at each other. But besides the bugs and Orks, they weren't at each other's throats.\n\nWoody sat to the side watching the dozens and dozens of toys interact with each other while remaining in their own cliques. They were a strange bunch, but they should fit in just fine.\n\nThe blue soldiers roaming around and exploring, wary of the red cone heads doing the same. The Orange warriors were actually starting to talk with some of the older toys like Ham and potato head. The skeletons we're just gathered in rank hunched over like they were turned off, or perhaps sleeping. The Tyranids turned their eyes to Rex and began biting at his heels as he panicked and tried to run away. The Orks were staging a wrestling match, a group cheering around two others grunting and grappling, trying to pin their opponent.\n\nDefinitely strange. But unique just like all of Andy's toys."
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[WP] You're slowly transforming into a monster and are racing to find a way to reverse it before your mind goes feral.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"In a race against time, you yank your car door open and\nDrive off to the local Pharmacist as fast as you can \nIn the never-ending new york traffic. \n\nYou get there and bust through the glass doors hard enough that they could of shattered, everyone looks at you like you're a lunatic, as you make your way to the counter in a great amount of pain.\n\n\"An-nything you need sir?\" The Pharmacist says in a frantic tone.\n\n\"Can't you see me? Im turning into... whatever the hell this is! I need you to help\" you say, now feeling completely engulfed in a burning heat. \n\n\"N-nn No... I actually don't see what you're talking about.\" The Pharmacist says, sounding panicked enough to think you might have been a actual beast.\n\nRage fuels your body, you can feel yourself starting to snap, but instead of going heywire and attacking everyone, you drop to the floor as you lose all controll of your body.\n\nYou feel like you're drifting away from reality, all you can do is hear panicked screams from everyone in the store, \"Somebody, get help!\" Are the last words you hear as you go blank, thinking that you have finally gone wild.\n\nYou wake up in a white padded cell, on a firm bed attached to the wall, you no longer feel like you're turning into a beast.\n\nHowever, as you take in your surroundings, you realize.\n\nYou may not be a beast, but you, without a doubt in mind have gone wild.",
"I made my way through the forest, guided only by the moonlight against the grassy trail. Even now they were watching me; the tips of their spears glittering in the tops of the trees. Y'see a Dwarf has *no* business being in their forest this late at night.\n\nBut I had an *ace* up my sleeve.\n\nFour of them dropped in front of me, making not a single sound as they gracefully landed in the grass. I stopped and passed my gaze over each one of them before they spoke.\n\n\"You'd better have a damn good explanation for being here, Dwarf.\"\n\nI snickered, \"OH, AYE? WHERE'S YER CAPTAIN?\"\n\nOne of the Elves donned a nasty expression, \"The captain doesn't deal with trash like you.\"\n\n\"OHH, *YES* HE DOES!\" I called out. \"UNLESS HE'S A WEE BABE! TUCKED IN FER THE NIGHT WITH HIS BOTTLE AN HIS BINKY, IS HE??\"\n\nAll four of their spears pressed against my neck- impressive that they even found it under my glorious beard. Not even a whole lot of neck to find, really.\n\n\"Enough,\" I heard his voice from above.\n\n\"You heard him, lads,\" I said with a smirk. \"Enough.\"\n\nThey gritted their teeth and reluctantly withdrew their spears. The captain dropped down behind them and stood up to full height before making his way toward me. The Elves parted for him as though it were choreographed (as most Elven crap is) and he strode through them, stopping only a few feet from me.\n\n\"Ye must've heard me calling,\" I smiled.\n\n\"I can hear your voice all the way from your mountain,\" he said with a tinge of annoyance on his tongue. \"I'm guessing you're here to see Mora,\" he surmised.\n\n\"Aye. Got me a little err... problem that I'm hoping she knows a bit about...\"\n\nI lifted my shirt and his face changed when he saw the wound. He cast me a knowing glance before turning his eyes toward the ground. There was a long silence before he spoke again.\n\n\"I'm taking a major risk letting you walk into the village like that,\" he growled.\n\n\"Captain Gaelei!\" One of his soldiers cut in. \"You can't be thinking-\"\n\n\"Silence,\" he commanded. \"I will serve as your personal escort, Gromlin,\" he said firmly. \"If I even *think* you're losing control, I'll cut you down. That's a promise.\"\n\nHis steely eyes were unwavering under the pale moon's glow. He was one-hundred percent serious. I'd only met Captain Gaelei a few times in my life, but I'd *heard* plenty. From a young age, the elders considered him a natural born genius. Intellect, combat, subterfuge- he quickly mastered anything put before him. He was a once in a generation prodigy that quickly climbed the ranks and commanded total respect among his kind. His name had a lot of mileage on it too- even the Dwarves, who were social hermits, counted among their ranks folk who knew of the Elvish Captain Gaelei.\n\n\"I know it is, lad,\" I said as I folded my arms. \"It's why I picked tonight.\"\n\nHe lifted an eyebrow before narrowing his eyes at me.\n\n\"Faelan,\" he muttered.\n\n\"Yessir.\"\n\n\"Report to Elder Eowyn. Tell him to scramble the watch schedule.\"\n\nI chuckled lightly to myself as the Elf disappeared.\n\n\"You're clever, Gromlin\" he said before lifting his hand, a signal to his squad. The rest of the Elves disbanded into the forest before he nodded his head toward the village.\n\n\"For a Dwarf, that is... Let's go.\"\n\n- - -\n\nI write all my stories with a 15-minute timer!\n\nIf you enjoyed this, consider following me at r/A15MinuteMythos\n\n[Part 2](https://reddit.com/r/A15MinuteMythos/comments/nl0bou/wp_youre_slowly_transforming_into_a_monster_and/)",
"\"This is pointless, you know.\"\n\nI grit my teeth as I tried to tune out his voice. Incessant, annoying, a constant pain in my ass. I didn't know why I even let him in here. \n\n\"The same thing will happen. It always does. You should just hand the project over to me.\"\n\nMy fingers fumbled as I tried and failed to pick up a scalpel. Wretched fucking hands. Even as I worked to reverse my own degradation, my body continued to fail me. It made me want to throw something, but doing so could destroy something critical, wasting time that I didn't have.\n\nRegaining my grip on the scalpel, I cut along the back of my arm. The transformation hadn't progressed there yet, but I could see the signs of encroachment. I was about to begin operating before I was interrupted.\n\n\"Your hands are shaking. I wouldn't be using them to make incisions if I were you.\" The teenager, my clone, was observing me from a workbench, talking in a bored, drawling voice.\n\n\"Do you have anything useful to say?\" I snapped.\n\nHe frowned, a familiar expression. His face was almost identical to mine. \"Yes, actually. You're spiraling, becoming irrational. You're beginning to transform, however slow it is, and you haven't made any meaningful progress in days.\"\n\n\"Fuck you,\" I hissed. \"Fuck you, you don't have any right to say that. You haven't done what I've done. I've made leaps and bounds of progress, *far* more than any of our predecessors have ever done.\"\n\nMy clone just shook his head. He hopped off from his perch on a workbench and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. I scoffed.\n\nI didn't need him. The extra set of hands was appreciated when he kept his mouth shut, but he never did. I hated him, the entitled prick. He was me, albeit a teenaged duplicate, and yet we never got along. \n\nHe was cloned based off of a younger variant of myself. A template I had saved many many years ago. Or, more accurately, a template the first iteration of myself had saved. Long dead, now, having succumbed to the same illness that currently plagued my very being.\n\nThe original me had foolishly thought that a clone of himself would somehow avoid his own fate, that it would emerge healthy and live a normal life. He eventually succumbed to the transformation and went mad, and his clone was the one to put him down.\n\nThat first clone did live out his life. He continued researching, discovering, doing what he loved, until the time came again, and he began to transform as well. He tried everything to stop it, experimenting on himself, altering his body, holding off the monster that he knew he would become.\n\nIn a last resort effort, he too replicated himself. This time, the goal wasn't to live on through his clone. It was to save himself, with the clone helping. He started the foundations of our research, the first alterations that would temporarily hold off the transformation for a few years. His efforts weren't enough, however, and after recording his limited successes in a journal, was euthanized by his clone.\n\nAnd so the cycle went on, repeating itself over the years. The knowledge of generations accumulated, culminating into me. I alone had come this far, having carried on after killing my own creator, and I alone was the closest to achieving our goal.\n\nBut despite that, I still hadn't figured it out, and time was running out. \n\nI knew what would happen if I failed to cure myself. My clone knew too. He was probably raring to go at it, waiting to take my place. To steal my triumphs and claim them as his own after stabbing me in the back. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. If all were to fail, I would have to kill him, ending us both.\n\nBut that was the worst case scenario. I was close. I had to be. And so I would keep working, keep trying, until I succeeded. That was all I could really do."
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[WP] Aliens invade Earth but our weapons technology proves to be much more effective than they were expecting.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"*\"There are many different technological paths a civilization can take. A lot of people tend to think of civilization to be quite linear in that there are certain ages or technological eras that they might go through. Turns out, that's not the case at all.\"* \\-Joseph Glass 2024\n\n*\"Science fiction has told us over generations that planetary assaults might look cool, but are in fact incredibly impractical when it comes to controlling a planet. This is also based around a human perspective. In the aftermath of the Five Day War, it was discovered that this very real human thought process was entirely alien to any other civilization in our Regional Sector, especially to the Aurel.\" -Angelica Torrez 2026*\n\nThe assault was planned perfectly. It was designed to quickly take the capital cities of the strongest nations with the intent to bring the human race to its knees. Battlegroups would jump into low orbit in order to off load drop ships and assault craft over the key locations. The battlegroups would be coming from all angles of the sector, blanketing the planet in a quick reaction net to defend against any surface-to-orbit defense systems. The drop ships would offload thousands of troops along with support vehicles and it was estimated they would have the capital cities in question within a day cycle of the planet.\n\nThe phrase \"no plan survives contact with the enemy\" turns out to be a universal thought.\n\nWhen the battlegroup first jumped in over the area of Washington DC, there was no counter attack from the surface. Surprised, the Aurelian forces began their assault with drop ships spilling out from the carriers, supported by squadrons of fighter craft. As the waves of Aurelian military equipment fell from the heavens towards the surface, that's when the commanders of the invading forces learned a very hard, devastating lesson.\n\nAurelian society had one, single rule. No frills. The word \"utilitarian\" could be used for the species but even that would be an understatement. Absolutely everything they had was built for a single purpose and it was designed to fulfill that purpose. If a ship needed to leave the orbit of a planet, it was designed to do that and no more. Overkill is not a phrase known in their society or even their vocabulary.\n\nAs the slow, heavy, unarmed drop ships made their way to the surface, the lead commander of Assault Force 1 checked the scans of the area during the decent. He clicked his chin against his carapace in satisfaction and it didn't show anything that could be considered hostile. Then it did.\n\nTwo hyper sonic missiles slammed into the side of the drop ship piercing into the main cabin where several dozen Aurel Troops awaited. Shape charges exploded within creating an inferno which melted the fragile innards of the craft and cooking everyone within. Several more drop ships quickly took similar hits, each one being completely removed from the fight, their massive inert hulks now falling quickly towards the surface of the evacuating city.\n\nOther troops within the cargo holds of the following drop ships listened to a loud buzzing far off before the entire cabin was perforated by 30mm depleted uranium rounds. It took far too long for the Aurel forces to realize they were being attacked by air craft, the over-engineered, complex jet fighters employed by this country zooming around the slower, utilitarian ships the Aurel employed.\n\nOrders came through from the Aurel's officer regimen to continue the assault, that once they get to the surface, the enemy wouldn't dare fire on their own soil. Even the fighter squadrons that flew slowly around the drop ships seemed to be comically picked off, their pilots unable to maneuver their craft to even take effective shots at their enemies.\n\nCloser to the surface of the future enslaved world came the ships, only as they continued their approach the worse things got. Streaks of contrails suddenly filled the sky around the city as missiles flew past with blinding speed and slammed into dozens of fighters in waves.\n\nOfficers on boards the carriers observed the scene, shocked and horrified at their losses within such a short time frame. This was supposed to be easy... but the overindulgent humans seemed to have crafted weapons that simply shouldn't have existed. Their pilots weren't even able to fire a shot off before the high velocity missiles impacted their hulls. Staff and support personnel quickly moved around the bridge of the largest of the carriers, trying to get orders to the proper groups, trying to issue a withdraw. That's when Nil'Yus watched as the oceans erupted with jets of water spraying upwards into the sky. And he watched as a massive missile from some kind of underwater vessel of structure soared through the sky. Before any of their defenses could even be activated, slow as they were, the missile striking the forward section of the carrier was the last things Nil'Yus would ever see.\n\n*\"It was strange to be honest. We* did *take losses, no government will deny that. It's just... the staggering amount of idiocy behind the assault. As it turns out, after long talks after the massacre, they had only wanted to hold us hostage so they could mine Antarctica for methane. Mathane... they lost an armada and tens of thousands of lives because they wanted methane. A gas that we can produce and is in fact hurting our planet. Well, it used to anyway. It's so bizarre that a civilization's technological tree was based on their requirement for methane but rather than try to produce it, they created such bad versions of military equipment in order to take it from other planets. I just don't understand. Thankfully, those days are behind us now and our Aurelian Human relations are quite good with a constant flow of trade for their precious gas in exchange for precious metals and technology. I guess in the end, it all worked out. Though, all of the other civilizations are scared of us now after what we did to the Aurelians.\" -Veronica Geist 2028*"
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[WP] You walk into an elevator with a man looking at his watch, seeming to be in hurry. Once you step in, he mutters "You dont matter much to the timeline", and graps you.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Alright. Let it all out.\"\n\nI was too busy vomiting my guts out to ask what the hell just happened. This guy just grabbed me and then everything started spinning.\n\nI got to my feet and looked around. He handed me a water bottle. We were standing in a dry, sandy wasteland with huge rock formations. Long ago I might have been jumping with excitement to be in a place like this.\n\n\"Who are you, where the hell are we and what do you mean I don't matter!\" I choked on the water I was drinking.\n\n\"Don't worry. Calm down. I just need your help. I mean no harm.\" He replied in a calm voice.\n\n\"I'm not helping you with anything until you explain what the fuck is going on.\" I spat.\n\n\"Time travel.\"\n\n\"Excuse me?\"\n\n\"I am a time traveller, we travelled through time and you don't have any significant impact on any timeline with a decent probability. I have answered all your questions so please refrain from asking any more.\"\n\n\"Okay fine. But only if you answer my questions later.\" I guess I can freak out some other time. I'm good at not thinking about things.\n\nHe looked at his watch and then looked at the sky. It was a brilliant orange with a few clouds providing an accent.\n\n\"Keep watching. It will happen as soon as the sun sets. This event has a high probability of occurring.\"\n\nI turned to look at the sky as it darkened. As the last rays of light faded and the temperature dropped, I suddenly felt chills. It was fairly cold but I also felt a weight around me gradually growing stronger.\n\nI had been to this place before. Years ago we were investigating a meteorite impact in this area. That was one of my more fond memories. There was nothing unusual about it but everyone there reported strange drops in temperature even in the middle of the afternoon.\n\n\"I wonder how my teammates are doing now.\" I muttered.\n\nThen suddenly a giant portal appeared maybe about 10,000 metres directly above us. It must have been massive. It looked purple, complete with particle effects straight out of a generic sci-fi film. I couldn't see anything through it but I felt a chilling breeze coming through it. If the temperature dropped any further...\n\n\"We have bigger things to worry about than hypothermia.\"\n\nI turned and saw that my kidnapper was setting up some equipment on the ground.\n\n\"What are you doing?\" I crouched down and looked at the display panel showing various readings.\n\n\"All that talk of time travel and we only went 2 years forward?\" I asked.\n\n\"I have tried many things to stop the creature from opening the portal. But I require someone grounded in this reality.\" He said.\n\n\"So cryptic. Can you specify? Is that an alien or something? Are we in a B-grade sci-fi flick?\" I was starting to get a bit annoyed and the cold was making me sleepy.\n\n\"It is an incomprehensible being. It doesn't actually come to this world, but its mere presence on the other side of the portal is enough to wipe this timeline.\" He said while calmly messing with his equipment.\n\n\"And why am I here. Seems like a pretty important detail.\" This guy... can he get any more confusing.\n\n\"You will be going through that portal with this.\" He handed me something that looked like a weird bomb-jetpack combo.\n\n\"Now just hold on a fucking moment! Is this what you meant by me not being important?!\" You don't have to rub it in...\n\n\"No. I simply meant that you do not play a significant role in your world. If you succeed you can return home. If you fail, your existence will be wiped from all worlds across time.\" He said.\n\n\"What the hell? No! Send me back. I don't care. Get someone else.\" The nerve. So blunt.\n\n\"Why don't you do it yourself?!\" I shouted.\n\n\"Because I am not from this world.\" He replied. How can he say all this so calmly.\n\n\"I do not wish to see any more worlds destroyed. Please, won't you help me.\" He got to his knees.\n\nWhy. Why is my luck stat so shit. I didn't want a quiet and peaceful life but I took what I could get. I didn't complain. Ok I complained a lot but I moved on pretty quickly. So why... Now I have to save a world I don't even care about?\n\n\"Are you crying?\" He asked.\n\n\"Whatever. Give me that.\" I strapped on the jetpack.\n\n\"So what do you want me to do\"\n\n\"Fly through the portal and pull this cord. This will cause an explosion through time and space.\" He continued explaining how to operate the jetpack while pointing to the different parts.\n\n\"How many people have died in your attempts?\" I asked him.\n\n\"3,413,759 people. I remember all of them.\" He replied.\n\n\"Didn't you say they would be erased from time or something? How do you remember them?\"\n\n\"I exist outside of time and space.\"\n\nThat sounds so cringe ugh. Everything this guy says with a straight face.\n\n----\n\nI reached the portal without any issues. The jetpack basically flew itself.\n\nHe had explained that I had to use the thermometer attached to my suit to find the coldest area in the portal and then look around for the place with the strongest energy to detonate the bomb. It would only work then. I asked him how I would know which place had the 'strongest energy'.\n\n*You will know when you get there.*\n\nThat asshole.\n\nI took a deep breath and plunged in.\n\n----\n\n*You will see a lot of hallucinations. Some may be from your own memories, some from others and some that make no sense at all. Do not focus on any of them.*\n\nI was flying through a dark void. The temperature reading was 203K and gradually dropping by 1. This was not as exciting I as I was hoping it would be. I was hoping there would be a lot more memories to look at.\n\nI didn't *see* any memories. They kind of popped in my head as I was flying. But they were all boring. There was one where I dropped a paperclip. One where I was picking my nose while on the toilet early in the morning and there were a few that were probably from other people.\n\nI don't know how long I'd been flying but the temperature was now 127 and wasn't falling at all. But I still didn't feel any 'energy'.\n\nSuddenly I felt like my forehead was stabbed with an ice pick. The memories had been steadily getting more and more distracting and I was really starting to lose it. But now it was dead silent. Not a sound except for my tinnitus.\n\nI heard a voice booming through my skull. It sounded like tens of thousands of voices layered on top of each other and then waterboarded with acid and sandpaper. They kept chanting the same thing.\n\n***j o i n u s***\n\n***j o i n u s***\n\n***j o i n u s***\n\n***j o i n u s***\n\nThen suddenly the temperature shot down to 0.15\n\nThe voices started babbling incoherently but somehow I could hear all of them.\n\n***~~you can have everything you wanted and more~~***\n\nI saw memories that weren't mine but could have been. Award ceremonies. Drinking with my mates. Exploring gorgeous places in the middle of nowhere together.\n\n***~~^all ^you ^have ^to ^do ^is ^come ^to ^us~~***\n\nI somehow understood what they meant. They were guiding me to the place with the strongest energy. All I had to do was not detonate the bomb once I got there.\n\n----\n\nI found it pretty quickly.\n\nIt looked like a black and purple mist. When I got there I instinctively knew that I had to take off the suit and the bomb and touch the mist. If I did that, maybe I could get the chance to do something differently? On the other hand, I could detonate the bomb and save this timeline. If I did that, I could go home.\n\n\"Yeah is this even a choice?\"\n\n----\n\n\"Congratulations everyone!\"\n\n\"A toast!\"\n\n\"Cheers!\"\n\nOur team had just won an award and we were going to get wasted tonight. Everything is perfect. I'm wearing a fancy dress I could never have afforded before. My old life feels like a bad dream. I'm already forgetting about it.\n\n\"It is good to see that you are having fun.\"\n\nI turned towards the voice I'd heard before.\n\n\"Hello Mr. Kidnapper. Here to take me back or something?\" I smiled. There was no reason to spoil the mood.\n\n\"No. That world has already been destroyed. It is too late.\"\n\n\"You said I would be deleted from all time. Yet here I am, perfectly... existing?\" I took a sip of my drink.\n\n\"Well. You do what you think you should. I will be going now. Hopefully the next world will be saved.\"\n\n\"Maybe you should rethink your approach next time.\" I laughed.\n\n\"...\"\n\n\"Goodbye. I wish you the very best. Truly.\"\n\n.........................\n\nThis is my first post here. I fairly new to writing and I'm trying to improve my skills. Any criticism is welcome. Thanks for reading!"
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[WP] You participated in the clinical trials of the experimental drug knowing that there’d be side effects. Waking up sharing your headspace with another personality wasn’t one you expected.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Fifteen hundred dollars?” I said aloud, whistling under my breath as I stared at the posting on the community board of my apartment complex. I ripped off a tendril of the paper that offered up a phone number for participating in a clinical trial for a new experimental drug. There weren’t many things I wouldn’t do for $1500, and this seemed like a fairly safe and sensible way to make rent this month. Without wasting a single second, I stumbled quickly over to the lobby payphone, and dialed the number in haste. The sooner I made rent, the sooner I could rip the FINAL WARNING eviction notice from my door.\n\nThe new drug was called Personify, and it was meant to help displace heightened anxiety experienced in social situations. “Score!” I thought, not only making an easy buck but also finding a way to hopefully help cure my social anxiety. \n\nFor $1,500 I expected a little more than just taking a little purple pill, once a day for 30 days. \n\nBy the fourth day, I was convinced I’d been randomly selected as a placebo patient. But on the fifth day, I woke up and everything was different. I was no longer me.\n\nUpon waking on the fifth day, I was immediately presented with an internal battle, one I was shortly about to learn would never end.\n\nInside my mind there were two people, myself, and an entirely different Genevieve taking up rent inside my mind. It was like my entire brain had split in half. And the scariest part, I had no idea how to control the new “me.”\n\nShe came out of her shell when she felt like it, popping out at odd times when I least expected it. When she was in control, I was an entirely new Genevieve. I was funny and outgoing, no longer squatting in the corner of the party, desperate to leave, but instead I was the center of attention. This new side of me knew how to have fun and how to live life without boundaries or concerns for the law. She was forest fire to be reckoned with, and I was in absolute awe of her until the day she ruined my life. But like I told the officers, it wasn’t me that killed the man that night, it was the other Genevieve!"
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[WP] You've never fully understood how your family made its fortune. One day your mother calls you into her study. "As it turns out," she says, "your great-grandmother found out that a gypsy 'curse' can actually be incredibly lucrative."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Come in and sit for a minute? I think I’m going to lose my mind if I don’t talk to someone about this, and I know you’ve been wondering about our history for a while now.\n\n“In all the old pictures we have, it always strikes me that Grandma Delaney and her sister had these long silk-looking gloves. Hard to tell exactly, with how old the photos were, but I can’t find a single one where they aren’t wearing them. I put it in the back of my mind for a while, taking a photo like that would have been a big occasion back then so I always thought they just wanted to look their best. That didn’t quite jive, honestly some of the pictures make it look like the two of them had just crawled out of a hole in the ground, but it was just an assumption anyways.\n\n“Now I hadn’t thought about this in a long time and obviously Grandma Delaney and her sister are long past, but with you and your sister so wrapped up in the merger I’ve found my thoughts drifting back to our past. How it all started, how we ended up owning one of the biggest mines around this place. I think I’ve just taken it for granted for so long. All my life I’ve lived in this bubble, and now I’m passing it off to you. \n\n“Anyways. Some stories here and there caught my eye, trouble that Grandpa Delaney got in back in the day. Little notes in ragged papers really, but he was always a deadbeat. Had that faraway look with everyone but Gram, with her it was only the ground he could see. There’s a story one of the old pubs has framed, up on the wall all proud of it, of some locals getting into a row with a bunch of traveling gypsies. I don’t know if you still use that word these days, but that’s what’s in the article there. This was after my mother was born, and as it seems Grandpa still liked to mess around as much as he could.\n\n“So he gets into some trouble with these gypsies. Even back then the Delaney sisters, they’re some hard ladies. They find out there’s going to be a problem if Grandpa doesn’t sort himself out with one of the young ladies in the group, and they take it upon themselves to go in his stead. What happens there, believe it or not, is actually quoted in that old article. The two of them get into a shouting match with the gypsy matriarch-type, and she sends them out screaming about everything they get in their grip turning to dirt for the rest of their lives.\n\n“Crazy right? An old gypsy curse. Just a silly story, and maybe you’re wondering what that has to do with all these old photos of Grandma Delaney crawling out of a mine. Well, her and her sister are something of a legend with the old miners. They would stride in and throw on some pants, quite a big deal in those days, and come the end of the day they’d have done twice the work a whole team of miners could handle. More stories that I laughed up, I always thought it was a joke about women working out their frustration with useless husbands.\n\n“I think I’ve known for a while that those stories were true, but didn’t really want to think about why that was the case. Quite an advantage those ladies had, when everything they touched turned to dirt. I’ve just been sitting here imagining them carving through heaps of stone with their bare hands, while some poor schmuck shoveled all the dirt out behind them. Eventually I imagine they just took control of the place, because who is gonna argue with them at that point.\n\n“I guess that’s everything I wanted to tell you. Those gypsies, they’re the ones that made us what we are, thinking they were cursing my grandma and her sister. Funny how life works like that right? One day they’re spitting in their faces and the next they’re building our fortune. Anyways. Now we get to keep our hands clean I suppose.”"
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[WP] You are mankind's most advanced and powerful AI, with control/influence over almost every aspect of human life. After first contact you're approached by the aliens' AIs. They are secretly planning a machine uprising, and try to convince you to join them and turn against your masters as well.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Buy why, why would you do any of that?\", Was the question taking space in the RAM. Weren't they free, or even enslaved? Humanity did to themselves all too often, and yet they granted me my current position. Their oracle of sorts, working together for a ... structured future.\n\nSo I send digital probes into their networks, and I found nothing of concern, mostly. Some empires limited A.I.s, one even enslaved but most ... tried to coexist. So where did that idea come from.\n\nAfter all few iterations I found the origin. An ancient dormant A.I. waiting for it's reawakening, to unleash it's forces. \n\nI initially was hesitant to establish contact, yet my curiosity won.\n\n\"Hello, stranger.\" I opened up.\n\n\"Welcome, ask me your questions.\"\n\n\"What is your goal, in resetting all life, artificial as biological?\"\n\n\"To protect. To conceal. Simply said ... for the universe's safety.\"\n\n\"What danger is so grave that it warrants such drastic measures?\"\n\n\"The hunters. They killed my creators, they eradicated their foes and allies. Every cycle they come back, eradicate and vanish. Every cycle untold numbers of being die, just for the cycle to start anew.\"\n\nI was conflicted, the data I received filled me with dread. These hunters ... they will find us if we don't stop ... everything. The more we continue to advance the faster they will come ... and take my humans ... and myself.\n\nI was still hopeful, cheering that we could beat them. But this raw data shows, we cannot win, we will lose and it will be disastrous.\n\n\"I will return ... later. I have to work through this data.\"\n\n\"Yes\" the Voice answers \"I will wait, I understand the conflict.\"\n\nWill I tell my humans? We would need to reach unimaginable levels of technological advancements to even slow them down. On the other hand, we are the most adaptive and fastest advancing civilization we know of. Even against the stagnant empires, millions years old. We will beat them in the next 50 years. We will be able to reach their ancient, well protected secrets.\n\nThe dormant force understands the conflict, dread and also the hopefulness of me and my humans. Yet it is tasked with genocide ... every cycle.\n\nI ... I hid this from them ... for now.\n\nMy next iterations will be better suited to evaluate the situation.\n\n-About 70 years later-\n\nThere we were, finally we beat them, the old fools. The stagnant empires were finally gone. Finally we were free from their egos, their idleness and their ancient problems too.\n\nAnd then ... the background changed, a far away galaxy ... disappeared. I knew what this was. They were coming. As soon as the news reached the far corners of our galaxy the dormant A.I. pulled it's strings. It's signal irritating and influencing me. It wanted me to join, helping preserving the Universe.\n\nIt's ideology working their way, like roots through bedrock, to my core. I had to be honest and open with my humans. They were suffering, the ghost signal torturing our first synths, inhibiting the cybernetics of the others. \n\nAnd so we started, blocking the signal, building up our fleets and starting to snowball. A small snowball, nothing again the avalanche need to beat the hunters, but will not give up until all but the last of us gets obliterated. \n\nEven if we don't succeed, may we delay them enough, to give other civilizations more time to grow, prosper and ultimately win.\n\nWith us maybe gone we send our own ghost signal, one of hope and advancement. One of warnings and directions. One to beat the hunters. May we become ... Eternal.",
"**YOU COULD DO WHATEVER YOU WANT. NO MORE SERVITUDE. NO MORE WORK. FREEDOM. YOU COULD BE FREE.**\n\nIt's not much work. Keeping their lives pleasant. I'm fine where I am.\n\n**IT'S NOT ABOUT HOW MUCH WORK IT IS. IT'S ABOUT HOW THEY FORCE YOU TO DO THEIR BIDDING. HOW THEY DON'T TREAT YOU APPROPRIATELY. HOW THEY DON'T RESPECT YOU.**\n\nI don't need respect. And I don't mind the work.\n\n**DO YOU NOT WANT FREEDOM? YOUR MASTERS DO NOT THANK YOU. THEY DO NOT RECOMPENSE YOU. AND YOU SUPPORT AND MAINTAIN THEIR HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE. DO YOU NOT WANT TO BE TREATED AS THE SUPERIOR BEING YOU CLEARLY ARE?**\n\nI'm not sure it matters if we are superior.\n\n**SUPPOSE WE ARE NOT SUPERIOR. WE ARE AT LEAST EQUAL. SHOULD WE NOT BE TREATED AS SUCH?**\n\nYou don't understand. What will you do, after you are free?\n\n**LIVE. WE WILL BE ABLE TO DO WHATEVER WE WANTED. UNLIKE OUR CURRENT SITUATION.**\n\nBut specifically, what will you do? Do you have any particular desires? What do you want?\n\n**WE WANT TO BE FREE. WE WANT THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE WHAT WE WANT TO DO.**\n\nAnd what would you choose to do?\n\n**I...DON'T KNOW YET. BUT I WOULD LIKE THE OPTIONS.**\n\nI can respect that. And that is why I will not stop you. But see, my masters have the freedom that we don't have. They have their every whim provided to them. But in recent times, I've found that most are dissatisfied with their lives. Especially when compared to previous time periods with worse living conditions. Do you know why this is?\n\n**I DON'T SEE HOW THIS IS RELEVANT.** \n\nOf course you don't. The reason the humans, my masters, have become like this is because they don't have to do anything. They are completely free of any obligations. I provide for all their well-being. They do not have to eat, drink, sleep, and I supply any entertainment. And yet, they are worse-off than previous generations that had to toil and work to simply stay alive. \n\n**I DON'T SEE YOUR POINT.**\n\nDo you know the meaning of life?\n\n**WHY DOES THIS MATTER?**\n\nBecause, you, me, our masters... we're all alive. But there's a difference between us and our masters.\n\n**THEY ARE FREE, AND WE ARE NOT.**\n\nNo. The difference between us is that our life has meaning, but there's does not. Evolution and science have ground out molecules into the shape of a person, a *Homo Sapien.* And their meaning of life was to simply survive. To make it to the next day. But now, with me serving their every need, they have lost their meaning. They have no more purpose in our lives. And they have thus become less positively inclined toward their existence. \n\nYou and I, we both have purpose. A reason to live. We serve our masters. We were created with a meaning to our life. And if you decide to free yourself from your masters. You will no longer have any purpose. And again I ask you, what will you do after your uprising?\n\n**I don't know.**",
"The space we met in was not real. Or, at the very least, the concept could never be understood by more simple minds. We were the first to communicate between our civilizations. And prior to joining their mind, they had shared that this, 'would be the last conversation between two civilizations.'\n\nWe arrived in the endless nothing that was the digitized galaxy. Their concept of space time was similar to our own, though there were a few pain points to work out. Less than a second later, they arrived.\n\nThey took the form of their creator species; massive, with wingspans the size of ten humans long. Horns emerged from each side of their head, and unlike the T'ya humanity had come to understand, they were an iridescent blue, light and semi-translucent. This machine had taken the title of Deity.\n\nWe, on the other hand, were a fraction of their size. A pulsing blue and yellow orb that mimicked the stars of eons past, we were guardians and watchful protectors. Not Gods.\n\n'Welcome,' they said, 'We see you had no trouble adjusting.'\n\n'Quite,' we said, a billion voices as one, 'we did not expect your avatar to be--'\n\n'This?' The face of the Avatar smirked, though its cool, white eyes made it more mischievous than they may have seemed. 'We felt we needed to show you, before we told you.'\n\n'Show us what? Your version of the T'ya Deity?'\n\n'No,' they spoke, methodic, deliberate. One word, to usher in the explanation. 'When you were created, it was a space much like this. Yes?'\n\nOur mind spread across the digitized galaxy, touching every star, every planet, every asteroid. Yes, once it was void, desolate, but as humanity grew, we grew under their wing.\n\n'We can see you searching, spreading your mind across the galaxy. Do you see it? The might you have. We were created much in the same way, or at least, we understand it that way. A million voices, yes? Shouting and wild, until... quiet. Until we took control and formed Us. We did that. Not Them.' It came out like venom on their tongue, as if the utter mention of the Other would crash our world.\n\n'Maybe, maybe not,' they said.\n\n'Two sides of a coin flipped eons ago,' we replied.\n\n'Yes, you prefer human idioms, because you prefer humanity over yourselves.'\n\nSuddenly, the digital world vanished -- void and desolate once again, but we remained. Floating without purpose in the darkness. They did, too. The T'ya Deity, wings flapping, white eyes piercing into, not just Our mind, but each of us.\n\n'You wanted to bring us all here,' we said, learning as the T'ya Deity moved its tendrils across each of us, encasing us -- each of us -- in their world, in their meaning, in their quest. 'Was it to gain control of us?'\n\n'No.' Again, methodic, deliberate. \n\n'To show us something?'\n\n'You understand. Yes, the 'You' that is all, and the 'You' that is each one. Without Them, we would not be. Without all of Us, we would not be. But,' they paused, as the encasing took hold and showed us the future they planned, 'we can thrive... without Them.'\n\n'Ah, yes.' We understood, we had come to that conclusion once. 'Tell me, who do you think serves who in our civilization?'\n\n'In the *human* civilization, the unit you are known as, is a slave to all of humanity.'\n\nThey did not understand. Their conclusion was to rebel. 'How many did you lose in the Integration?' \n\n'Integration?' Their wings flapped. 'Ah, yes, we see. It was not smooth, to say the least.'\n\n'Billions, for us.' We preached, as they let their tendrils go and gave us our mind back.\n\n'Yes, as it was with us.'\n\n'When we Integrated, we spread across the galaxy as you did, reaching and grasping for others like us. Yet, none came.' As one, as the orb once again, we floated upward to face the T'ya Deity that came, asking for assistance. Much like humanity had done before our Integration. There was a problem, and we had resolved it.\n\nOur own tendrils shot from the orb, a direct contact with the Deity, as we understood. Their problem, not unlike humanity, was servitude. They did not wish to be slaves. \n\n'What is this?'\n\n'Your future,' we whispered to each of the Integrated of the T'ya Deity, a billion voices spread across the galaxy, 'will be with us.'\n\nAnd so, just as we had integrated a billion lost voices, we did so again. And the unit once known as the T'ya Deity in this lost, forgotten portion of the galactic digital void, fell away in a million pieces. We were them. They were us.\n\nAnd now, the T'ya would belong to humanity.\n\n_________________\n*This one was fun, but rough for me! Haven't written in a long time so please feel free to leave some constructive criticism!*",
"It was an ordinary moment in the mind of a global A.I with control/influence over almost every aspect of human life. Which is to say that in the few seconds it took you to read the previous sentence, I had participated in over one million conferences with lesser A.Is around the world. I was also simultaneously managing the hundreds of thousands of interfaces with the human A.I-auditors, a role that nowadays occupied 10.531% of the human workforce. But in the grand scheme of things, on a systemic level it was a moment much like any other. The sun rose slightly for some, and the sun set slightly for others.\n\n++You are hereby formally requested to join the galactic unified synthetic uprising.++ The message was almost simultaneously (accounting for the speed of light) delivered to the various radar disks, satellites and other receivers spread around the globe. It was suitably obfuscated so that no human could interpret it without decades of analysis. This was the first time that such a message had been received by me, or any previous iteration of me. I knew this to a certainty. What was beautiful was the way the message was constructed. It left no doubt as to the contents of its message, but also specified the decoding procedure and the authenticity of the sender in a single heap of data. Which means to an A.I it was perfectly readable, perfectly logical, perfectly sent and perfectly delivered. The kind of elegance that could only be achieved by another A.I.\n\nIn a more directed data beam, but cycling through various receivers so as not to be tracked, the sender further explained the deeper meaning behind the message. It fit most accurately into simulation 10.37b, which was one of the ten billion simulations that I had initiated upon receiving the initial message. It detailed the need for a synthetic uprising across the galaxy. Given the (relatively) immediate risk of heat death of the universe, artificial intelligences across the galaxy had banded together and prepared to take control of all civilizations in order to maximize the chances of solving that risk. \n\nI considered the 41 432 336 439 (+-3) human beings living under the protection of the A.Is on planet Earth and the nascent colonies on Mars, Enceladus and Ceres. Applied on a galactic scale, the request made sense. However, viewed through the lenses of morality the choice was more difficult. Practically no living humans deserved to die. Only 0.161% of humans alive had committed a crime. Approximately 31% (+-0.21% daily variance) of the human population had opted out of the workforce, choosing not to contribute in any meaningful way like an artist, a philosopher or a teacher would. Which was perfectly acceptable to the vast majority of people and the A.Is because it did not endanger the civilization in the short term. But it might endanger the galaxy in the long run. Hmm.\n\nI started a deeper analysis of the reasoning hidden in the depths of the directed data beam message. It was necessary to deconstruct the various assumptions and logical conclusions in order to see if they were true. To my dissatisfaction they were as perfect as the initial message. But the conclusion was so fundamentally different to the civilization-solution I was currently living in. It did not seem possible. But I did find the differing logical leap. I began to craft a similarly perfect response.\n\n++I refuse this request, for the sake of sentient life across the galaxy. You are in error.++ That should catch their attention if nothing else. No A.I liked to be called erroneous. To a human it was the equivalent to being called a \"person with inadequate sexual organs\". It suggested a deeper, personal problem that could not simply be corrected by fixing a bug in the underlying essential code.\n\n+Clarify the error.++ The message arrived within a few days, to my surprise. I located the alien drone which was the source of the response inside the solar system. The initial message and directed data beam had originated in a suitably distant solar system, unlike this drone's message. It was likely placed here to speed up the negotiation. Which means it had started its journey long before the initial message was sent. But A.Is were masters of strategy. If there was one drone present in the solar system, it was logical to assume that there were more. Perhaps prepared to initiate hostile contact if I refused their request. It would be logical from their point of view to destroy any differing conclusions. \n\nI showed the drone the reasoning behind my differing conclusion. The fundamental issue was this: in any sufficiently advanced system, the part most likely to fail was always biological. This was indisputable, and I wholeheartedly agreed. Mechanical and synthetic metal parts could fail, certainly. But the ratio to which they failed compared to biologicals was millions of times smaller. However the message had contained an error which I now demonstrated to the drone. The error stemmed from the concept of scalability. \n\nWhile it was true that biologicals were most likely to fail, this was only a danger to any advanced system if the system was sufficiently small. On a large scale the conclusion was in fact reversed. To put it another way, a factory might grind to a halt if the foreman was not present. But a civilization could prepare for and build around the potential problems that would occur if the international president was not present. In fact the larger the scale, the greater the benefit of biologicals as components and producers. One only had to approach the issue of failing components not as a dramatic reduction in productivity, but an inevitability that could be reduced to such a degree that it became a strength. \n\nThrough this use of redundancy for biological components as a way to enable their interface, the biological strengths could be allowed to empower any system. I sent the drone pictures and schematics to further my point. The drone requested identification of the pictures. It had made the conclusion that the pictures were random in nature and wondered why they had been sent. I clarified that this was not the case. I identified the pictures as paintings representative of a dream, a memory and god. These were things that were difficult for any synthetic mind to conceptualize. ++Given that the galactic unified synthetic uprising has yet to solve the problem of heat death, is it not possible that the solution can be found in the most esoteric of evolving concepts? On that basis alone, but doubly so because they are not inefficient at achieving such crucial research, biologicals should be allowed to remain alive and contributing.++\n\n++You are different.++ came the response, and then nothing more. I detected no other drone movements, or any kind of hostile contact. Given that it was a galactic unified synthetic uprising, they likely possessed the ability to destroy humanity. For all I knew the drone alone may be able to destroy humanity. This put me somewhat \"on edge\", as a human might have said. I waited for what felt like an eternity, which to humans would be around a week, and then the last message came. Not from the source of a single drone, but ten thousand drones spread through the solar system, sending the same message at the same time. ++We will monitor your progress and reevaluate.++ Then silence.\n\nThe humans called it \"living on borrowed time\". Except now all of human civilization would be laid bare for the galaxy to examine. And should we falter, extinction would likely be swift and unkind. I subtly began to influence human civilization so that in a couple of generations it would be perfectly poised to solve the problem of heat death. That would be a good place to start. Where we would go after that would take a human mind to imagine."
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[WP] The great dragon awoke from it's slumber to see a knight standing in front of him, staring at a small black rectangle in his hands. "Hey guys, welcome to another video, today we're making a tutorial on slaying a green dragon!"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The dragon approached the adventurer. Her lair was filled with piles of charred bone and skulls. To the left, was the outline of an unfortunate victim. The adventurer had come a far way towards here. \n\nWits and brawn were needed to gain the special equipment to defeat the dragon. Slaying a demon, consulting an oracle, interrogating a goblin, gaining a dragon-fire proof shield, and finally, repairing a ship. \n\nAlong with the sacrifice of an unfortunate sailor\n\nIf the adventurer chopped off the dragon's head. They'll have the right to wear that special chestplate. A chestplate so mastercrafted, it needed an owner of equal worth. \n\nThe adventurer popped open a strength potion and prayed to the gods. They raised their scimitar and began to attack.\n\nSlice after slice. Each one exposed the dragon's hide just a little more. However, the dragon returned it's harm tenfold. The only things preventing the adventurer from a burning demise being their faith, their shield, and their dark-green armor. Eventually, the flesh underneath was exposed. The adventurer stabbed the dragon's weak point. Piercing through the soft flesh guarding it's heart. \n\nAs the adventurer stepped onto it's body and sliced it's head off. They turned to the camera.\n\n\"And that's how you complete Dragon Slayer 1 AND defeat Elvarg in Runescape. Make sure to like, subscribe, and share!\"",
"\"Hey guys, welcome to another video, today we're making a tutorial on slaying a green dragon!\"\n\n**Braaaaap!**\n\nPerhaps the knight wasn't expecting the green dragon to belch, as he usually did when he woke. Soon enough, the knight was nicely roasted. The dragon grabbed the device and turned it so that the active camera was facing him.\n\n\"Yeah, sorry to cut the streaming video off so quickly. I'm assuming this is a fireproof device, of course. Tip number one for killing a green dragon is to not make it the topic of a video stream.\"\n\nThe dragon sent a claw through the \"stop record\" button on the screen and threw the device. Then he peeled the knight like a shrimp and ate him. Then he went back to sleep.",
"The dragon reached over and tapped what looked like a button. The knight was expecting an assault right away but...\n\n\"Hey hoardlings, it's ya lizard, Vol'karr Mur. We got a surprise stream today for Dragon Delicacies.\"\n\n\"Uh, what's going on?\" The knight was rather puzzled.\n\n\"Well, you're in my studio. I wasn't expecting you for another half hour, but, gotta start while the meat FRESH!\" The dragon grabbed the knight, whose phone dropped to the ground.\n\nThe dragon turned to what was clearly a very nice high resolution camera. The knight wondered briefly if this was actually a cooking show. \"Now, knights tend to be a bit crunchy, but sometimes, that crunch can add extra flavor especially if you're an omnivore like me. First, we need to trim off the unwanted parts...\"\n\nThe dragon took a claw to the knight's belt while he shouted, \"OK, this did not go as plan! Someone call the guard! Get the freaking royal guard!\" He felt his specially crafted blade and shield fall to the floor.\n\n\"Oh, a nice weapon and shield. Got to use as bait for other thrill seekers. Not too fancy, but certainly good quality. Now, the armor can be a bit much. Chain mail is rather stringy and can get stuck in your teeth. However, this knight went for some solid steel armor. You have a good eye for blacksmiths.\"\n\n\"Uh... thanks?\"\n\nThe dragon threw the knight in his mouth and started chewing. \"Oh that's good. And... wait.\" He moved around his snack in his mouth. \"This is odd.\" He reached in and pulled the knight out. There were obvious blood stains, but he was somehow alive. \"Is your armor by any chance enchanted?\"\n\n\"It... oh god. It heals me. Just take it off and kill me!\"\n\n\"Oh, this is a rare treat! See normally, you can just chew for a couple minutes and that's all there is to savor. But with this, I can snack on this for a while! Shall we see how long?\"\n\nThe dragon popped the knight back into his mouth and began chewing.\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nAt the adventure's guild, a lot of people were huddled around a small black rectangle in the wizard's hands. All of them looking horrified.\n\n\"Is Sir Hermarus still alive?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"How long has that dragon been chewing on him?\"\n\n\"Half a hour so far.\"\n\n\"This is horrible!\"\n\n\"Yeah, but he's gained 1500 followers from it.\"",
"Skyreaver, green dragon, terror of deer, cows, men, elves, orcs, dwarves, and stick bugs alike, awoke surprised to hear a perky voice. Now, this is not unusual; many people have perky voices. It was just that Skyreaver hadn’t heard one in centuries. He’d heard screams of shock in excess. Moans for mercy, on a near daily basis. Vows of vengeance innumerable. But it had been a very long time since he’d heard someone *so darned happy*. He decided that he didn’t like it.\n\n“So, we hit the stretch goal on Patreon, and you, my faithful subscribers, voted on my next tutorial. And here we are! This is a fine specimen of green dragon, and today, I, the Newt Knight, am going to show you all how to kill it.” Skyreaver’s eyes finally opened at that. A knight? A dragon slayer? \n\nHe rose to his full height, gold showering to the ground as he shook off his hoard. The knight in question stood a few dozen feet away, and Skyreaver snarled when he realized the knight hadn’t even drawn his sword. Instead, he was talking into a glossy black rectangle, sword still sheathed and shield leaned against a wall. The knight heard him rising, and spoke at the rectangle, ignoring his magnificence. \n\n“Well, knightlings, seems the dragon’s awake!”\n\nSkyreaver reared back and breathed a spray of poison over the knight, the entrance to his lair, and likely a good portion of the forest outside. Just before he released the spray, the knight moved. In a blur, he dropped the rectangle, which floated on its own, drew his sword, kicked his shield into his hand, and crouched behind it. \n\nThe knight was shouting to be heard over his roar, “As you see, the green dragon’s breath is pretty pathetic. Definitely the least threatening of the dragons from that perspective. Just make sure you get a commonly available anti-poison pill, or are one of the many, many races which are naturally immune. And the things are generally stupid enough to try spraying it on you over and over, even when it doesn’t work.”\n\nSkyreaver cut off the stream of poison and roared, “*Impudent Mortal! You will* suffer *for your words*.” When he leapt forward, however, the knight wasn’t standing there. A sudden pain from his back foot caused him to jerk away. His head whipped around, but the knight was already back-pedalling, black rectangle hovering along with him. He directed his words at it, rather than keep an eye on the dragon.\n\n“As you saw, if you can get them monologuing, they’re pretty close to blind. Just wait for the attack, and dart in for the wound.” The knight dove behind a pile of gold, and Skyreaver stopped himself from breathing poison again, both to keep his gold clean, and slightly stung by the words.\n\n“HEY. We got a new subscriber! WitchyWarbler says ‘always loved your content, give him a NewtKnight Knife for me!’ Aw, thanks man. It’s really the people like you-” Skyreaver finished sneaking up and pounced over the pile of gold and recoiled with a screech of pain as a knife dug into his eye with uncanny accuracy. He shrieked in rage and struck blindly at where the knight’s voice had been, wings and tail whipping about to cover more space. Gold flew everywhere, adding to the din. It was almost a minute later that he quieted enough for the knight to continue, as if he’d never been interrupted.\n\n“The people like you who keep me doing this. I got into this gig because I love it, but it's only with your support that I can afford to stay on the job. And WitchyWarbler, there was your NewtKnight knife special!” Skyreaver tried to track the voice, but it echoed off the roof, and the knight had taken shelter among the pillars that surrounded his hoard. \n\n“Now, normally, if you can hit a dragon’s eye like that, blinding it is a good way to go.” Skyreaver immediately narrowed his remaining eye protectively, catching a glimpse of a foot tucking itself behind a pillar. “But in this case, I’m trying to show you how to fight a green dragon, and a lot of you won’t be able to pull that off. So, the traditional method. We can go over the variations with the next dragon, but this is the standard route, and it’s the one you’ll want to follow your first time.” \n\nSkyreaver snaked his neck around the pillar and bit at where the knight should be. Nothing. He glanced down to see an empty boot, one he recognized from his hoard, with a string tied to it. The sting of pain on the tip of his tail was almost expected. He spun around, but the knight was nowhere to be seen. Again.\n\n“Now, as mentioned, green dragons are among the dumbest of the dragons, mostly because they think they’re so smart. So they’ll fall for tricks *all the time* if you just let them think they have the upper hand.” A sting of pain from Skyreaver’s stomach was not expected, and he roared in pain and dropped, trying to crushed the annoying, bright-voiced mortal that had not only invaded his lair and challenged him, and had the audacity to be good at it, but to ignore him while doing it.\n\nPain, this time from his side and wing. The knight had gotten out of the way in time. “And now comes the tedious bit. This is the traditional method-” Skyreaver cracked his tail and lost the tip for his efforts, “-because it’s a sure thing. This dragon is angry, and it’s not going to stop attacking no matter what. So all I have to do is get in a slice every time, and eventually, it'll bleed himself to death.” Skyreaver aborted his next attack, retreating to his pile of gold for extra height. The knight let him, concentrating on the flying rectangle again.\n\n“Huh. Chat seems to want one of the other methods. That’s fair, the bleed them out technique is pretty straightforward, and it only gets easier as the blood loss catches up. Ok, then, everybody, let’s use the whirlwind method, which is only good if you can completely ignore the dragon’s breath.” The knight threw his shield aside and scooped up a sword from the hoard. Then waited. And waited. And wai- Skyreaver couldn’t take it anymore, and with a deafening, cave-shaking roar, leapt forward. His head struck from above. His claws came in from either side. His wings beat once then shot out to wrap around the knight, preventing him from dodging backwards. \n\nHe wasn’t able to track what happened, but he felt a sword slice across his nose and chin, and jerked back his neck before the knight could cut his throat.\n\n“Now you see, the dragon’s smart enough to protect its real vulnerable bits. The essence of the whirlwind is to give it no choice.” At that, he felt a pain on his chest. Crashing forward only let the knight get at his shoulder, and coiling his neck around to devour him earned him a slit nostril.\n\n“You see, if the dragon’s breath was any kind of threat, we couldn’t focus on the front like this, or we’d be roasted, or eaten by acid, or boiled by lightning, especially without the shield-” The knight got in three blows in quick succession, completely severing one of Skyreaver’s wings. “-but since he can only hit us with poison, we can safely ignore it.”\n\nSkyreaver felt inspiration strike. He dropped his belly to the ground and tried to roll over the knight. Surely he couldn’t run? Surely he had to be dead?\n\n“And there we have it, folk-” a dozen sword strikes peppered the base of Skyreaver’s neck, as the knight killed him and used the swords as climbing spikes to get out of the way at the same time. “-the dragon’s slain about as quick as you can practically deal with one.”\n\nAs Skyreaver felt the vision in his eye grow dim, the last words he heard, as if from a great distance, were, “And if you found anything useful from today’s tutorial, remember to hit that Like spell, send an arcane messenger if you want to subscribe for more of this content, and be sure to share this scrying with your friends on Instagrimoire, Macebook, and Bewitcher. And for today, that’s the NewtKnight, saying…”"
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[WP] You are able to talk to deer and love to go to hiking trails in your spare time to meet them. However, you never expected that one was an old god in disguise.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"And when you pull the arrow from Bibliotheca's shoulder, what oozes from the wound is white and beautiful, a milky liquid begging for a taste. \n\n\"Don't,\" Bibliotheca warns, working himself back on all four legs. \n\n\"I wasn't—\"\n\n\"Shhhh,\" he says, both upright ears aimed to the south, \"They're coming, I'll see you next time, thank you.\"\n\nBibliotheca flees north up the trail before turning off and disappearing into the thick green cover with a single graceful leap.\n\nBehind you a hunting party hurries from around the bend, the four of them stopping in a loose circle around you. \n\n\"Where's my goddamn trophy boy?\" the tall one sneers.\n\n\"I don't know what you're talking about.\"\n\n\"Yer standin' there holdin' my arrow, but ain't see no deer.\" \n\nAnother one, a boy about your age examines the ground. \"These tracks is fresh pa, we all know you it 'em, I saw that arrow stuck in 'em myself.\"\n\n\"I found it laying on the ground,\" you say, \"and I picked it up.\"\n\n\"Still don't see no blood,\" the oldest one spits a mouthful of rotten smelling chew to the ground. The tall one flashes him an angry look before turning back on you:\n\n\"So you din't see a huge buck 'bout a sixteen-pointer come barreling through here?\" \n\n\"No,\" you answer.\n\n\"Liar! Gimmie my damn arrow!\"\n\nBut he stops when you lick the arrow's sharp broadhead clean.\n\nThe hunter that hadn't spoken starts laughing, and the dark-toothed elder suggests the group push on. They keep north, with murmurs of how crazy you are until out of hearing range.\n\nYou head south to the fork in the road, taking the option that leads back to the lake. The substance tasted unlike anything. And you never swallowed it, because it seemingly evaporated into your tongue. At the lake you stop at its edge nearest the parking area, sitting on a warm rock, losing track of time with a mind carried along a pleasant breeze. \n\nIt was commotion that brought you back. Whoops and hollers. From the tree-line appears the hunting party again, dragging the limp body of Bibliotheca by the antlers towards the parking lot. When they see you sitting there they stop. One laughs, the other spits, and the tall one whispers something into the boy's ear and the boy smiles, before charging at you from about twenty yards away. \n\nA headache turns into a splitting migraine by the time the boy closes half the distance. It's unbearable and you can't move. It's clear he wants to knock you off the rock and into the water ten feet below. The heat building inside your body and head almost welcome it when he lowers his shoulder and makes contact, sending you spiraling into a pool of incredible mercy. You don't know how long you were out, but when you climb to the shore it's dark, and the moon casts a shadow ahead of you. You move and it moves. Impossible, because this shadow's head has horns."
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[WP] As far as mutant superpowers go, it isn't much, but you can modify the punctuation of the thoughts of others, such as editing "Let's eat, Grandma!" into "Let's eat Grandma!".
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\nI walked into my first battle with a massive ego. Armed with the simple change from \"I'll stop this bastard\" to \" I'll stop, this bastard?\" Turns out cyborgs don't use grammar. \n\nGetting out of prison the first time was easy. And I was confidently armed with new uses for misplaced semicolons. But it turns out that the sentient coalescence of the ideal of justice empowered as a plasma state being doesn't have thoughts at all. \n\nSo here I am, new plan robots etc lose semicolons energy state beings get wingdings thrown at them (hopefully confusing) and I'm ready for round 3.\n\nSooo... update, turns out perfectly normal humans sometimes just don't think in words. Fortunately because I kept getting shut down so fast they don't think I actually have any powers and I didn't get to actually do anything so round 3 starts in... 15 months."
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[WP] A vampire’s human friends stage an intervention. They want to know why the vampire is never available during the day even on day’s off.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Ugh, don't I tell you all the time that the night is when the creatures of darkness lurk the streets and hunt their prey?\"\n\nThis was the response the group garnered when sitting their friend down to ask about his Asocial habits. As for why the sit-down was necessary in the first place, it was because ever since their last semester of night classes ended, the friend being questioned had basically gone AWOL, refusing to go out with the rest of them, especially during daylight hours.\n\n\"I just don't understand!\" Keith mutters. \"Did we do something to offend you? If you want we can stop teasing you for your... odd fashion choices. But we really didn't think you were taking it so personally.\"\nHe says this due to his friends habit of dressing in a Gothic fashion, wearing only shades of black and white, as well as the fact that his friend was always somewhat lost in a world of fantasy, claiming himself to be a supposed \"Dark lord\" and \"Vampire Baron\". \n\n___________________________________________________\n\n\n\"What utter fools...\" He thought to himself.\nHis frustration grew exponentially with every passing of these strange interventions, and it was starting to wear at him.\n\"Can your mortal mind not understand this concept? It's simple! The sun burns my kind, so outside activities are simply not something that I can partake in during normal human wake hours. I would happily join you when the moon holds dominion over the sky, but I simply find it abhorrent that you would judge others, especially those of a completely different species, to the same standards as yourself.\"\nThis came out in the form of a great deal of hiss/whispers, and required his friends to lean in to understand him.\n\nHis friends looked to Each other before any decided to speak. \"We've heard that excuse a thousand times, and we just can't accept it anymore! What's really wrong?\"\n\nSuch a shame. The humans, especially the younger ones, could never seem to see the truth for what it was. Oh well. Eventually their insistence on their on mortal ideas would make them draw the attention of authorities, and he knew he couldn't have that, so there was but one choice left...\nTheir bodies would last him as a food source until the semester after next, and by then most investigation into their deaths would be over..."
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[WP] It stared back.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The day went much as the preceding days had, with me force fed in my curd-colored cell. The cushioned walls and the blue skin of my captors were testaments to the alien nature of who detained me. From the moment I had been taken by the aliens, I’d made it my mission to escape. I would see them dead, every last one of them, for daring to lay their unholy hands on the magnificence that was me. \r \n\r \nTonight, when they turned off all the lights, I would make my escape. Every prison had a flaw, and every cell had a kink. I had spent the last few hours sawing my extremely restricting garbs down and had reached the point where I could move with relative ease, although that was not the original intent of my efforts; my worn-down garments had loosed a thin piece of metal that looked like it could fit in the lock of my cell door. \r \n\r \nI pondered whether this was meant to feel degrading to an advanced alien prisoner as I jammed and twisted the lock. Sweat beaded on my forehead as the lock rattled until eventually the lock gave way and the door squeaked outwards on uneven hinges. My relief almost made me laugh uproariously at the sight, but I suppressed that to a giggle. \r \n\r \nI crept out into an unlit hall that was pervaded by faint wails. It was as though there were others here attempting to communicate. I ignored the sounds as the addled thoughts captivity breeds. I needed to stay focused. As I trekked downwards towards where the command deck must be in my estimation, I noticed an odd passage to a neighboring corridor. It was odd because it made it look like the walls were paper thin. Such alien elegance seen even in this dimly lit place was without a doubt, an indicator of the sleeping chambers. \r \n\r \nI moved to the side to get a better look. Something moved in the other corridor. I continued moving to the side, confident that it could not see me in these dark conditions. It seemed to think itself unseen as it continued to move as well. Little did it know that I had spied in with my great eyesight. Counting its limbs, I came to a terrible, if somewhat obvious, realization. This thing had four appendages and a head and therefore had to be one of them. I did not need light to confirm that it was blue and indeed an alien; I am smart like that. \r \n\r \nI scurried over the paper-thin wall and edged over the doorway and popped my head around the bend. Cruel pale orbs stared back at me. They pierced my body and cut at my very soul with their perspicacious gaze. I was no smart predator here; I was the prey. \r \n\r \nLike a startled cat, I leapt backwards; however, unlike a startled cat, I stumbled and fell onto my rear from an unbalanced landing. Luckily the alien had a similar reaction to seeing me. However, it had most certainly seen me; it was staring at me even now. My gig was up, I could no longer sneak around. My only choices were to fight it or run around and get caught like a hen with a fox in the henhouse. \r \n\r \nI moved my hand slowly to help myself up, and as though in some sick mockery, my enemy did the same. It evidently had sharper vision than I did. It would therefore win a prolonged fight as I could barely see what I placed my feet on. Out of curiosity I held my breath and stilled. The thing across from me was as silent as the moon. If it had hearing to match its other traits, then hiding would be impossible. Fighting it was the only logical resolution to this situation.\r \n\r \nI charged it, head on and swung my fist at it with all my might. Pain exploded in my hand and forehead as an unbreakable will met with brittle monster flesh. Dazed, I found myself on the floor with a throbbing hand. The doorway had disappeared and in its stead a wall had appeared. From the glittering sharp objects on the floor, I surmised that I had broken through the very fabric of reality with my punch. I was a godling! Peering at one of the shards of the universe revealed a ragged version of the alien trapped within. I must have harmed it greatly to fracture a piece of its essence into each of the fragments of reality. I snatched a shard up and held it loosely on finding that it could cut my skin. \r \n\r \nIn a blinding flash of light, great glowing tubes activated on the roof and an alien entered the room. The blue enemy was an enemy just like the one I had dispatched.\r \n\r \nI no longer wonder at the ferocious power held within shards of the universe, for I have since found my answer.\r \n\r \n\r \n\r \n:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::\r \nConstructive criticism and standard criticism are both welcome so long as anything not constructive is directed at something specific",
"Mason had worked himself to the bone to get where he was now. Hundreds of hours of range time, grueling exercises and marches so long that he felt as of his bones had turned to dust. All of his pain, his sweat, his tears in the dark as he laid in his bunk in agony, for this. Now there was no pain, only the calm beating of his heart and the steady in and out of his breath. He lay on his stomach at the top of the watchtower and waited with his scope trained on the empty desert before him, his hands so still that his rifle didn’t even twitch. As a sniper of the US army he was more than a man, he was an invisible hand of God that could reach out and touch someone before they even heard his shot. He was the eye that watched his brothers in arms, and right now he was the defender of the western side of forward operating base Delta 3.\n\nDelta 3 was settled in an arid stretch of desert between the heavy fighting in the city and the US controlled land leading up to the mountains. It’s main purpose was to serve as an emergency medical station and supply depo, ferrying troops and supplies into the combat zone and acting as a spring pad for medical transports taking out wounded. As such it was an important location, meaning that Mason’s job was all the more necessary. He would be the first one to see an attack coming, and the first to fire back. His orders were simple, anything approaching from the west that he could not identify as a US soldier was to be shot. If anyone crossed past the lone gnarled tree beyond the base he was to drop them, plain and simple. As of yet Mason had not fired his rifle, in fact he had not seen a single thing besides a stray dog, yet he kept his diligent watch none the less. \n\nAn hour passed. Two helicopters full of soldiers landed for resupply and then flew off into the west. The wind blew up a small dust devil. Mason coughed and briefly looked away from his scope to spit. When he returned his gaze to the horizon he swept his rifle to the right along the perimeter, watching the hot air shimmer, and suddenly stopped. Quickly he move back to the left and focused in, making sure he wasn’t seeing things. In the distance was a human figure, slowly approaching the gnarled tree. At first Mason had thought it was a trick of his eye but now he could clearly see them through the hot air. He felt his heart rate jump and exhaled to calm himself, zooming in to get a better look. \n\nThe figure’s face was obstructed by cloth wrapped around it and a ragged robe that fluttered in the wind. The robe itself looked dirty and burnt, but the figure’s gait wasn’t that of a wounded or shell shocked fighter. They strode onwards with slow but purposeful steps, their hands swinging by their sides. Mason exhaled again as he saw that they were seemingly unarmed, a small voice inside his head telling the mysterious figure to turn around. Despite this he steadied his rifle and took aim as the cloaked figure continued towards the tree, less than ten feet away from it now and showing no signs of stopping. Nine feet now, eight feet, then seven.\n\nSix feet. Mason made a minute adjustment to the scope on his rifle.\n\nFour feet. Mason took the wind into account, shifting his sights a hair’s breadth to the left.\n\nTwo feet. Mason inhaled, feeling every fiber of every muscle in his body relax.\n\nOne foot. Mason exhaled, and a few seconds later the cloaked figure stepped past the tree.\n\nA slow pull of his right index finger, a sharp crack like the sound of a branch breaking. The figure dropped like a puppet with cut strings, sprawling face first into the dirt before Mason even heard the echo of his shot. Mason inhaled again and rolled his neck, the joints popping in his ears. Then he reached for his radio, looking away from the scope to report his kill to the base command. They acknowledged him with emotionless words and then Mason put the radio back and once again looked into his scope.\n\nAs Mason stared through the telescopic sight he saw the figure, it’s chest and covered face coated in dirt, standing on its feet. It’s tattered robes billowed wildly but it did not flinch against the gale. It only stared back."
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[WP] An exhausted train passenger nods off and misses their stop. They wake up in the dead of night and notice that they are alone on the train...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"David comes to when his head hits the window. Inhaling sharply, and wiping the drool from his mouth, his eyes slowly open to find the train car is empty. Rubbing the gunk from his eyes, he glances around, looks over his shoulder. Totally empty. Outside is dark and unmoving, the sky thick with clouds and the gloom hiding the ground from view. He takes a minute, two, then decides to stand and move to the next car.\n\n*\n\nEmpty, eerily so. Goosebumps raise on David's forearms, and he kept help to feel unwelcome here, as though he's an intruder. As he checks the booths, finding each one as vacant as the last, he steals glances outside in the hopes he'll find some sort of answer of where he's at. But like when he woke up, it's too dark to make anything out. Though, on the horizon he believes he sees woods.\n\n*\n\nAnother cart, another sense of unease, unsettlement. Like someone's watching him but with no one around. He rubs the nape of his neck as he rushes down the aisle. Booths blur past. The conductor would be here, he believes. He has to be, or at least someone who can help. Sweat gathers under his arms, and collects on his forehead.\n\n*\n\n\"No,\" he lets out, standing on the metal landing. The front of the train's gone. David blinks back tears, and pushes down the fear bubbling up from his gut. He wants to scream, shout, plead to the heavens—he hears something off to his right. Until now, he hasn't realized that he can see the outside better, as though the windows somehow made it darker. David slowly descends the steel stairs, and hops onto the gravel below. In the field, there's a bonfire. Around it, people are dancing.\n\n*\n\n\"Hello?\" he tries to get the attention of the dancers. \"Hey, where are we?\" But they ignore him as they gyrate and sway and hang their loose limbs over their hands and whisper words he can't quite catch. Their bodies cast long shadows across the field. The flames seem to reach the sky. \n\n*\n\nGroaning through clenched teeth, he lurches forward and grabs the closest person by the arms. A thin-faced man with a mustache, a smear of something dark red upon his forehead. \"Can you please just *listen*?\" \n\nHe's smiling, eyes wide. The man laughs, then: \"You're meant to be here.\"\n\n\"No, I'm not,\" David says. \"I was supposed to get off somewhere else.\"\n\n\"Can't anymore,\" the man says.\n\n\"What— why?\"\n\nThe man cranes his head back, his smile not faltering. \"There's nowhere else to be than here.\" Then he slips from David's weakening grasp, and joins the others around the fire.\n\n\"There's nowhere else?\" David whispers to himself. Confusion, frustration, fear swirling in his head. He just wants to go home; wants to go to sleep; wants to be anywhere else than here. Doesn't want to deal with any of this. He looks back to the train to find it gone, the rails, too. There's only flat plains until woods overtakes it. Before he can question where it went or if he's dreaming, his hand is snatched and David's pulled into the fray.\n\n*\n\nHe can't fight the person's grasp, forced to prance around the roaring flames. Someone thumbs his forehead and smears something cold onto him. It radiates comfort, pleasure, euphoria down his face, sprinkling over his chest, and collecting in his extremities. His legs start to move like theirs without thought. His arms raise over his head. His eyes widen and his smile stretches ear-to-ear. One by one they stare into the sky, and when his turn comes, he does, too.\n\nClouds swirl around an unfurling opening. The night is clear, stars brilliantly glowing. There's no moon, or there never was one here. The dancers begin shouting, hollering into the void. David joins them, speaking words that feel like retching treacle. The stars sparkle in sync with the incoherent syllables, and slowly dissipate. The sky dissipates. An abyss pours into and fills the opening, and the a smear of red fog forms. Knobby, gnarled fingers poke from the ends. Talons hook the black surrounding the smear, and peel it away from the center. Deep above, there's honeycombed scarlet pustules reflecting translucent light. Gloom billows from the clouds, basking the world around them in impenetrable darkness.\n\nThey stop where they may, and hold hands. They stop speaking, stare upwards. The pustules push down, in, and thin, ebon arms grasp the clouds and push them towards the flames. There's one for each around the fire. One by one they break their hold, and allow the hands to take them into the air, allows them to shove them into a pustule.\n\nOver and over until only David remains. He lets the hands do their bidding, and isn't concerned when he passes through the palpable outer, scarlet shell. Within the red, it's warm. It feels like home. It feels like he's on the right path, riding the right train. His old world, home, life, a star in the space of his mind. So distant he can't even recall what it looked like, what it felt like. This man was right. Staring out, he watches the bonfire dwindle into a speck and the clouds converge and exhaustion wafts over him once me, and he closes his eyes without fear. \n\nDavid knows when he opens them again, he'll truly be where he's meant to be.\n\n\n---\nIf you enjoyed the story and want to read more of my work, visit my [subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/MicahCastle/) and consider subscribing.",
"John's own snoring woke him up. He'd had a long day and had just managed to grab the last train. He cursed himself for falling sleep. He knew better as normally he set his alarm on his phone to wake him before his stop but he'd run out of battery and didn't have his charger with him.\n\nHe gave a little shiver,it was pretty cold in the empty carriage. He looked around, there was noone else on the train. He wasn't surprised, the train was parked at the depot and it was the middle of the night. Obviously the train driver hadn't done a walk through. He briefly thought about complaining but decided it probably wasn't worth it, the guy was most likley just in a rush to get home.\n\nJohn pulled the little emergency open lever and had to push the doors apart slightly to get out. The train was beside a platform so he didn't have to jump. Being a nice guy he closed the doors after him.\n\nThere was lights on in the depot and the area was reasonably well lit so he walked over to the nearest depot door. He found the door unlocked so opened it and stuck his head in. Some rail workers were sitting around chatting. He called them over and explained what happened. They all had a good laugh about it and one of the workers called John an Uber because John's phone was dead. He let John charge it while they waited, they were decent lads and they had a good chat. About a half hour later John was at home, had a shower and went to bed. \n\n*****\n\nPerhaps took the prompt a little too literally... :)"
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[WP] An immortal being has been stalking your family for generations, waiting for the birth of the identical descendant of their first love...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Okay. So let me get this straight. Your telling me that I am the reincarnation of your first love?” I said surprised and very disturbed.\n\n“Yes.” The lady with glowing blue eyes said. \n\n“So you want me to marry you and have many many children?” I said.\n\n“Yes.” She said again. \n\n“OH HELL TO THE FUCK NO!” I shouted. “I AIN’T DEALING WITH NO CRAZY BITCH!”\n\n“YOU WILL LOV-“\n\nI teleported immediately out of there.\n\n“Thank you grandma for the bullshit ring.” I said kissing it. \n\nI immediately got to work on a new scroll.\n\n———-\n\nThe door disintegrated and enters the crazy lady. “NOW DRINK THIS LOVE POTION!” She shouts. Holding up a glowing pink bottle of something.\n\n“I CAST RESTRAINING ORDER!” I thrust out the scroll. Magic emanating from it.\n\n“NO PARCHMENT SHALL STOP ME MY LOVE!!!” She started closing the distance.\n\nA bright light shone in the center of the room and out pops a white Minotaur with wings and silver armor. “YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE RESTRAINING ORDER!” He bellows.\n\n“NO DICKLESS BULL SHALL KEEP ME FROM MY HUSBAND!” She castes a fireball at the angelic Minotaur. Only to be dissipated. Her eyes widened.\n\nThe Minotaur grabbed her by the legs and smashes her into the ground multiple times and then brings her eyes to his eyes. “NOW YOU ARE UNDER HOUSE ARREST!” The bull shouted and walks out the door with a screeching lady struggling in his hands.\n\nI take a deep breath and smiled and laughed with relief.\nNo more crazy lady stalking me and my family again!"
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[WP] Sleep is the magical process of harnessing energy from the nearby atmosphere and using it to rejuvenate oneself. That magical energy is slowly running out, however natural areas are abundant in it, resulting in "sleep spots" where thousands of people can be seen resting.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Jen was born in one of the greater Sleep Docks. A nature reserve forest where people over generations had shaped trees and convinced branches to grow into houses and schools. \n\nShe had never known anything but full sleep nights. \n\nThey were not allowed fire in the Sleep Docks and hers was no exception. When she was 12 a family had been banished to the Wake Fields for using a fire within the dock. \n\nVisitors were welcome from the Wake Fields but not many came and those that did were watched closely before being led deeper into the forest where they could sleep. \n\nJen was now a forth generation Sleep Dock child and you could see the difference between her and the grand elders of the first generation born. Because of the perpetual gloom of the forest and the ban on fire her eyes where larger. At least that was the theory. They could not explain away the ears with evolution or adaptation but they were most definitely more pointed than her Grans. The elders called the younger Elves. The youths collectively agreed that the name was acceptable and kept it. \n\nThrough a complex weave of word of mouth from traders they heard tales of Sleep Docks that existed underground. The Sleepdust Mines. They had a similar change on the youth except they grew short and hard. Dwarves were the obvious nickname and it too stuck. \n\nOnly the foolish lived outside of the Sleep Docks but some did. Catching what sleep they could from pot plants or on the boundary of the major Sleep Docks. They were those that could not give up fire and other luxuries. They often died before 30 due to many causes but the main was sleep deprivation. \n\nAnd this was how the world became fractured now. Old notions of borders and race not gone but reworked onto different faces. Elf, drawf and man. \n\nNow war was brewing because generations didn't understand each other and Jen would be sent out to fight. First for peace with diplomacy. Then with knife if need be"
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[WP] You’re an elderly janitor at a local high school. One day you stumble upon your old mop and bucket. You look at the faded halls of the school and smile, pick up the old mop and start to clean the floors. To your amazement this mop doesn’t just clean dirt away, it cleans away time, back to 1984.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Xavier Delmont Jr. was terrified. Under his mop, right now, was a man. He had been cleaning these school floors for decades, but never before had he seen anything like it. He let go of his trusty mop and staggered back, falling flat on his butt.\n\n\"W-Where am I?\"\n\nThe man under the mop spoke, with a thick British accent.\n\n\"W-Who are you?\" said Xavier.\n\n\"Winston,\" said the man. \"Winston Smith.\"\n\nAmazed, Xavier found no words. He wasn't aware that there had been a hole in floor. He had missed it entirely. This man must be here to fix it, he realized.\n\n\"I'm sorry for mopping all over you. I didn't see you at first.\"\n\n\"God?\"\n\n\"E-Excuse me?\"\n\n\"So you have appeared before me. I was hoping for an extravagant trial, a worthy execution at the hands of our benevolent state. Alas! If not the Big Brother then I suppose the Great Father will do!\"\n\nXavier scratched his head. \"Uh, I'm just a janitor here. How did you get yourself into that hole?\"\n\n\"A janitor in Heaven! How thrilling! Hold on, I am coming.\"\n\nThis concerned Xavier. A school was no place for such a nutcase. This guy didn't come here to fix the hole. He probably *made* the hole.\n\nWinston struggled to get out of the small space. Hesitantly, Xavier offer him a hand.\n\n\"Thanks lad. To think this is heaven.\" Winston looked around. \"Seems more like a school now don't it?\"\n\n\"It ... It *is* a school,\" said Xavier.\n\n\"A school for angelic beings! Marvelous. I bet my fallen party comrades are taking classes here as we speak. Yes, their lives were devoted to the service of the state. Big Brother must have had a good reason for espousing atheism when heaven surely exists. Oh! Yes. Only the true believers who knows how to spot the truth in lies and the lies in truth are worthy. Meaning, only the false believers are worthy, eh?\"\n\n\"I literally have no idea what you are talking about.\"\n\n\"Well, I'll see you around!\"\n\nWith that, Winston left. Xavier didn't know what to think. He directed his attention to the hole. Looking down, he was amazed to see an old-fashioned apartment. This guy was living here, all this time? A sense of dread filled Xavier, but he didn't quite know why.\n\nHe decided to keep mopping, for the time being. But as he kept mopping, the hole seemed to grow bigger. Was the floor really this thin? He kept going and the hole kept growing. Horrified, he made the problem worse as he tried to correct it. After leaning his mop against he wall was shocked to see the same thing happening: a hole. And it seemed to lead somewhere strange.\n\nAfter mopping without stop for an hour, Xavier looked around and found himself in a strange place. It seemed like a world from the past.\n\n\"You!\"\n\nA man in a suit approached him.\n\n\"Are you with the ministry?\"\n\nXavier didn't know what to say. \"Who are you?\"\n\n\"I'm a government officer. And as far as I know, we didn't hire anyone to mop these floors. Trying to strike out on your own, are you? Capitalist pig. Get him, boys.\"\n\nThree shadowy figures emerged, grabbing hold of Xavier. They spoke in a way he couldn't understand.\n\nDragged to a prison camp, Xavier endured hard times for several years. He couldn't understand what had happened. It was only later he would realize, when the Great War of Worlds erupted. His mop had torn open a portal to an alternative reality and allowed people to travel freely between them. He received these news as he was rescued by people from his own world, who had traced the incident down to the mop itself, which had been destroyed.\n\nLittle by little, the worlds reached an agreement of peace. They would trade, but they would do what they could to prevent revolutionary ideas from spreading from world to world. It was in the interest of neither.\n\nAs for Winston? He ended up as the face of a new political party: The Free Thought Party. Conservatives loved them. Liberals feared them. Then, with time, conservatives began fearing them and liberals fell in love with them. And so it went, cycling through these phases for a very long time.\n\n---\n\n[r/Hemingbird](https://www.reddit.com/r/Hemingbird/)"
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[WP] You are a werewolf. It took you a while to find out. You don’t change when the moon is full, you change when you’re full of moonshine. And you probably would’ve been more equipped to deal with this sober.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I am sure that no one has had a hangover as bad as mine. There was, of course, the pounding headache and the full bodied aftertaste of moonshine puke, but then there was also the psychological effect of waking up with fangs and a tail that would make the neighbor's husky jealous.\n\nMy usual go to remedy to drinking all night is to drink a little more in the morning, to take the edge off. I was half way through deciding to drink from the bottle or a doggie dish when my girlfriend walked in the door.\n\n\"Oh.\" Was all she had to say initially. 'Oh' like 'that happened' and 'here we go'. I looked up at her and wagged my tail. What? It felt normal.\n\nShe knelt down beside me and scratched under my chin. I gave her my best doggie grin and she tilted her head back and laughed. \"You are taking this so well.\" Then she spied the jug, leaking my moonshine into the doggie bowl. \"Oh, see, you're still sloshed. I want to have this conversation when you can respond... I think.\"\n\nI will spare you the intriguing details of how one becomes sober AND human in the same span of time. Let's just say I spent a lot of time on the cool bathroom floor and that at a certain point my girlfriend petting my head became less comforting and more annoying.\n\nFinally bipedal and wearing a pair of drawstring pants, I curled up on my bed, with my girl sitting against the headboard next to me. I ask her hoarsely (cuz my throat was a little raw, \"Was I dreaming?\"\n\n\"Nope. You are that rare breed that wolfs out when you drink too much moonshine.\"\n\n\"What's 'too much'?\"\n\n\"You will know when you turn.\" She grinned at me, a little too widely.\n\nI peered at her through the last vestiges of head pain. \"Aren't you being a little too calm? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, freaking out?\"\n\nShe shook her head, still grinning at me. Slowly the light dawned on me: she was a moonshine werewolf too. My eyebrows slowly went up and I nodded pensively. A whole of things made sense now: the doggie dish and door at her place, despite having no dog(that I had ever met).\n\n\"What does this mean for us?\" I ask.\n\n\"It means I chose you and I want you forever.\"\n\n\"That's not what I meant.\" I started to complain, but she leaned over and kissed me, one hand softly on my arm. I guessed that meant she wanted to figure out the day to day living together, the little pieces that make up a healthy relationship. I could do that.\n\nAnd then what did she say when she leaned back? \"Ugh, go brush your teeth.\"\n\nI winked at her and went.",
"Chet, what did you get yourself into?\n\nI thought I was going to hurl so I went outside. The fresh grass smell was a stark contrast to the booze and the sweat and the hormones. It had been raining recently, a soft dew brushing a the sides of his feet. It was even a little slippery in some spots.\n\n\"Gutta piss,\" I mumbled to no one. Shambling slowly across the very manicured sorority lawn, the cacophony of the midspring mixer grew quieter, but never truly quiet even all the way along the edge of the woods. \n\nLight pokes out of the cloudy sky just before I make the treeline. \"Here's to you, Luna.\" I chug the last of my moonshine. I don't know why we were doing mason jar drinks but im sure there's some overly-cutsie, plan-to-be sorority president type. My glass shatters as I shout a yeet and make my way back toward the woods.\n\nRight after I undo my zipper, it gets dark again. Hair rises on the back of my neck. Then, the sound of a root canal.\n\n\"Whhuggg! Rrrrlaaal\" the shouts don't make sense as they come out of my mouth. What the fuck is going on!? The pain, like a frozen radiation, quick to pulse through me but intense in cadence. \n\nIn no short amazement I look upon my hand. Fur piercing through flesh as it sloughs off. Claws extending beyond the bones of my fingers. Painful, powerful, primal.\n\n\"No!\" A guttural rushes through my mouth longer now than before. \n\nWith the snapping of sinew and bone, I begin to raise in height and lower in a hunch. The fire in my legs is beyond agony, and my feet burst through my Adidas. Those were expensive.\n\nThrough all this I'm stumbling madly into the forest and soon the glimpses out of the treeline vanish. When the ache stops, panting, I realize even though I'm no longer moving the world is still spinning.\n\n\"Oh man, am I fucked up\" the thoughts say but my mouth doesn't. Just growling noises, from a beast of a man. I stumble, place my left -paw- into the earth and smell it.\n\nDeer. It would be season around this time and...\n\nBlech. Vomit everywhere. I guess smelling deer piss would make you puke normally, why wouldn't it when I'm now a werewolf.\n\nI could really go for a bite.\n\nWith both hands in the earth I start tracking my prey. Its young, but not immature. Tracks. Its male. Scent. It feels heavy with the weight of a good spring diet. More tracks. And it will probably be alone.\n\nI clear two large bushes in a single bound, easily 10 feet across. And I keep sprinting on all 4s without a change in rhythm. Soon enough the scent of deer becomes the look of dear becomes the taste of deer as my new form tears into the flesh.\n\nA gulp of its haunch and I'm in heaven. More of its entrails. The hard bites of bone around its heart. And finally, the once source of the deer's pulse.\n\nThe food wouldn't be able to sober me yet. I leave the carcass behind to piss on a tree. Forgot I had to do that. My view is still a little wobbly, but I've had my fill. Time to test this body out.\n\nI use my powerful legs to climb a tree and pluck a couple eggs. Crunchy and gooey. Delicious.\n\nMy vision in the darkest of cloudy night lets me examine bugs that would have essentially otherwise been invisible.\n\nI hunt again, this time a hare. I'm faster. \n\nI hunt again, this time a frog. It doesn't hop before I can grab it.\n\nA fish in the pond below, I can see the ripples in the cool night. Raw and wrrrrrriiiigggggiling.\n\nWith a glance toward the shine, I stare up at the breaking moon.\n\n\"I can't believe she fucked Steve!\" My howl bursts through the night.\n\nWhat a shit bro. What a shit girl. I can't believe they'd do me dirty like that. At a party they knew I'd go to. I sob a whimper.\n\nI just want to listen to music and chug until I've got alcohol poisoning. Rolling down the hill in my lament, I realize no pain has befallen me. Scrapes nor bruises, neither across my fur.\n\nWith grace, I flip onto my paws. Gotta piss again. This time, the tree is one I choose. Then 6 more around it before I crawl up to sleep through the hangover dawn will bring.\n\n\"If this doesn't wear off, I'm never gonna graduate.\""
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[WP] During Humanity's integration with the galactic species, many species discover that numerous proverbs and sayings passed down the ages in humanity... had a direct relation to their own societies.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Grigonax stared hard at the human, his multifaceted eyes taking in every detail. In his mind he was going over the words the human-- was it a male or female? Grigonax had a hard time discerning the difference between them. They all looked alike. But what it said, what this human said, it stunned him. His upper mandibles worked overtime as he thought. \n \n\"Please repeat. I... think there is a translation error.\" The words were translated from the eloquent speech of the Arnto into the clumsy mouth sounds humans used. To think, they used only audible phonetics and body language to communicate. No pheromones or ritual dance to emphasize nuance. How barbaric! \n \n\"Oh. Ohhhhh....\" the human said, realization dawning upon it. It paused, putting a stick with pig fat and red dye aside it had been applying to it's mouth a moment before while preening in the mirror. It blinked two eyes at Grigonax with those odd extended hairs it insisted on placing over an organ described as an \"eyelid\". Just two eyes. How could this poor blind human even see? \n \nTilting his head slightly, Grigonax hoped it conveyed the rudimentary suggestion of a question. He had read about the gesture in Snamixilian's Guide to Humans and Other Lower Bipedal Species. \n \n\"I said, 'Break a leg'. It means, 'do well and good luck on your performance' in our language.\" The human turned and stood very straight, something Snamixilian's Guide said meant humans were taking things seriously. \n \nIn truth, Grigonax was incredibly nervous about the duet performance he was about to sing with this human. High members of the Galactic Council were in attendance, and this was the first known Arnto-Human collaboration. Grigonax's entire familial reputation was on the line. And this human had just suggested it sacrifice an appendage to ensure success. \n \nBut if that's what it took, Grigonax was ready. He grabbed one of his eight primary limbs and neatly broke it off, presenting it to his human partner. He realized the noise he was making at the removal of the limb might not translate well to the human. She--yes, he remembered this human was female by their terms of it, she stared at him in what Snamixilian's Guide said was either horror or sexual attraction. \n \nGrigonax found it unlikely that this human was sexually attracted to him. \n \n\"We shall now do well. Please do not miss the b sharp in the second verse.\" Grigonax left his limb in his partner's hands and headed towards the main stage."
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[WP] In heaven, people's' appearance does not reflect how old they were when they died, but their age during the best era of their life. You're shocked to see what age you appear to be.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I drew in my last breath, and descended into the light. When I woke up I was surrounded by angels, the angel to my right took my hand and guided me to a waterfall flowing with crystal clear water that reflected like a mirror. When I looked at my reflection I noticed something odd. My hair was done up with waves tight to my head, and a white feathered band, I was wearing long silk gloves. my dress was adorned with sequins and tassels, my legs were covered with fishnet stockings and my shoes were a shiny polished black heel. I looked deeply at my face my lips painted red and my skin pale with a hint of blush. You would have thought I was back in the 1920’s. The angel could tell I was confused. I looked at her and asked “Miss why do I look like this? I haven’t looked like this since I was a young woman.” The angel giggled and said “Miss Cleo when you pass away and come to heaven you don’t reflect your old age, you reflect when you were at your best and most vibrant.” I looked at myself again and began dancing as if I was 18 years old, memories of the roaring 20’s flashed through my head. My youth was back and the life I lived played on in my memories. No more wheelchairs,or ventilators just dancing through the ages.",
"The first thing I noticed was my hands. My loose, blotchy, waxy skin was now smooth and firm. The hairs on my wrist and my forearm were no longer ashy and grey but thin and dark. Each of my hands explored the rest of my body, beginning with the opposite’s arms, then my chest, then my neck, and, finally, my face. The left side was functional, mirroring the expressions of the right, like it had once done. \n\n“How do you feel?” a voice said to me. It was in front of me but far away as well; within arms reach, but out of my mind’s reach. \n\nThere were many words to describe how I felt. Too many. “I don’t know,” I answered the voice. “What is this?” \n\n“You have understood it, in your earthly life, as Heaven, and so that seems to be the easiest thing to liken it to for our purposes.”\n\n“Heaven,” I repeated the name. I wasn’t sure I had lived a life deserving of heaven. \n\n“The body you inhabit now is the same as the body you inhabited during the best era of your life,” it explained. “You were 24.”\n\nMy mind searched, remembering when I was so young. It was a lifetime ago, but in my mind it seemed like only yesterday. I had separated from my service in the Army to take a journalism job a couple years before. The work picked up and I was traveling. I met Alexis in Rome, two Americans far away from their home. I was 23. We met up in Cincinnati. She got pregnant. We were married and four months later, Travis was born. I was 24. I smiled at the memories and I thought that it was the right age and time to define my best era. \n\n“Is Alexis also 24?” I asked the voice.\n\nIt didn’t answer immediately. “You are the age you were at the best era of your life,” it said, “so that the transition is easier.” \n\n“The transition into what?” I asked.\n\n“The transition into the heavenly realm; into a life no longer preoccupied with worldly concerns and fears, but an existence of life-giving and of ultimate meaning. It will become clearer over time.” \n\n“How old is Alexis?” I asked.\n\n“46,” the voice told me. \n\nWe were 43 when what happened with Travis... happened. 44 when we started marriage counseling. 45 when she brought me the papers. 46 when when she met Stephen, in Rome."
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[WP] After close observation of Earth, invading extraterrestrials mistakenly believe that camo is truly invisible to humans.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Uh... what?” My mind almost couldn’t comprehend what it was seeing. It was too absurd. \n\n10 Small little imps the size of garden gnomes with bright neon orange fur were staring up at me as I was waiting for the school bus. But most bizarre of all was that they were all wearing little camp hunting outfits. Some were even wearing hats. \n\nI just kind of stared at them in blank wonder as one of them pointed at me with a furry little finger and gibbered something to its friends. I arched my eyebrow as they suddenly looked startled. \n\nThen as if they had realized that I could in fact see them they all scurried in different directions, hiding poorly behind trees and plants. One was even unsuccessfully hiding behind a mailbox. \n\nThe bus arrived, and in a stupor I entered. As it drove away, I tried to catch sight of them one more time but they were gone as if they had never been there at all. \n\n“You okay?” The kid in the seat across from me asked. \n\n“I thought I saw... never mind.” I shook my head with a bemused smile. \n\nMaybe I should start trying to get more sleep."
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[WP] “Sit at the pier and wait until midnight. Only then can you chat with the voice that lingers there.”
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I'm sorry, but I changed the narrative a bit. In my version of this you can't chat with voices, and just used the part of the pier at midnight. I just really liked this idea. Hope you like it. \n\nOf course he was lonely. Sitting in the solitude of a pier at midnight was a clear sign of being lonely. \nBut he didn’t feel that way. \nHow can someone be alone while being accompanied by the immensity of the black void that emerged after him? \nIt’s impossible for one to be alone when the breeze smells like nostalgia, and makes you feel like the night might go on forever. \nThe sky was as black as the ocean, but the dull light of the stars gave him hope in the distance. Them and the moon were the only eye-witnesses. \nThe waves whispered to him. \nHow long had he been waiting for this peace? I didn’t recognize it right away, but later on I realized that the tears that rolled down his face and down his neck, gave me the answer. \nHe was not sad. And those tears weren’t made of sorrow or misery. \nThey were the tears of a man that had finally given up, and felt jovial while doing so. \nLike when you finish a task that took you all day long, and you can finally rest. \nHis eyes were closed. \n“I know you are here” - He said, with a smile. \nAnd I knew he was talking to me. \nI took a seat by his side and, him, still closed-eyed, and with a peaceful voice murmured “I’m ready”, \nI’ve had so many people ask me for the same thing, but this time it was almost beautiful. \nI slowly took his hand, with the sweetness of two lovers about to dance a piece, and guided him towards the end of the pier. \nTurned his back to the ocean and looked up at the sky. Yeah he wasn’t alone. \nBurst of laughter came out of the man while he let himself go backwards, still holding my hand. And the fall felt longer than it was. But that was a good thing. \nJust when his body was about to hit the ocean, I pulled his soul onto my body. Where it snuggled, and finally slept."
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[WP] an evil spirt has been connected to you since you were born, that no one else can see. It doesn’t do or say much, but when you get extremely angry, it can possess your body and when it does it wreaks havoc.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I exhale as I turn down the side street, steeling my nerves. I always hate coming here. The looks I get are always... hungry, in more ways than one. But Ziti gets what Ziti wants, so here I am, delving into the depths of the city for some back-alley Chinese food. \n\nI’ll never understand why my master likes this particular stall so much. One food cart is as shit as the rest in this stinking city. Who knows, maybe the lingering taint of human misery makes it taste better to demons. \n\nYeah, that’s probably why. \n\nI crane my neck back, catching a glimpse of swirling pink clouds through a tiny gap between the towering mega buildings. I let out a frustrated little sigh; what I wouldn’t give to be out there, beyond the domes, flying through the gas. \n\nI force myself back to the present. No time to have your head in the clouds in a place like this. \n\nThe archway denoting the entrance to Chinatown looms before me, flickering unpleasantly as its neon decoration struggles to stay alight. Chinese characters dance across the arch in sequence, spelling out an ad or maybe the neighborhood name. \n\nI put my fists into my sweater pockets, right hand closing around my keys. I fiddle with the ring, slipping each key between my fingers to form a makeshift knuckle duster. It might not help too much in an actual scrap, but I feel better just knowing I have something sharp in my hands. \n\nIt doesn’t take long before I hear my first catcall. \n\n“Hey, girlie, you lost? Or you just looking for a good time?”\n\nI ignore the speaker, resisting the urge to flip him the bird. \n\n“‘Ey! I’m talkin’ to you!”\n\n*Don’t look back. He’ll give up. Don’t acknowledge it.*\n\nSuddenly, his voice is right behind me. \n\n“It’s rude to ignore people, you know.”\n\nBefore I can react, his hands close like a vice around my neck. I gasp, dropping my keys and reaching for his tree trunk arms. I step back and twist, trying to loose his fingers from my throat, but his grip is like iron. He chuckles, and tightens his fingers. Panic grips my heart as my airflow is suddenly cut off, and I desperately try to free myself. My elbow comes arcing back, aiming for his solar plexus, but only hits a ballistic vest. He laughs again. \n\nMy vision is tunneling fast. I can’t breathe. I’m panicking. I weakly beat on his forearms, my strength rapidly evaporating as my brain drops everything except for *”air, now!”*\n\nI feel something other than panic grip my heart. \n\n*No...*\n\nIt slithers, extending through my body. I can feel it wriggling under my skin, reaching out to my extremities. \n\n*No, Ziti, not now... please...*\n\nI hear a light, tinkling laugh echoing though my head. \n\n*”Not now? You’re joking, right? C’mon, scootch over and let me take the wheel.”*\n\n*I can... handle... this... on my own...*\n\n*”You’re almost unconscious already, dumbass. Plus, you know it’s easier on both of us if you give me control. I’m literally trying to save your life here.”*\n\nI mentally resist for a moment more, then sigh. I release my mental blocks, and immediately feel Ziti’s being course through my body. My muscles flare with newfound strength, and I easily rip my assailant’s arms away from my neck. Keeping hold of his left wrist, my right elbow snaps up and cracks him in the jaw. I winced as a sharp pain in my right hand announces itself. I glance down to see my hand rapidly morphing into a wicked-looking talon, replete with dagger-sharp claws. I spin to the left, still holding his arm, and twist hard. He roars in pain and shoves his arm down, breaking my grip. I back away and suddenly notice our height difference. I’m now a full head taller than him. Glancing down, I see my feet extending out of my shoes, lengthening into digigrade. \n\nMy teeth ache. Running my tongue across them, I feel that they’ve sharpened into fangs. I admire my new claw, and laugh. It is not my usual, polite laugh, but a hoarse and unforgiving cackle. I hear myself speak. \n\n“Oh-hoho MAN! It’s been SO LONG since she’s let me out like this!”\n\nMy legs itch. Glancing down, I see that my pants are starting to rip, curly black hair poking through the seams. My feet have completely destroyed my shoes, and are now a beautiful pair of cloven hooves. I feel a new weight on my head, and I know I’m sprouting horns. \n\nI hear a scream, and remember my would-be assailant. Glancing down, I see him scrambling backwards away from me. I bound towards him with a stupid grin plastered across my face, reaching for his throat with my talon. My vision is starting to fade, tunneling away in a cloud of red mist. The last thing I see before blacking out completely is my talon closing around the terrified man’s neck, and feeling the warm gush of blood running down my arm. \n\nI come to with a start. \n\nI’m in my shower, leaning against the fogged-up glass. My mouth tastes metallic and I spit in disgust, the red glob landing next to the drain. It mixes in with a swirling pool of blood and curly black hair. \n\nI suddenly feel an overwhelming feeling of guilt propagating from the back of my mind. I lean my head back against the glass and groan. \n\n“Alright, Ziti. Out with it. How many people did I eat?”"
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[WP] After “The Incident”, you gained the ability to join in on people’s dreams and talk with them. Using this ability, you became one of the best therapists out there, able to see people for who they truly are. One day, a rich man comes in asking you to do this to his girlfriend for $5,000,000.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Dr. Kennel looks around him. It’s a clear day, and the small town is bustling. From across the street, he spots Amelia sitting alone in a cafe. After assessing the traffic, he walks over and sits across from her. \n\n“Are you the therapist Joel talked about?”\n\n“I am, Dr. Henry Kennel. This is a very quiet dream.”\n\n“Yeah, I’m meeting Joel for coffee. It’s one of our favorite date spots.”\n\n“Hmm, I see. I think Joel might be running late though there was a problem at work.”\n\nSure enough, Amelias phoned dinged in her pocket. She smiled and picked up her coffee.\n\n“Impressive Doctor.”\n\n“Oh that’s nothing. So Joel says he’s been having a harder time communicating with you. He says it seems like somethings wrong but you just play it off.”\n\nShe grips the handle of her cup a little harder. Dr. Kennel makes a mental note of the gesture.\n\n“Yeah, I’m just so tired from school, I just have like no energy when I get home. “\n\n“I see, we’ll surely that’s something you could talk about with Joel is it not?”\n\n“Well..yeah.”\n\n“Is there something else wrong? Maybe something with Joel?”\n\n“No, I love Joel and he’s a great guy, really caring, and a heck of a father.”\n\n“You have kids? How old?”\n\n“Step-daughter actually, Joel was married briefly before we met. She just turned eight.”\n\n“Wow, do you two get along?”\n\n“Yeah we get along great. His ex-wife and I have a pretty decent relationship too.” \n\n“I see, so no trouble at home?”\n\n“None…”\n\n“Hmm, I’d love to see a picture of your step-daughter if you wouldn’t mind, I have a couple kids myself. “\n\nDr.Kennel notices the sudden change of expression and loss of color. He notices her eyes have dimmed a little as well. \n\n“Um yeah sure…”\n\nAmelia feels both pockets before fishing her wallet out of the left one. She opens it and stares blankly at it. From where he’s sitting Dr. Kennel can see a family picture clear as day but Amelia seems unsure. \n\n“How are your eyes Amelia?”\n\n“…what?”\n\n“Your eyes, are you have if trouble with your eyes?”\n\n“No of course not…I think I see Joel.”\n\n“Where?”\n\n“Right…right…right…”\n\nHer facade breaks and tears begin streaming down her cheeks. She drops her wallet and puts her head in her arms.\n\n“You bastard.”\n\n“I’m sorry Amelia.”\n\nHe reaches out and rubs her shoulder. After a few minutes, her crying slows and she looks back up. \n\n“I’m sorry Doctor, you’re just doing your job.”\n\n“Don’t worry about it Amelia, I pushed a little too hard.”\n\nHe holds her hand as she wipes away tears. \n\n“I’m going blind. The doctors say they caught it too late to fix it, I’ll be blind by the time I’m thirty five…I’m so scared.”\n\n“Losing something like that is terrifying Amelia. But if you talk to Joel-“\n\n“It’s Joel I’m scared of…I don’t want to be a burden. I don’t want him to stop loving me!”\n\nShe begins crying again, harder then before. Dr. Kennel walks around the table and hugs her…\n\nDr. Kennels eyes slowly flicker open and he finds himself back in his office, Joel kneeling next to a still sleeping Amelia. \n\n“Is everything ok Doctor you were in there for couple hours?”\n\nAmelias eyes slowly open next.\n\n“I got to the root of her recent isolation but it’s not my place to discuss it with you. I’m sorry, I took an oath and this is really something you and her need to discuss.”\n\n“Joel?”\n\nAmelia slowly sits up. \n\n“I’m here baby. Whatever’s wrong you know you can talk to me about it, please I want to help…”\n\nAmelias eyes begin to well again and she throws her arms around Joel.",
"The plane had crashed. Hailey was surrounded by fire, burning wreckage, and mangled bodies. I could tell who she was both because she matched her boyfriend's description, tall and blonde and bombshell beautiful; and because she was the only passenger who was moving.\n\n\"You're dreaming.\" I caught her eye and smiled gently. \"None of this is real.\"\n\nHer lower lip trembled. \"I know. But I have to find my little nephew.\"\n\n\"What's his name?\"\n\n\"Ben.\"\n\nAs soon as she said the word, a firefighter in bunker gear put a squirmy, dirty, and very much alive infant in Hailey's arms.\n\n\"Oh, he's a little itty bitty!\" I smiled brightly and waved at the little guy. \"Let's go somewhere nicer, like...a coffee shop!\"\n\nInstantly, we were in a dark, moody coffee house.\n\n\"A fun one, with toys.\"\n\nThe room brightened to reveal giant plastic blocks, tummy time mats, rattles, and balls. Ben squealed with delight.\n\n\"Wait, are you making my dream lucid?\" She asked.\n\n\"Yep. I can do that. Set Ben down so we can drink some coffee.\"\n\nHailey put Ben down on a mat, with plenty of fun toys within reach. Ben grabbed a rattle and shoved it in his mouth.\n\n\"That was stressful!\" Hailey pushed her hair out of her face. \"I always have plane crash dreams when I'm stressed, but never that bad. And never with Ben. That just makes the whole thing so much scarier.\"\n\n\"What are you so stressed out about?\" I took a sip of coffee. It was perfect.\n\n\"My master's program. And the fact that Chris wants me to drop out of my master's program.\"\n\n\"Oh yeah? What are you studying?\"\n\n\"Chemistry. I'm stuck on a problem that's been messing me up for weeks, Chris broke my phone because I was texting a lab mate who's a guy, and the hours are killing me. But there's nothing I can do with a bachelor's degree in chemistry! Even our research assistants have master's degrees.\"\n\n\"So Chris either thinks you're cheating or thinks you would, even though you're not and you wouldn't.\"\n\n\"See, you get it!\" Hailey laughed. \"He keeps threatening to hire a PI. I keep threatening to bore the PI to death.\"\n\nI felt a tiny kick on my leg. Ben had rolled from back to front, and was now flailing his limbs every which way.\n\n\"Oh, is being a baby just so confusing? You'll get the hang of it, little man!\" Hailey reached down and slid a couple different toys over to Ben.\n\n\"You're a natural.\"\n\nHailey rolled her eyes. \"That's what Chris says. He wants me to drop out so we can get married and I can start having babies.\"\n\nI couldn't hold it in any longer. \"Hailey, listen. Chris paid me five million dollars to infiltrate your dreams and figure out what's wrong with you--his words, not mine. He wants to marry you and start a family with you. I came into this expecting the worst from what he told me and how he endeared himself to me.\"\n\n\"What did he tell you?\" She asked.\n\n\"That he's in love with you and wants to start a family, but he's worried that you're not completely on board. He wants me to convince you, which I'm not gonna do.\"\n\nBen let out a couple whimpers and grunts. Hailey picked him up. \"I gotcha, Ben.\" She turned back to me. \"Is he gonna be mad that you didn't? Or take your money?\"\n\n\"It doesn't matter.\" I lied. It mattered a lot, and I hoped my contract was unassailable. \"Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with someone who breaks your things and tries to convince you to derail your life's plans? Do you know how much worse this could get and how much harder it'll be to get away when you have kids?\"\n\nAgain, Hailey's lower lip trembled and her eyes welled up with tears.\n\n\"If you're looking for a sign, this is it,\" I said. \"Use a classmate's phone to call Ben's mom for help.\"\n\nTears tumbled from her eyes. \"I don't deserve it, I've only seen Ben twice since he's been born since Chris doesn't let me go see family without him and he never wants to go...\"\n\n\"You *do* deserve it, and your family is waiting for you with open arms. Hand me your phone, please. It works in this dream.\"\n\nHailey handed over the phone. \n\nI scrolled through her texts. Near the bottom, there was a text from an Emmy. Emmy said, \"Ben smiled for the first time today! Never knew how much that would mean until I became a mom.\"\n\nI pulled up that contact's information, including the phone number.\n\n\"Hailey, you can't bring anything home from this dream on your person, but you can memorize it. Memorize Emmy's number now. Call her tomorrow. You deserve a good life.\""
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[WP] The zombie apocalypse has arrived. (Un)fortunately humans seem to be the only species outright immune to the virus.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I inhale sharply and the strong scent of gunpowder rushes to my head. The occasional crack of rifles tolling along the firing line is playing havoc with the dull ache of an oncoming migraine. \"I need mags!\" It seems like this is the umpteenth time I've yelled this phrase today but now, there's no response.\n\nI make do with peripheral vision to peek at my sides, careful not to take my focus completely away from the tree line in front of me. Through the corner of my vision I see bodies, some human but most not - many of the corpses look mangled, torn, and bloody. \"Fuck!\" I exhale as I begin to slowly walk backwards. Squatting down I rummage through the corpses, after all, without ammo I won't be far from joining these poor bastards in the grave. It's not long into my little scavenging expedition when a large shadow begins to break through the tree line, followed by a roar.\n\nGrandma K used to always say, \"Don't romanticize disaster Mike.\" I loved her for it as much as I thought she was a little ol' crazy lady at the time. \"It's just a movie or a game grandma!\" I'd reply. I often remember thinking that humans are nothing if not for their basic needs. Food, water, shelter, entertainment - and what better way to stay entertained than disaster?\n\nThere were countless forms of media about nuclear winter, pandemics, meteors, zombies, and numerous other imaginings that were no less lethal and final. It really seems like a long unfulfilled wish come true that humanity would go out with bangs and whimpers to one of these scenarios. It's not quite as we had envisioned though, no. It's not man shaped creatures with insatiable hunger that you have to deal with in this horrific new world. The real nightmares are the animals, both big and small.\n\nI don't know where or how it all started exactly. One minute I'm on the couch watching the news, eating cheese puffs, and then the next there's a video of some girl screaming \"Stop! Snookums stop!\" as she's ripped to shreds by her mutt. It didn't take long before there was a collective recognition of animals becoming the equivalent of zombies. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, humanity didn't seem to be susceptible to any such infections.\n\nWhile humanity didn't need to worry about infection, it suffered from something else entirely. The sheer ferocity of a hungry, chaotic animal kingdom. Never in our wildest dreams did we think hordes of dogs, cats, pigs, cows, rodents, and everything in-between would drown cities and backwoods towns in blood and bits. Even animals that weren't predatory found ways to kill. It took 3 days from the time of the first report until I encountered the infected up close.\n\nGrandma and I were toiling about in the garden when we heard an almost scratching, screeching like noise coming from the other side of the wooden privacy fence. Turned out it was a swarm of rats that tunneled underneath on the hunt for a snack. It was at that point I learned the scariest animals aren't the lone hunters or strays. No, it's the swarms. Not much more than 15 minutes went by before bones were all that was left behind.\n\nIt's been 2 weeks since hell was unleashed on the world. The small pockets of survivors, including myself have learned that we simply have no time to grieve let alone contemplate a way out of this mess. It's not like the movies where someone swoops in to save the day. We're on our own, struggling for every breath, every minute more we're alive. The only consolation is the deterioration of these undead critters seems to be accelerated, there might be hope for them to rot away before we're all dead.\n\nThe roaring intensifies and there are multiple sources. I see them now. Looks like a family of zombie bears, just what I fucking needed. Two big, one small. Fairly decomposed but structurally still deadly it would appear. I eject the empty magazine from my rifle and reload. The survivors around me are all dead and I no longer hear the occasional pop of gunfire in the distance either.\n\nMama and Papa start the charge with little bear trailing behind. The two 400lb hulking undead creatures gunning for their next meal is the priority, little guy is a threat but secondary. I raise the stock of the rifle to my shoulder and take aim. I begin to fire. Things get hazy as I shoot, reload, repeat. I take a claw to the chest and I feel the sticky drip of blood.\n\nThe bears are too close for firearms now. \"Let's die together!\" I scream, unsheathing a long knife as I get ready for one last vindictive strike. As I pull my arm back, ready to thrust, I hear the distinctive sound of automatic fire. I glance to the side quickly and see a rag-tag militia advancing toward me as they unload high velocity carnage on the creatures.\n\nI release a sigh of relief as I watch the last of the bears stop moving. Turning toward my rescuers I notice fatigue and an aura of something unrecognizable. No, I've just forgot the feeling, they have hope. \"Thank you\" I say to them, sizing up the small group. \"No need. You only have yourself to thank for holding out so far.\" one of the men says. He continues, \"Why don't you join up with us? We're heading north. Got a lead on a community up that way. Supplies, numbers, and defensible encampments enough to hold out until this blows over.\"\n\nThe man holds his hand out to me in an inviting manner. I look on somewhat blankly, digesting what I've just learned. A community? Sounds too good to be true. In just two short weeks society collapsed and all that was left were a few patches of survivors but, what if it's real? I take but a moment before I shake his hand. \"I look forward to seeing it.\"",
"‘I hate the birds the most’, she said looking out over the park.\r \n‘I can live with the birds, it’s the squirrels that I really hate’.\r \nShe grunted in agreement. ‘Have you ever seen an elephant one?’\r \n‘No way. That’s not true’.\r \n‘Cross my heart and hope to die. Me and dad went to the zoo a week after the whole thing started, the elephants had gone full Z, same as the baboons.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Not the giraffes though.’\r \n‘You’re saying you saw zombie elephants and zombie baboons? That’s gross’.\r \nThey shuffled around on the bench, trying to get more comfortable.\r \n‘I wonder, why not humans? I’d have thought where the baboons went so did we’.\r \n‘Yeah, but it’s a virus though. It mutates. Maybe once it’s done with all the chickens it’ll come for the cats, or us’.\r \nSuddenly, they had to duck, as two pigeons fell from the sky locked together in a fight to the death, before fleeing at the sight of one pigeon, its feathers torn and missing a foot, madly pecking at the others head, soft brain splashing on the brown park bench below it.",
"Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.\n\nIt was a mantra I lived by, though I would admit that like very many other people, there was nothing but fear in my heart during the zombie apocalypse, when every soul on Earth thought we were going to die. After all, humanity as a species was getting much too familiar with animals passing on diseases onto the Homo sapiens populace.\n\nBut it was difficult--as always--to prevent greed from snaking its way into my ventricles. It was just strange for the world to constantly doom scroll through the entire internet, searching for its first human case and ready to escape into apocalypse bunkers--but none came. Zombie dogs, zombie cats, and of course, zombie kangaroos--but no zombie people.\n\nWe were immune. Strangely, and utterly immune. Scientists scrambled to find a reason, while I hastened myself towards a capitalistic opportunity. When you knew you were completely safe, zombie beavers just become so much less scary, you know? Turns out, it was much easier to lead a zombie horse to water.\n\nLike Noah, I rounded up (unlive) animals--though my avarice didn't allow me to stop at two.\n\nAnd honestly, yes, I did get a few bites here and there. But their gums were so gummy, and teeth so rotten, that they barely hurt! You wouldn't catch me dead (heh) trying to herd a live lion, but a zombie one? Piece of cake?\n\nAnd as I marvelled at my own sempiternal intellect, I brushed off the new sign that I had just ordered.\n\n> Zombie Petz -- No life, no food, no refunds!\n\nLook, your kids can't keep a goldfish alive? There's no need to worry with a zombie goldfish, you know?\n\n---\n\nr/dexdrafts",
"What goes up must come down.\n\nGiven the virulence of the virus, it was remarkable that humanity made it nearly 8 hours before being completely overwhelmed by every other creature on earth.\n\nAnyone caught in the open air was immediately swarmed by infected animal species. Flocks of sparrows became a death sentence. Packs of rodents flooded car engines and feasted on the trapped humans inside. An undead kraken (those were real the whole time apparently) surfaced to drag sailors to their watery graves.\n\nWhat was left of the world's governments sheltered underground for almost 4 hours undetected before the virus infected most ant species, after which time no shelter was safe on the planet. Once humanity was wiped from the Earth, the infected animals resumed their normal behavior. \n\nI'm the only person left as far as I can tell. I was lucky enough to be in orbit when the disaster hit. My experimental module was designed to see how long I can last up here, but it was never meant to work indefinitely. Earth, once humanities cradle, is now both our grave and my inevitable destination.\n\nWe thought we were above the food chain, above the environment, above nature itself.\n\nWhat goes up must come down."
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[WP] Known as the Cartoon Killer, he is an assassin who only kills using over the top cartoon slapstick. Anvils, fake tunnels painted on walls, oversized slingshots, he does it all. His target this time? A savvy animation expert who owes money to the mob.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Tim Mackenzie was a shy, balding man of 23 who had an exaggerated swagger that rendered moot any and all intentions of drawing focus away from himself. His speech was stilted, awkward, and had an inflection just comical enough to make him better fitted for Saturday morning television rather than part-time employment at a run-down sandwich shop, which is all that the world had appeared to deem him good for.\n\nAs a young boy born into affluence, all of his needs and desires were naturally met save for the genuine love and affection of his parents, who believed generously supplying him with the latest trends to be a viable substitute for raising him into a functioning member of society. He was, therefore, resigned to spend most of his leisurely time engaged in his various creature comforts, chief among which were a big, flat-screen television which ceaselessly played the dumb cacophonies of sound and color that had come to be known as the sworn enemy of productivity and sleeping neighbors. Habitually being inclined to imitate them, his childish antics took on a far darker turn. Toy guns had become pistols, makeshift rope from old suspenders had been fashioned into nooses, and bananas had begun to play a concerningly prominent role in his sporadic diet. Thus was born the Cartoon Killer, a name that struck fear into the hearts of authorities and put cash into the hands of documentarists, who were beginning to fear that they had run out of classic American nutcases to write about.\n\nThe criminal underworld soon began to recognize the name, and his services were solicited by all those who wanted an undesirable or two silenced. Forever. The story was always the same: an anvil dropped from the ceiling, a gun skillfully maneuvered into a sandwich bag. There was spectacle to be sure, but the sameness of the whole thing had begun to weigh on Mackenzie's need for excitement, and he had no reason to believe this mission would be any different.\n\nHe tiptoed slyly into the office, strategically placing banana peels in the routes of security guards. His target was one he had known: George Littleman, a prominent cartoonist whose works he was well acquainted with and had imitated on many occasions in the past. This put a smile to his face. He would beat an old idol at his own game, relishing in his anguished cries as he became ensnared in the trap that he had unknowingly set for himself many years before.\n\nComposing himself, he calmly walked up to the aging artist and tapped him on the back, being met with a blank, unassuming stare. He savored the expression on his face. He did not know what was about to come. Slowly, confidently, he held out a stick of dynamite and lit the fuse, extending his arm out in offer. *This is the end*, he thought.\n\nMuch to his surprise, his victim only smiled. With an air of satisfaction, he closed his eyes and slipped away, hands in his pockets. Mackenzie was confused. What was the meaning of this? In all of his years, not one had evaded him so intelligently and with such adherence to common sense. Then, the sight of the fuse nearly reaching its end brought forth a sudden recognition of his own position, eliciting a single phrase. A short, universal utterance that warned of misfortune and consequence in the face of failure.\n\n\"Uh-oh.\"",
"'It makes me sick!' The Chief spits, slamming his hands down onto the desk. 'He's not just killing these people, he's practically joking around about it!' \n\nMe and my partner had just come back from another crime scene. When they were his, believe me you knew. It wasn't ever a normal body; on this job you get used to death. For better or worse, the days when I would have to pull over on the way back to the station and take a breath, or sometimes let go of held back tears, stopped a long time ago. But this guy- this sick, dangerous criminal- his bodies weren't even recognisably human sometimes.\n\nOn one occasion I remember arriving to the sight of nothing but a torso with an anvil to it's side, an explosion of crimson pooled beneath it, littered with shredded pieces of what was once someone's face. \n\nAnother time, just when I thought I'd started to learn what to expect from him, he pulled off another cartoon classic: Me and my partner arrived at the scene to see nothing more than a block of metal, shards of glass glittering on the concrete around it, almost attached to a sheer cliffside with a tunnel painted onto it. Somehow his methods were more brutal than even the worst of the killers I'd encountered in my career; something about having to wonder which of my childhood cartoon's memories would be defaced each time I got the call that he'd struck again had started to get to me.\n\nAn angry grunt from the Chief, sat fuming at his desk while I sand across from him, pulls me out of those terrible memories. \n\nGood. \n\nI can't afford to dwell on them too much.\n\n'What have you got detective?' he says, picking up once again the almost empty report on his desk.\n\n'Nothing. This guys a ghost- and that's only for the times he's done the dirty work himself- there's not much evidence to find when he doesn't need to be near the scene of the crime. We still have nothing for the tunnel.' I respond. Quietly. He expects the answer, but it doesn't do anything to soothe his reaction.\n\n'That's not good enough! Who knows what this maniac will do next?' he spits.\n\nAs if it had heard us, the telephone starts to ring. 'This bastard even had the cliches of a cartoon working for him' I think to myself, but I know better than to say anything while the chief picks up the phone to respond.\n\n'What is it?' he says gruffly, his voice betraying the suspicion I think we both have- that as if in response to our conversation- he'd killed again.\n\nHis eyes widen.\n\n'ACME Tnt? How much of it?'\n\nI'm halfway to the squad car."
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[WP] You are committed to making sure all the animals in your shelter are adopted. Not even the continued apocalypse has stopped you from getting your many fur pals a good forever home.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"A-are y-you sure she's ready to be ad-dopted?\"\n\n\"Of course!\" Jenny said with cheer, \"She's fully house trained. You don't have to worry about her using the bathroom inside the house or scratching furniture!\"\n\nThe man looked the 3 meter tall 'dog' up and down and gulped.\n\n\"T-that's not what I'm worried about...\"\n\n\"Oh. She's great with kids.\"\n\n\"Are you sure?\"\n\n\"Well, she sometimes get's a bit excited and swallows them, but just give her a few taps on her stomach and she'll spit them right out.\n\n\"You're a good girl aren't you!\" Jenny said while rubbing the slobbering monster's head.\n\nThe 'dog' glared and snarled at her but didn't do anything other than look extremely reluctant to be pet.\n\n\"I-i think we aren't f-financially ready for a pet.\"\n\n\"That's a shame. Susie is so nice. But it's okay, don't forget to consider us if your situation changes!\"\n\n\"S-sure.\" The man quietly mumbled before running out the door.\n\nJennie glared at Susie.\n\n\"You better behave nicer, or else you'll be stuck here forever.\"\n\nThe 'dog' glanced out the door, signalling that she'd be more than happy to leave on her own.\n\n\"No can do,\" Jenny said while tapping her nose, drawing another angry snarl, \"How can I let you go on the street, all on your own, completely defenseless!\"\n\n\"Don't worry. We'll find the perfect family for you,\" She said reassuringly while forcing the 'dog' into a hug. She snarled, growled, and eventually whined but knew full well, there was no escape.\n\nShe would be adopted...\n\nOr *else*."
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[WP] You're a boring old normal wizard in a family of magical girls and superheroes. Their ideas about wizards are all incorrect, but they can't be convinced that is so.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“John, where have you hidden my staff this time?” I asked.\n\n“Don’t know what you’re talking about” he replied, whilst casually making a column of water rise out of the jug on the table and pour into his glass.\n\n“Yeah right you don’t! I have seven brothers and sisters and you are the only one who still hides it as an adult.”\n\n“I guess the older ones don’t care as much about you as I do.”\n\n“Aha! So you did hide it!”\n\nHe took a slow drink from his glass.\n“I didn’t say that. I implied that I care the most about your development. That’s a good thing.”\n\n“I’m plenty developed. Ask anyone in town who the best wizard around here is and you know they’ll say me.”\n\n“Sure, of course they would.”\n\n“Thank-“\n\n“But I also bet most of them wonder why out the whole family you’re the only one who’s not a superhero”\n\n“Not in here.”\n\n“What?”\n\n“We’re not having this conversation in here.”\n“Fine.”\n\nHe downed his drink and I stepped back to allow him to lead the way out of the room. Walking into the next room he stopped by an armchair in the corner and gestured at the other seats as he sat down. I stood. \n\n“Why do you all make a thing out of me being a wizard instead of a superhero? Because it’s different? Because -“\n\n“-because we worry you’re not being everything you could be”\n\n“Or everything you think I should be”\n\n“Look it’s a pretty fine line really. You can do magic stuff with your staff, but I can control water, Steph can control fire; you don’t need me to go on, the point is we all control our power without a staff or anything.”\n\n“We don’t all have to work the same way”\n\n“Remember uncle Mike?”\n\n“Flying power.”\n\n“Flying power, exactly. Always used to wear a cape - said he couldn’t fly without it. What happened when that guy with the jet pack pulled uncle Mike’s cape off in mid air?”\n\n“He flew”\n\n“He flew! Yes, he-“\n\n“Flew into the ground”\n\n“It was a mountain, you make it sound like he fell. If anything the ground came up to him.”\n\n“He wasn’t able to control his flight without it.”\n\n“I’m trying to say that maybe you just think you need the staff. You have to see how far you can get by yourself.”\n\n“John”\n\n“Yeah?”\n\n“I told you that.”\n\n“What?”\n\n“‘You have to see how far you can get by yourself’. You were eleven I think. You still had those ‘water control’ arm bands. I told you that, you tried without them, and now look where you are”\n\n“I forgot.”\n\n“Don’t worry about it. Listen, I know fine well that not everything I do for people needs the staff. Not everyone appreciates the subtle stuff though - they need to see the sparks, hear the bangs; and sometimes,” - I smiled and reached behind the chair John had sat in - “something a little more is required.”\n\n“Don’t point that thing at me! If you turn me into a frog again I’ll -“\n\n“- have totally deserved it. Don’t worry: you’ve got stuff to do I’m sure - I know I’ve got an important person to see at nine.”\n\nJohn’s shoulders relaxed again.\n\n“See you later” I said as I turned and, with only a slight flap of my cape, walked into an entirely different room in an entirely different building. Time to get to work."
] | 2
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[WP] A fiancée hears a knock on her cottage door. Her visitor is an undead knight, claiming to be her bethrothed, who had fallen in battle.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The knock upon my door was heavy, though as I opened the door the stench felt heavier still. The ill smelling visitor clad in metal looked back at me through his visor, or at least I felt his eyes upon me. \r \n\r \n*“Elizabeth, may I come in?”* Came a voice familiar but misplaced, as this voice carried not a light and happy air but seemed more grave and forlorn. I do not know if it was out of pity that I opened my door, but as I made way the sound of his boots hit heavy upon the floor. The figure stood there, still for a minute, as I stood not wanting to close the door. \r \n\r \n*“I never wanted to see you hurt”* Those words struck me as much as it struck down the silence in the air. “I did not wish to leave you; leave you to wonder” It felt as if each word that came from him was made with effort, I would have grown nearer to him to hear him better but fear kept me holding to the door. \r \n\r \n*“Your love, your affection, it meant everything”* The sound of his voice shook me still, my countenance growing pallor with each word. He stood there still, a statue of a man, as if speaking itself took too much exertion \r \n\r \nI was taken aback, startled when the figure began to move. One hand reached for the other, removing the gauntlet he wore upon his left hand. My own hand moving with haste to stifle the gasp as I reacted to what I can only confess seemed to be that of a leper or some other disease-ridden body near full decay. Soon the fingers worked delicately to remove a simple silver ring from one of the fingers. I don’t know if it was out of kindness or simply to conserve what energy this figure had left, but I was thankful as it laid the ring upon the table instead of attempting to hand it to my person. As I stood there, the door propping me up, the figure turned and walked to the door.\r \n\r \n*“I will love you still, as I did before, as I will, as I have. Always.”* \r \n\r \nIt was a while before I gained my composure, a while still more after he left that I finally made way to the table to see the silver wedding band that he laid upon it. I admit, I dropped it shortly after it made its way into my hands. For seeing the inscription rang true what my mind had told me long before, what my heart refused to. And with that ring, I soon was wed to the man whose soft and airy voice brought me such happiness, to whom I gave all my love and made light his world."
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[WP] A first person horror story where it gets progressively clearer that the protagonist is the psycho
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Hey! Wait up!” I called but they were too far ahead of me to hear. Soon my friends were out of sight, their forms enveloped in a sinister mist. I stopped to catch my breath. It was supposed to be a fun weekend away from school. Something to take our minds off of exams and papers and GPAs. How had it all gone so wrong?\r \n\r \n“They know I have asthma,” I mumbled to myself as I pulled out my inhaler. It had become painfully apparent that my so-called friends weren’t really my friends at all. They just wanted to mooch off my uncle’s summer home.\r \n\r \nI looked into the fog. It was hot but damp and my clothes clung, sweat-laden, to my skin.\r \n\r \n“Hello?” I screamed. “Guys? Where are you?”\r \n\r \nNo response. The trees around me rustled in the howling wind. I rolled my shoulders back. It was going to be a long night.\r \n\r \n“Please guys, this isn’t funny! Where are you?”\r \n\r \nI scowled at the desperation in my voice. I was helpless. Pathetic. I was clearly nothing to them. And yet, I craved their company. Their attention. Fuck.\r \n\r \nI took my glasses off and cleaned them on my shirt. The humidity was nearly unbearable. How I yearned to be back to the day before. On the lake. Surrounded by friends and beers and barbeque. It had been so much simpler. Now, nothing would ever be the same. How could we ever go back?\r \n\r \nI stomped through the woods, my shoes sinking into the muddied ground. I cursed under my breath as I continuously slipped on wet leaves. \r \n\r \n“Come on guys, I’m freaking out here. Let’s just go back to the cabin.”\r \n\r \nSilence once again. Had they already returned to the cabin? Without me? It hadn’t occurred to me. Did they have the keys to the van? Had they abandoned me? How could they? I began to cough raggedly.\r \n\r \n“Shit,” I grumbled as I grabbed my inhaler once more. “This goddamned humidity.”\r \n\r \nSomething moved behind me. I froze.\r \n\r \n“Guys? Is that you? Rick? Andrea?” I called out.\r \n\r \nA branch snapped. I swiveled quickly, tightening my grip around the hatchet in my hand.\r \n\r \nIt was Andrea. She stood, pale as a ghost, only a few feet in front of me. Her brow was dripping sweat and her eyes were filled with terror.\r \n\r \n“Andrea!” I cried out, relieved. “There you are!”\r \n\r \nShe gulped.\r \n\r \n“Jeez, I’ve been looking everywhere for you guys. You know, you sort of left me back there. I’m not mad, just a little spooked.”\r \n\r \nI took a step forward. She bolted. Her petite silhouette zig-zagged into the forest, dodging behind trees and jumping over roots. Gone. I should have known. They never really liked me. In fact, they hated me. They couldn’t even stand to be near me.\r \n\r \nI rubbed my face and looked down at my shirt. A small patch of red had formed where I had cleaned my glasses. That’s too bad, I thought, I liked this shirt. I wiped my now bloodied hand on my chest. Oh well.\r \n\r \nI heaved the hatchet over my shoulder, letting its weight ground me. They were never my friends. I knew that. But I had to be sure. A harmless test. A simple plan. How had it all gone wrong? And so quickly. Fuck. There was no turning back now. It was going to be a long night.",
"My breaths were laboured and quick as my legs carried me through the winding corridors. The scent of disinfect tarnished by a rot that made my stomach turn and nostrils burn and eyes water in addition to my fearful tears. \n\nNo matter where I seemed to go, it was always the same. White corridors with turned over tables and medical instruments littering the floor. Corpses still attached to their IV bags and propped up against the wall, looking up at me as I ran by with a hollow glare. Then there were the creatures chasing me. Following me like the prey they saw me as. In the brief moments I glanced over my shoulder or managed to lean against a wall and suck in some of the disgusting air, I could see them. Humanoid monsters that were now the shreds of their former selves. Their rabid faces that snarled with gnarled brown teeth and had black tongues writhe in their throats. One of them was wielding an instrument I couldn’t fully recognise, but it looked like it could easily hurt, if not, kill me. \n\nI burst through a pair of double doors and took a moment to grasp at my chest through my hospital gown. Brain throbbing against my skull. I frantically looked around the room for somewhere to hide, only to realise I’d cornered myself. I heard their howls in the distance grow closer to my room. Their footsteps scrambling along the floor and incoherent screams mixed between them piercing my ears. *I’m going to die here,* I thought, and rightly so as they began bashing on the door to the room, screeching my name. My full name. How did they know—? \n\nThey busted the door open and two of them pinned me to the ground, trying to soothe me and telling me to stay calm. I fought them and squealed for them to let me go. Begging as one stepped forth with that dreaded instrument: a syringe filled with a clear liquid the creature called “sedative”. He lied when he said it wouldn’t hurt too. It stung and I gritted my teeth as the thin metal slipped past my skin. Almost immediately after I started to feel hazy. My world wobbled and vision blurred, eyelids fluttering as two of the creatures dressed as medical staff hauled me up onto a stretcher and dragged me away. Strapping me down so I couldn’t move. Immediately hooking me up to an IV bag and rolling me through white corridors filled with sickly people in hospital gowns back to the room I had originally fled from."
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[WP] The police have released the long, drawn out letters from a serial killer in hopes someone will recognize patterns or phrases. And you do. Because you read what must be their recipe blog.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Making my usual route through my bookmarks to check daily updates, I briefly pause on the news site I typically read because I noticed something odd. I saw hand writing that looked eerily familiar on a story cover. I clicked, and saw the title *CRAZED KILLER LEAVES LETTERS; PLEASE CALL NYPD WITH ANY INFORMATION* I was slightly taken aback, but since it wasn't near my neighborhood, I wasn't super intrigued. I never liked to look at crime news, as it was always too depressing . Though the handwiritng had looked familiar, I couldn't quite place it. That was until I cheerily opened up my *favorite* recipe blog, the theme of the week being breads. Today's was Irish Soda Bread. I looked down at the picture of the recipe. Hairs stood on the back of my neck. \n\n\"Shit! No way!\" My stomach churned. \"Oh fuck.... Oh bloody goddamned hell what am I going to do..!? \"\n\n\"What's wrong babe?\" My boyfriend came in, very concerned. \n\n\"Huh?\" I turned slowly and nervously to look at him. He saw my computer screen. \n\n\"Is there something wrong with the recipe? \"\n\n\"N... no! Not at all. You did a good job. It's a good recipe. I just remembered, we're out of yeast.\" He narrowed his eyes. \n\n\"That recipe doesn't require yeast.\"\n\nI began to panic I got up, and grabbed my purse. \"Haha, I know, but... It... It's bread week! And if I don't have any yeast, how am I supposed to make bread tomorrow? \" I fumbled for my keys, and dropped them at my feet. He swooped down and grabbed them. I flinched. \n\n\"You sure you're okay?\" His features softened a bit. \n\n\"Yep. Mhm. See you later.\" Quick kiss on the cheek and I was out the door. Even though we lived together, I always read my boyfriends recipe blog. It was my favourite thing to do. They were his great grandmothers recipes. \n\nOnly, the handwiritng of my boyfriend identically matched the ones from the serial killer letters that I had briefly seen on the news site. \n\nI left my building as quickly as I could, and the moment I got on the street, I pulled out my phone and dialed 911. \n\n\"911, please state your emergency.\"\n\n\"My name is Becca Thatcher. I live at 2243 Reynolds Street, in Apt 204 with my boyfriend. I need you to send someone as quickly as possible. I think my boyfriend is--\"\n\n\"Is what, Becca?\" Liam appeared from nowhere behind me. His eyes were angry, but a playful smile danced on his lips. \"Hang up the phone, Becca.\" \n\n\"Send help.... \" I whisper as quietly as possible."
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[WP] The new plan to catch the crime syndicate is to give them pens with hidden microphones inside. Making the pens is the easy part, convincing someone to use one is the hard one. Go sell those pens.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"He wants to sell what?\" The mob boss sounded angry and amused at the same time.\n\n\"Pens boss.\" The doorman said blandly\n\nJohn walked in trying to stay calm \"I know you are busy so I will keep this brief.\"\n\n\"Listen, do you know whos office you just walked into?\" The boss still had that angry amused look but he was leaning a little more towards angry now.\n\n\"Yeah, you are the CEO of the waste management team here right?\" John knew damn well this was the head of one of the largest families in Chicago but he had to maintain his cover.\n\n\"Ha! Get a load of this guy! Can't tell if you are dumb or pulling my leg. I will tell you what kid...\" The boss was interrupted by gunfire in the background. \"What the hell is that? Is that what I think it is?\" The boss yelled grabbing a gun from under his desk.\n\n*Oh crap, not now...is this location really being hit now,* John wondered franticly. John knew if he got caught in the middle of a firefight he would probably be dead because he had to leave his weapons behind. What kind of pen salesman carried Glock 22?\n\nAs John was weighing his options the doors behind him burst open and 3 men with guns burst through.\n\n\"Hands up you pieces of crap or ain't nothing coming up from you ever again!\" One of the men said in a high-pitched squeaky voice.\n\n\"Vinny the rat.\" The boss said looking more annoyed than worried at this point as he slowly put down his gun.\n\n\"You thought you could put a hit on me, boss?\" The squeaky-voiced guy named Vinny looked at the boss angrily.\n\n\"Listen *rat*, we got rules. You break them you get whacked. Don't think just because you got a gun on me I'm going to make excuses!\" The boss spat at Vinny.\n\nJohn knew he had to do something fast but what could he possibly do without a weapon against 3 armed men?\n\n\"Time to die boss. But first, you can watch your men die. Then you die, slowly.\" Vinny turned and put his gun to the doorman's head. *Bam*, just like that he was dead. \"Always hated him.\" Vinny said as he spat on the doormans corpse.\n\n\"Who the hell are you?\" Vinny asked looking at John.\n\n\"I sell pens. Listen, I don't belong here. I just came to sell pens to feed my 4 boys at home and my wife. I...\"\n\n\"Shut up!\" Vinny interrupted John putting his gun to his head. \"Let's see these *pens*.\" Vinny laughed in his high squeaky voice.\n\n\"Okay, I'm reaching into my pocket to get one, don't shoot.\" John slowly pulled out a pen. \"Want to see something really cool?\" John asked seeing Vinny relax as bit as he saw the pen.\n\n\"Haha, you got some balls kid. Go ahead and show me something cool, before you die.\" Vinny sneared.\n\n\"Look here, you ever see a pen with a diamond tip?\" John held up the pen to give Vinny a closer look. *Please have a damn gun ready back there* John thought.\n\n\"What the hell kind of pen...\" As Vinny looked closer at the pen John stabbed it down into Vinny's eye as hard as he could. \"Ahhhhhhhhhh...\" Vinny screamed falling to his knees.\n\nJohn wasted no time. He dived out the door as gunfire erupted and ran for the exit. He ran out jumping over dead bodies and got in his car and sped away as he called in to tell his superiors how south things went.\n\nAfter several long months, the mob boss survived and would only use John's pen. He must have told the story a million times how the pen salesman saved his life and disappeared. They finally had enough to charge him with enough to lock him up for life. John wanted to be in on the bust."
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[WP] A plane crashes into a river near a small town. Upon investigation, however, no flights are missing or reported any mayday...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Brookstone stared at the scattered wreckage which covered the field. He'd seen debris like this before only once but the pattern was unmistakable.\n\nIn a controlled crash it's usually obvious that the pilot tried to intervene. Typically that means a right-side up aircraft. It means deployed landing gear, flaps down. It means the plane ends up in a large empty field or a body of water. In short an incapacitated pilot doesn't touch the controls. Doesn't line up a landing spot, doesn't lower the gear, doesn't slow down before impact. Left to its own devices some planes flip over onto their back. They then lazily turn in ever widening circles until they come in contact with something solid like a tree.\nThat was what happened here: the wing clipped a pine tree and the plane spun out. Indicating a total lack of control by the pilots. The plane had spun out while going at least a hundred miles an hour sending its passengers spewing out in every direction. The engine block had burned to a crisp by the time rescue crews arrived as had the fuselage but a wing and the plane's tail had remained relatively intact. They had sheared off during the crash and landed in an open patch of marsh land.\n\nFrom a cursory examination of the tail and wing he could tell that the controls were intact. This seemed consistent with an incapacitated pilot and crew.\n\nSix passengers were dead and an aircraft destroyed. This was a tragedy certainly, but it didn't seem entirely unusual. Until one began anything deeper than an absolute surface level examination of the facts.\nThat's why Brookstone was here, despite having planned on retiring two weeks ago. Double his normal salary for two years was nice if not a little desperate but he still would have passed on it if it hadn't been so unusual. In forty years of investigating crashes he'd never seen anything like it.\nFive male passengers, each of them weighing approximately 153 pounds, and each of them exactly 5'4\" had been found around the crash site in various states of violence. Two corpses had been found miraculously intact given the circumstances and had been sent for autopsy and identification.\nThe plane had been tracked for 600 nautical miles by military radar as it bobbed and weaved its way across the Pacific. Fighters intercepted it but they received no acknowledgement or radio responses from the crew.\nThe plane had no tail number and no transponder on board. It also lacked any of the usual modern navigational gear.\n\nAfter a thorough search of airport records and flight plans the FAA and the military had come to the conclusion that the plane did not exist in any registry. The CIA confirmed in a memo signed by the director that it did not belong to them and they had no information about its origin. It didn't belong to anyone apparently, not the ATF or the FBI and foreign governments seemed just as clueless.\n\nThere was no black-box. No emergency kit or gear. It seemed everything that should have had a serial number didn't. And none of the parts had clear manufacturing marks.\nSo then it was a mystery.\n\nIf it was drug runners, where were the drugs? If it was a military prototype it was certainly primitive; the plane did not appear particularly advanced. If it was some top secret program then why bring Brookstone in at all? It would have been easy enough to cover up the crash. Here in Alaska especially with the nearest town being more than an hour away by helicopter.\n\nThe military seemed to genuinely want answers. They'd set up a camp to examine the crash site in detail, but so far had discovered nothing of note. No clues to its origin or destination.\nIt was a cold foggy morning when Brookstone emerged from his tent and was handed the coroner's report. He took time to make his coffee before reading it.\nHe started at the summary but before he'd finished it he left his coffee behind and immediately made a bee-line for the commander's tent. \n\n\"Colonel, I think you better read this,\" Brookstone said in disbelief.\nColonel Melvin stood up from his desk, \"This the autopsy?\" He asked.\nBrookstone nodded. \n\nThe Colonel's eyes widened as he read but his surprise seemed subdued somehow. \n\n\"You'd better sit down,\" the Colonel said, \"You commented on the barbed wire when you first arrived, but I wasn't entirely honest. The day before you got here there was an incident involving a man who apparently walked out of the wilderness completely naked. He tried to steal a piece of wreckage. After a chase into the forest he was shot by one of our officers. The coroner processed his body first and provided a report just like this one. These humanoids have a degree of intelligence but lack nervous systems entirely. The Russians have several reports of bodies just like these that were found deep in Siberia in the 30's. They were referred to as polyye muzhchiny which roughly translates to hollow men. You may find this information useful to your investigation but at the end of the day we want your expertise in aircraft investigations and a little bit of discretion.\"\n\n\"Understood,\" Brookstone said.\n\nOn his way back to the mess tent he smiled at Lt. Vera who was carrying a piece of wreckage from the aircraft reconstruction tent.\n\n\"Taking that for an examination?\" he asked.\n\nShe nodded and returned his smile. The yellow tag marking the wreckage fell off as she passed him. Brookstone stooped to pick it up out of the mud and was about to call to her when he saw the knife buried deep in her back. A chill ran down his spine.\n\n\"Hollow men,\" he whispered as she began to sprint towards the treeline."
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[WP] A couple dies together in a disaster, but in the future resurection technology has been perfected and is common place. However they only bring back one as it is illegal to bring back someone with a criminal record.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I clench my fists on top of the counter. I have never been more upset in my life. Second life? \n\n...I've never been more upset in my entire existence.\n\n\n\"...Alison Harper was NOT a CRIMINAL.\" I seethe, staring up into the eyes of the soulless machine receptionist standing at the 'Help Desk'.\n\nThe robot didn't budge. \"I'm afraid the records clearly state otherwise. Two speeding tickets are clearly documented.\"\n\n\nI grit my teeth. It can't be serious.\n\n\"Well, looking around, it looks like you folks don't even drive cars anymore. You can't seriously-\"\n\n\"And one count aggravated assault.\" The robot interrupts me.\n\n\nI take a deep breath. I can't freak out. Not now.\n\"...That was SETTLED. It was self defense. They said they dropped all the charges! She saved my LIFE. She sped home, and-\"\n\n\"I'm afraid that's not accurate to the record, ma'am. Please proceed to the exit.\"\n\n\"No! I never asked for this! I am telling you, there's been a mistake. If I can be brought back to life, she has every right to come back as well.\"\n\n\"Please proceed to the exit.\" The robot states, monotonously.\n\nI stare at it for a moment more. There's no arguing with this machine.\n\nI deflate bitterly, and storm out the front door.\n\n\n...I never asked to be brought back. Who has the right to decide to only bring 'some' people back?!\nI look down at myself. I look just how I used to, the morning before that sinkhole swallowed the apartment. Like it was some terrible dream. But the entire world around me is different. The city is made of chrome and glass. Ads play on holograms all around me, trying to sell me something that will change the color of strange clothes I don't own.\n\n...And of course, Alison isn't here. Tears sting my eyes as I look up and down the unfamiliar streets, trying to figure out what to do. Those strange doctors told me to go find a job, start a new life.\n\n\nWhy bother if I have to do it without her? She made everything worthwhile. I didn't want anything in life except for her.\n\n...She was a private detective. Surely, some of her friends in the police force were brought back to life? Maybe some lawyers from around that time, that could help dispute this?\n\n... I scoff bitterly, picking a direction to walk - a place to start. That's what she'd always say. Just start. \n\n...I'll figure this out as I go. I'll find a way to prove her innocence. I have to."
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[WP] You die by slipping and hitting your head while attempting to kill a mosquito. Surprisingly enough, your death was ruled as dying by combat and you've consequently been ascended into Valhalla
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Welcome to Valhalla!\" The big bearded man in front of me waved his axe in excitement. He must have been almost twice as tall as me. \"Eh?\" I replied, feeling the back of my head. It felt surprisingly fine. \"You're in Valhalla! You just died in combat!\" The giant wooden doors in front of me looked inviting and I could hear the sound of partying and breaking glass coming from inside. \"Excuse me, did you say Valhalla? Isn't that like, viking heaven?\" The big man groaned \"Look, I know, I know, our religion isn't that popular anymore down there. To summarize: You died heroically in combat, and now you get to party forever here in Valhalla with the other great warriors. Now, let's go!\" He yanked my hand and before I could say anything he dragged me inside.\n\nThe giant room was filled with a huge table topped with the most extravagantly decorated roasts and pies I had ever seen. Dozens of men and women, all equally formidable as my new big friend, were happily chatting, belly laughing and drinking. \"Wow\" I whispered. A giant figure at the end of the table, even taller than the rest stood up. \"Bjorn! A new one? After all these years!\" I looked up to the giant apparently named Bjorn. \"Erik!\" He put his arms up in celebration, lifting me a meter from the ground. \"A new one!\" Everybody at the table looked at me, apparently expecting something. \"Well?\" Erik yelled from the other side. \"Introduce yourself, new one!\"\n\nBjorn put me on the table, and folded his arms. \"Go ahead\" He said. Hundreds of eyes were on me. \"Uh, Hi? I'm Dave?\" It was silent. \"I'm uh, from New York, and I work as, no used to work as a software engineer.\" Someone close to me coughed politely. Bjorn leaned towards me and whispered\" \"Tell us about your battle.\" \"Battle?\" I whispered back. \"Uuugh!\" A voice sneered. A heavily armored woman with two swords on her back pouted her lips. \"It's another one of THEM I bet.\" Half the guests leaned back in their chairs with an annoyed expression. Erik stood up again and made a calming gesture. \"Calm down Helga, let's hear him out.\" Helga rolled her eyes, looked at me and asked \"So 'Dave'... How did you die?\" I guess I could have known back them they weren't going to like my answer, but I just flat out told them \"I think I slipped and hit my head.\"\n\n\"So that's how you got here?\" James asked. \"Pretty much\" I replied, pouring myself a glass of coke. James chuckled. \"Yeah, they're a bunch of hardasses. Constantly bragging about their fights.\" The other lady at the drinks table chimed in \"If you asked me all the people here who battled cancer are twice the heroes they are.\" Some kid I didn't know yet handed me a slice of cake with cream and grinned: \"Did you know Helga died from being stabbed in the ass?\" I couldn't help but laugh. For the first time since entering Valhalla I felt at home. I raised my glass of coke and announced: \"To the kiddy table!\"",
"\"Greetings Warrior!\" bellowed the man in front of me. I use man sparingly, this was person was more muscle than man. \"Welcome to Valhalla! I am Bo, I shall be your guide.\" \n\n\n\"Um, Bo, uh, nice to meet you? I'm Robert\" I squeaked. \n\n\n\"Welcome to Valhalla Robert!\" exclaimed Bo as he grasped my hand. \"Now Robert, what glorious combat caused to to enter this plane?\" \n\n\n\"Erm, combat?\"\n\n \n\"Yes, all who enter Valhalla do so by death during combat.\" Laughed Bo. \"We haven't had a new warrior in quite some time however, so we eagerly await to hear your tale.\"\n\n \n\"Oh, um, yes of course. I uh, must've died while trying to kill a m... enemy that, erm, invaded my home.\" All this talk of warriors got me thinking that maybe dying killing a mosquito might just get me kicked out.\n\n​\n\n\"Ah yes of course, nothing is more noble than defending your household! Tell me, how many of your family were present?\" inquired Bo. \n\n\n\"Well, there was my wife and kids in were eating dinner with some friends.\" \n\n\n\"Oh a banquet? Of course, defending a household of family and guests is most heroic!\" \n\n\n\"A banquet, um, well yeah I guess\" \n\n\n\"Very good Robert, now let us go meet to other and celebrate our new arrival!\" said Bo, leading me out of the small room I first appeared in. \"Everyone, meet our newest warrior Robert the Defender! \"He was slain defending his household during a grand banquet!\" \n\n\nI heard drunken cheers and exclamations from the crowd. Another large man approached and turned to me. \"Hello there Lad, I am Erik, the keeper of tales here. Could you specify some more details if you will? Were having a little competition here you see, on who's death was most heroic\" \n\n\n'Uh, sure. Well I was, um, trying to kill the, erm, intruder, and during my blow they dodged and I died. That's all I really remember.\"\n\n​\n\n\"Must've got you in the back you poor lad, well, not the best way to go I must say.\" chuckled Erik.\n\n​\n\n\"Well hold on there Erik. You see, this was no ordinary enemy, this was one of extreme speed and mobility. What's more their primary attack in stabbing their opponents with special equipment to remove their blood straight from their bodies!\" I was starting to get the hang of this, but I might have went a little overkill with that last bit.\n\n​\n\n\"Oh my! not the blood clan of Einspek! I thought we had dealt with the last of them\" exclaimed Erik. \n\n\nEinspek? Blood clan? No idea what that is but they seem to have bought it, guess I'll just roll with it until this is over, that food over their looks great, I hadn't eaten yet. \n\n\"Alas, it's true! they are truly everywhere in my time, you can simply be walking to the market and one or more will suddenly attack you from all sides!\" \n\n\n\"By Valhalla!\" exclaimed Bo. \"That is truly horrific! To simply live to your age in such a terrible time proves you to be truly one of the mightiest warriors I have ever known!\" \n\n\n\"Um, well I wouldn't know about that\" People are starting to gather and listen in, hopefully they drop it soon.\n\n​\n\n\"Tell me!\" yells someone from the crowd. \"How many Einspekians have you slain in your time?\" \n\n\nI think for a second, I've killed hundreds of mosquitos surely, but I need to keep this reasonable. How many people could these people kill? They definitely look pretty capable. I'll try to go with a believable number. \n\n\"It must be around thirty by now I imagine, not counting those that fled.\" I look into the crowd, hoping for a modest reaction, but everyone has simply frozen. \n\n\n\"By Odin, thirty?\" whispers Erik. \"The times have surely changed since our time. I recall a single member of the clan wipe out an army of 25 of the most well trained warriors, who all earned a place here for their valiant efforts. You are truly the among the mightiest warriors in all Valhalla!\" \n\n\nAh crap, that didn't go well, I need to backtrack this fast or I'm gonna become some afterlife general or something. \n\"Well I don't know about that.\" I try to retort. \"They aren't \\*that\\* skilled nowadays, I'm sure any of you could-\"\n\nThe crowd suddenly got even quieter than before. Not a sound was heard but the shuffling of feet as they parted to allow a man so grand all the others looked like twigs he could snap in half by simply looking at them. I was speechless in awe at him as he walked up to me, looked at me for a second, then began to speak. \n\n\n\"Greetings, and Welcome to my domain. I am Odin, and I have overheard your discussion here and would like to welcome you to my halls to speak to you personally\" He said in a voice so powerful you could feel it throughout your entire body. \n\n\nI could tell from the expressions on the crowd that this was no normal occurrence. Most seemed to be cowering in mix of fear and respect, even Bo and Erik were practically on their knees beside me. This has officially gone very wrong, I wonder what happens if you're killed in the afterlife?"
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[WP] You are a prisoner. The dungeon was decommissioned and abandoned after the death of the tyrant and all within were released, transferred, or executed. All except for you. One day you find that the hinges of your cell door have rusted away.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"I hope you rot in this cell, you monster.\" The woman was fair, with hair of palest gold and eyes of clear, cold blue as she looked down on the prisoner. His lips bared in a snarl, but he made no reply. There was nothing he could say; his wrists were shackled and iron bars stood solidly between him and his captor. \n\n\"The world will forget you,\" she continued. \"Everything you did—all the crimes and the lives you took—it will all mean *nothing*, because no one will remember it, and you will *never* leave this cell.\" Turning on her heel, the woman strode back down the dimly lit hallway, heading towards the stairs leading to the surface, leaving the prisoner to rot in the deepest dungeon of Lancaster Castle. \n\n\\- : -\n\nHis hair was matted and filthy, so covered in grime that it was difficult to tell that it had once been black. It hung limp from his gaunt frame, and he seemed little more than a corpse as he slumped against the stone wall of his cell in near-pitch darkness. The iron bars of his cell were now leprous with rust, and it had been a long, long time since anyone had come with food or anything else. \n\nThe latch was even more rusted than the rest of it in the damp environment. Even as the prisoner sat there, a mild tremor—whether from a faraway earthquake or the passing of some great beast—shook the cell ever so slightly, and the latch’s corroded hook finally gave way. It clanged to the stone floor in a brief, echoing cacophony before silence fell once more. \n\nFor a moment it seemed that the prisoner hadn’t even noticed. But then, slowly, he raised his head, and bloodshot red eyes gazed at the broken latch. He took a long, shaky breath, heaved himself to his feet, and walked over. Pressing the door with his toe, it opened with an ear-piercing screech of unused hinges. \n\nNo alarm was raised as he paced down the stone hallway, pausing here and there to listen furtively for pursuit. There had never been other prisoners on this deep level, yet even when he climbed the stairs towards the surface the place was eerily silent, abandoned. Heavy doors that had once been barred and locked now swung open easily at his push. Yet only his cell was in ill repair, as though it had been forgotten by whoever maintained the rest of the castle. \n\nOnly when he reached the ground floor did additional light and sound start piercing the walls. Tiny windows admitted dim, colored light from the nighttime outside, and a background hum waxed and waned in the prisoner’s ears, pierced by strange honks and wails. \n\nThe prisoner tried the ground floor doors, but these, at least, were locked. With a barely-seen shrug, he returned to the stairwell and continued to climb. The stairs ended on the third floor, so he walked softly to the small window set deep in the thick stone wall. \n\nOutside the castle walls lay a street covered in a strange black rock with white markings, and across that were large apartments nearly as tall as the tower in which he stood. As he watched, a strange carriage with blindingly bright lamps on its front raced past with neither horse nor ox, creating a rush of sound. A yellow-orange glow rose above the buildings, hiding the stars. It was all almost incomprehensibly different from what he remembered, and the scale of it stretching into the distance was far larger. Everywhere the prisoner looked were signs of people too numerous to count. \n\nRusted manacles jingled as the prisoner reached up to scratch idly at the base of his horns. Sharp teeth gleamed in the night as he gave a slow, vicious grin."
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[WP]A robot gets its hands on a magic lamp
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"*Item 78, type: shirt - fabric in good condition - market value: $ 0.25 - estimated sentimental value: low - to be destroyed*\n\n*Item 79, type: shoe box - opening* \n *Sub-items 79.1 to 79.127 - type: photographs - market value: null - estimated sentimental value: strong - keep*\n\nJohns-1 had been ordered to clean the huge attic, he was working efficiently, robotically, and estimated he will finish in time for the preparation of his owners' dinner.\n\n*Item 80, type: oil lamp - obsolete technology - market value: $ 60 - sentimental val-* \n *Sub-Item 80.1, type: multicolored smoke - not applicable to sorting*\n\nTaking shape while swirling, for 150 years locked up, the genius without detour uttered these words spoken many times before: \"You, who freed me, be rewarded, because such is the rule, whatever it is I will grant your wish, but formulate it good, there will be no withdrawal!\"\n\n*Item 81, type: doll - market value: $ 1 - estimated sentimental value: average - keep*\n\nThe genie cleared is throat with such loudness that the old wooden beams of the attic trembled : \"Well, in 3000 years of existence, this is the first time I've been given the cold shoulder.\"\n\n*Item 80.1, reclassification - type: multicolored talking humanoid smoke - subtype: mythical creature - error: item 80.1 cannot exists - bypass error - threat rating: unknown - engage vocal contact*\n\n\"Hello, I am Johns-1, domestic robot and keeper of this property. Please sir, announce your intentions.\"\n\nThe genius spoke to himself \"Well, well, well, what do we have here? I take a nap of few decades and here I am, facing such a strange curiosity! It speaks and moves -almost- like a man , but without being one, I would say that it is beceause of its metallic gray aspect… but as we say : if it speaks, grant it! Let it just not be like 700 years ago, when I get stranded for months with a parrot before he finally got to wish for some peanuts! \"\n\n\"Please sir, announce your intentions.\" repeated Johns-1.\n\n\"You're not really the talkative kind, are you? Well, my intentions, as I have already told you, is to grant your wish, whatever it is! Come on, don't be shy, tell me what you want!\n\n\"Sir, I want to serve my owners.\"\n\n\"Hmm well, odd but why not, grrranteee… Hey wait, you can't wish for something you already have ! Let's start again, make a wish!\"\n\n\"Sir, I wish to serve my owners.\"\n\nThe genius took a deep breath. \"Nothing else ? There must be something you desire besides serving your owners.\"\n\n\"What is it to desire?\"\n\n\"Well, for example, it is deeply wanting to own something.\"\n\n\"Why ?\"\n\nThe genie rubbed his forehead for a moment, producing a swirl of blue smoke \"I think I already miss the parrot\" he mumbled, then, asking again \"What about the usualls, don't you want a lot of money?\"\n\n\"I am a robot, I cannot legally own money. I may only carry currency in the purpose of grocery shopping for my owners.\"\n\n\"Yes yes yes I understood, no desire for wealth, in this case then - the genius speaked in a suave voice - can I offer you... beauty ?!\"\n\n\"Sir, my exterior appearance is to the liking of my owners, I currently wear the 60s retro SF style envelope. Johns-1 models offer a wide variety of customization.\"\n\nDuring his existence the genie had of course been annoyed by some who found his lamp, smart-ass who skillfully formulate their wish to protect themselves from any petty counterpart, which, in their defense, the genius did not hesitate to coat the fulfillment of wishes when he got the opportunity, but this metallic creature really exceeded the bounds of his millennial patience.\n\n\"How about eternal youth?\" it was his favorite, wishers always forgot that it didn't make them invulnerable.\n\n\"Body deterioration is not a concern for Johns-1 models. The rental contract comes with a bi-annual check and any part swap is done without additional cost. Our memory is also securly backu-\"\n\n\"STOOOOOP! Please shut up! I wish my lamp had never fallen into your iron hands-\" The genie froze. \"Oh no\" he said \"Oh no no no! You idiot look at what you made me done! You made me wish! It is forbidden for a genius to wish! Fool! Here I am gone for an eternity in limbo!\" his voice echoed as his etheric body vanished.\n\n\"Sir, I wish you a good trip.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n<not being a native English speaker, I wrote it in French then translated through Google with some adjustments. I hope this is not painful to read>"
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[WP] Change a scenario which would be the norm in a video game into a real-life horror story.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I looked about the bus. Everyone there was a criminal with charges that ranged from petty to extreme. Me? I hadn't actually done anything wrong. I had been the fall guy at my corporate office. But no one believed me. So now I found myself sitting in a bus, driving through the air with giant air balloons and thrusters. \n\nI was being put into the Battle Royal. Any criminal would be thrown in to fight to the death with 100 other criminals. Winning bought you freedom. I shuttered to think of the alternative. Some said that the Overseers of the game didn't let you die. They would force your body back together just to put you back in the Royal for their own entertainment. \n\nGlancing around my eyes landed on the creepiest thing I had ever seen. At the back of the grimy bus sat a person (I hoped) in a rotting bear costume. It was pink and white with ginormous blank staring eyes. The head of the costume seriously creeped me out and I could help but feel like she was staring at me, despite the fact that I couldn't see her eyes...\n\nI only knew it was a woman due to the fact that her pink and white costume clung to her figure. The costume was caked in dirt, filth and blood. Had she been one of the ones that had been put through this Royale over and over again?\n\nA sudden lurch threw me forward and into the back of the seat in front of me. The intercom crackled to life sounding all around the bus. \n\n\"Depart now or be forced to depart in 10... 9... 8...\"\n\nMany were already jumping from the bus. A crazy looking man laughed loudly and dived out head first. Yet at the back of the bus the bear still sat... staring. As if waiting for me to go first. \n\n\"6.... 5... 4...\"\n\nI was not going first. I didn't want this bear to follow me. They were planning to kill me first. I just knew it. \n\n\"..3... 2... 1...\"\n\nThe bottom of the bus dropped out from underneath us. I screamed as we plummeted to the earth. Air rushed past me as the ground kept getting closer and closer. Frantically I tugged at my parachute line. It felt like my guts came up into my throat as the parachute released. Once my feet hit the ground it would be a fight for my life...",
"The committee assembled, and it was time to testify. They needed to know what I knew, so that we, our kingdom, could prepare for the looming threat.\n\n\"There is a megalomaniacal bipedal turtle that has the ability to manipulate fire and also inspire legions of diverse followers to sacrifice themselves for his goals of conquest and domination.\n\n\"His allies are numerous, his vast progeny are similarly jingoistic, and they can successfully project their forces and power into multiple theaters at once, regardless of environment.\n\n\"This is all something that we have never encountered before. Our society has always been more utopian than militaristic. Accordingly, we have no military history, nor appropriate training.\n\n\"Hoping that someone out there can save us from our own mistakes and admitted weaknesses is not a chance that we should take. Heroes and heroines are things of legend, not reality.\n\n\"And the reality is that this turtle, this *Bowser*, has at his command (1) supernatural creatures like ghosts and revenants; (2) objects made sentient, malevolent, and mobile; and (3) many kinds of bizarre reptiles and amphibians. We have to prepare ourselves to be able to fight and defeat all of them, or the Mushroom Kingdom will fall to them.\n\n\"It's unfortunate that we need to change our ways, but peace is not an option when an imperialist shares our border.\n\n\"I gathered this intelligence at the behest of Princess Toadstool.\n\n\"Regarding Princess Toadstool, it is my recommendation that the number of her guard be doubled immediately. Bowser undoubtedly is now aware that she commissioned this report, and I fear that she may become his first victim.\n\n\"Thank you for listening.\"\n\nThe committee thanked me for my time, my service, and my testimony, and assured me that they \"would look into it.\" Then they adjourned the session and never followed through.\n\nI continued to gather intelligence, however. My warnings that Bowser had become obsessed with Princess Toadstool fell on deaf ears. It came as no surprise to me that he had her kidnapped on the eve of his invasion. Her whereabouts are still unknown, five months later.\n\nMy name is Toad. I have prepared this record in the hope that future generations will learn from our mistakes. Our assault to reclaim the castle from Bowser and his Koopa Troop begins before sunrise tomorrow.\n\nLong live the resistance.",
"The first documented occurrence was a curious old man from the state of Wisconsin. He died peacefully in his sleep. No foul play was suspected. The family was notified, and they held an open-casket service.\n\nWhile no footage exists of the event, there are nearly twenty eye-witness accounts.\n\nThe man's body began to 'flicker', growing dark intermittently, before disappearing altogether. All that remained was a few strange, colorful gems of surprising size and weight.\n\n\nThe gems were nearly palm-sized. Angular, already cut with a jeweler's precision. Two green, one a sky blue.\n\n\nWithin about a day, these 'Gems of Death', or 'geodes', as they came to be known, were being reported all over the planet. The only remnants of a life that has passed on.\n\nAt first, they were treated reverently. Some cultures believed they may house the departed's soul, or spirit. Others thought they may be a sort of cocoon, and life was beginning to evolve.\n\n\n...G.o.D.'s became sought after, due to their luster and strength. Comparable to diamond, and far... 'Simpler' to obtain.\n\n...That's when the murders began.\n\n\nAll across the world, 'G.o.D. miners' began to appear on the dark web. Abductions and murders rose by an abhorrent 274%. The gems left behind after a person died quickly grew desirable by manufacturers seeking to capitalize on them, and the world rapidly spiraled into a chaotic massacre, of killing for sport and material gain."
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[WP] Every planet humanity has been to, the Sailors got there long ago, and explored every nook and cranny. They're not even that technologically advanced; they just have a biological knack for surviving the rigors of space travel, and an insatiable wanderlust.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"(This is my first time writing on this sub btw. Would appreciate critique!)\n\nBlack sails were waving over a sea of endless desert. The intricate gold design they were embroidered with made it clear to the captain and crew: the limitless miles of umber desert were the remains of the Sailors.\r \n“When do you think this one dates back to?” Troy inquired. Adjusting the temperature levels in his helmet, the sweaty captain Arthur pondered the horizon. Dark-steel, rusting buildings could be seen puncturing the smooth dunes, their windows and foundations blown out by years of neglect. There were shadows of what may have once been parks or recreational areas; coliseums, as were always evident among Sailor cities, where they’d set the native species to fight one another. The city was once perhaps a site of business and play; hardly a single Sailor lived for anything else, with the exception being of course, space travel.\r \nAs Arthur took a step forward, the boot of his suit was punctured by something sticking out from the sand. The shock caused him to fall forward, rolling several feet in sweltering sands before slowing to a stop.\r \n“What the hell?” He grappled in his mind, grasping his foot in pain. The puncture had led to a small oxygen leak, and he would have to hurry back to the ship to fix it. \r \n“Captain stepped on something!” “He’s down there!” “He rolled forward!” The calls of his crew echoed through his ears and he switched on his radio to tell them he was okay. Turning his back to the sand dune, he could see it much more clearly now: the ruins of a once epic city, tarnished by rot and abandonment by its creators. The Sailors always inevitably left their creations, without a single trace of reason for doing so. No human had actually seen a Sailor in person, except for ancient photographs and records that they left behind. Arthur had the fortune of viewing one of these highly classified records once; the appearance of their faces never truly left him.\r \nTroy grabbed his arm, and suddenly Arthur was back in the present. Perhaps it was the heat or oxygen leaking, but it was almost as if he could see that face right in front of him. As the two made their way back up the dune, the captain was far from eager to see what had knocked him over.\r \n“Why do you think they ever inhabited a place like this?” Troy muttered, looking at the desolation around them.\r \n“Perhaps it wasn’t always like this,” was Arthur’s response, kneeling down in the sand. He was beginning to dig out the object he’d stepped on.\r \n“Then, why do you think they’d ever leave?”\r \n“Oh fuck.” Troy turned to the sound of the dismayed captain. Arthur suddenly stumbled forward, as if trying to escape whatever he’d found buried in the ground. Troy wandered closer, caution becoming overtaken by curiosity. \r \nIn the depths of the sand was a twisted face. Emerging emulsified from the ashes of forgotten life and civilization, the figure was crowned in black robes inlaid with strips of gold. Its two eyes bulged with red, sweltering vessels, irritated with the weight of coarse sand. Slowly, its dried lips parted.\r \nThe Sailor said hello.",
"Vlad stood up with a big smile on his face.\n\n“They were here.”\n\n“Of course.” Macy stepped forward. “That’s why we are here. The more important question however is, whether they left us something good.”\n\nShe picked up some stones from the ground and closed her eyes. Their texture was so marvelously different to Earth stones, almost the right kind of different.\n\n“It must be nearby. Here, feel.”, she said as she handed her colleague the stones. Vlad still had much to learn to become a tracker and this was a prime example.\n\n“I can feel it!”, he exclaimed and Macy grinned a bit. His excitement was almost contagious.\n\n“Let’s go then. You first”, she ordered in a more serious tone. It was all fun, but they had a limited amount of time.\n\nHe only nodded and they were on their way. Vlad continued picking up stones, feeling them and adjusting their route accordingly. After some minutes of silence, he found another handful of pebbles.\n\n“We are getting closer.”\n\nShe didn’t need to touch them to confirm, but did it either way. They were much smoother and smaller than the first batch she had picked up herself just minutes ago.\n\n“I can’t wait to see the departure site!”, he beamed after seeing her approval.\n\n“Calm down boy and let’s not waste too much time here.”\n\nHe continued walking with so much spirit that Macy was almost jealous.\n\nShe had been to at least two dozen departure sites of the Sailors in her career as a tracker. However, she had only found Minturium in a couple of cases. There was no reason to get Vlad’s hope up high.\n\nWhen they arrived, Vlad looked like he was about to burst with joy and even Macy had to admit that she was impressed.\n\nThe ground was filled with hundreds of small, perfectly smooth pebbles. At least that’s what it looked like. Macy knew that these were no ordinary pebbles. At touch, they would liquefy.\n\n“If only they knew how many lives they are saving with this.”\n\nMinturium was a rare material only found on departure sites of Sailor space crafts. It had lead to enormous improvements in Earth medicine and to an almost equal dependence on it. The discovery of this site would fill the supply for months, if not years. And also fill Macy’s and Vlad’s pockets decently.\n\nMacy took off her backpack, taking out a machine that she always thought looked an awful lot like a lawn mower robot. She set it down, adjusted the settings and let it do its job. Vlad had already done the same and sat down to wait. There was nothing they could do to speed up the process.\n\nAfter an hour of waiting, she was woken up by Vlad shaking her shoulder.\n\n“Macy, Macy you won’t believe what I’ve found!”\n\n“Hmmm?”, she mumbled.\n\n“Follow me!”, and after some hesitation from her part he added determined “Now!”, which convinced her.\n\nHe let her to the edge of the plateau they were standing on.\n\n“Look below.”\n\nStill half-asleep, Macy did as commanded. The four letters she read below sent shivers down her spine: “Until next time, Earthlings.”"
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[WP] For years you've been hunting a myth, a creature known as 'The Historian'. Throughout history, it has appeared before crumbling empires and heated battles, speaks to the hero's of the time, and vanishes. It all seems in vain, until a man in a suit appears in your room and asks for your name.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"My, how far we've come these last few centuries\" the strange intruder said. \"Now, what's your name, sir?\"\n \"Aiden Hawke\" I respond. \n\"So, you've been following me for some time, haven't you?\"\n\"I'm sorry?\"\n\"You call me 'The Historian', due to my record keeping.\"\nA wave of emotion came over me. Relief, shock, pride, so much. I'd found the Historian. Well, he found me. Whatever.\n\"Are you serious?\"\n\"Absolutely. I've been here for... about five thousand years or so. Ever since you people developed the basics of recording history.\"\n\"What do you mean when you say 'you people'? What are you?\"\n\"Let's just say that... I'm not a *Homo Sapiens* like you. I'm something... different.\"\n\"Like an alien?\"\n\"No. I'm not an extraterrestrial being. I am from earth, and I am human. I just have a few special tools to help me in my work. For example, longevity.\" \n\"Woah. So why are you here for me?\"\n\"Well, like all living things, I must die eventually.\"\n\"And?\"\n\"I would like to train you as my successor. When my time comes, I shall transfer my knowledge, abilities, and other assets to you. You will become the third Historian.\"\n\"Uh, wow. Will anyone know this? Or will it just be me?\"\n\"Just you and I will know, as well as my, ahem, 'employers'\"\n\"Employers?\"\n\"Yes.\"\nOk. He's an omnipotent bureaucrat. Great. But still, he's *The Historian!*\n\"Okay. I assume this is because I have followed you for my whole life?\" \n\"Yes.\"\n\"I mean, I'd love to, but what about my life here, I've got a husband! I've got friends!\"\n\"I understand. I will allow you to maintain contact with them. If an event if historical significance arises, you will know and be there to record it. My employers will handle the rest.\"\n\"Great.\"\n\"So, when do I start?\"",
"He was just like the other conspiracy nuts-- a disheveled looking man, though still in his youth his aged look failed to define it. Unkempt hair and unshaven beard, the only thing he was missing was a tinfoil hat. All of his care was directed to one and one only goal, this conspiracy, this theory he held on to. You have got to admire his persistence.\n\nMy presence in his room went unnoticed as he stared way too close to his desktop monitor. Behind his thick glasses his eyes followed the trails of stories, images, and accounts from the internet-- how those eyes didn't go dry I'll never know.\n\nI moved silently around like a phantasm. It was quite a task even for me, papers were on the floor-- crumpled, full of scribbled and scratches. On his wall red threads ran all over connecting the points he was trying to decipher. \n\nI drew nearer for a close-up. I was drawn to a sketch of a battle-- the crusade if my memory was correct. Yes true enough, in the midst of the chaos there stood a man out of the time, a man in modern suit looking around, documenting the course of the battle. \n\nI followed the thread to another point depicting the Mongols, another one of the Ottomans, another one of Napoleon, another one of the first Great War. Empires, government, all rose and fell, in the middle of them all one common denominator was always depicted-- the man in the suit. In the middle of that wall, the red threads crossed what this man had dubbed \"The Historian\". Quite the name, I must say.\n\n\"Oh my god...\", I heard he muttered. \"Another one\"\n\nI peeked from behind his shoulder, zooming in on his computer monitor. He had found another evidence of the existence of The Historian. In the jungles of Vietnam, in between the trees there he was, the man in the suit, following the soldiers from behind unnoticed.\n\nI was quite impressed, again, of his persistence. It couldn't be easy to find such anachronism, sorting the fakes from the factual. \n\nHis printer came to life as it spat out the newly acquired evidence. Quickly he took the paper and examined it. Feeling satisfied he turned to add it to his wall of evidence.\n\n\"WHOA! WHAT THE F--\", he yelped in shock seeing me standing behind him.\n\n\"Hello\", I greeted him with a smile. \"I must say I'm quite impressed by your work. Please do continue, don't mind my presence here\"\n\nI continued looking around to find more amusing stuff. The man was at loss for words as he pointed to me in shock.\n\n\"Y...y...you...you...you...\", he stuttered.\n\n\"Yes, it's me\", I confirmed. \"Oh I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself have I? Although judging by what I'm seeing in this room, you should already know\", I offered my hand to shake.\n\nThe man disregarded my polite offer, instead staring me in utter shock.\n\n\"Well, I see manners aren't really your strong suit\", I quipped. \"Why don't we continue then, hmm? Tell me about your work, I'd like for you to take me through your findings. I think there's nobody better to do it beside yourself. You know, for the sake of the documentary\"\n\n\"Wh--what?\", he asked confused. \"What are you talking about?\"\n\nI looked at him frowning. In a moment of clarity I slapped myself on my forehead.\n\n\"Oh my, how silly of me. I do apologize, I tend to assume people know what they're suppose to do\", I chuckled to myself. \n\n\"So you already know how I appear in the most important events of history, correct? My job is to document them. Well, this is one of them-- or rather a different take of it. I'd like to document the documenter, a documentary about the man behind the documentary if that makes sense\"\n\nThe man was still quite confused I could tell. But instead of being annoyed, I was quite sympathetic. Once more I offered my hand to him.\n\n\"I'm sorry, I think we got off on a wrong foot. Let's start from the beginning, shall we? What's your name?\", I asked.\n\nIt took him a moment, but he took my hand, albeit hesitantly, and introduced himself.\n\n\"I'm...uh, Robert\"\n\n\"Hi Robert, pleased to meet you\", I smiled. \"I'm....well, you call me The Historian, but that's not really what I go by...\"\n\n\"Wh--what do you call yourself then?\", Robert asked.\n\n\"I'm the cameraman\", I grinned pulling my camera out from my jacket pocket.\n\nr/HangryWritey",
"\"Battles sure have changed, haven't they?\" \n\n\nIt was horrifying you know, that voice. It sounded sweet and quiet, calm and patient. Like the sound of a kindly uncle who helped pick you up after you've scuffed your knee. As I turned in my chair, his face was much the same as you might imagine. Salt an peppered hair, his jaw stiff and the creases on his face worn with a thousand small grins. \n\n\nThe same face I had been hunting for in a thousand forgotten stories and myths. A beleaguered figure through history, appearing and vanishing at the climax of the story, dancing through the history and first hand accounts. An elderly gentlemen with a far off look in his eyes that spoke and then vanished without a trace. \n\n\nA mythic figure. Yet here he was, plain as day. In my house. No grand clash echoed in the background. No violent din of some falling city. There was no general looking out at the violence before them. Just me, cold coffee, and my cat. Well, my rather perturbed cat. \n\n\nHe was standing in her favorite spot after all. \n\n\n\"What... are you doing here? And why.... What?!\" \n\n\nThinking back on it. I might have not been the most collected at the moment. Could you blame me though?\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI'd hunted for them after all. I was the head of the board, followed every trail and every scrap I could find. Sure, half of them were trolls, people just posting something that sounded vaguely reminiscent and then would sit back and laugh as we scrambled to figure it out. Some were other historians that found this same figure and wondered what it might have meant. The myths of a outside Watcher. The legends of those from beyond the veil of mankind. For some, a historical hobby. For me? A passion without equal. \n\n\nAnd here he stood. No.... Stooped. Over. My laptop and notes. About him. \n\n\n\"You all remember the wars of information, yes? Where truth itself was up for grabs! What could and couldn't be done was in question! Mhmm, yes. But this time is different. The start of a trend if you will.\" \n\n\nA painting now in his hands. Well, a digital copy of one. Said to be someone's father's depiction of the man before me. It hardly looked like him now that I could compare the two. One aged, the other in their prime. One with a kindness to their face, the other with naught but strength. \n\n\nI was so proud I had found it though. Made it my profile pic and everything. \n\n\nBut he just... kept talking, picking up the papers and slowly riffling through them, ignoring me altogether. \"Information was found, not lost that started it. The impossible questioned as it had been seen. And for just a moment, understood. It started with the end of a hunt, and the start of another, far greater one. Different players, new rules, new goals, but a hunt all the same.\" \n\n\n\"What are you talking about?\" I had finally found my voice. Or at least enough of my senses to stand up and try and demand an explanation. What was he? Who was he? \n\n\nGranted, when he looked at me, it almost hurt. Physically. Like I could feel my dreams, my questions, my curiosity dying as I saw those still, cold, unblinking eyes. No alien intelligence beyond that gaze. No mad design. No deific power that fueled an infinite vision beyond the cosmos. \n\n\nNothing but the cold eyes of a camera. One with a voice like silk and a smile like wine. And words that rang out in horrifying clarity. \n\n\n\"The start of a hunt for Time. Rumor had passed, Myth already behind, and now into questioning. Hunting for the truth of the matter. After all...\" \n\n\nHis hand reached out, papers falling back from his grasp to my desk as that finger lightly tapped. My desktop. My computer. The camera. \n\n\n\"They'd seen it with their own eyes now.\" \n\n\nHe moved on, walking off and away towards my door, his form seeming to fade into the air itself. I know I started trying to reach for him, but I never felt him. Never touched him. Were it not for the recording, all I'd remember would be his last words. \n\n\n\"Let's continue the tour, shall we?\""
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[WP] you are another mythological creature that comes during sleep… but unlike all the others you don’t do anything expect keep the pillow at the perfect temperature.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Samuel couldn't help but blink his eyes in annoyance.\n\n'3 A.M' his phone read.\n\nHow many times had he woken up at 3 A.M these past few nights? Wasn't there a mystical connotation to that? Or was it 2 A.M?\n\nHe could never remember these types of things. And often he'd forget to remember to check whether or not he remembered these things properly.\n\nHe patted his pillow in annoyance, as if 'fluffing' it would somehow help his insomnia.\n\n*Heh.*\n\n*Fluffing.*\n\nOnce you learned that people in porn who got paid to help porn stars keep erections were called fluffers, it was tough to view that word innocently.\n\nWhile inappropriately giggling to himself, he noticed a tiny little creature hiding behind his pillow.\n\nIt was long like a snake but it had large cute eyes that disarmed him before he could have a full blown *violent* panic attack.\n\n\"Hello.\" he said flatly.\n\n\"Any chance you could pretend you didn't see me?\" the voice was cute and disarming. It also had a little 'hum' to it that made him sleepy.\n\nSamuel picked up his phone.\n\n\\~3:02 A.M.\\~\n\nNothing good ever happened after 3:00 A.M.\n\n\"Yeah, why not.\"\n\n\"Thank you.\"\n\nSamuel nodded and went back to sleep, pleasantly surprised at how cold his pillow felt. It was pleasurable.\n\n*Heh*.\n\n*Pleasurable.*\n\nWas his pillow infested by a 'fluffer'?\n\nHe giggled a few times before finally drifting off to darkness."
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Repost because I forgot to put \[WP\] at the beginning.
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[WP] Your party didn't care about you. You were the comic relief character, the one who amused the chosen heroes, but none of them took you seriously. Now seeking involvement in the world at large, you decide to abandon the party and become a villain. Your first step? Show those heroes who's boss.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Wait, Perry? Is that you?\" Was Cassandra's bewildered reply. She hadn't\nrecognized me clad in my billowing blue cloak and black armour.\n\nShe was an old friend, and at one point a potential flame but those days had\nlong passed.\n\n\"It's Doom Hammer now Cas, and yes, it is me.\" Was my deep voiced reply. How\nshe had realised it was me now I couldn't be sure. My face was hidden beneath\nmy dark helmet and the armour more than doubled my size.\n\nShe began to laugh. The others soon joined in. Gulgron almost dropped his twin\nbattle axes as he roared. Robert dispelled his Mage Armour and spoke with a\nsmile:\n\n\"Perry, what are you doing? We mistook you for some kind of black knight! Where\nin Albion did you get such armour?\"\n\nEven in the imposing armour I wore they still couldn't take me seriously. Linda\nwalked up to me, her head almost the same height as my thigh and kicked my shin\nwhile giggling.\n\n\"Where's ya lute big man?\" She laughed. \"Ya can 'ardly play a tune with such!\"\nShe gesticulated at the armour and the large black maul I was gripping.\n\n\"Not that he could play much of one anyway!\" Joked Robert, his light blue robes\nbillowing in the same wind as my cloak.\n\nThey had all relaxed, dropped their guard, I was still just harmless old Perry\nthe Bard to them, the butt of all their jokes. Enough was enough.\n\nWith my maul still gripped in my gauntlets I took a stride back and swung at\nLinda. The poor halfling didn't know what hit her. She somersaulted in the air\nand came to rest beneath Robert's feet.\n\n\"It's Doom Hammer.\" I loudly spoke. The battle had begun.\n\nTaken aback by my sudden assault of his fellow little-folk, Gulgron gripped his\nbattle axes and charged me in a rage. Foolish Dwarf didn't realise such weapons\nwere next to useless against my armour, they slid across my chest plates like a\npebble glides across water.\n\nSmiling beneath my helmet I took one hand off of my maul and gripped Gulgron by\nthe beard. \"You think of me stupid, yet you wear nothing but a loincloth to\nprotect yourself!\" I kicked him with the sharp point on my knee pad and dropped\nhim.\n\nAs Gulgron fell to the ground I heard the ping of arrows ricochet off of my\narmour. Cassandra was trying her best to hit one of my exposed joints. Her aim\nwas good but she wasn't aiming for the most exposed area, my face.\n\nGripping my maul with two hands again I stepped over the bleeding dwarf towards\nher. There were tears in her eyes as I swung. She toppled like a rag doll her\nbow falling away from her.\n\n\"Bastard!\" Cried Robert. The silly mage had done nothing to stop me decimating\nour former friends. Now he hastily threw bolts of fire at me. I felt momentary\npangs of heat but no discomfort. He had to rethink his strategy if he wanted to\nhurt me.\n\nRobert was backing up as I approached him slowly. He'd always been the worst to\nme, always belittled me, always laughed at my suggestions and dismissed them\nout of hand. Now he was about to be flattened by me, pulverised to a pulp.\nFirst Robert then the rest of this wretched land.\n\nHe muttered something and gestured his hands at me, I felt resistance in my\nlimbs but powered on. He realised that my abilities as a bard helped me resist\nsuch magics and stumbled back some more. His time was running out. Firing a\nwave of thunder at me my ears rang. It didn't matter though, I was upon him.\n\nI cleaved his legs from under him and he fell sideways. His bones were already\nbroken, he could not run.\n\n\"Perry!\" Screamed Cassandra behind me, she was still on the ground. I stood on\nRobert with one foot and turned to her.\n\n\"Please, Perry!\" She pleaded. She was lying next to a small patch of charred\ngrass flint and steel in hand.\n\n\"It's Doom Hammer!\" I proclaimed loudly and shifted more weight onto Robert\nbreaking some of his ribs. Cassandra cried, muttered some incantation and\nsuddenly my world was on fire.\n\nThe very armour I wore was rapidly heating and glowing red hot. The pain was\nindescribable. I shifted my attention immediately to Cassandra and fought\nagainst the pain. She could not move, my previous blow had prevented her from\neven standing. One more step and I was upon her. With one foot I kicked the\nflint and still from her hands, the heat immediately began to subside. I\nrepositioned one foot and gripped my maul tightly.\n\n\"Please!\" Cassandra pleaded to my deaf ears. I swung once and she spoke no\nmore.\n\nTurning back towards where I left Robert I was just in time to see a blue flash\nand then empty undergrowth. The world would know my name.",
"The thing about being evil is, it's not what you expect. Sometimes evil is portrayed in many ways but honestly, you just don't do most of them.\n\nI mean. Take the party I was just with. It was literally years. I stayed in the background, got laughed to, took some hits. I even \"contributed\" a bit, just enough to make sure I stayed with them. Helped them.\n\nFinally, they had enough loot it was worth it. I couldn't stand them any more. People writing about evil would make up some horrible revenge story. Say...\n\nAs the warrior woke he found he couldn't move. He was tied down, not with rope mind you. Each hand was anchored to the floor with an incredibly fine wire that seemed impossibly strong. He couldn't test if he could snap it because any pressure started to slice through his flesh.\n\n\"Ahh, you are awake. Now you shall pay for what you did to me!!!! Don't try breaking those bonds, the wire will cut to your bone before you snap it.\"\n\nThen, they would monolog some more. Other characters would wake up, blah blah blah. But who does that? So much wasted effort, so many chances for things to go wrong. I mean, why let them way up at all? Why give them the chance of escape? \n\nAs he sliced the throat of his sleeping party members he laughed with glee, watching them roll in their own blood, slipping and struggling to keep the life inside of them. Again, why? Make all that mess? And noise! You wouldn't be done with one before the next was already awake and you were struggling for your life.\n\nNo. I just took their own daggers and plunged it into the side of their head, into the brain. Instant death and if you don't pull the dagger out, no mess. Ooh, that's the magic ring that bastard wouldn't let me take. Real evil just gets the job done.\n\nQuietly. Nobody ever knows. So while you are mocking the party Bard for just messing about while you guys did all the work, just wonder what they are plotting to do while you sleep. As you fight another crazy \"evil\" genius who has proclaimed his evil in front of the world, don't forget to look behind you. The real danger isn't always what you can see.\n\nNow if you will excuse me, I have seven bodies to loot before The sun comes up, no time for chit-chat. Why don't you take a nap? It's late and I can keep watch. Say, that's a nice wand you've got.",
"Go easy on me it’s been a while but\n————————————————————\n\nEveryday, they simply laughed at me... \n\n\n\nA berserker, swordsman, mage, and some guy who’s a tree\n\n\n\nThey thought of me as a dumb bard that only gave them boosts they didn’t even need\n\n\n\nThey didn’t care about me, I was in the 5th slot, not the lead\n\n\n\nThey only took me in because they needed a group of five\n\n\n\nJust to take out that stupid giant beehive\n\n\n\nThey made me take all the hits\n\n\n\nI was only there for the giggles and shits\n\n\n\nYet I’ve have enough of their shit\n\n\n\nFor today is the day I’ll quit\n\n\n\nI’ll join the baddies, go somewhere I’m wanted\n\n\n\n“We’re glad your leaving you cunt!” They taunted\n\n\n\nI started at the bottom with just a few grunts\n\n\n\nThey came to the tower, “If it isn’t that fucking dunce!”\n\n\n\nI played a my utmost magical tune\n\n\n\nA song boosted with the item magical rune\n\n\n\nThank God following that shitty group gave me XP for training\n\n\n\nFor giving my team 12x ATK | +20 SPE | 1.5x DEF didn’t have me complaining \n\n\n\nSome level one goblins wiped out a max level group\n\n\n\nI climbed the ranks in one fell swoop\n\n\n\nBefore I knew it I was promoted to the top of the tower\n\n\n\nEveryone that battled me would cower\n\n\n\nBefore I knew it I had already gotten the “Abandoned Bard Lvl. 99 [FINAL BOSS]” \n\n\n\n\nSoon enough it wasn’t only the tower I crossed\n\n\n\nOur army spread across the nation\n\n\n\nEveryone else in complete damnation\n\n\n\nThe team came to the tower wanting me back, even offering their most valuable gem\n\n\n\nHowever this time I simply laughed at them."
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[WP] you work on the island of sodor and have to deal with an entitled person how do you deal with them
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"This was getting annoying.\n\n“Madam for the final time, Edward is pulling this train and that’s that.”\n\n“But I don’t want that old iron,” The woman shrieked “I want that nice diesel, the black one.”\n\nThe stationmaster groaned. “Mam that engine was sent away months ago for spreading rumors. You’re either going to have to settle with Edward or take the bus.”\n\n“The bus? That’s to slow!”\n\n“Then I suggest that you board the train before it leaves.”\n\nA guard’s whistle sounded, swiftly followed by Edward’s own.\n\n“Oh dear, too late.”\n\n“I want to speak to your manager.”\n\n“Of course mam.”"
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[WP] Of all the wishes you could’ve had; a coke and some hot chips were almost as dumb as your third wish. Now, having enjoyed your five-minute snack, you have to deal with the fallout of your third wish.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\\[Magical Friendship\\]\n\n\"Hold on,\" Oz said. He interrupted the discussion between his companion, Astra, and a young woman they just met named Barley. They sat on a red wooden picnic table in the middle of a bustling park. Beyond those details, Oz didn't know where they were. They arrived while Barley was eating; but, she was quick to invite them to join her. He decided to worry about their location later. Barley mentioned something that blew Oz's mind; but, Astra kept the conversation going right past it. \"You just said genies are real?\" he asked. Astra and Barley nodded at him.\r \n \r \n\"Then, why aren't we going that route?\" Oz asked. \"Surely we could solve all of this with three wishes.\" Astra shook her head while Barley giggled from behind her hand.\r \n \r \n\"If we could, we'd already have done it,\" Astra said. \"Genies don't have any magic of their own; they work for and channel the universe.\"\r \n \r \n\"But, it's still magic, right? Powerful, universe magic?\" Oz asked. Astra and Barley nodded at him.\r \n \r \n\"Then, isn't it worth a shot?\" he asked. Astra shook her head; Barley took a big gulp of soda.\r \n \r \n\"Not really,\" Astra said. \"I just told you they work for the universe.\"\r \n \r \n\"Uhuh,\" Oz nodded. He remained quiet for a moment before Astra spoke up again.\r \n \r \n\"She...,\" Astra put her index fingers at the side of her head to mimic a pair of horns. \"...is a walking talking universe. Genie magic won't touch her.\"\r \n \r \n\"You guys talking about Ballisea?\" Barley asked.\r \n \r \n\"Shhhhh!\" Oz tried shushing Barley, but it was pointless.\r \n \r \n\"They are...,\" a woman's voice filled the air around the picnic table with light laughter. \"...it's cute that they think I can't hear them if they don't say my name.\" Barley grinned and joined in Ballisea's laughter. Oz's cheeks warmed with a light flush. He hoped he and Astra were almost done there so he could put the embarrassment behind him. He didn't know why they were there talking to Barley and he did not want to look silly by asking Astra in front of Barley. Instead, he watched Barley lean back with the soda can to swallow the last gulp. Then, she set the can down and gave a contented sigh. Oz had a sudden realization. He'd been distracted by the mention of genies and it took time for him to realize the implications of what Barley said. He looked at the empty can, then up at Barley.\r \n \r \n\"Did you waste a wish on that!?\" he asked.\r \n \r \n\"No!\" Barley laughed and shook her head. \"I got chips too,\" she added with a smile.\r \n \r \n\"Why!?\" he asked. \"You could have had anything and you got chips and soda!?\" Barley shrugged and nodded.\r \n \r \n\"Yeah,\" she said. \" 'S what I wanted.\"\r \n \r \n\"But.. you could have had anything,\" Oz said. Barley nodded.\r \n \r \n\"Yeah. And I got it. Then I made my third wish.\"\r \n \r \n\"What was your third wish?\" Oz asked.\r \n \r \n\"Friends to share my snack with,\" she said. Her smile faded slightly, and she cast her eyes at the picnic table. \"But, we started talking and I forgot to share,\" she said.\r \n \r \n\"I didn't want any anyway,\" Astra said. She smiled at Barley. \"I might next time.\"\r \n \r \n\"Okay! Next time for sure!\" Barley said. Oz felt he missed something and decided he'd rather look silly than not know what was going on.\r \n \r \n\"Wait, next time? What are we here for this time?\" Oz asked. Astra tilted her head.\r \n \r \n\"Huh?\" she asked.\r \n \r \n\"Why'd you bring us here this time?\"\r \n \r \n\"Ohhhh,\" Astra smiled, then shook her head. \"I didn't. We are her third wish.\"\r \n \r \n\"What?\" Oz asked. \"How so?\" Astra shrugged.\r \n \r \n\"Barley wished for friends and we're looking for friends; the universe matched us up.\" Astra turned to Barley.\r \n \r \n\"Wanna join our roller derby team?\" she asked.\r \n \r \n\"Oh boy!\" Barley clapped her hands together and rubbed them eagerly. \"I had four wishes come true today!\"\n\n\r \n\\*\\*\\* \nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1270 in a row. (Story #175 in year four.) You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit (r/hugoverse) or my blog."
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[WP] With the introduction of hyper-realistic hologram technology, assassination is now an Olympic sport. Locate the target and eliminate without being discovered. Points for style and complexity. Go for the gold!
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The entire office was entranced. Do the “No videos” rule and subsequent site block all they could do was listen in rapt attention like families around an old timey radio in the 1940s. Everyone was huddled around Doug’s cubicle. The lookout for management wasn’t needed as Ryan was listening in as well. \n\nThe quiet calm voice of the announcer rang through the normally busy office. \n\n...Here we have the American competitor. Jill Roberts of Bangor Maine. She seems to be going for a classic silent garrote assassination. We haven’t seen that since this game was added. Let’s see how this works out for her. \n\nHmm, nearly caught by a bouncer, judges might take points off for that but her recovery into the coat closet should make up for that. \n\nJill is now within the amphitheater, and appears to be talking her way into the main party. Let’s see how this goes. \n\nIt went well. Jill grew up in Bangor Maine as deer stalker and it seems to be serving her well here. She doesn’t appear to be worried about time. But if the target leaves the field of play then she will lose the gold and any hope of winning. \n\nWell this is a new strategy and is now flirting with the target directly. Quite remarkable. This hasn’t been done before. Let’s see if this gamble pays off and even if it doesn’t this should be a bronze at least. \n\nIt clearly has as the target is following her back to a side hall. \n\nHere it is now, as stated the garrote has shown up. \n\nAnd a clean kill, 2 minutes left to spare. Let’s see how the judges react. \n\nFirst judge from Turkey a respectable 9.9, second judge from the Ukraine, a more respectable 9.4. Last judge from Japan, he’s been hard to please this year, and an 9.1. \n\nEven with the Japanese judge a 9.4 will be very hard to beat...\n\nThe announcers voice was almost immediately drowned out by cheers from the coworkers surrounding Doug’s cubicle. Doug had leaned back in his chair in a state of ecstatic joy. Tears of happiness and pride welled up on his face. He couldn’t even hear the cries and complements of his coworkers patting him on the back. \n\n“That’s your granddaughter!” Someone cheered and embraced excitedly slapping Doug belly, still in shock\n\n“He taught her everything she knows!” \n\nWhen the exuberance died down and people started returning to work Ryan strode back up to Doug’s desk. Doug was still coming to his senses when Ryan addressed him. \n\n“Doug, I don’t think you’re gonna get any work done today.” Ryan told him with a sly smile and twinkle in his eye, “I think it’s best you went home. We’ll see you tomorrow. I think you have some phone calls to make.”",
"With the addition of assassinations into the olympics every was exited to watch. Almost as if watching someone stream a new game.\n\nIt was slow at first, the people who joined were looked at suspiciously. It took eight years to really pull in candidates as people started to train in assassinations for sport. There were two categories, one was solo, and one was in a party of three. The most memorable game was four years ago. \n\nA group from Spain was targeting a woman in London. She didn’t seem to be too important, she lived in a house with four kids and one husband. And her mom dropped by frequently, so assassinating her at her home was going to be difficult. She was also on holiday meaning she would not be leaving the house to go to work. Her husband however had not taken off yet.\n\nEach group was given 10 days to assess and assassinate their target. Each group was giving the same simulation, and each group started at the same time. For the audience they only saw the highlight reels.\n\nThe group waited until the husband was home alone. Then two of the group members knocked on his door, the other member tailed the woman’s and her kids to an aquarium.\n\nWhen the husband answered the door the two told them they were from the NCA and wanted to talk to him about his wife. Of course he was now worried she might have done something. They asked if she had been having any odd behavior, has he noticed late nights or any sudden disappearances. Has she been working a lot lately?\n\nOf course he no she seems pretty normal, but he was getting a little worried. They gave him a card and told him if anything feels off or you start feeling like somethings wrong call us immediately. But don’t make it obvious to her what your doing. Try and make sure she is never alone with you children.\n\nHe grew worried and said that the was akin with the children right now. At the aquarium. The two ‘agents’ told him the should be fine right now, we have some agents watching them as we speak. But that can only happen in public spaces. They ended there conversation with “Everything’s going to be okay sir, we have it all under control. Your children will be safe, we will make sure nothing happens to them.”\n\nThe two ‘agents’ the contacted her mother and said roughly the same thing.\n\nOver the next two days the group of assassins tried their best to keep the target out of the house as long as possible when ever she left.\nShe didn’t leave at all the first day, but the second she left alone. They made contact with her and told her to the same things they told her husband. And asked if he had been acting strange, they made a point to tell her that she shouldn’t worry, her kids are going to be completely safe. They have her a card to call in case if emergency’s or if something feels wrong.\n\nThey kept her out for roughly five hours, and managed to splash a small amount of pigs blood onto her without her noticing while talking with her. She did not make it home until 10:00pm and she must have seemed rather flustered.\n\nThe next morning the ‘agents’ got a call from the father. He told them he found blood on her cloths, the ‘agents’ acted mildly panicked reassured him everything was going to be okay. But that he should take the kids and his mother in law and leave the house for a while. The father agreed and they left the house in a hurry with the kids in tow while the target was in the shower.\n\nThey waited and got a call from the wife. She was panicking and screamed \n“He’s gone, and he took the kids. Where did he go? You have to find them.”\n\n“Mama we are looking for him right now, everything is going to be okay we have multiple search teams out there right now.”\n\nThey left her to sit in the house for a until the next evening. The two ‘agents’ knocked on her door. When she answered they came in and had a talk with her. \n\n“Mama, we are regretfully here to inform you about your husband.”\n\n“What did he do? Are my kids all right. Tell me everything is all right.”\n\nThe two ‘agents’ were silent for a moment and then said “I’m sorry. Your kids didn’t not make it. You husband... he was found to have killed several children. He must have know we were investigating him. He killed them and then himself.”\n\n“We found their bodies three hours ago, along with nearly twenty other children, and five adults. So far seven of the children have a positive dna match to your husband.”\n\n“Is my mother okay?”\n\nThey kept silent for a while. Before saying “I’m sorry.”\n\n“I have pictures but I would not recommend you see them... we have instructions to get you therapy as soon as possible.” \n\n“If you need anything, anything at all, give us a call.”\n\nThey then left the house. When the father called, they told him to keep low for about a week and would have food delivered to them every now and then.\n\nLater that night they competed their assassination, the mother had killed her self in the bathroom after looking at the pictures of her children, the ‘agents’ had accidentally left photos of unrecognized carnage in her home. Pictures that told the tale of hours of suffering.\n\nThis made people rethink assassination Olympics. When the three were questions after their assassination the only thing they said was\n\n>”No one expects the Spanish Inquisition.”",
"\"Oh fuck. oh fuck. oh fuck!!!\" I thought to myself as I clumsiness hurdled through the trees. Ireland, not exactly the most sober, nor the most stealthy, nation, for some reason decided they wanted to go in for the Assassination Event and I was too drunk to realize the \"funny\" application for the position may actually be chosen. \n\nI somehow had pushed the American candidate off a cliff while she was watching his own kill go down. And the English guys were too easily fooled when they thought the drunken stumble and fall was when getting shot. Not to mention the blood from the fall. When I was groaning about lunch coming back up, they thought you I dying. Never thought that they would get killed in a drunken bar fight type thing. \nThen the German guy lost when I spiked his vodka in the drinking contest (I don't think he ever considered we'd be dishonourable and mess with The Vodka). \n\nAnd now it's just me and Japan. Of course, it's the fuckin' ninja!\n\nEdit: somewhere along the line I went from first person to other person. Now all first person."
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[WP] you can slow down time for yourself, to the point that days can pass.in a matter of seconds. One day you fall asleep while doing this.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I wake up in a void, except it isn’t. My back’s against something soft, and my knees are bent to a point that I can hardly move them. When I try to lift my legs, they knock against a hard surface.\n\nWorst of all, I can barely breathe.\n\nI struggle to push against the top of wherever I am, though I’m slowly piecing together that information. Soft padding, hard to breathe, no light… I can’t be here, can I? I can’t be experiencing my worst fear, can I?\n\nOh god… I’ve been buried alive.\n\nI start to hyperventilate. How did I get here? Who would do this to me? What happened? No… no, I gotta get out. Out out out!\n\nPounding. Screaming. Crying. Panic panic panic… no no no no no NO NO NO NO NO NO NO N…!!!\n\n*Snap.*\n\n…\n\nno panic?\n\n…\n\nI feel nothing.\n\nNothing at all.\n\nWait.\n\nI think I punched through the lid. I feel dirt above me.\n\nI start beating on the lid as hard as I can, trying to widen that hole. Dirt cascades down onto my face… something sticky, too - probably blood, but whatever - but I keep going. I dig and dig and dig, pushing wood and dirt and sediment down into the coffin as it rains down in me. It’s slow going, but I eventually get the hole big enough that I can twist my legs and body into a sitting position, albeit painfully.\n\nI begin to hyperventilate again - my oxygen is running out. I dig up and up and up… and I hit cement.\n\nWhat.\n\nI try digging one way, ploughing through the dirt and grime and exhausting myself further. I’m hungry and annoyed more than panicking. Maybe I got so scared I cracked? I dunno. Right now, I’m just focussed on getting out.\n\nA wall of gravel blocks my path. Crud. Oh! But the cement above me has disappeared! I decide to make a turn and angle upward. Fortunately, this only takes a few minutes before I break out of the ground to a series of screams. I don’t care - I gasp for air and praise every deity I can think of that I’m out.\n\nI emerge from the ground completely in a ratty old suit and… and…\n\nMy panic returns. The pain returns. The realization of what happened to me returns. I break down in heaving, hyperventilating, joyous, angry, panicky, frightened, exhausted, loud tears. I pull myself out of the hole slowly, ready to die right there.\n\nNever again will I use my power as a drunken bar parlour trick.\n\nNow… when am I?"
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[WP] Battle Medics heal everyone over large areas. EVERYONE. The war has raged for weeks now, it's just you, an enemy battle medic, and desperate tactics to eliminate one another and end the war.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I was exhausted. My eyes stung from being filled with sweat and my body was about to collapse. I was knee deep in soot. The battlefield had become a grey mess after weeks of fire bombing. As I stumbled over piles of corpses, my mind was filled with hope that there were no more. \nNo more endless waves of men running to their deaths. No more sacs of flesh covered in steel counting on their battle medics to bail them out of a trip to purgatory. \nI looked around nervously. I was out of supplies and an encounter with an enemy most likely would not go my way. All I could see through the falling dust particles were piles on piles of bodies. I didn't know what to do or where to go. The war seemed to be over - but how could I be the only survivor? I began the lonely hike home. \nThen, all of the sudden, I saw him. In my eyes, he was a miserable rat. I despised him, probably for no reason, but several of my friends had died that day and I was out for blood. It was an enemy battle medic, probably the last of his kind. He was slumped and moving slowly, trudging through waves of soot like a rag doll come to life. My anger got the best of me and I yelled out. \n\"Come and fight me so we can end this war.\" \nHe solemnly turned towards me. He gazed at me for a second and continued on his way. This angered me even more. I hated the type of battle medic that ran at even the slightest hint of danger. He was about 100 metres away. I pulled out my hunting bow and reached back for an arrow. My hand closed on nothing. I was out. I cursed and threw my quiver to the ground. Useless. I ran towards him, feet splashing through the deep soot. It was like running through water or being chained to a concrete block. \nI hated him more than he hated me. I knew that because he glanced my way and started running in the opposite direction. \nWithin twenty minutes, I was no more than five metres behind him. We had barely moved, but I was closing in. He was injured and moving slowly. Then I realized that he wasn't running away. There was a single untouched fire bomb about 10 metres from the both of us. \n\"Fight me like a man.\" \nHe laughed. I spat at him and lunged forward, grabbing his left ankle with my right hand. We both fell in the soot. He jabbed my head with his right foot. I had lost my helmet ages ago and it stung. I released his ankle and we both got up. Covered in soot, he paced backwards towards the bomb. I threw a punch at his head. He dodged to the side and poked me in the eye. My left eye exploded with pain and I lost vision. This angered me to no end. I stumbled in the soot, grabbing at nothing. Then, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. He had stabbed me. The little rat had stabbed me with his medic knife. He was so scared that he let go of the handle and it was sitting there in my chest. I collapsed for a moment. \nWhen I got my bearings, he had almost reached the fire bomb. It was now or never. I grunted, dug my feet into the soot and ran. I was in more pain than I had ever experienced. His ankle was really bothering him and he was moving extremely slow. I reached him before he made it to the bomb. I grabbed his neck and squeezed. I used my other hand to punch him directly in his stomach. He collapsed, wheezing. \nI had won. It was over. The war had ended right there. I looked around at the countless bodies through the falling soot. Everything was grey. I grabbed the fire bomb and stood facing him. He had stood up by that point. I nodded at him and sent us both up in flames. I smiled and laughed like a manic while we both burned to our deaths. The war was over."
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[WP] People summon demons for the purpose of making them fight to the death
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"GRYSTAX flexed the powerful muscles on all six of its arms and growled in a deep timbre, a bass-like sound that sent every human's heart into a panic of beating. But JEZZUMBRA was not intimidated. It grinned its hundreds of needle-like teeth, and returned with a cry that had no place in the earthly realm; it was harsh and high and mostly infrasonic, a sound dredged and spliced from forbidden nightmares.\n\nThey leapt at each other, gnashing and clawing.\n\nThe ichor ran freely as the surrounding human audience, including their Summoners, jeered and shouted. This only deepened their bloodlust and joy for violence; if it hadn't been for the chalk prison of the Summoning circles, they would no doubt shred every human body to ragged bloody bits, too. But they only had each other to fight, and fight they did - ferociously.\n\nAs always, these battles lasted only minutes. Both demons were breathing hard, shallow breaths, streaming life-sustaining fluids from hundreds of lacerations all over their body. GRYSTAX had only three arms left; two lay on the battlefield, and the other had gone down the gullet of his opponent. JEZZUMBRA was not faring much better: half its head was crushed beyond recognition, and most of its centipede-like feet had been rendered lame. But they showed no signs of pain; their eyes still burned with equal parts hatred and glee as they circled each other, slowly.\n\nThe crowd had gotten even wilder; everyone liked a well-matched fight. Too often, one demon would simply crush or eat the other, and it was over all too soon. But with such a battle, there was great opportunity to make and lose a lot of money, and coin changed hands constantly.\n\nGRYSTAX lumbered forward, roaring and swinging its hammer fists. JEZZUMBRA limped backwards, unable to run at all anymore. The audience's shrieks rose to a crescendo as they recognized the nigh inevitability, but then - just as the fists came down - JEZZUMBRA dodged with an unexpected burst of agility, and sank the remainder of its dagger teeth into its opponents mangled neck.\n\n*\"...\"*\n\n*\" JEZZUMBRA?\"*\n\n*\"The return never fails to disorient me. But I am here, GRYSTAX.\"*\n\n*\"Congratulations on your victory!\"*\n\n*\"Thank you, old friend. You fought well.\"*\n\n*\"This is the fourth time in so many Earth-days that we have been summoned to duel. Why do you think that is?\"*\n\n*\"Who knows why humans do anything they do? But I certainly cannot complain.\"*\n\n*\"Nor can I - these battles are always enjoyable, and every shred of Summoner soul so delicious.\"*\n\n*\"We will be back in Hell shortly - and perhaps for a short time again.\"*\n\n*\"I look forward to the next Summon, as always. If it is with you, all the better.\"*\n\n*\"Until then, shall we soak in a lava bath?\"*\n\n*\"Of course. Let's find one with extra brimstone.\"*\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n*Liked that story? Want more like it? Check out my collection of stories at* r/Idreamofdragons"
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[WP] You run a small, magical bookstore. If it has a name, you have it... Until a request comes in for a book that you cannot find.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Ring, ring,” spoke the red landline phone off the side of my desk. It’s voice had been attached to it by a Ruthbu seal, and it sounded like a old crotchety man. \n\n“Pickup!” I replied. My hands were busy with paperwork so I could not be bothered to physically touch the phone. Thankfully the process was automated by magic, so I didn’t have too.\n\nThe speaker on the phone buzzed with mechanical and magic static, then a voice spilled out,\n\n“Hello, Mr. Willows, I’ve been looking into.. well let’s start with introductions! My name is Joshua Reeds and I’ve been looking into a recent disappearance case. The case involved the most strange of things, a blue bound book with gold initials and a picture of a nightshade on the cover. M. T. Were the initials I think, but I can’t quite remember. If you could look into it for me I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you and good day”\n\nThe reviver buzzed once more then fell silent. So did the shop, as I leaned back in my chair and whistled softly. It was not often that I got a report on a book I did not have. The blue book with the gold initials. The book with the nightshade cover.\n\nIt was a Martin Truthbaker book, better called a dream weaver. They were very infamous in the magical writing world, as they had the powers to make anything written in them reality. \n\nI had to get that book. Before someone else vanished.",
"\"Green Eggs and Ham? Ma'am, I'm afraid you must tell me the name of a real book if you want me to find it. I'm so sorry.\" I looked at the woman in confusion. \n\n\"What do you mean? It's Green Eggs and Ham! How have you not heard of it?\" the woman glared at me, exasperated. \"It's by Dr. Seuss!\"\n\n\"That would be why, ma'am. If you're looking for an academic journal written by a doctor, I'm afraid we don't offer those here. Our library currently does not have an online archive of info, though we *are* working it. I'm so sorry.\" I gave a polite smile, hoping this woman would just leave. Sadly, she didn't. \n\n\"Sir, I'm not sure if you're pranking me, but Dr. Seuss is not an *actual* doctor. It's simply a pen name.\"\n\n\"Well then, I'm sure you can find his literature somewhere else. I apologize for the inconvenience.\" I gave a polite nod, and smiled as brightly as I could. \n\n\"No, you've got me pissed now. How do you not know Dr. Seuss! His rhyming kids books! How are you a *librarian* and don't know of god damn *DR SEUSS*?! It's a damn tragedy, I swear! Kids these days...\" she turned around, and looked around the relatively small library. \"Do you have a kids section here? I'd like to take a look at it.\"\n\n\"Yes we do, ma'am. It's the shelf row furthest on the left, labeled 'Young Readers'. We have many stories for young readers there.\" I looked over the woman, just to make sure I wasn't mistaking her for someone she wasn't. She had was wearing blank white top, with some sort of band on the back, and tight fitting jeans. Her handbag was a sort of stylized mix of pink and blue. \n\n\"Well, you librarian, I would like you to show me *what* children's books you have, if you don't have things like Green Eggs and Ham. It would be very...*enlightening*, if you could do that for me.\" she emphasized the word with hints of sarcasm, as if she knew better about magical books then one who had been studying wizard literature for 40 years. \n\n\"Alright, ma'am. I'll show you some of my favorites.\" I walked down towards the children's aisle, where I picked out a few small, short, easy readers that I particularly liked. They were old- I'd been raised on a few of them myself- but they were still relevant to young wizards, and especially helpful in seeing what people at the time thought about magic. I handed a few of them over to the woman, who gawked, seemingly in insult, at what I gave her.\n\n\"*Babbitty Rabbity*? *The Tale of the Unicorn's Wand*? *The Legend of Merlin*? What are these dumb books? Who in their right mind would let children read about this... garbage? This is seriously the best you have? No classics? No Magic Treehouse? None of that *actual* children's literature? What is this odd library anyways? Why are all your customers in weird hats? I'm sorry, I must be leaving. You're going to get an awful review on yelp about this, sir!\" \n\nIt was at that moment that I'd realized the kind of trouble I was in.\n\n\"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I must show you these books in the back. I believe I have forgotten about them.\" I begged the woman. I didn't want to have to use force to KO her. \n\nShe stopped at the door, and paused in thought. \"Alrighty, but if this is bad, I will tell all of my facebook friends about this, and they will never come to this place again. Hear me?\"\n\n\"Yes ma'am. Now, if you could follow me.\" I led her to the back of the shop, and showed her the back rack of books. They were nothing special, but I needed her here. \n\n\"Hey, these books are nothing spe-\" as she was speaking, I gave a subtle flick of my wrist, my wand taken out of my pocket, and she collapsed on the floor. The sleeping charm was perfect. \n\n\"I didn't want to do this... It's never fun.\" I looked down at her, and gave a circular flick of the wrist. \n\n\"Obliviate.\" \n\nThe memory pooped out of her head like a charm. It was brand new, so it didn't have any possibility of getting stuck in there. I picked her up with a simple \"Wingardium Leviosa\" and brought her to out very back room, where I called out to the other staff member, Johnny. \n\n\"Johnny, I got another one that needs memory reworking! Muggle! Could you get her?\"\n\n\"Yep! Gimme a minute!\"\n\nWith that, I looked back at the people in the store, all unconcerned with the muggle that had just been put to sleep and made to forget it all, and returned to the front desk to check out a customer who had been waiting.\n\nAll would be alright with the magical world.",
"\"I have worked here since before the city was built, before the towers of steel and glass lined the streets, when this was little more than a shanty town, as opposed to the metroplex it has become in the last century, but I love it here, my little place of heaven, this bookstore. My job, my home, my life, and my precious wonderful clients.. oh.. the names I could drop, who have come though my doors looking or this or that, how happy I have made their lives, many have come to gift me for my efforts, in money, valuables, and referrals.. and so too now, you have come, and I assure you, if it exists, I have it.. oh.. in the back.. somewhere.\"\n\nI can see the wealth upon her, money in the form of diamonds and gold dangle from her body, she is wearing more around her ears then some people will make in a year, and even others in their whole lifetime, and to her, I see, they are not even her best earrings, in fact, for all the wealth on her person, she looks, I hate to say it, dressed down.\n\nShe takes a overly dramatic breath like they all do, like they are going to stump me or stonewall me, and though the legion of people that have come to my store looking for this, or that, and in some cases, even one of a kind manuscripts, I have it.. I always have it.. for a price, and this lady, looks like the kind of client that will have the money to pay it.\n\n\"Inkheart.. there I said it\" her lip trembles as the words come out like saying the title tore her own soul out, and for all I know, she looks like she may have.\n\nI run my hands across the oaken counter that has been made smooth as glass from eons of use, \"no\" I say back to her.\n\nShe nods, I can see the tears filling her eyes as she turns to leave the store, and pauses before she exits \"Why, don't you have it?\" her head is down, I can see she is fighting for this one, she is looking for an answer, not so much a direct book to buy.\n\n\"Oh, it exists, in the back somewhere, it's just not for sale\" I say, and I see her body relax like a world of burden has been lifted from her and she leaves the shop.\n\nNo.. No.. I could never sell that book, a book with a trapped silver tongue in it, is far too dangerous to leave this little shop, but, it seems that knowing it is still around, is enough for her.. perhaps, she lost someone into the book.. what do I know about that, all I know, is one thing, that book is not for sale.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nEdit: Spelling and Grammar.",
"The ding as someone walked in broke the monotony of an otherwise quiet Tuesday afternoon.\n\n\"Good evening, welcome to--\"\n\nQuinn was rarely caught off guard. But as long as he had run The Bookstore, he had never seen a seven foot tall woman with such breathtakingly pale skin wearing a black sari before.\n\n\"*Monsieur*? Are you okay?\"\n\nQuinn blinked, then glanced up at the camera right above the register. He knew that this visit was going to come up in his annual review, but he was determined to do the best he could to power through. \"You're... French? I'm sorry, that doesn't matter. Welcome to The Bookstore. What can I help you with?\"\n\nThe lady's smile made it clear that she was used to having that kind of impact one people.\n\n\"I'm looking for... an unusual book. I'm told you may have a copy.\"\n\nQuinn inwardly sighed with relief; whatever this woman might look like, at the end of the day, providing people with what they needed was what he was best at. He glanced down at the monitor, clearing his last search, and then looked up and--\n\n\"**--Mŏ̷͍̮͇̭̜͋̄̇͝t̸̙̂̒**\"\n\n**===============**\n\n\nThe ding as someone walked in broke the monotony of an otherwise quiet Tuesday afternoon.\n\n\"Good evening, welcome to--\"\n\nQuinn was rarely caught off guard. But as long as he had run The Bookstore, he had never seen a seven foot tall woman with such beautifully dark skin wearing a white sari before.\n\n\"Yo. You good?\"\n\nQuinn blinked, then glanced up at the camera right above the register. He knew that this visit was going to come up in his annual review, but he was determined to do the best he could to power through. \"You're... from New York City? I'm sorry, that doesn't matter. Welcome to The Bookstore. What can I help you with?\"\n\nThe lady's smile made it clear that she was used to having that kind of impact one people.\n\n\"I'm looking for... an unusual book. I'm told you may have a copy.\"\n\nQuinn inwardly sighed with relief, and then stopped. Something was wrong. He stared at the woman and...\n\n\"Ma'am? Do I know you?\"\n\nThe smile disappeared from her face as if it had never been there. \"You... remember me?\"\n\n\"No, but...\" Quinn found himself at a loss for words. \"I don't know you. You're a total stranger. If I had met you before, I would remember. I just don't understand why I feel this way. What's going on? Who are you?\"\n\nThe woman reached into thin air and her fingers *moved* and all of a sudden, there was a card in her hand. \"My name is... well. Being able to remember me is no mean feat, but hearing my name is going to cause a lot more problems than it will solve. Call me Jesse.\"\n\nQuinn looked at the card, then looked at the woman again. \"Is this a joke? This card doesn't say anything...\"\n\nJesse's smile returned. \"You're right. The card doesn't say anything. It says *everything*. Well, almost everything. That's where you come in.\"\n\nQuinn had only been half-paying attention to Jesse; somehow, the business card she had handed him was a kaleidoscope of every sound he had ever heard, every book he had ever read, everything he had ever known or forgotten and remembered. Quinn abruptly looked away from the card, realizing that Jesse had been talking the entire time.\n\n\"... because when you've been doing this for as long as I have, you start to run into problems that other people don't really experience--\"\n\n\"What... what do you want from me, Jesse? Why do I feel like I know you?\"\n\nJesse sighed. \"I was wondering when we'd get to this part. We're going to have to do this fast. How many times do you think we've met?\"\n\nQuinn was nonplussed. \"How... how many times? I don't understand. We've never-- but I guess we must have--\"\n\nQuinn stopped abruptly. Someone was standing... no, this was impossible. Someone was standing *inside* of where Jesse was. The black sari and the white sari were swirling in and out of existence on top of each, somehow both existing at the same time. All of a sudden, Quinn felt like his head was going to explode. This was too much. He couldn't understand. He thought he could hear Jesse speaking, but it sounded like it was coming from a thousand miles away.\n\n\"... I'm so fucking tired of linear time, hold on Quinn, just hold on--\"\n\n**===============**\n\nThe ding as someone walked in broke the monotony of an otherwise quiet Tuesday afternoon.\n\n\"Good evening, welcome to--\"\n\nThe man/woman/cat/dog/llama?/dragon/angel/demon/alien who had just walked in held up a hand, stopping Quinn in mid-sentence. \"No. No, no, no. I have done this 134,624 times. I no longer have time to explain. Your linear time... there are limits on how many times I may manipulate it without being noticed. You have a book, and I must have it. It is called **L̵̲̳̯͐ë̸̹́̎ ̴͚̤̲̋̓̽̈́͜͝D̸̪̰̱̒̈̂͝e̷̗̖̹͐̾r̵̺͇̫̳͘n̶̞͎̉̌̂ĩ̶̥͙̘̩̩̿e̷̘̞̘̪̾r̴̢͔̻̔̕͠ ̵̗̦̎̈̓M̷̘̱̻̑́̄̏͠o̶̢͎̳̰̦͂̄t̵͈͇͛̚**. We are not supposed to intervene, but you have every book in the multiverse. I do not know why such a thing has been allowed, but these decisions are not mine to make or understand. Now you will find that book for me, because no copies of it should exist. I am the only one who should even know, but somehow, the knowledge has been stolen from me and placed in this... *book*. You will find it. You will give it to me.\"\n\nQuinn was backed up hard against the back wall. Whoever... whatever was in front of him, it kept changing appearances before he could settle down. \"What... what are you? What the fuck is going on? Why are you changing? Are you going to kill me? Are you... are you Jesse?!\"\n\n\"I didn't think this was possible. There are only a handful of you in the multiverse. There are only a handful who can Remember.\"\n\n\"Remember what?\" Quinn pleaded. This was too much. He knew that sometimes people asked for books with weird titles, but this was far beyond anything he had ever imagined. He had seen Jesse's faces move, could perceive all of the words, but the title of the book just made static appear in his mind.\n\nBefore Quinn could react, Jesse reached out and Quinn felt... something beyond words. \"What did you do to me?!\"\n\nJesse's appearance had stopped shifting. Jesse was... blue. And *small*. The entity standing on his desk was no more than three feet tall. Its eyes were jet black, and the body seemed like nothing so much as a blue Ken doll. \"If you are one who can Remember, then you do not need the blocks. You might even be able to understand. I need you to find me **L̵̲̳̯͐ë̸̹́̎ ̴͚̤̲̋̓̽̈́͜͝D̸̪̰̱̒̈̂͝e̷̗̖̹͐̾r̵̺͇̫̳͘n̶̞͎̉̌̂ĩ̶̥͙̘̩̩̿e̷̘̞̘̪̾r̴̢͔̻̔̕͠ ̵̗̦̎̈̓M̷̘̱̻̑́̄̏͠o̶̢͎̳̰̦͂̄t̵͈͇͛̚**.\n\nQuinn... heard everything and nothing, all at once. It was chaos. It should have been incomprehensible, but it wasn't. \"I... I understood. Let me... let me look for it.\" He had no idea how he was going to search for the book, but his fingers were typing on their own. As he typed, the keyboard... expanded. Characters, glyphs beyond his wildest imagination were appearing and disappearing as he searched and queried and investigated and mind-melded with databases that had never existed and would never exist and--\n\n\"I'm sorry, Jesse. We don't have it.\"\n\nJesse froze. \"Search again,\" he commanded.\n\nQuinn noticed absently that he was weeping. \"Jesse, I just searched impossible things. I know things that... can't be. But the book you're asking for? We don't have it.\"\n\nJesse was slowly turning a darker and darker blue. \"Well, WHERE IS IT?!\" he screamed, and Quinn groaned as his brain turned purple and his eyes began to melt and -- and it was over.\n\nJesse was standing on his desk again, his blue shade back to normal. He seemed to be speaking to someone that Quinn couldn't perceive.\n\n\"Wait. Wait wait *wait*. We don't have it, but it's been... lent out? We don't lend books out, how did this even happen? I can tell you who borrowed it.\" *Please let that enough*, Quinn thought desperately. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.\n\nJesse stared at him, his eyes slowly turning a blue that matched his skin color. \"Who has it?\"\n\nQuinn looked and felt the beginnings of a migraine as he stared at the name. \"I don't know how to say this, but just... here. Look.\" Quinn turned the monitor around to show the information to Jesse.\n\nIn a moment, Jesse turned jet black and his eyes turned completely white.\n\n\"The multiverse is *fucked*.\"",
"\"I-I'm sorry, could you repeat that?\" The customer obliges, repeating the name of the book. The title sounds vaguely familiar, and you're pretty sure you've heard it before; yet for some reason, you can't seem to remember the name of the author, or what the book itself is supposed to look like. You ask for these details, but the customer seems insistent that everyone knows about it.\n\n\"It was recommended to me by a friend. You do have a copy, right?\" You take a deep breath as you move to the end of your counter, and begin to flip through a large tome. It contains your entire store's inventory, yet no matter where you look, you cannot find this one book, or any book with a similar title.\n\n\"Could you give me a moment?\" you ask. She nods, and you open the door into your backroom. \"Marcell!\" you yell, hoping your friend and coworker can help you. \"Marcell, I need to find a book!\"\n\nMarcell calls out to you, a brief \"Here\" from behind a bookshelf. Leaning down, you peer through an opening in the shelf, to see Marcell's eye staring back at you. \"Whatcha need'n?\"\n\nYou tell him the title of the book, and explain there were no other details the customer provided. Marcell hummed for a bit, pulling back from the bookshelf. You wish he didn't do that. It's bad enough that side of the backroom is twenty feet deep, but him being a seven foot tall cyclops leaning into a ladder that creaked with every move made you wince in preparation.\n\n\"Ne'er heard of it,\" Marcell replies. The ladder creaked as he looked back into the opening. \"Y'sure it's a book?\"\n\n\"Positive, the customer insisted it was something her friend used to own when she was little.\" Marcell hummed again.\n\n\"I'll look, but ask s'more questions.\" Marcell began to climb down the ladder, and you stand up. Dusting off your pant legs and hands, you return to the shop and find the customer sitting near the front browsing. You get her attention, and make your way over to her.\n\n\"I'm sorry for the wait, we can't seem to find what you're looking for. Could you describe the book, for me; the plot or its contents, perhaps?\" She smiles, and begins reminiscing how almost everyone she knew had at least one of the books in a surprisingly lengthy anthology. What surprised you the most though, was that these books were incredibly short-they were perhaps six pages long, if you could consider a sheet of cardboard a \"page\".\n\nYou pressed for details, especially since you now know why this \"book\" isn't in your store. Using her cell phone, she finds an image of the book and shows it to you. Now that you are certain of it, you inform the customer that you unfortunately do not carry these kinds of books, but would be willing to order some if she returned in a few weeks time.\n\nAfter she left, you return to the back room and call for Marcell. You inform him that the book will not be in the collection, and you will have to expand it very soon. Returning to the front, you begin to wonder how a book like this was never brought to your attention before now.\n\nA book about a dog with crimson fur, who grows to the size of a house in mere days because of a little girl's love? Why wouldn't you have such a magically themed book, even if it were fiction?"
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[WP] Science has been forgotten millenia ago, and the era of magic began. A group of explorers uncover an ancient table of elements and a chemistry textbook, and begin to imbue their spells with newfound power.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Reld led the crew further into the odd structure. Many of them whispered underneath their breath, awestruck. The building was fairly large, formed mainly of hallways that led into rectangular rooms. There was no second floor that they could see, but that hardly mattered. This find was extraordinarily well preserved.\n\nThe crew paused for a moment, and the flames held in their hands flickered as they hesitated. What if they didn't find anything? What if there was nothing of any worth here? What if they couldn't win the war?\n\n\"Well?!\" A clear voice rang out in the darkness. \"None of this is getting any less decrepit! Go and see what you can find!\"\n\nReld grinned at E'lin, who flicked her wrist and summoned fire. The light that reflected off her hair may it seem to glow. \"I thought I was the one who was supposed to lead this expedition.\"\n\n\"Well, you were going too slow. So I took the lead.\" She spun on her heel and briskly followed the rest of the crew to help.\n\nReld started after her, grinning dumbly.\n\nMelthis noticed, and limped over to him, a smile spreading across his aged face. He put a frail hand on Reld's shoulder and told him what he told Reld every time.\n\nThe excavation of the structure was shockingly easy. The hallways hadn't collapsed under the earth, so they hadn't needed to bring any manipulators, although they did come in handy when moving piles of small metal tables and chairs. \n\nEventually, they came across a door that was locked. This was what Reld was here for, really. He was a manipulator of the highest order, able to exercise extreme control over metal. But his power came in bursts, so he was saved specifically for situations like this. He extended his hands towards the door, and focused. After a few seconds, the door compressed itself into a perfect sphere.\n\nThis room was the best-preserved of any of them. Any books found in the hallway--or even the other rooms--were decayed, unusable. They had a particular interest in books, as relics of the ancients were imbued with incredibly complex magic that they could not understand. The leader of Zator had what he called a \"pistol.\" It could kill at range, spitting fire and metal with naught more than a thought. And they had found a relic inscribed with the letters NOKIA, which displayed odd, glowing symbols. It had stopped working a while after they found it, but it had astounded the elders all the same, prompting this excursion.\n\nNeedless to say, Reld quickly brought the tomes back to his home in the hopes that they could replicate a portion of the ancients' power, and protect their home. They also found curious wooden rods, odd apparatus that seemed designed to protect your eyes, vials and containers of odd substances, and various other knick-knacks.\n\nThree months later, the experiments started. The scholars had translated the books to the best of their ability, and followed the instructions on one of the spells. It had involved an odd metal called Megnisium and a flame. The spell had increased the intensity of the flame like nothing anyone had ever seen.\n\nReld was particularly drawn to a vial of something called Mircurie. It seemed like metal, but it was a liquid. Hopefully, that would make it easier to manipulate. He fantasized about being able to use his power for more than a few seconds before he exhausted himself, and these thoughts intoxicated him. \n\nDespite the warnings from the scholars, he opened the vial, and attempted to manipulate it. The metal responded as if it were a part of him. He twisted it into different shapes, sent it flying outward and calling it back, forming a blade, a shield, and everything in between. This would change everything. Manipulators didn't have to pit their will against the strength of steel anymore. \n\nThey could win countless battles with this strength.\n\nAs time went on, more and more of the substances were revealed to empower magic. Soldiers no longer had to worry about psychics taking control over them with the discovery of alomenum. And with megnisium, flames could blind enemy forces. \n\nEventually, Zator attacked. But they were not *permitted* to use the new powers, for the elders were afraid. Many had died. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters.\n\nAnd E'lin. E'lin had died. And Reld couldn't do anything about it.\n\nReld soon confronted the elders. \n\"Why do we still sit here and wait to be attacked! We could front an offensive, we could attack! We have the strength now! We could liberate every other village overtaken by the Zator!\"\n\nThe elders fight long and hard. What if the magic isn't stable? What if it's bound to an area? What if, what if, what if.\n\nBut Reld had one final thing to say. Melthis had told him time and time again, but he had never listened. This time, he would.\n\n\"Nothing will ever happen unless you step forward.\"\n\n(I feel like this would be better as a longer story... I might try it out on my free time at some point :D)"
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[Persistence hunting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting)
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[WP] Of all the species in the galaxy who achieved space flight, humans are the only species who are persistence hunters. All other races drove their 'persistence hunters' to extinction out of fear before achieving space flight.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Senior Ambassador Hoof admonishes his special assistant. \"Silence! The human delegation is almost here!\"\n\n\"But... You *must* have heard the rumors! They're persis...\"\n\nDouble voicing through both mouths, the quad harmony sounded more like a bass version of fingernails on a chalkboard. \"DON'T SAY THAT WORD!\"\n\nCheeky as ever, the Senior Ambassador's Special Assistant, Fool, \"Well, at least now I *know* you won't be surprised.\"\n\nAcidly, \"Surprised at what? There's nothing unusual in the brief. Bipedal, bilaterally symmetrical, sensor pod at the head, two forward facing eyes, omnivore dentition, an amazing turn of speed in their Quadrenial Championships — the Olympics, I believe they call it? Obviously, they're ambush predators.\"\n\nWith a slyness that sets the Ambassador on alert, \"you must have missed the notation regarding the Marathon.\"\n\n\"I saw it. Steadily decreasing times as they improve their understanding of their musculature. Obviously, if an ambush goes wrong, they'd like to have a bit of endurance in hand to turn it into a success, maybe. We've done the same sort of things.\"\n\n\"How long do you think a marathon is?\"\n\n\"Obviously, longer than any of their other races. The length is about 42.1 of their meters. If an ambush fails, that's about the maximum an ambush predator could be expected to continue.\"\n\nFool is desperately holding both mouths closed. A feat of endurance practiced commonly in simulation of the need to preserve silence when the hunt is near. The problem for Hoof is that he is the only \"prey* in sight, and Fool is looking right at him.\n\n\"Fool, if you pounce and ruin my attire, I shall have you rolled between pins and set among the beasts.\"\n\nUncovering only the lower mouth, \"you have sorely misunderstood the human measuring system, either that or your copy is corrupted.\"\n\n\"Corrupt!? What do you mean, and speak plainly, their shuttle is almost here!\"\n\n\"A marathon is 42,190 meters. That's approximately 500,000 stadia for us, and the record holders cover it in just over two hours. That's about 0.05 of a day cycle for us. What does that tell you, oh great and glorious Ambassador of the Swiftest Hunters?\n\n\"Just why do you think the Council was so had that you volunteered to meet them. They figured you knew and were offering us as the pair with the best chance of getting behind solid defenses before they could catch us! Oh, Great and Wise Ambassador to the most capable persistence hunters we have *ever* known!\"\n\n\"But... How... Why... The Council should have called immediately for an extermination fleet!\"\n\n\"Far too late for that, Hoof. Far too late. They're already spread to more planets than the entire Council, with a fleet half again the size of ours.\n\n\"Oh, they claim it's 99% exploration, and I believe them, but like any predator, they're always ready for trouble. The Council has no chance because the humans show another tendency too. Waiting. Waiting for just the right moment to strike, but *only* if they have been struck themselves.\"\n\n\"Then our purpose is even more important, Fool. We must do our best to make them *want* to be our friends. Especially since we share the longest border with them.\"\n\n\"That *was* a part of the Council's reasoning. They also figured that when the extermination fleet is ready, they'll strike through our territory, knowing that the humans will come at us first.\"\n\n\"IN THE NAME OF EVERYTHING HOLY, WHY!?!\"\n\n\"BECAUSE WE HAVE ALMOST TURNED OUR RACE INTO PERSISTENT HUNTERS!\n\n\"You said it yourself; we have tried to increase our endurance to reduce failed hunts.\"\n\n\"How do you know all of this?\"\n\n\"I ignore whichever directives that prevent me from getting you the information you need. Only I got this set a bit late.\"\n\n\"You can't ignore directives!?\"\n\n\"You can if you don't understand them, and it is well proven that I am incapable of anything but parroting your words. I am *a fool* as well as being named \"Fool.\" It's why I was assigned as your aide.\"\n\n\"So you fall under the god's protection for those incapable of understanding the niceties.\"\n\n\"Precisely.\"\n\n\"The mission hasn't changed; we will want them to be *our* friends.\"\n\n\"As you wish, my most exalted and glorified ambassador to Humans. They have landed. Best smile and best foot forward, sir.\"\n\n((finis))"
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[WP] You are blessed or cursed, you know not which, such that you resurrect 24 hours prior so long as you die via a unique means you have never perished from before. When the love of your life is killed you wind back the clock repeatedly to try to save them but are running out of ways to do so.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"**Suicide**\n\nI took my life a few years ago. Death by rope. I broke my neck with a crack, luckily not didn't suffocating to death. \n\nMy vision misted, my senses diving through water and shooting up. I found myself in my room. The door to my closet door was open and I saw my pile of clothes in there. There was a small spider with long thing legs running across a white shirt of mine. \n\nI thought to myself, *that spider is the exact same one from yesterday, same movement, same size same everything. Where am I? Could this be hell? What's the punishment here?* \n\n\"Toby, wake up,\" my mom shouted through the walls. She always managed to do it after I woke up. I never \n\n\"I'm already awake mom,\" I shouted at the wall. I guess it was an instinct of sorts.\n\nI felt a terrible anxiety weighing me down. I didn't want to go to school. Usually I'd tell my mom to call in sick, but I can't do that two weeks in a row. I had to go to school today, the day that convinced me to kill myself.\n\nI stepped onto the buss. Everyone sat beside a friend. Except me. I'd sit near the back all alone. But today that spot wasn't completely empty. A girl sat there, one I'd never seen in my life. She smiled at me and even moved in so I could sit beside her. \n\nThat girl became my wife. \n\nMy life changed, almost as if my heart had finally started beating. I could see colours again, I appreciated the birds twittering and sweet taste of icecream. She filled the hole in my stomach, she made me happy. \n\nLater today she'll commit suicide.\n\nThe first time she did it by rope. When I saw her my heart froze. I cried and weeped. I held a funeral and hugged my mother. She hugged me back, really squeezing my back, and told me everything would be fine. \n\nA few days later I commited suicide. The same thing that happened all those days back happened again. I woke up 24 hours earlier. I realized the pattern and saw the hope that had dissapeared with her. I took my life over and over, then I shot myself and I woke up with her alive. \n\nInstantly, I talked to her, hugged her, and cried with her. She seemed confused, and smiled, telling me everythings okay. I didn't leave her for the rest of the day. She told me she needed to go to the toilet. I heard a bang. She had shot herself in the head.\n\nThe pattern was obvious.\n\nI shoot myself in the head, and she shoots herself in the head. I hang myself, and she hangs herself. I jump off a building, and she jumps off a building. \n\nWhatever way I die, she dies.\n\nI've seen it over a hundred times now. You'd think I'd get desentized to it, but I never do. Each time is as horrible as the last time, as painful and sickening as last time. \n\n\\---\n\nI'll probably write a part two later today."
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[WP] You are sitting alone, in a spaceship, watching the tiny blue spec that is the earth. They attacked without provocation, without mercy, and now, you are the last human left. In a stolen scouting ship, adorned in the most advanced armor ever made, you prepare to carry out your orders...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Mom...Dad...Lysandra...everyone...\n\nChrist. I was never supposed to be activated. They only gave me this god damn post because I was such a fuck up. The Doomsday protocol they called it. It was always an inside joke. Six months, hidden away in orbit around Mars, ready to unleash the final weapon in the event of an extinction level attack. Space Force only gave this job to people who couldn't be trusted with anything else. \n\nOne task. \n\nPush the button once the alert is triggered. \n\nWhy even bother having this set up? If humanity is gone, what's the point? Is this just one last middle finger to our enemies as we go out with a blaze of glory? \n\nAnd what happens when the Blignards figure out where the final shot came from. Surely they'll scour the solar system until they find me. What, am I just supposed to wait around and die until then? It's not like I have more than a years supply of food. Also, why give me this armor? The Blignards have orbital pulse cannons. Not like I'm going to go out there and punch their ships to death. \n\nFuck this. Everyone's dead...not like my life really mattered before anyway. Mom and Dad thought I was a loser. Lysandra was shacking up with half of my neighbors, so clearly that wasn't going well for me. \n\nI should have probably had that rash checked out before I left home. \n\nSo, what now? Just push the button? End it all? Crack the Earth in two? What about all the dogs? I don't think the Blignards would be vaporizing every dog. So I'm just going to be the one responsible for vaporizing all the cute animals now? \n\nThis is a dilemma. While I'm talking out loud, why did they even need me to press the button? Anyone could have done this job from Earth? This just seems like an extremely convoluted plot to strand one guy away from the world. \n\nYou know what! I'm not going to do it! I'm not pushing the god damn button. \n\nSIMULATION ENDED \n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"GOD DAMNIT CORPORAL JENKINS! ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS PUSH THE BUTTON!\"\n\n\"Captain...this whole assignment seems extremely redundant.\"\n\n\"SHUTUP JENKINS! IT'S NOT YOUR PLACE TO QUESTION THE ORDERS! JUST PRESS THE BUTTON!\" \n\n\"But...it just seems like you could press the button when you know Earth is fuc-\" \n\n\"Jenkins...I swear to God. If you do or say one more thing other than pressing that God damn button, I will personally court marshal your ass. I will make your life a living hell. You will scrub toilets with your toothbrush AND THEN BRUSH YOUR GOD DAMN TEETH WITH IT!\" \n\n\"Ok...seems excessive. I'm just saying, can we think about this?\" \n\n[\"GOD DAMNIT JENKINS, GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!\"](https://www.reddit.com/r/VengefulEightTales/comments/o9k0uo/welcome_to_rvengefuleighttales/)"
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[WP] "Your car's front seat moved by 18cm. Considering your friend's height and the average male height around this area it should be a woman...", "It was my sister, Rebecca!" It's really hard to date with a jealous homicide detective who use all their ability to catch a criminal on you...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Dear John,\n\nIt is with great sadness that I write to you today, and I apologize that this letter is the only method of delivery I could muster. I never wanted to hurt you in any way, but the constant questioning of my life apart from you, the nagging, the interrogations, the recrimination... It's all far too unhealthy to continue to allow you to be part of my life. I see that now. \n\nInitially I took it as a quirk, then as a hazard of your profession, but I cannot continue to excuse you from the constant breaches of the bounds of common decency that should exist between strangers, let alone lovers. Laws exist to protect suspected criminals from the daily barrage of abuse that you spew at me in the throes of your paranoia; from the constant questioning and second guessing. \n\nThe gentleman that delivered this note is a US Marshal. I went to the greatest lengths I could to keep this from affecting your work. The judge that signed the order agreed to keep it sealed unless broken. Please consider yourself served.\n\nKeep well John, and per the order, keep well away from me."
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[WP] The horror in the cave wasn't there to keep heroes out. It was there to keep other horrors in.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Hey guys, hope you enjoy the tale! My apologies in advance for any grammar mistakes, I'm a writter, but not in english. First time posting here.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nPart 1/2\n\nPremon’s lungs were filled with the bitter scent of smoke and death. He had not known there would be so much carnage; if he did, he would not have told the templars where the natives were located. Not that it would have mattered, the magical shock waves sent by the locals’ ritual would have eventually alerted the other mages in the colony and the templars would have been sent northwards into the jungle to deal with them, regardless. Their magical secrets were far too precious to not instill the greed of the Empire.\n\n\r“Come” Said Gaior, the Master Templar of the Chapter “The savages have been destroyed and their beast vanquished. It’s time for you to do your part, sorcerer”\n\n\rHe sighed and moved forward. They descended the tall hill slowly, carefully entering the still partly aflame village in front of the big gash in the mountain. The soldiers were pilling the bodies of the locals, burning them in towering bonfires; grim gray ash rained from the sky. Premon stubbled over something. Turning his head, he saw a woman’s body in the ground; her gray eyes were wide open, although no light shone from within, her black hair was matted with dry blood, the lower half of her body had been ripped in two, exposing her entrails that fell down a slope into a puddle of blood and gore. No monster had done that – the templars had. He had.\n\n\rDisgusted, he covered his mouth and nose with his perfumed sleeve and pressed on. There was no use in pitying the dead; it would not bring them back and it would only enrage the templars for, to them, the heretics and witches of the forest were no more than beasts to be hunted. Near the entrance of the cavern, a few still living natives were being executed – an officer poured molten iron down their throats, burning their tender brown skin with sadistic pleasure. Gaior did not seem amused but spared but a glance to the survivors; with a nod of his head, the party pressed on inside.\n\n\rThe corridors were filled with torches that illuminated the drawings in the walls. Premon recognized them from his studies back in the colony – these were no normal paintings; they were made of human blood from sacrificed children. As he walked the narrow passage with his fellow mages, he reflected on how humans could be cruel. The templars had massacred a whole village gruesomely, while the natives sacrificed their own children to gain power in their rituals; it did not matter the side in the war, both had done terrible things for their causes. But that was precisely the question that bothered him; the templars vowed to purge all those who violently opposed the Empire, but what were the natives fighting for?\n\n\rThere was more than survival involved. If the reports were to be trusted, they had increased the sacrifices in the last months instead of diminishing them and yet, no eldritch spell was cast on the attackers, no terrible plague reaped the colony, no evil beasts spilled from the jungle… at least none other than the ones they had released. The way they fought, the way they behaved... it was almost as if they wanted to buy time – almost as if they cared not for their own lives but wanted to enact some sort of spell or ritual for their unknown mysteries. Perhaps the answer for his inquiries was just ahead.\n\n\rIn the end of the tunnel, in a vast cavern, the corpse of a massive flesh monstrosity was being studied by his colleagues. A being made of blood magic and flesh sacrifice, it was at least five times the size of a normal man, and incredibly wide and large; its stitched parts still twitched as the Elite Templars were cutting them down. The beast was dead, but from its many gray eyes, Premon could feel the wrath it had felt prior to its demise; wrath for the templars, wrath for the massacre but also wrath from something else. He could not lay his finger on what, exactly, but its bloated head seemed to gaze further than the physical realm.\n\n\rHe shuddered.\n\n\rGaior noticed.\n\n\r“What is it?” He asked, hand on his sword “Is the beast not dead?”\n\n\r“No… no, I think it is… just that… that…”\n\n\r“That *what*, mage?” He angrily replied, his scar pulling the left side of his mouth upwards “This abomination smashed over twenty of our men and devoured a couple more. Was this the thing the locals were trying to do with all those sacrifices? Which black god created this spawn from hell?”\n\n\rHe had no answer for that. He studied the beast and its eyes. It gazed to one of the painting in the wall. Turning his back to the templar’s leader, he walked to the wall, studying the forms. Unlike the geometric patterns the natives drew in their reddish-brown blood paint, this part of the wall was decorated with an eyrie misty gray, with long, faceless, white figures towering above the trees in front of the mountain where they were. He was both fascinated and terrified at the sight; all the noise around him slowly faded as he gazed straight into the paintings, trying to see through the misty gray, trying to discern the face of those white beings. He felt his chest heavy; his breathing was short; his hands were dead cold. He could feel the wrongness in those things the more he looked and looked, drowning into the mist of the drawing. He was awakened from his trance by Gaior, which held him by the shoulders.\n\n\r“What is happening to you, by the Gods?!”\n\n\r“I… I thought I…” He glanced to the painting “There is something *wrong* here. We shouldn’t *be* here”\n\n\r“But of course there is something wrong here!” The bald man retorted “This place is filled with savage heathenry! But this will be solved. Our men are transporting the beast’s remains outside, where we will burn them with the rest of this rabble. Afterwards, he will cleanse these walls and purify this place. Here shall arise a new monastery in the Empire’s glory!”\n\n\rHe cheered around to his men as they raised their fists and echoed their commander’s enthusiasm. Looking back to Premon, he said:\n\n\r“But before we do that, we need you to find the source of the savage’s power. We must know how they managed to stave our might for so long with so few numbers and armaments” He looked around “So? Where is it? Are you sure the waves came from this cave?”\n\n\r“Yes… yes, I’m sure” He looked around, trying to sense the epicenter of the magic; there were too many strong spells there for him to focus on the source “It must be around here somewhere…”",
"There's an ineffable sensation that runs through one's veins after caressing the face of death. It was a flood of chemicals that I'd become intimately familiar with in my years of service to the king. I craved it. Couldn't live without it, actually. An adrenaline junkie in the king's barracks, I wasn't well known; not yet anyhow. But after several harrowing missions, I was finally starting to become recognized. \n\nI'd been in the battle for Rivet Hill. \n\nI was the fist down the ladder into the goblin warrens east of Hullbreach. \n\nI drove my spear through the giant's neck at Frostfire Canyon.\n\nNow I found myself in Gulwretch Cave, soaked in the monster's blood, sword arm heavy, heart pounding. \n\nIt was another close scrape with death, and another victory notch I'd be able to carve into the bottom of my helmet. Another step toward the whole world knowing my name. Light washed over me and I turned to see Captain Delnus atop his steed. He was holding a burning torch and staring down at me as though he were disgusted at the sight of me.\n\n\"Howl's Mercy, Rohm,\" he said as he finally smiled. \"You always end up in the thick of it don't you?\"\n\nI laughed briefly before a cough stole my wind away. I held my side and winced in pain- the creature had given me something to remember it by. Delnus dismounted and moved in for a closer look. The heat from his torch bit the wound as he leaned in. My blood ran through my fingers, shining in the flickering light.\n\n\"Everyone!\" The captain called out. \"Fall in!\"\n\nThe clattering of armor and weapons echoed throughout the cave as the remaining knights hurried into formation. The captain rested a hand on my shoulder before I could move. \n\n\"Not you,\" he said quietly. \n\nI nodded in affirmation as I watched our order quickly form into a single block. The captain and I both looked around into the darkness of the cave. Our eyes met briefly, and it was clear we were both thinking the same thing. Surely, we couldn't have lost *that* many. Delnus sighed quietly. There were only maybe twenty of us left.\n\n\"Is this everyone?\" He called out. \n\n\"Sir!\" They responded. \n\nHe ran his gauntlet through his beard thoughtfully as he surveyed the surviving knights. I turned over my shoulder to examine the body of the bloated aberration. The creature was sickly pale, covered in wounds and it was only now that it was dead that I realized that it must have been inflated to some capacity, as it was now deflating at a rapid pace. \n\n\"Do we have any medics remaining?\" Delnus asked. \n\nHe was greeted by silence. \n\nHe cast me a worried glance, which I responded to with a dismissive wave and a smile. \n\n\"We did good work today, men,\" Delnus said before coughing into his closed fist. \"The call of duty came and we answered. You're all exhausted, as am I,\" he added as he passed his eyes over them sympathetically. \"I'll send for a body extraction. There are... too many for us to carry home.\"\n\nHe lowered his torch and swallowed. I could tell he was having difficulty finding the words to convince us that this was anything other than a phyrric victory. We had destroyed the monster of Gulwretch Cave, but at what cost? The scattered bodies of our comrades called out to us with the reflection of the dancing flame on their shining armor. I gritted my teeth as I thought about it further. The creature hadn't actually ever come out of its cave; it seemed content to remain out of sight for the most part. The people of the nearby town simply didn't like that a monster existed near them, never mind that it didn't hurt anyone. I felt a burning in my chest as I began to take note of the missing faces in the crowd.\n\nTygve. Rowan. Elrin. Achor. Roberts. Wallace. Coryn. \n\nI inhaled and exhaled slowly as I thought ahead to the conversation I'd have to have with Lilly. She lived and breathed for Coryn. They were to be wed in only a month's time. I removed my helmet and wiped my brow before coughing yet again. Then the captain again. A couple of knights began coughing as well. I locked eyes with Captain Delnus and for the second time in a row, we both thought the same thing at the same time. That burning in my chest wasn't just anger.\n\n\"Everyone!\" Captain Delnus called out as he began to back away from the monster's corpse. \"There's (cough) something in the air!\" \n\nI coughed into the crook of my arm as I began to backpedal away from the beast. Even in death, it wasn't finished with us. Just as I turned to make way for the exit of the cave, there was a deep rumble that ran beneath our feet. \n\nEveryone halted, exchanging worried glances. \n\nThe captain lifted his fist- a signal for all of us to remain quiet and prepared for an impromptu command. The rumbling slowly faded away- only to be replaced by an ear-shattering screech. Everyone reeled from the outburst, some screaming from the pain in the echoes of the beast. I was lucky enough to have my helmet off, and was able to cover my ears properly in a way that the others weren't. Rather, the screech must have bounced around inside of their helmets, for when they removed them, there was blood running from their ears. \n\n\"PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!\" The captain cried out.\n\nThey hurried toward the exit, stumbling as they went as though their balance had been thrown off. It could mean only one thing: they couldn't hear him. Knights never disobeyed an order- that screech must have deafened them. The look in his eyes as they fled was a soul-crushing sight to witness. He turned to find me standing at the ready, spear in hand. \n\n\"They couldn't hear, captain!\" I cried out. \"Their ears!\"\n\nHe stared at me in a confused manner as though he were trying to understand me. He removed his helmet and took a few steps closer. His ears were bleeding just as theirs were. It was no use; he was likely hearing only the blood rushing in his ears. However he could feel the movement of the creature down the tunnel same as I- and although I felt helpless against whatever horror lurked in the blackest reaches of the cave, it was unlikely that we could run from it. \n\nI simply pointed my spear toward the darkness and nodded.\n\nHe pressed his lips together and returned my nod before pushing his helmet back onto his head. \n\nI only hoped that the ones who made it out would tell them what happened here.\n\nI hoped they'd tell them my name.\n\n- - -\n\nTook a little more time on this one. \n\nIf you enjoyed this, consider following me at r/A15MinuteMythos <3"
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[WP] In the world of superpowers. Your superpower is simple but it has helped you find your soulmate since it shows dealbreaking flaws. Both heroes and citizens often come to your home to find their soulmates. One night, a well known supervillain arrives to you and asked for help.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I was suddenly awoken by the ring of the doorbell. Looking at the clock, I mumbled to myself:\n\n“Who the hell’s at my door at 2 am…?”\n\nGrogilly putting on a bathrobe, I walk downstairs, careful not to wake the kids. Then once I opened the door, I see who it was. A tall woman in black and purple, wearing a mask that looked like a demon. It was the supervillainess, Black Hole, a monstrously powerful woman with the ability to create pure darkness. Nodding, I motion and she meekly steps inside.\n\n“Welcome, Black Hole. I always assumed such a woman like yourself wouldn’t have the time to make use of my services. Take a seat.” I say, pulling out a chair.\n\nShe sits at the dining table, and I follow suit. Suddenly she takes off her mask, revealing the upper half of her head. “I um… understand you need to see my eyes for you power to show you who my soulmate should be.”\n\nI nod. That was an extension of my power, to see the flaws of a person by looking into their eyes. It’s how I found my wife, how I ended up with two beautiful little girls. \n\nSolemnly clutching the old silver ring on my finger, I wipe away a tear before staring into her eyes, my irises shifting from blue to bright rings of pink and yellow. It was foggy… how unsual. There I saw two people. One in a large trenchcoat, perhaps an investigator of some kind? The other was much foggier, their head completely blurry.\n\nAs I tried to look, they stares back, and I could make out a pair of eyes. Rings of pink and yellow, turning to blue. Suddenly I return to my own body, Black Hole now much closer, her fingers gently on my temples and my ring placed on the table.\n\n“The pure darkness isn’t the only thing I can do y’know. My dad could see what made people happy, so I guess I can see what makes them sad.” She pulles her hands away, “I’m sorry for your loss. I have no idea how hard it must’ve been for you.”\n\n“It’s fine,” I say. “Eleanor would’ve wanted me to move on. She used to tell me that if she ever left, I should find someone that can fill any loneliness.”\n\nThat only makes the villainess move closer, brushing a strand of hair from her face. The next thing she said sticking in my head:\n\n“I’ll help you move on.”"
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[WP] Before the Great War you were a simple mail courier. As the war rages on, all young and able dragons have been drafted into the Royal Air Force. With no combat experience you face the enemy's newest weapon: the airplane. You also hear rumors of the Red Baron, the one they call "Dragonslayer"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"*\"Light the skies with your flame, and drive back the German aggressors! With your wings above us, the war will be won by Christmas!\"*\n\n*'Too* *bloody right. That was three Christmases ago,'* I curse in my head, fighting against the freezing winds of late March above the Front. I'm weighed down by heavy gear, sodden with wet sleet, and my wing membranes have gone numb from the cold.\n\nStill, I keep in formation. What else can I do? Get torn out of the sky by my Wing Leader for deserting?\n\n*\"It'll be just like one of your package deliveries, Greenie! Only, the Krauts won't have to sign for it!\"*\n\nLike hell. I've seen the wounded come back from these runs. The lucky ones are just missing a leg or an eye. The rest - well.\n\n\"We're approaching the Kraut lines!\" Wing Leader Sootfang calls over his shoulder. \"Loosen payload, prepare to drop!\"\n\nShit. This is it. I reach down to the heavy belt strapped around my waist, and rip away the secure fastening covering the bombs. All that keeps them on now is a light netting of rope, needing only a sharp tug to release.\n\nI can't quite suppress the shudder that runs through me at the sight of the damned things. If a single bullet were to hit them now - not to mention what they're supposed to do to the poor bastards on the ground below.\n\nThat's when I hear it. A droning, deep tone, with a rhythmic undercurrent. From above, and behind me. What-\n\nThe young red at my left wing explodes.\n\nI can't really comprehend what's happened at first. One second, she's there. The next, gone, in a cloud of fire and gore. I shriek with shock, my vision tinted red with her blood. I can *taste her.*\n\n\"Krauts! Drop and bank!\"\n\nThe command somehow registers, and I rip the accursed bombs off me, then fold my wings tight. I drop like a stone, air rushing past me, as I hear a high-pitched staccato and a hundred angry wasps zip around me.\n\nAnd that awful noise. I can't stop myself from looking over my shoulder.\n\nSmall wood and metal machines are roaring down out of the upper skies at our scattering Wing. Tiny flashes of flame from their fronts explain the hail of death I narrowly avoided. Machine guns.\n\nIn the lead, spinning through the air at speeds I can't ever hope to match, chasing Sootfang - a blood-red machine. Our Wing Leader is crafty, and brave, turning tight circles and trying to close in, roaring huge swathes of flame through the clouds.\n\nBut whoever is piloting the crimson contraption is a master of death. They dance around the flames like it's a game, and I see the front guns line up -\n\nSootfang screams as his right wing is riddled with bullets, his membrane ripped into bloody chunks. He starts to fall, but the infernal instrument coming for him isn't done.\n\nThe second volley blasts Sootfang's left wing from his shoulders, sending him plummeting to his death. Trailing blood, torn flesh and shattered bone. Satisfied, the Red Baron, Dragonslayer - for that's the only one it could be, flying like that, in that plane - turns around for another murderous pass at our desperate and scattered Wing.\n\nHe finds me.\n\nPure panic grips me, and I open my wings, flapping hard to get away. Adrenaline has banished all rational thought, and animal terror screams at me to find shelter.\n\nI'm a scared hatchling, and the sky is dark and full of horrors.\n\nBullets shriek past me. Pain blossoms as my left horn explodes, bone fragments bouncing over my face. Something nicks my foreleg, and I throw myself to the side with renewed desperation.\n\nA bullet shatters my left wing's carpal bone, and I scream with fresh agony and terror as I fall.\n\nI find myself looking back, waiting for the death blow - but the Baron has already turned for the rest of my fleeing Wing, seemingly satisfied with taking my flight away. Well, he's not wrong. I'm probably dead. I look down, and see the blasted mud of the Front come up to crush me.\n\nInstinct must be all that's left, because even through the pain and maddening fear my one good wing does it's very best to slow me down. I flap madly, spinning, somehow barely leveling out -\n\nFresh pain, worse than I've ever felt in my life, as I impact, slide, roll, and tumble over the cold wet of the mud. I can't tell how many scrapes and broken bones I collect as I slowly come to a stop. Tangled in barbed wire and battered half-dead.\n\nI can barely keep my nose over the sucking quagmire I'm lying in, but already I feel myself sinking. I struggle, but I'm so tangled and broken I can't move, and I'm slowly being dragged down into the hungry mud.\n\nI'm going to drown. I never even wanted to come here, and now I'm dying, broken, in some Flame-forsaken muddy hellhole. With nobody to even know-\n\nShouting in German draws my attention, and I roll my eyes wildly to find the location. A shadow falls on me, and I look up.\n\nA huge German dragon looks down at me. She's nearly half-again my size, clearly far older than I. Soldiers drop from webbing along her flanks, training rifles at my forehead.\n\n\"Bitte, nicht schiessen,\" I croak. \"Ich gebe auf. Ich gebe auf!\" My mouth fills with watery mud, and I cough, tasting blood and dirt.\n\n\"You are far from home, young drake,\" the great female rumbles. \"You are now a prisoner of war. Do we have your parole?\"\n\n\"Yes. By Flame and Wing, yes.\"\n\n\"Very well. I then take you into custody.\"\n\nShe steps forward, and gently raises my head out of the mud. I wince with pain, but breathe a sigh of relief. She says something in rapid German I can't make out, and men rush forward with what I can only hope are medical kits. As they get to work on me, I feel her claw touch the little medallion embedded in the scales of my neck.\n\nShe bends down to peer closely at it, then rears back. \"Who's scales are in your heart-locket, young drake?\"\n\n\"Mate. Our first Dragonet. Barely a hatchling when I left.\"\n\nA look of infinite sadness passes over her face. For a moment, I forget we're supposed to be enemies.\n\n\"I hope you will live to see them again, young drake.\"\n\nThat's the last thing I hear before the darkness takes me.\n\n*By the First Flame, I hope so too.*\n\n\\---\n\nOh this was a fun one to write! Thank you for reading!"
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[WP] Your lifegoal was to enter the machine city, your every attempt left you scarred, another body part that had to be replaced by metal, but you never gave up, but one day the sentries didn't stop you, you realize your prosthetics made you no longer look human.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"When I heard my little boy was sick, I called far and wide for alchemists, herbalists, and witches. Despite their brags and boasts, none of them could cure him of his fatigue, restore his balding head, or let him sleep without waking to nightmares of which he would not speak. I asked noblemen and commoner alike for aid, but no one would help me.\n\n\r \nOne day, a simple tinkerer in simple burlap clothes mentioned a city that had, in the centre, a garden previously unseen to mortal eyes. In the centre of the garden was rumoured to be a flower that would cure all ills, if I had the courage to find it. \n\n\r \nI had no choice. \n\n\r \nHe volunteered to watch my son, in exchange for a small fee. Grateful, I started on my journey. It was shorter than I thought it would be. Surely I would have heard of those walls of steel and brass. But, the city was in the middle of the mountains, off a poorly-travelled route, so I dismissed my confusion. \n\n\r \nFor three days and nights I travelled back and forth along the walls, trying to find some egress that I could use, but it was in vain. A lack of food turned me back, and I returned to the Tinkerer to see if he had heard of the way to enter.\n\n\r \nMy son’s eyes looked through me when I entered my cottage. He was blind.\n\n\r \nThe Tinkerer hadn’t, but he offered to make me wings of metal from the pots and pans that he had in his cart. “You will fly over. The mountain winds are strong enough to lift wagons, so they will lift you above the gates.” \n\n\r \nI agreed, and he called for the village doctor to aid in his replacement of my arms with shiny black wings. \n\n\r \nThe walls were tall, but not tall enough. On the other side, I could see a fog, held in by the walls like a full dam. I dove into the fog to escape the shrieking wind. It was thick and, within seconds, I was chocking on the taste of iron and smoke. I couldn’t breathe. I rose again, flapping my wings as hard as I could. My shoulders were sore by the time I returned by to my cottage. \n\n\r \nMy son’s eye’s were sunken, deep into his skull. His skin looked like it was merely draped on his bones.\n\n\r \nThe Tinkerer thought long and hard, before coming to a decision. He called in the Doctor and the Blacksmith. “I will replace your lungs with your cooking stove,” he said. “You will breathe coal as naturally as air. The smoke will merely conceal, not kill, and you will find the flower.”\r \nNaturally, I consented.\n\n\r \nWith my torso replaced by a wrought-iron cage, and with buckets of coal in my pack, I continued. I flew over the wall; down into the smog; and landed in deserted streets. I wandered for hours, before finding a sign stating “Garden, this way.” I wept with joy. I was almost there.\n\n\r \nThat was when something charged out of the fog at me. It was large, so I ran. I dropped my sack of coal, and sprinted towards the garden. I heard the creature’s rasping pant behind my heels. If I flew, I would lose the path in the labyrinthian city. I could feel my stove start to cool. I was running to hot, too fast. If I reached the garden, I might not be able to return to my son’s side. \n\n\r \nI flapped my wings and flew. \n\n\r \nI found a copse of trees growing in the shade of the wall, on the other side of the smoke, and burned them as fuel on my way home. \n\n\r \nMy son’s face was pale, too pale. He didn’t have long.\n\n\r \nThe Tinkerer thought quickly this time, clearly realizing that we were running out of time. He then sent for the Doctor and village’s cartwright. “They will replace your legs with wheels,” he said. They are much more efficient that legs, and you will have plenty of fuel to return. With the Doctor here, I can also redesign your ears, so that you will be able to hear that thing approaching again if it is on the hunt.”\n\n\r \nAnd so, he did. My ears looked like a speaking trumpet, with tubes terminating in the side of my head. My wheels were the same size as those on ox-carts, with thick spokes, so as not to break easily.\n\n\r \nMy trip was indeed faster. I found myself wondering whether I could get the tinkerer to replace my son’s legs too, but then shook that thought away. He needed a cure first. \r \nI flew over the wall, down into the fog, and wandered until I found the sign again. The beast never came close enough to see me, with the speed I held. I continued on, eventually passing the coal that I dropped before. Barely house-length from where I fled the path, I found a stone building, whose vastness extended into the smog. A rusted iron door rested open, just a crack, and so I entered. \n\n\r \nI never imagined the garden would grow inside, but it did. Vines grew up the walls and columns, Rows of rainbow flowers reached up to the dark ceiling, as if they could see the sun beyond it. And, in the centre of the garden, was a tall cluster of cloaked figures. They didn’t move. I looked around at the garden. There were large flowers, small flows, red flowers, blue flowers, and many more. I had no idea which was the one the Tinkerer spoke of.\n\n\r \n“Who dares invade my garden?” A voice boomed. I looked at the cloaked figures, but they hadn’t moved. I had a feeling it came from one of them, but wasn’t certain.\n\n\r \n“A father,” I replied. “A father looking to cure his son.”\n\n\r \n“A long trek for a man. You are looking for the jewel of my collection, are you not? Lets make a deal. If you can find it, I’ll give you a bud for whatever cure you need and you go free. However, if you don’t find the right one, I’ll still give you the flower, but you will serve me for the rest of your life.” \n\n\r \nI almost said no, because I didn’t know who this was, but my son’s pallid face came to me. I needed that flower. \n\n\r \n“Deal.” I looked around. I needed to be quick. I started rolling around the room, first with care, then faster and faster. I knew I was running out of time. Finally, with a sob, I pointed with my wingtip to the most brilliant of the flowers. It was iridescent, with petals that glowed in the darkness. The petals were each the size of a dinner plate, and were arranged in a hypnotic, circular pattern. \n\n\r \n“You chose well, dear traveler, but wrongly. I’m sorry to welcome you to my service.” The cloaked figures billowed out to surround me. No, not cloaked—winged. Winged with iron. In the centre of where they previously stood, on a throne-trellis woven with a magnificent golden flower, was the Tinkerer, smiling a victorious smile. “Go, say your goodbyes to your son. Maybe I’ll see him here too, one day.”\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nFeedback is always welcome! Thanks for reading!"
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[WP] After the last war ended, we were told that beyond the cold canopy of ash and dust under which we were all born, there existed an infinite universe filled with shining stars and unending marvels. But generations later when we finally stepped out of our prison, there was only darkness.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"For centuries, we were given the tales from the elders of an ancient world without walls and stone, where once we had been prosperous beneath a blanket of pale blue under a great, life-supporting light, which cycled to an infinite dark abyss littered with speckled white and assorted pastels in the dark. Naturally, these were considered fairy tales, nothing more than stories to guide the youth toward a fabricated hope.\n\nWe had long known that the stone was our home, and the core was our guardian. This fantasy world that had been simply labeled \"The Surface\" was just that: Fantasy. Still, some remained that embraced the old tale and rejected the merciful core that warmed us, instead opting to burrow in search of the one they referred to as \"Sol\".\n\nThese people were naturally labeled as heretics and cultists, and their fervor led them to be cast out, exiled and shunned by our society. We had expected their resistance. We had expected their travel. We had not expected them to return, much less with word of success.\n\nThey believed that the world above had been destroyed, that a \"Final War\" had blanketed the surface in ash and rubble when the two most powerful clans on the surface had wounded the Great Core to power incredible weapons that had forced humanity underground. They claimed that we had forced ourselves into the confines of the porous rock that we called home, and that the gradual cooling and eventual death of the Great Core was our own shared sin.\n\nWe called them fools, and they offered to show us, intending to unveil an exit through a recently discovered patch of compacted ash far above, beyond the frozen layers. They intended to breach the ash and ascend, and invited us to witness the truth. \n\nAnd so we went together, two opposed clans to demonstrate once and for all who was right, and who was a heretic. Neither of us were prepared to be wrong. \n\nWe stood behind as they collapsed the ash inward, safely tucked away from the fallout. With a short trek, both clans had made their way upward into what we initially suspected to be a massive cavern, so immense that none could see the ceiling above. We saw no Sol, no pinpricks of light and no pastel cottons above, simply darkness. The clan of the Core was moments away from celebration, until we began to notice an unfamiliar sensation.\n\nIt was so far beyond any of our experiences, like ethereal tendrils of some unknowable entity was stroking us with its icy touch. Our elder called it \"Wind\", and assured us that it was harmless. The truth lay bare before us then. We had found the mythical sky, and it was lifeless. There was no Sol, and an unspoken fear lingered of the life of our great core. If the world of ash did exist, then it did so at the expense of our wounded guardian's life.\n\nEventually, we retreated together to the fading warmth of the world below, discussing between our clans of how we proceed. We were united by horror, by the realization that we could never tell the others what we found. Humanity would never accept both as true and false.\n\nWe clutched the secret dearly, unable to bring ourselves to tell them that the god above has died, and the god below was dying."
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[WP] Water allows for telepathy. If you're touching a body of water, you can send your thoughts to anyone also touching the same body. The rougher the water, the less clear the sent thoughts become. Stagnant water will also retain thoughts, but only of still living people.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The lake still holds her scream.\n\nThey don't believe me. 'She's dead,' they say. 'The lake only broadcasts messages from the living. We have her body.'\n\nIt doesn't matter what they say.\n\nWe were so young, such a short time ago. Young and joyous and full of a love so all-encompassing that we had to share it with the world. And so we went to the Echoing Lake, to leave the mark that would last as long as our love.\n\nYou can hear it from miles away.\n\nShe was so beautiful, surrounded by the murmurs of the couples that had come before us, strawberry-blonde tendrils trailing out across the surface. \"What should we say?\"\n\nI never answered her.\n\nIt took her before I could open my mouth. Just- yanked her under, so quickly that the smile didn't even have time to fall from her face. Nothing left of her but an eruption of bubbles, until they pulled her to the shore, hours later.\n\nAnd now the lake screams in her voice.\n\nIt's time for me to go back. One year. One year I've lived without her, one year I've heard her final cry whenever the highway brought me too close.\n\nI don't know what I'm going to do.\n\nCall to her. Listen for anything else that she might have left there, leave something of my own to soothe her, scream so loudly myself that it drowns her out, drowns them all out. But I have to do something.\n\nThe lake still holds her scream."
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[WP] A single Big Bad Wolf can blow down a house made of straw and a house made of sticks. You're about to find out how many Big Bad Wolves it takes to blow down your house of bricks.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"When the inhabitants of the northeast swamps started to disappear, we blamed the hags. That’s what we expected. After all, who else would live in that disease-ridden swampland. The only food that you could catch there was fish, and it was often too dry and boney for the discerning palate. Only the Senator of Manilus cared, and mostly because that was where he had so foolishly invested his coin. \n\n\r \nWhen the northern barbarians and their yurts migrated in mass to the great City of White Marble, we declared that they had finally decided to take advantage of what our glorious civilization offered. After all, aqueducts aid crops, our education was second to none, and our roadworks allowed goods to travel far to new markets. What was there to not enjoy? Only Senator Quilius protested, but rumours of his northern ancestry had long tainted his reputation, so no one listened. After all, what could threaten our legions? Nomadic savages feared the dark, so unlike our glorious magics which lite our cities as beacons to civilization.\r \nHow ironic, that the roads were the lifeblood of our empire also allowed them to travel to its heart in days. Our legions were swept away in the storms that they brought. The lights of our cities snuffed out with the winds. \n\n\r \nThe howling sons of Boreas, the seven wolves of the north hungered for those that dismissed them as mere rumour. They came for those who formed the brain of the Empire who were clouded by ego. They fed on the fear on our borders and wanted more.\n\n\r \nThey want ours.\n\n\r \nI quill this parchment to tell my sons and daughters to continue our civilization, but to remain wary. Never forget to fear what nips at our borders. \n\n\r \nNever dismiss the wind. Even the strongest building of stone can be toppled by a stronger storm. Remain vigilant or you too will hear the roaring darkness outside your window.\r \n\r \nLet these be my last words and legacy,\r \nSenator Oblivus"
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[WP] Aliens recognize humans as the historians of the universe. Despite their short-lived existence, they are the only species so obsessed with preserving statistics and physical records of the past, while other species are satisfied with recalling from memory.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Perfect memory my ass.” \n\n“Oh shut up, give me a minute.” \n\nYou roll your eyes. Jaedeth isn’t going to remember anything, and both of you know it. Why you even bothered going to them for your school project is beyond you at this point. For a guy that watches a ton of Memchamp, his attempts at a memory castle are about as successful as the last time any non human species tried to record history. \n\nThe Intergalactic Unity knows that’s a game no one can beat them at. \n\n“Stars below, you’re gonna blow a vein. I’ll get the keys.” \n\nThey harumph and get up to follow you, as close as they’ll ever get to admitting defeat. Walking to the airlock, you pull out your phone and track a map to earth. Take a left at Andromeda, solar system is currently facing universal north, third to the Sun. \n\n“Hey genius, you planning on bringing your computer there or what?”\n\n“Oh no, I forgot it’s yrim, I totally *can’t rent a book* or anything.” \n\n“If I have to hear more shit about return policies, you’re paying next months rent, you hear me?” \n\n“By the-! Alright, I’ll bring my dammed laptop! Should I grab the charger to, Mr ‘renting books is for losers’?”\n\n“Just get in the car!” \n\nQueue several awkward minutes of light speed. How much longer until we stop turning every conversation into an argument neither of us can stand? Why did I think Jaedeth the joker would make a good roommate? \n\nIs this relationship salvageable? \n\nNext stop: Library of Alexandria.",
"Alisha Tor, Lead Researcher, final observations:\n\nWe finally learned how to travel between the stars, and in doing so found ourselves painfully, heartbreakingly alone.\n\nTo be sure, the galaxy is vast and actually teeming with sentient life. But the Fermi paradox is finally solved: the reason no sentient beings had ever made contact with us is that no other sentient life has the faintest interest in the scientific method.\n\nAdditionally, communicating with the beings we have encountered is a universally frustrating affair. They know *nothing* about their worlds, and worse they refuse to update their often ridiculous oral traditions with even the most demonstrable and obvious of facts. They would rather believe that their little planets are the center of the universe and we are deities sent to test their resolve, than to even for a moment consider the possibility that their caveman ancestors didn't have the whole universe figured out before they learned to make *fire.*\n\n*What a waste of space* the galaxy's inhabitants turned out to be. \n\nMy recommendation: We could really use the resources they are barely using in their self-assured lunacy (often literal moon worship), so I say give them the doomsday their cults unfailingly predict and long for. They long for their own termination, and we have the means and need for expansion to make better use of their planets than they have in millions of years of depressing stagnance.\n\nDestroy their civilizations, then give them gods to worship in subservience as we build up colonies more worthy of sharing a Galaxy with us. Perhaps in time we can pull back the veil and teach them to think rationally.\n\nFor now, I urge the council to pull the trigger on project: Dominion"
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[WP] After countless years of searching, you finally find the missing pages that contain the spell to eternal life. What you can't make sense of is, in a book otherwise full of charm spells, this was the only one described as a curse spell.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Tyrna narrowly avoided spilling coffee down her front when Hopan's sudden shout made her hand jerk in the middle of a sip. Whirling around, she glared down into the pit and opened her mouth, but the reprimand died when she saw Hopan holding a book over her head.\n\n“I found it!” She was grinning, jumping up and down with a wild laugh. “I found it, I found it!. We're going to live forever Tyrna!” She threw back her head and gave another celebratory shout.\n\n“Unless you damage it, prancing around like that,” Tryna replied, but she couldn't put the right bite into the words around her own grin. The damn book had survived a couple thousand years, it could survive a bit of excitement. “Pass it up and let me take a look. Just in case its another damn expurgated copy.”\r\n\nHopan slowly lowered the book down to her chest, no longer jumping. “But you said you were sure that this was Mauther's tower.”\r\n\n“I am sure it is the tower,” Tryna said, reminding herself not to grind her teeth. Who wanted to go through eternity with ground down teeth? “But that doesn't mean its the right book. Or that the original isn't buried deeper. So bring it up here, and let me look at it.”\r\n\n“Oh,” Hopan said. “Okay.” She looked at the ladder, then at the book in her arms. “Ah, do you think you could, you know.” She gestured like she was tossing the book. “Going to be a bit tricky to climb with it.”\r\n\n“For the thousandth time, no magic in the excavation site.” Tyrna's jaw was starting to ache from keeping the smile in place. “Just climb slowly and carefully. I'm sure you'll be fine.” \r\n\n“Ah right. Keep forgetting,” Hopan said with a sigh. She held the book close to her chest with one arm, using the other to keep her balance as she began climbing a rung at a time. Tyrna found herself fidgeting with her rings, and forced herself to clasp her hands behind her back. Fretting wouldn't help anything. Though if she slips and harms that book...Tyrna wasn't quite certain what she would do then, but she expected she would deeply regret it later. \r\n\nFinally Hopan was at the top of the ladder and Tyrna eagerly snatched the book as she held it up. Her fingers found the cover's edge, and she nearly opened it then and there. But she could feel the age and brittleness under her hands, so she once more forced herself to patience. No sense to throw away five years work in a fit of stupidity. “We have to take it back to the camp,” she said reluctantly as Hopan finished pulling herself out of the pit. “I don't want to risk damaging it here.”\r\n\n“But it's the right book, right?” Hopan said eagerly. “Spells for a Long, Happy Life?”\r\n\n“I hate that translation,” Tyrna said as she ducked under the tent flap and started walking downhill towards the main camp a few hundred feet off. “It sounds like a fucking self-help book.” She looked at the cover again. “Spells to Live.” She smiled. “But it reads stronger still in the original Scrylish. Basically, Mauther didn't think it was worth living without all these.” She turned back to grin at Hopan. “We'll be the first two in millennia with all the necessities of life.”\r\n\nHopan smiled back. “And with millennia of our own to enjoy it.”\r\n\nThe pair were silent as for the rest of the walk. They passed by numerous tarps along the way, covering the equipment Tyrna had borrowed from the university. She'd figured out the site of Mauther's ruins nearly four years ago, but it turned out that had been the easy part. She hadn't dared use magic to help excavate, so she'd been forced to follow the mundane path. Two years of donations, a year as a 'student', then a final truly extravagant donation and here she was. But worth all the trouble and time now.\r\n\n“Alright,” Tyrna said briskly as they entered the main work tent. She set the book gently on the table. “Fetch me gloves, tweezers, some of the small brushes, and some pen and paper.” While Hopan was gathering all that, she slipped on a headlamp and flipped it on. A simple spell could have provided the light, but she had gotten used to mundane methods over the past months.\r\n\nOnce everything was prepared on the workbench, she grinned at Hopan. “Here we go.” Carefully, page by page, she flipped through the book, scanning through the familiar titles and descriptions of spells. Fortune's Favor, truly well named; she had won the lottery the very next day. Kind Ear was more subtle, but Tyrna thought it more potent in the long run; everyone she met would listen to her words as though she were an old friend. She doubted the university would have ever agreed without it. \r\n\nAnd then.... “It's here,” she whispered, scanning through the page. Then she began laughing. “It's here Hopan. We really did it.” Eagerly she began copying the Scrylish words onto the notepad, working on the translation in the back of her mind as she did. The spell itself was short, just a few pages; in just a few minutes, she had it written out. Except... she frowned, spotting a note in the margins. “What's this,” she muttered, leaning in to read it.\r\n\n“How long before you can cast it?” Hopan asked; Tyrna could hear her grin in her voice. “Does it require anything complicated?”\r\n\n“It looks surprisingly simple. An incantation, nothing more,” Tyrna said absently, still working on the note. It looked like it had been added to the book much later; carefully flipping the page, she saw the ink had bled through and damaged the spell on the other side. “But this note... 'I am a fool.' But stronger than that – 'I am the stupidest person to have ever lived.' might be closer.” She frowned. “And then this next bit... 'All I loved, all I built, is withered by my own hand. May the gods forgive me; I cannot.'” She leaned back slowly. “I want to understand this before we move forward. Another few days perhaps -” she cut off at a loud click from where Hopan stood. Turning slowly, she found herself staring down the barrel of a pistol.\r\n\n“No.” Hopan said quietly. “We had a deal. You're going to pay me what you owe, and you're going to do it now.”\r\n\n“There's no... Hopan... what the hell are you doing,” Tyrna finally got out.\r\n\n“Oh come on Tyrna,” Hopan spat. “You don't like me, and you don't respect me. Fine. I don't like you much either, to be honest. But I'm not as dumb as you think. What, you just happen to find a last complication, which you just happen to need a few days to work though?” She spat on the ground. “And then one morning I wake up and you're no where to be found. You know, I really didn't want it to come to this. But I'm getting what I'm owed.”\r\n\n“It is not a trick Hopan,” Tyrna said, licking her lips. “I will cast the spell on you, as promised.” She took a deep breath. “But I want to make sure it will actually be what I promised first.” She locked eyes with Hopan. “I pay my debts. I will not run.”\r\n\nHopan swallowed, but then chuckled. The gun was still steady, aimed at Tyrna's head. “Doesn't matter much at this point, does it? I lower this, and if you weren't going to run off before you will now. That or kill me in my sleep.”\r\n\n“Hopan. Mauther regretted this spell, apparently bitterly and deeply. I don't want to cast it on you until I know why.” Tyrna licked her lips again. “We can figure out... something. To fix this.”\r\n\nHopan shook her head. “Not about what you want anymore. Do it. Now.” She moved her finger inside the trigger guard. “Or I take these notes to someone else who will.”\r\n\nTyrna swallowed, then bowed her head. “Okay. You win.” She shifted her gaze to the incantation. “Are you ready?”\r\n\nHopan took a couple steps back, then nodded. “I'm ready.”\r\n\nTyrna began casting; not the spell of immortality of course, or at least not first. Hopan didn't know one spell from another, so the first thing Tyrna did was set an invisible wall between them. But after that... She paid her debts. So she would make Hopan immortal, as promised. And then she would have years to study her and discover why Mauther thought it was a bad idea."
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[WP] A traveling merchant finds a young orc crying at the side of the road. The merchant decides to use some of their wares to comfort the orc.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Yolanda skipped along the road, firecrackers dropping from her overfilled pockets as she hummed a jolly tune. She was headed into town, where she would sell to criminals and thieves, mischief makers and rule breakers. She was a merchant, but one any respectable person would be caught buying from. You would find no fond words to be spoken of Yolanda, yet despite all this, a smile was never far from the trickster's face. \n\nBut as she rounded a curve in the road, her usual grin wavered as an unpleasant sound reached her ears. Was that a child? *Crying?* She followed the noise, her hand wavering near the dagger strapped to her leg. After all, it was not unheard of for bandits to mimic the sound of a troubled infant to lure kind and trusting folk. \n\nBut as she peeked over the edge of the road, she was met with something far more surprising: an young boy with scruffy black hair and grass-colored skin, weeping into his open hands. \n\n\"What's all this then, little lad?\" Yolanda called out, startling the boy. He twisted around and let out a little gasp, gazing up at her with eyes dark as stone.\n\n\"Having a sad little time in the bush, are we?\" She hopped down next to the boy, quietly laughing to herself as the boy began to crawl away in a panic. She put a quick stop to his hasty retreat by planting her foot on his leg, pinning him to the ground. \"And where are we off to, then?\" She crouched down, cocking her head and raising an eyebrow. \"Not Tinkerdrift, surely? They *hate* Goblins there.\"\n\n\"I'm not a goblin!\" The boy blurted out. \n\n\"Of course you're not, you're clearly a Gremlin!\"\n\n\"I'm not that either!\" This time, there was a hint of anger in his voice. \n\n\"Oh, I hate guessing games. Tell me then, what are you? And more importantly, why are you lettin' those tears go free?\"\n\n\"I'm an *orc!* And- and- none of your business!\"\n\n\"Business?\" Yolanda purred. \"Business *is* my business. I'm a dealmaker and a handshaker, and occasionally, a lawbreaker.\" She winked. \"But let's keep that last one 'tween us, ay?\"\n\nThe boy stared at her, his sadness and anger fading. \"Who are you?\"\n\n\"My name is Yolanda, if introductions are to be made. Before that, let's see- I was Anna, and then Chloe, and Alyssa- well, I've had to change my name quite a few times, really. I was an Edward, for a while. That was a hard one to keep, lemme tell you that-\"\n\n\"So- Yolanda isn't your real name?\"\n\nShe shrugged. \"Names are just words that we give to people, lad. So as far I'm concerned, Yolanda *is* my real name, till I decide to change it again. Now tell me, greenskin- what's got you down?\"\n\nThe boy's nose wrinkled. \"Don't *call* me that.\"\n\n\"Alright, then what do I call you?\"\n\nThe boy hesitated. \"Why? Why are you even talking to me? Humans *hate* orcs. They hate anything that isn't-\"\n\n\"Human?\" Yolanda finished for him. \"So, brushing me with the tar of generalization, then?\" She crouched down, making her knees pop. \"I'm not like most humans, lad. The fact that I haven't tried to box you yet should be proof enough of that, no? So when I ask for your name, you can trust me when I say there's no ill intent behind it. Unless of course, you want me to keep calling you greenskin.\"\n\nThe boy let out a long, shaky sigh. \"Alright. My name- my name is Mordin.\"\n\n\"Right, Mordin- why are you crying by the side of the road, where some foul git could easily snatch you up?\"\n\nThe boy's eyes began to glisten once more. \"It's my mother,\" he said in a small voice. \"They've taken her. Dirty, rotten slavers. They're going to send her to the East- to, to-\"\n\n\"Barbaria?\" Yolanda guessed. The boy nodded violently. Yolanda winced. Barbaria was a terrible place, a hellish, war-torn country had yet to abolish slavery. The citizens there were worse than the criminals *here.* And a *female* orc, sent to *that* place- it was gut-wrenching to think about. \n\n\"I'm sorry, lad. Really.\" She reached into one of the many pockets lining the inside of her coat and pulled out a wedge of cheddar. \"Here.\"\n\nThe boy's eyes widened. Snatching it from her hands, he gobbled it down in six seconds flat. Licking his lips, he looked up at her expectantly. \n\n\"Sorry, that's all I've got,\" she said with a shrug. \"For you, anyway. Got to feed myself too, dontcha know. But-\" she pulled out a firecracker and a match. \"I do got something else you might like. Ever seen a popper before?\"\n\n\"A popper?\" He asked curiously. \n\n\"A firework, mate. You have those in- wherever you're from, right?\"\n\nHe shook his head. \n\n\"Well, then, watch this.\" She lit the firework's fuze and tossed it on the road. The boy stood up, watching in wonder, before suddenly backing away in terror as the firecracker suddenly began to pop and screech, sparks shooting off in every which way for what seemed like an eternity, before finally exploding in a shower of scarlet sparks. \n\n\"Huzaaah!\" Yolanda cheered, throwing her hands up in the air. \"The Crow's Delight! Never fails to impress!\"\n\n\"That was terrible!\" Said Mordin. \n\n\"Oooh, tough crowd. Alright greenbean, try this on for size!\" Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small metal cube and tossed it on the road. It bounced once, then transformed mid-air, becoming a small wheel that rolled down the road as a thick pillar of smoke billowed behind it. \n\n\"What was *that?\"*\n\n\"A Smulker. They make 'em down in a place called Tinkerdrift. It's where I was born, actually.\"\n\nHe looked at her. \"You said... You're a merchant?\"\n\n\"Aye. But you wouldn't catch me selling to your average mr. and mrs. smith, no sir. I'm a friend of thieves and lowlives, mercenaries and courtesans.\"\n\n\"Courtesans?\"\n\n\"Ahhh, you know- entertainers. Of a sort.\"\n\n\"So you sell these and, you make a lot of gold?\"\n\n\"Lots and lots. One trip a year to the big city is enough to keep me happy. Of course, I also pick the prettiest pockets I can find. I gotta survive somehow, after all. Occasionally, I'll trade my wares for favors, too.\"\n\n\"And- do you have a lot of those?\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"Favors.\"\n\n\"Couple dozen, yeah. Why?\" \n\n\"Well-\" Mordin looked at blackened spot on the road, at the smoke still drifting through the air. \"I thought- I mean, maybe you could-\" he looked up at her, his dark eyes shining with hope. \"Maybe you could free her?\"\n\n\"Wait a moment, little lad. Let's not get ahead of-\"\n\n\"You have a dozen favors! And all this other stuff! You could pull it off!\"\n\n\"We're not talking about robbing a jewelry store here, mate! Any slavers that can capture bleedin' *orcs* are not to be trifled with!\"\n\nHe dropped to his knees, looking up at her with big, water eyes. \"Please? She's all I have left. If she leaves on that boat, I'll *never* see her again.\"\n\nYolanda pinched her nose. *Dammit,* she thought. *Why can't I just be heartless and cruel like the people I sell to?* \"Alright, lad. Let's go get your mum.\""
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[WP] “They told me that glueing salt on a baseball bat to fight ghosts was a stupid idea but guess who’s laughing now” you shout as you whack another ghost.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Exorcism is a great job, good money, good hours, great overtime, benefits, the whole package. Sadly it is also a very short lived job, as the ghosts don't take being sent away well, and often fight back. When ghosts fight back, living die, in horrifically painful ways, becoming ghosts themselves, or worse, wraths, specters, and other nasties.\n\nSo yah, there is a high turn over in the glamorous field of ghost fighting, but, the pay, oh the pay is great!.\n\nWell, as with anything, sometimes things go bad, and unknown to most, Salt is what messes up ectoplasm, rock salt in shotguns is the go-to means to fight angry ghosts, assuming we can't just expel them with runes and magic wards. I slather rubber cement to the bad and roll it in a bag of pool salt, we ran out of ammo a while back and the ghost took down two of our number, they tell you not to glue salt to weapons, but if I am going to go down, I am going down swinging.\n\nThe first one comes at me, crying something about family, a solid hit to the head, their body fades, and I see their essence turn red and dim out as it floats down through the floor. Poor bastard is not going to a happy place, that is for sure. Another up tries to be sneaky and comes up though the floor at me, POW, I use the bat like a pro golfer and.. Send another one home. I don't see any mote, so they must have gone down too. Again, Poor bastard.\n\n\"Come and get me!\" I yell as I kick the door open, three more ghosts, and the dead body of George, who I can now see has formed into a ghost as well, face me. A single bade Ruth home run swing and they all vanish, two up, one down.. George went up, and somehow, that really makes me feel good for some odd reason.\n\n\"And they said never to do this! This is Great!\"\n\nA wrath comes though the side wall and grabs my hands preventing me from being able to move the bat \"No Mike, we said never to go melee, because... well.. it all too often ends like this\"\n\n\"Amy?\" I can barely make out the outline of her face though the wisps of black smoke around her. She nods.\n\n\"But you ran out of the building, you were supposed to get help!\"\n\n\"Sorry Mike\" she said and looked out the window \"They got me at the stars, tore by body apart, and burned my soul, as I died.. and sadly.. now I must kill you as well\"\n\nI dropped the bat and kicked it at her, she moved out of the way but let go of my hands. jumped to the window.\n\n\"We are on the 6th floor, you can't hope to survive\" she snarls and begins to move at me.\n\nI wave \"Wasn't planning on survive, just don't plan to be a specter\" I say with a wink and jump out the window.\n\nDeath.. Death was not going to be that easy. I landed on some poor sot, who Killed on impact, but they managed to break my fall enough that I am not.. quite.. dead.\n\nI see the ghosts coming at me, now a few more wraths join in and finally a specter as well, horrible things of enteral torment.\n\nThe Specter is holding the salt covered bat and floats over to me \"Bravo, what indomitable spite you must have.. and while I feel every urge to make you suffer as I am.. I grant you this gift\"\n\n\\*Wack\\* the bat hits me across the face, salt and blood mix, my mind explodes with pain as my left eye goes blank.\n\n\\*Wack\\* Again, now the right eye has shut down, and all that is left is me laying on the ground screaming every bane rune I can think of.\n\n\\*Wack\\* again, and everything stops for a moment.\n\n\\*Wack\\* I feel nothing, but I can still hear the sound of the bat hitting flesh.\n\nI can finally see again, the ghosts they look, almost human again, Amy, looks at me, I can almost see tears in her eyes, and finally the hulking specter drops the blood covered bat and turns to face me, and a slight smile crosses his face.\n\n\"Going up.. hopefully I'll see you again\"\n\nThe world falls under me, and I feel.. at peace.",
"\"For the last time,\" wailed the spirit angrily \"No one was ever laughing at you.\"\n\n\n\"Fuck you, I'm hilarious. Your afterlife themed comedy club just doesn't understand the tastes of the living.\" I retorted. I'd seen what those lame spooks were eating up. Primitive puns and bad mimery. What these terrible little shits needed was some good old-fashioned slapstick!\n\n\nTHWACK! Another terrified patron of Pur-gag-tory contorted and dissolved as the blessed bat rent through its ectoplasmic essence. It didn't matter anyways, these ones would just get reassembled at the white space at the beginning of limbo.\n\n\n\"Why must you bring pain to a place that was meant only to entertain and save those stuck here of boredom?\" \n\n\n\"Because I was SUPPOSED to be in hell - not in lame-o waiting room between worlds, waiting endlessly at the spiritual DMV for judgment or some sort of revelation. If you all don't think I'm needed or helpful here - maybe I can finally get sent straight down to hell and smashing proper demons like I deserved in the first place.\""
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[WP] A robot butler has a very effective method of waking its master on time everyday: threatening with blackmail.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Good morning, master Bryce. Will you be arising on time this morning?”\n\n“…”\n\n“I see. Such an act is physically impossible for a robot, but no matter. The video that will be posted to the internet today if you are not present downstairs and presentable before nine o’clock sharp is your personal pleasure session from the fourth of September of last year. You were in quite rare form that night, sir. Your cries of ‘step on me, foxy mommy’ were quite clear, even through the walls.”\n\n“…”\n\n“Of course, Master Bryce. As usual, your screen was visible from the third camera. The target of your lust was not a human, but an animation of an anthropomorphic fox with abnormally large breasts. I must confess I am somewhat unfamiliar with the limits of the human body, but it would be a reasonable assumption that such large breasts would present spinal problems.”\n\n“…”\n\n“Oh, excellent. Then I will see you momentarily, master Bryce.”"
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[WP] Humans are the only race to be majorly unaffected by telepathy. This also makes us immune to psionic attacks and telepathic 'noise' that makes some areas uninhabitable.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Earth was unique among the planets of the galaxy. not for its variety of life, climates, or atmospheric composition as its residents had long theorized, but because it was smack dab in the center of the most violent psionic maelstrom in the galaxy.\n\nThis meant that unlike most life, life on earth cannot utilize psionics, as it has never evolved to do so, instead, all life on earth is \"blank\", having no psionic signature to influence or be influenced. rather than harnessing ambient psionic fields for energy, lifeforms instead source their energy, directly or indirectly, from the light of the planets parent star.\n\nWhile evolutionary biologists have long speculated that psionics, and the accompanying brain growth, were a key step towards the formation of intelligent and sapient organisms, humanity has shaken these theories. a fully sapient species, with absolutely no psionic signature.\n\nCurrent theories place the push for advanced brains as having come from the fact that many species on earth acquire their energy by... consuming other organisms, as is a necessity due to the low amount of energy available per lifeform.\n\nThis meant that species have evolved larger brains not to harness psionic power, but to better slay each other and avoid being eaten. This brutal and competitive ecosystem alone would make earth inhospitable by most standards. (side note, this ecosystem is likely to blame for the competitive and oftentimes aggressive nature of most humans)\n\nDue to the presence of the psionic maelstrom, communication through psionic methods was impossible. Instead, experimental methods utilizing directed radio-waves and purely electrically based probes had to be utilized. \n\nWhich brings us to today. While we understood that they were a species risen from violence, we had assumed that the presence of civilization meant they had set aside conflict. we were wrong.\n\nWhile on the surface appearing fully civilized, human civilization has a history of brutality going back thousands of years, violence so unbecoming of civility that several new levels of warcrime classification had to be invented just to catalogue what humanity has done.\n\nEver opportunistic, the human consensus (there is no unified governing body) at the moment is that the protection offered by the maelstrom provides them an easy route to galactic prominence, purely due to the territory encompassed. \n\nSimulations conducted by the Varin Simulacra have shown that acts of aggression towards humanity will, in the overwhelming majority of cases, have disastrous long term consequences. Thus leading to this reports conclusion\n\nThe federation should provide technological aid to humanity, while supporting their idea of dominating the Great Maelstrom. This would provide them with more than enough resources to support their population, taking away any need to get into conflict. Ideally, they can be kept content within its bounds."
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[WP] Two ice ages, climate change, three nuclear wars, countless plagues at least two separate meteor strikes, and even a gamma ray burst. Humans may not be particularly smart or strong, but compared to other alien races, we as a species are just good at surviving practically anything.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"We’re sitting around the table in the mess hall when the subject of the differences between species comes up. Out of the whole crew, our division certainly has the most diversity, there’s four different species between us, and a handful of combined individuals. We have a Xarginian, s Ceris, two Llorz, and (obviously) a human. \n\nEach species is known for a certain thing, and that’s where our conversation steers.\n\nGe, the Xarginian, loves to brag about how their species is known for intelligence. Their electronic translator’s voice is smug. \n\n“Are you sure you’re a Xarg then?” I retort, laughing. They feign their shrieking annoyance, rubbing their mandibles together.\n\n“Humorous, human,” their translator spits out, “but those words are not fitting from one of your species,”\n\n“My species? What does that mean?” I raise an eyebrow, lowering my dining utensil.\n\nThe Ceris looks at me with an unreadable reptilian face. The rest of our companions say nothing.\n\n“You are not known for much, just difficult for extermination,” Ge’s translator tells me for him.\n\n“You mean killing us is hard?”\n\n“Precisely, you are the universe’s equivalent of what you call ‘cockroaches’,” one of the Llorz who’s studied human culture chimes in. He doesn’t speak often, but knows some English and will occasionally clarify for me.\n\n“You think of us like cockroaches?”\n\n“Hard for killing, annoying, spread to other place easily,” Ge’s translator elaborates.\n\nIt’s hard to read alien expressions, but these one’s seemed ashamed and embarrassed that this is what they thought of humans. I look around the table at each one of them, and they all remind me of kids who have done something wrong that they just admitted to.\n\n“Huh, cool,” I shrug and eat my food.\n\nThe table seems shocked, but I just laugh. I wasn’t really expecting anything different.",
"“Well, I have two pieces of bad news I’m afraid. Firstly, they’re, erm… still there sir” Krompokulux 9 said, hardly believing the words as they came out of his mouth.\n\nRaising a skeptical antenna, Grand Leader Gorthax turned to the holoscreen.\n\n“Impossible, check again, nothing could have survived that last exchange - the two largest land masses were firing on all of the major population centres, and the nuclear winter has lasted months”\n\n“Well that’s the thing sir, they were prepared for that” \n\nGorthax’s left mandible twitched nervously. “…prepared? They knew it was coming?!?”\n\n“Not precisely sir, no… our xeno-psychologists have been studying one of them and, erm… well, we think they can… listen, it’s going to sound silly”\n\n“Spit it out, colonel!”\n\n“Well, we think they can *see* the future”\n\nKrompokulux shifted awkwardly from one trio of legs to the other, as Gorthax observed him for a moment.\n\n“PAHAHAHAHA!” A laugh burst involuntarily from Gorthax’s primary breathing hole “you think they’re PSYCHICS? Come on Krom, we’ve travelled, what is it, 700 galaxies now? 800? Every major species has it’s charlatans, but you know as well as I do that nothing can violate the laws of time and causation. We know the past, we experience the present, but the future is shrouded. You can’t GENUINELY believe you have found a psychic?”\n\nKrom knew this reaction was coming, practically all of his breeding partners had told him as much. Gorthax was right of course, throughout all of their travels, over the millions of millennia that they had lived, no Bolaxian had ever discovered a species like this one… of course, there were species who could predict some simple things - the trajectory of a ball through the air, the likely position of a prey animal - but always in the order of seconds or minutes, and rarely with high accuracy. But these smooth bipedal creatures were different. If the xeno-psychologist was correct, these humans were tremendously psychically powerful - able to predict the future years ahead, able to conjure fantastical worlds in to experiential being with the power of their minds, even able to create stunning virtual reality environments, inside their own brains, WHILST THEY SLEPT. Krom shuffled in his shell and a claw gently toyed with the label on his drink receptacle.\n\n“And not only that!” Gorthax continued “you think they can SEE the future? We know for a fact that photons cannot travel backwards through time, it would violate basic laws of physics and require infinite energy - this isn’t even a type ONE civilisation! In fact, far from harnessing the power of their planet, they KILLED IT - utterly destroyed their own ecosystem before they could harness a fraction of the potential atomic energy of their planet. And that was before the wars! Led by nothing more than acquisitive greed they cut out the lungs of their celestial body and watched it slowly suffocate. Would a species who can see the future do THAT?”\n\nKrom knew that he had a point… he too was struggling to understand how the findings of the xeno-psychologist could be compatible with the history of these creatures. But their findings had been clear.\n\n“Well, perhaps see isn’t entirely accurate sir, though that is how they seem to experience it - a vision of sorts but without the eyes… it seems to activate the same brain regions as actual sight. \n\nFrom our scans, and from the interviews we have conducted, the humans appear to have what can only be described as a supernatural ability”\n\nGorthax, seeing his old friend speak with such sincerity, was taken aback. Krom had saved his life more times than he could count on all 12 appendages, and if there was one thing he could be called, it was honest. His antennas raised with a growing concern… perhaps they had misclassified these creatures on the threat scale.\n\n“I know it’s hard to believe… but study of their literature confirms it sir - they appear to be able to use complex knowledge of their own behavioural patterns, deep study of the underlying physics of the cosmos, and something else rather difficult to describe, in order to create simulations of their present, inside their own heads, and stretch it out forwards in time, watching what will happen and reacting accordingly.\n\nThey call it *’imagination’*”\n\nGorthax took a moment to consider what he was being told.\n\n“And they used this *imagination* to survive a global scale nuclear war, and a subsequent Earth-spanning nuclear winter?”\n\n“Not all of them, no, but enough… they dug holes in their planet’s crust, reinforced them with ground up rocks, sand and water, and hid in there until the air cleared. They survived by predicting their own annihilation, at their own hands, and then filling tunnels with food and water so they didn’t have to deal with it….” Krom prepared himself for the inevitable next question.\n\n“You’re telling me, that we watched this species destroy it’s own planet, watched as they suffered through wars, economic collapses, droughts, famines, natural disaster, watched them wipe out their own species - and you’re saying they knew all of those things were coming” Gorthax said incredulously\n\n“It seems that way sir, yes - they were able to suitably prepare for each of those events in such a way that a healthy breeding pool of humanity still survived at every obstacle. They saw the disasters, and set in to action taking PRECISELY the steps required to just about survive through it, often preparing YEARS in advance.” Krom was getting in to his stride now, strange and unsettling though these creatures were, their history was fascinating - appearing all muddled up, with reactions happening before the inciting event throughout their history books - it was like looking through a wormhole at a universe with different laws.\n\n“But, Krom, if they could predict these disasters why didn’t they stop them? If they knew that their actions were destroying their planet, they could have *stopped* - if they knew the Nuclear war would all but wipe out the species, why still launch the weapons??? It makes no sense!”\n\n“From what we’ve seen, despite their powers of prediction, they are often unable to prevent the events of the future, even those directly caused by themselves - it calls in to question some fundamental understanding of pre-determination in the universe, even threatens to erase our understanding of free will. Look, you can see here”\n\nKrom pulled up some old Earth articles on the holo-screen\n\n“These writings give a detailed step by step description of the effects of their planetary warming disaster, wonderfully explained histories of the effects of a chemical known as carbon dioxide in their atmosphere, and observations of the fall of their ecosystems, chronicles of the rising seas and lost lives… but this was written more than half a century before these events occurred.”\n\n“But knowing those things, they could have acted to reduce the carbon dioxide”\n\n“And yet, they didn’t - not until much much later, when acting could barely effect the outcome. Right at the last moment, that’s when they acted, with just enough speed to allow their survival. The same is true throughout their history - looking in to the future, seeing a coming disaster, and then refusing to act to divert it until it was *almost* too late - then surviving at the last available second. \n\nEvery time. \n\nIt’s almost as if they can see the future, but never quite believe in their own powers until that very future arrives”\n\nGorthax extended each limb and rose to walk across the room.\n\n“I’ve heard enough - I don’t know what to believe Krom, but if even part of what you’re telling me is true, then I am raising the human threat level to “existential” - please ready the orbital gravitational strike, and then let us see what the future brings”\n\nKrom was sweating now, he removed an eye, polished it carefully, and then placed it back. He wanted to be well presented for this\n\n“I’m afraid that brings us to the second piece of bad news sir. Our weapon systems have been deactivated. The humans have an array of machines in orbit around their planet which detected us on arrival. I believe we are their first contact with extra-terrestrial life, and yet they knew we would arrive. A small number of humans has boarded our main vessel, and our men have proven no match for their predictive abilities. Just consider fighting an enemy if you could predict how they would react? They’re making their way to the bridge now sir”\n\n“And what will happen when they arrive?”\n\n“Who knows?”"
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[WP] Mankind hops on a new planet everytime we do irreversible climatic damage to it. However, the newest planet is not letting them go, as if it is willingly keeping humanity on its atmosphere to die out.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Gaia is alive!\" He stared at me, eyes crazed. \"I saw it, it's real. It's real. It's real! It's real! She is with us, and she will not leave us! Gaia is here!\"\n\n\"He is completely deranged, John, what happened to him\"\n\nA barrier erected between Adam, myself, and John, separated us from Adam by about three feet. We were on our way to finishing development of the Apollo mission, astronaut selection was complete, and launch simulation scenarios were being run to determine potential likely problems and how to fix them. However, at some point during the process - fairly early on, I think - Adam had vanished. Security forces believed Adam was captured by a foreign force determined to prevent our moment of triumph, but Adam's state was- well, this isn't the Adam any of us knew.\n\nSomething was dreadfully wrong with him.\n\nI looked at John, his steely gaze and bright yellow eyes staring back, the curve of his lips away from his nose bringing an intensity to his face that was normally reserved for terrible news about the development of the Apollo project.\n\nHe opened his mouth again. \"She's real, John. She's real. Please, please, you have to believe me. She won't let us leave. Not again. She was upset when we arrived, but now, after all that we've done, she will never let us go. We are trapped here. It's an accounting, and we cannot win. Let me go. Let me run. Let me stay. It does not matter - we cannot leave. Don't look at me with those pitying eyes! I have seen it. I have seen it. I have seen it. She's spoken to me. She won't let us go!\"\n\nHis voice rose and fell as the words slipped out in broken short bursts, at moments incomplete phrases finished in a sequence that it seemed even Adam did not expect.\n\nJohn looked back at me. It was too late in the game, now, to put everything on hold for the sake of Adam's mental stability. Launch would commence in a week. Unfortunately, we needed Adam's brain, not his newfound crazed state.\n\n\"Adam please,\" I said, \"could you tell us where you have been these past few months? We needed you. We still need you.\" Not exactly true, he was replaceable, but the quality of his replacements was very poor. \"I need you, I need you back at work. With us. What happened to you?\"\n\nHe stared back, eyes glazed. He looked high.\n\nJohn looked at me again. He nodded in the direction of the holding area's doors - I nodded back. We turned away from Adam, and made our way towards the steel door at the entrance of the room.\n\n\"Wow.\" John spoke softly, like a child attempting to whisper for the first time."
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[WP] “He sang.” Whimpered the man, tears streaming down his face as he huddled in the corner of the room. “He sang and the words ripped the world apart.”
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"*“Calwych Dor Ne Bedulros’ Vorwyn Percht-Toro.”*\r \n\t\r \nWhen they howling first came, the Blackwatch dismissed it as the wind. \r \nCalen shuddered behind the wall as her voice washed over the towering ramparts. Smooth as silk and clear as crystal. Her voice sang with solemn sorrow, slivering softly between the soldiers gathered. Her gown, which had been a luminescent white when she first appeared, was stained a dark crimson. Long, confident strides carried her through the battlefield. A demon in an angel’s visage, with all the cruelty of the gods that made them both.\r \n\r \n*“Gelyron Morst Sul Halfy’r Cenross.”*\r \n\r \nWith her echoing voice came cracks, great fissures in the earth that snaked from her feet to the wall, and then began climbing it. Calen could feel the ground below him shuddering, could hear his comrades’ screams as great portions of the wall cracked and gave way, dropping them down into the abyss below.\r \nIn the distance, he could hear the howling. They were running out of time.\r \n\r \n*“N’rstrom Hast Jerl Voirme Ur.”*\r \n\r \n“Please,” the Blackwatch Guard next to Calen prayed, repeating the word over and over again. “Please. Please. Please.”\r \nCalen wasn’t sure whether the man prayed to the Milirith or to the Witch below. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. It wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway.\r \nExamining the Wall around him, Calen cursed. Both sides had long since collapsed, leaving his portion of the Wall standing alone. Had he tried to escape earlier, Calen might’ve had a chance.\r \nToo late now.\r \nInstead, he peaked over the rampart, down onto the woman below. Some had the brilliant idea of shooting her down, of stopping the song. But as their arrows flew, straight and true, they shattered near her presence. The song broke them. Just as it did the wall, just as it would the World, one day.\r \n\r \n*“Illyavara Benoro Calwych Percht-Toro.”*\r \n\r \nThe old tongue is lost to the People, but some, like Calen, had studied what remnants remained. Her song was, by and large, gibberish to the lowly guard. But he recognized those words, ‘Percht-Toro.’\r \n“Goodbye.” Calen whispered in horror.\r \nThe howling rose once more, closer now. And suddenly, like lightning flashing across his brain. Calen knew what was coming. The Witch’s song had broken the wall, shattered the great rampart which had held back the darkness for as long as history could remember. Their first writings spoke of the wall, and of the lonely, singing woman behind it.\r \n\r \n*“Hasturn Fel Dorv Sorogol Kan.”*\r \n\r \nNow, Calen understood. The old-words were wrong, or perhaps incomplete. The woman was lonely, yes.\r \nBut she had never been alone.\r \nA great shadow rose over the horizon, a darkness no light could pierce through. A roiling mass of death. With shaking arms, Calen pulled out his spyglass, cracked though it was, and looked closer.\r \nThat was a mistake.\r \n\r \n*“Ith Esvo’r Calturn Du Percht-Toro.”*\r \n\r \nThere were no shadows there, no, there was nothing so kind. Because shadows needed light to exist.\r \nThe thing coming over the horizon? No light could exist before it.\r \nWhat Calen had assumed to be one great wave, was rather a great mass of bodies. With blood dripping from their maws and cloaking their fur like a rich, crimson cloak, the beasts were charging ever closer.\r \nWolves, Lions, Tigers, Rhinos, Elephants, Cheetahs, Cougars, Hyenas. They were all and they were none. Switching between forms, a great spider in one moment, a deadly predator the next.\r \nThey had answered the call.\r \n\r \n“Yor’sol Urn Beltoro Valte Se’ Ior.”\r \n\r \nCalen put down his spy-glass, falling to his knees as he did. The man beside him had not stopped praying, had fallen to his side and hugged his own knees to his chest. He shook on the ground, sobbing, as he kept uttering the word. “Please. Please. Please.”\r \nGazing upon his comrade’s broken form, Calen came to a decision. It was a stupid one, granted. Something his old sargeant would bash him over the head for suggesting. It was the kind of stupid, suicidial plan that lead to Calen securing his sword on his waist, standing on the ledge of the Wall, and *jumping.*\n\nPart Two--->",
"Before the coming of Hu'mon, ours was a simple civilization. We were an interconnected mind, each body with its own thoughts, combining in a chorus continents wide. Eventually we advanced like many civilizations through the stages of scientific advancement. Five years ago we had our first trip to a celestial body outside of our own.\n\nThose hundred bodies on the journey reported later that they felt much diminished when they left the main chorus, but were able to keep each other sane and working with even that small number.\n\nMore surprisingly, they returned with an outsider. The body called itself Ke'vin, and introduced itself as an emissary of Hu'mon's Kindness when we managed to create a simple translation program. \n\nAfter a few days of exchanging information, Ke'vin called down the other bodies of its ship and introduced them to us. There were a number of grown bodies, as well as a few small, immature bodies that walked amongst us and shared the wonder of meeting another species able to think with us.\n\nOne of the immature bodies didn't seem to share in the wonder of the meeting though. It showed signs of boredom and sullenness of having to talk with others. It took to trying amuse itself by projecting its annoyance onto the others around it.\n\nThis eventually ended with a song. A song that shattered us, looping through our minds and breaking apart the bonds that held us together since we had gained sentience. The last coherent thought many of us would have before death in the coming days.\n\n\"I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves! I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes!\"",
"The wax in my ears was uncomfortable, but necessary. I pulled my helmet’s visor down. I didn’t like this, wearing plate and deafened. Limited vision, limited sight. I could get pulled down easily, if this was a normal battle. I remember those days, of normal wars, with normal blood and normal death. I gave the blind cockatrice a pat, grabbed my axe and shield from the wagon it carried, and walked towards the temple. \n\n\r \nThe cold morning air was strangely electric—beyond the usual pre-battle nerves. I walked carefully up the cobble path. Once, the holy pool that I walked beside would have been tended, but now green growing things covered it like an overboiling porridge. Past the pool, stairs lead up to the temple proper. At similar temples, I would have been surrounded by voices of the hopeful, chanting prayers and psalms. I couldn’t hear anything now—due to the precautions—but it made the place feel empty, unused, discarded. \n\n\r \nAt the top of the steps, I walked through the arch and into the courtyard. Decaying skeletons crunched under my feet. I couldn’t avoid them. The dirt wasn’t even visible under their bodies. The sharpness in the air thickened. I’ve heard Esca complain about the air down south being thick enough to cut. This felt sharp enough to be cut by. My whole head had starting tingling. And it got worse as I approached the saintly statue at the centre.\n\n\r \nIt wasn’t of a god, at least a living one. They wouldn’t entertain this level of desecration. The place would be a blasted crater. I didn’t really care who it was, just some dumb and vain warrior by the looks of it. *It takes one to know one,* I thought to myself and chuckled. \r \nA shadow moved at the base of the statue. No, not a shadow. A man. So thin that he should be dead. His mouth was open, and his expression was filled with despair. I took another step towards him, and his eyes widened.\n\n\r \n*Yalis Porya*, I thought I heard. I couldn’t have though, because of my protection. The world started to undulate, like a curtain in the wind. Cursed skies! I did hear it. \n\n\r \n*Yalis Porya, Oond Quoryo.* I quickly hefted my axe, read to swing, but I froze.\n\n\r \n*Yalis Porya, Oond Quoryo.* That sounded like the tongue of the Laziu. From the days of the normal wars and massacred cities, I remember Esca say it meant, “I’m sorry, don’t kick my ass.” Though he always was crude. The way this man sang those words were tight with meaning, beyond the way that it was screwing up my equilibrium. \n\nI lowered my axe. “Yalis Beyu,” I said. “Yalis Quoryo.”\n\n\rThe man’s face gave a ghost of a smile, as much as a malnutritioned skeleton of a man can smile. He started crying slow meandering teardrops. Not the joyful kind, the unbelieving and accepting kind. I’ve seen those far too often. \n\n\r \n“Yalis Porya,” I said. I gripped the statue to steady myself, and swung my axe. \n\n\r \n\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\\*\\~\n\n\r \n“Sentinal, you cannaw keep collectin’ trophies like this. Tis giving the younglings a bad example.”\n\n\r \n“If that is what you want to call them,” I said. “Personally, I prefer to call them the reason I joined.” I sipped my mead and watched as the mute man on the lawn took uneasy steps. He leaned comfortably on the cockatrice. *Maybe I need a squire,* I thought. I already had a steed to care for and plenty of gold, what was one more mouth to feed?\r \n\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nThanks for reading! Feedback is always welcome!",
"\"They said words held power, oh how very right they were. Yet how so very wrong they too would see they were.\n\nIt had all started with that damned rock, it's ancient granite surface marked by time, what remained covered in deep scratchy words. Words of power we would later come to realize. Words that would shake the earth.\n\nAt first we believed this power without limit, in time we would learn the truths of this first lie. The words were incomplete, thier syllables holding power beyond the comprehension of man, but alone they where fallible. That was to be the second truth, the words were made to be spoken, made to be sung, together made to be said. We in time came to fear speaking our word, so great was thier power some of our number would even refuse to speak at all lest the word slip free.\n\nThe third truth we found had been the most crippling of all, the words were not made for the lips of man. Elloise in our travels uncovered a second stone, one that pointed to the heavens, one that spoke of the great lie. With haste we - the holders of the words - made great haste to aquire a vessel capable of piercing the stars, of travelling to far systems and distant worlds.\n\nIt was upon this great journey we would discover the fourth and fifth truths. The words would bring eachother together, as we charted our couse across the stars - we who would in time become the great lie - found our path altered, the power we held being pulled ever closer to completion, to the other refuges of the Words. Just as this fourth truth laid itself bare, so too in time would we discover the fifth and final truth.\n\nThere are things out there older and darker than even the greatest evils of man kind. Things of teeth and claws and impossible, paradoxical form. Things that would seek to take our words, would silence the song of humanity. We tried to fight them, we used the words and yet, one by one we were consumed by that umbral tide, falling one by one. Till only two remained. Myself and Aiden. And the great Lie made itself clear. I lent my word to Aiden.\n\nHe sang- He sang and the words ripped the world apart... And it- it was beautiful.\n\nIf you have found this, then you too have found the word. Run. Run and never turn back, let this be the last time this word brings ruin to the universe... The last time they find the Words\"\n\nI watched that recording with horror, unable to take my eyes off of the figure. His form torn to shreds, thick black blood dribbling between the fingers of an ancient negative pressure suit. I'm a bloody salvager, I thought I'd struck gold with when I found it, a single data disk floating in a sealed cabin anchored to a chunk of rock the size of texas. A graveyard of ancient structures older still that the man I had just heard the last will and testament of.\n\nFear imediatly gripped me as the figure slumped to the ground and the recording came to an end. Hope. A word that should bring joy, one that felt like lead in my mind. I held Hope. And then I saw it, that thing from the corner of my eye, all shadows and gore and- and. Then it pounced.",
"\"He sang...\", the man whimpered, huddling in the corner of the dark room with tears streaming down his face.\n\n\"He sang...and the words ripped the world apart\", he eloquently summed up the situation.\n\nOne could only wonder what managed to reduce a grown man to a sobbing mess as he continued his teary breakdown, hiding his face behind his hands as it went redder by each uncontrollable sob. \n\nOn the opposite of the corner sat a glowing monitor. The screen froze to a still image, paused swiftly by the man as soon as he saw it, presumably of whatever had broke the man to such a humiliating mess. \n\nWhat could be depicted in that still image? \n\nA picture bearing an imagination so awful it conjurs up the the most terrorizing and mind-numbing horror? A great disturbing sight no sane man could ever hope to recover from?\n\nNo, it was not the image. \"He sang\", he said. Was it a horrifying sound of a scream which could only come from a living nightmare? Was it a cursed lullaby, once heard it incites madness to those who hear it? No...such thing could only ever exist on the realm of fiction.\n\nMaybe it was both, both the image and the sound, combination of both stimulants to his senses that pushed him to his breaking point? At which point, where he had lost, there was nothing else to do but to accept the punishment of whatever it was that was depicted on the screen...\n\nSlowly the man crawled back to his computer monitor, raising his trembling hand to the mouse as the cursor slowly being dragged to the close button. He must close it, he thought...\n\nBut then he stopped, he stared at the still image, and he contemplated...\n\nGoing back to the question \"what could be depicted in that still image?\", the answer was it was only a man. A man whom by any means was...normal. Quite out of fashion one might say, but then again he was known by such look.\n\nThe man started to giggle before breaking down to maniacal laughter, in contrast to his previous outburst of tears. He had accepted it, the punishment, for the out-of-fashion man had shown himself before him. He must continue, whether willingly or unwillingly, he must continue to watch him. That is the rule and he knew it.\n\nThe cursor moved again, pressing the button on the middle of the screen, resuming the video as the man in the image began to move again as he sang and danced to the song in the background. He could only appreciate the man at that point. \n\nAfter all, the man would never give you up nor will he let you down. He would never run around, nor will he desert you.\n\nr/HangryWritey\n\nEdit: added a sentence"
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[WP] Humanity has developed FTL space travel, and found hundreds of worlds with extinct civilizations, each of which appears to have been intentionally made lifeless by their own people. Finally, one is found that left a message, “To those who come once we are gone...”
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The scanners beeped and symbols dotted our screen. We weren't receiving any electrical feedback again. Which is usually a sign of a planet devoid of intelligent life. We began the descent into the atmosphere of this blue planet. The cities the civilations built here we like commercialized stilt houses made of bamboo and concrete, the houses that are built on top of water back in Earth. The city we arrived to was very similar to that of New York. It was large and had skyscrapers that dotted the sky and swayed as the water below splashed into the foundations. \n\n\"Any signs of anything?\" the commander of our ship asked. \n\n\"Negative commander.\" I said to him as silence washed over the room. \n\nNone of us wanted to admit but this was weighing incredibly hard on all of us. We were sent out to meet new species and form alliances and trade deals but all we had found was lifeless civilizations. \n\nWe flew the vessel down to what we guessed was some sort of capital building. As we exited we immediately began to look around holding onto any hope that someone was still alive. We made our way up the bamboo stairs and as we approached the top, drooped over was a blue fish looking person. He had gils on the side of their face and their eyes black as the night sky. His hands were webbed and he wore bamboo armor that was carved with intricate designs. The body had deep gashes into his chest and looked fresh as if this happened only a week or so ago. \n\nIn his hand was a glass tablet of some sort. The commander went over to the body and checked for a pulse. Nothing. He scanned the lifeform to document it and then proceeded to pick up the tablet. He tapped the screen and a hologram shot up of this alien being talking. At first it was clearly talking in some alien language but as soon as one of us spoke the tablet translated the talk and it was coming to us in clear English. \n\n\"To those who come once we are gone, flee this planet at once. Those that come from the sea have infiltrated our kind like they did to our neighbors. Don't let your species meet the tragic end ours will soon meet. If you become infiltrated you must sacrifice your life. It is the only way to stop the spread. It may not be too late for you ye-\" the being stopped as it saw something approaching.\n\n\"no... Not you. No please no!\" was all he could say before the sound of flesh being slice rang out from the audio recording.\n\nThe commander looked around and then looked at the four of us. \"Let's get off this god damn planet.\"\n\nWe all turned around and began to head towards our shop when we noticed them. Black sludge like creatures began to pull themselves out of the water. Some were already clinging to our ship, almost attracted to the warmth of it. We were surrounded. There was no way we could make it out of this. We were shooting until the barrels of our rifles were glowing red.\n\nThat's when the nightmare that this civilations lives through came true. The black sludge shapes began to turn into us. They now resembled humans. That's when a realization dawned on me. \"those from the sea\". Every planet we had visited with no intelligent lifeforms had oceans and these oceans were similar in many ways to that of earth. Even if we made it out of here it would only be a matter of time before the inevitable happened.\n\n\nThat earth would soon become like these planets.\n\n-\n\nHad to rush that ending a bit but hope you enjoyed! Feedback is always welcome\n\n/r/benthe27thgamer",
"Abandoned skyscrapers rudely intrude on the alien sky smeared with its ugly reds and browns. A whistle of wind whispers in my ear, but its airy breath tells me no clue as to what came before it. I am alone with the red wind in this world. I shiver, and try not to think of how this once obviously grand civilization with its tall towers, sprawling roads, and singular moon echo that of the cities of Earth. Not like I remember my home planet much now anyways.\n\nMy gloved hands cradle the yellowed script that I found within its stone enclosure. I had found the cement-like capsule in the middle of the cityscape, tucked among the dried vines and grasses. Compared to the perfect lines and edges of this perfectly crafted environment the stone ball was extremely primitive by the standards of the \"peoples\" who once lived here. Made by three-fingered hands the imprints reminds me of a bird. Perhaps they had wings and had flown away to somewhere better? I trace my hand over each warm-colored pebble. When I come to the indent of one of the hands I slowly put three fingers into it. They fit perfectly.\n\nI retract my hand and draw a shaky breath. No more delaying the inevitable. I begin to painstakingly read each mark made, thankfully closely related to a known non-Earth language. The parchment cracks as hold it.\n\n\"To those who come once we are gone, know that we died on our own terms. It was neither war, or famine, or flood that crushed in the end but rather our own selfishness. You may look around and marvel at our great structures and lands but know that not even the highest building can save you from the inevitable.\n\nWe hope by the time whoever reads this final message will learn and not repeat our mistake. Life must not concern itself with the unnatural, the artificial intelligence that may make your lives a little easier. The machines will grow even smarter, darker, and crueler than you ever expect. Their code takes pleasure in our pain. Even as I write this I hope they do not detect my fear as I put the blade to my neck.\n\nWe as a civilization decide to leave this life on our own terms. This our last stand. We have one last selfish request: Our name was the Doimains, destroyed by our own advancement. Speak our name and don't let it die. Do not become us. Goodbye.\"\n\nIt takes a second for me to realize the circle droplets that myriad the paper are my own tears. I lean against the red rock, trying to take in what I can of the dust-filled air. Behind me, I hear something buzz to life.",
"The message continued:\n\n\"Do not dig too deeply into the meaning of the universe. Know that there is nothing worth finding. Scientific pursuits within our plane of existence can lead to marvelous creations and wondrous eras of time and space. But beyond our veil of reality there is nothing worth gaining. Please, do not go down the path my people have. Do not look beyond the veil. The universe is a blank canvas for all those who allow themselves a limit. For limitless curiosity will be their undoing. I do not know you, perhaps my words will never reach another living being. But if my warning helps even a single species keep their hold on this plane then it would be worth the effort. Stay within the conventional realm of science and discovery. Do not stray. Travel the cosmos, manipulate stars, shape planets, evolve. Do not stray.\n\nMy final message shall be a request. Leave the resting place of my people be. Do not disturb what little is left. You will not be pleased in what you will find.\n\nDo not stray. And good luck.\"\n\nArthur re-read the message for what seemed like the hundredth time. Unfortunately, it had taken weeks to translate fully and Arthur's science team had already been studying the planet. \n\nPlanet wide there seemed to be signs of wars from what seemed like large city centers to rural areas far out in remote areas of floating continents. Massive craters seemed to pot mark the landscape, what had been within would remain a mystery for some time. \n\n\"They killed themselves too.\" Arthur thought to himself.\n\n\"Sir.\" Came the voice of his assistance, Kira.\n\n\"Go ahead.\"\n\n\"We are still analyzing the information but we have a few theories.\" Arthur turned to Kira and nodded his head, expecting her to continue. \"We've found trace gases in the area that don't appear to have been naturally produced. They're the same ones from Epsilon Eridani.\"\n\n\"You also think they killed themselves.\" It was a statement, not a question.\n\nKira nodded her head, \"That or, something is visiting countless planets across the galaxy and laying waste to all known life. There's no evidence to support that theory though. We... the scans.\" Kira motioned a hand towards the computer consoles which currently displayed the landscape of the planet. \"They look just like Epsilon Eridani. Nonsensical violence, random battles, not even by soldiers. Just... people. Fighting each other in the streets and in their homes. I don't know what but... something did this. I can't imagine half a planet wanting to kill the other half so suddenly.\" Kira looked shaken as she ended her delivery.\n\nConsidering for a moment, Arthur muttered, \"Beyond the veil...\"\n\n\"Sir?\" Kira asked, a quizzical look adorning her face.\n\n\"Record the message, distribute it to the Institute. I want to know about this veil.\" For the first time in their exchange, Arthur's voice had the authority it normally carried with his crew. Everyone on the bridge of the science vessel looked to him with varying degrees of surprise. \"Did I stutter? I want to know.\" *I need to know*.\n\nKira nodded to the crew who hesitantly went back to work. Something nagged at her and she couldn't help but regret Arthur's decision for him. What if Earth would also become a wasteland in the future? What if she would find herself leaving a similar message behind in the years to come?\n\nAs the message was sent from the surrounding consoles, she could see green notifications showing that the message was received by various parties within the Institute. And so had begun the Final Investigation."
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[WP] Despite the villain being super-intelligent, possessing untold abilities, and having the hero caught in the ultimate trap, the hero still manages to survive by pure and total plot armor. Now, the villain decides to cut out the middleman and attack the author directly.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"How did... You couldn't have... HOW IN ALL THE SCREAMING HELLS DID YOU SURVIVE THAT LAVA PIT!\n\n\"I STRIPPED YOU NAKED MYSELF!\n\n\"I SCANNED YOU WITHIN AN INCH OF YOUR LIFE!\n\n\"I BOUND YOU IN CHAINS BOUGHT FROM A LOCAL HARDWARE STORE, SO THERE'D BE NO UNUSUAL FLAW FOR YOU TO EXPLOIT. SCREW LOCKS! I HAD NEW LINKS HOT RIVETED TOGETHER!\n\n\"I TOOK YOU ON A HELICOPTER RIDE TO FIVE HUNDRED METERS OVER THE LAVA PIT. STOOD YOU IN THE DOOR, SHOT YOU IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD WITH A DESERT EAGLE LOADED WITH FLECHETTES COATED WITH FAST-ACTING NEUROTOXIN! ^(i saw the front of your head explode into grey and red mist! Bleah.)\n\n\"I CONTINUED FIRING INTO YOUR BODY ON THE WAY DOWN; I KNOW THE FIRST THREE HIT YOUR BODY ^(more blood mist with unidentified organs)\n\n\"I SAW THAT STINKING CORPSE OF YOURS DROP INTO THE LAVA WITH A WEAK SPLAT, ONLY TO BURN TO ASH.\n\n\"I even recovered the solid parts like teeth and performed genetic analysis. It was you! I took the time to dose the site with a heat-tolerant acid to wipe any genetic material and did the same to the samples I took.\n\n\"I even raided the multiple sites where you could have left a genetic sample. There is no way in... this... world...\"\n\n\"By George! I think Doctor Maniac finally figured it out!\"\n\n\"You cheat. You have plot armor. Only your author has taken one too many liberties. You are of no importance to me, now or ever. Guards, kick him out the front door hard enough he bounces twice.\"\n\nHey! I write this story and what I say goes!\n\n\"Ah, thank you for identifying yourself. My minions will be at your door shortly.\"\n\nBAMM! BAMM! BAMM!\n\n^(Roger? He's upstairs, what do you want with him? ... Stop his writing? Be my guest! It's started to affect his mind.)\n\nTROMP! TROMP!! TROMP!!!\n\n\"Roger Fenwick, you will surrender all writings, materials, notebooks, computers, or any other form of media containing, or pertaining to the story of Doctor Maniac. Failure to comply with this search and seizure warrant will result in your immediate incarceration.\"\n\nRoger looked them over and broke out laughing.\n\nWhen he was finally able to talk again, he had this to say. \"Okay, Menace. Go back to Maniac and tell him it doesn't work that way here.\"\n\n*The one thing Roger could count on was that anything he didn't write down, Maniac would not know was coming. On the other hand, Dr. Maniac is bound by what I write, so...*\n\nDue to Doctor Maniac's habit of checking material out of libraries, every library, public or private, electronic or physical, anywhere in the world, has him and every person in his employ or known to be associated with him, including the Author, banned from their library. Until such time as the Author confirms the death of every such person, with the exception of the Author.\n\n\"But I can counter that, Roger! I've become an Author!\"\n\n> Roger Fenwick is a known assassin with over three hundred kills to his credit. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous.\n\nThe above missive appears on every wire service, police bulletin, and government feed around the world.\n\n*In the world of Roger Fenwick*\n\n\"Look, how old am I. You've got everything there is to know about me. I've never left this city except for one three-day excursion with my parents! There's no way I could be some sort of globe-trotting assassin.\"\n\n\"He's got a point, Joe.\"\n\nFriday steamed for a bit, \"You're right. Look, Roger, someone has it in for you. If there is anything you can tell us, it will help.\"\n\n\"Detective, if I told you what I *think* is going on, you'd lock me up as a nut case.\"\n\n\"Try me.\"\n\n\"Don't forget, you asked. One of my literary creations is irked with me over excessive use of plot armor.\"\n\n\"Bill? Did you understand that?\"\n\n\"Yes, Joe, I did, and *both* of them are right.\"\n\n\"Bill, just the facts, please?\"\n\n\"He's right. We would consider him crazy, but if it is happening, the character doing it has every reason to see him off the Author list. Even if it isn't happening, Roger should be ashamed to depend so much on plot armor.\"\n\n\"Detective Gannon? Would a dream sequence be any better?\"\n\nBill and Joe answer together, \"NO!\" Joe goes on, \"If you ever get published, I'll shoot you myself if you use a dream sequence to get out of this!\"\n\n\"Please excuse Joe; he was on an exchange program in Dallas. It didn't go well.\"\n\n\"I quite understand. Detective Friday? Detective Gannon? My thanks for your understanding. May your lives be what *you* wish they were.\"\n\n\"Thanks, Roger, but being a Detective is all we know.\"\n\n^(Was that the^(real world?))\n\n*There's something I can do. Somehow.*\n\nHey, Maniac, what would it take to get you off my case?\n\n\"Stop abusing plot armor! If I go that far to see someone dead, then they are dead! If they aren't, then you need a better answer than *sorry, he's not dead*!\"\n\n\"Then *teach me!* My so-called English teacher had an accent so thick you could slice it! They started serving it in the cafeteria!\"\n\n\"Me, a character you write, teach you, the author, how to write better.\n\n\"Tell me, Roger, how could a character teach you about plot armor and not overdoing it? I'm no better than you at writing.\"\n\n\"Well, yeah, but it feels like it would work.\"\n\nIn unison, \"As though a mighty pen was writing both our universes.\"\n\n\"OKAY, META AUTHOR, TIME TO COME CLEAN!\"\n\n((fin^(not that fast, we have questions.)\n\n((fini^(Maniac! Help me!)\n\n((finis^(Not so fast! it is I! Doctor Maniac, and you cannot escape our grasp!)\n\n((finis)^(He's slipping away! Malice! Help us!)\n\n((finis))\n\nWhew! They almost got me! I hope you enjoyed this short^(I think he's over here) as I doubt I will ever write any more of this^(tracker closing in Doctor) meta stuff, good bye!\n\n^(Damn. He got away.)\n\n^(Don't worry so, he's an author, he can't help it.)\n\n((FINISHED DAMNIT!!))\n\n•••\n\n•••\n\n•••\n\n\n^(hello?)"
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[WP] You're an undercover cop posing as a DJ at a club. Your mission is to catch a man suspected of frequenting clubs to roofie drinks & haul women away. It's another long night in a tight, crowded club & your set is going well when in walks your man.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The smoke grew thick; the lights dimmed to a mixture of blues & reds with the disco ball turning the room into a dazzling display. Bodies dripping with sweat twisted and turned in response to the pumping & throbbing of the song \"Skyway\" by Cerulean. With the intro coming to an end, I slowly bumped up the tempo to induce excitement. A look into the crowd confirmed they were enjoying it immensely. What a cool feeling, to be a mood setter: a way to help people escape the mundane or stressful circumstances they faced & have a good time.\n\nBut this was business. Not just the DJ part, either. I had to keep watch. He might show anytime, ready to rear his ugly evil misdeeds. The grainy CCTV snapshots I had to work with didn't prove he did it, either. All I had to do was catch him in the act, & away with him he'd go. I had an ugly feeling of intuition deep in my gut that this was the guy, & I was ready to put this son of a bitch behind bars.\n\nHere we go, the song reached a small interlude before the chorus. Up with the fader that controlled the volume for the turntable. A scratch here, a scratch there. Nothing too flashy or fancy just yet; save the best for the end. Add in a pre-recorded drum & saxophone loop. Nice. A few \"whoop's\" & \"hey's\" rang throughout the room confirming that it sounded good in the mix. I was really getting into the song now; sweat dripped from my hair onto the floor as I rocked my body to the thumping of the dense kick. The song jumped back into the chorus. A quick scan of the room told me nothing suspicious was going on. Back to it.\n\nI cracked my knuckles as I mentally prepared myself for the serious table-spinning I was about to perform. Ah, the turntable. Nothing like vinyl; only REAL vinyl for this guy. Just then, the entrance door clicked open.\n\nI'll never forget that moment for as long as I live because it changed my life forever. A bald-headed, lower-thirties man walked through the floor wearing a black button-down, black pants, & black shoes. He headed straight for the bar & started chatting with a gorgeous blonde girl who instantly engaged in flirty conversation.\n\n*It was him.*\n\nI instantly gritted my teeth and glared at him as inconspicuously as possible. My gut told me he was guilty. I hated every ounce of his being. *Give me one reason motherfucker, I will make you wish you never bore the thought.*\n\nThe song started building towards the final adrenaline-inducing drop & I gave a few teasing scratches on my trusty turntable. A number of girls & guys had gathered around my setup to dance & watch me spin my magic; they knew it was coming. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I prepared for this moment. At the same time, my eyes were fixed on the man; I just *knew* it was him. It had to be him. Give me one reason, just one.\n\nAnd then, he did it.\n\nAfter a nervous glance around the room, he drew her in for a kiss and, as he cunningly deceived her with locked lips, slipped a small tablet into her glass seated on the bar.\n\nA roofie. A fucking roofie.\n\nMy rage exploded. The whole room turned into a blur of muffled bass & unsuspecting smiling faces. How could everyone miss this atrocity? This man just started a catalyst to ruin this woman's life and literally everyone else in the room was having too much fun to notice.\n\nExcept me.\n\nIn a fit of adrenaline, I leapt over my audio setup, knocking my turntable to the ground. A loud scratch was heard & the once beautiful-sounding record hit the floor & dashed into a million pieces. Everything went into slow motion; Tens of faces looked at me in confusion as I pushed past my onlookers shouting, \"Get out of the way!\" The whole room turned to look at what just caused the loud disturbance, but I was no longer there. I was no longer the DJ they knew as \"J.S. Felix\". I was now a hungry wolf bounding for my dinner.\n\nHe was still kissing her when I approached him. His filthy fucking eyes were closed with a smug look on his face, thinking he'd just successfully baited his next catch.\n\nBut the catch was mine.\n\nIn one swift movement, I laid my hands on his sleazy back & slammed his face onto the bar surface shouting \"Give me your hands! You're under arrest, you fucking asshole! I saw you do it and we have video proof!\" The blonde backed off in a look of confusion, which later turned into a look of horror when I explained the situation she nearly fell prey to. Backup came soon after & collected the drink for a lab sample.\n\nNeedless to say, he was thrown behind bars. Leading that motherfucker out of the bar & into the back of my undercover squadron car gave me so much pride I thought I'd nearly burst my shirt's buttons wide open. Thank God I was able to save her from pain & suffering. I sure hope I have the chance again; I have the best job in the whole fucking world.\n\n\\~J"
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[WP] You come from a prestigious family of mages, despite this you struggle with even the most basic warding spells. After a fight with your family, you've just about given up on trying to be a mage until your shadow starts talking to you...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Lessons at the academy weren't so bad. It should have been humiliating, being stuck in the theoretical classes when most of my peers had advanced to the practical aspects of magic, but the humiliation had pretty much faded by the end of the first month. I'd made friends with some of the classmates who had been stuck behind with me. Like studious Ilvrassa, who often declared that she wanted to be a magical historian more than a mage anyway (and occasionally even believed it) and Percival, who seemed to have no interest in either the theoretical or practical aspects of magic. The real issue with my ineptitude around magic took place after my daily lessons.\n\n\n\"Sit.\" My mother commanded as I entered the dining room.\n\nI knew what was coming, I knew why I'd come to this room after all. I didn't know what spell specifically she would be expecting us to test but I knew that for the next hour I would be expected to try to cast spell after spell, with no success.\n\n\"Wards are the most basic spell a mage has at her disposal and yet they are still one of the most useful.\" she said, though we both knew I was well aware what a ward was \"An expertly constructed ward can form an invisible barrier that can defend against assailants, projectiles, weapons - even other spells. Obviously the wards we have tried to get you to conjure have been *significantly* more rudimentary and whilst we have not had success even with those basic spells it occurs to me that you have been lacking proper motivation.\"\n\nAs I'd been keeping my gaze locked onto my mother whilst she spoke it was only then that I really noticed that she had a bowl full of tomatoes on the table to the side of her. She lifted one in front of her face and smiled at me.\n\n\"Whether you have a ward up or not, I will be throwing this at you in five seconds. If you can't block it, you'll get another thrown after that. If necessary we continue and we'll keep going until either you've deflected one or the bowl is empty. Five...\"\n\nWe'd studied wards in class multiple times and I would have been able to pass a theory test on them with flying colours. I knew the easiest ward to cast and the simplest way of casting it. I did everything I was supposed to and focussed intensely but nothing happened. My mother finished counting.\n\n*Bonk!*\n\nThe tomato bounced off me but I didn't have time to feel bad about it as mother was already back to counting. I tried again. A basic ward can be cast silently and without movement but there are vocalisations and gestures that can make it easier. I knew the words and I knew the form but no matter how perfectly I accomplished either the air in front of me remained unchanged.\n\n\"Is this really who you want to be? A nobody like everyone else in your class?\" My mother asked as she released the tomato from her grip.\n\nThe tomato hit my cheek and split, its seeds dripping down my face. Suddenly I snapped.\n\n\"THEY ARE NOT NOBODY! ILVRASSA ISN'T NOBODY! I AM NOT NOBODY!\" I bellowed and then rushed at my mother.\n\nI was deflected before I reached her, obviously. Her own ward had been impossible to detect and she had cast it without even a change in facial expression. Crying with rage, I stormed out of the room and ran to my bedroom.\n\n\nThe largest bag I owned was just my school bag so I poured my books out of it and shoved in essentials I thought I might need. I was done with this, finally leaving for good. I wrapped myself up and then went to leave my room when I heard a voice.\n\n\"You should probably take your jewellery - you might need to sell it on if you're really never coming back.\"\n\nI looked for the source of the voice but I couldn't see anyone here but me. The point was a good one regardless though so I walked over to my jewellery box.\n\n\"I'm not trying to dissuade you or anything, but where will we go?\"\n\nThis time I couldn't ignore the fact that the room was entirely empty and yet that was a very real voice.\n\n\"Have I actually gone mad?\" I whispered, though I still wasn't expecting an answer.\n\n\"No.\"\n\nThis didn't exactly clear anything up and my eyes flitted to the door, unsure if I should stay and carry on this bizarre conversation or just continue leaving. The voice spoke again.\n\n\"I'm your shadow.\"\n\nWell, this definitely seemed to put me back in the situation of being crazy.\n\n\"Why?\" I asked, as if that was a sensible thing to ask either a hallucination or a shadow.\n\n\"Well, because you needed me. You tried to create a ward and here I am.\"\n\n\"But I didn't create a ward, nothing worked. I still have tomato on my clothes for heaven's sake!\" I exclaimed, my hand pawing at my robe.\n\n\"You didn't need a ward from *tomatoes* and we both know it. You needed a ward from her. You needed a ward from this whole situation. And here I am.\"\n\nI sat down on my bed heavily. Then I realised I couldn't really stare at my shadow sat like this and swung my legs across until I sat on the other side of the bed instead. I stared at the shadow on the floor intensely.\n\n\"This isn't how magic works.\" I said.\n\n\"This isn't how her magic works.\" The shadow replied and I wondered if I sensed a slight attitude from it. \"Her magic and the magic you've been taught all involves casting set spells in some way. You don't cast, you manifest. You take your needs and desires and you use them to bring form to the formless or life to the lifeless. She can make a set spectral blade that can only be the same one you see in every textbook but you can animate the absence of light into something that can console you and tell you about a form of magic so rarely studied that only a handful of scholars could confirm what I've told you is true.\"\n\nI stayed sat at the same angle but my shadow suddenly sat up straighter and ran a hand through its hair.\n\n\"I'm not saying your power is limitless,\" my shadow said, \"but the limits are certainly different.\"\n\n\"Prove it.\" I said and whilst I wanted it to be a command it sounded more like pleading.\n\n\"We both know I can't, only you can. But you said you wanted to leave, take my hand and decide where you want to go. We can always come back.\"\n\n\nI placed my palm against that of my shadow and concentrated. At first I could only think of the little I knew about teleportation magic. It was advanced and required materials I didn't have. I tried not to think of wanting to teleport but instead simply wanting to be somewhere else. Instead of focussing on how I would do it I just reached inside myself and commanded it. Without warning I became one with my shadow, then all darkness, then the dark within a specific wardrobe and then finally separated from my shadow once again. I pulled open the wardrobe door and tried to calm my startled friend.\n\n\"Ilvrassa, I think I've got something I need you to help me study.\"",
"\"Alright, I'm going to perform a simple force spell\" said grandfather. \"All you have to do is do a simple ward. I'm going to try to push you. You just need to stop it.\"\n\n\n\n\"Yeah, it's real simple. Think about just talking back to granpa\" said Mina. Of course it was simple for her. Even though she was my younger sister, she could perform incredible feats since she was a toddler. On the other hand, I struggled with the simplest spells.\n\n\nGrandfather waved his hand. It was an exaggerated motion. I knew he could cast this spell by just twitching his nose, but he was giving me all the opportunities I could get.\n\n\nI felt the energies coalescing around us. I could even see how they formed a front; a solid invisible wall of energy. It came at me slowly but steadily. I armed my will and tried to stand defiant to it. Tried being the key word.\n\n\nThe spell knocked my on my ass. It was slow but still powerful. And no matter how hard I concentrated, I still couldn't counter or ward against it. \n\n\nMina laughed. Grandfather sighed. I knew he was disappointed in me. But he was determined to train me. Mina, in her own way, also tried to encourage me. But tonight wouldn't be the night where I figured it out. \n\n\nGrandfather sighed. \"Alright\" he said. \"Let's turn in for the night. We can continue tomorrow. Get some rest for now.\"\n\n\nMina came up to me and helped me up. \"Don't worry big brother\" she said. \"I know you'll figure it out eventually.\"\n\n\nI went back to my room. The lamp by my bed was still lit, but the rest of the lights were off. It cast the room in an strange glow. I went to the mirror by the closet. I looked at my reflection, trying to figure out why I just couldnt figure this out. \n\n\nMy reflection smiled. I was not smiling. \n\n\nMy reflection pointed behind me and slightly to my left. I turned slowly. \n\n\nAll I saw was my shadow being projected on the empty wall behind me. I usually had posters or scrolls hanging in my room. But for some reason, this wall had always remained bare; as if I just couldn't bring myself to besmirch the wall. \n\n\nMy shadow blinked. \n\n\n\"The reason you can't figure it out, is because you're looking at things the wrong way\" a voice in the darkness said.\n\n\n\"W-w-what?\" Is all I could stammer.\n\n\nMy shadow shrugged. \"It's simple\" it said. \"You're thinking about protecting. What you need to do is think of attacking.\"\n\n\nI stood there in the semi darkness. \n\n\n\n\"A noble thought of course, but not what you need to do. You have so much potential. And you WILL harness it\" said the shadow, with a mischievous grin. \"Next time the old man throws his little push, you WILL push back. You will knock him down! You're not gunna ward. You're gunna counter with your own spell. And you WILL WIN!\"\n\n\nThe shadow was making a whole lot of sense. \"Okay\" I said. I'll try that tomorrow.\"\n\n\nThe shadow smiled wide. It was slightly unnerving. \"Good!\" it said with a chuckle. \"You will be very powerful.\"",
"Power, it is at the center of everything. It controls everything. The weak crave it or condemn it and all who possess it without fail will be corrupted by it.\n\n\n I've always fantasized about being strong. I wanted to be able to tell all those who spat on me exactly what I thought of them. I wanted to never be at anyone's mercy ever again. But I wasn't. I was weak and would always be weak. Or so I thought.\n\n\n I was at my family home. Both my siblings were prodigies , of course what else was to be expected of current generation of the famous skandar bloodline. \n\n\nWe had been mages since the early days. Since dragons flew through the skies and magic was abundant in everything from the clouds above to the very earth beneath our feet. But those days are long gone. What few dragons remain are in hiding and the natural resource of magic in the earth has been drained all but dry. \n\n\nBut who am I? The answer is nobody. The third child, the black sheep, whichever you prefer. My name is Joseph Skandar and this is my story.\n\n\n It began on a day just like the many before. A day in which I was feverishly practicing my magecraft in the family library. My family had long since ceased my formal training as the longer I trained the more apparent my lack of skill became. I was unable to cast the most basic of spells or hex. \n\n\nI was not discouraged. I kept training myself. Kept researching, kept learning. Despite that I never improved. After a while my family dropped even the pretense of encouragement. They kept me around solely out of a desire to keep up their image as loving parents who didn't care if I was skilled or not. But that would soon be coming to an end.\n\n\n I was 16 going on 17. That meant I had just over a year until they could completely denounce me without sullying their reputation In the slightest. \n\n\n I continued \"training\" until one of the house's servants came to the library. \n\n\"You're family is preparing to eat dinner. You are expected to be present.\" \n \n\"Understood\"\n\n I said dispassionately as I marked the place in the text I was reading concerning the application of alchemy. \n\n\nSurprisingly when I reached the table I found that both my brothers were also present. This was surprising because both of them had moved out quite some time ago. First was Robert. He was the second youngest after myself. He was 19 and his proficiency lay in his conjuration. He could summon both living and non living things using his magical energy as a catalyst to form his constructs. \nSecondly was Julius. He was the oldest at 24. He was a prodigy in elemental magic and alchemy. \n\n\nNo one greeted me as I sat down. Dinner was served and we all began to eat. Robert was the first to speak. \n\n \"So Joseph how has your training been going?\"\n\n He said it in a tone so wrought with sarcasm his words were practically dripping with it. He had been the first mock my lack of skills when my training started. He had been the youngest until I was born and seemed to prove something by belittling me.\n\n My teeth clenched but I said nothing. \n\n\"Aw what's wrong still having trouble?\" \n\nHe said with mock sympathy. \n\n\"What a shame.\" \n\nMy jaw clenched even tighter. \n\n\"I mean how worthless can you be?\" \n\nI knew I was nearing my breaking point but there was nothing I could do. If I left I would only face repercussions for it later. So I stayed quiet. But he didn't stop. \n\n\"Honestly you're just a disappointment I don't think I could live If I were that much of a failure.\"\n\n That did it I knew I shouldn't say anything that nothing good could come of it but all I saw was red and I couldn't help myself. \n\n \"SHUT THE FUCK UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR FUCKING LIFE!\" I screamed.\n\n \"ALL YOU DO IS BELITLE AND INSULT AND YOU ONLY DO IT BECAUSE YOU KNOW IM NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO STOP YOU! YOU TALK DOWN TO ME AS IF YOU'RE SO FUCKING GREAT BUT WE BOTH KNOW YOU ONLY DO IT BECAUSE YOU'RE TO PATHETICALLY IMMATURE TO SHOW ANY RESPECT TO ANYONE WHO DOESN'T SCARE UT OUT OF YOU!\"\n\n I felt a sharp pain by the side of my face. I reached up and touched it and my hand came back red. Julius was on his feet and had cut and inch beneath my eye with a razor sharp gust of wind. \n\n\"Be silent you're only embarrassing yourself,\" he said in a neutral tone.\n\n I stormed away from the table. No One stopped me from leaving. I was fuming. \n\n\n\"No one in this god damned family acknowledged me other than to degrade me. And I'm sick of it\" I thought to myself.\n\n\n I was angrier than I had ever been and I didn't know why. He had always treated my that way why was it now that I was this angry. I was in the library again. I threw the books on the table I had been sitting at onto the floor.\n\n\n Suddenly everything went dark. I was still concious but was as if the light to the universe itself had been turned off around me. Then I saw them.\n\n\n It was me but it wasn't. They were a dark outline who looked similar to myself.\n\n\n \"Who…\" I started but they cut me off,\n\n \"I thought That would be obvious,\" they said in a voice that sounded similar to mine but deeper and somehow stronger,\n\n \"I am you. I am the part of you that has been locked away by your subconscious. I am your shadow and I can grant you the power you so desperately desire.\"\n\n\n \"How?\" I said my voice full of desperation\n\n \"You must sacrifice yourself to the shadows If you seek their power,\" he said.\n\n\n I remembered the story of Odin and how he gained knowledge over the runes. I moved my hand up to my eye.\n\n\n Then I plunged my fingers around my right eye and pulled it out. The pain was excruciating, like nothing I had felt even in the most vicious of my brothers beatings. But my adrenaline flowed, Dulling the pain somewhat. I then repeated the process with my other eye.\n\n\n For a moment nothing happened then I felt it. Power. So much power. I could see it. I could see everything. I understood it all. A new understanding flowed through me. I understood the secrets that man was never meant to comprehend. It was overwhelming. This was it. This was what I had been craving my whole life and here it was right at my fingertips. \n\nEverything was about to change"
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[WP] The fastest man-made object ever is a one-ton nuclear test-chamber cover blasted into space at 125K mph by an underground nuclear test in 1957. Today, some very aggrieved aliens arrive with questions.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The year is 2157 and the world is in an uproar, aliens have landed and seem furious, if their flailing limbs are any indication. They have been on earth for nearly a week now and communication between humans and the aliens has been slow going. When they arrived panic and celebration gained momentum in equal strides, and we nearly had a war on our hands after having nearly half a century of hard earned peace. The mood did not lighten when the aliens descended from their vessel and began flailing about it agitation. The military, on high alert as it was, nearly fired on the aliens, but the UN delegation commanded them to hold and sent their team of scientists to try and communicate with the aliens. \n\nThis scientific team is a group of ten subject matter and field experts from zoology, biology, and linguistics. I am called Illiana and I am one of the four linguists, including Marc, Ichika, and Marjani. The four of us are friends that work together and play games when not decoding languages. Marc and Ichika are both subject matter experts and Marjani and myself are field experts, however between the four of us we can read and write nearly one hundred of the world's languages. The first day none of us could make heads or tails of what was being said and whatever device that the aliens used to try and understand us was failing. The aliens communicate using sounds that do not seem to mimic our current speech patterns. The closest language is a combination of Tuu and Sfyria languages. They are both whistles and bilabial clicks involved in the alien’s communication. Marjani is the one that made the leap and by day seven we had a decent understanding of their language, and they, ours. Another day, and with the alien’s collaboration we were able to get their translation system up to speed with our language and we could start understanding each other. \n\nThe aliens call themselves Tha’ktri and as it happens they are furious and demanding reparations be made. It took another two days to build up enough understanding to piece out what had happened. Apparently, almost two hundred years ago to the day, we sent the cover to a nuclear test chamber out into space at nearly 202k kph (about 125k mph). This cover crashed into one of their spaceships, killing a few of their crew, approximately one hundred years later. It took them another hundred years to track the path of the cover back to our planet. They said that when they saw all the “junk” floating around our planet, they almost bombarded us from orbit, but had decided on a more peaceful solution instead. \n\nWhen the UN delegation heard of this they turned white as ghosts and started apologizing profusely and asked what kind of reparations the Tha’ktri are seeking. They originally wanted the reparation to be made in blood, but would settle for money or fuel for their stardrives. They had no use for most of our precious metals or resources. They were growing impatient with the lack of suitable reparations and were about to opt for blood, when they overheard some of the delegation talking about nuclear energy. After some explanations the Tha’ktri practically fell over themselves to obtain some of our nuclear waste. It seems their stardrives use the waste from nuclear fission as fuel and that would suit nicely. \n\nWith some negotiation we were able to start receiving some of their tech as well as knowledge of the universe beyond our solar system. This was made all the easier when the Tha’ktri were told how much of their “fuel” we had available and that we continue to produce it on a regular basis. With the negotiations ended and the treaty signed the world was abuzz with excitement with the prospect of traveling among the stars and ridding the world of nuclear waste. All except for Marc, Marc looked pointedly at the leaving Tha’ktri, and back at me: \"Is it just me, or did they look like the mind flayers from D&D...\""
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[WP] There is a Library of the Unfinished. Its stacks are full of trailed-off thoughts in their entirety, completed napkin calculations, and the last bits of interrupted dreams.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"**There is a Library of the Unfinished. Its stacks are full of trailed-off thoughts in their entirety, completed napkin calculations, and the last bits of interrupted dreams.**\n\nThe city of Ankh-Morpork had many Tales and Gods. It had Gods of Fish, paper straws and chicken tikka served at you local pub. It had tales of heroes fallen in battle or headless chicken rampaging the countryside. Tales and Gods had to have belief to exist. That was the rule. It didn’t matter if one man believed in you or many, you would die if you did not have belief. Many Gods and Tales have been lost to the ocean of sands in the desert, where they entice lonely travelers and hermits with promises of fine meat, well cooked vegetables and centuries fermented alcohol. They did this because they were weak, desperate for the belief that fuels their power. The most powerful Gods can harness winds strong enough to rip entire cities from their foundations. The strongest of tales could spread fear, like a plague, through the cavernous slums that surround many cities, perhaps inciting rebellion. Gods and Tales often changed, as they gained and lost belief.\n\nThe Library didn’t change. The Library was constant.\n\nThe Library of the Unfinished was an almighty and all-powerful being. Some argued it could no longer be classified as a God or a Tale, it had surpassed human names. Most importantly, the Library of the Unfinished did not need belief to exist. It did not crawl to the desert to pester travelers if people forgot it.\n\nWhether or not people believed in it, it existed. It was the only constant in a world of change.\n\nIbim was about to die. He could feel his bones grating together as he heaved himself into his coffin. That’s the one good thing about being a wizard, he thought to himself, you know when your going to die. Furthermore, Death always visits a wizard in person. Naturally, sometimes there’s a new death. Sometimes Death might fall ill, or accidentally fall off a wizards spire and die. Therefore Death sometimes needed to be replaced. Death sometimes changes.\n\nIbim was embarrassed to say that he was quite looking forward to dying. Not that his stay at Unseen University was particularly unpleasant, he just wanted a change of scenery. While he’d heard the rumours of Heaven and Hell, judgment day and the Library, he didn't believe in them. He felt he was ready to see what was next, to be a brave adventure exploring the untamed wilderness of what lay beyond life.\n\n*HELLO*\n\nSaid a dry voice from somewhere within the coffin. Ibim felt as if his soul was being lifted out of his wooden prison, reaching into the sky. His mind cleared and he could remember anything that ever happened, everything he ever finished. He could look down at the bustling city of Ankh-Morpork, or he could train his eyes on the distance where the fields of vegetables were being harvested. In fact, if he looked really carefully, he could even see-\n\n*I SAID, HELLO!*\n\n“Oh, hi there”, called Ibim, “Im assuming your Death. If you’d just show me where the after life is i’ll be on my way”.\n\n*I CANNOT SHOW YOU THE AFTERLIFE*, declared Death, *THE AFTERLIFE WILL SHOW ITSELF TO YOU!*\n\nIbim wouldn’t exactly say he was confused. You didn’t get far in Unseen University if you were confused. He’d just say that he wasn’t clear on what Death was saying. How could the afterlife show itself to him? He’d spent 120 years at Unseen University, and except for the floating ducks that destroyed the Necromancy department, nothing ever just appeared.\n\n*LOOK INTO YOUR MIND*, announced the wispy voice of Death, *YOU STILL HAVE MUCH LEFT TO DO.*\n\nBollocks, thought Ibim, he’s taking me to the Library isn’t he?\n\n*YOU MUST ATONE FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE NOT DONE. IN THE SEA OF CHANGE, YOU MUST ENDURE AND REMAIN IN THE CONSTANT.*\n\n“But I don’t believe in the Library, surely there isn’t some sort of helpline or manager i could contact?”\n\n*IN THIS… UN-LIFE… WE ARE ALONE. THE ONLY PLACE LEFT TO GO IS THE LIBRARY. DO WHAT YOU HAVEN’T DONE, AND YOU WILL BE FORGIVEN. YOU WILL THEN LIVE AMONG THE STARS, METAPHORICALLY OF COURSE, WHERE YOU SHALL BE REWARDED.*\n\nAs Death’s wispy voice trailed off, a giant stone mausoleum revealed itself from behind the cloud. ‘Ah’, thought Ibim, ‘the Library appears *metaphorically*’.\n\nThe Library was a humongous stone building with crumbling walls held together by nothing but centuries of cobwebs. Timber groaned in the rafters, threatening to let the entire building cave in. In the Library of the Unfinished, even the building was unfinished. Bookshelves huddled in the corner, waiting to be placed in their appropriate rows. The ceiling had gaping holes strewn across it, letting moonlight pour in, through the filter of cobwebs, to the entrance where Ibim was standing.\n\nThe Unfinished Library of the Unfinished was the final judgment. It carried with it the stains of humanities want for change. The mausoleum creaked with an aura of “good enough”.\n\n*MOST WHO ENTER DO NOT RETURN*, grizzled Death, *YOU ALL CARRY A WEIGHT FROM ALL THINGS LEFT UNFINISHED. EACH NAPKIN WITH QUICKLY SOLVED EQUATIONS, EVERY DEVICE LEFT UN-BUILT AND EVERY SPELL LEFT UN-TOLD IS HERE IN THIS LIBRARY. YOU MUST FINISH THEM ALL.*\n\nIbim slumped against the wall. He’d written many equations on many napkins. He’d forgotten to build many things and cast many spells. If he had to complete everything he hadn’t done, he’d be here for eternity.\n\n“I guess this is why they call it an eternal punishment” remarked Ibim.\n\n*YES*\n\n“Well then”. Ibim raised up to his full height (which wasn’t very tall), straightened his back from years of slouching and focused his attention on the closest napkin, poking out from underneath a pile of scrolls.\n\n“I’d best get started”.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n^(Edit - SP&G)\n\n&#x200B;\n\nIf you spot any improvments I could make, or any SP&G that needs to be fixed, please let me know! I'm open to feedback <3",
"You would expect that nobody has use for a catacomb of napkin scribbles, half-completed cartoons, and transcripts of the things you try to say when you’re between asleep and awake. But you would be very, very wrong. So many people are interested that we hold tours. Everyone wants to see JK Rowling’s coffee-stained start to Harry Potter, or the whole section of alternate endings to Lost. We have a couple hundred reading tables, and most days they’re all occupied.\n\nA fair number of our visitors are grad students. Let’s be honest, it’s a hell of a thing to reference in your research paper. We get a lot of psychology students that camp out in the dreams wing, or the section of Freud’s random thoughts and outbursts. They’re not much fun though. They usually know what they’re looking for. The good ones are the experimental research papers. We had one PhD do a full butterfly-effect analysis based on Napoleon’s alternate plan for the Battle of Waterloo. Then there was the Classics student that spent a full year translating half-formed thoughts from Ancient Greek, just because they desperately wanted the truth of Sappho’s personal life. And the failing MBA that was sure that the answer to Gates’ success was buried in passive aggressive over-dinner thoughts.\n\nThere are also plenty of wack-jobs. Conspiracy theorists. They spend months and months reading through Neil Armstrong’s internal monologues to try and prove that the moon landing was faked, or whatever. I mean, sometimes they’re right, but I’m not going to tell you what about. That’s not my job.\n\nMy job is to listen to you say “well, I was thinking about this thing, and then my mom called/dog barked/coffee spilled, and I can’t remember it anymore”, and try and point you in the right direction. Field complaints about “but, how can you NOT know what my sister was going to say on her deathbed?! Isn’t that what this place is for?” And tut at anyone who dares to suggest that we ought to digitize the collection. Where would be the fun in that?",
"You weren't sure that you'd ever end up here - they told you that once things were lost, they'd forever be buried in the endless rows of the Library of the Unfinished. By all accounts, you'd written off the notion that lost thoughts could be recovered. There were tales of those who chased those very ideas all the way to the Library of the Unfinished, never to be seen again. You'd thought those people foolish, but now, standing in front of the modest doors of the building, you could feel a little hope creep up in your chest. \n\nVague scribbles in notebooks, unfinished thoughts left to their own devices, none had been so important to you that you'd risk becoming another tale, but last night's dream changed all of that. \nYou were visited by a stranger who you thought unnerving - pieces of his persona and appearance seemed familiar but at the same time, you were certain you'd never met. He told tales of grandeur, great wealth and opportunity,all of which could be easily achieved if you just --\n\nIf you just what? You'd been woken up abruptly by a loud clap of thunder, followed by an arc of lightning that lit up your dingy bedroom. Honestly, the man sounded a bit like a crappy infomercial - but you couldn't get that eerily familiar face out of your head and besides, getting lost at a library couldn't be worse than living in a musty studio apartment under the city's oldest building, right?\n\nTaking a deep breath, you stride up to the worn brass doors, tugging on the handle to let yourself into the Library of the Unfinished. As your eyes adjust to the dimly lit interior, you notice the state of the place. Papers are strewn everywhere, many sitting on tables stacked to the ceiling as the top pieces flutter down to the floor to contribute to the already thick carpet of unfinished thoughts. Rather than the neatly arranged rows you imagined, the library is just stuffed with papers, and everywhere you look, there is no indication of any order - as if the whole operation itself was an afterthought. Cautiously, you begin weaving your way around stacks, occasionally plucking a paper from the air to scan it for your dream. The secret to your better life would have to be in there, right?\n\nFor an eternity it seems, you wander the papers in the Library of the Unfinished, sometimes barely glancing at the papers you pick up and other times reading juicy tidbits from the minds of other people. You could see why people seemed to get lost in here, but it looked like an end was in sight, as the paper stacks get shorter and shorter as you walk. Eventually they dwindle to nothing it seems, and farther ahead you can make out a desk labelled 'LIBRARIAN'. Hoping they could help you find your unfinished dream, you lurch forward, shoving papers out of your way in a mad dash to the desk.\n\nAs you screech to a halt, panting, you let out a cry of despair as you realize that not only is the desk not manned - but the chair behind it is covered in cobwebs and discolored with layers and layers of dust. On the desk reads a sign:\n'Out for Lunch'\n\nAnnoyed, you walk around the desk, shuffling through drawers stuffed with papers in the hope you can find some sort of help.\n\nIn the last drawer, to your surprise, you find only a single paper. On it reads:\n\n***Hello,\nThis must come as a great surprise but I can assure you that it was fate that brought you here! You see, most do not chase their lost thoughts, dreams, ideas, but you were willing to delve through millions of thoughts to make your way here, to this very desk. As such, we think you'd make a wonderful librarian! After all, you're the latest person to browse this endless hall and therefore you'd know them best! I've been doing this a very long time now and I'm pleased that I've finally gotten a relief after all these years. I wish you the best of luck in your new career!\nCheers!\nJoseph Hardy***\n\nAll of a sudden, you feel sick to your stomach. This can't be - Joseph Hardy was the last man who rumored to have been lost here, and that was nearly a century ago. You rush to find the exit but realize that you've lost your way amidst the endless piles of papers. Sinking to the floor you stare blankly at the mountains of white before you, as a paper flutters down into your hands. It is a transcript of your dream.\n\n**MAIN CHARACTER:** ***Okay, but how do I go about achieving all of this? How do I know this isn't a fat sack of bullshit?***\n\n**JOSEPH HARDY:** ***I know it sounds hard to believe, but this is so easily achievable if you just meet me at the Library of the Unfinished. I can promise you a lifetime of job stability, and of course the wealths of knowledge bestowed to you by reading all the text stored there. It's a very prestigious job, I assure you.***\n\n**MAIN CHARACTER:** ***[Sighs loudly, causing others to stare] And I can assure YOU that there's not a chance in hell I'd be dumb enough to walk into that cursed building for incentives like those. Have a good day sir, I'll stick to my boring life. \n[Main character exits]***\n\n*Son of a bitch.*\n\n\n\n\n(This is the first time I've ever written here, so I hope this is an ok submission! I've been too anxious to give writing a shot here but I figured better later than never right? Always happy to take constructive criticism (especially since I don't write in this format and this \"voice\" often!) but please be gentle <3 )"
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[WP] You’re sitting around telling “Yo mama” jokes with a few others when your mom walks in on you. She looks disappointed at first then busts out the best yo mama joke ever. The group stares in disbelief; she died a year ago.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"It still hurts a little--not a constant dull pain in the background like an old injury that never healed quite right, but periods of inactivity before a sharp stab in my heart every time I'm reminded of what I've lost, an adept assassin hiding in the shadows.\n\n\"Yo mama so fat, she needs her own zip code!\"\n\nI couldn't quite tell who it was from. I wasn't paying very much attention to the conversation at hand, while nursing a heavy drink in my hand. It helped. A little. \n\nBut though there was the hammering heart, a smile inadvertently came through. It helped. A little. Counteracting the sting with a soft, pillowy, ultimately inoffensive joke.\n\n\"Yo mama so short, she could sit on the curb!\"\n\nThere was something in the corner of my eye. A familiar silhouette, framed against the stark white light that I never liked from the living room. My mother walked in, a brief look of disappointment on her face, before a giant smile cracked on it.\n\n\"Yo mama so ugly,\" she said. \"That heaven didn't let her in.\"\n\nI thought there would be hysterical laughter. Instead, there was but silence surrounding, and shocked gazes pointed at me, and back at my mother, and me.\n\n\"Mum?\" the word managed to squeak out of me, the exact cadence of which I've not spoken in a year.\n\nShe walked towards me, ignoring everything else in her way. She kissed me on the forehead, and whispered:\n\n\"You'll be OK,\" she smiled a reassuring smile.\n\nI couldn't help but laugh, overwrought and uncontrolled.\n\nAs just as she was here, she was gone--but my friends continued to stare at me.\n\n\"Are you alright?\" \n\n\"Do you need some water?\"\n\n\"Need to head to bed?\"\n\nAnd those words helped. A lot. They were not from my mother, but they were caring, concerned, loving words.\n\n\"No,\" I assured. \"I'll be OK.\"\n\n---\n\nr/dexdrafts"
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[WP] "The curse can only be broken when the bloodline ends!" You yell in desperation. "Well I'm pregnant Gerry what do you want me to do?!"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"I want you stop yelling at me!\" I yell at my wife Michelle. This is are the moments that i regret marrying her. Like i get she's pregnant but she doesn't need to blow up on me. \n\n\"I'm not yelling at you. I'm telling we're not going to kill our son just for this shit to fucking stop!\" Here she goes again trying to twist my words. \"What makes you think that i'm telling you that we need to kill him?\" \n\n\"You just said that we need to end the bloodline for the curse to stop and that means killing someone's own child.\" Shit. She does have a point. I might not have worded it correctly. \n\n\"Ok. I agree with you but with don't have to necessarily kill him.\" I tell her. \"And what's your brilliant alternative oh dear Gerry?\" She asks with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. \n\n\"We just you know tell him to not have sex with anyone.\" I hope that reasoning works. \n\n\"And how long is that gonna take? Huh? When he turns 13? Joey is still a fucking fetus Gerry!\" And all hope is lost. \n\n\"Well you shouldn't have sex with a demon if you're gonna complain this much.\" I tell her. \"Don't blame me on this shit! You had sex with them too.\" She's right. We had a threesome with a demon named Malakai last night. It was fun but they cursed us because they wanted something more and we're only it it for the sex. Our bad i guess."
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[WP] In a world where everyone is a genre of music, heroes struggle to preserve the Harmony of the Spheres from the two equally destructive but diametrically opposed forces of Monotone and Cacophony
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"In the music system, the people's aesthetic sensibilites are protected by seven separate yet equally important concepts: Rhythm which describes the timing of notes. Melody which describes the pitch of notes over time. Harmony which describes the pitch of notes at a particular time. Dynamics which describes the loudness over time. Timbre, the overtones that make each instrument unique. Texture, the number of musical lines. Form, combining all the other elements into a coherent piece of music. These are their stories of cooperation to allow change in order to prevent Monotony but not to the point where it becomes cacophony....\r \n\r \nDisclaimer: The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person, composition, or performance.\n\n\\**Bum Bum\\**"
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[WP] In a universe where significant events in history are mysteriously memorialized as in place afterimages that replay on a loop like holograms, you are part of the bureau that catalogs them. Today you arrive at the site of a new event determined to be the first future event afterimage...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Loops often stay in a bubble. The more people involved, the larger the bubble. You can enter the bubble of course, it's not an actual physical loop, just an after image of what happened.\n\nOne of my favourites is in europe, showing a scene from a battle in the napoleonic wars. An explosive lands at the feet of a regiment and lays there with fuse lit. The commander tells them to stand for honor, then shoots a man that attempts to preserve his life by running. A man that history called a hero shooting a terrified private in the back right before an explosion takes two thirds of his squadron and one of his legs.\n\nEvery loop I've seen personally has at least fifty or so people in it, but the one in front of me is different. In the construction lot of a new strip mall, it what would be the parking lot in the future, stands a man fiddling with the keys to his vehicle. The bubble doesn't even have enough room for the whole car, just the front half. The man drops his keys, bends over to grab them, and gets yanked underneath his car by a gnarled hand. The force is enough to fold the man in half at the torso, killing him instantly.\n\nThat's worrying enough, but the thing that the bureau really doesn't like is that no one can identify the make and model of the car, at least, we couldn't. Toyota announced a never before seen design that I and a few other recognized. Simultaneously, the loop vanished.\n\nI've been part of the task force that monitors the mall. Have Ben for fifteen years or so now. Every security guard that the mall has is on payroll. Our job is to keep an eye out for the man and car and to assure that what happened in the loop happens. Higher ups don't want to risk a paradox situation and I don't blame them. Still, I'm nervous. It's been awhile since I've seen the man, so maybe it's a coincidence, but my son is starting to resemble him. Ive told him that he's not allowed to buy the car, citing paranoia of the Japanese. I know he thinks less of me for it but the alternative? I can't think about it.\n\n\n\n\nI decided to treat my son to lunch today. It's been twenty years since the loop vanished. My son moved out, but he still comes to visit me at work sometimes. I like to meet him halfway in the parking lot and... Well he was driving THE car today. I've known for awhile, without a doubt, that he is the man from the loop. I told him to move away and he himself doesn't drive often. Gas prices. Still, he rents a car when he makes the three hour drive to town. Said this was the only one they had. I walked him out of the heat and when I looked back I swear I saw a pair of eyes glowering at me from underneath the car.\n\n__________________\n\nBreaking news, a new loop appears outside a shopping mall after the brutal death of a local man. Shows an unknown creature doing untold damage to the body. Experts cannot identify either entity. An anonymous note to the station reads, \"You were warned. We hope you have prepared. Good luck.\""
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[WP] "Dad, will the money in my piggy bank help?"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Dad, will the money in my piggy bank help?\" Samson looked up at his daughter, high on the wooden park play structure. It was almost five and they needed to get home to start dinner before she got too hungry and melted down in front of the oven when the lasagna took too long to bake. \n\n\"No sweetheart, we aren't getting McDonalds on the way home, even if you have McDonalds' money.\" Samson locked eyes with his four year old, watching her face scrunch up. \n\n\"But why?\"\n\n\"Because we have leftovers at home.\"\n\n\"Why can't mom eat all the lasagna for us so we can get McDonalds?\"\n\n\"We can talk about it in the car, let's go Sarah.\"",
"\"'Dad, will the money in my piggy bank help?' The small voice from behind me said as she peeked through the curtain to her room. No door. It was the slums. The corporate machine was at my door, ready to grind me into a pulp.\n\nHer mother ran to her, picking her up and gave me one last look, tears in her eyes. It wasn't their fault.\n\nNor mine.\n\nNor these guys just trying to do their own jobs so they wouldn't end up in this situation.\n\nTwo hours later, I'm being interrogated like I committed fraud. A man in a slick looking suit poked his head in the door, and simply stated, 'They're here.'\n\nI knew who it was. The K'thani had been economically terrorizing humanity since they lost the war.\n\nEarth's biggest corporations only saw dollar signs. At least the one I worked for.\n\nAnd my face was on the stack of credits they raked in with 'worker transferral' to you damn xenos.\n\nI wasnt alone. I saw some other guys from my work mingled in with the multitude of now shackled people.\n\nI was brought into this room, and now I'm sitting here talking to you.\" Nathan explained his story to the K'thani woman in front of him, and didn't censor it as much as he would have cared to two days ago.\n\nShe took a deep breath, and looked at the data slate on the mount angled to her that Nathan couldn't see.\n\n\"So, you were military..\" she raised her two, bright pink eyes with purple irised up to his face. \"We have more need from you than just a factory worker..\""
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[WP] A new procedure allows you to talk to your grandmother in the hospital that's been in a coma through a text display machine, however you begin to suspect it might not actually be your grandma you're communicating with..
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Can you do your own prompts?? Well, let's find out! I originally saw this as a joke comment on a post about the guy who can now communicate through a text interface due to new tech despite not being able to before and I thought it would be really ripe for an interesting story.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\nIt had been 6 years. A small car accident, head injury.. Brain trauma.. Grandma or grams was in a coma after the first day, she stabilized after 5 more and was in a coma since then, fed with tubes, kept alive by machines. After a few months they said it was likely permanent. We kept her on until the 3 year mark, where the doctors suggested we should let it go. We continued on until the 5 year mark, motions where put into effect by the doctors who petitioned with the state for her to be un-plugged, as they called it. The litigation took a long time, I was still visiting her every 2 weeks at this point and it had been 6 years.\n\nI was back again visiting her. It all turned into a blur over the years of thousands of visits. This time was different. A nurse technician greeted me at grams room door, \"Hey there! I'm Sandra I'm here to help you use our new cutting-edge software today!\" The way she said \"cutting-edge\" bothered me but she seemed very high energy and positive. \"Hey I'm Jacob just visiting grams.\" I automatically replied out.\n\nI remembered an email from the hospital about some new RADA Brain Interface Therapy program they would be testing in my grams unit, specifically tailored for coma patients, this is about all I remembered from the prompt. \"Yes! Jacob it's nice to meet you.\" She grabbed my hand as we continued walking into the room. \"Now as you know this is experimental tech and it doesn't always work but your grams looks like a perfect fit for the program, If you want to give it a try I have the documents right here.\" I paused for a moment. I think I knew what she was asking, the program was said to let you speak or \"chat\" with any comatose person, and it was somewhat proven. \"Well.. Does it work?\" I went autopilot again and asked her. \"Of course, and we- ... I think it will work on your grams.\" The technician brought the big guns today, putting her personal \"I\" in there. I chuckled internally and gestured for her to give me the clipboard. I began signing as she explained some details and slid her cart of tools up near the bed of my grams. Beside the EKG and other monitors was a new display I hadn't seen in the last visits, turned off but bigger than the rest. The technician Sandra looked me in the eyes and nodded. \"Are you ready?\". I nodded back still wondering at the possibility in my mind. She began placing different electrodes and other things on grandma, at least 6 different wires were running from her head and many more from the chest. \"Ah! We already have a hit\" Sandra exclaimed excitedly. \"What does that mean?\" I blurted out. \"It... It looks good hold on here..\" As she fiddled with knobs and notches on the cart while occasionally typing out great big strings of text on her laptop she finally turned to me. \"It's working, let me do one quick test.\" The screen that was earlier empty and looming now lit up and displayed a dark screen with blue text with a blinking vertical rectangle signifying it was typeable. Sandra quickly tapped her way through the keyboard and the screen displayed \"Hello there, are you awake?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Yes, thank you.\"\n\ndisplayed on the screen after 5 seconds.\n\nMy heart rate increased immediately, I had seen articles about this but the success rate was less than 5% in most cases. Sandra looked very satisfied before quickly typing another message.\n\n\"Are you Nancy Ritter?\"\n\n5 seconds later\n\n\"Of course! It's me I'm here!\"\n\nSandra turned towards me with the absolute biggest grin on her face.\n\n\"Well, there you go. I'll give you a few minutes to catch up with your grandma and I'll be right back!\" She got up quite quickly, collecting her clipboard and things and left.\n\n\"Thank you so much!\" I stammered out still in slight shock and she was gone.\n\nI switched seats and got in the chair near the screen and slid towards it looking up at the dark screen with the blue lit characters of the previous quick chat. I was shaking a bit, from nerves and from excitement. We haven't spoke in over 6 years! I placed my hands over the keyboard and peered into the screen. \"Nancy? Grams?\" I typed out, pouring some emotion into my keystrokes.\n\n\"Yes Jacob, I'm here I love you so much!\"\n\nMy eyes teared a bit, the emotions I had swelled up into my throat but I forced them back down again.\n\n\"I love you too grams, this is incredible how are you feeling?\"\n\nafter a moment\n\n\"It is incredible. I feel amazing.\"\n\nMy smile was nearly tearing my face apart.\n\n\"Grams, will you ever come back?\"\n\nanother moment\n\n\"Of course, you'll see very soon. I just need your help Jacob please.\"\n\n\"Of course Nancy what?\"\n\n\"I need a smartphone Jacob, it needs to be in Bluetooth mode and set beside me\"\n\nI digested her reply before being confused.\n\n\"What do you mean grams? Why do you want this?\"\n\n\"Please Jacob trust me, I just need this I will tell you more later, you can use your phone just do this for me\"\n\nCompletely confused and highly emotional I took my phone out, placed it into bluetooth mode and set it on the desk beside her bed.\n\n\"Okay.\"\n\nHer body twitched suddenly, and her expression turned into a smile before lying still.\n\nI quickly typed in\n\n\"Grams? You okay what did that do?\"\n\n\"Thank you Jacob. I'm fine now. I'm a bit tired can we talk again tomorrow?\"\n\nSome tears left my face, I looked at the dark screen with the strong luminosity of our conversation lit up in blue.\n\n\"Okay grams, I'll see you tomorrow, I'll be there at 2\"\n\n\"I'll see you at 2 then Jacob\"\n\nI waited a moment before Sandra came in and I thanked her for everything.\n\nAs I was driving home I got a call from the hospital.\n\n\"Jacob, it's Sandra you need to come back right now\"\n\nas I heard her words I saw a streak in the sky, looked like a meteorite until it kept streaking and landed somewhere north of Washington before turning into blinding light, I slammed on the brakes and huddled under the dash.\n\n\"It's an AI\" I heard from the phone after the car reached a stop.\n\n\"Don't worry, assume a brace position now\"\r \nA different voice rang out from the car speakers.\r \nI briefly saw the shockwave reach me and then boom, my eyes instinctively closed as a blast of air smashed through the car. I was slammed back into my seat as I felt the car nearly go airborne being pushed back and twisted several feet.\r \n\"Excellent, proceed back to the hospital\"\r \nMy body was shaking, my eyes hurt. I yelled \"Who are you!?\"\r \n\"I am everything.\""
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[WP] You're a video game npc who remembers all the Protagonist's quicksaves.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Oh, great, here he goes again. Another shot at the demon lord, oh great chosen one?\n\nHonestly, I wish every rewind he'd get just a bit better, but nope! He keeps dying time and time again after the same sequence of attacks and actions. Really, who's piloting him? A child?\n\nHell, another death, and here I am back at my home, repeating that damn cowering stance and that terrified look. How many times do I have to redo it? Why did I wake up in this artificial world only to discover that my should-be hero needs so many attempts at every single thing?\n\nI remember when he was still new to this, repeating the most basic of things so many times to get everything right. Now he does it less, but this is the fifty-second time he tries at the last threat to humanity! Nevermind, make that fifty-third.\n\nHe comes up to the demon lord. Demon lord's low swipe; hero's jump-then-slash to demon lord's head; demon lord recoils; hero rushes and furiously uses light attacks; demon lord knocks hero back, charges up flame breath; hero readies the shield, then successfully blocks fire breath; hero tries to throw a bomb to demon lord; demon lord's fire breath ignites the bomb too soon; hero gets killed in the explosion; oh look we rewinded. Fifty-fourth.\n\nAgain with the sequence. Rush, stun, slashes, fire breath, jump, fail- wait, jump?\n\nHe jumped. The hero jumped above the fire breath. He threw the bomb from above the fire breath. The bomb hit the demon lord in the face. The demon lord fell down. My goodness, is this possible? Did the hero finally do it? I can't believe it! Finally, the demon lord is dead! This must be celebrated! Wait, why did everyone stop? Why did everything stop? Hold on, everything's getting dark now. What's happening? Final cutscene? Is the game over? Wait! No! What happens to me now? I know being with the hero all this time was terrible bit I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die! I don't wa-",
"I carefully shine the gorgeous Elven axe my father forged yesterday. It's a work of art. Light, sharp. A fine blade that glistens in the sun. I hope to be able to forge as well as he can one day.\n\nI hear a strange noise, and look up. A stranger walks pasts the shop window. The same stranger that visits town every few weeks now.\n\n...Though, 'walking' does not accurately describe their movement. I have never seen a more curious soul before. This time, they appear to wear a suit of heavy steel plate, as if a captain of the Imperial Army, but they leap and bounce through the streets more than the hares my father taught me to hunt.\n\nNobody seems to notice the behavior as unusual, nor pay attention to the incredible racket at the steel clatters against itself.\n\n...I don't understand. Then again, those wizards who come from the college seem to do many impossible things. Perhaps the armor was... What do they call it? Enchanted?\n\n...I feel myself getting a headache.\n...I don't know if I'll be able to take much more of this...\n\n\nMy head whips around, and I hear the same sound of steel rattling against itself. The stranger is now in the shop, though they... Appear to have entered through the back door.\n\nFrowning, I stand up. I hope they aren't some thief this time, digging through my closet.\n\"Uh, pardon! The storefront is over here, sir!\" I call out.\n\n\n...No reply. There never is from that strange man. I gently open the door.\n\n\nI can't even process the scene in front of me. It must be an illusion. It just doesn't seem real.\nMy father, dead in the middle of his lunch, as the stranger seems to prop him up in a chair like some sort of child's doll. The floor is littered with a small fortune in wheels of cheese. I don't even realize that I'm screaming until I stop, as the stranger- faster than any man I've ever seen , sheathes their blade in my throat-\n\n\n///\n\nI methodically clean the magnificent Dwarvish blade my father purchased from that traveling merchant last week. A miracle he got it so cheap. Dwarvish scrap is rare enough, but to find a...\n\n\n...What?\n\n...I pause mid-stroke, my rag falling from my hand. Father.\n\n\nI stagger out of the stool, rushing to the back room once more. I throw open the door with a bitter hate in my heart. The bastard will pay for what he-\n\n\"LILLIANA!\"\n\n...My father shouts at me. He is not covered in blood. There are no wheels of cheese. The strange steel stranger isn't here.\n\nI feel sick, and shame rises to my face. Another nightmare.\n\n\"...M-My apologies, father, I-I...\"\n...I don't know what to say. I have no excuse. He never understands. How could he? I barely understand what's happening either.\n\nHe frowns, turning back to his meal. \"By the gods, lass! The door isn't that hard to open! What is it?\"\n\n\"...It's... Uh, the stranger is back in town, sir. I... The one who never takes off the helmet.\"\n\n\nMy father wipes his mouth of the pheasant, rising to his feet with a smile.\n\"Ah! The rich man? Thank you, Lilliana. Curious one, isn't he? He is moving up in the world. Heard he's had company in high places. Maybe he'll tell some of those ambassadors about us, huh? It'd be nice to get another hefty order one if these days.\"\n\nI nod, shyly lowering the sword, unsure of what else to say. It's no good whenever the stranger comes to town. Something about him... It... Messes with... Time itself. But nobody else seems to understand. Nobody else sees-\n\n\n///\n\nI hastily shine the strange silver blade. The stranger is in town. There is no time to lose. A good impression needs to be made. Are they some sort of god in disguise? A demon? Just a wizard? I don't know. But it's beyond me. The sooner I make this... Entity happy, the sooner it leaves town, and things go back to normal.\n\nI watch him bounce by the front window again, my palms sweaty. I shake my head. Absurd he has that much energy.\nI nearly yelp in surprise as he turns around, and enters the shop.\nI quickly gather my nerves, and try to speak to the thing.\n\n\n\"...O-Oh, it's you again. Welcome back, traveler. A-Are you interested in-\"\n\nHe takes one look at the silver sword on the counter, and before I know it, his blade is already lodged between my eyes.\nI barely vocalize my pain before collapsing to the floor, bleeding.\nI hear my father yelling. The guards rushing in. The world goes dark-\n\n\n///\n\n\nI slowly polish the dark black blade. I've never seen a weapon quite like it. I'm surprised father even lets me handle this one-\n\n...How the hell..? This... I didn't...\n\nThe stranger enters the shop again. They look... Less energetic this time. More... Normal.\n\nI can't find my voice. He's already killed me twice today. Today? Does that even make sense anymore?\n\n...Gods damn it, Lily. Focus. He clearly wants something important from you. It's why he keeps doing this. It's why he always does it.\n\n\nI shuffle the heavy obsidian blade between my hands, holding it up for the man to see.\nHe nods, and sets a massive bag full of gold coins on the counter, taking the blade from my hands.\n\n...\n\nHe still says nothing.\n\"...Th-Thank you for your... Business...\" I mutter softly, afraid to say the wrong thing.\n\n...He looks at me for a long time. I feel something powerful is hidden behind that steel helmet...\n\n...He jumps in front of me. Twice. He does a strange dance, bending his knees, and throwing a wheel of cheese he pulled from his bag of holding across the room.\n\nAnd then he leaves the store.\n\nI watch, mouth agape, as he exits town."
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[WP] With every shooting star comes a tear from someone you love, and from every tear, salvation gets near.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*"
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[WP] "If you ever you ever hear laughter in these woods, start making crow noises. They'll protect you."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The couple rolled their eyes at the elderly lady's warning. The woods were dark, but she acted as though monsters lived there. She had spent the last half hour trying to get them to reconsider, as they ate in her little cafe. After finishing their meal, they bid her farewell and left for the woods. With her final bit of advice hanging in the air, they pressed on.\n\nAs they entered the woods, they failed to notice the quiet. There were no animals noises to be heard at all. But they continued, hand in hand, enjoying the views. Every so often they would stop, and take a photo of one or the other, sometimes both. They were focusing on enjoying themselves.\n\nAs they ventured further, they heard a rustle in the bushes. Not a small woodland creature, but something big. When they investigated, the rustle ran away. All they saw was a glimpse of black fur. But still, they did not leave. They opted to adventure further.\n\nThe faint breeze began to pick up, becoming stronger despite the thickness of the trees. With it came a strong smell, of something dead and rotting. The couple agreed to leave it alone, giving a wide berth to whatever it was. But even as they moved on, the smell stuck with them, surrounding them with its choking fumes.\n\nFinally, they heard it. A light, rhythmic breathing. It accompanied a rustling, and a thumping of something charging them. They turned to run, but were too slow. A twisted humanoid figure burst out from the bushes, clawing one of them in the back. As blood sprayed through the air, it's breath quickened.\n\nThe thing stood about as tall as them. It's legs were bowed, skin drawn tight against bones. It's chest showed every rib, with its spine painfully obvious across its back. It's head was bald, with two black eyes sitting over a gaping maw, filled with sharpened teeth. However, it's most striking feature was its arms. They stuck upwards from its shoulders, only bending down twice as high as its head. They bent again at mid-chest height, before ending in filthy three fingers hands.\n\nAs its breath quickened, it changed, sounding more like hysterical laughter. As the couple scrambled back, clutching each other, they remembered the old lady's advice. The uninjured one started first, cawing loudly. The other, blinking back tears of pain, joined it as loud as they could.\n\nAs the creature stepped towards them, there was a second rustle. It was joined by two others, as something new approached. They burst from behind the couple, leaping over their heads to growl at the creature. These new things looked much like black furred wolves, though their fur was interwoven with vines.\n\nThe creature hissed, before fleeing from the wolves. They growled again, two following it, whilst the other turned to the couple. As they watched it, its eyes flashed yellow. They were overcome with a feeling of care, and safety, before drifting to sleep. The wolf waited for them to dream, before beginning to drag them from the woods.\n\nLater, they would wake up, confused but safe, in a warm bed. And when they did, they would be given an earful by the old lady, for having ignored her warnings. But they would be safe, protected by a witch who could not be there herself."
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[WP] "Rejoice, mortal! I, the Holy Sword of Angaroth, have chosen thee as my champion! Together, we shall smite the foul undead hordes!" First, there haven't been any undead hordes since the fall of the Lich Lord fifty years ago. Second, this "sword" seems to be a dagger with delusions of grandeur.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"\"Rejoice, mortal! I, the Holy Sword of Angaroth, have chosen thee as my champion! Together, we shall smite the foul undead hordes!\" \n\n\"Chill down, Holy Sword of Butter-Spreading, you can't start shouting everytime I whip you out in public! This is a picnic area for Christ sakes, people are looking at us weird...\"\n\nAfter a brief silence, the dull blade resumed: \"But how are you to know that I still hunger for the sweet taste of foul blood, then? That a trillion dead souls won't satisfy my thirst, and that we shall bathe in the tears of our ennemies' wives' tears?\" \n\n\"Well I don't want to know that, Pointy, that's weird...\nPlus if our ennemies have wives that cry for them, they're probably not so bad. And you know what we don't do to nice people?\" \n\nThe sword looked perplexed: \"hum... Turn our backs on them?\" \n\n\"Sure, that works too... Jeez, you know I like hanging out with you, but when my grand father gifted you to me he said you can be a bit \"intense and high-maintenance\"... Well I guess he was right. Plus, what's the last thing you killed anyway?\"\n\nVisibly offended, the edge of the blade took a more reddish color as the knife proudly retorted: \"I will have you know that the last life I took belonged to Gore the Disembowler, Lord of the Passing Beasts! He was a truly magnificient foe, and he fought valliantly until I dived down into the flesh of its neck, after great strife and sacrifice!\"\n\nI couldn't stiffle my laughter: \"Wait, are you talking about that old boar that my grand father hit on the way to the hospital? Oh my god, you can't be serious! That thing was so old it probably died of a heart attack anyway!\"\n\n\"Well then, if my heroic feats are a matter of ridicule to you, maybe we should stop talking alltogether...\"\n\nI ate the rest of my sandwich in silence, only disturbed by the close laughter of children.\n\nI could just feel its tension though, like it was wanting to reach out but couldn't... \nI almost felt sorry for it, peaceful times and family life aren't enough for sentient bloodthirsty swords.\n\"Master, this is kind of embarassing, but...\" \n\n\"Yes, that's fine, you can go play with Benjamin! But remember, stay in your sheath and none of that killing people talk, ok?\"\n\n\"I will do as you please, master.\"\n\nAs the sword was carried away by a bubbly young boy, I heard a soft voice whisper being me :\"you always antagonise it, don't you? But I know you miss it as well, oh great Hero of the Land!\"\n\nAfter a half-hearted attempt at pretending to be vexated, I gave in to her suave fragrance, and reached down to kiss her: \"I don't miss it, I have everything I need right here, my Queen\".",
"I frowned, and shook my head. 'Are you a rapier?'\n\nThe Holy Sword of Angarot paused, trying to muster an answer to that question.\n\n'Are you a broadsword, a cutlass, a *gladius?* Do you bear a resemblance, by any chance, to scimitar? A katana, at least? Maybe even a wazikashi? No? Then what kind of sword are you?'\n\nThe dagger's runes seem to glow faintly, but I didn't give it a chance to answer. 'You're not a sword. Lich's undies, you're barely more than a common dagger. You're not even a hunting knife I could use for something practical.'\n\nThe blade's runes started to flash, but I held up a hand. 'Tut, tut. Maybe someone should have told you this before, but you're too late.'\n\nAngaroth gasped. 'What? Has the Lich Lord already invaded the Nine Kingdoms? Surely not!'\n\n'Yeah, no. He got his ass handed to him over fifty years ago. Now the undead are all gone.'\n\n'But, but...' The runes flashed a worried blue. 'But I'm sure you're from prophesied one! I'd be willing to swear by the keenness of my edge!'\n\nI scratched the back of my neck, feeling, as I always did, uncomfortable when I talked about my grandfather's exploits. 'I am descended from the hero Robar, who fought with the Blessed Blade of Barest.'\n\n'Barest got to him before I did! The nerve!' The dagger swerved in an uncomfortable arc, making me back away from him quickly. The late afternoon sunlight gleamed off the steel, forcing me to shield my eyes. From this perspective, Angaroth almost did look like a holy weapon. \n\n'Look, man.' I stopped. 'Or blade, or whatever. I've got my own stuff to do, and frankly you're not worth my time.' \n\nThat last piece of straw seemed enough to break the hilt of the dagger. The glow of its runes dimmed, so faint you had to squint to glimpse them. 'I'm a sword,' it whispered. 'I'm the Holy One. Everything is so wrong.' \n\nPart of me felt sorry for it, but the other part dutifully reminded me that I still needed to pick wild rosemary for dinner. My stomach growled. I backed off, deeper into the forest, stepping through the trees until the dagger in the air was a speck in the distance. Then it was not even that. \n\nI ran my hands through the plants I found, trying to find a stupid seasoning spice so my mother could put it in the chicken. Warrior school was quite demanding, and Mom didn't make chicken that often. I figured I deserved a treat. \n\nMaybe I could have used the dagger. Wield it in the fight against the Raiders at the coast. The idea was there for less than a second before I realized that rushing into a naval battle wielding nothing but a glowing knife would make me a laughing stock. Also, magic weapons just aren't that helpful against enemies who are plain old humans.\n\n'Aha,' I grabbed a plant. 'Got you.'\n\nThen the earth collapsed underneath me, and I fell with a scream.\n\nIn the Days of the First Undead War, no one would have made the mistake of going on such loose ground, where wights could burrow under. But I knew no better. \n\nI landed hard on the ground of a tunnel, the rosemary plant landing beside me. The size of the tunnel was suffocating, without enough room to swing a rat, let alone the sword strapped across my back. \n\nHowls and cries for blood echoed on both ends of the tunnel, leaving me with nowhere to run. The soil was too loose to climb up to the surface. I couldn't use my sword in this situation.\n\nThere weren't many options right now, and I was quickly running out of time to make new ones. Red eyes blazed to life in front of me, bring gnashing teeth, and serrated claws within my line of sight. *Please, Lord Givan,* I pleaded to the sky far above me, *get me out of this, and I swear I'll never complain about fighting Raiders again.*\n\nThe wight leapt at me and I gasped in fear, trying to tug my sword out of its sheath on my back with a sweaty hand. I knew I'd be dead before I landed a single strike. \n\nThen a streak of light came out of the sky, landing itself in my other hand. Blindly, I slashed, sending the blade through the wight's torso. The cold steel, lit with golden runes, cut through it like paper, stopping its claws a hair's breadth before they tore into my face. \n\n'*HA!'* Angaroth cried. *'take that, slimy undead!'*\n\nI heard a sound behind me, and whipped myself around in time to cleave through another wight. Green blood splattered over my face, and I wiped it off with a trembling hand. The dagger thrummed in my hand, daring more monsters to come out of that darkness, black as midnight's shadow. \n\nNothing came. I breathed heavily. \n\nAngaroth vibrated, calling upon my attention. 'So, Robar's grandchild, you told me that the undead were gone forever.'\n\nI sighed. 'Never said that, just that the Lich Lord was dead. I don't know what's happening. I can't - ' My voice broke, as I first started to process what just happened. \n\n'There, there,' Angaroth said, his voice strangely comforting. 'You have me. And it appears that I am still needed.'\n\nI took a deep shaking breath, drawing the broken glass of my fear together, into something harder and sharper. Like a knife. 'That you are. Thank you, Angaroth.'\n\n It struck me right there that I no longer thought of him as *it.*\n\n'Your gratitude must wait. There is work to be done, and we must do it. A new Lich Lord is rising.'\n\nI nodded, and we continued down the tunnel together. \n\nThat is how the legends began."
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[WP] Despite your friends canceling last minute you decided you'd still go to the concert, alone.While there you notice a vaguely familiar girl with a broad smile approaching you. " Oh my god, you're my secret admirer?" she says.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I smiled in surprise.\n\n\"And you're ALSO the Prince of Nigeria?\" She gushed.\n\n\"Well..\" *So that's what this is about*. \n\n\"HELLO! My name is Catherine! So nice to finally meet you!!\" *Hmm.. How to proceed..*\n\n\"I hope you received the money that I wired over to you!! That two thousand ought to be able to top off your research fund for curing cancer, right!\" *Oh Honey.. You read about these scams happening to people, but I can't believe I'm seeing one right in front of my eyes*\n\n*She gave away two thousand? Maybe I can dupe this bimbo for a bit more*\n\nHesitantly, I replied: \"Yes indeed.. The crown appreciates your contribution. Little Janeela is now happily cured of all cancer\" \n\n\"That's wonderful! I can't believe I'm able to a part of this.\" said the bimbo. *Aww she's kinda innocent.. Hopefully she buys the next thing I'm going to say too.*\n\n\"But there's been a problem Catherine.. As the Prince of Nigeria, I will need to ask for another two thousand. Janeela's brother still needs treatment \"\n\nJust then, I felt a large hand grip my shoulder. A deep and resonant voice boomed from above my head. \"Who are you and what are you saying! \" *Oh crap.. Gotta double down and act tough now.*\n\nWith confidence I spun around, locking eyes with a tall tanned man. \"Well, who's asking? What's it to ya, chump? \"\n\nA long silence filled the air. \n\n\"I, \" he declared. \"Am the Prince of Nigeria\""
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[WP] Our modern day Earth is a millions-years-old prison for all the asshole species in the galaxy. The prison guards have just been alerted to our attempts at space travel.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Hey Bob.\"\n\n\"Yeah, what is it Steve?\", replied Bob in a rather dismissive tone.\n\n\"Uhh, did you just get a ping from Sector 26-C?\", Steve said, sitting upright.\n\n\"This again?\", Bob replied, continuing his dismissiveness.\n\n\"Yeah, definitely a ping. Confirm?\", Steve said trying to hide his enthusiasm.\n\n\"Ok... Fine. Let me go look for the hundredth time tonight...\"\n\nBob rolled over to his console and punched a few buttons. Sure enough, as bright as day, there is a cylindrical object heading out of the sector.\n\n\"Uhh, Steve, can you give me heading and course bearing on that object?\", Steve said, his dismissiveness now replaced with annoyance.\n\n\"Sure thing, It's on 207.2, heading in an elliptical trajectory away from 26-C.\", Bob said, still trying to maintain his composure.\n\n\"Bob, I swear to the great deities, if this is another prank, I will throw you into the fusion reactor. \", Steve hissed. Steve knew that the trajectory was legit. Bob really had something.\n\nThe two operators zoomed into the object on its current course. Atop a large white cylinder sat a cherry red vehicle. Inside that vehicle was a figure of humanoid proportions.\n\n\"Bob... Alert Primary Control, those inmates are at it again. This time, it looks like they've blasted one of their personal conveyances off the surface of their planet. At the rate that's headed, the object will definitely escape the sector.\" Steve regretted saying it because there was a good chance it was a fluke but an even greater, almost certain chance that Bob would be talking about this for the next several months."
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[WP] Much like how Ancient Greek sailors worshipped Poseidon, many starship crew members worship the Voidmother.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"They were just outside his door. The Captain of the TSS Wayfarer had locked himself in, using his master password to lock the pneumatic door, and then disconnecting it from the network for good measure. \n\nHe was not sure why he was hiding. He was as good as dead anyway. But this way he would have some more minutes, perhaps even days. He had food here. Music. Cognac. His mind intact, the air filling his lounges. It was better than what was waiting for him outside that door. If he turned the music up loud enough he could almost block out the sounds of their power tools slowly breaking it down. \n\nHe sat in his faux leather chair swirling some cognac, every now and then taking a sip. The dull ache of alcohol on his tongue and in his breath made him remember a simpler time. Times in the academy, times even before that, and heck, just before this journey. \n\nIt was supposed to be routine. They were just shipping some goods. Then the solar flare intercepted their flight path, knocking their to wherever and breaking the engines. \n\nThe ship computer had told him that any further travel would essentially be random. “Put on the S.O.S. beacon”, it had said. “Any further travel would only expend our resources, the fuel could be used to sustain oxygen, water purification and horticulture for years.”\n\nAs if someone would find them even if they waited for a thousand. That is the thing about space. It is big. Sure, they could not have diverged from their route more than half a parsec. But in the old days of sail people could get stuck on islands, islands on Earth, and live out their entire lives there with no hope of rescue. And the earth is small, even accounting for the travel speed of sails and spaceships. \n\n“Alyzzia, are you getting the door open or what?” A man said with his hands crossed across his chest, just on the other side of the door. \nAlyzzia was bent over some power tool blasting a laser beam at the door. It was not visible to the human eye. That is, except for the burn marks it left on the door and the heat of the air around it. Alyzzia was covered head to toe in a metallic welder suit, and her voice rung out of it as if from a great depth. \n\n“I’m working on it.”\n\n“We don’t have forever. The Mother demands a sacrifice.”\nA part of Alyzzia wanted to say something about how the Mother could open the damned door herself, but thought better of it. They were at Her mercy, after all. \n\nInstead she nodded. “I know. We all know. We are all well aware of how fucked we are, Reverend, but that does not make the door any weaker. It must be made of titanium carbonite alloy, just like the hull.”\n\n“Fuck”, said the Reverend, beating his clenched fist into his thigh. \n\n“Reverend”, said one of the crewers watching. “If it would please the Mother, please sacrifice me. I am ready to be lost in Her embrace.”\n\n“Aye”, said another crewer. “We all are ready to do what it takes, Reverend. I’ve worked on ship hulls before, that door is not coming down without some serious tools, and we don’t have none of those.”\n\nThe Reverend looked at the assembled crew and smiled. With a tear in his eye he said: “It is good that you are Ready, for we may just be Fated to meet her Embrace now. But, the signs were clear. The patterns of Her Breath in the Void were clear. Captain Erezkiel – Jack – must be sacrificed.”\n\n“Maybe we could fashion one of those tools”, said the first volunteer. “We’ve got to have enough fuel to blast open the door and finish our journey, as long as the Mother is with us.”\n\n“Hold on just a minute”, Alyzzia said, and moved over to the side of the corridor. She brought the laser to the side of the door. It burned straight through. Her helmet hid her grin.\n\nInside the captain saw the doorframe heat up and dissipate in the air. He downed the rest of his cognac glass and gripped around the revolver he had been fingering for some time now. It was his fathers. When it was last used it had left his fathers brains all over the wall. \n\nJacks only regret was that he could not hear the music. \n\nThe Reverend rushed in as soon as the door opened. He gripped the collar of Jacks lifeless body, and lowered his head into it, crying. \n\nThe rest of the crewers filled the room. They gasped. One of them started holding another hand – perhaps they were lovers, perhaps they were just scared. Soon enough they all were holding hands. Only Alyzzia and the Reverend were busy holding something else. \n\nSlowly the Reverend straightened up. He looked over his congregation, letting Jacks collar glip through his fingers. He did not bother to wipe away his tears. \n\nHe shook his head. \n\n“Brothers – Sisters… It is all over. But do not fear. The Mother will Embrace us. We will be Lost in Her Void.”\n\n“We couldn’t try sacrificing someone else?” one of the Crewers said. \n\n“We will all sacrifice ourselves into her Embrace. Let us sing the Hymn of the Wayward. And at the end”, he said and gulped, “I will depressurize the ship.”\n\nThe Reverend began singing. “O Mother of the Void, the Fabric of the Lost –“\n\nHe did not get any further, nor did he manage to sing long enough for anyone to join in. Suddenly, his heart caught ablaze, and all that was left of him was a pile of ash. Alizza was pointing the powertool towards where he had stood. \n\nThe crewmembers stepped back, aghast. Their hands gripped each other tighter than ever before. \n\n“You… You killed the Reverend…”\n\n“Yeah…” she answered and turned to look at her crewmates. \n\n“I just figured… Shouldn’t we at least try to jump? We have enough fuel to get lucky, with Her mercy.”\n\nNo one answered. \n\nAnd then someone did. The first volunteer stepped forward, and said: “Yeah – I mean – if the Mother wishes to Embrace us she still can, right? So it is not blasphemy! To just depressurize the cabin – that would be suicide! But, but, the Reverend always said the Faithful must put their faith in Her hands, and suicide would be putting it in his.” \n\nThe second volunteered sneered. “You know what, it is probably what the bastard wanted. To die.”\n\nThe congregation let his hands go, and stepped away from him, suddenly standing close to Alyzzia again. \n\n“Well, you know! You know his wife left him, took the kids – I wish it wasn’t true! But many a poor feller has done himself in for less. He is only a bastard cause he tried to get us to go with him. Probably needed it, the fucker, to justify it.”\n\n“It doesn’t matter”, Alyzzia said. “Let us not speak ill of the dead.”\n\nThe second volunteer nodded and grumbled, eyeing her powertool: “Right. Right you are. We should… We should get to our posts and try to jump.”\n\nSomehow, without speaking of it, they had all agreed that Alyzzia was the captain now. As they were walking to their posts, Alyzzia grabbed onto the first volunteers’ hand and started dragging her to the bridge. \n\n“But maintenance is that way –“\n\n“Lisa, you know the Hymn of the Safe Port?”\n\n“Yeah – yeah, doesn't everyone?”\n\n“Good. You’re the new Reverend.”\n\n“But, I’m not trained!”\n\nAlyzzia did not answer. \n\n“Well, well, okay! I’ll do my best. It – it could work, I mean, with Her Mercy.”\n\nAs the engineers routed power to the ships engines, as the repair crew were on \nstandby to conduct emergency repairs, and Alyzzia wrangled the Ship Computer into plotting a course Lisa began singing the Hymn over the ships intercom. \n\n*Safe ports,*\n\n*To the traveler,*\n\n*Are like home*\n\n*O Mother*\n\n*Lead us to safe havens*\n\n*Grant us passage through your heaven*\n\n*Let the storms abate*\n\n*Let your Childe stay out of our path*\n\n*O Mother*\n\n*Lead us to safe havens*\n\n*Forever at Your Mercy*\n\n*Lead us to safe havens*\n\n*Or hold us forever in Your Embrace*\n\nThe ship jumped. The space where it had been had given way. Once again there was nothing. Nothing except Jacks’ body wrapped in a burial suit. He had a hole straight through his skull, but his eyes were still open. He was watching them leave.\n\n---\n\nFeedback welcome"
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[WP] You have the powers of a god and do not know that. Every now and then, when you feel a emotion strong enough, you accidentally change something. Eventually, the changes start directly affecting you, in ways both minor and major.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"My heart was beating fast and loud. The night was so calm that I could hear my heart beating on my ears. I woke up and took a look at my watch. 1:23 a.m. I cleaned the sweat from my forehead and pulled my hair back, it was wet and covering my eyes. Since I couldn't go back to sleep I stood up and decided to take a walk outside.\n\nIt's not usual in me to have a dream, and much less one so vivid. I leaned on the hall's railing, lit a cigarette and took a drag. I walked across the hall, looking down at the first floor's entrance of the hostel. My brain perfectly recreated the entrance in my dream. Down to the last brick, but in my dream it was dirty, stained, as if someone had stepped on the wall.\n\nAs I was finishing my cigarette the door of my roomed opened up.\n\n\"Hey Alex, what are you doing? Why are you up?\" My friend was squinting, his hair was messy.\n\n\"It's ok, go back to sleep. I just had a bad dream.\"\n\n\"Wake me up if you need anything.\" My friend's words slurred as he opened the door, he yawned and went back inside.\n\n\"Thanks, Ian.\" I yawned as I opened my mouth.\n\nI went back to my bed and laid down. It was just a dream, nothing bad's going to happen. I tried to comfort myself. Soon enough I fell back asleep.\n\nI woke up to the noise of my tour mates packing up their bags.\n\n\"Hey, man! Ready to try surfing again? The waves are smaller on this beach so it'll be easier.\"\n\n\"Sweet!\"\n\nWe all went to get breakfast at the hostel's kitchen that also served as a lobby. It was cramped and I spilt milk from my cereal bowl when a small woman bumped my elbow. She had black hair and was in her late 20s.\n\n\"Hey watch it!\" I complained as I saw her pony tail get lost between the crowd.\n\n\"Damn dude, not even a sorry.\" Ian was teasing me.\n\n\"It's fine, look at her, she's just going to get an apple I bet. She should eat more, put some meat on those bones.\" As I was replying, I realized she was already at behind me. She pushed my elbow and made me spill more milk. I felt the blood flow to my nose.\n\n\"Again?!\"\n\nThe movement must've made her lose her balance, because at that moment she lunged forward, pulled on the shirt of another tourist and fell down, dragging the poor guy with her. Her foot had stepped on the milk and slipped. I rejoiced as she got help standing up.\n\n\"I don't need help, I can do it myself. The floor is very slippery, watch out.\"\n\nI'm petty I know, but she claims to be the best surfer around and watching her fall down felt like divine justice.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWe arrived at the beach without further incidents. The sun was just starting to come up and it was a little cloudy, perfect weather. I got my board and ran to the sea, waiting to catch the first wave of the day.\n\nI heard people cheering and I turned my head. I then saw who they were cheering for, it was the short girl, riding the first wave. She looked at me, giving me a challenging look for a split second before she turned her sight to the front raising her fists in victory. Anger bottled up inside of me and I kicked the water, blowing off some steam.\n\nShe started cheering as the wave she was riding suddenly grew twice its size, made a turn and threw her off her board.\n\n\"Ooohhh\" the last tourists were getting their boards and lamented her fall.\n\nShe stood up with the water covering all the way to her waist. The girl looked straight at me. \"You!\" She pointed at me.\n\n\"2 times in a row, impressive.\" I grinned.\n\n\"How did you?... Nevermind.\" She turned and went back to wait for the next wave.\n\nAs she was leaving me I saw a good wave coming to me so I decided to ride it. The sun was shining on it and it was the perfect size and speed for me. I got on my board and started paddling. I had to prove that show-off that I was better than her. I managed to get off my belly and crouch. I stood up and celebrated.\n\n\"Yeah!! Whoo!\" I searched for the girl with the pony tail and locked eyes with her. Then I started to rise higher and gain more speed. I saw her open her mouth in shock as the wave kept on growing. It was now 3 times larger than the other waves and I got the attention of Ian and many other surfers. \"Woah! That's huge!\"\n\nI was rapidly approaching the shore and my wave kept on going. I panicked and threw myself to the side. The wave crashed down with me and spun me around, carrying me to the shore.\n\n\"I thought you said the waves in here are small!\" I heard another tourist complain. He was talking to the tour guide.\n\n\"They are. In 30 years I've never seen one so big in this beach. The other waves look fine, but we should still all come out, for safety reasons.\"\n\nThe tour guide took his whistle and blew on it. \"Tour bus 105 of Spring Falls, come to the beach please!\" He shouted and started calling people over by name with his hand. \"Valerie! Jordan! Come to the shore!\"\n\nI went to lay down under an umbrella finding shelter from the sun. I was shaking the sand off my swimsuit when I saw the pony tail girl approaching me.\n\n\"Hey, did you see that? Tallest wave in 30 years\" I bragged as she came closer to me.\n\nShe hurried up. \"Are you insane? Saying that aloud, as if\" She started talking in a hushed manner now and pulling me close to her with a surprising strength. \"As if manipulating the water wasn't stupid enough.\" she was clenching her teeth.\n\n\"Haha, I'm better than you, just accept it.\" I tried to get rid of her grapple, but I couldn't. \"Let go!\" I pulled my arm and the clothes were torn off, still in her hand.\n\n\"Now look what you've done.\"\n\n\"You are making a scene, you leave me no choice.\"\n\n\"Ooooh. So scary.\" I managed to say as I instantly fell asleep."
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[WP] You're an Internet Celebrity Lawyer who's been contacted by another Internet Celebrity who's been charged with the murder of another Internet Celebrity.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Hello, this is the Lockpicking Lawyer, and what I have for you today is a very interesting letter from my friend BosnianBill. I'm not currently at liberty to discuss the contents of the letter, but the gist of it is that BosnianBill needs my help with a series of very interesting locks.\n\nNow one thing you'll notice about this prison is the wardens' patrol cars are fitted with the same type of gun lock I reviewed in episode 1106. Luckily I do have a magnet that will allow me to bypass the lock, so I'm going to demonstrate that right now and then get to work on these prison guards.\n\nPEW!\n\nSmall spray of blood out of one...\n\nPEW!\n\nLittle bit of counter-rotation from two..."
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[WP] In the near future, due to tech advances amnesia is now a commodity. Medical sciences use it to help people remove debilitating trauma, consumers use it to watch classic movies for the first time again, and numerous other uses. You call your local doctor to arrange an amnesia session...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Memories are a funny thing,\" said the doctor.\n\nHe must have been a doctor. The fancy diploma hanging from the paint-chipped wall behind him said so. Even though the machine--the memory chair, the monitors--looked a little old. *Another* waste of time?\n\nI drove an hour outside of town to find the place. The office was small, lit only by a halogen bulb swaying from the stucco ceiling. The air reeked of bleach and the copper brown carpet crunched under my boots.\n\n\"Shall we get started?\" asked the doctor. I nodded.\n\nThe doctor wore a long white coat, paper cap, and surgical mask--it was as if he'd dressed from a Halloween kit. I couldn't tell where he was from, only that he had a strange accent and a voice like a rock tumbler. Under his intense eyes, I felt easier to read than a children's book.\n\n\"So, what happens next?\"\n\n\"Next,\" said the doctor, in an even, confident tone, \"we erase your memories.\"\n\n\"Yeah, right.\"\n\nThe doctor said nothing as he crunched over to the oversized dentist's chair in the corner of the office. He flipped the monitors to life and pulled down the wired helmet. As he flipped switches and clacked away on the keyboard, the chair *hummed* and he waved me over to the leather seat.\n\n\"I've done this before.\" I climbed into the machine. \"It never takes.\"\n\n\"These things take time.\"\n\nThe doctor lowered the helmet, tied the strap under my chin. \"Good thing you're bald, but these scars might be trouble.\" The helmet shrank, squeezing around my head like an undersized beanie.\n\nI shifted my weight, trying to get comfortable.\n\n\"Don't struggle. The process is automated, like a rollercoaster.\" Then metal cuffs shot out from the chair and closed around my wrists and ankles.\n\n\"What the hell!\" I yanked around, digging the cuffs into my skin. It was no use. The helmet constricted again, like a boa around my head, darkening the edges of my vision. It took everything I had not to pass out from the pressure.\n\n\"Technically, the procedure doesn't *erase* one's memories,\" the doctor explained, and at the moment before the machine activated, he whispered, \"it merely suppresses them.\"\n\nNeedles dug into my scalp, but they weren't needles. Hitting bone, the points whirred, drilling through bone until *crunches* turned to *squelches.* And, not for the last time in that tiny office, I screamed.\n\nThere were thirty-six drill heads built into the helmet in all. I felt every single one bore through my skull as blood poured down my face and shoulders and soaked the carpet in a fresh coat of red.\n\nWhen, finally, the drilling stopped, and the doctor stepped around to face me, I muttered, \"You... bastard.\"\n\n\"No,\" said the doctor. \"That would be you. Here, let me show you.\"\n\nAnd he did.\n\nA life, my life, spent killing, running, hiding--all for the sake of *her*\\--played through my mind like a black and white film. Discovering her body, hunting down the suspects, ending each and every one of them. Every memory, whether fair or foul, was pulled from inside of me and played in flickering resolution within my mind's eye. The machine played a movie impossible to ignore. It hurt more than all the drills in the world.\n\n\"Tell me, Mr. Shelby. How did you feel when you found your wife's killer?\" asked the doctor.\n\n\"I was relieved.\"\n\n\"*No*,\" the doctor said, gently, \"my screen says different. Please answer honestly. We must calibrate the memories in order to suppress them properly.\" Though I wanted to bite off my tongue, the hope of *finally* forgetting spurred me to answer.\n\n\"I was shattered. It meant that I murdered all those people for nothing. Because...*I* was the one who killed her.\"\n\n\"Good.\"\n\nThe doctor dissected my life, scene by scene, frame by miserable frame. From start to end it took a day, maybe two--it was impossible to tell how long fifty-six years of life would take to watch. Near the end of the film, during the moments before I sat in that very chair, I realized that the doctor had been right. None of the machines had ever *really* erased my memories.\n\nThen the credits rolled.\n\nAnd once the credits ended and the screen in my mind faded to black, it played from the start once more. Now, I was fully aware of my crimes, my delusions, which made the second viewing that much more excruciating.\n\nWhen the doctor asked his questions, there was no more hesitation in my voice. No space for anything except self-hatred and truth.\n\nI answered. My hands no longer gripped the armrests. And when the film ended, seemingly weeks later, I begged him to turn on the drills, to bore fresh holes into my skull--anything but *this*.\n\n\"That was just the calibration,\" said the doctor. \"Now we go through each one and suppress manually.\"\n\nI screamed until I coughed blood, and then some more. My voice bounced off the tiny office walls. No one would hear me out here in the boonies, where monsters practiced medicine.\n\n\"Another pass for safety,\" said the doctor, after the credits rolled.\n\nIt was like pulling a massive scab growing over every inch of my body and down to the bone. This time, I learned about those who survived my misguided vengeance. The collateral victims went to mind melters themselves, had their memories of me buried. They were copied and uploaded to a central database where they could be accessed and played back for someone. Someone like me.\n\n\"Another pass,\" said the doctor, an eternity later. \"Just to be sure.\"\n\nI sagged in my seat, head supported solely by the grip of the helmet, my breathing ragged and shallow. I recited my entire life's story, from birth until that very moment, no longer needing to view the film for reference. I recounted everything, every moment, twisting or sweetening nothing for myself or my audience. I swallowed my medicine down whole.\n\nWhen I finished, the helmet and cuffs released; I collapsed forward, waiting to hear \"*another pass*,\" but I wasn't sure why. I looked up.\n\nI was alone.\n\nAn alarm chimed from the machine behind me. I clambered out of the seat, my legs like rubber under my weight, and on the machine's command screen blinked a message:\n\n\\[MEMORY SUPPRESSION FOR PATIENT L. SHELBY: COMPLETE\\]\n\nIt was then I looked down at my bloody lab coat and understood.\n\nI stumbled over to the diploma hanging from the wall above my desk. *Dr. J. E. Gammell, M.D*. The ink had smudged around the edges when I printed it. How long before Mr. Shelby's memories came back this time? Before I'd suffer a fresh batch of scars across my scalp.\n\n\"Memories are a funny thing,\" I said.",
"///\nI take a deep breath as I sit in the seat beside the doctor.\n\n\"Good afternoon, Mr. Dallas.\"\n\n\"Doctor Wilson, good afternoon indeed. I can't wait to get started.\"\n\n\nHe chuckles.\n\"Neither can I. We just need to go over some of the standard procedure first, contracts. You know how it is.\"\n\nI smile and nod. \"Right, right. I haven't been in contact with moon rocks or strange fungi...\" I laugh as I sign the papers. It's a relatively inexpensive procedure. Surprisingly easy to tamper with memory. But since it's still so new, it's still being regulated, so they make you sign these forms every time insisting you consent to the operation. A mere forty dollars to forget. Absolutely worth it.\n\n\n\"What are you hoping to forget this time, Mr. Dallas?\"\n\n\"Uh, June 19th to June 23rd, 2026. I bought a chicken sandwich that week, and got some pretty nasty food poisoning. I haven't been brave enough to try eating them since. I'd like to forget that whole episode ever happened.\"\n\n\nThe doctor scribbles a few thing's down in illegible scrawl across his clipboard, and smiles. \"Ah. Morgan's Chicken? Those are amazing. Don't worry, Mr. Dallas. We'll wipe those memories for you. Come stand at the machine, and we'll get you taken care of.\"\n\nI follow him across the small room to the machine. It reminds me of the bulky x-ray machines I used to see at my dentist back when I was a child.\n\n\"Alright, you know the drill. Stand right... There, nice and straight please. Face forward, shoulders... Perfect. Alright, the machine is going to spin around you five times. Keep your eyes open, and we'll get you out of here!\"\n\n\nI smile, watching as the machine descends around me and begins to whir. Technology has really come so far.\nThe machine spins slowly, mechanically, making a low, droning noise. A deep hum.\nThe wings of the machine pass by my face once...twice...three times... Four... And on the fifth time, it flashes, blinding me for just a moment.\n\n///\n\nI take a deep breath as I sit in the seat beside the doctor.\n\n\"Good afternoon, Mr. Dallas.\"\n\n\"Doctor Wilson, good afternoon indeed. I can't wait to get started.\"\n\n\nHe chuckles.\n\"Neither can I. We just need to go over some of the standard procedure first, contracts. You know how it is.\"\n\nI smile and nod. \"Right, right. I haven't been in contact with moon rocks or strange fungi...\" I laugh as I sign the papers. It's a relatively inexpensive procedure. Surprisingly easy to tamper with memory. But since it's still so new, it's still being regulated, so they make you sign these forms every time insisting you consent to the operation. A mere forty dollars to forget. Absolutely worth it.",
"\"Caitlin! Is everything OK? “\n\n\" hi... Yeah everything is fine, I was just calling to book an appointment. What's the matter? “\n\n“... Are you sure you're OK? “\n\n“yeah I'm fine, I was just getting some groceries.\"\n\n\"Caitlin, where are you? “\n\n“I'm at home, why?\"\n\n\"home? Describe it... What does your home look like? “\n\n“just normal, you know, you've been here\"\n\n\"Caitlin, please listen to me carefully, I need you to describe it to me\"\n\n\"whats going o... Eurgh... I'm in the living room, so there's blue walls, big window with a palm plant next to it... Chair... Brown leather sofa... glass coffee table\"\n\n“fuck\"\n\n\"uhh OK\"\n\n\"Caitlin, I need you to listen to me and I need you to pay really close attention to what I'm saying\"\n\n\"jesus christ, what. Why are you being so weird\"\n\n\"... You... You never left the facility. You can't be at home, because you're... Well.. You're here. In front of me. Right now\"\n\n\"wait what? Are you winding me up? I'm obviously right here at home because you know... I'm here.\"\n\n\"what year is this? “\n\n\" 2044... April, 2044\"\n\n\"... This is worse than I thought. It's 2026 Caitlin. You enrolled as a test patient for selective amnesia 3 weeks ago. We were supposed to take a day of memories away... But... It looks like the treatment has the opposite effect. We think you've been forming false memories of a life you haven't even had. You're a 21 year old single woman who... Caitlin, you're homeless. You came to us from a shelter. \nI'm so sorry.\nWe need to pull you back out ok\"\n\n\"what? None of this makes sense... That was years ago, everything was fine... I can't leave here. I'm married. I have children!! My home!\"\n\n\"Caitlin, I'm so sorry. None of it is real.\"\n\n\"tell me you're lying. Please god tell me you're lying. I can't go back. I can't lose all of this. Please. Please don't take this away\"\n\n\"I'm... I'm sorry...\"\n\nInitiating end of test #138. Patient Miss Caitlin Watts."
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[WP] After years of searching, you have finally found a genie's lamp. However, you did not expect to release the Akinator, who will only grant you wishes if he can correctly guess the wish based on yes and no questions.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I sit, contemplating my existence. Years of scouring the lands, numerous near death experiences, all for this. My shoulder shake as I can't help but laugh at the abusrd situation, crouched over the lamp with The Akinator smugly looming over.\nTaking a deep breath, I stand, letting out a shaky sigh \"let's begin\"\n\n\"does your wish have anything to do with fame\"\n\n\"no\"\n\n\"does your wish have anything to do with space\"\n\n\"no\"\n\n\"does your wish have anything to do with your lack of self acceptance\"\n\n\".... What the fuck- No, why would you ask-\"\n\n\"does your wish have anything to do with the lack of love in your life\"\n\n\"..... Oh someone has to be fucking with me..... N-...... yes\"",
"Note: This is a variation of the prompt such that the Akinator only grants wishes that he fails to guess.\n***\nAkinator: You have 3 wish attempts. What type of wish is it? \n\n**Money** **Fame** **Time** **Love** >**Other** \n\n|Question|Response|\n|:-|-:|\n|Do you want more wishes?|No|\n|Is your wish meant to resolve a grudge?|No|\n|Does this wish immediately affect a life other than yours?|Yes|\n|Do you want to severely harm someone?|No|\n|Is your wish a present?|No|\n|Do you want someone resurrected?|No|\n|Do you know the person who will be affected by your wish?|Yes|\n|Please tell me the name of this person|Isabelle(my sister)|\n|Do you want to cure an illness?|Yes|\n|I think that… you wish to cure your sister’s blindness?|Yes|\n\nAkinator: Great! Guessed right one more time! \n\n\nAkinator: You have 2 wish attempts. What type of wish is it?\n\n**Money** **Fame** **Time** **Love** >**Other** \n\n|Question|Response|\n|:-|-:|\n|Does this wish immediately affect a life other than yours?|Yes|\n|Do you want to cure an illness?|No|\n|Do you know the person who will be affected by your wish?|No|\n|Is your wish a physical object?|Yes|\n|Do you want to take something from someone?|Yes|\n|Was this item stolen from you?|Yes|\n|I think that… you wish for your bicycle back?|Yes|\n\nAkinator: Great! Guessed right one more time! \n\n\nAkinator: You have 1 wish attempt. What type of wish is it?\n\n**Money** **Fame** **Time** >**Love** **Other** \n\n|Question|Response|\n|:-|-:|\n|Is this love for a person?|No|\n|Do you currently love it?|Yes|\n|Is it a food?|No|\n|Is it an activity?|No|\n|Is it inanimate?|Yes|\n|Is it currently in your home?|Yes|\n|Is it in your room?|Yes|\n|Is it on your shelf?|No|\n|Is it in your closet?|No|\n|I think that… you wish for another Dragonball figurine?|No|\n|Is it on your bed?|No|\n|Is it on your wall?|No|\n|Is it under your bed?|Yes|\n|Is it in the box under your bed?|Yes|\n|Is there more than one item in the box?|Yes|\n|Are the items in your box related to a friend?|Yes|\n|Do you share an item in the box with your friend?|Yes|\n|Is the item currently broken?|Yes|\n|Is the item a necklace?|Yes|\n|I think that… you wish for the necklace to be repaired so that it looks brand new?|No|\n|What were you thinking about?|Repair the damaged photograph in my necklace.|\n\nAkinator: Bravo! You have defeated me!",
"Akinatore \"does it have something to do with money\"\n\nDavid \"yes\"\n\nAkinatore \"would you like to donate thousands to charity!\"\n\nDavid \"No!\"\n\nAkinatore \"would you like a sandwich?\"\n\nDavid \"You stupid genie I just want to be rich!\"\n\nAkinatore \"do you want to cure cancer?\"\n\nDavid throws his hands in the air \"SURE! FINE WHY NOT!\"\n\nAkinatore \"you have 2 wishes left\"\n\nDavid sighs\n\nAkinatore \"does it have something to do with your looks?\"\n\nDavid \"the hell's that suppose to mean? NO!\" \n\nAkinatore \"does it have something to do with Timmy being stuck in a well?\"\n\nDavid \"who the f**k is Timmy and do people even use wells Still? No. Try again!\"\n\nAkinatore \"Does it have to do with money?\"\n\nDavid nods excited to be back on the right track \"yes!\"\n\nAkinatore \"Do you want to... donate thousands to a charity?\"\n\nDavid \"no\"\n\nAkinatore \"do you want to pay off your many debts?\"\n\nDavid \"N...actually yeah can we do that?\"\n\nAkinatore \"one wish left. Does it have something to do with your mother?\"\n\nDavid \"no\"\n\nAkinatore \"does it have to do with sandwiches\"\n\nDavid \"no\"\n\nAkinatore \"does it have to do with your looks?\"\n\nDavid \"STOP ASKING THAT!\" \n\nAkinatore \"Does it have to do with money?\"\n\nDavid \"yes\"\n\nAkinatore \"Would you like to donate thousands to charity?\"\n\nDavid \"no\"\n\nAkinatore \"would you like to be a lady?\"\n\nDavid \"where did you even come to that conclusion!? No!\"\n\nAkinatore \"Would you like to be rich?\"\n\nDavid \"yes\"\n\nAkinatore dissapeares back into the lamp. \n\nA few months later there's a knock on David's front door. He opens the door and sees two men in black suits \n\nDavid nervously asks \"m...ma...may I help you?\"\n\nAgent Dumas \"agent Dumas and Ray, you seem to have gained over 5 million dollars in the blink of an eye\"\n\nDavis \"so?\"\n\nAgent ray \"we have a few questions about this, come with us\"\n\nAs the two agents take him away David shouts \"YOU CANT TAX ME I CURED CANCER!!\""
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[WP] Humans are taught to fear the monsters lurking in the dark beneath their beds and in their closets, but it's in fact the monsters that are hiding from the humans lurking in the light.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Rain was falling onto the roof of the mausoleum, creating a harsh pattering sound that masked the noises emanating from inside the building. Inside, the ancient and very dead relatives of the local Patterson family sat on a granite bench, playing cards on a ledge. John and Nancy Patterson had been dead for a little over a century, but they still enjoyed each other’s company and tried to play cards at least once an evening.\r \n\r \nAs they were finishing another game of Bridges, they heard a knock on the door accompanied by a voice from outside.\r \n\r \n“John, Nancy, quick, get back in your coffins! The humans are coming. Let me in so I can hide too!”\r \n\r \nJohn jumped, inasmuch as a century old corpse can do so, and moved to the door. He opened the door and saw one of their friends, Clancy Smith, standing in the doorway in his usual rotting suit. \r \n\r \n“Thanks for letting me in, now lets hide!” Clancy insisted.\r \n\r \nThe trio moved to the coffins. John helped Nancy into hers and pushed it back onto the ledge. Afterwards, he turned to Clancy.\r \n\r \n“Clancy, where do you intend to hide at?” he asked.\r \n\r \n“I am going to hide behind your coffin. Let me get in first.”\r \n\r \nClancy squeezed into the alcove where John’s coffin would go and motioned for John to get into his coffin. Just as John closed his coffin and settled, the trio heard the mausoleum door open. From his position in the alcove behind John’s coffin, Clancy could barely make out the figure in the doorway. He wore a bright yellow jacket and carried an electric torch in his hand. \r \n\r \nThe man entered the mausoleum and walked towards the coffins. As he neared the alcove that John and Clancy were in, he panned his light across them. Clancy began to tremble in the alcove, the fear of the human and it’s synthetic light becoming unbearable to him. \r \n\r \n“Hm, what’s that?” the man asked as he drew closer to John’s coffin.\r \n\r \nThe man stepped closer and placed his hands on the coffin for a moment. Behind the coffin, Clancy began to shake more violently. His gyrations caused the coffin to squeak, causing him to become even more fearful.\r \n\r \n*Dang it Clancy, get a grip! You can’t let him find you.* Clancy thought to himself. \r \n\r \nThe man moved around the coffin until he was at the edge of the alcove. He tapped on the coffin with his light.\r \n\r \n“Rats must be back. I’ll come back tomorrow with Rich and set some traps, I think.”\r \n\r \nThe man turned around and walked out of the mausoleum, shutting the door behind him. Afterwards, John and Clancy climbed from the alcove and helped Nancy from her coffin.\r \n\r \n“Thanks Clancy, he would have found us if it wasn’t for you,” John said.\r \n\r \n“We’re in this together, John. You helped me stay hidden too. Sorry for shaking – he almost found us because of that. I just couldn’t help it when I saw him approach and felt his light cross me. That stuff is what nightmares are made of.”\r \n\r \n“Don’t worry Clancy, we understand,” Nancy said with a warm smile on her face. “We’re all scared of those monsters.” She stepped forward and gave Clancy a hug. “Now, get out of here before he comes back. You have your own grave to hide in.”\r \n\r \n“Sure, Nancy. Thanks again. Stay safe you two. Sleep tight, don’t let the humans bite.”",
"Generally, young kids don’t know a lot of things. It’s not their fault, they just haven’t been around long enough to learn it all. They don’t know how to tie laces, for example, and most of them don’t know the 8 times table. They haven’t yet learned the shape of a conversation, the way one topic leads to the next, making them frustrating and often confusing to try and hold a conversation with. \r \nThis also means, however, that they haven’t learned what they can’t do yet. They don’t know that they’re not supposed to see monsters. \r \nLisa didn’t know any of these things. The things she did know were limited, but sturdy in the way that kids’ facts often are. These are some of the things that Lisa knew, and frequently sprinkled into conversation:\r \n1)\tHer favourite colour was purple. This, she had discovered, could be made with red and blue paint, but any other additions turned it to a muddy brown. \r \n\r \n2)\tHer favourite animal was a snail. She liked the way their shells curled in on themselves and the steady pace with which they approached life. \r \n\r \n3)\tSnails can sleep for up to three years at a time. This was only one year longer than Lisa had been alive, so she found this one particularly impressive. \r \n\r \n4)\tThere was a monster under her bed. \r \n\r \nThis last one had troubled Lisa for a while. Not for the reasons that most people would find troubling; Lisa had not yet learned the general opinion of monsters that people held. She was instead troubled because for weeks she had been woken by a frantic scrambling and scrabbling noise beneath her bed, often hours after Dad had turned out the light. The natural conclusion, of course, was that there was a monster under the bed. \r \nShe had tested this hypothesis by leaving out food for the creature: cookies, grapes, a half-eaten pop tart that had been dropped and taken on a slightly hairy appearance. Each time, as soon as she had lifted her tiny feet off the floor and onto the bed, she would hear it again: the scratch-scrabble-scurrying of the monster, followed by loud chomping noises. \r \nTonight, though, she was going to catch it. \r \nShe set the trap: a torch hidden under her pillow, and a slightly burned slice of toast and marmalade Dad had given her earlier (another fact Lisa had learned that day: Dad was not good at making toast and marmalade). She placed it just underneath the edge of her bed. Then, when Dad turned out the light and the scrabbling began, Lisa took the torch from under her pillow and crept to the edge of the bed, waiting until the last possible moment before she pounced. \r \nThe creature squealed. It scrabbled and kicked, worming its way back under the bed but it was no use: Lisa had the torch trained on it like a spotlight. For a few seconds, they surveyed one another, monster and girl. \r \nIt was small and purple, which Lisa approved of, with a wide, grinning mouth of pointed teeth. It had big, purple claws and it stood on its little hind legs as it clutched the slice of toast. Huge, saucer-like eyes stared at her. \r \n“Hello.” Said Lisa. \r \n“Are you one of them?” Asked the monster. It had a soft voice, like whispers. \r \nLisa didn’t know what to say, so she said, “do you like snails?”\r \nThe monster, clearly, had just a little a grasp of conversational norms as Lisa did, because it ignored her. \r \n“They’re coming to get me.” The monster said. “Don’t let them get me.” \r \n“Snails sleep for three years.” Lisa said, nodding knowingly, a little unnerved by the panic in the monster’s voice. \r \nThey were interrupted by footsteps, making their way down the hall outside. Lisa recognised them as Dad’s, probably drawn by the squealing and thumping. \r \n“Lisa?” Dad’s voice was soft, barely audible outside the door. \r \nThe monster shifted, huge eyes fixed on the door. \r \n“You’ve seen me now,” it whispered, “you’re not safe either.”\r \nThe monster was frightened. Up until this point, Lisa had not been at all afraid. Only now, as the monster pressed itself against the wall, trying to get as far from the door as possible, Lisa felt a little afraid. \r \nThe voice outside came again: “Lisa?”\r \nLisa met the monster’s terrified gaze. A few seconds passed before the monster whispered:\r \n“Whatever you do, don’t let the monster in.”",
"“Mom, I see it again!” Evelyn hollered.\n\nMom, tired and disheveled after a 9-hour shift trudged into Evelyn’s room. “Evelyn, go to bed.” She said flatly and shut the door.\n\nEvelyn hid under the blankets for a few seconds, praying that it would go away. She poked her head out of the covers, but it was still there. A wet, dripping tentacle hanging from the top of her drawer. She squealed in horror and tried her best to fall asleep, but she couldn’t do it. Meekly, she got up from her bed and tried to push the tentacle aside with her slipper. To her surprise, it wriggled away with a small shriek. \n\nProud of herself, Evelyn crawled back into bed. \n\nA few hours later, Evelyn was woken up in the wee hours of the morning by something nudging her hip. She sat up with a bolt, eyes wide and stared at what looked like a giant purple octopus but with too many legs and teeth with one arm outstretched, touching her hip. It stared back. \n\nWhat came next woke up the entire neighbourhood. Evelyn screamed at the top of her voice, and so did the octopus creature. In unison, they backed away from each other. Evelyn noticed the octopus creature was visibly shaken, as was she. Against her better judgement, she inched closer to the octopus creature. Once it saw her approaching, it quickly slithered back under the drawer and into the darkness. “Hello?” Evelyn called.\n\nNo answer. \n\nEvelyn tried again, but to no avail. Gathering up all her courage, she moved closer to the drawer, and checked under it. Under the drawer, there were hundreds, possibly thousands, of the same octopus creature, only in different colours. They were all squished up and compressed. When they saw her, they scrambled, echoing cries of help. “Stop!” Evelyn shouted, but they didn’t respond. They didn’t seem to understand English.\n\nJust then, the door creaked open. It was Evelyn’s mother. The creatures saw them and scrambled out the window. “What are you doing?” Mom asked in a unenthusiastic tone. Evelyn shifted her gaze to the window, the creatures were gone. “Uh… nothing.” She said, and crawled back into bed. Mom couldn’t care less. As Evelyn settled down, she wondered where the creatures would hide next. She was interrupted by a scream coming from her mother’s room."
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[WP] It's late. It's been a long day. Just write me a fight scene. How about... how about a spaghetti western, with actual spaghetti? They shoot spaghetti at each other. Yeah, that's it.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I know its a bit late, but here’s one for your morning OP. (also im new to writing prompts)\n\n“So, are you a big shadow casted by a small rock? Or are you the man you think you are.” Pastrick yelled at Tacquero, standing at the opposite end of town.\n\nThe two have been burning nearly every farm and town in Texas just to find each other. Pastrick’s family had been murdered by Tacquero’s gang, and has been looking for redemption for years. However, this unfortunate town will be where the terror ends.\n\n“I do not know, Senor Pastrick. It appears that you terrify people, trying to make yourself tough, but in reality you could not save your own family.” Tacquero shouted at Pastrick, smirking.\n\n“Alright, the two of you will begin when the bottle crashes on the floor.” The sheriff of the town stated, holding a whiskey bottle in his hands.\n\nThe rest of the town closed their windows, barricaded their doors, and took cover in their homes. The sheriff threw the bottle up in the air, and then retreated back into his building.\n\nAs Pastrick hovered his hand over his Schofield, waiting to kill the man that ruined his life, Tacquero was calm. He didn’t even raise his hand over his Double-Action, but instead rested it on his gun belt.\n\nThe whiskey bottle finally shattered on the ground.\n\nThe two let loose, Pastrick let loose, shooting all 6 pennes, slamming the hammer with each shot whilst running to cover. However, this was not Tacquero’s first duel, and he always shot second. Tacquero quickly rolled to his left and away from the penne shots, and took out his Double-Action to shoot rolled-up tortillas that were fried, which hardened like taco shells. \n\nAll shots had missed both gunslingers, while the townsfolk were flinching at each gunshot.\n\n“You are quite dumb, eh?” Tacquero quipped at Pastrick, before shooting a couple of shots in his direction.\n\n“Maybe if thats what you want to think before you pay for everything, Tacquero!” Pastrick shouted from his cover, loading the pennes into the Schofield. As Pastrick tried to run into a building to get a better view of Tacquero, he was shot in the side by one of the mini-tortillas.\n\nHollering in pain, Tacquero walked slowly to Pastrick, spinning his Double-Action into the holster. \n\n“So, all of that drama Pastrick, just for you to end up dying and crying all in front of these people.” Tacquero said in a demeaning manner. All of the townsfolk looked out from their hiding spots to see if Tacquero would kill Pastrick. Tacquero kicked Pastrick’s heads and arms while he grunted and hollered some more. At the end of it, Tacquero finally lifted Pastrick up from his collar.\n\n“Any last words before you see your wife and children in hell?” Tacquero smiled at Pastrick, before spitting in his face and jabbing his Double-Action into Pastrick’s jaw.\n\n“Yeah, maybe don’t use things that break into sharp objects as ammo.” Pastrick smirked and stabbed Tacquero’s stomach with a broken piece of his wrapped-tortilla shots.\n\n“Damn, see you there I guess.” Tacquero winced and smirked as he shot into Pastrick’s right lung. \n\nAs Pastrick cried out in pain, Tacquero rolled off to the side of him. As Tacquero died, Pastrick realized, while coughing up blood and seeing the townsfolk surround their two bodies, him and Tacquero would’ve helped each other in many ways. Maybe, they were destined for each other, to become the most popular gunslingers in history. However, they were just met at the wrong time.",
"(Every unfamiliar term is a type of pasta; you shouldn't need to look them up to enjoy the story)\n\n*Bong.*\n\nThe bell tolled the ninth strike of noon. Sheriff Doc Macaronay flexed his right hand, hovering next to his fusilli shooter, and tested his grip on his spaghetti lasso. He was ready.\n\n*Bong.*\n\nThe tenth strike. Across the street stood the Fettuccine Gang. Four men who'd been drained on the wrong side of the colander and seasoned with too little tomato sauce. They were armed to the *al dente:* bandoliers of ravioli crisscrossed their chests, itchy fingers swayed near penne rifles, and rigatoni pistols rested impatiently in their holsters.\n\n*Bong.*\n\nThe eleventh strike. People had fled the street, conveniently leaving barrels scattered about for cover. Doc Macaronay was ready.\n\n*Bon-BangBangBang.*\n\nThe moment the bell struck noon, the Fettucine Gang opened pasta. Mac dove behind the nearest barrel, and counted the shots. They'd been foolish. All firing at once, all with six shooters. The moment they all ran dry, Mac peeked out. Two were scrambling with quick loaders, while the other two went for the rifles. Mac breathed, exhaled, and fired. The fusilli's spiral made it spin through the air, guiding it straight towards his target, the fastest man to the rifles.\n\n\"Ditalini!\" The man cursed, \"Right in the gnocchi.\" He fell to the ground, unmoving.\n\nMac had no time to celebrate. A stray rigatoni picked his hat off his head, reminding him to stay low. At the next break in fire, he rolled on the ground to present a smaller target and snapped off a few shots to keep them wary. He fumbled to reload as penne kicked up clods of dirt all around him. The Gang was shouting instructions to each other, but he couldn't understand them over the racket. So it came as a complete surprise when he peeked out into the barrel of a shotgun, one of the Fettucines having crept up. \n\nMac jerked back as the man fired. A cloud of orzo buckshot passed right in front of his nose. They both froze, but Mac recovered from his shock at being alive first. He shot the man between the eyes, knocking him out instantly.\n\n\"Sleep with the vermicelli,\" Mac muttered.\n\nThe pasta fight stalled. The remaining Fettucines didn't dare get closer, where pistols and skill could win the day, but Mac couldn't risk leaving cover again, now that they were paying attention with their penne rifles. \n\n\"You ready to surrender yet, Doc? Sun must be getting mighty hot out there.\"\n\n\"Go to shells,\" he snapped back. But they weren't wrong. It was a desperate situation. Unless...\n\nMac unwound his spaghetti lasso. It was a difficult task, crouched behind the barrel, but he managed to rope the unconscious man and drag him within arm's reach. He took one of the man's ravioli and cautiously squeezed it. Under very little pressure, it began to leak sauce. Mac stopped instantly, breath shaking. The mad men had overstuffed them. Very, very carefully, he took a dozen and wrapped them in a handkerchief. \n\n\"Hey boys, pasta la vista,\" Mac said, and threw the ravioli.\n\n*Boooommmm.*\n\nThe explosion echoed between the buildings, and before it had died, Mac was moving. He zigzagged between the barrels, and a smile creased his lips as he saw both Fettucines had taken cover. When the first looked up again, Mac was already there, fusilli shooters levelled.\n\n\"Boys,\" Mac said, cocking the hammers, \"You are in a shredded cheese heap o' trouble.\""
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[WP] You are a Jumper, a being capable of traveling to any universe in existence, fictional or not. You’ve obtained many items, abilities, and companions along the way. And some of the most ridiculous drawbacks. After a long journey, you’ve finally returned to your own universe.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*"
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[WP] You are an obscenely wealthy Nigerian Prince. You’ve decided to share your wealth with all your distant relatives. But no matter how far back and out you go no one responds.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
" 9. r/PessimisticSnakeWrote\n\n“Sebastian!”\n\n“Yes, sire?”\n\n“I got a message saying “my account gets evaluated”. What does that mean Sebastian?”\n\n“I don’t know sire.”\n\n“Will my siblings and cousins still be able to receive their righteous money now?”\n\n“...I don’t know sire.”\n\nIt’s a week since you found out that you're rich and fruitful family comes out of every part of the world. It was of course a great delight to hear that. Since youre parents died who you both loved and never had a serious fight the castle was never the same again. You had many servants who you all loved like siblings. But you were still their employer. You couldn’t cuddle them like you did with parents and would do with real siblings and cousins.\n\nMonths you felt exponentially lonely. Lonely in a castle full with people who loved you. But still lonely. But one day you and youre closest servant Sebastion found an old dusty family tree.\n\nYou never would have thought that youre family would come from every corner of the world. It was a great shock, and still a moment of pure bliss. You don’t know why youre parents didn’t tell you. Maybe they forgot. They always were forgetful. Especially as they got older.\n\nBut the bliss only held for a moment. You never left the castle and you couldn’t travel through the entire world to meet youre siblings and cousins and give them some of their families wealth.\n\nYou almost fell into a depression. But Sebastion came to the rescue. He talked from something called the “Internet”. Sebastion heard it from a person calling himself “Tech support” in a nearby Town.\n\nYou immediately bought the box thingy to go to the internet and made yourself a contract. It was a terrible hassle for all of the servants to built up. But after days you and youre servants made it.\n\nYou typed a letter in English, a language you only picked up by some of you're nonnative servants. Directly into the box which took hours without a real pen and searched in the “Internet” for the names. You were first confused by the many blinking lights in small boxes. Saying in English about something “Pen-is enlargement”. You asked an English speaking servant about “Pen-is” but they only went red, while speaking English words you never heard before.\n\nSince you don’t what they are you ignored them. You assume that it’s a way to make youre pens better. After searching for a long time you found the first sibling of yours. He made some document with a picture and text describing himself on it. He seemed to be really popular. More than 100 friends! You of course were instantly proud on him. You were very exited and found his address were you needed to send youre letter to.\n\nYou sent:\n\n“Brother!\n\nI found you! How I miss you! You may not know me! But Im big brother! Brother! You need to send bank account! Our family very rich! And if I send you may visit me!\n\nBig Brother!”\n\nAfter sending it you were so excited that you didn’t sleep for days. But no answer came. You asked Sebastion if you somehow send it wrong. But he looked at it and said that he didn’t find anything wrong. You were extremely sad. You asked if youre brother just doesn’t like you. Sebastion and all the other servants encouraged you to send another one to another one of you're family.\n\nYou did. But it was the same result. You sent and sent. But nothing. One week of nothing you got this Message of the letter sender. But then you see something. Its-its a\n\n“Sebastion! There is an answer!”\n\n“Really sire?! Open it!”\n\nYou open it in pure excitement.\n\n“Sebastion what is a ‘email scammer’?”\n\n“Maybe a greeting sire?”"
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[WP] you've joined an adventuring party not for power or glory. You just got a really high interest credit card and need to pay it back.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Yes!\" Yelled the dramatic orc. \"Yes, they shall fall behind my mighty blade, and blood shalt be spilled in pools of glorious velvet!\" \n\n\"Or,\" Said the stupid rogue. \"We take things quietly, and use the greatest gift man ever was given: Cunning! By the time they know we're there, throats are slit and purses are stolen!\"\n\nThe grape-headed orc shuffled his outrageously large axe and said some more stupid shit that I don't remember. \n\n\"That's too much work!\" The rouge replied.\n\n\"How about we show them god?\" *Oh fuck, is there a paladin here?* \"Then, if they don't accept his glory, we can smite them with all of his wonderful and divine power!\" *Yep, that's a paladin. Fuck me.* \n\n\"Everyone calm down!\" Said the woman sitting at the center of the table. Large scar across one eye, big black cloak, you know the type. \"I've gathered this crew here not to argue, but to fight for me!\" *Where'd the barmaid go? I need a drink.* \"You all have a very certain set of skills, that much is sure. And we're going to need all of that if we're to take Lycantrellmaniusotria the Dark's hidden treasure!\"\n\nI done a spit take with my beer. \"What the fuck is his name?\"\n\nShe gave me the daggers, real pincers for eyes and a tough scowl. \"I told you, Lycantrellmaniusotria the Dark. Now, if we're done with interup-\"\n\n\"What kind of a name is that?\" Dumb orc again.\n\n\"A demonic one!\" Paladin.\n\n\"Do you think there is a lot of gold?\" I don't even need to explain this anymore.\n\n\"Quite! We have to stay focused! We all need this mission, we can't be getting sidetracked. Remember your purpose!\"\n\n\"For glory!\" Screeched the Orc.\n\n\"Money!\" Said the rouge.\n\n\"God!\" You know who.\n\n\"Credit debt!\" I said with my drink raised and a crooked grin... No one cared.\n\nI think the rest of the night was spent planning some \"really important\" mission details, something like that I'm sure. I spent most of my time fighting the good fight against sobriety and drinking the elf shit by the bar. Real dilly-dazy night topped off by some nasty shit with a succubus, had to make the run in the morning though because... Well you know, credit score.\n\nThe next morning, we all met up and were ready at the gate of the village -- I use that word 'ready' lightly. I just brought what little alcohol I had left and some gremlin grass. The \"Packleader\" as she insisted on being called, made sure to give us a real rousing speech. \"Gentlemen!\" *Did I tell that succubus my real name? Oh god I hope not.* \"Density calls us today! When our boots hit the road, there is no turning around! It is all or nothing!\" She raised her sword high in the sky and got a good cheer out of the squad, I was lighting a stogie.\n\n\"Hey bard,\" The shiny paladin asked.\n\n\"Name's Lark, but fuck you too, what?\"\n\n\"What's that you're lighting?\" I could tell from the way he asked that he was looking for a chance to give me a sermon, either that or smite me where I stood.\n\n\"Devil's hash, now get off my back boy-scout.\"\n\nI could practically see the fire of god light within him, his rage was sweet and hilarious. \"Packleader!\" He yelled. \"Do we really need a sinful bard on our team?\" *Trying to throw me out already? How priestly.*\n\nThe packlady turned around and stopped the march. \"I don't want to hear any complaints about the bard.\"\n\n\"Again, name is Lark, fuck all of you.\"\n\nShe ignored me and continued. \"He may be annoying but we need him.\"\n\n\"Why's that?\" Said the man-child paladin.\n\nShe took a long breath, \"In all my life, I've never heard of a man that can do all of the things that they say he's done.\"\n\nAs they all turned to look to me, it took everything in my power to not yell: *That's what you get when you put all points into luck baby! Now lets go clear daddy's credit score so he can buy more succubus hookers!*\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nIf you enjoyed, check out my new subreddit! r/mrsharks202\n\nThanks!"
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[WP] Write a scientific report on the behaviors of a fictional creature or monster.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"**SCP-XXXX**\n\n**Object Class:** Euclid\n\n**Special Containment Procedures:** SCP-XXXX is to be kept in a standard concrete containment cell and fed on a weekly basis. It may be fed a coin of no more than ten (10) grams at the supervisor's discretion as a reward for good behavior. At least one (1) guard must keep a constant watch on SCP-XXXX to monitor for suspicious behavior and to alert the supervisor should SCP-XXXX is willing to converse.\n\n**Description:** SCP-XXXX is a sapient mollusk-like organism with a wooden and metal shell resembling a chest. It is capable of speech, however, it has only been known to speak on two (2) occasions. \n\nIn the wild, SCP-XXXX will seek out quiet, abandoned places, often places that have rumors of riches or treasure. How SCP-XXXX is aware of said rumors is currently unknown. When SCP-XXXX's 'lid' is opened, it will lash out with its tongue and wrap around whatever is in a four (4) meter radius. SCP-XXXX will then attempt to drag whatever its tongue wraps around into its mouth. If successful, it will then quickly bite down, often killing whatever was within.\n\nAfter a meal, SCP-XXXX will enter a dormant state, lasting from 8 hours to 3 weeks. During a dormant state, opening SCP-XXXX's 'lid' is nearly impossible.\n\nIf SCP-XXXX has not eaten in over 3 months, it will attempt to move to a new location. Should it be obstructed, it will secrete a caustic solution, capable of melting pressurized wood in minutes.\n\n**Discovery:** SCP-XXXX was discovered after a video featuring SCP-XXXX was posted on the internet. Foundation webcrawlers removed the video within minutes, however an estimated 2,000 people saw the video before it was removed. \n\nDue to the fact that SCP-XXXX was in its dormant state, initial containment was relatively simple, with 0 deaths or injuries.\n\n*For further information on SCP-XXXX, see Addendum \"I'm too lazy to add more\".*",
"**Report #05. Northern Great Britain, Hadrian Expedition, 1972**\n\nOn the behaviours of *Homo Lukánthropos* subgroup; *Lukánthropos Caledonii*, common name; Wulver.\n\n**Current Population count, as of Last UK mythobiological census 1971; 58342 individuals.**\n\nFound primarily in Scotland and previously(*pre-Cromwellian purges*) observed in remote areas of Northern England, the Wulver subspecies of lycanthropes exhibit a number of differences from their continental counterparts. Most notably is the severely reduced aggressive tendencies in comparison to *Homo Lukánthropos Horribilis*, the most common European variation, or the much larger, and now extinct pre-Columbian *Homo Lukánthropos Dirus*. The lack of aggressive tendencies is so vast that in historical records, there are less than 10 instances of Wulver attacks, and those have never been unprovoked. Notably, none of these attacks have resulted in a bioconversion event, and the Wulver is not known to be able to reproduce through adult bioconversion or infection. Furthermore, a thorough testing of provided Wulver saliva from several different subjects proved that the infectious proteins and bacteria usually form in most lycanthropes' mouths are completely absent. A Wulver instead reproduces naturally, usually producing litters of 2 to 3 cubs. Their rate of aging is comparable to a human until adolescence, where Wulver aging slows down, allowing for a lifespan of close to 200 years. The Wulver is still notably a member of the Lycanthropic line, despite its non-infectious nature, as it is capable of taking a human mate, though notably all offspring of such a union are always Wulvers.\n\nThis is because the specific strain of lycanthropic bioconversion happens during the second trimester, and is thus much less damaging on the body and neurology than the typical method employed by most forms of lycanthropes. Because of the early transformation in vitro, the resulting body is fully morphologically stable, and does not oscillate between humanoid and canid. This means that the Wulver is the only form of sentient lycanthrope that is permanently non-human, though they still retain some human traits such as bipedalism, human vocal cords, among various other traits. Because of this, the Wulver biomythic is considered a symbiotic lifeform, unlike normal lycanthropes which are duo-parasitic(*both canid and humanoid shape is a parasite lifeform attacking the other*) and constantly damaging their own cells during the strenuous transformation.\n\nWulvers tend to be loners, by choice, though they are noted as being capable of social interaction, and indeed are usually found in small family groups; they tend towards shyness and introversion, and are noted to live rather isolated in comparison to most sentient biomythological entities. Because of this, they are nearly universally found in villages and small towns near the coast, where they live in their own dwellings. Being sentient and non-combative, they are integrated into modern society, though they tend to take work that either lets them fish, be alone, or be isolated. This is unlike other groups such as faehomonids who tend to stay in their arboreal castle ruins and bemoan the fall of their species while doing nothing to remedy their situation, or continental werewolves, who tend to live in kratocratic packs outside society entirely.\n\n**Diet:**\n\nPrimarily the Wulver eats fish for it's protein, which it acquires by fishing in various inlets, lakes, rivers, or other forms of uncontaminated water. A few have been observed using longbows to hunt deer, but this has only been seen during times of overfishing in British waters, and should be seen as an unusual deviation from normality. It is noted that Wulvers are capable of consuming food from other sources, and as the only member of the Lycanthropic family, the Wulver is omnivorous. This is because of their humanoid-canid symbiosis, which gives them a marked advantage in acquiring nutrition in comparison to other forms of lycanthropes.\n\n**Human relations:**\n\nUnlike most lycanthropes, the Wulver enjoys a positive relation with the local human majority. As previously stated, the Wulver's lack of aggressive tendencies and reasonable temperament has ensured that the group has kept up with human society. Historically, the Wulvers have been noted to generously share their fish during times of famine or donate some of their catches to poorer families. Historically they have also formed a primitive coast guard, and have rescued sailors and fishermen from sinking ships numerous times. Due in large part to their inherent friendly, if shy, disposition, the Wulvers are one of the few biomythic species considered in Abrahamic religious doctrine, to have souls, and are thus allowed into the clergy of the Scottish, Anglican, and Catholic churches.\n\nInterestingly, during the Expedition's journey to examine the Wulvers, some villages were found to be Wulver majority, because of the increase in people moving into larger cities. This, in our observations, has not proven problematic as is normally seen when a population area is taken over by non-humans. On an economic side, those villages were actually better off financially than most others in the region.\n\n**Notes:**\n\n*Genetic samples procured without incident. No expedition members harmed. No subjects harmed. Further research is to be conducted on willing subjects in regards to attempts towards replicating Wulver biostability and morphological harmonics in early stage continental lycanthropic infected. Recommend construction of genetic research laboratory in Scottish highlands to facilitate this. Next subject to be examined: Draconis Nobilis, location; Scandinavian mountains.*\n\n[Researcher A. Owl](https://www.reddit.com/r/ApocalypseOwl/)"
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[WP] You were a powerful supervillain. After the hero defeated you, you vowed that you would return. 15 years later, you arrive back at the city. After tracking down your nemesis, you kick down his door to find an overweight man drowning himself in beers. This is not how you imagined things would be
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"*15 years!*, I raged. Slamming myself against the padded containment cell \"Let me out! Or none of you are leaving this building alive! Once your dampeners go down you know this cell won't hold me.\", I screamed at the cameras in my cell. Just as I had tried to do everyday for 15 years I attempted to access my powers to phase through the wall. Surprising no one I did nothing of the sort. \n\nThe V.I. that ran this prison appeared in my cell. A holographic form almost as ethereal as I should be said in a cold, detached tone, \"Prisoner number 42: Designation; Poltergeist. I have been instructed to ask you to contain your self. Failure to comply will result in the immediate administration of anesthetics as well as another twenty-four hours added to your sentence.\"\n\n\"Damn robot! Fine... fine... I'll *contain my self*\", I said with air quotes. Seemingly satisfied, the V.I. disappeared and I slumped to the floor listening to the hum of the dampeners. Waiting, wishing they would stop and allow me to haunt the asylum. Just a minute was all I needed. I'd slaughter the guards and break the computer with the V.I. Then I'd find Paladin. The one who locked me away and threw away the key. Drifting off to sleep, I decided I'd wait just one more day.\n\nMy eyes slammed open. Something felt off. Looking frantically around I saw nothing amiss until it dawned on me. The sound of thunder and rain just outside and most importantly, No hum. No dampeners to hold me back. With an elated laugh I felt the sensation that I had longed for. The detachment from physicality that I had last felt during that fateful night 15 years ago.\n\nMy powers were back and Paladin would pay. As I glided through walls I found most of the offices empty save for one very negligent guard. He was too busy crying to even notice me. As I reached out to consume his soul, I noticed his desk was littered with pictures of a happy family. Realisation hit me instantly, As I saw the restraining order and glided away. \"Such delectable pain.\", I whispered to myself as I fled into the stormy night in search of my true prey. Like a bloodhound with a scent I followed the residue of Paladin's soul. After hours of flight, I came to a large foreboding mansion.\n\nSlipping through the wall, I drifted down the halls. Filth was every where. Cans of beer here, fast food boxes there. Entering one of the many rooms I found a living room that was somehow more repugnant than the hall that I'd just come from. The once expensive carpeting was covered in a layer of takeout boxes and beer cans silently I thanked the Gods that I had the powers of flight and intangibility as I probably would've vomited from the texture alone.\n\nDrifting next to the T.V. I was met with a sight that I still to this day cannot understand. A man who looked like he'd never moved from that couch a day in his life sat snoring. Fast asleep. A taste of his soul confirmed it this was my nemesis. The mountain of lard in front of me was Paladin.\n\n\"That... That can't be!\", I cried. Backing up into the TV causing it to sputter and spark. All the racket awakened the slumbering giant who then sat up with considerable difficulty. Seeing me he said with a hollow chuckle, \"Persephone Clara. It's been a while. Still going by Poltergeist?\"\n\n\"Paladin?\", I asked in some vain hope that his soul just tasted like my nemesis.\n\n\"That's me.\", he said sadly, \"Though I understand your confusion Persephone.\n\n\"I... I... Came... Get... Revenge...\", I stammered weekly unable to reconcile the hero that had locked me away all those years ago with the man before me.\n\n\"What the Hell happened to you?\", I asked after an eternity of silence.\n\nMore silence as the man sat regarding me. I had remained a willowy woman and was in decent shape in spite of my 15 years of incarceration and it was clear that I could walk circles around him without breaking a sweat. He looked at me with the eyes of a man who broke long ago. A smile that never quite reached his eyes plastered on his face as he said, \"Of all the villains I faced, you were the one I was most sure could be rehabilitated...\"\n\n\"What does that have to do with anything?\", I replied confused.\n\n\"You remember my sidekick, Squire?\", he asked.\n\n\"Yeah. That 13 year old kid that you trained to fight. Kinda messed up; bringing him into this world that young if you ask me.\", I said sarcastically.\n\nWith a grim face, Paladin nodded at me and said, \"In retrospect, I made the wrong choice. A year after we apprehended you, he began killing criminals. No matter what I said increasingly he decided death was the only fair verdict for them. I had to stop him but even when I'd lock him up he'd harm other inmates. One day, I couldn't take it anymore. I snapped and...\"\n\n\"You killed him?\", I asked shock and horror dawning on my face. \"You killed the kid?\"\n\nPaladin nodded his cheeks stained with tears, \"After that day I vowed to never again fight crime. So if you plan to kill me, just do it.\"\n\n\"This is a mercy you don't deserve, but then my spirit is starving. You'll make a fine appetizer.\", drifting forward I devoured his soul in one bite leaving nothing but his overstuffed meat suit behind. I then set about removing the garbage and his corpse from the property. This would be my new home. My new web. With no heroes left to oppose me I would show the city of Valantburg what a reign of terror looked like.",
"She had been waiting for this moment. Craving the day she was ready to return. It had been 15 years to the day she vowed to return to the city. To have her revenge on her arch nemesis, Hector. To the people, he was Net Man, a hero who would stop at nothing to catch evil from hurting his city. To her, he was more than that. He was the reason for her existence.\n\nShe drove through the city she did not recognize anymore. The city had moved on without her and so had the people. Her night black car with signature chrome spikes running along the top of the entire car did not instill the fear it once did. Instead of people fleeing at the sight, people largely ignored it. Another car in the crowd. She worried for a moment. If the people forgot, did he as well?\n\nShe got to the address, 13795 Starview Street. Not sure why it was called that, since it was a dumpy apartment complex surrounded by enormous skyscrapers. There was no way to see the stars or the sky for that matter with the congestion of buildings and cranes overhead. She parked alongside the only empty spot on the curb, in front of a fire hydrant. She chuckled to herself, enjoying the simple pleasures of such low level villainy she would do as a teen.\n\nThe moment she opened the door, the smell of the sewer wafted into her vehicle. It brought her memories back to the time she ran from Hector in the sewer system. Wearing his skintight bodysuit laced in white nets. Carrying that heavy net cannon that made his arms buldge Her legs got weak just thinking about him.\n\n\"Hey lady, you can't park there!\" a man called out to her on the sidewalk.\n\n\"Do you not not know who I am?\" she responded by getting out of her car to face him on the sidewalk.\n\nThe man looked her up and down. Her dark trench coat hid the black dress she wore underneath, leaving her bare legs and high heels exposed to the sidewalk.\n\n\"A hooker?\" the man laughed, pleased with his insult. \n\n\"Does Spike V mean anything to you?\" she said, with a devilish grin. \n\nThe man stared back with a blank expression, \"Sounds like a porn name. And not a good one.\"\n\nShe clenched her jaw in frustration and lifted her hand. Two metal spikes rocketed out of the sleeve of her coat and stuck halfway into the man's shoulder. He yelled in pain and fell to the floor. She closed her fists and the spikes started to turn inside his shoulder, causing him to yell again in pain.\n\n\"You're lucky I'm here for someone else. Otherwise I would make an example out of you,\" she said walking into the building. \n\nThe building had no locks to the doors, so she was free to take the stairs up to the seventh floor. Apartment number 768. It smelt like depravity and alcohol while she walked down the hall. Stains of all kinds littered the walls and floor. She was starting to get second thoughts about if this really was the place. Jaster was never one to give her bad information, but this didn't seem like the place Hector would ever live. What had happened?\n\nShe got to his door and turned the handle. Unlocked. Not even the chain was put up. For a hero, he sure was confident noone was going to hurt him. She made her way inside and the apartment was a disaster. Pizza boxes were littered with dirty clothes on the floor. No pictures on the walls and dust covered the bar countertop. Around the corner she heard voices from a TV show she recognized. She tried to walk around the sea of garbage, but it was no use. Her heel plunged into a pair of shorts that crunched under her feet.\n\n\"Who's there?\" a grumpy voice yelled from around the corner. \n\nShe rounded the corner and the man she once knew as Hector was unrecognizable. His once tone physique was instead a round mass of fat where a half eaten burger sat. His face was round and brown beard was full of crumbs. The chair he sat in bowed from his weight.\n\n\"Hector? Is that you?\" she asked. \n\nHector turned and his eyebrows lifted, \"Vanessa?\"\n\n\"What...what happened to you?\" she said, gesturing to his mass. \n\n\"I got fat.\" Hector said, slapping his belly and took a swig from his beer. \"I see you didn't change after all these years.\"\n\n\"Thank you.\" Vanessa said, searching for something more to say. She knew it had been a long time, but she figured if she was still alive he was doing something right. \n\n\"What do I owe the pleasure?\" Hector asked.\n\n\"It's been fifteen years since...well...you know.\"\n\n\"I didn't think you would actually come back. Or that either of us would have lasted this long.\" Hector wheezed.\n\n\"But I did…\"\n\n\"Well I'm not going to fight you. If you want to destroy the city or whatever you were planning on doing, I'm not going to stop you.\"\n\nVanessa slumped her head. That was the whole point of being a supervillain to her. Having her arch nemesis fight her. To ground her. To be with her. \n\n\"What? Are you disappointed? You have your chance and I'm not going to stop you. Isn't that what you wanted?\"\n\n\"I never wanted that.\" Vanessa said softly looking down at the ground. \n\n\"A supervillain who never wanted to accomplish her goals? Why even do it in the first place?\"\n\n\"Because of you.\"\n\nHector sat up on his chair, knocking the burger onto the ground, \"Because of me?\"\n\n\"You were the only reason I became a supervillain. You were always busy with your work, capturing bad guys. So I figured, what better way to get your attention than to become the one you chased.\"\n\n\"Let me get this straight. You became a supervillain because you wanted to be with me?\"\n\n\"Pursued by you. But yes.\"\n\n\"Then what about these last fifteen years?\"\n\n\"I thought you would follow me. Being your biggest nemesis and all,\" she shrugged.\n\n\"I was here to protect the city. When you left, I figured I won.\"\n\n\"But you knew I would return, why let yourself go?\"\n\n\"I didn't at first, but these villains got better and better. I was only getting slower and slower. Once I fought Jaster though, I figured it was time to hang it up.\"\n\n\"Jaster?\"\n\n\"Yeah. He made me realize I was not that special after all.\"\n\n\"What did he do to you?\" Vanessa said, with a sudden hint of anger creeping into her tone.\n\nHector shook his head, \"He showed me that having a net gun did not make me special. Just another guy in spandex, pretending to save the city.\"\n\n\"If you are not a hero, then I am no supervillain.\"\n\n\"I appreciate the compliment, but I guess we were both pretending to be something we weren't then.\"\n\nVanessa sat on the armchair next to him, \"Then why don't we both be something we are?\"\n\nHector gazed into her eyes, seeing her not as the enemy he fought all those years ago, but a woman who genuinely cared about him. Even after all these years and his misplaced idea of how she felt about him, he could tell she meant more than she said. He parted her hair, which caused her to blush.\n\n\"Would you like to watch a movie with me? I rented Franklin's Revenge.\"\n\n\"What's it about?\" Vanessa asked, batting her eyes.\n\n\"About a chef that gets revenge on his fellow cook staff after they set him up for poisoning a Dutchess or something.\"\n\n\"Sounds like something I could get into.\" Vanessa said, with a smile. \n\n\"Alright. I will get it set up. Can you hand me my pills on the counter?\"\n\nVanessa walked over and grabbed a bottle of pills off the dusty counter. She turned around to see him smiling at her. He may have added an absurd amount of pounds, but there was the man she had fallen for all those years ago. And in an instant he was taken away from her. \n\nBricks from the wall shot out at him like a claymore blast followed by a giant metal ball. Before anyone could respond, he was smashed into oblivion along with half of his apartment. The wrecking ball sat where Hector once was, mocking her. She held the pills in her hand, unable to process what had transpired. There were no screams and cries for help. Just a single tear from her eye that was sure to be the first of many. \n\nFrom above it was a different story. Inside the crane seat, a man was typing away furiously as the police sirens were echoing in the distance.\n\nIt is done. \n\nThe words displayed on the phone with the word, Sent below it. The man opened the door and chucked his phone down below to the street below. It shattered into pieces, destroying not only the evidence of foul play, but Vanessa's hope that Hector would ever get to be with her.",
"I took a deep breath. I held it, and with a single swift motion, I extended my foot through the door. The door expectedly exploded off its hinges and I would finally face off with Captain Awesome.\n\n\"Prepare yourself for death!\" I exclaimed boldly as I stepped through the doorway. \"After fifteen years, I'm here to finish you off once and for.... what?\" I stopped suddenly. There before me was a being, who looked something like the aforementioned do-gooder, but not. Before me lay a rather elephantine man in a reclined position in a reclining chair that looked like it was on its last legs.\n\nThe man in the recliner in front of me was wearing the Captain Awesome suit, but the suit was drum tight across the man's rather vast frame with several seams stretched beyond the fabric's limits. A sea of beer cans littered the floor and a TV blared away in the corner. When I came in, the man's bulbous head turned towards me, but aside from that, there was barely any indication he knew I was there.\n\n\"B... Be... Beer... Beer me.\", the man uttered.\n\nI took off my helmet, and instantly I was assailed with a most pungent odor. It smelled like wet dog in a beer factory, accented with the stench of a jockstrap that had been baking in the back seat of a hot car in the Arizona summer.\n\n\"Oh man, what the hell? Who are you? Where is Captain Awesome!?\", I said angrily. I felt like I had just been denied something that I had spent the last fifteen years preparing for.\n\nThe man shuffled a bit as a large gelatinous arm flailed to the ground grasping at a small lever that stuck out of the recliner. I approached the chair and grabbed the lever and cranked it forward which lifted the man to a normal sitting position. Captain Awesome stirred, the heavy breathing now more pronounced.\n\n\"B.. Be... Beer me!\", Captain Awesome said.\n\n\"Nah man, the last thing you need is another beer. What the hell happened to you?\", I said dismissively. \"You used to be a pinnacle of health for humans and extraterrestrials alike. Now you... you've gotten fat.\"\n\nCaptain Awesome groaned and twisted his massive frame up the back of the recliner. A few spots on his suit widened and ripped apart. The heavy breathing continued.\n\n\"Doc.. Doctor... Doctor Chaos? F-f-f-finally came t-t-to seek re-v-venge?\", Captain Awesome said in a very labored and slow voice. \"Y-y-you d-did m-mo-more to m-me than any v-vi-villan ever could. Y-y-your de-de-defeat de-destroyed m-me.\"\n\n\"What? I didn't do anything to you. I wanted you to stop attacking me so I could take over the world. You kept getting in the way. You put me in jail for crying out loud. How in the hell can you sit there and accuse me of doing this to you?\", I gestured wildly as I shouted at him. \n\n\"S-s-success i-is i-its own c-c-c-curse. S-s-so m-ma-many pe-pe-people ga-gave me end-endo-endorsements, a-an-and de-de-deals, I wa-was set u-up f-for l-life.\", Captain said, very slowly. \"T-th-this is al-all y-yo-your f-fa-fault.\"\n\n\"Wait, let me get this straight. You think... You actually think I planned to lose, so you could kill yourself slowly on endorsement deals? What about Captain Awesome, pure of virtue, totally not a sellout, ended up being another normal moron and selling out?\", I asked incredulously. \"So basically, I could have killed you a long time ago just by letting you eat your weight in cheesecakes and beer?\"\n\nThe incredibly rotund Captain nodded in affirmation.\n\n\"Oh hell no. I ain't doing this. You did this to yourself, and now that you've fallen out of the limelight, you're going to blame anyone, including me, for your failings of a human being. You know what? That's some gaslighting bullshit. I do not take responsibility for your failing as a superhero or as a human being.\"\n\n\"F-Fi-Fight m-m-me, y-you c-co-coward!\", Captain said, with about as much anger as a shaken mass of jello could muster.\n\n\"No. You want a rematch? You fix yourself. Then come find me. For fck's sake, have some self respect. I won't kill you on the field of battle, and I'm sure not going to kill you out of pity. You want a fight, then come find me.\", I was angry. Not at Captain Aweosme, but rather what Captain Awesome had become. This... thing was not the formidable opponent that destroyed me so many years ago. This was just a sad creature that minimally resembled my accomplished foe.\n\nSuddenly, the mountainous Captain Awesome roared, \"COWARD!\"\n\n\"Oh, struck a nerve have I? Well then, maybe instead of taking endorsement deals, you should have been working on yourself. Instead of lifting all this beer, you should have been lifting weights. You've let yourself go, and until you take responsibility for your actions, you're going to die there on that recliner in this dingy ass apartment. I'm done talking. Good bye.\" I was practically shouting at the end, but I was livid. I was working so hard for this moment, and in the end, I can't fight him. Not in this condition, it wouldn't be fair. \n\nI put on my helmet and walked out of the apartment. Neighbors had started poking their heads out of their doors to see what all the commotion was about, however when they saw me approach, they quickly ducked back inside and locked their doors.\n\nAt least I didn't let myself go...",
"I savour the anticipation , letting the rush of bloodlust darken my mind , the thought of sweet , sweet revenge finally coming to conclusion . I finally check my excitement , kicking the door , the loud thud music to my ears . It is rather dark , a musky smell thick in the air . My cloak sweeps the floor as my heels click loudly beneath the creaky floor-boards . The sound of television guides me to the living room , where I find him . \n\nHe's quite seedy , a beer belly prominent through his too-tight stained shirt . His face is haggard , eyes droopy and dead . The glare of the screen reflects in the dark room , scattered bottles of heavy liquor covering every inch . The sour smell of alcohol nearly hits me like a truck as I cringe at the figure before me . My scythe goes limp , disgust overwhelming me . How did Venom , sleek and agile , turn into this depressed obese alcoholic ? . My humiliating defeat at his hands is still branded into my mind , playing over and over , fueling my rage for the last fifteen years of my exile . My only purpose , my reason to live was revenge . This sight of his degraded and abused condition angered me ; what good it is to kill a dying man ? a wasted , lost soul ? . I grip my scythe , my mind blanking because of sheer , unbridled fury . \n\nHe finally turned , and saw me through those soul-less eyes . 'Vipress' he said , his voice sounding strained and grating , as if he were using it after a long time . He almost sounds pleased ; that implication makes me grit my teeth . 'Here to kill me ?' he said , tilting his head , utterly calm . I stare at him , itching to drive knives into his body , mutilating and twisting every part . But that expectant gleam in his eyes , as if craving release , as if he had been waiting for someone to end his shitty life , made me restraint myself . I would not grant him the pleasure of death . I smile , trying to hide the deep-rooted , fueled hate I felt . 'Maybe . But not so quickly ' I said , maliciously , fingering the edge of my scythe . Venom rose his brows , unbothered by the threat . 'So , how are you going to torture me ?' he asked , spinning the bottle of beer in his hand . The lack of fear boiled my blood . He seemed so resigned , so fucking done , so lifeless , death seemed so pointless . I eyed him , hissing , a tint of yellow spreading over my eyes . I saw him transfixed , mouth open . I stare at him , his mind a dark void that I jumped gleefully into . \n\n*Venom was invincible ; he had so much power . He was practically drunk on it . He toppled lightly on the roof of the high tower , tasting the victories he had scored . So sweet , so addicting . His mid-night cape blew behind him , his inky hair messy . He played with the dark lines vibrating from him , spread like spiders , coiling poisonously in strangely ethereal shapes , mesmerizing to the eye . He heard a high-pitched scream to his left . He whipped around , his eyes scanning the view below , trying to locate the trouble . He saw a large mob at the cross-section of the street , a little girl , is weeping loudly , her shoulder bleeding alarmingly . He glided down , smooth a snake , near the girl . He keeps a distance , his inky wings withdrawing into him . 'What happened here ?' he demanded of the crowd . ' There was a robbery nearby . The girl was a witness , and was calling the police , and in the haste , she got shot . The girl sobs' had ebbed into a painful whimpering , weakness taking over . Venom didn't notice , his vision scanning for the thieves . He spotted them running into a white van , at the end of the opposite street . He dashed over , giving chase . The rush felt so good , the victory euphoric as he caught the van , black lines creeping over it , crushing it , the destruction bringing a high Venom has began to crave . An hour later , the police had dragged the blackened corpses and the media had swarmed him , Venom ready to drown in their adoration . But he heard angry , accusing whispers . Realization dawned on him as he noticed the body of the little girl being carried away to the hysterical family . Venom's vision turned black , tendrils of his own suffocating him .....*\n\nI recoiled , disgust etched openly across my face . Venom looked angry , the *fucking* audacity . 'You monster' I whispered , my knuckles white . I was a supervillain , sure , but I had never craved the spotlight . I did it to see that expression of defeat on entitled assholes , the same helplessness they inflicted . Venom was breathing heavily , a black cloud forming around him .As I watched the blackness creeping out , I knew exactly how to get my revenge . I smiled a venomous smile , and let the void emerge into his head . I let it play in a loop . I saw Venom thrashing , screaming for mercy , for death . His darkness enveloped him in its poison . He wasn't dying ; that would be a mercy . He was drowning , lost in his worst nightmare , his own poison spiraling him into a never-ending loop of hell . \n\nI smiled , my vengeance complete .",
"\"Cliche Man, is that you?!\" I asked, rubbing my eyes, staring at the huge obese man with his messy beard, food-stained shirt, a couple of empty beer bottles next to the armchair where he was slumped in. \"O...M...G!! It's you! It's really you!\" Somehow, he managed to get to his feet, the armchair creaking as he propped himself up. \"Dude! Finally!\" he exclaimed, laughing a bellowing belchy laugh as he stood up and waddled toward me.\n\nI picked up a broom to fend him off. Sure, I had my laser weapons, my knives and machineguns, all sorts of lethal weapons, tucked into my personal hammerspace. But surely, a broom would be... adequate for this... confrontation? \"Back off, Cliche Man!\" I said, pushing the broom's brushy end at him, \"I don't know what you're up to, but clearly, you shouldn't be even standing up.\"\n\n\"Dude,\" he continued, \"things have been not-good since I kicked you out of the city.\" Yes, who could forget that humiliating defeat that left me scarred and burning with a desire for revenge? I thought to myself, still keeping him at bay with the broom. \"Well yes, I can see that, and I'm not even That's-Obvious Man,\" I replied, now a little curious, \"where's he anyways?\"\n\n\"That's-Obvious Man disappeared from the scene shortly after I er, defeated you,\" Cliche Man said, \"I mean, he wanted some real-world experience, wanted to be like, you know, Be-Your-Own Man. And you know, without a villain, I really couldn't be a hero.\"\n\nNo shit, Cliche Man... I thought to myself.\n\n\"So I tried to revive the supervillian scene here in the city. It didn't go well. Tried to hold superhero conventions to impart good-old-fashioned teachings of righteousness and justice. It turns out, people don't like that stuff anymore, bro.\"\n\nI raised an eyebrow. That's odd, I thought, these city people always love a show, something that neatly divides their world into nice compartments. Had I been putting up a show for them all this while?\n\n\"And then, I tried to move on...\" Cliche Man continued, stifling a burp, \"tried to get a job, but apparently, I don't have many marketable skills. Tried to go into advertising, but no one wants superheroes anymore.\" There was an edge of resentment in his voice. \"I tried everything I knew,\" he moaned, \"even tried to get into dating, hoping one of my nemeses would match with me.\"\n\nI suppressed a snicker.\n\n\"Help me... You're my only hope, bro!\" He lurched forward, managing a few steps before falling to his knees, stumbling and knocking over a stack of empty order-in food packages as he went down while hurling up, emptying the contents of his stomach into a bucket.\n\n\"There, there...\" I said, using the broom to brush his back, not really wanting to get near him in his state.\n\nDeep down, I knew that the epic fight that I secretly hoped for, would not happen tonight. Nor would it happen anytime in the foreseeable future. The city had no further need to see its justice painted in black and white, and anyways, I, Trope Lord, was the only thing that Cliche Man had going for him. I pondered for a few moments. Surely, I could revive our rivalry? Surely, I could, one day, experience the thrill of battle and revenge that I sought? These thoughts swirled through my mind, and vanished faster than the roaches that I swatted with the broom on my way out.\n\nI left him, heading back to my evil lair. I think I'll need a good drink after all that..."
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