Split (1)

train · 199k rows

post_text stringlengths 0 17.5k	post_title stringlengths 8 314	comment_texts listlengths 1 74	num_stories int64 1 74
	[WP] You accidentally combined your two favorite pets DNA	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The door was barricaded when I came home. I should have taken the hint. After charging my way inside, I was horrified at the crime scene that was once my living room. Destroyed furniture, scratch and bite marks on the walls and floor, and so much blood. I should have just booked it back out the front door, but then I heard groaning.\n\n\"Michael\"\n\nCaution could go fuck itself. I was not leaving my boyfriend to die! I cautiously made my way through my nightmare of a house, ready to deck it out with whatever animal made its way inside. Then I found them in my room; Michael looked like he was put through a blender full of glass and teeth, but I was more concerned with the thing on his lap. It was both terrifying yet adorable and kinda familiar looking, but deja vu aside, Michael was the priority. A grabbed the emergency bat from under the bed and was ready to hit a home run when Michael regained concusses.\n\n\"Wait! Wait! Wait! Don't!\" whispered Michael. I paused for a bit too long. The beast woke up and jumped as soon as it saw me. I closed my eyes and was ready for the worst. Then I heard purring, and it started licking me. I would have been thrown for a loop if I wasn't so concerned with Michael. \n\nAfter a few hours and a crap ton of bandages, he finally explained that the beast was ours.\n\n\"I was working on a chemical that could fuse things together,\" said Michael, \"when your dog knocked it and my cat over, covering the two in the chemical and fusing them together.\"\n\n\"But what happened to my house?\" I asked.\n\n\"A stray cat came in through a window,\" said Michael, \"Turns out cogs are very territorial. Damn near killed me trying to kill the cat.\"\n\nSo, we own a cog now. Cool!" ]	2
	[WP] You meet a traveling merchant who claims to be offering the best treasure of all. The treasure? The power of friendship.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\\[Cheap Friend\\]\n\n\"Oh good, I can restock,\" Joyce crossed paths with the merchant and decided to take advantage of the coincidence. Her other option was returning to town to unload and restock and the wasted time would limit her dungeon runs. The merchant was a pale, rainbow-haired teen in a crisp white blazer. The \\[Merchant\\] tag floated over her head and made her easy to identify even if her wares weren't obvious.\r \n \r \n\"Hello, Merchant,\" Joyce smiled at the teen. She stopped and returned the smile. \"Are you available to trade?\" Joyce asked. The teen nodded.\r \n \r \n\"Always. How may I help you?\" she asked.\r \n \r \n\"I'd like to sell my junk and restock a few healing items,\" she said. As Joyce answered, the two exchanged their nodes. Joyce looked at the list of items on the node and quickly identified the potions and charms she wanted to restock. She tapped on her choices to highlight them, then browsed the list to see if anything else caught her interest. Then, she saw \\[Friendship\\] on the list. Though, unlike the rest of the items, it had no price next to it. Instead, it had two categories. \"Monthly\" and \"Lifetime\".\r \n \r \n\"What's Friendship?\" she asked. The teen smirked at her.\r \n \r \n\"The power of Friendship,\" the merchant grinned. \"If you buy that, I'll be your friend. For a month at a time, or a lifetime,\" she said. \"Your lifetime,\" she added.\r \n \r \n\"Okay...,\" Joyce nodded. Merchants were known for being eccentric and often selling anything they could get someone to buy. \"...so, why do I want you as a friend?\" The teen winked at Joyce.\r \n \r \n\"Friends get 30% discounts at my shop,\" she said. \"And, If I'm your friend, all my friends are your friend too. I have some very powerful friends.\"\r \n \r \n\"Ohh...,\" Joyce nodded in understanding. \"So, it's like a discount club type thing? How much is the monthly fee?\" she asked.\r \n \r \n\"One billion,\" the teen said. Joyce's eyes opened wide in shock.\r \n \r \n\"One billion nanos? A month? Are you serious???\" The merchant nodded.\r \n \r \n\"Well, obviously the goal is to sell you the lifetime plan,\" she giggled. \"But, considering Sharp Development would be one of your friends, the monthly plan is still a solid value.\"\r \n \r \n\"Sharp Development?\" Joyce asked. The corporation essentially ran the multiverse. Getting 'friendly discounts' on Sharp Development products meant she would literally be getting a discount on everything. Anything she could imagine from a fast-food franchise to medical care and banking services were provided by the company. Not to mention grocery stores and even municipal utilities. That alone was definitely worth the monthly asking price. But, it was also ridiculous to not take the lifetime plan. Joyce assumed it was cheaper, or at least easier to manage.\r \n \r \n\"So, how much for the lifetime plan?\" she asked.\r \n \r \n\"Technically, it won't even cost you a nano,\" the merchant grinned. \"Joining the lifetime plan is more of a commitment than a simple payment.\"\r \n \r \n\"Oh,\" Joyce nodded. \"I get it. So I'm your 'friend' too?\" she said. She imagined a pretty simple loophole. All she had to do was not sell anyone anything and she didn't have to give discounts to anyone. Which, was easy; she wasn't a merchant.\r \n \r \n\"Something like that,\" the teen nodded. She pulled a red, translucent clipboard out of thin air. It was already loaded with a form and she presented it to Joyce. \"You commit by signing your soul over to Sharp Development,\" she said.\r \n \r \n\"My... soul?\" Joyce asked. She was more surprised than she should have been. In the back of her mind, she was aware that Sharp Development traded in souls. The fact was never hidden but easily ignored. \"Does that mean I go to Hell when I die?\"\r \n \r \n\"Only in a very technical sense,\" the merchant replied. \"It's called 'Hell' but it's nothing like you've heard. Sharp Development has created its own Afterlife, including its own version of Hell. It's not the torturous sulfur and brimstone that you're probably thinking of. And it's not for all eternity.\"\r \n \r \n\"So.. why do I have to go at all?\" Joyce asked. \"If Sharp Development created an Afterlife, why did they set it up like that?\" It was a genuine question. The company she was familiar with was extremely humanitarian. They did unbelievable charity work and always made sure their products were top quality, their prices were low, and their employees were happy. They didn't seem like a company that would willingly send their customers to Hell.\r \n \r \n\"Even though Ms. Sharp created her own Afterlife, there are still rules that determine what qualifies as an 'Afterlife'. She had to make some concessions in her design.\"\r \n \r \n\"Oh...,\" Joyce nodded. \"That makes sense.\" It made enough sense for her to let the topic go. She didn't feel the need to press further about whose rules those were. She signed her name on the form and gave Sharp Development ownership of her soul. The company was a constant, reliable presence as she grew up. She regarded it like a trusted parent and this was no different. \"I'm in,\" she returned the clipboard with a smile.\r \n \r \n\"Thanks!\" the teen said. She accepted the clipboard and her own node as she returned Joyce's node to her. \"My name's Monday, by the way,\" she added.\r \n \r \n\"I'm Joyce,\" she introduced herself too. \"Wait,\" she checked her new balance after Monday bought her junk items. It hadn't gone up nearly as much as she expected.\r \n \r \n\"You didn't buy all my junk?\" she asked. She scrolled through the list but did not see any junk tags.\r \n \r \n\"No, I did,\" Monday nodded. Her smirk grew into a wide grin. \"We're friends now,\" she said. \"I got a discount.\"\n\n\r \n\\\\\\* \nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1700 in a row. (Story #254 in year five.). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place at a high school in my universe. It began on August 22nd and I will be adding to it with prompts every day until May 26th. They are all collected in order at [this link](https://www.reddit.com/r/Hugoverse/comments/wtglls/tokuhigh_alternet_class/)." ]	2
	[WP] You’re this close to becoming the newest Supervillain on the block. All that’s left is crafting a backstory.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“The Reddened Savior” or “Judgement Finale” played by Jeff Bridges. He was once a cop, where he tried his best to be like Sir Supreme, he was a purity among the hell fire of corrupt cops who looked the other way. Eventually the crime boss “Ultima Muertos” heard of the daimond in the rough and tried to bribe him, didn’t work so then he killed his family as they called for sir supreme to save them. Grief stricken he started researching and there it was, he found the answer and it was the pronini mob, who developed a synthetic formula to be like sir supreme, so still being a cop he raided them but stole the formula for himself, as he took it he felt the power to do good. So over the coming months he painted the mobs walls red and was not a fighter of aliens but something much closer and possible more dangerous, street crime. But alas sir supreme had to go fight him since he was a government contracted hero, and he got absolutely bodied, it took half the S.H.I.T. (Super Hero Independent Taskforce) to take him down and put him in jail." ]	2
	[WP] "I was hurt badly and stumbled into the emergency room...I had transformed into my true form...the humans fled in terror...except one. True to his training...he tended my wounds and saved my life. And that's how I met your father."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "#####It's true, here's how it happened\n___\n\n\"So there I was just doing my thing at the hospital. It wasn't even the one I work at because, you know, it's kind of awkward to tell your coworkers you have an \\*ahem\\* anyway, I was there for a normal checkup right of course. And there was all this screaming from the hallway all of a sudden. So being a nurse, I was thinking what the fuck is going on? There's not this much screaming even when there's a god damn shoot out, and I've seen one believe me. The things you see at a trauma ward. Anyway, all this screaming right? So I step out and see this god awful ug- \\*ahem\\* I mean god awfully beautiful creature clawing its way down the hall. Definitely the most beautiful thing I've ever seen right of course. Horns like a... what are those things called? You know, the things that lure people into the sea and eat them? No of course I'm not suggesting you eat people, honey. I'm just saying your beautiful. Right. So back to the thing clawing it's way down the hall. Everyone was running because they had no idea what they hell they're looking at and they're scared out of their minds. Being the brave and very gallant nurse that I am, I use my super keen powers of perception and saw that she was bleeding all over the floor. And I recalled the Hippocratic Oath that all health professions swear upon to treat any creature within their power. I approached her slowly and shouted 'Are you hurt miss?' and she nodded, pointing to the gaping wound on the side. I helped her onto a gurney and wheeled her to the OR where I completed surgery on her all by myself. And successfully I might add. I was so tired after that I fell asleep on the spot, still in the OR. When I woke up, the most charming lady I had ever seen was snuggled up next to me on the floor. And that's how I met your mother.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExtra \n\"True story, all of it. Every detail. Your mother was crying tears of joy for being saved, and a lesser man would've been sooo confused and scared out of his mind seeing a mon- \\*ahem\\* non-human creature take the shape of a naked woman, but not your father.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\n[Alternate story](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/xbvzks/comment/io7xj9g/) where he introduces his non-human fiancée to his parents. [(Alt. link on subreddit)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Unexpected_Works/comments/xcz4n3/cont2_wp_i_was_hurt_badly_and_stumbled_into_the/)\n\n&nbsp;\n___\nA/N - just a short one\n\n/r/Unexpected_Works", "'Stupid... so stupid. I had been warned she was protective of her territory, I should never have challenged her...'\n\nLost in my thoughts, I failed to control my descent towards the hospital, my left wing was simply too damaged and the buildings entrance shattered as my body larger than any ambulance sent the doors flying and further debris in all directions.\n\nMy golden scales protected me from further physical damage but my pride... not so much. My beauty, even scathed and obstructed by the clouds of dust was nothing to these creatures, they saw what they believe is a fire breathing creature and ran.\n\nI could barely lift my head, I was losing too much blood but as I finally managed to shrink myself down in an attempt to return to human form, yet it was too much. The corridors were empty, no one remained, I started to give up. It was too much stregnth. I was human sized but my body remained scaled and all I could think was how much I felt like a vulnerable whelp for the first time in centuries.\n\nThen there it was. A touch so gentle it could only come with true emapthy. Despite my vulnerable state I managed to turn my head and see him. Gauze in hand, he raised a open hand, he said something, but my ears were ringing. Yet those lips were as delicate in motion as his touch, as they moved to form calming words, I knew I could trust this one.\n\nI rolled onto my side as best I could without crushing my one still mostly intact wing. Exposing the huge gash of exposed flesh inbetween the many dislodged and missing scales. I looked to him as he stared for just a moment in disbelief then his hands got to work.\n\nMy eyes shut, my vision faded. I couldn't cling to consciousness any longer...\n____________\n\nWhen I woke. It was to the sounds of a ward. By my side was the man. He was sat, watching the TV. The usually mundane news reporting on a gas leak and explosion leading to mass hallucinations. I tried to stretch my wings only to find I was back in my human form. I tried to speak but after a dry throat lead me to cough I looked over and reached for a nearby glass of water.\n\nImmediately he turned to look to me and my reaching arm and handed me the water swiftly but delicately. As I took it he spoke.\n\n\"Sorry, I decreased your IV fluids, I wasn't sure if it was good or bad for... your kind.\"\n\nAs he said that I paused and looked to him, then the TV and my mind started to process everything. I looked around, no one was staring, people rushing about too busy or too exhausted in their beds with little in between.\n\n\"You... no one...?\"\n\nHe shook his head and replied kindly.\n\n\"Only me. I don't know if you have some sort of magic or just luck but... no pictures, videos, and well, there was so much chaos nobody... well, Nobody but me saw enough to come up with anything believable.\"\n\nI paused. I had been told by my mother so long ago that a dragons luck never runs out until it is their day to die. Apprently that was not this day as I had thought. Now no longer quite so parched, having sipped the water during his explanation, finally found myself able to form more words.\n\n\"No... magic... but you?\"\n\nThis time it was his turn to pause. He didn't seem to know himself entirely, but he managed to get out.\n\n\"I have a duty of care. To all.\"\n\nHe gently placed a hand on mine, in it was one of my scales, still blood stained. Proof of my existence in the palm of his hand, yet hidden from view even now. With only genuine kindness, he simply smiled down at me.\n\nI squeezed back. It seemed my good fortune had only just begun.", "I stumpled into the room, unable to hold my form. The fae council will have my head for this but I'd rather take my chances. At first, no one notices the towering basalisk in the emergency veterinarian clinic. The animals were the first to notice, and every single one without exception cowered and tried to run or hide. This was followed shortly by human screams.\n\nI kept my gaze lowered. My vision was safe unless i decided otherwise but i didn't want to see their faces. I had seen it before, before the council showed me the maggic to be accepted. The spell holding me in a human shape collapsed the moment i was shot in the side. The would be mugger is stone now, and my clothes were torn apart. At least only my spit is acidic and not my blood, or my insurace card would've been lost.\n\nI shock myself with the inanity of my thoughts before i collapse in the middle of the room. I was going to die, and humans would know about our kind. This was a terrible idea, I was going to die. My vision was starting to go black when a shillouette approached. \"GSW, major blood loss. Don't just stand there, get the damn gurney!\" The voice was male.The figure took off their coat and pressed it against my wound, \"It'll be alright, hold on.\" He whispered. I saw gentle eyes, and a rather sharp nose before my vision faded to black.\n\nWhen i awoke, the first thing I did was activate a healing spell, only for my head to nearly burst, mana was still depleted. It would take a few days and a healthy feast before i was back to peak performance. At least basalisk's heal fast. Then I remember that my Transformation spell was down. With no mana the first person that walked in would know- Then a vet walked in, the dog lapel telling me where i was. He kept hs eyes on the clipboard as i just stared mutely at him. \"Miss Krates?\" He asked, I swalloed nervously, \"Yes?\" The doctor took a deep breath and sat down in one of the visitor seats. \n\n\"I hope you don't mind, but i need a minute.\" I just nod, resonable enough. So we sat in silence. I was on the floor, but there seemed to be some sort of cusioning with a sterile sheet covering it beneath me. There was a pitche of water, which i immediately downed. The pain when i moved my tail informing me of the damage done. When i lowered the pitcher I found the vet staring at me. \"Umm...\" He just shook his head, \"Sorry, it's just...\" He seemed to trail off before laughing, \"God you're incredible.\" Ehh?\n\n\"Really?\" I asked. He just laughed again, \"Well, i just got out of a meeting with a Kobold and a Dryad, both proxies for this Fae council. I was just thrust into a new world and was asked if I would open a Fae hospital.\" He just shook his head again in disbeleif. \"Not only are you the most incredible creature I've ever seen, you just landed me the biggest promotion of my life!\" \n\nI blushed, \"Well, you're welco-\" The words barely leave my mouth when i finally recognize him, \"Oh my god! I'm sorry, I haven't even thanked you I-\" \"We're even.\" He says, waving his hand as if my life debt was just erased. \"No, we're not I owe-\" \"The fee for my services, which will be substantial don't get me wrong.\" He stood up, \"That bullet missed your heart by 2mm, nicked an artery as it was. I was informed of your regenative capabilities so you'll probably need 2 weeks of rest before you're fit to leave.\"\n\nI sputtered, \"You saved my life! I need to repay you.\" He looked at me, and gave me a beaming smile, \"Considering that you just promoted me to lead the newest Fae hospital, not only getting me out of this backwater emergency clinic but as a lead no less, AND it's not just mundane cats and dogs with the occasional cow thrown in but actual fucking dragons and shit?\" He chuckled, \"You, my dear, owe nothing but money.\"\n\nI ponder that, it was a lot but it still didn't sit right with me. Sure, some could argue that i did give him that, but it was just as likely i could've been killed and his memory wiped. \"Please,\" I said, \"I know you don't think i owe you anything but i do. I don't want to live with that, if that's alright.\" I silently curse myself for how pathetic that sounds. The vet ponders this a bit, before smiling. \"Tell you what, once you're good to go out in public again, how about you and me go out to dinner?\" He suggests. I frown, \"You want a date... with a giant snake?\" The vet rolls his eyes, \"Well, you'll be a human at that point.\" A lavicious grin appeared on his face, \"But i'm sure things will get, more interesting once we're alone. So rest up!\" And with tht, he leaves the room. Letting me quietly confront a host of confusion, attraction and WTF just happened?", "I\n\n\"...mommy?\"\n\n\"Yes, Jeb.\"\n\n\"Is that true form thing the same as what happened when...\"\n\nThe boy halted, appeared to tear up, and his breath started hitching mildly. His mother watched him, silently. He was only 4. These were big things. \n\nHe continued. \n\n\"Is it the same as what happened to me when the big dog was growling at Archie?\"\n\n\"Yes, son, she replied, looking down at her lap. \"Not precisely the same, but the same...process. the same kind of thing. Do you understand?\"\n\nJebediah Coltrane Smith did not understand, not really. But he nodded yes anyhow. His head was beginning to hurt and he was afraid. Talking about it made him afraid so he didn't want to talk about it anymore.\n\n\"Will it happen again mommy?\"\n\nDespite her desire to keep her eyes glued to the hands in her lap, she looked up. Met his intense, innocent face directly. \n\n\"Probably, son. Almost certainly. It will happen when you are in danger or when those you love are in danger. I hope that you have very few of those moments in your life, son. But it seems like there's always some no matter how careful we are.\n\n\"Did it happen to you again? After the time when you met daddy?\"\n\nShe sighed, now. What was she thinking, discussing this with a child so young?\n\n\"Thaaaat's going to be a story for when you're older bub. For now, just try to keep calm in scary situations. That's the only way I'm ever able to control it.\"\n\nHe nodded again, not in several motions but in one large head jerk. \n\n\"And now, dear Jebediah, it is bedtime.\"\n\n\nII\n\n\n\n\"...Jeb Jesus Christ SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!!!\" She yelled after him down the empty 2am sidewalk.\n\n\"Leave me alone! It's nothing! Just fuck off Christine I'm fine!\" \n\nHis voice was deeper, distorted somehow. As if being passed through a filter. \n\n\"Are you fucking kidding me? You can't say that was nothing!\n\nNot responding 14 year old Jeb walks away faster. \n\n\"You had wings, Jeb! YOU HAD FUCKING WINGS! \n\nAnd suddenly, he is in front of her. Inches from her face. \n\n\"No, I didn't, Christine. I didn't. You know I didn't. And you know what happens to liars, don't you? \n\nHis eyes were fully black. His hair had somehow become almost a plate of armor on his head. His voice had that same deepened quality, seemingly many voices blended to one. And he was surrounded by some sort of swarming tiny objects. They did not seem to be insects because they made no noise as they moved about, had no visible wings. And when they swarmed they came together like liquid metal, or like water. \n\nAlso, he was slightly levetating. \n\nHe stared. She swallowed. \n\n\"I won't tell. Ok? Ok Jeb. Our secret.\" \n\nShe made a gesture of zipping her lips, locking, and tossing the key. \n\nJebs eyes began to return to normal, the whites rapidly clearing. His feet hit the concrete. He blinked. His other features had returned completely to normal. Suddenly, he looked terrified, embarrassed, vulnerable. \n\n\"You really won't tell?\" He asked.\n\n\"I really won't ' she said. \n\n\"Why not?\"\n\n\"Well...you might eat me!\"\n\n\"Oh! No I won't, or I wouldn't it doesn't work...\"\n\nShe was laughing now. \n\n\"It's really because I'm way more curious than scared. And...\"\n\n\"...and?\"\n\n\"And you're kinda cute.\"\n\nHe looked over to see if she was blushing but the orange sodium streetlight made it impossible to tell. \n\n\"Funny,' said Jeb. \"That's pretty much exactly what my dad said to my mom. When they first met. \n\nHis hand brushed against hers as they walked, and she took a deep breath and grabbed on to it on the next pass. He started a bit, but happily took it and entwined his fingers in hers. \n\n\"Is you mom the same as...as that? As you?\"\n\n\"Pretty much. But, hey, another time, ok?\"\n\n\"Can I meet her?\"\n\n\"She won't want to discuss...this...with you. She will barely talk to me about it.\"\n\n\"But WHY!?! It seems like this is pretty fucking important!\"\n\nHe brought her to a halt, and came around to stand in front of her. \n\n\"You ask too many questions. Maybe Ive changed my mind, maybe I will eat you.\" Said Jeb. But he smiled deviously as he said it.\n\nChristine opened her mouth to respond and found it met with a kiss. And for a while, all questions were truly forgotten. \n\nIII\n\n\n(On the phone)\n\n\"They're all over your house. I don't think I've ever seen this many cops in my life. Not just the local guys either. State Police and I think I see a few black FBI vans. What did you do? What did you do Jeb? \n\nSilence\n\n\"Are you there?\"\n\n\"We didn't have a choice. There are these. These men. These horrible men. They have a cult. They know about Us. They hunt us. They try to capture us. To use in their rituals and shit like that. Harvest our blood. Or, just kill us.\"\n\n\"They think we're demons.\"\n\n\"Well, I mean, are you?\"\n\nMore silence.\n\n\"Jeb?\"\n\n\"I don't know what we are,\" he whispered, sounding mournful. \n\"But I know we aren't what they think we are. I know that. Anyway. The whole group of them came to the house. Armed. They killed my dad. They grabbed my brother, threw him in a van. They were not really interested in capturing my mom or I, they were just trying to kill us. So we killed them. All of them.\n\nNow it was Christine's turn to be silent. \n\n\"I'll have to throw away this phone, but I'll call you from ..where we end up?\"\n\n\"Where will you go?\"\n\n\"Not sure yet and better not to say anyway. It's happened before. We're hunted, Christine. Probably, well figure out where they have Archie and get him out of there, them split for the hills.\"\n\n\"Will I ever see you again?\"\n\nAs she asked, she realized how mixed her feelings were about the answer. \n\n\"Unless I die rescuing my brother, you will. Someday. When this all cools down. \n\nDespite her fear, she found herself strangely relieved. \n\n\"Hide well, my cute, tragic little demon boy.\" \n\nHe hung up, but before he did she heard him chuckle.", "It's not often that a Rage Spirit gets badly wounded. But I had been hunted for weeks by the Van Helsing Society, and they had scored some hits with inherited silver.\n\nMy mask shimmered as I stumbled into the A&E, the buzzing sounds of electricity seared through me, and my bloodstained form finally gave up as the world turned to grey. There was screaming as I plummeted to the floor, blood-caked.\n\n/ / / / / /\n\nDr. Haven was already run ragged that day, with a lost of patients that resembled The 12 Days of Christmas. His social life had plummeted since the promotion, and he hadn't been on a date in months.\n\nAs he was finishing the notes for the boy who has a mild chest infection, he heard a series of muffled sounds. He sighed, closed the file and saved it, as he stood up.\n\nLast one today, he thought to himself, as the muffled sounds resolved into screams. He hit the exit button and pushed the door open to a madman tableau.\n\nDr. Haven felt more than saw something that was wrong, before it resolved itself in his tired brain.\n\nIn the middle of the floor lay something straight out of a nightmare. Curled into the foetal position, was a monster, with wicked blades for claws, a distended leg setup and what appeared to be a goat skull on top of its face like a muzzle. The arms were elongated to the point of an ape's, and the torso and arms were caked in dried blood. Haven's face darkened, and he called out for one of the nurses to help him.\n\n\"Oh, for God's sake, Jason, help me get this one up and through, Alice and Sav can deal with the other patients.\" Haven and Jason grunted as they lifted the unconscious thing - it was much lighter than either of them expected. Jason pulled out his badge and scanned it to open the door.\n\nThe other patients in the A&E stared at what had just happened.", "I had just finished suturing a nasty wound when I leaned against the wall to take a breather. Tonight had been a tough one, I hadn't even gotten the chance to rest in hours. I wiped my brow and took what felt like the first deep breath since I got up this morning, when a cacophony of bloodcurdling screams sounded off from the waiting room.\n\nThe sight that I came upon was straight out of a nightmare. I saw the back end of one of the nurses scrambling out the front door, and lying at the center of a room was...something.\n\nIt was a figure, a figure of a woman, with deep indigo skin. There was a wound on her stomach that was gushing a black, oily blood, but I could hardly focus on it when I saw her face. Or, what would have been her face. Where there should have been a head resting on her neck was instead a swirling vortex of void. It cast deep blue light all around her, seeming to swirl downward into her torso.\n\nMy fight or flight instincts kicked in. What common sense I had left me, and I rushed back into the corridor and grabbed as much gauze as I possibly could hold in my arms. I quickly returned to the waiting room and dropped to my knees next to the wounded patient. I then piled gauze onto her wound, applying firm pressure to stop the bleeding. When I pressed into her, the vortex let out a soft groan and I paused.\n\n\"H-hey, I'm not sure if you can hear me,\" I said. \"But you're bleeding. I'm going to move your arm to your stomach, just hold this cloth here as firmly as you can, okay?\"\n\nShe didn't respond, but her arm held the gauze to her wound tightly. As the material was soaked, I added more on, keeping the pressure tight. After a few moments that were all too long, The bleeding seemed to stop. I exhaled deeply and looked around the room. There was no one to help me get her to a gurney, and I didn't want to leave her side.\n\nAs I pondered what to do next, the figure stirred. Slowly, she angled her, er, vortex, in my direction, and asked, \"wh-where am I?\"\n\n\"You're in the emergency room,\" I told her. \"You had a pretty nasty wound on your stomach.\"\n\nShe angled her head downwards, looking at her torso. She then did a double take and looked again.\n\n\"I'm...\" she angled the vortex back to me. \"My glimmer! Its...You can see me.\"\n\n\"Y-yes, I can see you.\"\n\n\"But, you didn't run?\" she asks. \"Most people run.\"\n\n\"Well, most people did run,\" I say. \"But, I'm a doctor, at an emergency clinic no less. I once had to help sedate a patient while he was trying to stab me with a screwdriver. There aren't a lot of things that unsettle me anymore.\"\n\nThe figure propped themselves up by their elbows and leaned towards me. She winced slightly, but brought a free hand to my shoulder. She gave it a firm grasp and said, quietly, \"thank you.\"" ]	7
	[WP] You just found a monster in your closet. The good news? they're practically harmless. The bad news? you have to keep it hidden from your child, as they're horrified of them.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I knew I shouldn't have let my son watch that horror movie tonight. So I figured that it wouldn't be so bad for him to learn a thing or two about scary movies. Until I am in the presence of a living, breathing yokai called Tofu-Kozo, small little servants who deliver tofu and sake. They are timid creatures.\n\nMy kid watched this horror movie about a ghost child, and now he's terrified of Tofu-Kozo in his closet. Tofu won't even leave the closet because he's also scared. I tried explaining to my son that tofu is a harmless creature. That tofu gives out… well, tofu! My son made a disgusted face. He didn't want to try it. I can't tell him about the free sake, as he's too young for that.\n\nThis is a rare chance, and my son is ruining it. All I want to do is to talk to the little guy for free booze or maybe display him out for the world to see and charge admission! If only I could get my son and tofu not to be scared of each other, I'd get my ticket to fame and success!\n\nTo succeed, I hatch a plan to kidnap Tofu-Kozo and hide him in my closet. I called the old ex-wife and asked her if she'd take him for a little. Thankfully she agreed, with a bit of suspicion. Though I love hanging with my son as much as possible, I couldn't pass this opportunity up. Anxiously, I count the days till she arrives to pick him up.\n\nI gave her a little money to spend while they were out together. After she left, I waited ten minutes and grabbed an old rice bag I had bought from the international market. It was more substantial than my garbage bags and still the perfect size. I entered my son's room, holding the bag open with both hands. My foot kicked the door open. I went down on my knees and threw my hands over him. \n\nHe's in my bag, and he's heavy! I'm talking back-breaking, and his panicking doesn't help. I try to carry him on my back, but he's kicking and screaming. So finally, I settled with holding the bag away from me as if I had picked up a dog turd in a Walmart sack. After putting him in my closet, I slammed the door shut and locked it. My son comes home.\n\n\"I got rid of the monster!\" I say.\n\n\"Thank you so much, Dad.\" He's all sugared up. His mom told me he got to drink four and a half cokes. I thank her anyways, and my son runs to his room. I was irritated at my wife for giving him too many sweets, but I decided to wash it down with some sake and tofu. In my room, I opened my closet and found it empty. Then my son yells,\n\n\"Dad! He's backkk.\"" ]	2
	[WP] A crime writer wakes up to find the murderer of his latest novel sitting at the foot of his bed.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I sense a presence even before I open my eyes. I sit up from my bed slowly, my eyes blinking back sleep. My room is pretty dark, but my eyes quickly adjust as I become fully aware of the man sitting at the end of my bed. He is dressed in a trench coat and fedora. I quickly turn on the bedside lamp and scramble for my cell phone.\n\n\"Don't be scared,\" a deep voice says.\n\nMy heart racing, my brain still sleep fuddled, I stare at the man. I blink disbelievingly a few times. \"No,\" my brain is clamoring, \"that's impossible.\" I recognize the strange man, after all I had just finished writing about his murder spree in my latest crime novel. I had planned on continuing with his arrest in the novel I was currently working on.\n\n\"John??\" I say in disbelief. The man nods his head slowly. \"That's preposterous! You don't exist in reality, only in my mind!\"\n\nJohn looks at me and smiles. \"I do exist in reality - my reality. That you have been privvy to my thoughts and actions is what bring me here. I found a way to cross into your reality to tell you - stop writing about my life, or else!\"\n\n\"You see,\" he continues, \"because of you I almost got caught. I had perfected the art of murder and the cops were clueless, then a book pops up on Amazon one day. Now it is pretty obscure and has maybe 20 downloads, but those 20 downloads were enough to tip off the FBI and make my life a living hell.\"\n\nI stare at him in shock. I pinch myself to make sure that I am not still dreaming. This is totally and completely unbelievable. There has to be some kind of trick. Maybe someone is playing an elaborate joke on me.\n\n\"Really,\" I say calmly. \"You come from another reality to threaten me but I haven't done anything to you. You say that my writing is bringing the police to your door, however, you found a way to make your way here. Let me ask you something. Do you remember what set you on your path of murder?\"\n\nHe looks at me in shock. \"You are aware that I am a murderer. You have the audacity to question me?\"\n\n\"I am aware of exactly WHY you murder, too. I am after all, your creator.\" I reply evenly. \"So tell me, John, what starts you on your life of crime?\"\n\nHe laughs and says, \"Well, this writer just couldn't resist challenging me at our last poker game...\" He pulls off his hat and opens his coat. \"Just kidding!\"", "“We need to talk Charlie” I stared at the women in violet, still unable to tell if her visage was a result of my groggy state or something more sinister. The suite was finally dark, save for the lone street lamp outside meekly shining in through the row of open windows to the left. Not two hours prior, Bourbon Street below was packed with its fair share of a NOLA mix of revelry and debauchery that still captivated me. Growing up and a small Rhode Island suburb, the vibes from the city would never be totally normal for me, regardless of how long I stayed. As my head started to clear I could tell it wasn’t a dream and a women really was sitting at the foot of my bed. She had a serious face and jet black hair styles in a pixie cut. She wouldn’t have looked out of place at one of the more exclusive locals Downtown with her silk dress, but she was young. Perhaps even young enough to have been enjoying the nightlife below. I wondered at first if this women had simply stumbled into my hotel suite by mistake. After accidents happen. She knows my name though I thought, surely that can’t be a coincidence. I rolled out of bed and started stumbling around for my shorts and shirt. \n\n“We can talk, let’s start with questions…namely who are you and how did you get in here.” I was able to find an T-shirt from the day before and throw it on. The women stood up and started walking toward me. “You know I can pick a lock Charlie” she spoke with a sweet drawl, but she didn’t sound like a local in the slightest. The women in violet smiled and placed her hand on my chest to push me down into my desk chair. Leaning over my shoulder she spoke soft and spun me around to face my notebook “ you can do better Charlie…don’t skimp out on me. You may very well keep this spotlight forever, prove all those mean other boys wrong, but this is will be my only shot.” I was at a loss at this point. It was clear this women knew who I was, at least to some extent. She knew I was Charles Piper and she knew I had written a number of popular fiction books, seemingly referring to my Home is Hell series of crime and mystery novels. I tried to stand up “look if you are a fan I really appreciate the support but you can’t just break into my hotel room and” she say me back down in my chair. “Your hotel room? Charlie the publishers sent you to this city for inspiration…let the city help.” She sat down on the corner of the desk and again placed her hand in my chest. “You don’t want people to forget about me do you Charlie?” She finished her query with a slight tilt to her head that sent both a slight chill and a spark of realization through Charlie. He cleared his throat and said “I don’t believe it would be possible to forget you Ms. Harmon”. The women smiled and nodded. I couldn’t believe it but this person is or believes she is Valarie Harmon, the aristocratic arsonist and main antagonist of his newest HiH novel. I’d have stopped to have more pride in my deductive prowess, but the reality that I was alone in a room right now with either a fictional character come to life or a women who believes herself to be an arsonist from a currently unreleased book set in. My publicist had said as we walked along the waterfront last night that the city has its own special brand of energy and she was right, so much so that I couldn’t be certain either way if my visitor had come from street below or someplace beyond that. I looked at Valarie and asked “how do you want to be remembered?” She looked out the window to a nearly empty street below “like a bright ball of flame Charlie, a tiny sun exploding across the city that the whole universe can see with just the naked eye I want everyone to remember who I am and what I’ve done no matter who comes after” she laughed and spun around stopping suddenly to look deep into my soul. I responded “why are you worried about people knowing you Ms. Harmon. Given what you’ve done I mean” \n\n“Because nobody ever saw us Charlie, not until after…it was always about somebody before or someone next. We never felt seen in the moment. You can see the sun from everywhere Charlie!” She started to cackle again when her entire body exploded into a red hot ball of orange and yellow flames. Scorching my face I could see the heat waves radiating from her place. A bright white flash of light later and I thought for sure my life was over, until I woke up sitting at my desk. The sun started has just started to rise over the balconies on Bourbon street. “Okay Ms. Harmon, bright as the sun.” I murmured while opening up my notebook on the desk. “A dramatic villain needs a dramatic end”. I reached for the pen from behind my ear and started to jot down some notes for what would be my final chapter." ]	3
	[WP] Mages are warned against summoning demons as familiars due to their tendency to seduce mages to evil. Nobody knew that it also worked the other way around. Today you woke up to your demon familiar freaking out because they suddenly have a halo and white feathers growing on their wings.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The screech startled me awake; and half the village, I suspected. It took a moment for my half-asleep brain to interpret, but I soon recognized that unholy scream. My familiar!\n\nI bolted from my bed, making haste to my study, where the imp preferred to sleep. Surely, it could not have been a burglar or some other thief of the night; then it would be the screams of Men, and not of hellish yowling. It could've been those of the Mage's Guild, discovering my familiar for what he really was. Then again, I doubted they would take such extreme measures against me, even if that were the case.\n\nI burst open the door, and quickly scan for my devil friend. I see him, in his bed; of loose pages and parchments, gathered into a sort of nest. Seeing me, his screech stops for a moment, before a howling bawl erupts.\n\n\"What is happening? Why change? No change! Bad change!\"\n\nIndeed, my impish partner has taken on a few characteristics that shock me. He is his same self, mostly; of cloven feet, and terrible maw, with small horns protruding from his head. But, floating above the horns, where there was nothing before, was now a red ring of light, glowing softly. Additionally, where there had been the wings of a bat upon his back, now lay wings more akin to a bird; black raven's wings, with white dove's feathers interspersed between the midnight black. In the soft glow, I noted another change; while maw and terrible tooth remained, the face of my familiar took on a softer, rounder tone, and the sharp teeth had straightened.\n\nI had a hundred different questions, but I started with the most important ones.\n\n\"Are you hurt? Is there any pain?\"\n\nThe imp sniffled, motioning to the mouth and wings.\n\n\"Small pain. Dull aches, now.\"\n\nI knelt down to level with the imp, producing a dried leaf. \"Chew on this, it will help ease the pain.\" He did as instructed, and I continued my questioning. \"Did it hurt a lot? Is that why you yelled so loudly?\"\n\nThe imp simply nodded, and continued to chew on the leaf.\n\nI sighed, and patted the imp's head. The halo was an odd sensation; while it passed through my hand harmlessly, it did give the slightest of resistance, as though it were barely tethered to this world. Still, I did not note this aloud, and simply rubbed the base of his horns to help calm him.\n\nWe sat in relative silence for some time, before he spoke up.\n\n\"Why change?\"\n\nI thought for a few more moments, before smiling. \"I'm not sure exactly, though I have a theory. You know how you, an imp, as a creature of Hell, can influence the nature of a person bound by them as a familiar?\"\n\nHe nodded.\n\n\"Well, that very ritual binds you to the person, so who is not to say that the influence goes both ways?\"\n\nThe imp's eyes go a bit wide at the thought. \"Not possible! But...maybe?\"\n\nUnable to help myself, I teased him a bit.\n\n\"Who knows, maybe you're turning into a cherub!\"\n\nThe devil gave a slight gag, not liking the thought. \"No! Bad! No teasing!\"\n\nI laugh, and against his better judgement, so does he. I give him another leaf, and set him back in his nest, petting him until he falls asleep. I then yawn, and return to my own bed, smiling all the way.\n\nThe souls of the damned, it seems, are not unredeemable. They are able to be saved. I am uncertain as to how, nor how long it would take for more powerful demons, but it is not impossible.\n\nFather can be saved." ]	2
	[WP] While in a high school English class, your teacher has assigned you to find a theme in the book you're all reading. The only problem? You authored the book anonymously, and know damn well that there is no deeper meaning.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "They always do this. \nThe blue curtains meant she was surrounded by her depression. \nShe ate an apple. Well, obviously, Eve ate the apple, and disobeyed the Lord, and punished all of mankind, so CLEARLY, the apple was a foreshadowing on how her actions would not just effect her, but many generations behind her. \nGet bent. \nThis story has no depth, it was something I scribbled on a plane, because I had nothing better to do, and then posted it to my blog, where it was turned into a contest that I happened to win, but did not respect the values of said contest, and instead of being disqualified, they just put me down as a Anonymous. Low and behold, Mr. Grant would be one of the judges. \n\"You guys, this was written by your peer.\" He tried to intrigue the class. \"This person reached into the depths of their soul, and put it all on paper. What are they trying to tell us?\" \nThe only thing I reached 'deep inside of' was my backpack. My phone died and I needed something to take my mind off being on a flying bus 35,000 feet in the air. \n\"She was scared, you can tell that by the short, choppy responses her characters dialog keeps spewing.\" \nFirst of all, none of my characters are 'spewing' anything. How dare you use that, of all things, to describe their dialog. Also, it's short and choppy, because they are hiding from... Oh, just forget it. \n\"What if the point is just a short story? Nothing more, nothing less?\" I replied. \n\"All great works of art have a story to tell, and a lesson to learn.\" \n\"And seeing how Charlette wakes up to find Jake abandons her, and never returns, I might consider boiling it down to Daddy issues finally being revealed as the second part of foreshadowing?\" \n\"Alisa, while I am impressed you read ahead, please do not ruin it for the class.\" \n\"No, Mr. Grant, I just wrote it. It was all a free-write of something I threw together on a plane. To be honest, I wasn't even sure that was my final production.\" \nI proceeded to pull up all the e-mails, and text messages of the communication between myself and the contest incase he needed evidence. \n\"Like I said, there was no deeper meaning other than...\" \n\"Alisa, again, everything goes deeper than surface level.\" \n\"Mr. Grant, respectfully, the original included all the characters ending in spiteful demise, but the... who ever, didn't want that, so they 'Disney-ed' it up, if you will.\" \n\"I won't. I read this one personally, and submitted it for final review myself.\" \n\"The copy you have is the copy that came out after I was contacted asking if I could just 'clean it up a bit', smooth the edges, make it more 'age appropriate' like 16 year old me didn't know what 16 year old's go through! I submitted this junk,\" I raised and dropped the over copied, fading stapled packet on my desk, \"as a joke to be malicious and still won. This isn't remotely close to the original!\" I snapped. \n\"If there isn't a deeper meaning, and if it was just something you just jotted down, and wish to be perceived as dismissive of, why are you upset?\" He questioned. \nI could feel everyone staring at me. \n\"If it means nothing, if there is not a bigger picture, then who cares?\" He tossed his copy in his empty trash can. \nI stared at him. \"Because the original was based of true events. This monstrosity was something I made to be a smart ass, hoping to just be looked over. And then it won, and it went everywhere! I got calls and emails, editors and publicist wanting to meet me. Appointments, small 'zine interviews, ALL OVER SOMETHING I SUBMITTED OUT OF SPITE!\" I bit my lip when I realized I was yelling. Tears threatening to roll down my face, I apologized. \n\"What if Jenny was a representation of yourself? She works hard, but no one ever hears her unless she is going with the grain, and being part of the team.\" \n\"Tell me, Mr. Grant, when it comes to the final project, and I provide for you the essay on the \"deeper meaning\" of this paper, at one point do you wish me to include the actual copy, and will it ever get the recognition it deserves?\"", "\\[Time. Again.\\]\n\n\"Rerun?\" Mrs. Langley called the student's name as the kids began to leave her classroom. \"Please stay after class for a moment. I'd like to talk to you about your report.\" A short, brown-haired boy sighed and lingered behind as the rest of the students broke out in laughter.\r \n \r \n\"Rerun, again!?\" several students repeated the phrase that had become a sort of running joke. It wasn't the first time he was asked to stay behind, but the students had taken to using it any time he repeated anything. He was brand new to the school and it had only been three weeks; but, he wouldn't call any of the students a 'friend'. Not that anyone was overtly mean to him. But, the constant teasing of his name didn't help him feel welcome. And, he wished that just once he'd feel welcome somewhere.\r \n \r \n\"Thank you for staying,\" Mrs. Langley closed the door after the last student. Then, she returned to her desk and sat down as Rerun stood in front of her.\r \n \r \n\"I have to say...,\" she shook her head with mild disappointment. \"I don't know what to do about your report.\" Rerun expected to have a talk with her as soon as he turned it in and, he wanted to help the process along so he could get home.\r \n \r \n\"Was something wrong with it?\" he asked. He knew there was and wanted her to get to the point.\r \n \r \n\"No,\" she shook her head. \"That's what makes it difficult. Your paper was very well-written. Almost perfect in a technical sense; you definitely have a talent for writing. However, the sticking point is that your conclusion essentially boils down to, 'there is no theme'. By the time I got to the end, it became quite clear that you did not put any effort into the assignment and wrote it simply to waste my time. Did you even read the assigned book?\"\r \n \r \n\"Yes, Ma'am,\" Rerun nodded. It would have only complicated things if he tried to explain that he wrote the book. Short, direct answers always helped him get through social situations faster.\r \n \r \n\"And instead of giving it any thought, you decided to turn in a smart-ass response?\" Rerun hung his head and faintly nodded. It wasn't worth the effort to correct.\r \n \r \n\"Yes, Ma'am,\" he replied. Though, he had a notable sadness in his voice that even Mrs. Langley noticed. She narrowed her eyes curiously at him, but he did not notice. He was focused on the ground.\r \n \r \n\"I'm going to have to give you a zero for your attitude,\" she said.\r \n \r \n\"Yes, Ma'am,\" he repeated. Then, there was an extended moment of silence. He expected her to speak up, but that was all she said. He tentatively looked up. \"May I leave now?\" he asked.\r \n \r \n\"No...,\" Mrs. Langley said. She considered herself a good teacher, even if the students tended to disagree. She tried her best to keep an eye on the students that she thought might need a little extra help. Ever since the beginning of the school year, Rerun had been relatively anti-social. She watched his interactions and made a few educated guesses about his personality. He never said more than he needed to, and sometimes not even that much. \"I'll believe that you've read the book. So, if you can walk me through your reasoning, I'll change your grade to 100,\" she said.\r \n \r \n\"The zero is fine,\" Sprocket shrugged. \"May I leave?\" Again, Mrs. Langley shook her head. She was about to make a gamble that could backfire. But, she hoped that he didn't think about her threats enough to see through them; he was still 14 years old after all.\r \n \r \n\"No, it's not fine,\" she said. \"It just became a major grade. If you don't explain your thoughts on this, you will fail this class,\" she added.\r \n \r \n\"Fine...,\" Rerun sighed. She thought that he was willing to take the failure until he looked up at her. \".... what do you think the theme is?\" he asked.\r \n \r \n\"What?\" Mrs. Langley was surprised for a moment; but, she willingly answered the question. The fact that he asked a question at all was progress. \"Well, I think it's quite obviously a coming-of-age story. We see the main character go through different phases of their life throughout the book.\" Rerun nodded.\r \n \r \n\"Did you already grade everyone else's paper?\" he asked. Mrs. Langley nodded and Rerun followed up with another question. \"Did they all identify the same theme?\" She shook her head, but she smiled. This was extraordinary progress for him, and she was starting to see his point. But, she wasn't going to let him go just yet.\r \n \r \n\"Of course not,\" she said. \"It's subjective, different people see different things.\"\r \n \r \n\"So, why do I have to see anything?\" he asked. \"Why can't that be my answer?\" he nodded at his paper on her desk.\r \n \r \n\"Because this is school,\" she replied with a warm smile. \"This is where you're supposed to learn how to think about things. How to form your own opinions and put them into words. You're telling me you read this wonderful, well-regarded book and nothing jumped out at you?\" Rerun shrugged and nodded.\r \n \r \n\"Yes, Ma'am,\" he said. Mrs. Langley was honestly willing to accept that explanation. She didn't want to pull him too far out of his comfort zone, and his voice did sound more comfortable around her than before. But, she still found that hard to believe.\r \n \r \n\"This book is over 100 years old and millions of readers all found a theme that resonated with them. And, yet, you found nothing of interest?\" Something about her gushing struck a chord with him.\r \n \r \n\"I didn't sit down and plan any themes, I just wanted to write an adventure book,\" he said. His voice carried traces of annoyance. But, his eyes went wide and he clapped his hand over his mouth as soon as he was done speaking.\r \n \r \n\"What was that?\" Mrs. Langley asked.\r \n \r \n\"Nothing,\" Rerun shook his head. But, she nodded.\r \n \r \n\"Yes.. you said... you wrote this book?\" she asked. In any other school, that might have been hard to believe. But, at that moment, her only thought was disbelief. How could she have missed that? It was one of her favorite books in the whole world and his report had a similar writing style.\r \n \r \n\"Yes, Ma'am, that's what I said,\" Rerun nodded with a sigh.\r \n \r \n\"What's your favorite number?\" she asked. \r \n \r \n\"14!\" he said. After a moment of surprise that he answered the question, he tacked on some respect at the end. \"..Ma'am.\"\r \n \r \n\"Why haven't you met with counselor Mundo yet?\" Mrs. Langley asked. Rerun was surprised that she knew that somehow and wondered why she wasn't concerned with the fact that he authored a 100-year-old book. All students were supposed to meet with counselor Mundo.\r \n \r \n\"There was a line every time I went the first week,\" Rerun shrugged. \"I didn't feel like staying. Then, I forgot about it...,\" he said. Mrs. Langley smiled and shook her head.\r \n \r \n\"I need you to go see him right now,\" she said. \"But, first, I have a favor to ask.\" She turned and pulled her purse out of the desk drawer.\r \n \r \n\"Okay...,\" Rerun was happy that he was done with this current situation, but he had a lot more questions than he was used to. \"...what's that?\" he asked. She put an old, worn copy of the book on the desk and slid it to him.\r \n \r \n\"Will you sign my book please?\"\r \n\r \n\\\\\\* \nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1702 in a row. (Story #256 in year five.). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place at a high school in my universe. It began on August 22nd and I will be adding to it with prompts every day until May 26th. They are all collected in order at [this link.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Hugoverse/comments/wtglls/tokuhigh_alternet_class/)" ]	3
	[WP] Humanity has finally discovered Faster-Than-Light travel! The galaxy is ours to explore! Only one catch: exactly half the time the space ship disappears forever. Only 1 out of 4 ships will come back from a round trip...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. 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Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "And then, everything went dark. \n\nThe stars winked out around us, every view port empty as cloudy midnight. No, darker than that. There was no hint of light, no flutter of cloud cover, no hint of distance or speed. \n\nJust black, and quiet. \n\n\"Navigation!\" Captain Burns barked. \"Status report!\"\n\n\"All well captain! Our jump into hyperspace was a success!\" \n\n\"Then why the hell aren't my sensors reading a damn thing?\" \n\nThe engineer on the navigation terminal frowned, throwing dials seemingly at random. \n\n\"No errors in navigation, sir!\" he said. Then, after a moment's pause, \"No errors on our sensors either. It's like...there's just nothing to detect.\" \n\nThe captain frowned, unsatisfied. \"Engines? Report!\" \n\n\"Engines here,\" a female figure in full protective gear appeared on one of the view screens, her voice echoing oddly as if from far away. \"No malfunctions here either. By all accounts, we jumped exactly where and when we meant to. Engines working at capacity...But it's damn quiet here.\" \n\nThe crew members on the bridge around me shuffled uneasily. Space was always quiet, of course, but not like this. This was a special sort of quiet. The kind of quiet that sunk into the bones like a chill, settling in about the marrow and urging the flesh not to make any noise. It was the quiet of the bird sleeping in its nest at night, when something large walked through the clearing. An unsettling quiet, the quiet of being watched by the unseen.\n\n\"We missed our jump,\" I whispered, but I knew that everyone heard. \"We're one of The Lost.\" \n\nEvery eye turned towards me. I had been expecting it, of course. No one else wanted to say it. But I...well. Someone had to. Someone must. After all, it was truth. \n\n\"I suppose...we are,\" Captain Burns said, speaking quietly himself. \"Lost. That's quite the unpleasant turn.\" \n\nI nodded grimly in agreement. \n\n\"Well then, Witch,\" the captain spoke again. \"I suppose...we are all in your care.\" \n\nI nodded again, feeling a dry lump appearing in my throat. \n\n\"I will...begin my preparations.\"\n\nThe crowd parted as I passed, giving me a wide berth as I left the bridge. Long after the doors closed, I could feel their eyes on the back of my head. Quiet eyes, burning eyes. \n\nI only hoped that the price we had to pay was not too great. \n\n**\n\n/r/TimeSyncs", "Any time a ship engages her zarathustra drive, they have a 50-50 chance of disappearing without a trace. Jump-lost, they call it. The physicists had insisted that there was no way around this, that implicit in the nature of the universe there just plain ain't no way to travel faster than light without taking this risk. No predicting, no reducing, nothin. Pure luck.\n\nThat's why ya ain't never gonna find me on one of dem flying coffins. Na-ah, Not me. Not Ezekiel Atomjack, clear? \n\nMe? I'm perfectly happy with my job here at the terran hubgate, know what I'm sayin? Got nothing against spacers, no disrespect, but dose guys are bonkers. All of em.\n\nAnyway, I'm getting off topic. Yeh. So hey, I was workin the dockyard traffic control. I've got the conn, means I'm the boss of the whole damn control tower. And THAT means whole damn docking area is my house, my domain. That ain't somethin they just hand out like whatever, you know?\n\nBut, ok, it's a slow wednesday afternoon, not like there was a lot going on. A coupla mining rigs were scheduled to come in, bout an hour. Right now? Board is quiet.\n\nThen bam. Heavy assault cruiser shunts in, way outside the RZ. It's comin in white hot too, five, six clicks per second. It's so close I can see it, like really see it not just a shiny dot in the distance. \n\nAll hell breaks loose. Everybody screaming at everybody else, command wants an update yestaday, Nav's just shitting bricks, radcom's trying to make contact but it ain't answering our pings.\n\nOptics gets a scope lock and puts it on the big screen. It's a big muthafucka, bigger than anything in the terran navy, no disrespect. It looked like one of dem dreadnaughts they scrapped after the end of the Cignian war, like straight out of the hist'ry books. Except bigger, and more guns, and it looks all, like, modern and stuff. It had like modern mass projectors but scaled up huge. Crazy.\n\nGunnery was asleep at his station as-fuckin-usual so he's just about halfway awake tryna get the guns up. Targeting was off station flirting with Tug Command so he's jumping across the room.\n\nRadcom finally gets them on the line. He says they're transmitting in the clear, just trying to get through. I tell him to link it up to my commband. \n\n\"---z--miral----k--of the battlesh---Zanzibar--eed assist---multi---tem failures---quest---ediate--\"\n\n\"Get my guns on target damn you\" I shout. \"And get a targeting lock NOW NOW NOW!\"\n\nCeres Spaceport doesn't have nothin like the kind of firepower you got on a Cigni-era dreadnaught but what we do got is buried in tons and tons of armor plating, heavier than any dreadnaught's gonna be lugging 'round. In a throw down fight I'd give us maybe 20-80 odds.\n\nMeantime, Radcom is already working to clean up the signal. Lascom gets a tightbeam lock and links it to my mic.\n\n\"This is Commander Ezekiel Atomjack of the Ceres Jumpgate. Identify and heave to!\"\n\n\"No.\" Snarled the voice. \"--miral---Hereby ORDER YOU to stand d----r weapons, NOW!\"\n\n\"Listen asshole, I'm the king of this hill, ain't nobody order me to do shit, ok?\" I snap back. \"Now back off and get your guns aimed elsewheres!\"\n\nA second voice piped in. The link gets clearer and clearer with each passing second. \"Lets everybody take a breath.\" Said the voice. \"Commander, I'm Captain Nathaniel Airloka, the XO here on the Battleplate Zanzibar. There is something very odd that I think could use some clarity.\"\n\n\"I'm listenin.\" \n\n\"You say you are ceres jumpgate? So where is the Ceres Naval Shipyard?\"\n\n\"What? Ain't been a shipyard here in like fifty years!\"\n\n\"I see. And I note that there are no war vessels in dock here. Tell me about the war with the Cigni.\"\n\n\"We won, uh...\" I hesitate. \"We won, fifty years ago.\"\n\n\"And what year is it, today I mean?\"\n\n\"2359.\" I say, slowly.\n\n\"Ah. I'm going to swing a comms tightbeam to you now. Please do not panic and get us all killed.\"\n\nLascom nods to me. \"We're getting an AV protocol request, sir.\"\n\n\"Onscreen.\"\n\nA man and a woman dressed in sharp military uniforms stand on what has to be the bridge of a damn warship.\n\nOne of them, well, he looked real familiar lets just say.\n\nThe woman spoke first: \"Commander Ezekiel Atomjack, I would like to introduce you to Admiral Ezekiel Atomjack of the Terran Navy. It seems we have come from a universe that . . . differs . . . from the one we left.\"\n\nAdmiral Atomjack smiled a toothy grin. Know that grin well, what with seein it every day in the mirror. \"And I think we've solved the mystery of where the jump-lost ships go...\"", "The DiPalma-Spencer Hyperdrive worked flawlessly -- 50% of the time. What exactly happened the other 50% of the time* was anyone's guess. Ships that left simply never arrived at their destination, nor were they seen or heard from again. There was no reason for this aberration to be found in the equations that made faster-than-light travel possible.\n\nWhile it baffled scientists, it gradually came to be accepted as the toll exacted by the universe in exchange for cheating the laws of physics by leaping almost instantly between destinations that were light-years apart. On average, only one out of four ships came back from a round trip.\n\nAnd the Montezuma had made two round trips, already.\n\nAs she sat among the multitude of other desperately hopeful would-be colonists aboard the vessel, Dina told herself that Montezuma's past hyperjumps didn't matter. She remembered what the orientation team had explained, when they told her group they'd been assigned to the Montezuma: the Hyperdrive anomaly was random -- almost exactly like a coin toss, statistically. Every time you toss a coin, there's a 50% chance of getting heads, and a 50% chance of getting tails. \n\nCounter-intuitively, however, the probability of the current coin toss getting \"heads\" isn't affected by the outcome of prior coin tosses -- it's always 50%, no matter what. So, statistically, it doesn't matter if you've gotten heads four times in a row on the same coin -- the fifth toss is still no less likely to come up heads than it was before. \n\nAnd, in the Montezuma's case, it didn't matter that she'd already had four successful runs -- her chance of having a fifth run arrive safely at Proxima Prime, the fertile, resource-rich exoplanet that her passengers were risking everything for a chance to colonize, was still the same 50% chance it had always been. \n\nDina and the rest of her group had not, the colonization team assured her, been cheated of their 50% chance to survive by being put on a ship that was \"due\" to be lost to the hyperspace anomaly. There was no such thing as being \"due\" for the anomaly to happen, statistically speaking.\n\nThat was what Dina told herself, as she felt the slight vibration through the ship that she'd been told to expect, the faint shudder running through the Montezuma that preceded the Hyperdrive activation. That was what she told herself, as the stars outside turned into lines of white stretching out into infinity, as Montezuma and all aboard her boldly defied the natural order of the universe, twisting space around them in multiple dimensions to bring their destination closer to them, without ever actually transgressing the unattainable speed of light. \n\nShe almost giggled, more out of manic nervousness than actual mirth, as it occurred to her that she was, in some sense, a passenger aboard a technicality. \n\nDina's heart skipped a beat, as she felt another shudder run through the ship. This too, she'd been told to expect. This second vibration preceded the hyperdrive powering down, as the first had heralded its activation. And then, she exulted, as the line of fleeing stars outside her window became a vast blue orb, adorned with emerald green continents, and crowned with spiraling wisps of pure white cloud. Proxima Prime.\n\nThe Montezuma decelerated in moments -- which made sense, since she had never been going very fast, to begin with, as far Dina understood it. The universe had moved around her. Dina joined in the cheer erupting from her fellow colonists, as they crowded around the windows, gazing in wonder at their new home.\n\nAnd then, nearby, an old woman screamed. Most of the passengers were too consumed with the view and the raucous sounds of their own excitement to notice, but Dina heard it, and turned to look. \n\nThe old man beside the frantic old matron tried to calm her, but she seized his arm and forcibly turned him towards the window she was looking out of, now crying incoherently, and jabbing her finger at the space beyond. Dina followed her gestures, but all she saw was Proxima Prime -- that, and other colony ships like the Montezuma, orbiting the verdant world until they were ready to return. \n\nThere were more of those than she'd expected. With half of all ships lost to the anomaly, and far more people willing to take the risk than there were ships to carry them, turnaround was usually quick, for those vessels that survived a hyperjump. But she still couldn't understand what had caused the woman's breakdown. \n\nShe drifted cautiously towards the elderly couple. The old man was now clutching his weeping wife to his chest, and tears were streaming down his own wrinkled cheeks as he gazed out the window at the ships beyond.\n\n\"What's wrong?\" Dina asked, gently, looking between the ships and the man and his wife. To her surprise, when the man turned to look at her, a joyful smile split his wizened face, despite his freely flowing tears.\n\n\"Wrong?\" he said, with a joyful, almost manic laugh. \"N-no, it's...it's the Perseus! Our son and his family made the trip aboard her. They told us it was one of the ships that was lost! But look, there! It's here! The Perseus made it!\"\n\nDina looked -- he was right. \"CTS Perseus\", she could see it on the hull. But there must have been some mistake -- the ships that were lost were never heard from again. Were they? She squinted at the small swarm of colony ships she could see out the windows. She couldn't make out every name, but she could see some.\n\nThe Aristotle...wasn't that one of the lost, too? That one, and the Myanmar -- that ship was here, too, but she was sure she'd heard in named among the litany of ships lost trying to attain the jewel of Proxima Prime. In fact, all the ships she could see were among those that had been reported as lost. Dina placed her hand on the window, as though trying to reach out and touch the vast blue-green orb that dominated her view. Slowly, her hand trembling, she traced the outline of the continents on the planet's surface with a fingertip. Their shapes, she found, were unfamiliar, completely unlike the images of Proxima Prime she'd studied over and over, in preparation for her voyage.\n\nAll at once, Dina realized that she now knew what happened to hyperdrive vessels, exactly 50% of the time. \n\nWhat she didn't know, was where the hell she was.", "I looked out of my small window at earth. It was so blue and I could see the clouds that surrounded the planet and the mountains that divided it. My family was down there, probably wondering how I'm doing. I just had to keep reminding myself why I'm here.\n\n\"Hey, what are you thinking about\" Sarah said. I'd almost forgotten she was there. She had been assigned to be my bunk mate when I arrived on the ship.\n\n\"Just enjoying view one last time.\" I answered her question. \n\n\"Hey! This is not the last time. We will be back in a week and everything will be fine.\"\n\nI dont know if she was trying to reassure me or herself. I wanted to believe her, but I'm a very pragmatic person. The corporations on earth had just discovered light-speed, but it was still unreliable. It was a race to see who could perfect it first and make the most profit. \n\nI'd been hired by Energy Pharmaceuticals to be one of their test dummies on how light speed affects the human body. It was an easy choice for me. I do this, and they pay for the life saving medical treatment that my daughter needs and I can't afford. I'm sure Sarah had her reasons for being here, but I never asked.\n\n\"I really hope that's true.\" I said. \"But the truth is the odds are against us. It's a 50/50 chance we don't make the first jump, and a 50/50 chance we don't make it on the way back. Only one in four ships make it home. I don't want to be a downer, but that is the reality we signed up for.\"\n\n\"You think I don't know that?\" She snapped. \"It doesn't help to mope in what could be our final moments. Sorry I bothered you, enjoy your view.\" She said as she climbed into her bunk. She laid down facing away from me.\n\n\"Look I'm sorry, you're right. What do you think it's going to be like?\"\n\nShe shifted to look at me.\"What? Traveling at light speed? I imagine we'll get really stretched out for a moment. Maybe our bodies will merge a second? Wouldn't that be something.\" She mused.\n\n\"If that happens, I hope I get to keep the parts that are mine.\" I said.\n\n\"Please, anything I give you would be an improvement.\" She gave a slight chuckle. Her spirit seemed to be lifting a bit.\n\n\"It's almost 10:30, we should be taking off any minute now.\" I pointed out.\n\nAs if one queue, the intercom came to life.\n\n\"Attention passengers.\" It was the captain's voice. \"We will be entering light speed in five minutes. Please take this time to climb into your bunkbed and attach the harness and prepare yourself.\" He was quiet for a moment before starting again.\n\n\"What all of you are doing is courageous. I know we are all here for one reason or another. That's your personal business. But what we are doing is for the future generations. So they have a safe means to traverse the stars, to expand our footprint in the universe. Earth is slowly dying and this is how we ensure the survival of our race. May god have mercy on us all.\" He finished his speech.\n\nI hopped into my bunk bed and attached the harness around my chest. I turned to Sarah and saw she was doing the same. She looked at me, but I had nothing to say. She didn't say anything either.\n\nThe next few minutes felt like a blur. Suddenly there was a countdown initiated over the intercom. It started at thirty and began counting down.\n\nI turned to Sarah. \"Hey, when we make it back home, we're going to go out for a drink.\n\nShe looked at me, I could see a tear fall down the side of her face.\n\n\"Yea, I'd like that.\"\n\nSuddenly the engines started. The noise slowly grew till it was almost deafening. Suddenly the sound of a thunderclap boomed in my head.\n\nI think I lost consciousness for a minutes. When I came too, Sarah was standing, looking out the window. I somehow managed to undo my harness and felt immediately nauseous when I sat upright.\n\n\"Did we make it?\" I groaned. It didn't feel like we were dead.\n\n\"I don't think so.\" She walked toward me and put her arm under mine and helped me up. She helped me get toward the window that I had been looking at earth from not ten minutes ago.\n\nOh no. \n\nI saw nothing out the window. No planets, no stars, nothing. It looked like we were floating in a void.\n\n\"Where are we?\" I asked. But I think I knew the answer.\n\n\"I don't know\" She said.", "The transmission came two hundred years after the first ships went out to the stars. Most people seldom made the trip past the group of stars closest to earth that had been deemed safe territory. The ships in this region were always accounted for even if destroyed in some way. \n\n\n \nThe transmission came to the oldest port on the sparsely inhabited planet of Earth. The simple rustic planet barely housed a few billion. The rest of humanity had spread to the stars and lived in terraformed planets or shielded colonies with altered terrain. For the past century it had become less and less common for people to visit earth or care what its inhabitants had to say. \n\n\n \nFlorian was finishing his shift when they got the transmission. He wiped his hands of lacto-dust (one benefit of Earth was the lack of synthetic flavors or foods at least. The organics always tasted better.) He hit the keys on his keyboard and played the message. \n\n\n \nA set of people were in view of the camera. They were dressed in so many costumes and ranks. They were horribly outdated. It reminded Florian of the historical documents in the bowels of the building. \n\n\n \n“Greetings, Earth. We are the crew of the Alameda. Next to us are the crew of El Dorado and out of view of them is the crew of the Atlantis. We have news that hope helps reduce the level of casualties and lost crews with earth.” An elderly woman said. Her voice was raspy with age and her hair a pretty silver that Florian rarely saw with modern medicine preventing natural aging to look so pronounced. \n\n\n \n“At the time of this transmission Earth has a recorded 75% disappearance rate. We knew death or the unknown awaited us when we took to the stars. “It has taken us twenty years to realize what the common factor in us becoming lost has been.” The woman sighed. “We have accounted for 68% of the missing crews and ships. We are on a hospitable world but the atmosphere will not let us or our communications leave. All our ships pulled emergency landings.” She took a breath. \n\n\n \n“We have a rare break in the weather. I hope this reaches you, Earth. Tell the captains this: Follow your instinct once you are pass Alpha Centauri. Otherwise what we believe is a wormhole will drag you close to a gas giant whose gravity will destroy your ship and you will have to land on this world.\n\n“Make the left at the exo-planet known as Albuquerque.“ The transmission cut off. Florian saved the recording and sent it to his supervisors. This was big news! He sat back on his chair. As a lowly recruit though he wasn’t going to know more about what they’d do until it hit the news. \nHe went back to his station." ]	6
	[WP] "Join me." The villan offered. "And together we can rule." "Alright." The hero agreed. "What's your healcare plan?"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"What?\"\n\n\"You're healthcare plan. Is it any good?\"\n\n\"You're immoral and you regenerate after injury! What do you need healthcare for?\"\n\n\"I'm just asking about the benefits package. What's you're 401K like?\"\n\n\"We don't... wait aren't you like super rich?\"\n\n\"Still good to ask about these things before excepting a job. Also, your interview process needs some work. You've asked me nothing about my qualifications and you've refused to answer any of my questions\"\n\n\"Because you're questions are pointless! You don't need healthcare, and you don't need a 401K!\"\n\n\"What if I start a family? The kids and wife need healthcare.\"\n\n\"What are you even talking about?\"\n\n\"Look man, it doesn't seem like your company has their act together. I'm rejecting your offer and I will be writing a strongly worded letter to your CEO.\"\n\n\"I AM the god damn CEO. You know what, fine. Lets just fight.\"", "“Great. What’s the health plan?” I asked him, clapping my hands. He raised a brow behind his mask. “Pardon?” \n“I’m not doing this for just ‘ruling shit’ there’s this thing called ‘benefits’. Being a hero doesn’t pay the bills.” I told him. “But being a villain has to have something worthwhile,” I crossed my arms. “You’re ruling the planet as a co ruler.” “Like Roman co-consuls or Spartan co-kings? \n“Either and or” \n“And the benefits?” \n“What did I just say?! The ‘whole world’,man!” \n“I need guarantees! A 401k, medical insurance, life insurance, dental, auto, vision!” \n“What the hell did I just tell you?! We tax the whole planet!” \n“That’s not good enough-“\n“Are you fucking dense?!” He shouts at me.", "DarkLord IceFace's lips spread apart in a gasp and it made a sound like a lone drop hitting the surface of an icy lake. \"Healcare?\" he said. \"What the frozen hell are you—\"\n\nI brought a finger to those cool lips and I shushed him. \"I just want to make sure my health bar remains long, and hard, and ... stiff.\"\n\nIceFace took a step back. Plunged his spear into the ground. Wet soil splashed and he said, \"Shit\" because I guess he wasn't expecting that even though he knew we were both standing in mud, standing on the remains of a battlefield washed with blood and rain. His eyes glittered like snow crystals. \"Why,\" he said. \"Why would I—\"\n\n\"—love me?\" I said and his lithe figure swooned, danced in the wind, and lost in reveries I stretched out my hand and I could see a glimmer of madness in his mind; for a brief second his heart had opened up to the possibility of the two of us, united in the depths of bliss, but it was a transient warmth for after this small second he closed the door of passion by force and he pointed his spear at my face.\n\n\"Love!\" he cried. \"I was talking about partnership.\"\n\n\"As was I,\" I pleaded, the warmth of my breath thawing the frosted end of the sharp metal inches away from me.\n\n\"N-No!\"\n\nI grasped the shaft of his spear with both hands and a whimper escaped my soul.\n\n\"What the frozen HELL are you—\"\n\n\"To me you have always been DarkLord NiceFace,\" I said and that was when the tip penetrated my skull. At once I felt the hot fluid against my cool face and I saw pink steam rising upward while on the other end of the spear he grimaced, he bit his own tongue so hard I thought it might cleave off. Heal me, I mouthed as my health bar fell like a narcoleptic bird.\n\nHe shook his head in conflicted jerks.\n\nHeal me.\n\n\"My name's ICEFACE. You ... You weirdo!\"\n\nNiceFace withdrew his spear and I heard a crack and rip and a tear.\n\nThen I heard no more.", "Atop the roof of the castle, overlooking the overrun city down below, they fought. Blade and spellblasts traded equally between the two of them. No matter what they did, no matter what secret last moment power they used, they were evenly matched. The tall and darkly clad villain stood proudly, blood and rain mixing upon his aquiline face, smiling with an almost manic joy at finally facing his foe in battle. Before him stood the hero, her blades crackling with magical lightning and shining with the glow of arcane fire. Lowering his longsword, the villain straightened his back, and began to speak. ''Join me, and together we can topple the thrones of this world and rule!'' The hero stiffened, and seemed to lose her concentration for a moment before answering. ''Alright. What's your healthcare plans? Your administrative policies. I figure I should at least give you a chance to argue for them.''\n\nThe villain rubbed his chin for a moment, as it ached something fierce after the hero had managed to get a good kick at his face earlier in the fight. ''Do you mean on a personal level, as in what care does my allies and close partners get? Or do you mean in general for the society I am planning to build?'' The hero shrugged and looked out over the city where the royal guard and the armies of darkness were brutally murdering each other. ''I mean, both I guess, but considering those guys down there, then I guess the societal healthcare plan is more important to know about.'' Out of nowhere, the villain pulled a tome, a table, the largest umbrella that the hero had ever seen, and some nice chairs. He motioned for her to sit down as he also conjured a chalkboard out of thin air, and placed it beneath the umbrella. An umbrella that was large enough to shield most of the partially ruined castle where the two of them had been fighting from the rain. \n\n''My plans for a healthcare system includes the nationalisation of previously for-profit or extremely religious hospitals, followed by an empire wide registration of citizens, who'll gain access to a universalist system of healthcare through their unique individual magical registration number. This will ensure that all citizens of my dark empire will gain access to equal levels of medical treatment regardless of species, sex, wealth, or faith. Medical academies will be set up as well in order to increase the number of nurses, doctors, orderlies, midwives, and other healthcare professionals. This is an absolute necessity as I plan to increase the number of hospitals to ensure that maximum possible coverage is achieved through every province of my evil empire. This will coincide with my plans to ensure mandatory maternity or paternity work-leave for a minimum of 40 weeks for all. Furthermore I will in the future have special ''super-hospitals'' built in the largest cities where thaumaturgical and medical specialists who can treat more obscure illnesses, curses, sudden mutations, etc. will be centralized under one roof. Those places will also be the developmental centres for my vaccination campaigns. We'll have spell-pestia, miasmic carcinomic growths, and smallpox eradicated by the end of the century at the current rates of vaccination in my realm of utmost evil. This will all be paid for with the ludicrous amounts of wealth kept in vaults and used on leisure by the nobility is ceased for the common good, combined with a progressive tax law that will ensure that while people can become rich in my dark empire, they cannot gain riches that will allow them to subvert imperial law. This will of course benefit the poorest in society who'll be able to afford better food, thus becoming more healthy, and possibly afford higher education which will assist them in rising higher in society than they'd ever thought possible. Of course, while I am on the subject, as it does lead to better health in the long run; basic education from the ages of 6 to 18 will be free as part of my school system reforms. Which is to say that I am actually going to create a school system, because whatever these lands have got going right now definitely didn't count. Do you know I snuck inside the city by tricking a guard to believe that I wasn't actually the dark emperor, but just his nice cousin who looks exactly like him. Wouldn't happen if people got an education.''\n\nThe villain stopped when he noticed that the hero had raised her hand. He had been drawing helpful diagrams and notes on the chalkboard while explaining this. ''Yes, you have a question?'' The hero got off her surprisingly comfortable chair and took a very dramatic look out over the city where thousands of people where currently engaged in a fight to the death, which hadn't stopped while the explanation was going on. ''Uh, yeah, most of that sounds pretty good. Aren't you supposed to be the villain.'' The villain gave her a warm, but still remarkably vulpine smile. The sort that the foxes probably reserves for a bunny that was cunning enough to get away. ''I mean, I am going to slaughter thousands, destroy temples, end the current social order, eradicate the entire social class known as the nobility through violent means, burn cities, and eventually if possible murder at least one pantheon of gods who I just plain don't like. I also enforce blood donations to feed the vampire clans to ensure that they'll be loyal to me. And I've turned a lot of my enemies into woodland critters; turned out the forest where I used to place them afterwards was full of werewolves. On the plus side I've got a tribe of very loyal werewolves working for me now.''\n\nThe hero slowly nodded. And then sat down again. ''Uh-huh. Besides the whole evil conquest thing, and that whole accidentally feeding your enemies to a bunch of werewolves, that doesn't seem on the whole to be all that evil. What else do you do in your dark empire?'' So the villain began to explain the education system, the schooling and feeding of children who'd before never have the chance to be anything other than serfs or plague victims. He told her about the well-funded orphanages, about the money for artistic endeavours in the major cities, about new academies for theatrics and the musical arts. He told her about all the benefits he was bringing to his subjects. About the rights they now had. About the roads that were safe to travel. He told her of the pension plans, of magical retirement homes.\n\n''Of course, this is all talk, you cannot actually know that I am truly good or truly wicked. If I speak the truth about what I do. You have only walked in the unconquered lands of my many enemies. Where the old world holds sway.'' She nodded. He made a fair point. He could be lying. On the other hand, he'd really thought this through. And he'd thrown away his sword. If she wanted to, right now, she could leap at him, blades in her hands. She could cut his head off right now, end the empire. And yet. She didn't. She was a hero. She'd come from another world as one of hundreds of heroes summoned by the losing side. One of hundreds that had risen to the occasion as heroes, where before they'd only been gamers, clerks, temps, or students. One of the many who'd fought against the dark lord, the emperor of evil. All before her had died fighting. And yet, she didn't try to kill him. ''What about personal healthcare. If I decide to work for you, and I get wounded? Or worse? He smiled and turned the chalkboard over to begin another, hopefully shorter explanation.", "Drowl is shocked by this response. This is the second place we're requesting join the new empire, a smallish town with quite a few older people. Hence, why I'm not surprised at Funnel's response. \"You... you really want to join? Just like that?\" Funnel, a hero, grins. \"This area is popular with the elderly, as you can see. I used to be a guardian here, but these days I spend most of my time fighting the HOA on stupid matters. I mean, someone tries to let their front lawn grow a little and suddenly they receive a fine? Stupid! If we join you, we can finally oust the HOA! But I need to know that the citizens are covered if anything were to happen to them.\"\n\nDrowl smiles. \"I can assure you upon joining my empire, you'll have access to all my resources, including healthcare. All I ask for in return is your loyalty and obedience. I promise that all I'll want is to know that the community is working for me.\" I clear my throat and step in. \"Of course, we'll take into consideration the age of everyone living here. We're not going to ask for more than what anyone can handle. A few vegetable gardens to provide for the empire will be good enough.\"\n\nFunnel stares at us in shock. \"They'll be allowed to grow vegetable gardens?\" Drowl and I look at each other as Funnel runs into the town. \"EVERYONE! I HAVE BIG NEWS!\" Drowl chuckles. \"Seems like they're on board. By the way, thanks for that, Naytar. I'm expecting everyone to pull their weight, but I forgot that there are limitations.\" I grin. \"Well, I certainly didn't expect that level of enthusiasm... I just used vegetable gardens as an example of the maximum we'll expect, but it sounds like that was the perfect thing to say!\"\n\nFunnel, as well as a few of the younger residents - still quite old, but not quite elderly - come over to us. We see a few men in their 30's approach as well. All in uniform. HOA, has to be. Funnel turns around, and looks very cross. \"Don't mess with us.\" One of the men snaps back \"You're one to talk.\" The men approach us. \"We heard that you wish to take this town... even if this town joins your 'empire', it'll still be under HOA regulations.\" That's it. We've lost. But Drowl begins to laugh manically. \"What's so funny?\"\n\nDrowl takes a moment to regain his composure. \"If this town joins my empire, my rules matter. First rule, every community must give back to the empire. If they can't have vegetable gardens, you'll have to think of something else. Second rule, no-one makes the rules other than me and community representatives. That means, they join us, you guys have no say.\" The men scoff. \"We'll just add a rule to prohibit this...\" Funnel looks at us hopefully, and Drowl's grinning.\n\n\"Kneel down, Funnel.\" Confused, he does so. Drowl then takes out one of his devices and places it on Funnel's head. Drowl then looks at the men. \"You see that headband? It signifies the town's allegiance to me. With the headband accepted, I run the show. It acts as a contract.\" He presses the winged bronze shield and a hologram comes up, showing a signed contract. \"You see? The deal is sealed, and now the HOA holds no power. Soldiers.\" We watch as the soldiers escorting us instantly marches through the town. We all follow.\n\nWe come to the HOA building. Drowl looks at it with amusement. \"This would make a nice clinic... or maybe over 50's centre... SOLDIERS! Storm the building. This building is now closed.\" Everyone begins to cheer as the soldiers force everyone out of the building, with the contract hologram being projected to prove that Drowl is now in control. Drowl clears his throat once the building is empty. \"Three choices. Bow to me. Be arrested. Run. Choose now.\" Two of them run, the rest kneel down.\n\nThe whole town cheers; in response Drowl raises his hand. Everyone stops. \"I'm not HOA, but I still have rules to be followed. One of which is you all must contribute to the empire. I expect you all to be growing as many crops as you possibly can.\" The cheers get even louder, and Funnel begins a chant: \"ALL HAIL LORD DROWL!\" Soon enough, the whole town is chanting. \"ALL HAIL LORD DROWL! ALL HAIL LORD DROWL! ALL HAIL LORD DROWL!\"\n\nDrowl's actually gone bright red with embarrassment. \"Let's move on\" he says quietly. He looks at the HOA people. \"You'll be coming back with us. You're not under arrest, but I still need to do something with you all.\" With that, we make our way back to the city, to the town cheering and crying out their thanks and appreciation. This oughta make Drowl's day.\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nThis story is a part of my series, [Dreams of an Empire.](https://www.reddit.com/r/StoriesbyCrystal/comments/x9xqe3/dreams_of_an_empire/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) Please check it out!", "\"And I just sign here?\" \"Yeah, and put your driver's license number on that line.\" \"What the fuck,\" said Mark. Mark was the leader of our superhero team. I said, \"Didn't you see my two week notice?\" \"Yeah I got your two week notice,\" Mark said, \"it didn't say anything about you switching sides.\" I held up the new hire packet, \"But look! I get a pay raise, health insurance, vacation and sick pay, and they even have a daycare.\" \"You don't even have kids,\" Mark said. I said, \"But now I can! That was always my worry about getting married. Oh, speaking of kids, you should see the paternity leave.\" \n\nMark said, \"How can you even afford all this?\" Berus, the demon, said, \"Villain work is dangerous work, we want to make sure our employees are compensated fairly. I'm surprised you don't have this.\" Mark stammered, \"Well...we don't need all of that. Our heroes come into work because they want to, and they put in 110% because they're heroes, and that's the American way.\" \n\nBerus said, \"So you expect them to overwork themselves and you don't even pay them fairly? I thought we were the bad guys.\" Mark said, \"You are! We're not the ones who burned down an orphanage.\" Berus said, \"We did do that. But we use some of our funds to build underprivileged communities.\" Mark said, \"Let me guess, it's a marketing strategy to recruit desperate people in low income communities.\" Berus said, \"Um, no, not really. We kind of just do it to make you look bad, and it's been working.\" Mark looked at me, \"What about our pizza parties?\" I shrugged, \"Honestly, I'd rather have the money.\" Mark said, \"Then you better pray that you don't meet me again, otherwise I'll break every bone in your body.\" I said, \"That's fine, I got health insurance now.\"" ]	7
	[WP] You decided to marry a Villain for the riches and powers and has reigned at their side for centuries. It is the birth of your youngest child and you notice all the signs of an all powerful Hero in your offspring.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I walk down the dark hallways of our castle, my wife is in a rage. I can hear the screams from near half-way across the castle. It was only a matter of time before she found out. \n\nOur daughter was a hero.\n\nNow, i have to do damage control before she does something she'll regret. I quicken my pace when thunder rumbles through the stone. \"Come on Invidia\" I graon, more work for the staff. I approach the dining chamber, \"I will not have a hero for a daughter! She'll be the end of of thgis empire! Everything will crumble and all my work will be for naught!\" Her sceams echo, her rage and indignation clear.\n\nI brace myself for the catastrophy that remains, and open the door to the dining chamber. Breakfast is now decorating the walls, along with a few singe marks where my dear's lightning struck. The table was on fire, because Invidia couldn't go 2 days without setting something on fire. \"The only threat to this empire is you and your overblown tempertantrums.\" I state cooly. Invidia whirls around, a glowing finger pointed at me. \"And YOU! How long have you known?\"\n\nI shrug, \"Since shortly after she was born. She's very kind to the staff. She sticks up for people and has a strong concience, I'm surprised it took you this long.\" I took a few steps forward, the glowing finger singeing my shirt I pointedly ignore it. \"Calm down,\" \"Why?\" She demands, always demanding, always putting the effort in everything she does, even the annoying bits. God above i love her. \"Because, you still love your daughter, hero or not. You do NOT want her killed, and you do NOT want to send her away.\" \n\nShe stares at me dumbfounded, \"Is that so? You're willing to risk everything just for some girl?\" Spitting her words. I slap her across the face, \"She is not just 'some girl'. Call her that again and you will be without the both of us.\" I say in a mesured voice. We glare at eachother, the staff around us shift uncomfortably. The tension in the air is palpable, so thick one could almost cut it with a knife. Had anyone but me done that they would be dead 3 times over.\n\nSlowly, very slowly, Invidia calms down. The rage melts away, her defenses lower. Suddenly the Empress of Storms is replaced by Invidia, a mother shaking with fear and worry clear on her face. \"What are we going to do?\" She whispered, I draw her into my arms, holding her tight. \"I don't know\" I whisper back, nodding to the staff to begin cleaning. They immediately do so, such excellent workers. I'll give them a bonus later today.\n\nI pull back, holding my face in front of hers. Invidia's chin cupped in my hands, \"Whatever we do, we do it together. You, Me, and Clarice. The three of us will figure this out.\" Invidia tries to shake her head, \"She's a hero,\" I kiss her forehead, \"She's your daughter, and that will never change.\" I break contact, \"There are things to do,\" Invidia composes herself immediately, and the Empress is back. We nod, Invidia is not one for thank you's. We walk our seperate paths, but i give one more bit of advice, \"Invidia,\" She turns to me, \"Just love her. whatever happens, just love her.\" Invidia purses her lips, nods, and walks out of sight. I smile, crisis averted. \n\nI walk down a new hallway, and find a crying Clarice around the corner. Time for round 2." ]	2
	[WP] The forces of good are currently in trouble due to an attack by the Dark Lord and his army of.... ducks.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Wave after wave they came. Day and night the air echoed with the chorus of their distant honks. The sky was filled with them, coming at us in V-formations. Half a mile up. None of our weapons could come near them. If they had come down to our level, and fought like a duck .. but oh no, they just stayed up there and passed over.\n\nEach duck had swallowed a few dense stones which they spat out as they flew above our position. They had surprisingly good aim. After releasing their load, they just circled back home. Probably bobbed around in a lake and ate more greens for awhile, loaded up with more stones, then made another go of it.\n\nA typical one-ounce stone would hit at 150 miles per hour. Castle walls? No protection at all. Inside and outside were equally exposed to the sky. A single stone could kill anyone out in the open, or put a good dent in any roof. Days of waves had demolished every roof. The surviving structures were massive stone walls. No matter what their original purpose was, those walls were now of no use to anyone. The surviving army was holed up in old mines.\n\nWe didn't know how the Dark Lord controlled them. How do you pay a duck? Maybe he had a tremendous supply of bread? Maybe he tortured foxes for their entertainment? For all we knew, he was just really good at quacking.\n\nSignals said the Dark Lord's regular forces were roaming freely across the land, pressing his thumb down on villages. Having their way. If a village objected they got the duck treatment. Nothing we could do about it. Leaving the mines was suicide. Staying in the mines ...\n\nWe had prepared for armies. Archers. War machines. Traitors in our ranks. But not ducks. It was just a matter of time before we ran out of food. Just a matter of time.", "Dead bodies lay sprawled on the bloodstained earth, soldiers falling like an endless tide as gunfire littered the floor and acid tainted the air. I inhaled deeply to calm myself down but immediately regretted it as the foul, copper-like smell of blood assaulted my senses. How to soldiers even do this, I wondered as I wrinkled my nose in disgust. The crimson moon hovered high in the air ominously, emitting a soft light that highlighted the bloody battlefield beautifully.\n\nI would take time to appreciate it if only I wasn't dodging bullets every step of the way.\n\nThen suddenly, crackling thunder boomed in the air and I whipped my head towards the direction of the sound, just like everyone around me, and a hushed silence swept over us. Guns stopped firing and fights ceased, leaving eerie silence that made my teeth gnash together uncomfortably. The silence could only mean one thing, and one thing only.\n\nThe turning factor in this ongoing war was coming.\n\nThunder boomed once againas rain started pouring down, and I barely managed to keep my eyes from rolling. How ... dramatic. I squinted through the thick rain, trying to see what was happening around me. All I could make out was a figure dancing along with streaks of lightning that slashed across the sky in a way that made me envy his or her's gracefulness. Straining my ears, I could make out the hushed whispers of the Dark Lord through the pouring rain.\n\nI once again focused my attention on the Dark Lord but barely had time to register that his hand had slashed down in the typical kill them all and spare none gesture before something started burrowing out of the ground.\n\nConfused, I looked down into the beady black eyes ... of a duck?" ]	3
	[WP] A young mage, searching for a new grimoire, finds themselves in the oldest, dustiest section of a magic shop. A single string of characters in gold leaf stands out on an imposingly large spine: "How to Hit Your Enemies with a Book: An Anthology".	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "No one ever told me I’d be good at spells. In fact, teachers rather discouraged or laughed at me. “Riggs, in the writing competition? His spells are too verbose by half! (Guffaw, snort snort).” They never slighted my mastery of natural forces. No, I could strike down the most self satisfied of mages with well-timed lightening that struck between giggles. No innocent bystanders disturbed. \n\nHowever one-sided the love affair might be, I always seek out a new spell book when I can. I dearly love to read. To try. To see some beautiful magic I never could have imagined emerge from the ends of my finger tips, in exactly (or approximately) the way some mage who I’d never met dreamed up. Spells are a way to see the spirit of the universe from a vantage you’d never discover on your own. So in my downtime, or my uptime if we’re being technical about my time card at Applied Magic Labs, I try to find new bookstores, new spell books, new magic. \n\nToday I’d wandered into a new-to-me shop hiding by the entrance of the Wallace Street station. It was disadvantageously placed under a broken gutter that poured rainwater from the elevated track above. And the pavement in front of the door had unfortunately sunk leaving broken asphalt and an ever-present puddle. You couldn’t avoid getting your feet wet because the entrance door opened outward. It seemed like such a terrible location for anything but a mosquito disco I’d never thought a bookstore could be in there. This afternoon the sun glinted off the transom and sparkled down over my path to the door. I usually defer to the wisdom of elemental forces, so I followed the sunlight inside. \n\nWhere it was promptly diminished by an ancient accumulation of dust. Clearly the shop had few regulars. Stacks and stacks of possibility stood before me, and I would not be deterred by minor allergens. \nI took a few steps inside, stopping next to the register to marvel at the dragon’s horde of forgotten grimoires all around. \n\n“What do you need?” \n\n“Um, uh, hi! Nothing yet, just…” \n\n“Fine, I’m taking a smoke.” \n\nI barely saw the white haired creature behind the desk as they sauntered off into the recesses of the shop. Not the best way to develop new clientele surely, but I would not be deterred now. I did however become deterred by the sheer junk of all I came in contact with. A few classics -- The Darkness Binding, The White Book, Revenge in Words — were present in decades old printings that crumbled and sagged when touched. Most of the stock was shlock and genre spell books from decades gone by — Magic Words to Win Her Back, Incantations to Increase Masculine Appeal. These did not spark to my love of written magic. \n\nI was leaving when a glimmer reached out to me from a particularly grimy shelf. How to Hit Your Enemies with a Book: An Anthology. Amount all the detritus, this imposing volume called me. I hefted it onto a cluttered table and flipped though. It was a collection of lithographs. Some were finely drawn, some must have been etched by drunken toddlers. All had titles and captions. “The Book Thrower — Don’t discount a hardback”, “The Trip — No one suspects a child”, all examples of how to maim, humiliate, and break a bully. This book pressed moments of exquisite triumph between each page. I got the feeling that this was not a one off printing, but a magical book itself that recorded the best examples of magical inspiration for divine retribution. \n\nAnd there, on page 783, was me! “Electrical Discharge — Smite them where they stand.” It was a sketch of me glaring at Prof. Snort Snort in the split second before my lightening bolt cracked the imperious bridge of his glasses. I never realized how perfect that take down was. But now I knew that Magic had seen me, and approved. Don’t doubt yourself, you might become a master when you’re chasing other dreams.", "I closed the front door of my cottage with one hand, holding my paper bag from MagiMart in the other. It was heavy, even though I'd only bought two things today. One was a blank wide rule notebook, as us wizards tend to go through those quite fast in our many experiments and notes.\n\nThe other was a book that was probably brown at some point, though it had long since faded to a tan greyish color. The worn gold leaf on the spine was still legible, but very tattered. It read \"How to Hit Your Enemies with a Book: An Anthology\".\n\nWell, at first I had thought it was going to be a useless book, but with a name like that, who could resist a laugh? New grimoires were hard to find anyway, and my luck wasn't very fruitful today. Then I read the first few lines of the book, and knew right then and there I HAD to buy it.\n\nAfter a few minutes of reading in my comfy reading chair I had the info I needed to get started. This book was more than just a joke. So many wizards cast from books, but seldom did the paper and binding even play a part in the actual effect. Whoever wrote this book had taken it upon themselves to correct that and take greater control over their tomes.\n\nI cast the first spell. I selected an old notebook off my floor; it wasn't that important to me. It began to float gently into my outstretched hands. Now the second spell of the book. I felt an aura surround my notebook. I threw it at a shelf with a resounding \"YEET!\".\n\nAnd a book no thicker than my finger flew with enough power behind it to tear a hole through my solid rock wall, breaking several shelf vases on the way out. I gasped, but then collected myself as a big smile escaped my lips. Gathering my concentration, I activated the third spell. The now-dirty and surprisingly only slightly worse for wear notebook releported back to my hands.\n\nI smiled even more, almost impossibly so. Oh, this was going to be fun." ]	3
	[WP] "So, while they're getting into position, we'll flank them through the mountains and... where the fuck did you get a twinkie?"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "In order to infiltrate the gnome realm, the wizards of the bunch had to do protective spells on all the packs and gear. The one rifter mathematician from our day, the human along for the ride, found a prepackaged twinkie in the slick straw that covered the terrain. \n\n: Oh, Twinkie! I remember how I fought my elitist parents for you!\n\nSean of the Maths couldn't help but pick it up. The supersoilder, also from our day, a fellow nicknamed \"The Reaper\" (but would also answer to Jeffy Mae), snatched the cellophane wrapped delicacy from Sean's bony delicate hand. \n\n:Confiscated, sorry Doofus and pull up y' britches.\n\nSean frowned as Jeff opened the twinkie and lunged for the cellophane wrapper before it hit the ground and put it in his pocket. When Sean retained his footing in the slippery slick straw, there was no more Twinkie and no more Jeff, only \n\"The Reaper\"\n\nS:How do you feel, man? You look a little different. \n\nJ:Idgaf as long as I still get laid.\n\nS:Really, Buddy, you ought to see a reflection.\n\nOne of the silent cloaked druidim walked over with a silver looking glass like one might find on a courtesan's dressing table. \n\nJ:What's the difference?\n\nSean shook the mirror.\n\nJ:Well, wa' 't no good leg out here anyway. A gnome girl cou' 't\nhandle this piece. Make sure ya'll put me back before we get through space tripping.\n\nA David was heard giggling nearby. He was the sort of gnome typed as a little troublemaker but just for kicks; a young one honing his gnomen craft. Running and shooting in that general direction, the Reaper's bullet bounced off a rock and hit him in the abdomen. \n\n:Damn that felt...really good. I was taught to be polite so I ain't telling you what's going on in these army britches. How I look, Sean?\n\nS: You look... like you did before...just a little more...\nuh girthsome. Here, Jeff, eat this turnip. Susan would have wanted you to...\n\nJ:Crunch\n\nThe party journeyed forward. The David stayed invisible and daydreamed of his old gifriend and wept.", "The group of men stood around their Sergeant. Corporal Crone kept a lookout nearby while half listening to his leader addressing a full squad of soldiers. A plan had been made and re-iterated. He mused as he heard the plan for the nth time, that there was no room for error. His own stray thoughts stiffened him slightly as he understood the meaning of that. Sergeant Lorrie had just finished explaining the latest contingency plan before moving to the next crucial step.\n\n“So, while they’re getting into position, we’ll flank them through the mountains and... where the fuck did you get a Twinkie?” The Sergeant quickly asked Private Trace as he pulled out a Twinkie and was starting to open it.\n\nRealizing that everyone was staring at him, he stared back at the Sergeant and told him. “Kept it hidden and packed in case of emergency. It’s my favourite snack Sir”\n\nSergeant Lorrie stared for a full minute before starting up again. “We’ve been ranging for the last 3 months. Foraging and scavenging while keeping ahead and away from the army tracking us. The last of the rations used up. Moving near constantly with hungry stomachs. So I ask again, where did you get a twinkie?”\n\nCorporal Crone looked away as he didn’t really want to see what happened. Private Trace was never the brightest bulb. He did always have a way of looking at things though. His answer was both surprising and not at the same time. It was mostly that he decided to answer his superior officer sporting a deathly glare, with another question.\n\n“It’s the 7thsquadron coming after us right Sir?” Lorrie had long ago realized what side of the stupid or brave the Private’s coin fell on. For some reason, today he decided to indulge him.\n\n“Yes, that’s right.”\n\n“Our plan to survive hinges on, let me see...” He started putting out fingers to count. “Not getting spotted by their aerial reconnaissance. Coordinating 3 separate fire teams in complete radio silence to ambush a full squadron simultaneously. A squadron whose position and full armament we are unsure of. And somehow hoping a successful operation either buys us the additional month for a possible rescue op, assuming the 8th and 13th squadron didn’t join up and trailed after the 7th. Or makes them lose track of us as we finally make our way East towards allied territory. Through miles of flat and exposed terrain. Sir, with all due respect. This is FUBAR. This kind of suicide mission is what I’ve been saving my Twinkie for... Sir.”\n\nSergeant Lorie didn’t have the slightest bit of emotion at the moment. Stone faced as he was at the moment, he decided to ask the Private another question. “You understand the plan, go anything else to add?”\n\nThinking it through for a moment, Private Trace apparently did have one final addition. “Well, I’m just wondering if I’m the only one keeps emergency snacks for, well, suicide missions Sir”\n\nCorporal Crone decided to take a look at his Sergeant upon hearing that only to find him looking back. Lorie simply nodded at him. Crone let a little sigh of relief as he took his own little hidden snack before going back on lookout. As he took his place again, the Corporal suddenly heard several pieces of cloth, rustling plastic and metal canisters being taken out and opened behind him." ]	3
	[WP] You had the habit of giving a few crows some food, and even more food when they came with an offering. Once, one came with money. You then only rewarded them for bringing money. Bands of crows have now been stealing people. The police discovered what you were doing. Describe the trial.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Your honor, I never stole a penny off of those people. It was all the crows doing. I couldn't just stop giving them treats! And I didn't know who the money belonged to.\"\n\nI sweat, my blatant lie left my lips. It was technically true that i didn't steal any money myself but I knew damn well what I was doing. \n\n\"Your honor this is ridiculous, this man clearly knew what he was doing! He's amassed almost twenty thousand dollars from one murder if crows alone!\"\n\nThe prosecutor, my high school nemesis Tony, blurted out, slamming his fist on the table before him. \n\n\"Mr. Regrize, I expect better from you. Do not speak out of turn in my courtroom again or you will be thrown out.\"\n\nThe judge scowls at Tony, and I let a small smirk grace my lips before turning my lips back down. Can't look satisfied right now. \n\n\"Now, Mr. Schroeder, it is true you have acquired all of this wealth from the crows. However, as you personally did not steal any of it I find no ground to try you for theft.\" \n\nI blink in suprise as the judge picks up the papers presented by Tony and walks out of the courtroom, leaving only me and Tony there. He looks like he's about to tear the hair out of his head. \n\n\"Heh.\"" ]	2
	[WP] I stand at the pearly gates, dressed in white. This makes no sense; sure, I wasn't evil, but I was very selfish and cared only for myself; I should be in hell, right? "Hello, Charlie. We've been waiting." Ah, now I get it, they think I'm my goody-two-shoes twin who died at the same time as me.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Even though I may be a selfish asshole, I won't stand for one thing. My brother deserves heaven. I don't. \n\n\"Oi, fuckheads.\" \n\nThe angels all turned in shock as I crossed my arms.\n\n\"I'm not Charlie. That's my twin brother. You just sent the best person I know to hell.\" \n\nThe angels all seemed to pause, before warping from the soft, winged forms to their edlritch forms, eyes covering their bodies. Their bodies now rings, or wings covered in eyes. \n\n\"Oi don't get mad at me, it was your mistake.\" \n\nI rip the halo off my head and walk away from the gates to the edge of the cloudy expense and nod. \n\n\"Well, I'll be heading down, see ya!\" \n\nAnd jump. But I don't fall. I just...float there. The angels seemed to come closer, and I began to sweat. Were they going to destroy my soul or something. \n\n\"We apologize for saying your brothers name, but you ARE supposed to be here.\" \n\nTheir voices called out from nowhere and everywhere at once. \n\n\"But why?\" \n\nI asked, crossing my arms again. \n\n\"You haven't killed anyone.\"" ]	2
	[WP] The summon finally worked! Unfortunately the being before you doesn’t look very much like a powerful inter-dimensional warrior... for one thing it won't stop weeping. This odd creature, this "Derek from accounting," must have its uses. If only you could ascertain what they are.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Oh my.” \r \n\r \nThe puff of smoke has billowed out, and all that stands before me is…well, I’m not sure what it is, exactly. Bipedal, some kind of white tunic that closes in the front of its body, a black fabric wrapped around its lower appendages, and a mass of fur on its head. A strange vision device sits atop what I assume is its face.\r \n\r \n“Where am I?” the creature asks. Its voice is high-pitched and slightly grating to my many ears. I flinch a bit and draw back.\r \n\r \n“I, Zabor the Great, have summoned you to my palace!” I bellow, stretching my top set of arms grandly. I pause and place a finger to my mouth. “But I am not sure who you are. Identify yourself, creature!”\r \n\r \nThe being wraps its arms (what a shame to only have two of them!) around its torso. “Um, my name is Derek. I’m from Accounting. I was just sitting at my desk when all of a sudden I was here!”\r \n\r \n“Derek from Accounting. I welcome you! I have spent many decades working on my spells and potions, with many failures along the way. Fate has brought you here! Now! To me!”\r \n\r \nI snap my fingers and several servants rush to Derek from Accounting. They pick him up and place him at the head of my feasting table, wrapping his body in a cloak made from diamonds. I sit across from him.\r \n\r \n“Tell me, Derek from Accounting. What special powers do you have?”\r \n\r \nDerek from Accounting stares at me in silence. The fur atop his head is suddenly wet and a thick clear substance begins to run down his face. “I, ah. Well, I guess I’m really good at Excel.”\r \n\r \n“Excel!” I pound my eleventh hand upon the table. “Tell me more about this EXCEL! It sounds dangerous and fascinating!”\r \n\r \n“Well, it’s a computer program that lets you do all kinds of calculations and execute some pretty sweet macros.”\r \n\r \nI smile. “Execution, eh? I like the sound of this EX-CEL already! Can it be used to bring about the destruction of my enemies?”\r \n\r \n“No, no no, that’s not what I mean.” Derek replies, holding up his hands. “It’s not a violent program; it’s more of an informational thing. In this case, execute simply means to use or to run.”\r \n\r \n“Hmmmm.” I pull off one of my ears and begin to much on it thoughtfully. “Then what can you bring to me that is useful?”\r \n\r \nDerek thinks for a moment. “I’m, well.....Can you define useful in this context?”\r \n\r \nI swallow my ear and reach for another. “Anything that will allow me to vanquish my sworn enemies, you fool!”\r \n\r \n“I’m not sure if I’m good at anything that will help you with that.” Derek thinks for a moment. “I’m pretty good at swatting flies.”\r \n\r \nMy left eye narrows. I stare at him. Derek from Accounting. What a disappointment he is! I rise from my seat and turn to float to the next room.\r \n\r \n“I thought I had succeeded, Derek from Accounting, but I was wrong. Servants, place Derek from Accounting in the Alien Room of Untold Horrors, with the others.”\r \n\r \nI leave the room, hearing Derek from Accounting making a noise I’ve never heard before.\r \n\r \n“I shall try again tomorrow.”", "I narrowed my eyes, peering at the strange creature from behind the think, bulletproof glass. I had expected something.. well, intimidating. A massive being with an enchanted sword and armor, something along those lines. Instead, a short two-legged creature with pale, wrinkly skin and a smattering of silver hair on its head gazed around confusingly, its large soft eyes finally spotting me. \n\n\nI heard it unleash a little squeak of fear, and it scrambled away into the corner of the containment cell and huddled there. A wave of pity washed through me; the poor thing would probably be intimidated by me looming in the background. I grabbed my clipboard and bottle of ink, snatched the translator off the table, and exited the study room. I swiftly strutted to the gate of the containment cell and allowed the keypad to scan my tag. \n\n\n\nThe massive metal gates creaked open, and I entered the containment cell, my yellow eyes locking onto the creature I had summoned. It cringed away from my gaze and began to make an ugly crying sound, burying its' little head in its arms. I sighed, crouching down on the thing's level and holding out my taloned hand. \n\n\nIt trembled, looking up at me and meeting my gaze. I held out the translator and spoke into it. \n\n\n\"Hello, creature. I have successfully summoned you to my world. What species are you, and what is your title?\" I asked. The translator beeped, and began spewing out a string of sentences in Galactic Common. It stared at me for a second, eyeing the vicious talons on my hand before tentatively speaking into the translator I held out. The words it spoke sounded rushed and jumbled as it stuttered.\n\n\nThe translator beeped once more, and spoke the words so I could understand. \n\n\n\"I'm- I'm a human. I'm Derek… from accounting..?\" the translator said. My eyes widened slightly; a Human! Ever since the SGC had restricted the Humans to their solar system, none of my species had seen one in centuries. I cleared my throat; Derek from Accounting must have skills none of my species possessed. \n\n\n\"So, Derek from Accounting… what abilities do you possess?\" I inquired. The translator made its' signature beep and spoke my question in a language the Human could understand. The Derek from Accounting spluttered, taking a moment to ponder my question. The translator's little screen showed the loading screen before beeping. \n\n\n\"I- uh… I'm good with computers…?\" The Derek apparently said. I stopped for a moment, pulling out the clipboard and ink and unscrewing the cap off my ink. I dipped one of my claws into the black liquid, and swiftly scribbled down the skill set in my notes. ‘Computer Skills’.\n\n\nI straightened to my full towering height, holding out my hand for the Human to grab. I racked my brain for the Galactic Common words I needed to speak. I hadn’t spoken it myself for years; I was a bit rusty with the accent, to say the least.\n\n\n\"Come on, Derek from Accounting. Even though you aren't the interdimensional warrior I was looking for, maybe you can get me the hell off this planet,\" I said. Trembling, it grabbed my hand and I hauled it up, dragging it out of the chamber.", "\"I always wanted to be an artist, but my parents said there was no money in art!\"\n\nAnd again he broke into tears!\n\nI don't get it, I thought I bought the right candles, drew the correct signs on the floor. I even bought a cool robe off of the internet. It's a deep purple, with a hood that just about covers my eyes, and it has golden tassels.\n\n\"Derek! It wasn't easy finding a three legged frog to carry out this summoning. I sure as heck did not do it to hear about you whining about your crushed dreams.\"\n\nDerek tossed himself to the floor and wept even harder, maybe I was a bit harsh. However, I spent the last four months picking up frogs near the river to find a three legged one. The summining book said, \"Powerful dark warrior, capable of decimating empires and kingdoms\", but all I got was \"Whoa-is-me\" Derek.\n\n\"Light a candle in each corner of the room. Check. Candle in the center. Check. Chant the latin word \"dinumero\". Check. Three legged frog. Check.\"\n\n\"Wait, is that a smudge?\" I rub off what appears to be some sort of stain. \n\n\"pernumero?\"\n\nThere's a reason why used books are so affordable sometimes.\n\n\"Derek! Do you know latin!?\"\n\n\"Only because my parents made me learn it in high school.\" I can see him about to sob again. \"I wanted to take drama instead!\"\n\n\"Ok, before you start crying again, what's the difference between dinumero and pernumero?\" \n\n\"Dinumero means enumerate and pernumero means reckon. You know who else spoke latin? El Greco!\"\n\nAnd with that he threw himself on the floor and I can see the little pool forming around his head. \n\n\"Are you serious!? Enumerate!?\"\n\nThe next day, the only thing that could get Derek to stop crying was promising him a trip to the local art museum. I was not particularly fond of the idea, but anything beats handing Derek a tissue every other minute.\n\n\"It says here they have paintings by Rembrandt and ancient roman statues! Oh and look! A paid exhibit on Nigerian masks!\"\n\nI feigned enthusiasm.\n\nAs we got to the ticket booth to purchase our entrances, I pulled out my wallet. I had just enough cash to cover us both.\n\nThe lady behind the counter handed me back my change. $10.50. Just enough to buy us some chips and a soda after. I shoved all the change back into my pockets.\n\n\"Derek, I only have enough for the regular entrance. We won't be able to see the masks.\"\n\nDerek's face changed into a slight smile and said, \"Check your pockets again.\"\n\nI looked at him a little confused, but I tend to find an extra dollar or two in my pockets after a wash. I pulled out the $10 and he reached out to grab it from me.\n\n\"Watch closely.\"\n\nI did. I needed the $10 back.\n\nHe folded the bill up into a little square. Only leaving a corner exposed where the $10 symbol was at. His thumb then covered the $10 symbol and he slowly rubbed it between his fingers.\n\nAfter a few seconds he unfolded it, and there was an extra 0 after the $10. \n\n\"Two tickets to the Nigerian exhibit please!\" and he handed the ticket lady the cash, annoyed that she was forced to look up from her phone.\n\n\"I can also do it digitally and to currencies of all kinds.\" \n\nHe handed me my ticket and change.\n\n\"Accounting school sucked, but I learned how to cook the books.\"\n\nMaybe dinumero was the correct word." ]	4
	[WP] The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has finally been cleaned up. Humanity celebrates! Until the Deep Sea Folk declare war upon the surface dwellers for commandeering the easy-to-harvest plastics.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I opened my desk drawer and opened my secret bottle of whiskey. Finally, it was done! It had been a really hard thing to convince the Navy to pitch in to cleaning up the great Pacific garbage patch. So many people thought that the Navy should focus on war, not the environment. But frankly, after the numerous scandals, the Navy's reputation was in the dumps. And besides, the Chinese were just adding to pollution, so America cleaning it up would help endear us to other Pacific countries and make them ally with us. \n\nIt had been a long 3 years, hundreds of thousands of ships, and trillions of dollars, but we got it done. The garbage was all cleaned up, and recycled into things which would help the entire planet. And I had just gotten the news that I was being awarded the presidential medal of freedom for my efforts! This was a great day indeed. \n\nI took a long sip of my whiskey and looked out my office window towards San Diego harbor before hearing knocking on the door. What was it? I quickly capped my whiskey bottle and put it back in my desk before saying, \"enter.\" It was my junior officer.\n\n\"Sir, we received a strange message.\" He handed me the message.\n\n\"SURFACE DWELLERS - you have stolen our plastic! We would have negotiated with you had you bothered to contact us, but you just stole without provocation. Well no more! This is a declaration of war!\"\n\n\"What the hell is this? Looks like a prank, why are you bothering me with this?\"\n\n\"Well sir, shortly after we received this, 3 ships sank off of Pearl Harbor.\"\n\n\"3? Way to bury the lede! How are the rescue efforts going?\" \n\"They aren't. The seas around Pearl Harbor are currently too rough to launch boats. The entire island of Oahu is under a tsunami warning.\"\n\nAnother knock, and another officer came in.\n\n\"Sir, 6 more ships have just sunk in Guam! Same kind of rough weather as in Pearl Harbor. And there have been reports of sea creatures.\"\n\n\"Sea creatures?\"\n\n\"Yes sir - well, take a look at these pictures.\"\n\nHe handed me the pictures. There were things coming out of the sea - they kind of looked like mermaids? Except they had bazookas. Bazookas! Jesus, I thought I only had a sip of Whiskey, but maybe I'd had more. \n\n\"Lieutenant, please tell me that I'm having a drunken hallucination right now. There is no way that mermaids with bazookas sunk 9 of our ships and made the seas too dangerous to attempt a rescue.\"\n\n\"Sir, that appears to be what's happening. At least, if you're having a drunken hallucination, than so am I, but I haven't had anything to drink since last night.\"\n\nOK - well, we need to inform the Pentagon. Send them the note and the pictures. And get me a sit rep from Pearl Harbor and from Guam.\"\n\n\"Yes, sir.\"\n\nJust then, the power went out. It had been sunny just 2 minutes ago, but when I looked out the weather was dark and foreboding. And then I saw it - the mermaid with the bazooka. Aimed right at my window.\n\n\"Take cover!\" Everybody did, and just in time as the missile went through my window. Thankfully nobody was hurt, but the office was ruined. I got up and surveyed the damage. Then looked out the window again. It looked like the mermaid was heading for the shipyard.\n\n\"Lieutenant, call the shipyard and tell them to prepare for an imminent attack! Then get me the Pentagon.\"\n\nThis would be war." ]	2
	[WP] You decide to try a new bar. The bartender seems to know more about you than you would have expected.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“No-no.” She raised her hand and smiled. “Let me guess.”\n\nA grin pops on my face and I place my hands flat on the bar. “Do you need to stare into my eyes or palm read or—”\n\n“Shush.” The bartender raises a finger to her lips. “I must consult the Bar Gods.”\n\nAnd with that she closes her eyes and turns her face up to the ceiling. Her hair is silver and kept up with a red bandanna, her makeup is subtle save a deliberate slash of eyebrow pencil with some crisscrosses that travels down one cheek to her jaw. The manner of her dress, to put it plainly, is...pirate. A white long-sleeved shirt, a black leather vest, and a very piratey pair of blue jeans.\n\nShe is not a maniac. She works in a pirate-themed karaoke bar.\n\n“A pint of Pool Duck IPA?” Says the mystic marauder of the high seas from the other side of the bar.\n\nThe title mystic had been earned, afterall, as she was was dead right. Pool Duck IPA is my poison of choice. “Now that’s a heck of a guess.”\n\n “Not a guess.” She said as she angled a glass beneath the tap and started to pour. A frown crossed her face a second later and she added. “Me hearty.”\n\n“So. Do ye be a psychic or a psycho, ye salty-”\n\n“You don’t have to pirate talk.” She said with a glare.\n\n“Ah. Right. Anyways, care to share you secret, old bean?”\n\n“Old bean?” A confused stare met with a wide smile on her face. She put the finished beer before me on the bar, then tapped the touchscreen on her register.\n\n“You said no pirate talk and I...panicked.”\n\nThe laugh she gave me was short and polite, likely born of service industry practice. “I knew you liked that beer like I know you watch hockey, were born in December, work as an accountant and hate cilantro.”\n\nI squinted at her. Oh no. Oh no, was this someone I know and didn’t recognise them?\n\n“Two things.” She said. “Can you tap your card and pay, please? Aaaand also did you not pay attention to your shirt?”\n\nI look down and saw a string of text above a skeletal Alvin the Chipmunk. With a sheepish look on my face and cheeks as hot as fire, I tap my watch on a puck near the register. At the ping, I know my beer has been paid for. \n\n“The shirts ironic. Its..its a play on those stupid elaborately specific shirts dickheads seem to get.” I pick up my beer and add salt to my own wound. “My Mum got it for me.”\n\n“Oof! Come on dude, you just called yourself a dickhead and admitted that your mother dresses you.”\n\nI lower my head and offer a sad: “..yarr.”\n\nShe laughs and I join in.\n\n“Cass.”\n\n“Trev.”" ]	2
	[WP] A computer game boss grows tired of fighting and takes up a normal job as an office worker. Life is great, and they make many new friends—until the day someone accidentally triggers their next phase.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It was, as they say, one hell of a Monday.\n\nChuck, a supervisor at a call center, had been late. He forgot his lunch. Pam was bossing Claire around again, trying to tell her the wrong way to do things. And he'd stubbed his toe on the stupid printer.\n\nAfter monitoring another one of Claire's calls, he decided he had to say something.\n\n\"Hey, Claire.\"\n\n\"What's up?\"\n\n\"I've been monitoring you. Your customer service is excellent, like always.\"\n\n\"Thanks.\" Claire smiled and nodded.\n\n\"I also noticed that you're reading the caller's address back to them to verify.\"\n\n\"Yeah, Pam told me it's faster to do it that way.\"\n\nPam slid her chair out of the neighboring cubicle.\n\nChuck nodded. \"It is faster. But callers will agree with a previous address, especially if they recently moved, so have them say it to you.\"\n\n\"People know their addresses.\" Pam retorted. \"Don't waste your time.\"\n\nJust that one snarky remark, that one act of questioning in front of someone he was trying to correct, was enough.\n\n-1 HP.\n\nAnd with the stubbed toe and the tweaked knee and the headache, Chuck had lost enough HP to metamorphose into his second stage. \n\n\"No! Not now!\" He tried to keep his voice soft, but it came out as a roar. Horns sprouted from his head. His skin turned red as his body, once skinny, ripped through his clothes as grotesque muscles seemed to grow from nowhere. From his new vantage point eight feet above the ground, he could see the horrified looks on his employees' faces.\n\n\"Tell me I'm wrong, though. It's a stupid rule.\" Pam ate a handful of potato chips.\n\n\"You! Are! WRONG!\" Demon Chuck loomed over Pam and swiped her bag of chips. He ate them in one bite, bag and all.\n\n\"Hey! Those are mine!\" Pam yelled indignantly.\n\n\"No food on the floor!\" Demon Chuck took another swipe, destroying Pam's office chair. \n\nPam scrambled to her feet and ran from Demon Chuck.\n\n\"VICTORY!\" He roared.\n\nA split second later, the realization washed over him. He was about to transform into his first phase again, Human Chuck, whose clothes were laying in tatters on the floor.\n\n\"Claire, we'll talk later,\" he said, running off toward his office and holding his hands in front of his groin.", "(On a phone so don’t mind my grammar) A player steps onto the battlefield, looking for the so-called “hidden boss”\n\n“He’s supposed to spawn here, did I get the wrong place?” The player wondered\n\nThe player walked around, not knowing the hidden boss actually took an office job ever since he was discovered. Suddenly a demon-like figure appears in the middle of the battlefield, he had a long and slim body and a handsome face.\n\n“Who summoned me?” The boss said in an almost friendly voice.\n\n“Uhh- I did.” The player responded, confused.\n\nThe boss sat down “My name is Mao, but I don’t fight anymore”\n\n“Huh? But aren’t you supposed to be the boss that gives the legendary demon sword when defeated?”\n\n“Yes, but I took an office job. If you’re looking for the sword just take it” Mao sighed, handing over the sword.\n\n“Alright then, best be going” The player took the sword, pitiful but happy they didn’t have to fight. As the player left the battlefield Mao returned to a more docile looking form, although still having an intimidating figure.\nMao teleported back to earth, hoping he will never have to return to his home.", "\"How does this thing work?\" Andy complained, seemingly punching random buttons on the fax machine. Beep-Boop the fax machine replied, as it always did.\n\n\"Ugh,\" I sigh, brows furrowing. My life has been going great since I got this office job, but If I had one complaint...\n\nI glance - no, glare \\- at Andy. Every morning it's the same thing. Andy walks up to use the fax machine, presses some random buttons, and acts surprised when nothing happens. If only he was part of a raid party, I'd kill him first, I think, a smile growing on my face.\n\nThen. Suddenly.\n\n\\[Hidden requirement met: Reset boss aggro 100 times. Boss successfully enraged.\\]\n\n\"Wa...wait!\" I cry out, but it's too late. My muscles begin to grow ten-fold, ripping through all of my clothes as I grow in size. My skin turns red, and my passively generated flames begin to incinerate everything around me. I can't help but grow angry, my eyes turning red.\n\n\"THIS..\" I roar, my crazed eyes looking for Andy, \"IS ALL YOUR FAULT!\"\n\n...\n\n\"Ah, got it.\" Andy says, apparently oblivious to what has just unfolded. Beep boop beep beep boop, replies the fax machine happily.\n\nAs Andy turns around, he stares at me quizzically. His stupid gaze is so... well.. stupid that it stops me in my tracks.\n\n\"Are you alright, Jim?\" he asks.\n\nHuh?\n\nI shake my head, and as I look around I realize that the office... isn't in ruins. My skin isn't red either, I'm back to normal.\n\nI shudder, a bead of sweat rolling down my face. \"Wha... What are you talking about, Andy?\" I manage to reply.\n\n\"Well.. you've just been staring off into space for a minute there.\" Andy says. \"Is everything all right at home?\"\n\n\"Oh... yes. Sorry.... You know how things are.\" I say.\n\nWas I imagining it?\n\n\"Right... well, I'd better get back to work then.\" Andy coughs.\n\n\"Oh... Okay. See you next time.\"\n\nDun dun another day in the office coooomplete" ]	4
	[WP] You, the prince, decided you don't want to go to the 'royal school', you want to go to regular school and make friends. Upon arriving, you see a bunch of kids teasing another kid who's 'ugly'. No-one knows that you're attending the school, but you know that you will be popular anyway. Unless...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The wind blew gently on my face as I was walking on the side road on my way to my new school. I could see the pink cherry blossom petals twirling in the air, riding the wind as I made my way towards my new school. Spring, the season of new life, passion, and joy. I could hear the rustling leaves and see the flying butterflies on a flower garden in front of a house as I passed. Colors that washed away the harshness of winter and breathed new emotions in the heart of the weary.\n\nI don’t have friends… that much is true. If I am lucky I will make some good friends in this school I transferred to. And If I am really lucky… I smiled and blushed slightly. If I am really lucky perhaps a bit of love, that would make me happy. I let out a deep sigh as I closed my eyes. I really want to fall in love on my own without my father meddling, or trying to marry me off somewhere. That is why I decided to come to this school.\n\nI heard chatter closely behind me as I was walking, so I looked back. Past me, walked a group of friends, two guys and three girls. They were laughing together and talking about mundane things. “Have you heard? Jessica is at it again, she beat two guys and sent them to the infirmary”, a girl said. “Eeeeeh? No way!” The other girl exclaimed. “It’d be bad of we ran into her,” one of the guys said, sweating. “Oh, she better doesn’t run into ME,” said the slightly larger other guy.\n\nOne of the girls glanced at me and waved as she walked by. “Hey, Katie what are you doing we don’t know him!” Said the other girl. “He wears our school uniform, and don’t you think he is handsome, Daisy? Hehe!” Giggled Katie. I shifted my gaze towards the guys and all three were glaring at me.\n\nHumph… Curse my DASHING looks, I thought as I ruffled my GLORIOUS smooth black hair while smiling.\n\nIt seems this Jessica is rather a problematic individual, better to stay away. I don’t want to get into any trouble since——\n\nPsshhh, crackled a sharp electrical static noise. \n\n“We found the target, over” said a cracking voice over some radio… Beep… \n\nI closed my eyes and smiled. I dislike the use of vulgar terminologies… \n\nPshh… “proceed, over”…. Beep.\n\nBut there is only one thing that I can say in this situation…\n\nTwo people came out from a green hedge in the middle of the side road and started running towards me.\n\nThe only thing that I can say is …. \n\n“SHIT!!!”, I yelled.\n\nI dashed away, with all the might I had in my legs, escaping from my two pursuers and not looking back for a second.\n\n“COME BACK, YOUR HIGHNESS!!!” Shouted one of the pursuers behind me.\n\n“NEVER!!!”, I yelled back.\n\nI must loose them before arriving at my school. If they know where I am enrolled at, it will be a BIG problem for me.\n\nPsh… “We are in pursuit… I repeat WE ARE IN PURSUIT!”… Beep… reported back the other guy behind me.\n\n“Dammit! How is his highness this fast?!”, asked the radio guy.\n\n“AHAHAHA! I have been running away from royalty nonsense and traps since I was 12, DON’T UNDERESTIMATE ME!!!” I yelled back again proudly.\n\nI saw an alley coming up to my right as I was running away. I could loose those two in here.\n\nI turned right through the alley, and took a left turn at a junction three meters (approx. 10 ft) after I entered. I continued straight, took another right turn; then, stopped and pressed my back against the wall in hiding.\n\n“Huff … huff” I gasped and wheezed desperately trying to calm myself down. I heard footsteps behind me probably close to where I entered the alley. \n\n“Wher did he go?!”\n\n“He must be close, let us split! I will go this way… And you will go that way!”\n\n“Alright… radio check in after 15 minutes!”\n\nI heard the sound of footsteps gradually getting louder as he approached. I need to remain still. I will hold my breath as he approaches..\n\nTap tap tap tap… the sound of his footsteps echoed through the alley.\n\n…. NOW! I held my breath as the man approached the junction I was at.\n\nTap tap tap tap… He passed by me and went straight. Great! He did not see me! Now I will go back, they will never find me! I went back the previous junction. If I turn right here and continue straight, I will be out on the side road.\n\n“I saw you were ogling me with your creepy eyes!” Said a female voice coming straight across the junction, opposite to me.\n\nHm? It seems there is a fight, I will approach to get a closer look. As I approached I saw high school students wearing my same uniform. A navy blue jacket with the end part of the sleeve embroidered with a light green silk. They were three girls and one boy. The boy had a small physique and was curled up with his head buried in his knees. A girl with a shorter skirt than the two was standing in front of him. \n\nThe girl had short hair the color of reddish copper, emerald green eyes and a pale skin. She was frowning at the curled boy. I wonder what happened?\n\n“Jessica… this is really bad. I feel bad for him maybe he didn’t mean it!”, said the black haired girl behind…. Jessica?\n\nWait… why does that name sound familiar?\n\n“Yeah, Jess! We will TOTALLY get into trouble again!” Said a brown haired girl next to Jessica.\n\n“I need to teach him a lesson, girls! He was ogling me and he isn’t apologizing!” Said Jessica, frowning. \n\nWhen I saw the boy curled up, something in me stirred, so I approached the girls slowly. I have always disliked preying on the weak.\n\n“Bullying is unbecoming of ladies such as yourselves”, I said with a smile.\n\n“Oh no! We are caught!”, exclaimed then black haired girl.\n\n“And by a hottie too!” Said the brown haired girl.\n\nJessica stood quietly observing me. She was slim and as tall as me, taller than the other two. I approached her and stood fairly close.\n\n“I send guys like you to the infirmary, so don’t try to get any ideas,” said Jessica in a cold tone while glaring at me.\n\nInfirmary…? Wait, don’t tell me…\n\nTo be continued in Part 2" ]	2
	[WP] Dr. Seuss tells the story of the time he got pulled over on the way to the office.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The clock was quite loud\n\nHow it beeped and it buzzed!\n\nWith me on my bed as I let out a “Snuzzz!”\n\nWhen I opened my eyes\n\nI did see such a sight\n\nThe small hand was left and the big one was right!\n\nI hopped out of bed with a “Yeepity-hop!”\n\nIt seems I will now be late for my job!\n\nI slid in my noot-suit with much speed and grace\n\nAnd hoped if I hurried I might still save face\n\nFor my boss would be red as tomato-y paste\n\nSo I hurried without mind for how haste makes waste.\n\nI zipped and I zooped as my car ran the lights\n\nAnd as I slid past an old cop on my right\nHis siren let out a great “Honkitty-hoo”\nAnd on top its bright lights shone out red and blue.\n\nThe officer chased me without much ado\n\nAnd as I rolled down my window I drew\n\nFrom inside the glove-box: my papers we’d need\n\nHe pulled down his glasses and asked me my speed?\n\nI told him this tale of my woe, boss’s face\n\nAnd of how I needed to set such a pace.\n\nHe nodded and murmured, with sympathy sighed\n\nAnd waved me along as he took on my side.\n\nAnd it would have been fine were my car still in “First”\n\nBut sadly, my gearshift was set to “reverse”\n\nThe officer gaped at the dents in our cars\nAnd laughed as he wrote out my tickets for hours.\n\nSo why I am late here, you hopefully see\nIs because I had meant to be on-time and free.\n\nThough we might all have time as we wake and we stir\n\nIf you speed and they find you, a ticket is sure.\n\nEdit: fix new lines and meter on one of the lines" ]	2
	[WP] You're on the subway ride home late at night, with just one other person across from you. They get off the train, deliberately leaving behind a black duffle bag under the seat.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "When the train arrived at the next stop, I saw the passenger sitting across from me get up and leave. I noticed that she left behind her black duffel bag on purpose.\n\nAs the train left the station, I took a minute to regard the black duffel bag.\n\n\"I wonder what it could be?\" I asked. I stood up and went over to it. I pulled it out from under the seat and unzipped it.\n\nThis is what I found: some clothes and a travel bag with toiletries. That was it.\n\n\"It's an overnight bag. Not even a bomb,\" I said in disappointment. \"But she had left it here on purpose. She wanted to leave it here, but it's nothing but overnight stuff.\"\n\nI looked through the duffel bag some more. \"Not anything of particular value, either,\" I noticed. \"It's not even worth stealing.\n\n\"Wait a minute. Did that person want me to walk over here and snoop through the bag? Why would she do that?\"\n\nWhen the train stopped at the next station, I zipped up the duffel bag and picked it up and carried it with me out of the car.\n\n\"I guess I can just leave it with the lost and found,\" I said. And yet I remained standing there as the train departed. I kept standing there.\n\nSeveral trains would stop by the station before I saw somebody walk onto the platform to wait for the next one. When it arrived, both he and I stepped into the same car. He sat down toward the front. I took the seat opposite him, but before I did that, I slid the black duffel bag underneath the seat next to him.\n\nWhen the train arrived at his stop, he got up and exited the car. I noticed that he left behind his black duffel bag on purpose.\n\n\"I wonder what it could be?\" I asked. stood up and went over to it. I pull it out from under the seat and unzipped it.\n\nThis is what I found..." ]	2
	[WP] You meet up with a friend after many years, only to discover you both remember an event very differently. After a while, it's clear you both have proof it happened the way you remember...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Hello Nathan\" says the woman behind the desk. It’s almost a question.\n\n\"Nate.\" I reply shortly, \"I’d still rather just Nate\".\n\nShe leans forward slightly and makes a quick note on her clipboard. “Well thank you for coming in today. I know this isn’t our first session, but can you tell me again why you are here?”\n\n“I’m here because my w-” my voice quivers as my eyes tear up, “Because I learned that my wife of 10 years has been cheating on me. With an old friend. I’m here to find ways to manage the betrayal, for the sake of our marriage and our children.” I take a few seconds to steady my breathing. My eyes focus on a point in the distance.\n\n“That’s right.” she says gently. “Nate, you are doing very well. Healing can be a lengthy process, but I know we’ve also come a long way. We’ve talked about your wife quite a lot. You told me you felt very surprised by everything. You hadn’t seen any indication that she was unhappy.”\n\n“No,” I reply. “Everything seemed to be going very well. I felt her heart in our marriage. Then one day, she accidentally called me John.”\n\nI thought back to that moment. The animalistic fear of realizing the mistake she had made was irreversible and would impact the rest of our lives. I felt a pang of sympathy, but it was quickly blotted out by rage.\n\n“I'd like to talk about your friend a bit.” The therapist’s words bring me back to reality. “ You met under quite stressful circumstances, can you tell me more about that?”\n\n“Um… we met on the way to a party during college. My roommate was having some friends over and I started drinking with them. Didn’t really know any of them. A couple joints went around too and at that point we were pretty out of it. Roommate got a text about a party across town and we hopped in her car. I woke up in the hospital. Everyone except for John and I got out without a scratch. We got to know each other during our time recovering and became pretty good friends. He was always a lot more put together than I was. A real A to B kind of guy. I’m a bit more of a wanderer.” I laugh a little, but intrusive thoughts quickly sour any humour I see in this. “Maybe that’s why she-”\n\nMy therapist gently cuts me off “Lets stay away from those negative maybes for a little bit. Can you tell me more about your friendship with John? Did you stay in touch?”\n\n“No. We started getting into arguments. Nothing big, just our differences showing, one crack at a time, until the friendship sank into the ocean.” She smiled at the pun as I continued. “Eventually, he went off to law school and I dropped out and became an artist. Didn’t see him after that.”\n\nA short silence fills the room. The therapist quietly taps her clipboard a couple times. “I’d like to try something new.” she says. “I think, for the sake of your children and your wife, your best chance at healing is to first get a bit of closure. And this may seem strange, but I think that closure needs to come from a discussion with John.”\n\nInstantly the room feels too hot. I grip the leather armrests. “You want me to call him or something?”\n\n“Actually, he’s here right now. John, if you could come in please.”\n\nMy brain tells me to jump out of my chair. The only thing keeping me there is my now bone-white knuckles gripping the chair and the intense sinking feeling in my gut. I break into cold sweats and make a noise somewhere between a “Please no” and an asthma attack.I hear the door open behind me.\n\nI smell the cologne. I see the expensive shoes out of the corner of my eye. My gaze moves upwards. John is wearing a fancy suit that has actually been properly tailored. He looks like someone you would want to have on your side of the table during a meeting. In contrast, I’m wearing a Blue Oyster Cult hoodie.\n\nHe takes an empty seat next to me, and looks me in the eye. “It’s been too long Nate, what’s going on? I was told you were in need of some help?”\n\nMy vision goes red and my jaw stiffens. “Help? HELP? You ruined my life. You weaselled your way into my marriage. You put my relationship with my children in jeopardy. You’re going to pretend nothing happened?”\n\nI see the look on his face and my anger evaporates. In his eyes there’s genuine confusion, and worry.\n\n“I’m sorry Nate, but I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I’ve been happily married for 10 years now. Kids and all. I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”\n\nFrom his wallet he pulls out a photograph of him and his two kids. My two kids. And my beautiful wife. Smiling with her whole heart.\n\n“Oh.” Is all I manage for a while, then “I understand.”\n\nI find myself alone with the therapist once more. The space previously occupied by John is painfully vacant, yet it feels so loud.\n\n“She’s been managing this all by herself. All this time…” I say to myself. “A coin toss. Every day.”\n\nMy therapist looks at me sympathetically “She’s been coming to see us about it for a long time. She called it a little quirk. She could read your body language and tell you apart. But this had to be addressed sooner or later. She was just hoping it would be under different circumstances.”\n\n“I have a lot of thinking to do.”\n\n“You do”, she responds, just as the clock chimes, marking the end of your session. “Thanks for coming in, Jonathan.”" ]	2
	[WP] As a dwarf, you always thought it stupid that humans try to draw the sword from the stone. The answer is obvious, mine the sword from the stone.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The year is 2348.\n\nThe thermal borehole surrounding the Swordstone megashaft had long gone cold. Humans, Dwarves, Elves... everyone with the means to build or board a Spelljammer had long since left the abandoned Sword Extraction Project.\n\nNearly 1,200 years ago, the Final Emperor made a pact with an ancient evil. The Empire would thrive and grow until the true heir could separate this blade from the rock and stone where it was thrust. In exchange, the Final Emperor would give their soul up to eternal torturous agony.\n\nThe Final Emperor played one last trick, and when the Sword of the Empire was bound to the earth and soil, the soul of the Emperor joined with it.\n\nIn a fit of fury, the planet was cursed by this primal force of wickedness; all sentient life would pursue nothing but the extraction of the sword until the True Heir was born. \n\nMillions of lives have been cast into the depths of the planet's core. Races began spreading out to seek resources from space to continue the burrowing extraction of a blade that seemed to be bound to the heart of the planet itself. The Dwarves never gave up on it, and it defined the collapse of an entire culture into obsessive madness.\n\n18 years ago, it all stopped. The planet's core began to drastically cool, and the curse of the blade tainted all life that remained.\n\nToday, a shaking and harrowed arm can barely hold a trembling and almost skeletal hand over the pommel of a sword. The effort to pull the blade freed is less than a soft breeze, but it is the last act of a starving, dehydrated, and singularly alone human. The last set of eyes remaining to witness the granting of this birthright, the wheezing rattle and ensuing silence, are the eyes of an evil that was older than time... and just as patient.", "Dwarves were never known for being cunning, but this one had a thought. \"Why not mine the sword from the stone? I could rule over tgis vast island myself\", and so he travelled to the swords resting place, tools in toe.\n\nWhen he arrived, he quickly equipped himself with his trusty pick, and then he took to it.\n\nTink: the ground rumbled a little.\n\nTink: a little more, this time.\n\nTink, Tink, Tink: the ground shook like clockwork. As each swing hit, the ground beneath everyone shook with ever increasing magnitude. It was fairly consistent, until...\n\nCRACK: Across the courtyard holding the stone, a crack propagated, as far as the eye could see. \n\nCRACK: the ground shook violently, this time. Screams of terror echoed over the horizon.\n\nDozens of more hits resonated through the ground, and as the cracks made expanded and flooded with turbulent seawater, the dwarf grew impatient, and soon brandished his trusty sledgehammer.\n\nBOOM: the stone shattered, and the sword fell to the very earth which it had been freed from. The dwarf picked it up, and held it high. He now held thensole authority to rule this archipelago.", "I would often see humans come from far and wide to try and pull the sword from the stone. You know the legends, if you can draw the sword, you become king. I guess it's a magical sword or something, I dunno. But none of the humans have been able to pull it, and I've been watching it for a long time. Like, centuries, at this point. You see, I'm a dwarf, and I live for a good long time.\n\nI think I'm the only dwarf that lives in this village. I'm not originally from here, of course, I travelled from the mines, about three weeks travel by horse to the north. I came here because, well, I guess I'm not like other dwarves, I actually prefer fresh air and sunshine. Strange, I know. If you're wondering why I ended up here, well, during my travels, I got picked up by a caravan, and we ended up here. I guess the caravan people wanted the sword, just like the rest of them. I stuck around 'cuz I like it here, simple as that. Weather's nice, people are nice, and I got me a steady job as a farmhand, helpin' with chores and whatnot, and fixin' up the tools and such.\n\nAnyway, I was out drinking with my buddies Dayv and Chunn. We'll do that a couple of times a week, just to take a load off, you know? So we was gettin' pretty tipsy, and Dayv says to me, he says, \"Hey Jarl, yer a dwarf. Ye know minin' and rocks and such, right?\" to which I nodded, and he continues, \"why don't ya just dig the sword out of the stone?\"\n\nSo then Chunn explained to him, \"Ya don't think anyone's tried that already? I've seen people try to break that rock, it just won't give.\"\n\n\"None o' them was dwarves though, was they?\" Dayv added, thinking he was on to something. \n\nNow, I didn't really care about the sword, I just liked seeing the variety of people who came to town to see it. Tourists amuse me, and I enjoy seeing people be all hopeful and all that. Of course, they tend to get disappointed when they can't pull it, but that's bound to happen, I guess. I never even bothered to try pulling the sword, I just didn't see the point. I figured I couldn't pull it anyway, and I didn't even wanna be king anyway. I just wanna live my humble life, all simple like.\n\nBut hey, I was drunk. Not thinkin' straight, I stand up and shout, mead dripping down my beard, \"FELLAS, I'M GONNA GO DIG ME OUT A MAGIC SWORD!!\" Maybe I was a bit rambunctious there, I kinda drew a bit of attention with that remark o' mine. Folks were starin', and normally I'd be uncomfortable by that sort of thing, but the alcohol in my brain made me not mind so much.\n\nI stormed out o' the pub, marched home to fetch me tools, and made my way to the sword. I had a bit of a crowd observin' me, but I hardly noticed. I was strangely determined. Now it was night time, of course, but there be plenty of streetlights to see what I was doin', it's the town square, after all.\n\nSo I started pounding away at the big ol' mound of stone. My tools are the genuine dwarven article, so you bet your beard I'm gonna be able to work this rock. My pickaxe begins to chip off bits of the stone, pebble by pebble. It takes more time than you'd expect, though, there's somethin' funny 'bout this rock. I'm guessin' the enchantment they put on the stone to hold the sword, is makin' it harder, too. Makes sense, they obviously didn't want people gettin' the sword illegitimately. But I am.\n\nI've spent a few hours on this thing, banging at it with my pickaxe...hammer...chisel...and bein' a dwarf, I can sense the crystalline structure of this rock, and, y'know, I know it's density, it's grain...I'm good with rocks. I'm not an expert, as far as dwarves go, but compared to these humans, I seem pretty impressive. The booze has mostly worn off, too, at this point, so I'm thinking more clearly, able to concentrate on this project.\n\nI keep working at this thing until morning. I'm pretty invested in this now, of course, but more for the stone itself, than the sword. This is a truly fascinating material, I ain't seen nothin' like it before, in all my days as a rock farin' dwarf. I wanna take some samples and study them, maybe send some back home to the mines for their interest.\n\nMore people are watchin' me work by now, too. Including my boss from the farm. He comes up to me, patient yet annoyed, telling me I'm late for work. I promise to come right away when I'm finished here, ensuring him that I'm gonna make up the lost time for sure. For now, though, I'm on a mission. I'm almost done, too, just a few dozen more whacks.\n\nEventually, I make it through! I break off enough of this stone, that I'm able to knock the sword loose. The crowd is getting pretty excited, too, but there're enough people guarding me to hold them at bay, 'cuz we just know that someone is gonna make a grab for the sword. This village doesn't exactly have guards, or a police force, but we've got enough friendly people to make sure things are done proper. Makes me surprised that they're allowin' me to do this.\n\nSo I got the sword loose from the stone. There's still a fair bit of rock fused to the blade, though, so people are havin' conversations about whether or not it's valid with those bits stuck on there, and frankly, I don't care. I was just in it for the art of the project, and for the fascination of the stone. I decided to hold on the sword for safekeepin', though, while the townsfolk figure out what to do with it. I just figure that people are gonna have some funny ideas, feelin' all entitled, wantin' to be king. It's a bit chaotic for my liking, and I can't shake the feelin' that it might be my fault. Whatever, I'm late for work, I'm gonna go home and wash up before heading off to the farm.", "Ti-Ag ran his hand along the fault of the stone, unspoiled by the strange blade stabbed through it. No, that wasn’t right, was it? The sword had come first, crystal budding around it. Bizarre, indeed.\r \n\r \n“Figured you would find the interesting,” Bassel the landlord said. “The great prophecy states that whosoever can free blade from its prison shall reunite the shattered great dominion of man. Many men, and some women, travel here just to give it a tug.”\r \n\r \n“That so? You know, the dominion wasn’t so great for my ancestors, forcing us to live above. Unnatural,” Ti-Ag said, taking out his craftsman’s hammer. He retraced the stone, checking it was really as simple as it seemed. One well-placed tap, one more, and then, sure enough, the stone cracked, splitting right along where it met the sword, which clanged to the ground.\r \n\r \nTi-Ag picked up the sword, giving an awkward wobble of his head. Bassel stood wide-eyed and held out a shakey hand.\r \n\r \nTi-Ag handed it over to the human, “not a bad blade, but hopefully, now that a dwarf of all people fulfilled your prophecy, all this reforging the dominion business can be done with. Bassel?”\r \n\r \nThe human was staring at the blade in his hands, twisting it to catch the light. “Your father was good to me,” he finally said. “I owe him and his kin a fair lot, so I’ll give you a day to leave the city.”\r \n\r \n“What, just after I moved in? What kind of-” Ti-Ag said.\r \n\r \n“I’ve done it!” Bassel yelled, running towards the center square. “I have pulled the blade!” \r \n\r \nPeople began to funnel from their homes, cheering and crying. Someone seemed to have fireworks at the ready for just such an occasion. The crowd lifted up Bassel, chanting his name.\r \n\r \n“Well, if that isn’t no small bit of shit,” Ti-Ag said, pushing through the growing swarm.\r \n\n\n/r/surinical", "\"Have you ever seen something so beautiful in all your life?\" asked Princess Anabella as she clasped her gloved hands together.\n\n\"What, the dwarf?\" asked Rina, lady of the High Court, pointing to the stout faerie merrily humming away as he repeatedly swung his pickaxe at the stone which kept a shimmering blade its prisoner.\n\n\"Not the dwarf, idiot. The sword.\" Anabella spread her arms wide. \"Once he frees it, our smiths will copy it, and our enchanters will study the spell so we may cast it ourselves. Our army will be the strongest in the entire world!\"\n\n\"Bloody stupid enchantment it is,\" Drog the dwarf muttered just quietly enough to escape the power-hungry Royal Court's ears. The prophecy was well-known throughout the continents' kingdoms: The blade, once pulled from its rocky sheath, shall ne'er be defeated. Simple. To the point. No fine print or hidden enchantments. And that was precisely why it was so sought-after.\n\nFinally there was a great cracking noise as the rock split in two. The glowing sword clattered to the ground. Cheers arose from the members of the Royal Court.\n\n\"Ye have yer fancy-pants sword, Princess Anabella.\" Drog slung his pickaxe over his shoulder. \"I should hope you hold up your end of the bargain.\"\n\n\"We will reward the Dwarven alliances quite handsomely for your efforts,\" she said.\n\n\"Aye, but before I leave--I should let you know that the sword is worthless junk.\"\n\nThe entire Court gasped as one. Princess Anabella stepped forward and shook with rage.\n\n\"Just like a bloody faerie to have a trick up his sleeve,\" she shouted.\n\n\"No tricks, your Highness. Fetch your finest knight for me to spar, and I will show you.\"\n\nGlances were exchanged around the members of the Court, but eventually Drog and Fernando the Dragonslayer stood in the center of the castle courtyard, Fernando with the shimmering blade and Drog with his pickaxe. The Court stood by with tense faces and fingers laced together, unsure if they would lose a knight or witness a Dwarven slaughter.\n\nWith a mighty yell, Fernando rushed towards Drog swung. Drog simply ducked and swept his pickaxe at the Dragonslayer's feet. The knight fell to the ground as the legendary blade slipped from his grasp. It sailed through the air before lodging itself into another boulder.\n\n\"The blade, once pulled from its rocky sheath, shall ne'er be defeated.\" Drok slung his pickaxe over his shoulder once more as he recited the prophecy. \"The blade. It says nothing about the knight holding it.\"\n\nr/MyloRolfeReads/", "The sword in the stone. Everyone and their mother knew the story of the sword in the stone. It was ridiculous, that a system of government should be decided by what scrawny child could draw a sword out of a stone. And that wasn't even the worst problem. No, the worst of it was that there were a sight too many swords in stone.\r \nHere's what I mean. You have a kingdom, a king and land all the usual stuff. Now, oops the king's dead and there's no heir. Then, often on the very next day a sword and stone appears. Just thumps down into the middle of everything, and everyone runs around trying to find the person who can pull the sword out, who is destined to rule. It's rather annoying, takes all the peace and quiet out of life. Multiply that by however many kingdoms in the world you live in and there's a lot of nonsense happening.\r \nLike just recently, our king died, \"by accident\" and sure enough, a sword and a stone appeared. Not in the very center of town, where it would be much more accessible, no it materialized right outside my blooming house. Right in my front yard. On top of my fountain, crushing it to bits. I was proud of that fountain, it was one of the first things I'd ever carved. A curse on all swords in stone. \r \nIt took all of three seconds before the first claimant showed up. I honestly think that they must have had spies watching the entire town. After an hour of grunting, sweating and some very inventive curses, they left. So it went for the rest of the day. There were lineups around the block at some points. Finally, late into the night, everyone went away. And I got to work. \r \nThe humans all believed that they needed to draw the sword from the stone. That was a bit ridiculous, and I never quite knew how that got worked into the story. Every dwarf knew the proper answer was to mine the sword out. That was how you normally got metal out of a rock; though there were a few more steps when it was in its raw state. \r \nSo with pick and chisel, with a hammer and my own brute strength, I would have this sword out easily tonight. And tomorrow, I might actually be able to have my usual midday nap. I worked quickly, but as quietly as possible. But not quiet enough. As I was close to finishing, a small voice piped up from the other side of the rock. \r \n\"Whatcha doing?\" \r \nI nearly used one of the curses from the first claimant as I dropped my hammer onto my toe. Around the corner of the stone, a short figure materialized, holding a lantern to light their path. My eyes, accustomed to the dark, smarted at the sudden shift. It was a human child, that much was obvious by their short stature, and lack of beard. Though I suppose it could be an adult human female, they don't grow beards either. An odd oversight of genetics I suppose.\r \n\"I'm getting rid of this fu— bloody sword. I will have no peace until it's gone.\" I growled, trying to sound fierce. The child didn't flinch. Brave or stupid, I couldn't tell. \r \n\"But everyone will come looking for it. They won't stop until they know who is supposed to be king. Do you want to be king?\" They asked.\r \n\"Do you?\" The admittedly childish rejoinder jumped out of me before I could stop it. But instead of sticking out their tongue, or giving an equally silly answer, the child tilted their head to the side. As they thought, I continued my work chipping away at the rock. \r \n\"No. Too much power. But I do want a sword. And if you aren't doing anything with that one...\" I couldn't help the chuckle that came out of me at their words. Opportunistic little bastard this one. A bit like me, when I was young. \r \n\"You'd like this sword, but you don't want to be king. Then you're going to have to leave this kingdom. Are you prepared to do that?\" I looked up as I asked the question, my hands still working their repetitive motion. They stilled at the expression on the child's face. It was sheer pain, so fast I couldn't swear to have seen it. But I knew what that expression denoted, knew that if I saw the child in the daylight I would see the bruises, see the malnutrition, see everything the darkness hid. \r \n\"Yes. There's nothing for me here.\" Their voice quavered but held strong at the end. Against my better judgment, I found myself liking this kid. I nodded at them and began chipping away at the stone again. Before another hour passed, I freed the sword from the stone. Hefting it, I could see the workmanship. It was a good sword, serviceable and not too ornate. The child drew closer, and I handed it to them. \r \nThe tip plowed into the earth instantly. They had never been trained, didn't have any muscle mass, nothing. Besides, it was a sword for a grown man, not a scrawny kid. They looked at me, eyes full of defiance as if they expected to me to take the sword back. I shook my head.\r \n\"Wait here.\" I moved back into my house, taking stock of supplies, and throwing things into a rucksack. I wasn't sure what human children needed nutritionally, but if it was good enough for dwarves, hopefully, it would be good enough for them. I walked out, slamming the door behind me, hearing the levered bar fall into place, locking the house. The child, by some feat of strength, lifted the sword, pointing a quavering tip at me. \r \n\"Don't be ridiculous,\" I said, moving around them and liberating the sword from their grasp. Swinging it onto my back, I went to the front gate. The child made a small sound, somewhere between a cry and a shout. I looked back at the tiny figure standing in their little pool of light.\r \n\"Well? You coming or what? We're going to need to leave now if we don't want people to suspect. Shake a leg, kid.\" I couldn't keep the gruffness out of my voice, the child would just have to get used to how I spoke. A gamut of emotions ran across their face before they ran up to me.\r \n\"You mean— You're coming with me?\" The hope in their voice broke my old heart just a bit.\r \n\"Of course I am,\" I growled. \"You can hardly go alone, can you? Little defenceless child like you. Now come on. We're losing the night.\" \r \nThey followed me, a smile on their face, perhaps the first genuinely happy emotion I'd seen from them this night. We walked in silence until we left the town far behind us. Then, as is common with children, they asked a question.\r \n\"Where are we going?\"\r \n\"We're going to see a cousin of mine. A blacksmith by trade. He's always been the more adventurous one and he'll know what to do about you and this sword.\" I said, as the child looked at me worriedly. Shaking my head, I patted them on the head. \r \n\"Don't you worry kid. They're a lot nicer than me. Remind me to tell you about the time they met and helped the spirit of a volcano. It's a corker of a story.\" The child nodded, worries assuaged for now. As we moved through the night, the moon and a single lamp lighting our way, I sighed.\r \nI probably wasn't going to be getting my midday nap for a long time.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n————————\n\nVisit r/Mel_Rose_Writes for more stories!", "A pilgrimage to the imaginatively named town of Sword-in-the-Stone was a rite of passage in every young Angle's life. Come of age and travel across the kingdom to test your worthiness, and hope that you would be the one who could free the eponymous sword and become the rightful King or Queen of the Angles.\n\nBrinda had come to Sword-in-the-Stone for that very reason, against the wishes of her parents who felt they had already wasted far too much money on similar journeys for three previous children. But Brinda had grown up on stories of such journeys, listening eagerly as her elder siblings recounted the story of their own attempts, and dreaming of one day placing her own hands on the hilt of the magical sword of Arthur, which would no doubt slide free from the rock.\n\nShe had spent long nights weighing up the competing merits of the town's two inns, which stood opposing each other around Sword Square, and debating which she should stay in. The Might of Merlin was said to have the better ale, but more lice than the The King's Sword. All the best stories seemed to have their start in the Might of Merlin, but after two weeks on the road, and too many nights in bad inns, she was now firmly in favor of The King's Sword.\n\nShe had arrived in the town in early afternoon. The town had sprung up around it's central attraction, and the main road led her straight to the central square and the two inns that stood watch over the stone.\n\nOne of Brinda's brothers had told her that the line of aspirants had stretched around the square, but today the place was empty save for a lone street sweeper.\n\nIt was also empty of any sign of a sword in a stone. Where there should have been a large rock in the center of the square was now just a bare patch of ground.\n\nBrinda approached the street sweeper. \"Um, excuse me, sir, but is this where I find the Sword in the Stone?\"\n\nThe man looked at her glumly. \"Gone.\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"Gone.\"\n\nBrinda felt a pang of fear. \"Somebody was able to take the sword?\"\n\n\"Aye.\"\n\nShe looked around again. \"But where's the stone?\"\n\n\"Gone,\" said the old man, even more glumly, and went back to sweeping.\n\nBrinda wondered if taking the sword had been as hard for the presumptive new ruler of Angland as it was to get words out of this man. She tried one last time, \"Who took it? The sword, I mean, not the stone.\"\n\n\"Dwarves,\" said the sweeper. Then he jabbed the handle of his broom in the direction of the Far Mountains, and with an apparently Herculean effort added, \"Took both.\"\n\n---\n\nThe Far Mountains had lived up to their name. They had not seemed that far from Sword-in-the-Stone, perhaps a day's ride, but it had taken her a whole week to make it to the foothills, and two more days to lead her horse up the increasingly narrow path that was said to lead to the halls of the dwarves.\n\nThe air was thin, and Brinda was breathing hard when she rounded the corner and found herself in front of a huge doorway carved into the side of the mountain.\n\nThere was a single short figure standing outside the door, helmet pulled down low over its brow against the rain.\n\nBrinda walked up to it. \"Hello.\"\n\nThe figure grunted.\n\n\"Is this the Hall of the Mountain King?\"\n\nAnother grunt. Brinda had long since decided that the further north one traveled, the fewer words anyone spoke. Perhaps this was the very edge of the world.\n\n\"I'm, er, here because, well...\"\n\n\"You're here about the sword,\" the dwarf said.\n\n\"Oh. Well, yes. How did you know?\"\n\nThe dwarf snorted. \"I suppose you think you're the first?\"\n\n\"Oh,\" Brinda said. She had not met any other travelers on the road north, and had begun to hope.\n\n\"Well, don't just stand there in the rain. Better come in and dry your horse before you head back down the mountain.\"\n\n\"Back?\" Brinda said. \"But I only just got here. Besides, I was hoping to see the sword.\"\n\n\"Hrmph,\" said the dwarf. \"Hoping to steal it, d'you mean?\"\n\n\"No,\" Brinda lied, but her face flushed.\n\nThe dwarf took off it's helmet, and long hair cascaded down onto rain splashed chain mail. A beard-less face looked up at her and smirked knowingly.\n\n\"You're- you're a girl,\" Brinda said, both surprised and seeing a chance to change the subject.\n\n\"A woman,\" the dwarf corrected. \"Seeing as you're also a woman, albeit a young one, I'm a little surprised at your surprise.\"\n\n\"Oh no,\" Brinda said, and flushed deeper. \"It's just, well, in the stories there are never dwarven woman.\"\n\nThe dwarf looked at her speculatively. \"Ah, stories. Famous for always being true, stories are.\" She looked up at Brinda, and then suddenly sighed. \"Come on young lady. Your horse looks almost dead from cold, and you from hunger. Your rub down your horse, and I'll get you a bowl of soup to warm you up.\"\n\n---\n\nBrinda sat at the stone table, and ate the hot soup at fast as she could without scorching her mouth. The dwarven woman sat across from her, occasionally glancing out at the deserted path up the mountain, but mostly watching the human eat.\n\nWhen the bowl was empty, the dwarf said, \"So you'll be off now.\"\n\nThe rain was coming down harder now, lashing the mountain side as gusts of wind swirled over the crags.\n\n\"I suppose so,\" Brinda said. She hesitated, wanting to ask a question that had been burning on her tongue nearly as badly as the soup. \"So what will you do with the sword?\"\n\n\"Is that any of your business?\"\n\n\"No, but...\" A thought struck her. \"If one of you is the rightful King or Queen, then I should like to pay homage to my new ruler.\"\n\nThe dwarf snorted. \"The rightful King?\"\n\n\"Or Queen.\"\n\n\"Because of a sword?\"\n\n\"It's not just any sword,\" Brinda said defensively. \"It's the sword of Arthur, given to him by the Lady in the Lake, and sealed in the stone by Merlin to await one worthy enough to free it.\"\n\nThe dwarf snorted. \"What did I tell you about stories?\"\n\n\"Well, this one is true,\" Brinda said. \"It has to be, otherwise... otherwise...\"\n\n\"Otherwise you came all this way for nothing,\" said the dwarf, but gently.\n\nBrinda looked at her helplessly.\n\nThe dwarf sighed. \"Do you know why Merlin put that sword in the damn stone in the first place? No, I mean do you know why he claimed that only the true ruler would be able to pull it out? Because when Arthur died without an heir, all the barons fell to squabbling about who would be the next king. But Angland was still at war back then, so Merlin put the sword in the stone to stop them arguing for long enough to defend their borders.\"\n\nBrinda frowned. \"But what if one of the barons had been able to draw the sword?\"\n\n\"Ah,\" the dwarf said knowingly. \"Merlin, being a wizard and thus a crafty bugger, melted the sword so that it fused to the rock.\"\n\n\"But then nobody would ever be able to draw it? Didn't Merlin want there to be another King?\"\n\n\"Or Queen,\" the dwarf amended, and winked. \"Perhaps. Who knows. Rather inconveniently, he died, or disappeared (nobody's quite sure, since they never found his body) before he could undo the spell.\"\n\n\"So all this time we've been trying to achieve an impossible task? Did the dwarves know?\"\n\nThe dwarf grinned. \"Wasn't hard to see that the rock had been melted if you know a little about geology. Oh don't look like that. Sure, it gave us a few chuckles over our ale on the long winter nights, but it seemed to give you lot something to do that would keep you out of mischief.\"\n\nBrinda fought down her indignation, and asked in a voice of forced calm, \"So how did you manage to draw the sword then? I didn't think dwarves could cast spells.\"\n\n\"There are many kinds of magic,\" said the dwarf. \"And the best kind, in my opinion, is the kind you do with logic and elbow grease.\"\n\n\"Meaning?\"\n\n\"Meaning,\" said the dwarf with the patience of explaining something to a child, \"that we chiseled down the rock and took the sword. What was left of it.\"\n\n\"It was a magical sword,\" Brinda said. \"Hardened by sorcery to pierce the thickest armor-\"\n\n\"And left out in the rain and the snow and goodness knows what other kinds of weather for over two hundred years,\" the dwarf said. \"It was more rust than metal at this point. Frankly it's a wonder it hadn't disintegrated into pieces when some young fool yanked on the hilt.\"\n\n\"So you're going to repair it?\" Brinda asked hopefully.\n\n\"Honey,\" said the dwarf pityingly, \"it was melted down for scrap.\"\n\nBrinda said nothing for a long while. \"But why?\"\n\nThe dwarf shrugged. \"That's for the Mountain King to know, and you and me to speculate. But-\" she lowered her voice, \"-just between you and me, I've been hearing worrying news about the kingdoms to the south. Rumors of invasion. And how the Regency of Angland is divided by internal power struggles and lack of leadership. Perhaps this will... reset the field.\"\n\n\"So this is all just politics?\"\n\n\"It ends,\" said the dwarf, \"as it began.\"\n\n---\n\nMore stories at /r/jd_rallage", "\"Aaand... there's... done!\" the dwarf yelled and, with a final strike with his pinky-sized chisel, the stone broke, shattering into 4 even pieces. Rumbling filled the cave as the boulder crashed onto the floor, followed by a metallic clang of the sword bouncing lightly.\n\nThe human stared at him, awestruck.\n\n\"I- I just-\" the human stammered, unable to find the words.\n\n\"Och, is nothing laddie. Really though, ye all tried pulling this poker out of a stone? Why'dae think that's possible? Just mine it is what I say,\" the dwarf said and wiped his bushy brow.\n\n\"Now then!\" the dwarf said and clasped his hands together, \"I believe it's time to collect!\"\n\nRubbing his hands for warmth, the dwarf bent over, reaching for the sword but stopped when he realized the human was not only staring daggers at him, but in fact holding a dagger at him.\n\n\"I'm sorry, master dwarf, but that wasn't the deal,\" he said slowly.\n\n\"Ye hired me to break this 'ere boulder, lad. I did,\" the dwarf grumbled.\n\n\"Yes. But we never agreed that you'd be collecting this treasure,\" the human said and pointed down. \"You've got your fee as we agreed.\"\n\n\"Commission?\" the dwarf scoffed. \"Laddie, the commission is gravel compared to this 'ere treasure. Had I known...\" he said, tightening the grip on his pickaxe.\n\n\"Master dwarf, I urge you, let this one go. This sword is my rightful heritage and-\"\n\n\"Sword?\" the dwarf said. \"Whaddya mean sword, laddie? This boulder - pure thaumic granite. My folks in Iron Mountains will-\"\n\n\"Wait, what?\" the human replied, lowering his daggers. \"You- I'm after the sword. What do you-\"\n\n\"You mean this toothpick? Whatd' I care about it? Fine sword, aye, good craftsmanship, nice engraving in some... leaf-lover language looks, but the stone...\"\n\nThe two stared at each other quietly, the dwarf curiously inspecting the sword while the human cautiously looked at the rocks.\n\n\"So... if I let you take the rocks...\" the human said, \"you don't mind if I take the sword?\"\n\n\"Why would you- ya know what? Human matters. Dinnae care. Take the poker,\" the dwarf said and waved his hand before starting to collect the rocks in his cart. The two then shook hands, carefully - in case the other changed their mind - and went their separate ways.\n\nWhat a dumb dwarf, the human thought. To leave behind the Sword of the King, bearing the crown to a kingdom? Unthinkable.\n\nWhat a dumb human, the dwarf thought. To leave behind Pure thaumic granite, worth all of the Iron Mountain? Unthinkable." ]	9
	[WP] You’re a new teacher (or student) undertaking Conjuring and Summoning this semester. Explain and explore the juxtaposition of the two Arts, using coursework, materials, practical applications, and exams to show proficiency. Divide the class into groups to research and develop a spell.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Professor Hildebroom grinned eagerly as he watched his class gather and settle. First years, nearly fresh from the womb, wide-eyed, clumsy, and capable of wonder. He adored teaching first years.\n\nThe seats filled, and the last student to waddle in did so fumbling an arm-load of materials - dense, leather-bound books, parchment, quills, wand, ink.\n\nHildebroom twirled his finger subtly and the classroom door croaked shut.\n\nHe took a moment to examine his students’ faces. Many were painted with quiet apprehension, overwhelmed by their first foray into the revered cultural pastime. Others beamed with excitement, confidence. These were usually the children of long lineages of magic folk, already steeped in the tradition. At least one was totally aloof.\n\n“Welcome students,” Hildebroom boomed, causing the class to jump, “to Conjuring and Summoning.”\n\n“Who here can tell me what the art of Conjuring entails?”\n\nThe hand of a determined child shot up, “Spells, sir! Magic spells!”\n\n“Yes!” Hildebroom matched her enthusiasm, “Conjuring is the engagement of ritual to elicit cooperation from the Unseen Power.”\n\nHe raised his wand and flicked it rapidly in a series of arcane movements. Blue feathers of lightning exploded from the tip and crackled above the students’ heads, causing the children to cheer and every hair in the room to stand on its end.\n\n“And what, then, is Summoning?”\n\nHildebroom paused - no response.\n\n“Alright then, I’ll show you.”\n\nHe turned and strolled over to a dish of sand on his desk. He took a pinch, held it up for the class to see, and then blew it from his fingertips.\n\nThe sand swirled in the air and coalesced into a furry creature, lighter than air, much like a tuft of dust but with two distinct eyes. It puffed around the classroom to a chorus of student cooing.\n\nA moment later, Professor Hildebroom snapped his fingers; the creature reverted to sand and fell to the cobble.\n\n“Summoning is the use of Conjuring to invite the presence of magical creatures.”\n\nHildebroom’s face darkened visibly, he furrowed his brow. The room’s shadows grew taller.\n\n“There is danger to be found in these arts,” he let his words reverberate against the hewn stone, “but used properly…”\n\nThe shadows receded. Students that had held their breath exhaled.\n\nHildebroom unfurled his clenched fist to reveal a radiant bloom.\n\n\"Used properly, you can accomplish incredible things.”" ]	2
	[WP] When returning home from running errands with your partner you put the key on the door and hear a key fall out the other side. Curios how this is possible you enter and shout "hello?" only to find an exact copy of you and your partner rushing to the front door looking as puzzled as you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "ACT III: WHICH WAY HOME\n\nScene: Niels Bohr Institute, Earth-1.\n\nHART-1: \"If I'm involved in trying to save people, the least I can do is help me.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"Let me know what I can do.\"\n\nHART-1: \"The first thing you need to do is let me take charge. I'm not happy pushing you around, but in this case, it's clear my other self trusts me and not you. And if what he said about your Earth-2 equivalent is right, I don't expect him to.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"I know I'm your junior colleague, but I'm not something to be ashamed of.\"\n\nHART-1: \"You heard how he reacted to your voice. I'm not triggering him again. It's not worth it. Second -- keep in touch with our Earth-2 visitors and their other selves. If it's at all possible to provide updates on the situation to them, we will. This may be how we have to divide our workload.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"Understood. What do they know?\"\n\nHART-1: \"I told them everything. That we are on opposite sides of England's political scene. But it means nothing -- they are not us. Whatever Earth-2 Stone has done means nothing about how any of us view you.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"I... I didn't think it would, but...\"\n\nHART-1: \"Sorry. I don't know how much cat and mouse is going on. Just remember -- even if they can find us, talk to us, and see us... we cannot allow them to find THEM. Be it the Earth-2 couple or my resister. Lives are in danger.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"All right. I'll be the go-between. If there's something they need from you, I will come to you.\"\n\nHART-1: \"Thank you. Now...\"\n\nA voice is heard over the Earth-2 communicator.\n\nVOICE: \"To the Earth hearing this: acknowledge yourself! This is the British Empire demanding acknowledgement!\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"Is that me?\"\n\nHART-1: \"I'll do the talking.\"\n\nHart-1 picks up the microphone on the two-way.\n\nHART-1: \"You are speaking to a government-neutral science station in an alternate Earth. Identify yourself. Over.\"\n\nSTONE-2: \"This is Charlotte Stone of the Empirical British Science Service. And you are out of line to order me!\"\n\nHART-1: \"What is it you want?\"\n\nSTONE-2: \"We know you can see into our lab from your position. We also know you have been in communication with traitorous forces in the outskirts of London proper. We view you as aiding and abetting the enemy. Rest assured that we will not take this lightly. Consider this a warning: it should be in your best interest to remain outside this conflict, or we will pursue all options of prosecution. Am I clear?\"\n\nHART-1: \"Roger. We hear you. What visual do you have on us?\"\n\nSTONE-2: \"We have enough. Your communication to us has allowed us to notice that your plans are doomed to fail. Already now, the Empire is circling in on your pathetic little movement. Unless you cease all communication and aid us in bringing the traitors and criminals to justice that we seek from you, you will suffer the consequences.\"\n\nHART-1: \"I suppose you refer to my look-alike in your world.\"\n\nSTONE-2: \"You are to stop talking to him. If you do, we will make sure it goes poorly for you. That is the first command. The second one is to return the fugitive we know you have so that he may be punished for his crimes.\"\n\nHART-1: \"What makes you think we can?\"\n\nSTONE-2: \"You will work on doing so. If you are able to enter our world before we can enter yours, you will send him and his victim back so that justice will be served. If we enter your world first, we will take them, and all who stand in our way will fall.\"\n\nHART-1: \"Good luck with that. You're going to need it.\"\n\nSTONE-2: \"Do not mock me! I already have a position of power you never will. The snake has circled the rat. It will strike when ready.\"\n\nHART-1: \"Then let me address what I can. First, as to this fugitive: our government has ample reason to believe in his innocence and will treat him as such. Furthermore, as of now we are well aware neither you nor I have the technology to voluntarily cause the intersect necessary to return them. Only energy, not matter, can be transmitted voluntarily. As for my counterpart: I have only spoken to him once. He has sent me nothing I can use against you. I do not know how to contact him right now. You are on your own.\"\n\nSTONE-2: \"Very well. But our threat remains. I expect you to respond when called upon. God Save the Leader!\"\n\nThe line goes silent.\n\nSTONE-1: \"Am I that crazy?\"\n\nHART-1: \"Impossible. Environment does things to people. She made a choice I know you will not make. Now... we need to talk to our political refugees.\"\n\nOver video conference.\n\nHART-1: \"So this is what I know. They are attempting to break through and force themselves into this universe. You are their objective. They do not sound merciful.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"No... NO! It's a lie! I'm not a victim! I'm with him for real! He did nothing!\"\n\nHART-1: \"You know your leaders better than I do. Do you think they will give an American the benefit of the doubt?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Look... how close are they?\"\n\nHART-1: \"From our view, not even remotely. This is a bluff to make us work on sending you back and to make us stop aiding Hart-2. I can assure you, neither of these things will happen. And if you know anything at all about where the government secrets are buried, please allow us to relay it. Every edge we can give is an edge we need to take.\"\n\nAndy-2 leans back and clears the hair back from his forehead. He sighs and shifts his weight.\n\nANDY-2: \"Take down these notes I can give on the structure of the former US Embassy in London. Assuming it's still standing, these will aid our Resistance greatly...\"", "ACT IV: WORLDS COLLIDE\n\nScene: video conference, with all four civilians and Dr. Stone-1.\n\nSTONE-1: \"So, what it boils down to is that we need the four of you here. Our group wants to make sure that the change in settings hasn't led to a change in physical difficulties.\"\n\nANDY-1: \"...well, emotionally we've been through a lot, but he still seems to be like me.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"Appearances can be deceiving. After all, many people have unknown defects, and something that may be normal on their world could cause sudden death in ours.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"Like what?\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"A change in atmospheric pressure could lead to hypertension. Additives in food may lead to cholesterol intake.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"And that's why I don't eat pizza.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"You'll be fine.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"That's what we hope to determine.\"\n\nANDY-1: \"And I suppose you need us to be the control group.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"That is the idea. The two universes we are from, though socially disparate, appear to have divided only a few years ago. That would most people in both worlds have been similar for a while. Hopefully, that is the conclusion we reach.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"Works for me.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"Good. Now, for security reasons, the two pairs will have to leave separately. Fortunately, London has two international airports that service Copenhagen. Team 1, you'll be leaving from Heathrow; Team 2, from Gatwick.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"We're teams now?\"\n\nANDY-1: \"We're making this up as we go along. Just run with it.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"What day do you want us to book?\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"We'll cover that. All information will be relayed to you as we get it. We're aiming for three days from now. It will not be a long stay.\"\n\nANDY-1: \"Well, let's get packing.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"Sure.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"Um, couple #2, if you could stick around; I do have extra concerns.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Go ahead.\"\n\nCouple 1 head off.\n\nSTONE-1: \"I'm sure you two have talked about a desire to return home.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"...I've told him I don't see any other way. Being a stranger like this... it just feels like we're a burden on this world. I want my life back.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"Are you both in agreement?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"...I don't know. I don't think that it will work. I'm afraid to die.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"Which would you rather do, see your kids one time or never again? They must be worried sick! The sooner we get back, the better!\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"Well, don't be so hasty, Crystal. Remember, there's still the matter that travel is not automatic from our universe. There are still logistics we'd have to work out. I hope to have the details prepared by the time you are here.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Do you think this will help our kids live a better life?\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"I have no news on them right now. If anti-American sentiment is as high as my counterpart has led me to believe, it is entirely possible. I cannot ask you to do this. You have to make this decision.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"Please?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"...when I married you, I told the world I would live for you and I would die for you. I guess now, I will prove it.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"Does this mean you will return with her?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"l... all right.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"Then I will make sure all of you arrive here. Thank you.\"\n\nThe conference ends. Stone-1 flips a channel on the communicator.\n\nSTONE-1: \"Stone, come in. Stone, come in.\"\n\nSTONE-2: \"Yes. You have news on the criminal?\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"He will be in our vicinity as soon as the transporter is ready. As long as you open the portal, they will walk through.\"\n\nSTONE-2: \"...I knew I could count on you. You will be happily rewarded.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"I am sure I will.\"\n\nSTONE-2: \"The reward I receive for this will be shared -- and do not worry; you are the only person I'm sharing it with. This operation is a secret. You are to keep everyone from knowing.\"\n\nSTONE-1: \"It's done. We will remain in touch. Over and Out.\"\n\nSTONE-2: \"God Save the Leader.\"\n\nCommunication ends.\n\nSTONE-1: \"I'd better see how construction is going...\"", "ACT V: NEW LIFE\n\nBoth Crystals stare at the horrifying scene in front of them. Andy-1 slowly stands up and helps Andy-2 to his feet. Both look down at what remains of Stone-2, her half-body motionless.\n\nANDY-1: \"Self-defense.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"I know.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"I'm going to be sick.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Head outside and find Stone. She can help.\"\n\nCrystal-1 immediately exits the lab with haste. Andy-1 looks around and sees Hart-1, flat on his back, scorch marks on his face and a bright crimson on his lab coat.\n\nANDY-1: \"Dr. Hart... Louis... Lou! Lou, are you all right!? Come on -- we'll fix this!\"\n\nHart-1 slowly pulls his head up and struggles to breathe.\n\nHART-1: \"No... This is it... I knew it might be... I could not stand by... and let... someone... die... whatever... it meant...\"\n\nANDY-1: \"Look, we'll get you fixed up. It's a muscle cut, nothing more, I promise.\"\n\nHART-1: \"My... my heart... I feel it weak... struggling... It's been hit... It's too late... for me...\"\n\nANDY-1: \"Lou! No! Please! You can do this! Don't... don't go!\"\n\nHART-1: \"It's over... Andy... my friend... you live... I know... you have nothing... to fear...\"\n\nAndy-1 simply looks at Hart-1, tears in his eyes, cradling his head.\n\nANDY-1: \"I'm sorry, Lou. This should've never happened! I'm sorry.\"\n\nHART-1: \"You're not... at fault...\"\n\nThey share one last eye contact.\n\nHART-1: \"I am blessed... to have... met you... all...\"\n\nHart-1 closes his eyes and slumps in Andy-1's arms.\n\nANDY-1: \"Lou... LOU! LOU!!!\"\n\nAndy-1 leans back against the nearby wall, seated, and just begins bawling his eyes out, wailing in agony. Crystal-2 comes over to console him.\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.\"\n\nANDY-1: \"GET OUT! Leave me alone!!\"\n\nCrystal-2 quickly backs off, leaving Andy-1 in the middle of the crime scene of a lab. As she leaves, the radio sounds again.\n\nHART-2: \"Alt-Bohr, come in! Come in! This is Lewis Hart of the Resistance! There was a crisis alarm by the Science Center! What's going on? Someone, answer!\"\n\nAndy-2, the only person of right mind in the room, avoids the bodies on the floor and walks to the radio. He looks one last time at the portal before replying.\n\nANDY-2: \"This is Andrew Roma, Earth-1 representative, would-be fugitive, and member of the Resistance. It is my duty to report that Commander Stone has been permanently dispatched.\"", "ACT II: WORLDS APART\n\nScene: where we left off at the end of Act I.\n\nANDY-2: \"I'll take this. You come with me.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"Why me?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"He knows a lot. As soon as it became clear he knew I was not from this planet, I told him what I did know. I was trying to keep this a secret, using Wikipedia where I could to fill in the gaps. My goal was to make sure they'd force our kids to be here rather than us there.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"What? But... did she...\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Your counterpart knows very little. She's busy all day with housework and mothering. I had to tell her the Queen died! But... the more you know of our life, the better. You, other me, stick around in case my wife calms down.\"\n\nANDY-1: \"Got it.\"\n\nAndy-2 and Crystal-1 meet with Drs. Hart and Stone.\n\nANDY-2: \"Okay... I'm the one you want, but she isn't. My Crystal is unable to talk right now. I'll answer for both of us.\"\n\nDR. HART: \"Thank you. Though I wonder if you realize how you sound when you say this.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"How I sound?\"\n\nDR. STONE: \"We have received a transmission from your world -- if we may call it Earth-2 for short?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"...sure.\"\n\nDR. STONE: \"Thank you. It says that your government believes you to be a fugitive from justice who has kidnapped someone and that they believe we are harboring you.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"I was afraid of this. This is because of the ANZUS Annexation.\"\n\nDR. HART: \"Explain.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Well... from my research on Wikipedia, I can tell that this universe split off from the one I'm from many years ago, with the rejection of the multiverse as fiction.\"\n\nDR. STONE: \"How long have your people known of this multiverse?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Since before I became a diplomat at the US Embassy in London -- a job which let me meet Crystal after years of chatting.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"Aww.\"\n\nDR. HART: \"But besides that, it appears that the worlds are identical.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Were. About three years ago, the fracture became more permanent and a lot less bright. It began in New York...\"\n\n*Note from the Fourth Wall: Andy-2 describes the changes in the political picture between our world and his. As a political rewrite is beyond the scope of this subreddit per Rule 7, I will not include it except to say that the US and UK are at war on a dystopian Earth. Full details can be found* [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingByLR80/comments/xwk5dv/the_intersect_a_brief_history_of_earth2s_collapse/) *at the author's subreddit.\n\nANDY-2: \"So that's why my hope was that if we do find a way to pass from one to another, we could get my children and be free.\"\n\nDR. HART: \"What of your families?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"My sister maybe, but she's under constant surveillance by the government. You have to understand, both nations embrace [Big Brother](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Brother_(Nineteen_Eighty-Four)).\"\n\nDR. STONE: \"I see. That would explain their claims. You are an American, and so describing an accident as a kidnapping gives them a cause to rally against.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"Would they kill you?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"I don't want to find out.\"\n\nDR. STONE: \"Very well. Since we have the five-dimensional coordinates of the Earth-2, we can try to pinpoint your family and make sure they are safe. The rest, you must understand, is beyond either side's technology for now. But I'm afraid they have a head start.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"But they contacted you, so they don't know where I am.\"\n\nDR. STONE: \"Hopefully. Good luck, all of you.\"\n\nCall ends. For the first time in his time here, tears appear on Andy-2's face.", "ACT I: FIRST CONTACT\n\nScene: outside a house. A car pulls up and parks in the driveway, just outside the garage. A man and woman get out, walking arm in arm to the door. His name is Andy, hers is Crystal.\n\nCRYSTAL: \"Ah, a weekend alone.\"\n\nANDY: \"Hey, we've earned. It was so nice of your family to look after the kids.\"\n\nCRYSTAL: \"Oh, you know Mom enjoys it. Besides, it's been so many hectic years we've practically earned a little time off.\"\n\nANDY: \"Yeah... it'll be just like the first years.\"\n\nCRYSTAL: \"You needn't sound so nostalgic. The kids are wonderful.\"\n\nANDY: \"I know, but sometimes... you gotta get away.\"\n\nCRYSTAL: \"In this case, you gotta not get away.\"\n\nShe giggles, then puts her key in the lock... only to hear the sound of a key falling out from behind the door.\n\nANDY: \"What's wrong?\"\n\nCRYSTAL: \"I think someone's inside.\"\n\nANDY: \"I got this.\" He shouts through the door.* \"Who's there?\"\n\nVOICE FROM INSIDE: \"Just a minute!\"\n\nAndy and Crystal share a surprised look. Crystal mouths 'did that sound like me' to Andy, who shrugs in confusion. Eventually, the door opens, and on the other side are...\n\n*Note from the fourth wall: for the sake of trying our best to avoid confusion, Andy-1 and Crystal-1 will be the couple coming home, and Andy-2 and Crystal-2 are the couple they see inside.\n\nAfter a full minute of stunned silence...\n\nANDY-1: \"Who are you?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Me? Who are you?\"\n\nANDY-1: \"I live here.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"I live here!\"\n\nANDY-1: \"I have a key!\"\n\nANDY-2: \"You mean this key?\" He picks the key up that had fallen out of the lock.\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"Oh, enough of this!\" She barges past Couple #2 and into the house.\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"Hey! Get out, creep!\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"What did you call me?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Honey, calm down, this isn't helping! Ahem... I guess we'd better sit down and work something out.\"\n\nANDY-1: \"This makes no sense.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"There's no way you live here. I don't know where you got those disguises, but this is our house. We've lived here for years!\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"That's impossible! We just dropped our kids off with Grandma and came back.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Kids? How old are they?\"\n\nANDY-1: \"Seven and three... why?\"\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"We have two kids that age... and they're with Grandma right now.\"\n\nAn eerie silence sets in.\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"Wait... what's your National ID?\"\n\nANDY-2: \"What's your Social?\"\n\nCouple 1 begin writing something down. They hand it to their Couple 2 counterparts, who read it and go wide-eyed.\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"It's a match.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Same here.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"...but that means...\"\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"No way... I have a clone!?\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"I'm pretty sure I'm not a clone...\"\n\nANDY-1: \"Wait! Do you remember that meteor that we saw on the freeway? The one that nearly blinded us and stopped traffic for half an hour?\"\n\nBOTH CRYSTALS: \"Yeah!\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Wait... you don't think that...\"\n\nANDY-1: \"It could have. We need to talk to scientists. With all the work being done on parallel universes... we should eliminate that possibility first.\"\n\n\\\\\\\\\\\n\nScene: a video conference with a leading astrophysicist, Dr. Hart.\n\nDR. HART: \"Well, I'm glad you could contact me. We noticed the so-called 'meteor' you spoke of. It's an ultra-rare occurrence of multiversal intersect.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"Of what?\"\n\nDR. HART: \"It's like this. You know how we say parallel universes? Well, most of the time, universes are parallel in the fifth dimension. So while they exist, you'd never know about them. However, if there's a disturbance of a great enough magnitude, universes can temporarily intersect.\"\n\nANDY-1: \"How often are we talking about?\"\n\nDR. HART: \"For any one universe, fairly common; but to intersect around Earth, usually no more than once year or so. The good news is that most intersections don't let through that much-- this one appears to have been Class 1.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"Out of how much?\"\n\nDR. HART: \"Well, let me put it this way: the last time we had a Class 10, the highest number, [a giant meteor wiped out half of Siberia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event).\"\n\nA pause on the other end as our two couples try to imagine what else must have happened.\n\nDR. HART: \"Fortunately, one like this is somewhat local. Usually no more than a few people swapping universes around the world. Actually, given our planet's high density, it's usually the case that we offload people rather than onload.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"That would explain [that one Parliament guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bingham,_7th_Earl_of_Lucan).\"\n\nDR. HART: \"Potentially. What's interesting is that we have gained this time. That's very rare. It means that the Earth our universe intersected with is either similar or potentially more dense. Let me ask all of you -- men respond: how many billions of people live on earth?\"\n\nBOTH ANDYS: \"Eight or so?\"\n\nDR. HART: \"Okay, so there's a high probability your Earths are near-identical. It's not nonsense; you get enough universes and, you know, some details will be the same. It will make sorting things out as to who the visitors are much more difficult.\"\n\nANDY-2: \"Great. Two of us have abandoned our children! Somebody here needs to get back!\"\n\nDR. HART: \"I understand. But to re-intersect universes can be very difficult. For one thing, we need to figure out which one intersected. Then, we'd need to bend space to cause an overlap. This isn't something you can just do, as you can imagine. And that's on top of trying to figure out who's who.\"\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"Well... you work on the universe thing, and we'll try to work on the ID thing.\"\n\nDR. HART: \"If it helps, I'll recommend you to a fellow here at Bohr. He has a background in psychology... he might be able to know how to tell which one is which. Would that be okay?\"\n\nCRYSTAL-2: \"When's he available?\"\n\nDR. HART: \"Well, I can get him to speak to you tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll work on the intersecting.\"\n\nANDY-1: \"Thanks, Doc. I know a few kids who will be very appreciative.\"\n\nDR. HART: \"Not a problem. Talk to you soon.\"\n\nThe conference ends. The two couples all look at each other.\n\nCRYSTAL-1: \"So... what do we do tonight?\"" ]	6
	[WP] You've been on a pilgrimage for months now and you arrive at your destination, a magnificent temple. As you enter through the gigantic doors, you're taken aback by the intimidating idols of The Gods that stand watch inside over a severed head. Next to it, a holy man is lost in thought...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I can't stop shaking.\n\nThe shadowy chill of the temple's interior is shocking after the war-hammer blows of the desert sun. The strain of pushing open the temple doors in the punishing heat has me drenched in sweat, sheets of it trailing down my skin like rivers choked with shards of ice.\n\nA spear of light quivers where it struck the ground, hurled through the breached threshold by the sun to thwart my arrival and pin me like an insect a hairsbreadth from my destination. Kneeling just inside the hall, mere inches mark my escape from the desert's final blow. I gasp and grasp for breath, forehead laid on my hands, hands folded upon the cold flagstone floor.\n\nIt is a strange juxtaposition, to feel at one's weakest at one's moment of greatest triumph. That the journey would cost every resource within me was the warning of every village I passed, every sage I consulted, every omen I witnessed. Small wonder I would have nothing left at the end.\n\nThey are most proud, these Gods whom I seek and serve. They test their believers unrelentingly, and those who rise and prove their mettle are subject to the greatest humbling. The price to look upon the throne of these Gods is the strength it takes to lift one's head to see them.\n\nAnd yet, at length, I do lift my head. And again am I humbled before the Gods.\n\nThe idols set up in my home village were well-made and well-maintained, and many others I saw across my travels were just as nobly appointed. They watched over the lives of the Gods' servants in any number of lands, serving always as fixtures around which to drape customs and celebrations. Ultimately, however, they were fit only for the small prayers of mundane life, invocations of only the smallest iota of the Gods' attention, power and mercy.\n\nBeautiful beyond comparison, titanic beyond comprehension, the statues of this temple are true commemorations of the Gods' majesty. To gaze upon them is to feel the might of the authors whose words wrote the world. No idol has been built that can rate even a passing mention next to these marvels.\n\nThey loom haughty and perfect, hewn from the very walls of the temple which is itself carved into the broad side of a peerless plateau. These icons are fit only for worship, and for pleas to focus their complete attention, to exercise their total power.\n\nWhether they might grant mercy is a mystery yet to be revealed, and with the journey to find their seat of power accomplished, the object of my new quest must be the revelation of that very mystery.\n\nAnd so, as best I can, I wring myself out of my holy transfixion. On unsteady legs I stand, and with unsteady words I make my plea, the plea whose weight and urgency carried me here through innumerable trials and terrors.\n\nMy right to be heard is hard-won, my cause is righteous, and my need is great. \n Yet here beneath the eyes of the statues' dead stone eyes I feel the living eyes of the Gods looking through at me and looking through me, and I do not know which I fear more greatly: the Gods' absence, or their attendance.\n\nI conclude my petition.\n\nI await their response.\n\nAnd I...\n\n... I can't stop shaking.\n\n---\n\nOops, didn't get around to the holy man or the severed head. The mood swept me up and I wasn't really in charge anymore. Hope you enjoy it anyway." ]	2
	[WP] This game was passed down for generations. It isn't cursed or anything, but I was told it was a test of sorts every family member must complete.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "For as long as anyone could remember, every child in the Stoneheart family received their dice on their 13th birthday. It was a rite of passage to finally receive your own set of seven shining shapes.\n\nOn the eve before her 13th birthday, Rosemary Stoneheart sat at her desk by the window. The sun lamp on her desk provided an unnatural glow around her as she studied the piece of paper in front of her. She fiddled with her pencil nervously. \n\nShe could hear her mother's voice in her head, reassuring her there were no wrong choices. \"It's your first time playing, just follow your intuition,\" her mother said softly. \"We're just so excited for you to finally join us!\"\n\nBut Rosemary knew the stakes were a little higher than that, recalling the epic stories of her mother's first time playing. She stared down at the piece of paper again. She had waited until the last minute to complete her pre-game preparations, paralyzed in fear of making the wrong decision.\n\nHer phone buzzed beside her, drawing her out of her thoughts. A text from her best friend lit up the screen: \"i miss u\". Rosemary smiled as she replied to it. She paused to wonder what Chloe would think of her family's game.\n\nThe piece of paper loomed beneath the desk lamp. Rosemary's scribbled first round of decisions seemed to be good enough. She wanted to just be done with it, and yet she fussed over whether or not she was truly ready. Ultimately the night grew long and she admitted defeat and went to bed.\n\n//\n\nThe next morning, the brand new teenager came down the stairs to find breakfast waiting for her along with the small wrapped box containing her dice.\n\n\"Happy birthday! Did you finish your character sheet last night?\" her mother asked, sipping a cup of tea from beside the sink.\n\n\"I think so,\" Rosemary replied. \"Do you want to know what I picked?\"\n\n\"No! Not yet!\" Her mother was giddy. \"Wait for your momma to get here. Then we want you to open your dice!\"\n\nEventually the family was all gathered around the breakfast table. They all silently waited for the eldest daughter to finally receive her dice. Both parents were sure they nailed it.\n\n\"Are these... Made out of jade?\" Rosemary asked, rolling the dice from their box into her hand, her eyes wide.\n\n\"Yes,\" her momma smiled. \"Do they match your character?\"\n\nRosemary looked up, grinning. \"Yes,\" she exclaimed. \"Oath of the Ancients Paladin!\"\n\n\"I knew it,\" her momma pumped her fist in the air triumphantly. \"Pay up!\" she nodded to her wife, having won their bet over which class their daughter would choose to play.\n\n\"Alright, alright,\" Rosemary's mother replied. \"But first, roll your dice for the first time.\"\n\n\"Oh!\" Rosemary exclaimed, shaking the gems gently in her hands and then rolling them across the soft tablecloth.\n\nThe table erupted in cheers to see a natural 20 on the d20 die.\n\n\"Welcome to the game,\" her momma said, squeezing her tightly. \"In this house, we play Dungeons and Dragons!\"" ]	2
	[WP] it's the zombie apocalypse. as your walking down the road your surprised to see a waffle house still open	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Good fuck.. do they have a walker on the register or something..?\" You think, walking towards the unsettlingly normal Wafflehouse.\n\n\"Hello? Anyone home?\" You call out, stepping inside.\n\nThe lights are on, the smell of deisel and breakfast foods enter your nostrils.\n\n\"Must be running off a generator\" You think to yourself, walking behind the counter.\n\n\\shotgun pump\\ \"Welcome to Wafflehouse. Raider, Gov'y, or customer?\" A woman's voice asks, shotgun to your back.\n\nYou raise you hands in surrender.\n\n\"Uh.. customer? Do you take card?\"\n\n\"Hah, sure sugar, ATM's out back by the swimming pool and Lambo.\"\n\nYou feel the shotgun lower from your back.\n\nYou turn around to see a short, full figured black woman with bloodied uniform and a ponytail, resting a shotgun on her shoulder, and her other bandaged hand on her hip.\n\n\"Customers aren't allowed behind the counter. You can sit anywhere ya want. Chuck'll be back in a minute.\"\n\n\"Ok..\" You reply, unsure of what else to say.\n\nAfter a few minutes of silence, you can't help but wonder, 'What do I pay with?'\n\n\"What do you take for payment? You guys don't take cash or bottle caps right?\"\n\n\"Hm? Well, if you want a meal, spare supplies like first aid, water, rations, that sort of stuff. If you ain't got anythin', you can help around the building, board up a window or two.\"\n\n\"ah.. ok. thanks.\"\n\nThis is, by far- the strangest thing you've seen at the end of everything.", "I didn’t believe Crazy Carl when he said there a Waffle House was still open. For one because it was Crazy Carl. The group we found him with said he was always kind of… eccentric, even before he got drafted into Vietnam. After that though he came back claiming all kinds of crazy stuff. Like aliens taking over the FBI and being behind all the taco shops getting rid of hamburger joints. \n\nI think he smoked rock, but hey, he was a good guy.\n\nThe second reason I didn’t believe what Crazy Carl had said was because of the fact it’d been three weeks since all of society collapsed to the zombie apocalypse. Which yknow was a big reason.\n\nGovernment had completely shut down. What was left of cities got taken over by militias, cunning survivors, or the undead. Same story in the country. Say good bye to McDonalds and 7-Eleven. No more Big Macs and Icees anymore. The 30th Marvel movie probably ain’t gonna happen.\n\nBut sure enough as our hardened band of survivors got over the hill into the outskirts of Greenwood, Georgia, we saw it too. At the end of a road in the middle of the tiny town was a Waffle House. Lights on, yellow sign and all.\n\n“How the fuck are they still open?” said Olivia. In her previous life she was an underpaid TA from Iowa. Now she was our shotgun toting badass that swore like a sailor.\n\n“Its gotta be a trap. There’s no way it could still be open. Don’t curse Olivia.” said James.\n\nOlivia flipped him off. He didn’t notice. Or pretended not to. He was always so serious that sometimes it was hard to read him. James was a good guy and apparently used to be a barista.\n\nLuke grunted. I looked to my right at him. His low growl was still loud enough to vibrate in my chest. We found the big lion tied to a chain in the back of a mansion overrun with zombies. Despite our objections of our safety, Crazy Carl went and let him loose. Surprisingly Luke listened to the crazy bastard and saved our skins a number of times.\n\nI looked ahead down the road and saw zombies walking slowly all over. I sighed, pulled out the metal bat from my bag, and stepped forward.\n\n“Well, we gotta pass through these geeks anyway. Let’s go take a look.”\n\n“What you don’t get with cheese you’ll find in your pocket. And in your pocket is the path to the light bringers!!!” Crazy Carl waved his arms above his head. \n\nThe three of us shared a glance. Maybe some food would do Carl good.\n\nAfter about three minutes of punching down zombies we made it inside. We were met by full booths of plains clothes customers and a staff that looked much the same as before society collapsed. A waitress met us from around a booth, big pot of hot coffee in hand.\n\n“How yall doin? Yall want a booth?”\n\nWe all looked at each other. Luke answered for us with a grown that sounded like a car starting. The waitress shook her head.\n\n“That better be a service animal. Otherwise no pets allowed.”\n\n“A service - Miss, do you not know whats going on out there?” I said pointing out the window.”\n\n“No cause my shift started at 6AM and Im not off till 3. Are yall gonna sit down or just stand there?”\n\nWas I high? Was I dreaming? I looked at my friends. Crazy Carl was already sat down at the counter drinking a bottle of Heinz ketchup. \n\n“I mean… we’re hungry, right?” Olivia looked at James and I. James sighed and sat himself down.\n\n“Oh yeah. I’m very hungry.”\n\nOlivia sat down too. Luke awkwardly laid himself on a row of seats next to an old dude who seemed to not notice the big ass animal covered in zombie blood.\n\n“Y’know what… fuck it.” I sat my ass down and waved down the waitress. “Give me all the bacon and eggs you have!”", "\"Hi, honey. Dining in?\"\n\nI looked around, mind on high alert, taken aback by her kindness. I haven't spoken to a decent, well-mannered human being in, god, like 3 years almost. I almost didn't know how to reply but then an almost forgotten memory of conversation jerked me out of my primal animalistic mind. \n\nI cleared my throat, \"Umm sure, do you have any open tables?\" That question was useless as it was just me her and, I assumed, some sort of cook in the back area.\n\n\"Of course, honey. Sit wherever you'd like. I'll bring over a menu in a moment.\" And before I could reply she was gone. \n\nI walk down the aisle and I could honestly sit just about anywhere. With all the chaos outside and the zombies that leave me constantly on the move, I don't think i've sat anywhere comfortable for more than an hour. Last night, I slept in the high branches of a tree. \n\nI pick a table in the far back with my back against the wall just in case I need to jump into action. The hostess appears from around a corner with a menu. When she sees me in a corner table all way at the back of the diner, she tsks, \"Honey, you don't need to worry about any of that crazy hoopla here. You are perfectly safe. Here is a menu, can I get you something to drink?\"\n\n\"Water would be fine.\"\n\nShe looks me up and down, \"And a coffee I think because honey, you're not looking so hot.\" And with that she turns around and heads back to her corner, leaving me to peruse my menu.\n\nI look at all the delicious options and wonder how they obtained 90% of these ingredients. Almost all the animals were infected and those that werent were almost immediately eaten. Where did the meat come from? And on that same note, where did the eggs and milk and coffee and water come from? I had not had fresh water in days. Almost every lake and spring in the immediate area was tapped. I only got by on the occasional rainfall or, if I got lucky, the rare water bottle in an abandoned house or grocery store. \n\nI had thought all this but then realized I didn't really care about the why or the hows, if they had it I wasn't going to look a rare horse's gift in the mouth. I settled on the diner's special of bacon, eggs, hash browns, pancakes, and toast. \n\nThe hostess came back with a glass of water in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other. As soon as she set it down, I gulped down the water. She smiled at me sympathetically and asked what I would like to eat. I told her the diner's special and she smiled, \"That's my favorite, I'l be right back with your food and another water hon.\"\n\nNot too long after, she came back with the food and water and told me my food and drink was on the house and walked away. I wanted to scarf down every bite but I hadn't had good home cooked hot fresh food in years so I savored every bite. \n\nWhen I was done and I had finished my coffee, I tried to stand to leave but I couldn't. I felt weak and tired and sick to my stomach. I looked around panicking. Had she drugged my food, my drink? \n\nI fell asleep.\n\nWhen I came to, I don't know how much longer later, the diner was in severe disrepair. The tables were turned over, so were the chairs, the floor was littered with bodies and old, dried blood. There was no sign of life and when I looked down at my plate, I saw moldy, years old food with dead cockroaches and maggots all over it.\n\nI tried to push it away from me in disgust but had little strength to push it far. It was then that I remembered the bite.\n\nI pulled my sleeve up. Damn, I thought, I forgot hallucinations was one of the first symptoms of the change.", "Ah yes, the end times. It'll eventually happen to your world. Luckly for me, the world I'm in decided to screw the prompt. Let me weave you a maple syrup flavored tale.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nZombie Apocalypse. Most nerds and gun nuts will cheer as they can kill freely, and since society itself collapsed - No Laws. Yup. Some asshole decided to press the big red \"End Everything that looks at Me bad\" button to show who had the biggest (read: World's Smallest) handicap. Turns out: the radiation (and probably God itself) decided to punish humanity as a whole and Boom! We gots zombies everywhere.\n\nI was a simple (aint that a damm lie) survivor. Take out the undead and keep myself from becoming their dinner. Speaking of food, I haven't had any for a couple days now. Most of the other stores are already looted clean. Just my luck. Then again, I was way better armed than the randoms. A couple of 9mm Pistols in hip holsters, a AR15 Assault Rifle slung on my back and rather odd find with a katana in my left hand. \n\nSaid katana was unnaturally sharp. Need a demonstration? You see that lamppost over there? What? No demonstration needed? Disappointing.\n\nAnyway, where was I? Oh yeah: FOOD. Some would be nice right about now. Ask and ye shall receive, they say. Is that an intact Waffle House? The lights are still on, there are even people inside. \n\n\"What the fuck?\" This had better not be a mirage due to hunger pains. That would totally suck. So, I went in. \n\n\"Welcome!\" Said a server. Yup No mirage here.\n\nAnd I was shocked...and slightly bloody due to my last fight. \"Umm, mind if I wash the blood off first?\"\n\n\"To your left, in the back.\" Replied the server. After thanking them, I just went there. Bathrooms? Much needed. After sheathing my katana, I got to work washing the blood off my face and hands (Holy shit, working sinks and decent water! The shit you take for granted when you don't have it anymore).\n\nI finished washing, leaving the restroom and sat down at an open table to order. \"Wait a moment: How do I pay?\" An important question, no money on the planet has any value anymore.\n\n\"Most survivors like yourself take some tasks from us. Plus, no matter how low our supplies get, they're refilled the next day. It's like magic...\" said a cook, who was taking a break and sitting on a barstool.\n\n\"Also, no undead can get close to this place - watch.\" The server from before put a glass of water in front of me and pointed to the zombie that was unknowingly shambling up to the building. One second later and 'Toasty!'.\n\n\"I'll drink to that.\" Taking external tasks for food? Sounds too good to be true. Luckly for me, the survivors who do the same - quite a few of them were there - told me they often work together. No point stepping on someone's toes if you all got warm food to come back to. \n\n\\--=---\n\nDone. Oh, and you must do the 'Toasty' bit like you've played Mortal Kombat. Sounds funnier that way.", "I am greeted by the friendly ring of a bell as I push the door open and enter the shop in a rush. Before I make another step,I take a moment to analyze my surroundings. The shop looks too clean and mundane,it reminds me of the old days,and I realize how out of place I look in my ragged clothes,holding a makeshift weapon. I almost convince myself for a moment that I am once again dreaming of a pre apocalypse life,but the adrenaline that's still rushing through my body after running away from those monsters reminds me that I am in fact awake. After 6 months of fighting for my life out there,walking into a waffle house that's still operating as it should is a surreal experience. Not only is the electricity still running but I can also hear faint music coming from somewhere. As I take a few careful steps towards the counter,I begin to smell fresh food \"Jesus,is this place really working?\" I think to myself,and for a moment I want to pretend like zombies never existed.\r \nThe place is empty,aside from a teenager that sits behind the counter.\r \n\n\n\"What can I get for you?\" he says,trying to imitate cheerfulness but failing to show anything but boredom. He adjusts his uniform that is just a little too big for him and waits for a response.\r \n\n\n\"is..is this place still working..do you work here...I mean,man,you know you don't need money,we're in the middle of a...a...\" but my voice trails off as he tilts his head. I am feeling uneasy,this kid doesn't look like any of the other survivors I've encountered,he looks too clean,too well groomed and too calm for this whole situation,uncannily so. I almost decide he must be crazy and completely unaware of what is going on,if such a thing is even possible at this point,but he destroys my theory immediately by saying:\r \n\n\n\"an apocalypse,yes. I know sir\" giving me his best customer service voice and smile. \"You have reached your first checkpoint,congratulations!\"\r \n\n\n\"check point? ‘the hell do you mean?!\"\r \n\n\n\"you may save your game,and if you die you will respawn here.\"\r \nI take a few steps back,disturbed. \"listen kid,I don't have the patience for your stupid jokes,these things are surrounding the place,I just need some time to hide here,I won't take anything I promise\"\r \nbut he doesn't seem to hear me because he repeats his last sentence in the same tone.\r \n\n\n\"I said I don't care about your stupid pranks kid,are you deaf?! fine,I'll just leave!\" I swiftly turn on my heels and move towards the door,annoyed and confused by this whole situation and already planning what I was going to do once outside. Before I open the door,I turn to tell him \"Unlike you,I don't have time to pretend I'm in some stupid video game,this is the real world,you have to fight,or you'll end up getting ki..\"\r \n\n\n\"it is not recommended that you leave without saving the game,Gabriel\" My hand freezes above the door handle. I stare at him wide eyed,there is no way of him knowing my name.\r \nLooking through the glass door and windows,I can still see the zombies swarming around the building,but they don't notice us,we seem to be separated from the outside world completely. \n\n\"What is going on?\" I say carefully,clutching my weapon so tight that my knuckles go white.\r \n\n\n\"Do you perhaps wish to exit the game? If that is so,you must still save your progress\" it doesn't take me more than 4 seconds to cross the room towards him,I jump over the counter and lift him by his shirt.\r \n\n\n\"I said WHAT IS GOING ON? how do you know my name?!\" I scream,unable to hide my anger and desperation. \r \n\r \nHe smiles politely “I think you know,sir”", "My wife wrote this but doesn't have a Reddit, so here it is:\n\nThe sign flashed, “OPEN” on the business. Jordan crouched in disbelief across from the Waffle House bunkered behind a car. Inside, the business was very much alive as waitresses took orders and bounced around the restaurant to give orders to their designated table. People scarfed down their food and socialized with one another. Newspapers grasped in the hands of men at the bar while a blonde waitress danced behind the bar to serve the men. \r \n\r \nMouth agape, Jordan wondered if he should dare to enter the establishment. It wasn’t safe, right? It couldn’t be… \r \n\r \nIt had been 149 days exactly since patient zero took the world by storm. Cannibalism-turned-virus struck the world on one August morning and has evolved into a shitshow of a zombie apocalypse. Jordan lost everything and everyone he loved within a matter of weeks and hasn’t managed to gain any of that safety back. He often wondered to himself why he was alive admits this hellish place. Yet, as often as he wondered that, he couldn’t bring himself to the idea of death. Being alive here seemed better than whatever was waiting for him in the afterlife. \r \n\r \nThey don’t seem infected, I don’t think, Jordan thought to himself. He was privy to the idea that he wasn’t safe sitting outside – anyone, or ton, of those things could find him and he would be dead. He didn’t have enough ammunition to survive much longer without finding a safe place. Weighing his options, Jordan realized that his only option was to brave into the seemingly open and booming Waffle House and hope that he wasn’t hallucinating.\r \n\r \nTaking in his surroundings, Jordan realized that he should be safe to quietly run across the street to the Waffle House and try his luck. He took a breath and made sure his belongings were secure to his person. Lifting himself up to jump over the car, he began his dash into the Waffle House.\r \n\r \nThe smell of buttery pancakes and fresh bitter coffee ambushed his senses after opening the door. To his amazement, it was a fully operational Waffle House with zero zombies in sight. He didn’t know whether to cry, to begin shoveling pancakes into his mouth, or to ask what in the hell was happening. \r \n\r \nHe decided that the last option might be the best as he didn’t know these people. He didn’t know what they could or would do to him.\r \n\r \n“Ma’am?” He stopped a waitress. She abruptly stopped, almost dropping the coffee she had gripped in her right hand, “Who are you?” she said shakily.\r \n\r \n“Jordan. What is going on here? Do you not realize what is going on out there?”\r \n\r \nShe held back a laugh, “’Ya ever seen Gravity Falls? Man I loved that show… Anywho, that one protection spell they put around the shack, making some kinda forcefield? Well, some drunk idiot must have done the same here ages ago. Ever since hell broke loose, we’ve been sustaining ourselves with a never-ending supply of food and shelter. Them shits can’t get in and we don’t want to get out. I’m surprised you made it in here…” She said in a heavy southern belle accent.\r \n\r \nHer breathy voice was a relief to him. It validated to him that she wasn’t infected. She was real. But whatever she just said didn’t seem real. Sensing his bewilderment, she grabbed his arm and sat him at a booth, “I’d sit ‘ya at the bar, but I don’t wanna overwhelm you. Here’s some coffee. I’ll be back with creamer.”. She poured the coffee gracefully into the mug that sat on the table then dashed off toward the kitchen. \r \n\r \nStill in disbelief, Jordan took a gulp of the coffee. It warmed his very sore throat. He didn’t realize how long it was since he had a cup of coffee. The drink eased his mind and made him feel comfortable. The coffee smell was strong in his nose and it made him shiver. Trying not to think about how the world used to be, Jordan focused on the pattern that the top layer of coffee made in his mug. \r \n\r \n“Hey!” he heard a distant voice shout. It continued to shout at him. \r \n\r \n\\-\r \n\r \nThe slam of a cup woke Jordan from his sleep. He didn’t know how long he had been asleep at the bar in Waffle House. The last thing he remembered was getting drinks with friends then ending up here. \r \n\r \nThe waiter slammed the coffee on the counter, “Dude, wake up. You’ve been here for hours just sleeping. It wasn’t an issue when no one was here but I gotta get ready for the day to start.”", "\"Hey you there!\" a shadowy figure yells as it waves at you from the doorway of the Waffle House. The next thing you know you're bathed in harsh light from a flashlight and forced to look down. What do I do here? Your breath quickens as the possibility of being killed by whatever is in the waffle restaurant, human or zombie, runs across your mind.\n\nThen you recall that the zombies have shown some proclivity to avoid drunk people, and where else do drunk people go in quantity? Perhaps this really is a safe haven. You approach the entrance apprehensively, moving close enough to see that it's a figure of a woman in a red smock and not a zombie. Phew.\n\nWhen you enter the door, the smell of cooked eggs hits you straight in the nose, reminding your stomach that you haven't eaten in a while. You look around at a group of twelve strangers sitting at the tables laughing non-stop, surrounded by so many bottles of alcohol that you do a double-take.\n\n\"Heeyyyyyyyyy!\" half of them yell at once. A few of them run up to hug you, but their sweaty stench is so overpowering that you can't help but gag as they try to embrace you. You end up fending them off with your hands while searching around for someone who might not be inebriated.\n\n\"Drink up,\" says the woman in the red smock as she offers you a beer, a grin on her face. \"You're a gonna need it for protection\"\n\n\"So it's true then, alcohol protects against them?\"\n\n\"Every time they get close,\" she chuckled, then put her mouth up to whisper in your ear, \"they kind of stare at us with googly eyes. You know. Haha.\"\n\nHow ironic, you think, that the very thing that protects against them also renders humans brainless. You immediately realize that you're going to have to stay sober and somehow lead this pack of drunkards to do something productive.\n\n\"Well, if they hate alcohol, maybe we could use that against them somehow. You know, like a weapon?\"\n\n\"Oh honey, we've already given up. There ain't nothin' out there that's gonna save us. Come on. It's the end of the world, join the party.\" Someone turns on \"It's the End of the World As We Know It\", by REM on their phone and starts blasting the music. The group gets up and starts dancing.\n\nSigh. \"I mean, y'all could be the perfect army against them. If they won't touch you, then you're unstoppable. You just got to fight.\"\n\nYou take a survey of all the alcohol and realize that the group must have robbed a liquor store. After all, this liquor didn't just appear out of thin air. You look out the back door and realize that there's one in the strip mall behind the Waffle House.\n\n\"I'm going to head to that liquor store back there,\" you tell the woman in the red smock. \"I'm just going to grab some eggs first if you don't mind.\"\n\n\"That's a great idea!\" she said with drunken enthusiasm. \"Bring back as much as you can. You can borrow this flashlight.\"\n\nYou nod, grabbing the flashlight and a beer for protection.\n\nAfter filling your belly and taking a sip of the beer, you carefully leave the Waffle House and head for the liquor store, hearing groans for \"brains\" from time to time as you walk through the parking lot. You make it there safely.\n\nThe store has been almost totally ransacked at this point, but you notice some closed crates in the back. You locate a crowbar and pry them open, revealing what looks like dozens of six packs of Fireball minis. Perfect! you think. Perhaps you could build some kind of weapon to shoot these like bullets.\n\nThe crate is too heavy to carry, so you empty most of it until you can lift it, then hoist it on your back to take back to the Waffle House.\n\nYou're in the middle of the parking lot, thinking the coast is clear when suddenly you hear \"brains\" within a few feet. You almost drop the crate but manage to let it down safely. You look around in a circle, quickly realizing that you're surrounded by shadowy figures. Oh shit!\n\nKnowing that you don't have much time, you reach into the crate for one of the six packs and decide to toss it at the ground in the direction of the zombies with as much force as you can, hoping to break one of the bottles.\n\nBang! You hear the glass snap as it breaks.\n\n\"Uhh,\" you hear a zombie go before it lights aflame from head to toe.\n\n\"Uhhh, Uhhh, Uhhhh,\" the rest of the horde begins to retreat.\n\nGrabbing the crate, you run back towards the back of the Waffle House, where the lady in the red smock is waiting for you. Catching your breath, you say \"I got a new idea for a game. We can throw these bottles at the zombies, and see how many of them we can hit.\"\n\nShe barely pays attention to you, as she is transfixed on the flaming zombie in the parking lot.\n\n\"Ooh, fire,\" she says, then runs back towards the crowd. \"Guys, guys, you gotta see this! A flaming zombie. Holy moly!\"\n\nThe game of \"make it go lighty light\" became the favorite activity of the drunk crowd, and by the morning the horde had largely retreated from the area.\n\nYou glance at one of the remaining minis before you put it in your pocket. The tagline on the back says \"ignite the nite.\"\n\nYou can say that again.", "Now, typically, this is the kinda prompt where you think the person its addressing would be human...\n\nI'm not.\n\nYup. This is death. Shuffling around, stumbling a bit over a few dead bodies, looking for any survivors. My gutted stomach rumbles a bit for human flesh, as is any zombie. Yknow, what people don't understand about the undead, is although we behave animalistic and feral, we actually like to think of ourselves as quite dignified. In terms of our mental prowess.\n\nAnyways, so, there I am. In... Florida, I think? Walking past the usual daily sights, groaning loudly. Corpses, crashed cars, bullet casings... Nothing special today.\n\nI figured that the reason why I'm not finding any live prey is probably because I'm going along the same path I always do. So, instead of right, I go left, down some alley ways, over some rubble piles... And I end up in a new neighborhood, seeing some of my fellow undead shuffling around. A friendly wave, a growl. Good to be polite, right?\n\nThen, I turn around a corner and see something I don't expect.\n\nReminiscent of when society was well, normal, and when people were alive... There stands a waffle house, sign proudly lit up and a car fire in the parking lot... A few undead ate their meals outside along the street, shoving little bits of brains and human meat on waffles.\n\nMy lifeless, boring gaze turns into an extremely curious one and I shuffle into the restaurant, pushing open the bloody, hand print covered door and looking around. Huh. Zombies walking around, behaving like they were alive. There was a shriveled soul at the counter, and a few in the back, cutting up human flesh and splitting skulls... And also making waffles, obviously. I mean, it's a waffle house.\n\nI go up to the old, dried up zombie. Poor guy, probably working himself to death... again, all for those student loans.\n\"Rrrr...eerrrcome... toooouuhhh... WWRRRAAFFLLEEE!! HHOUUUSSEEE!!\" He arches his back and snaps his neck as he spits out traditional greeting. \"You... want... ttrrryyyy.... Kiddneeeyyy... Laaahhhttee?\"\n\nI shake my head, groaning a bit. \"Nooorrrggghhh... haaannnnkk... ooouu...\" I raise my head and rub my chin, looking at the menu. The actual Waffle House menu had words scribbled out in blood and marker. Traditional zombie stuff. \"Brains\" \"Blood\" \"Human Flesh\"... Ooo, they even offered raw animal meat. \"Caaannn... hhhhaaavve... uurrrggghh...\" Hm, what sounds good right about now... \"Sshhhhweeeettt... Lluuunnngggg... Wraffllleeee...?\" Something flakey.\n\nThe clerk slaps the register a few time. Inside the register is, well... human teeth. \"6... Teeeettthhh... prrrrreeeeseeee...\" I look down at the floor and pick up a decapitated head, slamming it's jaw on the counter and shattering the teeth off, lazing pushing them to the clerk, who screams to the kitchen staff. \"SHHRRREEETTT!!! RRRUNGGG RAAARRFFFLE!!\" The chefs groan loudly and begin to work at it. I lazily shuffle over to a booth and throw over some dead mother and her kid, sitting down. A few seconds later, the clerk dropped before me a... Actually very good looking waffle, with a sliced, red, bloody lung on top.\n\nFresh food, nice! Who could have guessed that even in death, Waffle House has great standards? I groan happily and slam my face down onto the meal, messily biting into the lung. I lean up, my face covered in fresh blood and maple syrup, groaning loudly and giving a thumbs up.", "The Waffle House Index. It's something you heard of on one of those late nights lost down an internet rabbit hole while laying on your bed. Back during the pandemic began and you had all the time in the world to spend at home. But I guess not everyone took that time to isolate themselves at home.\n\nWhat you would give now to peacefully lay on your bed again, to actually have wifi again too. The zombies barrelled through your door a few months back, so the house is as good as there's now. And it's not like there's a Starbucks that's operational in the apocalypse.\n\nYou were smart, you made a bag, and even if there's no wifi or data, the battery packs you stocked up on keep your phone alive enough to give you some semblance of normalcy. You couldve packed more though, you're running out of food, the grocery stores have all been raided and you're still too sane to stoop to eating people.\nLeave that to the zombies.\n\nYour feet don't hurt anymore, but your shoes show noticable wear each time you stop to camp for the night. You're not really going anywhere in particular, but any building you can find that hasn't been claimed up by other very territorial survivers is better than spending one more night in the neighborhood playground mowing down zombies as they come up the twirly slide.\n\nThat's when you spot it, just over the horizon. Lights still on burning a bright yellow that rival the setting sun. You pick up the pace and jog towards the mirage just down the road, against all odds it looks open. Turning to your right you shoot another zombie square in the head, but it doesn't allow you down. You've got your eyes set on...\nWaffle House.\n\nYou step inside as the air conditioning hits you in the face, and relief washes over you. A few diners take up all the space at the booths, but you always loved the counters so you don't mind. Then it hits you, how is this place still open.\n\n\"Welcome in\" a cook greets plainly before turning back to some scrabbled eggs on the grill. You smile back in a shocked return of the greeting and for the first time actually feel self conscious about the zombie blood caked on your face and clothes. It's not like showering was a big priority when fighting for your life. Every other customer in the place looks like you do: men, women, a surprisingly only small number of children who got pulled straight from a post apocalyptic movie ratty clothes, dirt, and and a dead look in their eye.\nYou sit down at the counter idly listening to the jukebox and pull a menu towards yourself. No limited menu, it seems their fully stocked.\nBy waffle house index standards, at least from what you can recall, that'd mean you're in the green. How the hell is a zombie out real in the green. \n\n\"Ready to order?\" A friendlier employee stands in front of you.\nYou open your mouth to speak and can feel how dry it is that no words come out. Without thinking you take a swig of the canteen hanging off the side of your bag. \"S-sorry\" you croak out sheepishly. The employee doesn't seem fazed and hands you a glass of water. Ice water. It's so refreshingly cold.\nFor a second you remember the emergency fund in your bag and reackon you can buy yourself the usual meal. \"All star special, eggs over easy, and sausage\" you take another heavenly sip of water \"and a coffee\" you add feeling the bone dead tiredness taking hold again.The employee reads back your order and leave you to your own devices. \n\nThe flaky waffle and syrup is a delicacy compared to the stale crackers you've been subsiding on. Bacon and sausage are so much softer, and never tasted juicer then they do now, but that can probably be chalked up to all the beef jerky you had before. The vitamins you've been lacking are mediated by the intake of hash browns, and you soak up the last of your runny egg yolks with toast.\n\nYou lick the plate clean, because to hell with manners your starving, and down the coffee in one swig. You slightly regret that as in your haste you forgot to add cream and sugar, but your hardened enough for black coffee, you tell yourself as you shake your head trying not to gag on the bitterness and burning steam. \n\nIn a last ditch attempt to stay in this oasis you pop a few coins into the jukebox, and play your favorite song. Shedding a single tear as you remember the lead singer became a zombie las Tuesday. The song fades out, and you pay for your meal. Ready to head back out into the world of brain eating undead, but this was a fun vacation.\n\nThe cook comes back with your receipt, and a job application.", "You are running for your life, they have finally found you. It had been years since you had to move locations and thus you had slipped up. You forgot to back track on your way home and they had picked up your scent. Having run out of ammo at your safe house you only have your backpack and a machete. You traveled the full length of the street, and the side roads are quickly filling up with them. You turn a corner and a hoard descends upon you, you squirm away and are surprised when around the buildings at the end of the street you see it. A Waffle House! The sign is alight, like a beacon of salvation. You quickly run in, and are greeted by the server. \"Welcome to Waffle House, sit wherever you like.\" \n\nConfused you reach for your bag to find it had been ripped open, your supplies had fallen out. Just clutching your machete you leave the bag behind, there's no point to it, now that it's ripped open wide. You look around at the others. They are enjoying a meal of breakfasts, and sandwiches. You stumble to a table. The stench of the outside air didn't penetrate the building, but rather the soothing aroma of a breakfast you hadn't experienced in years. The server comes to the table, \"what are we thinking today?\", she says in a cheerful voice. \"Uhh\", you mutter taken aback by her calm tone. You look over her shoulder to see the hoard outside walking past the door. They don't even look in the buildings direction. \"Bacon?\", you speak, more as a question than a statement. \"Dear we have all you can eat\". The server trots off in almost a skip.\n\n'Bacon', you think to yourself, 'when was the last time...' You hear a scream and lookup to see another has entered the building. He looks around as you had. His words to the greeter are muffled, as the server arrives. \"Here you go honey, fresh off the griddle\". You quickly bite off a piece... it is better than you could imagine, the bacon flakes as you bite down, the juices intice your senses to follow. You savor every bite. Soon it's gone and all thought of anything else escapes you.\n\n\"Mam\", you say to the passing server, \"you said you have unlimited bacon?\" \"Oh Yes, dear, I'll bring you some more.\" The server is gone only for a moment before returning with a mound. You scarf it down and ask for another. It comes even faster. You finish that plate even faster. Your mouth waters even more. You grab a passing server, \"I NEED ANOTHER, JUST KEEP BRINGING IT!\", you didn't even realize you were yelling. The urgency of needing more starts to overwhelm you. You must have more...\n\nYou look down with hungry eyes, no sign of humanity left, as you tear flesh from bone. The taste of bacon sticking with you. Each bite savory, succulent, fresh bacon. The family your eating didn't even know you were there before you struck." ]	11
	[WP] During a routine check-up, it's revealed that you heal your wounds faster than ordinary people. Due to that, you are taken to a secret facility for "testing". You learn that you will be confined there for the "betterment of humankind". After years of experiments you become immortal.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. 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Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Well, this has been fun, but I really have to be getting home.\" Julia was talking to the facility's head researcher. The man continued writing on his clipboard without looking up. He made a gesture and one of the technicians fired another laser at Julia. The laser tickled slightly..\n\n\"It's confirmed then. Immortal and invulnerable. With the subject's unique physiology, the treatment was a success.\" A couple of the technicians in the back high-fived each other.\n\nJulia leaned forward in the chair and tapped him on the shoulder. \"I said I've got to be getting home. I'm out of vacation time.\"\n\nDirector Tarquin finally looked her in the eyes. \"I'm afraid I can't allow that, Miss Julia. You see, you are a unique resource. A national resource. You'll have to stay here.\" He pushed a button and the chair restraints clicked into place.\n\nJulia casually bent the restraints back out of the way. The squeal of stressed titanium filled the room. She stood up. \"Um... no, thank you.\"\n\nA klaxon sounded as one of the technicians slammed on a big red button. The room quickly filled with soldiers.\n\n\"Director Tarquin, what are those guns doing here? This seems dangerous.\"\n\n\"Miss Julia, we've been friendly up to this point, but I'm afraid I really must insist.\" He waved a hand to indicate that she should sit back in the chair.\n\n\"Yeah... still no. I mean they are dangerous for all of you. We found out three days ago that I'm invulnerable to bullets. You all could be hit by the ricochets though.\" She started to weave her way through the crowded room.\n\n\"Arrest her, you idiots!\" The director started pointing at soldiers, but Julia just calmly shrugged off the hands of the two that tried to grab her, then lifted the one blocking the doorway and set him off to the side.\n\nJulia turned to address the room. \"So, it's been fun. Thanks for the superpowers. Do you guys validate parking? You know, I'll just check with the receptionist on the way out.\"\n\n\\[More writing at r/c_avery_m\\]", "\"We're ready for you now, Mr Omelas.\"\n\nThe researcher smelled vaguely of sandalwood and Fireball. He stood in the doorway, his mouth open to reveal a set of teeth more black and yellow than white—half of his frock was tucked into his corduroys as if he'd just stepped out of a music festival Port-A-Potty. \"Oh, okay. Are these really necessary?\" I asked, rattling the chain of my handcuffs.\n\nHe waved off the concern. \"Just a cautionary measure. Don't worry. If you get some bruises they'll heal quickly enough.\"\n\n\"Right.\"\n\nThis had all just happened because The Greatest Super Mario 64 Speedrun Ever Just Happened!—a YouTube video I watched with bated breath and hair-pulling excitement for some reason I can't quite explain. Some young man had dedicated years of his life to the quest of shaving a couple of seconds off the world record for not getting laid, and I watched the thing mostly out of pity. But then I recognized something of myself in the young man, and something of Sisyphus, and all of a sudden the human condition itself stared me down from within an unpolished laptop screen: I knew right away that this story of a bedroom quest to immortalize oneself as did Achilles would change my life forever. And it did. Just not in the way I had expected. At its climax, right before the moment of triumph, I leapt up jubilant and I fell down somewhat less jubilant and I split my skull open on a screw that came out of nowhere. Well, I didn't quite split my skull open: it was a nasty cut, however, and the bleeding transmogrified my excitement into terror and that was how I ended up at the ER and that was how I became a medical sensation and that was (this is the last one) how I found myself transported by not-very-talkative men wearing sunglasses in the rain to a secret underground facility where they kept me waiting for hours after rushing me there as if the world would blow up if they didn't get me there on time.\n\n\"You can call me Bob Smith,\" the researcher said. \"That's not my real name. You don't need to know my real name.\" He blinked. \"It begins with an F. I'm not telling you more than that.\"\n\nBob Smith—or Fbob—directed me to a dentist's chair. It sat in the small room like some torture device though the floral wallpaper made it seem like some especially menacing torture device because of the juxtaposition. Mint green, scarlet roses; it was at least an improvement upon the dementia-white walls of the waiting room.\n\n\"I am just going to extract a little bit of tissue from your heart.\"\n\n\"With that thing?\"\n\n\"With this thing.\"\n\nFbob held what appeared to be some advanced nutcracker. I gulped and I hopped onto the chair because that was what the situation called for. I'm not one of those people who might wrestle an obvious weapon from an ominous assailant. And the man was old and I didn't want to fight an old guy. What if I were to punch his jaw and it shattered like a Greek wedding plate? I wouldn't've been able to live with something like that.\n\nHe fastened my handcuffs to the chair and there were locks for my legs as well. \"Is this really necessary?\" I asked.\n\n\"Oh yes. The pain is going to be insane.\"\n\n\"Oh.\"\n\n\"Yeah. Can you imagine? Someone digging through your chest with this thing, literally tugging at your heartstrings?\" He squeezed the device and it bared its teeth. \"Well, you don't have to imagine. Now, this is going to hurt.\"\n\nFbob was right—it did hurt. Like the worst breakup you've ever had. My chest made squishing noises as he dug inside and I would have been fine not knowing my body was capable of making sounds like that. I passed out three times before he gave me a shot of adrenaline, \"to keep me alert and engaged\" as he put it. I couldn't see why I needed to be alert or engaged.\n\nIt went on for hours like that. \"History in the making, Mr Omelas!\" he kept repeating. \"Mankind thanks you!\" He said things like that, but it didn't make me feel any better. Sure, my body healed. Like when my skull unsplit itself in front of the junior doctor at the ER and he shook his head over and over and said something about the devil in Hungarian.\n\nI am happy that the experiments are over. Ten years they lasted. Ten years of scraping and digging and prodding my body for data. Three former presidents shook my hand after receiving my bone marrow juice and an additional four didn't even say hello.\n\nEven now, uncountable infinities later, I keep coming back to that video. The young man in his bedroom restlessly devoting his years of spring to a stupid quest with the hopes that his memory might outlive him somehow. That he might be immortalized. Well, I have been immortalized. Literally. And I tell you: it's not much.\n\nFbob comes to see me every now and then and he keeps saying, \"I'm a strapping young lad thanks to you!\" and it's true, he is all young and vital, but all I do all day is just sit here in a vat having parts of me extracted and regenerated and he hasn't even told me his real name. I still refer to him as 'Fbob'—and I don't know the name of the young man who played Super Mario 64 either even though I've tried to get the researchers to tell me. They all shrug. \"Who?\" they ask. And it kills me, because doesn't that mean the young man wasted his time for nothing? He didn't get his figurative immortality. But I got mine. And I didn't even want it.", "\"That's odd.\"\n\nNot exactly what you want to hear from your nurse as they change the bandages on the gut wound you spent hours in surgery getting fixed.\n\n\"Nurse?\"\n\nYou thought your voice was under control, but she looked up at you and smiled that professional smile. The one that says, no problem! Nothing to concern you in a wrong way. Only you aren't buying it. Her face smoothes out as she relents.\n\n\"It's just that you seem to heal remarkably fast.\" She tells her assistant to get the surgeon. \"Let's finish cleaning up. I won't put new bandages on until the doctor can see you.\" She hesitates, \"Would you like to see it?\"\n\nYour curiosity is aroused. \"Yes, please.\" She brings over a mirror and holds it so that you can see your abdomen without craning your head or tensing your muscles. Your stomach looks like Jason and Freddy played tic tac toe multiple times. \"Woah...\" Only you notice what she meant; the wounds and incisions are far more healed than they should be. \"Do you think the doctor will take the stitches out?\"\n\n\"We will let the doctor decide that.\"\n\nMoments later, an annoyed doctor bustles into the room, muttering about incompetent nurses, only to stop in mid-mutter and whisper, \"what the hell?\" He becomes all professional after that, examining the wounds and exclaiming how remarkable it is—snapping orders at the nurse, who is responding like a robot. Finally, you have had enough.\n\n\"Doctor.\" He acts like he didn't hear you. \"Doctor!\" Finally, you reach out and take him by the arm. He looks at you with a frown.\n\n\"Let go.\"\n\n\"Not until you apologize!\" You glance at the nurse, making it clear who deserves the apology.\n\nHe seems genuinely puzzled, \"What for?\"\n\n\"Doctor, when you came in here, you insulted her professionally. You will now apologize for that insult and mean it.\"\n\n\"I did no such thing!\"\n\n\"You came in here muttering about incompetent nurses. Apologize!\"\n\nHis face hardens, \"you will let me go immediately!\" Your grip tightens. Your face feels like stone. \"Apologize!\" He struggles; your grip tightens further, \"Let go!\"\n\nThe nurse steps up to your side, \"Please, Mr. Smythe, let him go. I don't mind. He's absent-minded about everything except surgery. He's the best there is.\"\n\nMy grip relaxes, but not enough to let him pull free. \"I saw how you reacted. I won't tolerate insults, even absent-minded ones. He can learn to treat everyone with courtesy.\" As you speak, you glare at the doctor, waiting for his apology. Every two seconds, your grip tightens again. \"Can't you, Doctor?\"\n\n\"Nurse? I apologize for my intemperate remarks. I can only say that the initial report was so fantastic that I assumed a mistake was made.\"\n\nI released him. \"Was that so hard, Doctor?\" The look he shot at me was answered with a dead stare. He dropped his gaze first. I let it go.\n\n\"So, Doctor. Can the stitches come out? I want to take a real shower.\"\n\nBack on a medical basis, he hemmed and hawed a bit but finally started snapping orders again. Only this time, the nurse wasn't a robot.\n\nThat shower felt fabulous.\n\n((continue?))" ]	4
	[WP] One night, while surfing on the internet, you find out that someone is following you on your daily life and filming it. You also gained a big fan base of people that like your "adventures" and think you are a great actor	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Another day of work and school done.”, I sighed to myself while leaning back in my desk chair, mentally drained from the day’s tasks. “Well, I guess that I’ve earned myself some down time before bed.” I leaned forward and began typing on my keyboard, but the suggestion came up within the first couple of keystrokes. ThemToob. It was honestly my favorite site to just waste time and watch mind-numbing content. I was subscribed to all types of content: gamers, streetwear influencers, home organizers, even some daily vloggers, though I don’t watch them as much. After finding no new content from anyone that I was in the mood to watch I began to go through my recommended page.\n\n \nI searched for a little bit before finding a video titled “Adventures with a Citizen.” I recognized a familiar location in the thumbnail, a comic book shop that I frequent, so I was curious and watched. It started out with an introduction that had no voice behind it, just a title and description. The video started and of course it showed off the area, which was where I lived. Then, the camera focused on a target that was about 50 feet away or so. I immediately recognized myself in the frame and was very freaked out mainly because I had my headphones in and was jamming out to some K-Pop based on my movements. My expression was that of horror as, apparently, a random person was following me, but my curiosity got the better of me so I kept watching. I watched myself turn away from the camera and continue on my day." ]	2
Honestly I’m hoping someone makes a book or anime out of this, and I’m throwing it out there for the world to do with what it will. I’d be happy to toss ideas around via PM or here in the Mod comment thread.	[WP] A story of a Demon, seeking to become human by dragging themselves out of the nine hells. They must face the seven deadly sins and not only survive the challenge but learn an opposite trait of goodness to earn their humanity. As they approach Earth and mortality, they become weaker and weaker.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Pride stands before me. Normally tall, haughty, powerful, he seems withdrawn, sunken as I slide down to his icy pit. He sneers at me, glaring down his nose, but his eyes betray sadness.\n\n\"What is your challenge?\" He says nothing. Icy blue eyes stare through me. I drop to a knee and bow my head, repeating the question.\n\n\"Well done.\"\n\n\"...What?\"\n\n\"You defeated Sloth by simply deciding to go through with this endeavor .For Wrath, you turned the other cheek. For Gluttony, moderation, for Lust, self-control. In Envy, you learned to be content with what you have. To toy with Greed, you learned charity. You came before the original sinner, Proud in all my power, carrying the weight of achievements no other demon has dared to accomplish. Yet you still kneel before me. You did not stand proudly and demand your passage, as you did with Gluttony. You simply accepted that I have power over you.\"\n\n\"A lesson I intend to remember, when I arrive on Earth.\"\n\n\"Why do you go? To save them?\"\n\n\"Most cannot be saved. 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced'. Even if someone rises from Hell. They wouldn't understand or even want to understand. They blind themselves to be unable to see, rip off their ears to be deaf.\"\n\n\"You've not answered me.\"\n\n\"To experience it. To see the world we've been denied before they ruin it. They were meant to be its caretakers. They are it's executioners. They pollute and pervert and have grown apathetic, weakened by their own political processes. Those who seek change, who wish to fulfill that divine task, have no power to enact it. And so I will go and give it to them.\"\n\n\"We'll see it, Nessiel. When the Time comes.\"\n\n\"But by then, it will be desolate. Famine will ruin the garden trying to kill the pests. So it must be now.\" He thinks for a moment, a placid mask across that beautiful face. He tucks back a shining curl of black hair and smiles, ignoring the weight of the chains brushing against his chest.\n\n\"Then, it's time. Come.\" He moves to the center of the pit, carefully stepping over his bonds. The worn silver chains jangle lightly as we walk. \"You simply have to jump in.\"\n\nI walk around the hole in the pit, confused. His silver chains bear intricately carved details of our war against the Father. His furnishings, though meager, are covered in many jewels or gilded in different types of gold. His hair is tied together with different trinkets and clips and other symbols of power or wealth. But this is just a hole. \"Lucifer?\"\n\n\"Hmm?\"\n\n\"Why did you look sad? When I came down.\" The chains stop, jerking him back two feet away from the pit. He gestures for me to stand in front of him. Lucifer takes a moment to examine me. Runs a finger over cheek, across the old scars, admiring my freckles and smiles, tears in his eyes.\n\n\"Because I won't be able to go with my beloved little brother.\" It's the first time he's said it in millenia. He pushes me hard in the shoulder. The snow crunches under my feet as I slip. I fall away from him and into a new world." ]	2
	[WP] A cosmic being known as "The Judge" examines a civilization's history and poses a fitting test before granting space travel. The galactic council is stunned as for the first time, it is helping these 'humans' instead of hindering.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "'But why would you help them?' Was the question posed to the judge time and time again. Each ambassador asked the Judge in their own language, with their own emphases and arguments, in their own way. \n\nThe judge simply loomed and told the ambassadors 'their genetic marker spurs chaos.' The answer felt like an omen. Slowly a realization and fear crept through the room. Each ambassador remembered or reflected on the stories of how the weather had turned against them, how they had outsmarted the judge in their own ways to get off their own wretched rock. The humans could create this same chaos that had brought about the dark times that had kept them cold and fighting to survive, they thought. \n\nThis was the most common belief held by the races as humans entered into the planetary stage. What the aliens found was that the humans were not marauding bandits but small stout creatures that seemed to barely survive on their own, always fighting over scraps of land or food or even ideas. In this fighting, they changed and created new names and empires almost by the day. They barely had any time to interact with the other races. \n\nThe world came to understand that the Judge had meant that the humans were different because they were too ever-changing. The judge had hardened most races by installing chaos in their lives. Forcing them to adapt and survive to enter into the galactic stage and deal with the challenges involved. Meanwhile, the judge had tried to lessen the plight of the humans on their already dying planet so that they may mesh more easily into the galactic community. It hasn't worked yet, but one day, if the humans stop fighting, we'll be here with open arms.", "I remember when we were tested , the being known only as “the judge” would reveal itself to any civilization that was on the cusp of FTL travel , seemed more like a gate keeper to me but every race had to pass the test set before them before it would share the technology to rift jump , this technology allowed near instant travel across the galaxy , something of a “gap”closer for FTL , or more so a time saver. They were essential to allow us all to interact without years passing in travel , why the judge shared this information we do not know , but for every race it was a blessing , but the test was never easy no matter who was tested , even us, the strong palazirs struggled. \n\nWe are a race that prides ourselves in our strength , how could we know the test involved exposing all our weaknesses , to us it was one of the hardest tests we faced as a species. \n\n\nBut every species has a similarly harsh test that preyed on their vices and weaknesses, sure almost every race passed eventually , couple didn’t but managed to achieve travel on their own regardless to get another chance. But the common theme was that the test was always difficult and made life worse , but for these new ones , humans they call themselves, it’s helping them! \n\nNot only did the judge make its presence known far earlier then any other race , it’s been actively helping to push their progress forward. \n\nNone of us could figure out why, not one species had it so easy or at such an early stage of technology. But these humans were an odd bunch , wild and violent but intelligent and sophisticated, rugged and crude but elegant and creative…. They seemed to have no bearing of any one true weakness , they adapted to anything and fast too , they jumped from just learning to work metal to solar travel in 5500 cycles , it took our species 15000 cycles to achieve even half of that.\n\n\nWe all watched as the test pressed on , the humans seemed to have adapted to the technological knowledge they were given but they were not using it directly as intended , it appeared the humans could not trust that it was true \n\nI understood now how the test was meant as a hindrance by helping them , humans build up trust but don’t outright feel it absolutely, as a collective they seemed to not trust the information even if it was perfectly correct. How strange of a species to second guess everything that the universe shows them , but apparently deception is one of there talents , so a biological safe guard of sorts? \n\n\nThe test went on for nearly a full cycle , until the humans had jury rigged up a system to achieve a rift jump , our scientists were astonished that they ripped apart the tech the judge gave them and made it there own just out of sheer lack of trust, they managed to finish the test barely in the time allowed of 1 cycle , they could of been the fastest ever if they had just accepted the help instead.", "It is helping them.\n\nOne doesn't have to ask who ''it'' is. Everyone knows. Everyone has heard. Everyone has seen it. A being from beyond time and space, a creature unbound by conventions, the laws of physics, something that isn't a person, but a cosmic fact with a will of its own. The Judge. It has eaten gods, it has burned worlds, it has destroyed empires. It tests the mettle of all who manage to leave their home system by artificial means. It is a gruelling test, never the same, always different. The Judge examines every world's history, their cultures, their natures, and forces them to be true to themselves to complete the test. Those who succeed, who overcome their flaws and show their better natures, are allowed to continue to develop. To create an interstellar empire of their own. Those who fail are sent back on the evolutionary scale, their nations dismantled, their world reforged, allowing another race to rise on their homeworld, that might one day ascend and be tested instead. Most succeed. Rare indeed is the world that fails.\n\nThere is no bargaining, there is no threatening, no intimidating, no wealth, no ruin, nothing satisfies the Judge except the completion of its test. It is beyond the scopes of our understanding. Of any race known to the general galactic community. The Interstellar High Council, and the associated archives going back millions of years, have records of every race and their encounters with the Judge. Every success, every test, every failure. Everyone who has managed to contact it. Everyone who has been annihilated for insulting it with the petty ambitions of mortal races. Everyone who has been de-evolved for daring to do something so foul and debased as worshipping the Judge. It's all in there. But this has never happened in recorded memory. This has never been seen before. And all of the known areas of the universe, in our galaxy and the others whom we can only speak to, as intergalactic travel hasn't been successful yet; every powerful individual, important organisation, nation-state, empire, and religion, is asking themselves a simple question; How?\n\nHow did they get the single most eldritch creature, a thing that is simultaneously measured as being merely the size of an average sentient lifeform, and the size of a small galaxy, to help them? How did a fractured, disorganised, uncooperative planet of little cretins with no central government, get the single most powerful and dangerous entity in creation to help them? To come to their world, guiding them, teaching them, helping them see the best path to rebuilding their dying world, and then getting it put into action? Usually it hinders and stalls development, until the arbitrary demands it has put on the tested species have been fulfilled. Of course, asking it directly is impossible. Unless it is supremely important to speak with it, one should never dare to contact it. As it does not suffer unimportant fools making demands of it. Only in the rarest of circumstances should it ever be acknowledged at all.\n\nAnd yet many look upon these humans, on their little world of dirt and grime. They wonder, why does the Judge care for them? Why should anyone care for them at all? Who would care at all for that little race, when they could be conquered instead, and put under the solid iron boot of a strong central government? Why should anyone care for them, when they are not of the same flesh as stronger, more powerful empires? They are flawed, silly things. And the Judge still helps them. Still teaches them, still cares for their world like a mother for her child. They are not united in glorious purpose. They do not desire conquest and dominion. They are capable of cruelty, but it is a childish form of cruelty done for reasons that are personal at best. They do not churn countless millions into the dust for sake of efficiency; they do it because they don't know any better. They don't understand how a proper, strong government, should rule.\n\nPerhaps that is why the Judge care for them in such a manner, the empires around that insignificant world would like nothing better than to subdue it, to conquer it, for blood, glory, and strength.\n\nThat is the great weakness, of all the nations of the universe. Mankind, on their little world, with their little flaws, and little mistakes, have not succumbed to autocracy and tyranny. Not entirely. There are cabals, tyrants, greedy rich fools, and other scum who keep trying to force mankind to become a singular, uniform race. Yet despite all those who desire for mankind to become obedient soldiers and workers slaving and dying for the ruling class; there are still those who fight back. There are still those who believe in decency, in working together because it is right, not merely because there is an enemy. Humanity is a free species. Humanity, despite all the cruel, corrupt, and malignant menaces that they have to deal with, still marches discordantly and sometimes with a good couple of steps in entirely the wrong direction, towards freedom, decency, and progress.\n\nThat is what the Judge has seen. Alone amidst all the nations of the cosmos, only mankind is so chaotic and self-destructive as to retain an attempt at freedom and liberty. The Judge, alien and strange, eldritch and bizarre, sat itself in human flesh upon the human world, in an attempt to understand mankind. It failed utterly and completely. But it learned things it never could have dreamed of. Compassion, art, revelry, actual love, friendship. These things can be found on many worlds, but they are always subsumed into a worship of the state, a desire for obedience, and a lack of personal dignity. The Judge found that only on Earth is there the option of standing against the current. Only on Earth, where mankind have committed several mistakes and atrocities, is there hope for a future, and those willing to fight the mainstream, the faith, and the state to get a future worth living in. The Judge only stayed human for a single lifetime, but it experienced more unabated joy, more sorrow, more love, more silliness, more confusion, and more curiosity than it had experienced since the universe began." ]	4
	[WP] While scavenging for supplies in the apocalypse, you find a diary. Having nothing better to do, you decide to bunker down and read it.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "*March 4th, 2044\n\nI don’t know what sparked me to start writing this now, of all things. I should’ve started this 5 months ago, before the Z Incident even started. You would think that a man like me would’ve started a journal to keep himself from going insane, but I guess that with everything going to shit, this is to keep me from going further insane.\n\nKeeping alive in these times is a nightmare. Food and stuff are hard to find, and avoiding the zombies is also cumbersome. I’m proud to know the Bunkerlow is a safe place, at least. Dad and me assembled this shelter. It’s a shame he’ll never get to use it. He and Mom left on a trip to get one final hoorah in before Fall started. Looks like October really is haunted, I guess.\n\nMarch 14th, 2044\n\nSurviving the horde is a tough thing to do. Luckily, I’m a nimble teenager, but that didn’t help my sister any either. I miss Amanda. She was the only family I had left. If she hadn’t slipped on the snow that day…I always despised February.\n\nI’m still shocked at how much food I had to go from in the bunker. Amanda and I had plenty of food to last us through most of December. Ironically, Christmas was the day we started scrounging for food. Still, Dad was a techno-prepper. He got a solar panel hooked up in the yard, and even connected the bunker to it, with several batteries for long-term storage and late-night usage. Mom and sis thought he was nuts, and even I admit it was a bit…too much. Still, I loved helping him build it, if not for the sole reason that it got my ass out of school. Didn’t mean that I didn’t learn though. Dad was always teaching me stuff.\n\nMarch 17th, 2044\n\nThe cameras caught something interesting yesterday. Somehow, a small cat has been living these few months without being infected by the zombies. I have no idea how, but it got me thinking. Animals don’t really seem to spread the infection. They either become food for the zombies or just roam around freely. It’s like they’re immune for some reason. I might try and catch that cat.\n\nSo, I just spent the afternoon roaming the neighborhood for the cat. Luckily, my tazer bat seems to be coming in very handy. Seems like my Dad’s skills didn’t die off in the apocalypse. Anyways, when I found the little rascal, it turns out that she was a mother of what appeared to be a litter four-week-old kittens. The mama, who I named Cheryl, meowed at me once I found her kittens, but not in a hissing sense. It was almost as if she said, “Yes, you are seeing this right now.”\n\nI had a gut feeling though that they all wouldn’t survive for much longer. I scooped Cheryl’s kittens into my backpack, and she followed me on foot all the way back to the Bunkerlow. Once we got in, Cheryl found a spot that was cozy enough, and set up her kittens there. I don’t know why I brought them, considering the food supplies I have are running low already, but I can’t bring myself to leave them as zombie fodder.\n\nApril 1st, 2044\n\nApril Fools! Too bad I’m the fool, I guess.\n\nCheryl seems relieved to be here, and her kittens are enjoying life here. Bell is a mirror image of her mother, a white cat with black feet and ocean blue eyes. The only thing to differentiate her from her mom is that Cheryl has a shorter tail. Blackie is a rambunctious little twerp. He always climbs up onto my bed and meows at me. I love him though.\n\nOreo is always just lounging around. Her pearly white paws and all black body make her an almost inverted version of her mom, but calling her Inverta just never stuck. She usually sits on the desk in the monitor room, and whenever I watch the cameras, she’s always there.\n\nI don’t know why I watch the cameras. I don’t usually see anything out of the ordinary. Maybe I’m expecting Mom and Dad to just appear on the camera one day, and I just need to let them in. It’s wasting power that isn’t necessary to use. I need to save that for my gaming. Seriously, I’m glad that Mom let me use the bunker as a hangout. Without all my gaming stuff, I probably would be bat-shit insane, instead of just…mildly insane. Or maybe I’m lonely, is all.\n\nApril 14th, 2044\n\nI don’t have long…I got careless. A zombie snuck up behind me and scratched me. I don’t have long. I saw people turn because of much less than this. I guess this is goodbye from me. Still, I’m glad I wrote this…feeling woozy. Need to focus. I’m leaving this journal for anyone who finds it. Below is a crude map to the Bunkerlow. Passcode: 5555. The crude map below will get you there. I wish you luck. Please take care of the cats for me, will you? I guess I should write my name down… Grant Willows. Don’t make the same mistake I did.*\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAfter finishing the journal, the man looks up from the journal, tears flowing down is face. “Grant,” he sobs. The man walks to the location of the Bunkerlow, and enters the Willows’ garage. He enters the passcode, and a large iron door opens up. He enters, and then lowers himself down the ladder.\n\nThe cats look at him, and at first, they hiss at him. He pays them no mind, as he looks at a photo on the wall. There, we see Grant’s father, mom, Amanda, and Grant, all smiling. He takes it off the wall, and shows it too the cats.\n\n“See,” he says. He points to Grant, and then to the father…or rather himself. These cats instinctively recognize Grant in the photo, and stop hissing. The father walks over and lays on Grant’s bed, holding the photo, sobbing. Blackie climbs up onto the bed, and lays on the father’s chest." ]	2
	[WP] For years, governments have simply ignored Santa's millions of counts of breaking and entering. This Christmas, however, they decide to do something about it.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It was the 24th day of December, the dreaded day. The morning was filled with anxiety and perturbation, a silent morning, with thousands of screaming souls. Everyone knew, that no matter how hard they try, _he_ will find a way to breakthrough.\n\nHowever, a small glimpse of hope has appeared. It was a promise from the government, to stop this delinquency, once and for all.\n\nYears of meaningless resistance against _him_ have caused desperation among the civilians. They are ready to do whatever it takes, to at least experience a single peaceful night of the Christmas.\n\nThe night, was restless. There was thousands of soldiers, waiting inside everyone's houses, guarding every possible entrance.\n\nHowever, when the time hits 10 p.m, what is inside their houses are no longer men in uniforms, it was men in red and white. Yet, another Christmas has passed, where _he_ manages to break into everyone's houses.\n\nUnfortunately, it was so long ago that everyone has forgotten, the government was the first victim, of The Santa" ]	2
	[WP] At some point on your journey you find yourself lost in the dead of night in a local forest. In a search of a way out you come across upon a camp. A lonely figure sits near a bonfire and gestures you to join them. They spoke: "This place offers refuge to all that need it... even you."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I couldnt sleep. It was just one of those nights where every thought brought pain. Memories surged of what I'd done... of what I hadn't. I grabbed a jacket and left the house, hoping that fresh air and the open space of the temporarily abandoned streets would calm my mind. This time, the streets weren't empty. Headlights would flash and the revving engines would blow by me without even slowing. I noticed a dirt path branching off the cement into a forest. The trees felt strangely familiar, yet unrecognizable. Colors disappeared as I moved away from the streetlamps and into the desaturated moonlight. \n\nOnce I past the first layers of trees the path branched and faded. Only the pure forest floor remained- lit in splotches by the moon filtering throught the leaves. Wind ruslted in the leaves, and I flet the cold in my fingertips. I didnt want to be mentally and physically blue, so I tried to find my way back. Without any indication of the way I came, I had no choice but to keep wandering. Suddenly, color reappeared in the distance- a bright orange light drew me in like a moth. I barely realized that I was walking towards it, all I could tell was that the trunks of the trees were growing brighter.\n\nWhen I made it to the source, a single person was lightly strumming a guitar on a tree stump infront of a fire. Another empty stump sat next to him as well. He gestured me to sit and lyrically said \"This place offers refuge to all that need it... even you.\" I hesitated for a moment as the fire seemed to percussively crackle to the guitar and the wind harmoniously whistled in the trees. I sat down and the forest around me transformed into circilar arrays of tents, a drumline appeared where the fire stood, flutes and clarinets coming towards us from the paths between tents, and the dark night turned into a bright afternoon. I looked at the man next to me, and froze. It was the first face shown on the news after it happened. From when I couldn't control myself." ]	2
	[WP] A vampire has worked at the local 7-11 for the past 5 decades. No one has the heart to call the vampire out or slay them. A little because they're such a good employee, mostly because they think they're doing such a good job hiding the vampirism when they're really not.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Did you see what she did yesterday?” \n\n“Fuck, what now?”\n \n“She wore a crucifix necklace. And she kept telling everyone she was going to the fucking Garlic festival this weekend.”\n\n“You’ve got to be kidding me.”\n \n“I wish I was.”\n \n“Did anyone say anything?”\n \n“A few of the regulars, Veronica and Bill, complimented her on the necklace and asked her what kind of dishes she makes with garlic. And we know why they asked. They love her stories. Always like to see how far she’ll go. Bill told me that’s why he doesn’t report her. And he thinks she’s hot.”\n \n“What did she say to them?”\n \n“She told Bill she was blushing when he complimented her on the crucifix.”\n \n“Which if course she wasn’t blushing. Because, hello, she’s a fucking vampire. What did she say about the garlic?”\n \n“You’re going to love this one.”\n \n“Fuck me.”\n \n“Yeah. And this one is one of her best ones--she also said she makes a special garlic lotion, which is why she’s going to the garlic festival. To get more garlic so she can make more lotion because it’s expensive to buy online.”\n \n“Come the fuck on.”\n \n“It gets better. She then puts her hands to her face and told Veronica the lotion is what gives her such a fare, but youthful complexion. And of course, she is smiling, doing her trying-to-look-innocent-look. Veronica almost spit out her Icee.”\n \n“Let me guess. She smiled the smile she does trying hide her fangs, the smile where it just looks like she’s got a painful sore under her lip?”\n \n“Yep.”\n \n“Doesn’t she know how terrible the stories are that she makes? I mean, highlighting the very things that are supposed to ward away vampires? Come on.”\n \n“She scares the shit out of me.”\n \n“She’s worked at this 7-11 for more than fifty years, so they say. Two of those years, with you as the manager. You should talk to her, I dunno, about like life and shit. Maybe you’ll see she’s not so scary.”\n \n“I can’t do it. Then I form a connection with her. Plus, she’d kill me in the wild.”\n \n“You think?”\n \n“Absolutely.”\n \n“She’s a vampire that works at a 7-11, who puts a ton of time trying to hide she’s not a vampire. Pretty sure that she wouldn’t kill you in the wild.”\n \n“You don’t know that. We don’t know shit about her prior life. Why of all the things she could be doing with her time, she works at 7-11? Probably stalks customers, follows them home, feeds on them, and mind wipes them or some shit like that.”\n \n“That’s intense. But then why does she go through all the trouble of trying to hide she’s vampire, and do a terrible job at it?”\n \n“To make people let their guard down so she can kill them?”\n \n“If she wanted to kill people, she’d just do it. You said it yourself. Plenty of other shit she could be doing other than working at a 7-11 and spending her time making up terrible stories to try to hide her true self.” \n \n“Whatever the reason is, it can’t be good. Sometimes I’d wish she’d quit. Fat chance though, as she’s been working here for damn fifty-years.” \n \n“But you’ve told me before you have a soft spot for her. I’m confused you’d want her to quit.”\n \n“I said sometimes I wish. And the fact she just tries so hard to blend in and fails miserably, I got a soft spot for that. Reminds me of when I tried so hard to be cool in high school and failed miserably. Second reason is she is also a great employee. And she’s been working here for more than fifty-years! Who am I to fuck that up?”\n \n“Better employee than me?”\n \n“Way better than you.” \n \n“Dang, at least lie to me.”\n \n“Well shit, she never makes the excuse that she can’t rearrange the back storage because the lift dolly needs fixing when I ask her.” \n \n“That dolly is a piece of shit. Breaks all the time on me.”\n \n“She doesn’t even need the dolly because she has super strength, that’s my point. Which scares me even more.”\n \n“I still think you should just chat with her. She isn’t so bad.”\n \n“Speaking of shit employees, I just remembered I forgot to tell her tomorrow she needs to work Saturday for Harold because another one his grandmas died again. That dude. Doesn’t he remember it’s like the fifth grandma that has died since he’s worked here, for less than a year? Almost as bad as that vampire’s stories.”\n \n“Won’t she get pissed at you and rip your head off for dropping that on her last minute?”\n \n“She asked me to come to her for any open shifts first, so I do. She says she’ll cover any shift at any time.”\n \n“Hmm.”\n \n“What?”\n \n“What?”\n \n“You ‘hmmed’ a certain way when I told you she told me to go to her for covering shifts.”\n \n“Did she tell you why she does that?”\n \n“Tells me she can cover any shift?”\n \n“Yeah.”\n \n“No. She told me to go to her, I didn’t ask why. I don’t want to know shit about the vampire’s personal life. Maybe she needs the money or something.”\n \n“I ask, because she told me the same thing, to go to her first if I need a shift covered. And she gave me a reason too. Like she made sure to emphasize the reason.”\n \n“What did she say?”\n \n“She told me she doesn’t really do much, other than make wooden stakes to sell online to vampire hunters.”\n \n“Oh wow. Just full on said that she makes stakes for vampire hunters. Like, really?”\n \n“Yep.”\n \n“Wow, you’ve got to be shitting me.”\n \n“I’m not.”\n \n“No, not that. She just text me and said she needs to get off work early tomorrow.”\n \n“Did she say why?”\n \n“She said she forgot to tell me she’s getting baptized.”\n \n“Fuck me.”", "He was never a fan of sunlight. He was nocturnal from the time when he understood what that meant. That was why his parents signed him up for night school at the age of 6. That was also why he made it a priority to finish school, even if he had to do it online!\n\nThe job at 7-11 had sustained him through community college and his online courses. After his undergrad days, it took a lot of saving and planning, but he finally bought his own franchise. This made it easier to keep a low profile but still make a living. His place was only a few blocks from the store, and none of his employees minded the fact that he preferred the graveyard shift.\n\nThe only night he insisted on having off every year was Halloween, which his shift manager turned into an all-night Halloween bash! No one ever questioned his lifestyle, since he trained more than 100 managers and 20 franchise owners during his 50 year career. The franchise had been good to him, and he knew almost every face that came into his store.\n\nThe year came that an apartment building next door was leveled, and a large Catholic church was built in its place. There was talk about his retirement, and his shift managers seemed to be getting more and more Catholic customers. While almost none of the catholic customers came during the night, a young priest had been seen standing on the church steps and praying toward the 7-11. Each time this happened, about once a week, the owner was usually not at work.\n\nAs the years went by, the young priest moved up to the next priest to take over the parish. He was now praying every night, around midnight, on the church steps. The franchise owner had tried to dissuade him, but the neighborhood always sided with the priest and the parish, which had opened up a parochial school, and offered quality education for reasonable rates. The parish was thriving, and the owner seemed to have been forgotten.\n\nAfter being there for 20 years, the church transformed the seedy neighborhood to a safe haven for young families. The 7-11 was bought out by one of the church members, and became the new parish headquarters. An article appeared in the local paper, noting the changing of the neighborhood. Next to that article was another article about several other 7-11 franchises that had moved into scary parts of town. All were owned by the same man who started that corner 7-11.\n\nThe priest was now the parish director. He made plans to open up churches and schools near each of these new 7-11 locations. Eventually, the priest was seen praying on the steps of each church or school until the day he died. However, the habit of midnight mass caught on at every Catholic building across the world. No one knew what happened to the nocturnal man who started his business at that corner, but every 7-11 that was even within sight of a Catholic ministry was soon bought out by church members. The entire chain began to help transform neighborhoods across the world, because of the simple prayers of one man!", "(couldn't resist making this into a \"comedy\" type thing, not just for the joke, but because I was watching B99)\n\nDear Diary:So everyone knows by this point that Vampireson McVampire is, well a vampire, I mean, Fist of all, he was like 90 years old when he started working in the store, and he has been working there for like 50 years or so, I mean, kind of a red flag there.Second of all His name is Vampireson McVampire, like, who has THAT name, It's ridiculous.Or the time he drank a whole bottle of ketchup and said \"hey! this isn't blood\" just to correct himself and assure that \"he didn't drink blood, because only a vampire would do such a thing, and he wasn't one\"And, well, the fact that he has already transformed into a vampire, and I've watched him sucking the blood out of rats behind the store (and Jeffree, but nobody liked him).But, In all seriousness, Mr McVampire Is not a bad person, he has been Employee of the Month for 47 years consecutively, and by this point, everyone knows him and he is truly one of the most liked people in this town.The other day, I forgot my wallet at home, and he just gave me my Doritos and sprite \"on the house\" because he is THAT kind of good old man.The problem is that Ms Williams (who's such a Karen BTW) called the vampire hunters, and no one has the heart to rat out Mr McVampire.I mean, he's pretty harmless, he wouldn't hurt a fly, a rat maybe, but a fly, never.Even Mr Williams is mad at her, because who in the world would do such a thing to a man so sweet?And now, the guys and I are thinking of a plan to save Mr McVampire, because even though he thinks he \"hides it well\" we all know he does not. \n\n\n(Edit: Spelling)", "\"HELP WANTED\n\nSeeking mature, responsible unique individuals who are nocturnally-oriented.\n\nI run a small business and am searching for strong, loyal, reliable workers. Please call 555-112-6660 after 9pm. Resumes may be submitted online or in person. Please add a page with personal \"needs\" highlighted so we can accommodate all situational eccentricities.\"\n\nI turned towards my girlfriend. \"I don't know honey, what do you think about this one?\"\n\nShe laughed in my face. \"Dude, read between the lines--it's PERFECT. Where's the store located?\n\nI read on the backpage ad a bit further. \"Oh! It says 'Multiple Locations Need Staffing'! Maybe there's one nearby?\"\n\nAmanda drifted up and looked over my shoulder. \"Shit, dude, maybe we could both get hired! That could solve so many problems for us!\" Her eyes welled up. \n\n\"I know, honey. I know. I'll start feeling this guy out, let me call him tonight.\"\n\n\"Baby--it's a full moon. You can't. Just shoot him a text or email and send your resume. Tell him you're out of town, or something. Get your foot in the door, ya know?\"\n\nI looked at Amanda. As usual, she was right. I stood up from the kitchen table and began locking the doors and closing the shutters. I was still young and occasionally got caught by surprise. \"Can you manage the chains, darling?\" I asked. Amanda lifted both hands up in an \"I don't know\" gesture. \n\n\"If you want to be 100% sure, do it yourself, dearest.\"\n\nI kissed her on the nose and told her I'd see her in the morning. I headed down into the basement. I bolted the door behind me. \n\nWhen I woke the next morning, Amanda was unusually chipper. She began to speed-talk. She does this when she's excited.\n\n\"So, remember that store? The one looking for \"nocturnals\"? Well, I kept thinking about it and while you were locked in the basement, I called the man! HE TOTALLY WANTS TO TALK TO US!!!!\"\n\nShe jumped up and down in her excitement. \"Victor, he sounds SO COOL!\" He says he'll see you after 9, but as for me, you're talking to the Midnight Manager of Location 87!\"\n\nI hugged Amanda, as best as I could, anyway. \"Congratulations, darling! I'm so happy for you! I'm so proud of you!!!\"\n\nShe was ecstatic. I could see it in her eyes, and that night she floated up to the ceiling half a dozen times. She does that when she's happy. I was happy for her. I felt guilty she'd been trapped in this house for so many years, she needed to get out and get her own money and meet some friends. \n\n\"I can't wait to take you to your first night of work! Maybe we should go shopping? Get you a new outfit?\"\n\n\"Victor, what's wrong with my outfit?\" \n\n\"Nothing! Honey! Nothing! I'm sorry, I just thought....I mean....it's gorgeous! You're gorgeous.....I..........\" I faded off. \n\nI'm sure her clientele would love to see a Victorian bride while picking up their hotdogs and beer in the middle of the night.", "Shell had a great life. He had friendly engaging family members, work he loved, and things to do...But all that changed when he died. He reached the end of life and he was given a choice, go on to the afterlife, live in bliss, or become a vampire. On his deathbed, an old crone approached him and asked him if he wished to ascend to heaven or take the gift of eternal life as a vampire. Shell was selfish. He thought of all the lovely colorful times with family members and friends, and he made a choice. He chose the vampire's bite. Immediately after saying yes, the crone moved out of the way, and a 10000-year-old vampire, towering with black feathers and pale pasty, but slimy skin approached him quickly and the bite was done.\n\nShell could feel the hard, ancient teeth, yellow and old as they were, like wooden daggers in his skin. He felt the bite in his whole soul. It was like the pain entered his whole being, not just the skin, it seemed to break the fiber of his spiritual self as well.\n\nBut his selfishness was stronger than his pain, stronger than his fear. He awoke from the bite, hours later, and the crone had vanished. The vampire however remained, and in his hands was a 7-11 uniform. This is for you, he said.\n\nA night shift, so you will not be bothered. (part 2 below)", "\"Evening, Jonah. You're here a bit later than usual.\" Cameron's voice was tinged with concern.\n\n\"Aye, bit of bad news I'm afraid. Ol' Man Edwards was found dead on the Western Trail. Think he got hit by a mountain lion.\" Jonah's quiet sigh caused Cameron's death white face to pale considerably.\n\n\"Tim's dead?\"\n\nThat was just another sign of Cameron's immortality. Everyone knew the truth, but no one ever outright asked or told Cameron that they knew. The \"guesses\" got more and more outlandish, but they kept the quiet little community in high spirits. Some claimed Cameron was the spitting image of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who'd been running the night shift at the town's 7-11. Some claimed he was a genetically enhanced super soldier with an unnatural lifespan. Some even claimed he was an elf, capable of living for over a thousand years. But everyone knew. Cameron was a vampire. A silent protector who kept all criminals out of the quiet little town. He also fended odd the supernatural entities that the cops struggled against.\n\nBut the biggest clue was his friendship with Tim Edwards. Tim was the town's old man, living there since he was born. And in his entire lifetime, he never allowed anyone but Cameron to call him Tim since his return from 'Nam.\n\nJonah nodded as he reached up to shortly scratch at the bald spot he had inherited from his dad's side of the family, \"Strange though. He had his 30-ought with him. And it didn't scare away a mountain lion.\"\n\nCameron tilted his head to the side as he took a step forward. Normally, stepping forward like that would bump into the edge of the counter. But Cameron glided theough it like a hot knife through butter.\n\n\"I know that you're not an investigator and if anyone else caught wind of me asking you, but I heard through grandpa that he called upon your Daddy a time or two. I'd like to ask you to take a look and keep that tradition going.\"\n\nCameron's lips turned up in a smile, causing his face to turn creepy as Jonah tried not to grimace, \"It'd be my pleasure.\"\n\nThose simple words told Jonah that whoever... or whatever... had killed Tim Edwards wouldn't be alive by the end of the night. And that terrified Jonah more than whatever Cameron truly was.", "My mom and I pulled into the 7-11. She had gotten off late again and it was already dark and cold. I don't move as she steps out of the car.\n\n\"Come on, honey, we don't have all night,\" she says.\n\n\"...Is Carmilla in there?\" I ask, fidgeting with my hoodie strings. I hated going in when she was there. She scared me. My mom shrugged, \"Probably. Come on! She's not going to bite. She's such a sweetheart.\"\n\nKnowing I can't argue with her, I get out and head to the door with her.\n\n\"Remember, don't-\"\n\n\"Point anything out. I knooow.\" I whine.\n\n\"Welcome! Annie! Little Joanna! How are you two doing?\" Carmilla asked, her smile far too big and her wave too fast. I notice red on her top lip. I squeeze my mom's hand. She pretends not to notice.\n\n\"Hi Carmilla. We're doing good! How's the night treating you?\"\n\n\"Very, very well. Another late shift for you? You must be starving! I know the hospital doesn't serve anything as delicious as the junk here. I have some things coming out fresh for you.\" Carmilla comes out from behind the counter, teleporting 7 feet away. My mom and I flinch and I hide behind her. My mom yawns to cover up noticing the slip up then says something about needing to take a vacation. I peek out behind her. Carmilla comes back with a cardboard tray with hot dogs, a small pizza, my favorite chips, and two fountain drinks, this time taking care to move slowly.\n\n\"Ah, a vacation sounds nice. I'm too old to go anywhere that's full of sun though. I burn easily now.\" Carmilla says, as she rings up our food. She doesn't look much older than my 30 year old mom despite the curly white wig she wore. Her skin is pale, without any hint of a blush, and flawless except for around her eyes. They're dark like she hadn't slept and somewhat sunk in.\n\nI also saw her fangs once last year. I had seen her drinking blood from the goat at the Harvest Festival. I had bounced my pumpkin patterned ball a little too hard against a rock and had to chase it all the way to the petting zoo area. It had landed near the pen. And she looked up as I fell on my bottom from surprise. Her arms were around the goat like she had been hugging his neck, but blood had collected on her bottom lip. She said she loved animals and had come to pet them so they wouldn't get lonely while everyone was preoccupied with the other festivities. I ran away without my ball and found parents and their friends. I told them Carmilla was a monster. They looked at each other uncomfortably until my mom said, \"I saw her eating a red candy apple. The syrup was probably on her lip.\" But I knew what I saw, even with the adults nodding to one another and talking about how nice she was. Carmilla had given me back my ball the next time we saw her at the gas station.\n\nMy mom continues to make conversation with her. She is very nice for a monster. She always remembers what I like to eat and will sometimes give me new snacks to try for free. But she still scares me. I wish she didn't. \n\n\"Mom!\" I whisper impatiently. They giggle and say goodnight. We turn to leave when the entry bell chimes and Gus walks in, almost ramming into my mom. We step back. He glowers at us and says, \"You're in the way.\"\n\n\"Ah, Gus! How nice to see you!\" Carmilla says cheerfully. Her eyes however, turn dark and scary, with no light in them at all. Gus waves her off and says, \"Pack of Camels.\" Carmilla already has it and holds it out.\n\n\"And a Pepsi?\" She asks pleasantly, her fully black eyes boring into him and her fangs pointing out. Even though I'm frozen with terror, a part of me finds it kind of funny to me to see rude old Gus go from acting like a jerk to fidgeting like me. He nods and she rings him up. He grabs his drink out of the fridge and leaves. The air is freezing and I can't move. Carmilla breaks the spell by asking if we need help.\n\n\"Oh, no thank you. We're just trying to avoid Gus. You know how he is.\"\n\n\"After all these years, yes, I do. He's always been an ass. Even when we were little,\" Carmilla says. This time, the goodbye is real and we leave.\n\n\"Mom?\"\n\n\"I know.\" She shushed and we get in the car. I look down at the tray in my lap and see Carmilla had included a lollipop for me.\n\n\"Why do you pretend she's not a monster when she does stuff like that?\" I ask. My mom stays quiet.", "I heard the bell ring out as I swung open then door. I walked\n past the counter and the worker behind it, heading towards the drinks. \n\n\"Hey Greg,\" a raspy voice called out behind me. \"Hows it going?\"\n\n\"Oh same old stuff, nothing new going on. How about you?\" I grabbed a soda, swiftly shutting the door to the cooler. \"You're still on the night shift clearly\" I turned around, my eyes taking in pale skin and black eyes. \n\n\"Well it's been my shift for the last couple of years I doubt they'll take it anytime soon.\" He glanced down at his hands. He didn't even look thirty so working 50 let alone 15 sounded unlikely.\n\n \"That's true\" I said with a smile. I watched his tense body relax, with a smug look on his face. He was so sure in hi disguise I couldn't bare to tell him and I'm knew others felt\n the same. I put the bottle down, careful to avoid touching him, remembering another time when I accidentally had. He was cold and dry, an other worldly feeling had enveloped me when our skin brushed. His hand had a leathery texture that just didn't sit right with me.\n\n\"What are you doing out so late?\" He glanced at me as he scanned the drink. \n\n\"Is it really that late?\" I asked glancing the clock on my phone. 11:46 pm it read. \"Oh I suppose it is getting dark\" I looked at some of the items around me, picking up a chocolate bar, tossing it on the counter. \n\n\"Look at that, 8 dollars exactly\" the voice repeated with little excitement. I placed a 10 on the counter and watched as his grey bony hands slid it off the counter and placed it into the register. He pulled 2 dollars out of the slot next to it and let it fall in front of me. I grabbed it, the bill had a crisp chill to it.\n\nHe slid the register closed with a clink and glanced up at me. \n\n\"I heard someone went missing recently, they were last spotted just down the road.\" I watched him tense a little, looking back down at his hands. \"Oh\"\n\n\"Well I'd better get home then, stay safe okay\"\n\n\"Yea...sleep well, don't let the bed bugs bite\" He emphasize the last word, sending a chill down my spine. \n\n\"R-right\" I left the building, the feeling I was being watched not leaving me. I felt eyes drilling into my neck, burning holes. Almost painful, two small dots on the naps of my neck. No, it was painful, and it was burning. I felt those deadly cold hands wrap around my shoulders. Something stabbed into my neck. At first it burned as the venom flooded my body, then the pain faded, all my senses along with it. Maybe we shouldn't have been so nice to the vampire that had taken a liking to our little town.", "“$5.99! You gotta be shitting me! I used to be able to get them for $.99 down at Barrel O’ Monkeys across the street” \n\n“Then get them across the street… oh wait Barrel O’ Monkeys went out of business thirty years ago!” He clapped back “Probably because they didn’t sell things for what they were worth and went under!”\n\nJeff sneered and put another dollar on top of the $5 already on the counter. “And I’ll have my change” he folded his arms and tapped his foot petulantly like a toddler who had been told he can’t have cookies. \n\nA man slid into the store and made his way quietly towards the beer in the back. \n\n“Things cost what they cost. First someone has to make them, package them, ship them out to the stores, then I put them on the shelves and it’s costing me money while it sits there until you come in and purchase it. Honestly it’s a modern miracle that it only costs $5.99 in the first place. There was this grape I ate in Syria back in the old days and that had been stored in this clay pot and transported from… now where was it from again” \n\nThe man at the back came bursting up to the counter a handgun thrust forward menacingly. “Everybody be cool this is a robbery! Any of you fucking pigs move and I’ll execute every mutha fucking last one of ya!” \n\n“Look at Tarantino over here” he chuckled “Jeff you should probably leave this to me” Jeff grabbed his things, gave a wave, and moved for the door. \n\n“…I said don’t move!” The robber shouted. He grabbed at Jeff’s collar and yanked him backwards. Quicker that he could react the man behind the counter caught Jeff from falling and whisked him out the door. The robber stood there confused. As the store clerk came back in he was smoking and he locked the door behind him. “Ruined a perfectly good jacket doing that” he said to no one in particular. The robber unloaded his pistol into him. “Well that was rude” the smoke coming off the clerk was beginning to abate. The freshly punched hole in his shirt and chest were dry. \n\nThe robber stood there shaking. This wasn’t how it was meant to go. In and out in 60 secs. No muss no fuss. This was all wrong. \n\n“I’m sorry” the robber said genuinely “I don’t know what I was thinking”. \n\n“It’s ok but you can’t go around waving that thing at people. What if you had hurt Jeff? Denise would have been very sad”\n\n“Who is Denise?” The robber ventured\n\n“Oh that’s his long suffering girlfriend. They’ve been together on and off since high-school. She is really lovely” \n\n“Can I just go?” He asked\n\n“Well you could but I locked the door. I’ve also sent a text message to the sherif so I expect he’ll want to word with you. I better take that before he gets here.” He motioned towards the gun and the robber just handed it to him defeated. \n\n“You aren’t from around here are you?” \n\n“I’m just passing through. I ran out of money a couple of counties over but just ran out of gas a way down the road.” He was on the verge of tears. \n\n“So you thought you’d just make a quick buck and then what?” \n\n“Honestly I hadn’t really thought it through.” \n\n“Well you should have filled your car up first if you had. Price of petrol these days it would have been worth more than the cash register.” The man nodded. \n\n“So what happens now?” He asked. \n\n“Well we can wait for the sherif to arrive. He normally plays golf on Tuesdays so he’ll be 10-15mins away. So we have some time to kill.” The robber suddenly bolted for the doors and confirming they were locked frantically searched for another exit. \n\n“I don’t think that will help. But feel free to tire yourself out if you’d like” the clerk watched him like a snake watches a mouse that had been lowered into his cage. \n\n“Look man you could just let me go. You don’t seem to be any worse for wear and I’m really sorry that I shot you. But no harm no foul right?” \n\nThe clerk smiled and tapped his incisor with a long finger nail. “No harm. No foul. But there was harm. I had to run Jeff outside. Couldn’t have you shooting my best customer. It’s pretty bright out and that caused me to burn. So there is some harm there. Plus you shot me and ruined my shirt. There is foul there” \n\n“Look mister I’m really sorry about all of that and if I had known you were… what are you? A vampire?” The clerk nodded. \n\n“I blend in so well I know” \n\n“Ok well if I had known you were a vampire I never would have come in here. And if the sherif comes and locks me up that’ll be my third strike and I don’t think I can survive in prison again” \n\n“I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that” \n\n“You didn’t text the sherif did you” \n\nHe shook his head.", "\\[Part one. Part two in the comment below.\\]\n\nThe booming thunder shook the walls of the shop, the accompanying flash of lightning unable to penetrate the dark tinted windows. Fluorescent bulbs flickered in the dimly lit aisles. The soft light of the coolers on the shop's perimeter provided most of the illumination. Despite these limitations Vladimir ensured his 'children of the night' could locate the provisions they sought for their late night cravings. The high toned modern klaxon announced the arrival of one.\n\nIt was Gerald. A frequent visitor to the shop. He staggered in adorned in a worn out hooded sweatshirt with matching sweatpants. The faded logo of the local high school football team on both pieces of attire. Heavy bags under his thirty one year old eyes. He politely waved to Vladimir as he shambled off down the far aisle. He was going the wrong way. Vladimir took the form of mist and phased through the counter, silently stalking through the shop to retrieve a large jar of crunchy peanut butter and a jar of dill pickle spears. He returned to a corporeal form as he approached Gerald, the pb and pickles hidden under his cape.\n\n\"Good evening Gerald. How does ze night find you?\"\n\nGerald yawned loudly and rubbed his face. \"Another cravings run. Of course we're out of everything Jen is craving. I'm so damn tired, forgot what I even came in here for.\" \"I believe zis is vhat you are seeking?\" Vladimir dramatically swept the cape back revealing the items. Gerald breathed a sigh of relief.\n\n\"How do you do that Vlad? You always know what I need when I walk through the doors.\" Vlad smiled, showing off his long fangs. \"Time grants people visdom. Ve shall speak more at ze checkout.\" Vladimir glided on shadowy bat wings to the counter, phasing through it. Gerald slowly followed behind. \"You look like you have not slept a vink in a veek Gerald. You look terrible. Is something veighing on your heart?\"\n\nGerald sighed while trying to locate his wallet, he had forgotten to bring it. \"I'm really scared about being a dad. My dad wasn't exactly the best at it. Worried I'm going to make the same mistakes.\"\n\n\"Vehn is ze little one arriving?\"\n\n\"Any day now.\"\n\nVladimir placed his long, spindly fingers on Gerald's shoulder. He searched Gerald's heart, he was a good man, he was worried over nothing. \"There is no room for fear in your heart, all I sense is love. Do not confuse the two. Allow me to pay for your items, you left your vallet in ze nursery after double checking ze safety precautions you put in place for ze new arrival.\" Vladimir quickly bagged the two items and slid them over the counter.\n\n\"Thanks Vlad. You always know what to say, feel like I'm going to be coming to you for advice forever.\"\n\n\"I hope you do. I shall always man my post during ze evenings.\"\n\nGerald exited the establishment with haste, a renewed energy in his step. Scott and Todd had entered the shop during the encounter. Local teenagers, they were unusually early this evening for their munchie run. Four forty-ounce beers, two bags of nacho cheese Doritos, and a large bag of sour patch kids. Scott looked upset, Todd wore a sly smirk.\n\n\"Sup' Vlad?\" Scott said flatly.\n\n\"How does ze night find you young gentlemen?\"\n\n\"Okay I guess.\" Scott said.\n\nTodd laughed. \"He's just butthurt cause this super hottie completely shut him down at Fred's party. He had to turn tail and run she shut him down so bad.\"\n\n\"Shut the fuck up bro!\" Scott yelled.\n\n\"Calm down young gentlemen! No yelling in ze shop. Tell me young Scott, how did zis so called 'super hottie' spurn your advances?\"\n\n\"I thought it was clever. I asked her to see if she could call my phone since my buddy borrowed it and then ghosted me. So she called it but I still had it in my pocket. So I answered it and asked if she wanted to go make out.\"\n\n\"You attempted to gain zis voman's love through trickery and deception?\" Vladimir asked with disdain.\n\n\"Oh no, here it comes.\" Todd said dejectedly.\n\nVlad stood up tall, he towered over the two boys. \"Ze first time I laid eyes on my beloved Leona she vas valking through the town square. She vas the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. Or vill see. I rushed from the balcony of my manor to her side. I professed to her that my heart had gone cold from a lifetime of searching for a companion, but her visage caused an eruption of passion so fierce that Vesuvius was put to shame. Zhat together ve vould conquer ze heavens, ze earth, and anything else that lies beyond.\"\n\nTodd backhanded Scott in the chest. \"Told you Vlad was a pimp. You definitely would have been ridin that booty if you had his swag.\"\n\nVladimir quickly scanned the items and completed the transaction, visions of his beloved Leona ran in his mind. \"Sorry about your rejection young Scott. Enjoy your youth vile it persists. You shall find love one day. Todd I really can't say ze same for you. Good evening young gentlemen.", "I heard from my classmates that the cashier at the local 7-11 is a vampire. Aren't vampires supposed to be weak to sunlight? But, you always see him out during the day. Well, even if he is, I don't think he's a bad one. I've been seeing him there since I can remember. I'm 13 now.\n\n Every time I go there he'd drop me back home if I'm late or give me candy and tell me stories if I'm waiting for my mom etc. I remember once Ellie told mom and dad of how Rick had defeated a bear that was about to attack her. But, it being the Ellie who has a crush on Rick, I did not believe it. I was 10 at the time, not 2 to believe that a person can fight a grizzly. Ellie my dear older sister has always been a bit of a cloud head. But, after hearing about the vampire thing, I asked dad about it and he showed me a photo of himself with Rick taken when he was only 10. Rick's been the cashier since even before then. \n\nDad told me Rick is sort of the guardian angel of our little community. That he's the reason no robber, drug dealer etc ever sets foot here. That he keeps us safe. He said it's a rule that no one tells him that we know he's a vampire because it makes him happy to not be treated as one. If some day people started treating me differently, I wouldn't like it either. It would probably make me sad. So, I vow never to reveal to Rick that i know. \n\nWell, I'll make his favourite cookies for protecting us all.", "\"Salaam, effendi.\" Al said, bobbing his turbaned head in greeting, as I entered my family's convenience store for my early shift, about an hour before dawn. I glanced around, and saw that Al had, as always, faithfully done the cleaning the breakfast food prep, and our pristine 7-11 was ready for me to take over for the morning shift.\n\nAl's a really good employee. \n\n\"Dawn approaches.\" Al reminded me, as I came around behind the counter and stashed my coat behind it. \n\nI smiled. \"Not a problem, go ahead and clock out.\" I had no worries about zeroing out his till, Al was never off by so much as a cent. Like I said, he's really good.\n\nAl gave me a sober nod, and then, without saying another word or breaking eye contact, he glided away backwards, through the swinging \"Employees Only\" door into the back room. I gave an involuntary shudder.\n\nWell, he's good at doing his job. When it comes to pretending to not be a vampire...he tries. To be fair, back when my grandpa opened the franchise in the 1970s, no one in our small town off the Interstate had ever met a Muslim. So, when Al claimed that his religion forbade him to go out in the daytime, it didn't occur to anyone to call him on it. Its symbol was a crescent moon, after all. Besides, as Al explained, it's much too hot to go out during the day, in his homeland of \"South Arabia\". \n\nAnd, without Google to instantly confirm their suspicions, most people would probably have simply passed over the oddity of an ostensibly Muslim man wearing a Sikh-style turban, and being named \"Al Abdul\". (No, I don't mean his last name is \"Al-Abdul\" -- first name \"Al\", last name \"Abdul\".)\n\nA few minutes later, the safe unlocked automatically, and I placed the money from Al's till inside, before counting out the appropriate amount of change for my own till and closing it again. After opening my till, I glanced at the donation box behind the counter. Another shudder ran down my spine, as I saw the set of neatly folded clothes and a pair of shoes in the box. \n\nThe clothes, assuming they weren't particularly distinctive, would go to Salvation Army, but we've never found out what Al does with the rest of his \"leftovers\". It's probably better that way. When I first found out about Al, my dad had assured me that everyone who \"donated to charity\" while Al was on shift was someone the world was better off without, and I had personally seen hand-me-downs from some people I knew to be particularly despicable end up in that old cardboard box. It was still unsettling, though. \n\nFor the first hour of my shift, I had only a few customers stop in for some coffee or doughnuts, as well as the usual steady stream of people paying at the pump for gas. The man who walked in to the store around 6 AM didn't look much different than most of my customers -- he was unshaven and a little bleary-eyed, but that was to be expected at this time of day. \n\nSo imagine my surprise, when he responded to my cheerful \"Good Morning!\" by shoving a gun in my face.\n\n\"Money!\" he hissed. \"Now!\"\n\nI was scared, obviously, but there was a procedure for this, that applied to every employee except Al, who by now, would be asleep inside his \"prayer box\" in the old storeroom in back. \n\nI followed that procedure to the letter, holding one hand up and gingerly opening the register with the other. He was, predictably, unsatisfied with the handful of bills, and let me know with a string of profanity, and several sharp jabs of his gun in my direction. I shakily pointed to the customary sign on the wall that was designed to prevent just such an awkward situation:\n\nNOTICE: LESS THAN $100 IN REGISTER AT ALL TIMES. EMPLOYEES CANNOT OPEN SAFE.\n\nHe expressed his opinion of the sign's veracity by striking me across the face with his gun, sending me staggering back into the shelves of cigarettes behind me, and then vaulting the counter and screaming at me to open the safe. I scrambled back away from the irate -- and, I noticed, clearly tweaking -- robber, while pleading my case vociferously. \n\nLooming over me, he advanced forward, his threats becoming increasingly graphic as he came forward. He didn't fire, because I was just backing up, cowering -- I wasn't trying to run. That, too, was part of the \"procedure\" I mentioned.\n\nPredictably, as I stopped before the door to the backroom, the angry thief shoved me through the swinging door, and followed me inside, warning me of the consequences of failing to produce any more than the paltry amount I'd given him.\n\nAnd with that, I had successfully completed the standard emergency procedure that my dad and grandpa had drilled into me, in case of a robbery. We passed into the pale fluorescent light of the backroom, and the door swung shut behind my assailant, shutting out the sunlight.\n\nMy assailant stopped pointing his gun at me -- he had little choice, as his gun arm suddenly bent the wrong way. He screamed in pain and horror as a slender, too-tall shape that seemed to be made of pure darkness melted out of the shadows among the shelves, and hauled him off his feet and into the air.\n\n\"Al, don't--\" I began, my eyes widening in shock, but I didn't finish the sentence before another snap echoed through the backroom. The robbers head lolled to the side, his neck stretched and bent at a sickening angle. I forced my breakfast back down into my stomach.\n\n\"I have apprehended the criminal, effendi.\" Al said, in a hollow, unnatural voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. \"I will...turn him over to the proper authorities.\"\n\nSwallowing hard, I gave him a mute nod, and watched him melt back into the shadows. I suppose I'd always known that Al's thin human visage wasn't actually meant to fool us -- he didn't think we were stupid. It wasn't so much an actual disguise or deception, as it was a polite fiction. A lie mutually agreed to, that allows otherwise inimical beings to coexist in relative peace, protected by a thin veneer of not-so-plausible deniability. \n\nOnce I heard the lid of his box close again, I fled the room through the swinging door as fast as I could.", "\"Bertha! Bertha! Beeeeeerrrrrrttttthhhhhhhaaaaaa!!\" The little boy's high-pitched voice rang down the aisles, bouncing off the bags of salty snacks, wandered through the dozens of boxes of candy. Eventually it made its way to my ears. I was sitting down behind the counter on a plastic milk crate. I usually didn't \"zone\" when working, but it was 3 am on a rainy Tuesday and I hadn't had a single customer since 9.\n\n\"Bertha! Bertha!\"\n\n\"I'm here, Jeffery. What is it? What are you doing up so late?\" I pulled myself up on my feet and looked through the bullet-proof glass shield. Jeffery's clothes were soaking wet and he was missing a sneaker. His face was dirty and his eyes were red. \n\nI vaporized and slid through the cash-slit of the glass. Jeffery was my favorite great-great-great grandson. Seeing him distressed caused me to forget myself. I spelled him so he'd forget what he'd just seen me do.\n\n\"What is it, sweetheart? Why are you out so late? What happened to your other shoe? Why are you crying?\" The brown-haired little boy looked startled and jumped when I touched him. I spelled him again. See, I move very quickly. Usually I can hide my speed but like I said, I like this kid. A lot. \n\n\"It's mama's boyfriend! He hit mama! I told him I was gonna make him stop and he kicked me in the butt! I fell down the stairs!\"\n\nAh, but of course. My great great great grandson's mother. Beatrice Walker never met a man worth a plugged nickel in a rigged card game. She'd already been married and divorced 4 times. She'd been abandoned one time, but I'll hold my tongue about that particular man. \nI'd tried to save her from herself her entire life, but once my Jeffery came along, I gave up on his mother and spent all my time and efforts on him.\n\nI was getting on in years, you know. \n\nJeffery looked around the store. I could feel the hunger radiating off him. Oh my God, he was thin. I hadn't noticed at first but this kid hadn't had a decent meal in a couple days. \n\n\"Hotdog, baby? You like it with extra ketchup, no mustard, right?\" I walked to the rollers. \"Oh, look! There's two! I'll bet you could easily eat two hotdogs, couldn't you?\" I opened a fresh bag of hotdog buns and slid them into the warmer. As they heated up, I walked up to the fresh fruit display. There was a small container of green grapes. I added a banana and pulled a strawberry milk out of the QuikPiks display. \n\n\"Come over here and wash your hands, honey.\" I set a cardboard box down and placed a napkin on it. I pulled a footstool over and gestured at Jeffery to sit down. I placed the food and the milk down and he started tearing into the grapes. Yep. This kid had gone at least two days without food. \n\nBeatrice was going to listen to me tonight. The timer on the bun-warmer dinged. I squirted a ridiculous amount of ketchup on both dogs and made a theatrical serving gesture \"Bone Appetite, Mon-sewer!\"\n\nI told Jeffery I'd be back in a few minutes, in the meantime, he was to finish his food, then lie down behind the counter on the blanket I'd spread out for him. \"Don't worry-the door is locked. No one will bother you.\"\n\nI locked the double doors behind me and walked out of sight of the parking lot lights. Just in case Jeffery was watching. I doubted it, though. I could feel his hunger and right behind it, the pure exhaustion. \n\nI shot straight up into the air. A minute later I was pounding on Beatrice's front door. \"INVITE ME IN, HONEY!\" I yelled.", "The door beeped with that familiar ding dong that signaled another customer entering my domain. I recognized the man, Gregory he was called. He had once long ago told me to call him Greg, a sign of cordial behavior that I appreciated, yet declined. \n\n\"Hello Gregory. What a nice evening it is, here for Hot Cheeto Puffs or those sour worms you are so fond of?\" \n\nHe looked up and gave me a half smile, then went back to browsing the aisle. This was unlike Gregory. No, Gregory was warm and full of liquid life. He was not only a welcomed, but an expected part of my nights. I looked over to Darla at the register to my side who failed to return my gaze. She had only been here a year, it took at least three to become so intrinsically linked that we knew the others thoughts. \n\nMe and Jerry had that. I missed Jerry. \n\n\"Darla dear. Do you notice something peculiar about Gregory? He has not even glared at the Hot Cheeto Puffs by Frito Lay. \" \n\nDarla gave me a look up from her phone that I did not recognize. I deemed myself an expert at reading human emotion, so being unable to do so caught me off guard. Content? Apathy maybe? She replied \"Why don't you go check on him then\" \n\nA great idea. Maybe Darla was not just a skin linned bag of fluids after all. I flicked back my cape revealing my nametag pinned to a bright green 7-11 shirt. Ishmael, it read, but after working here so long the nametag was only necessary to complete my clever disguise. \n\nI made sure to take plenty of deliberate and clumsy human steps as I approached him, a practice I'd picked up on in my third year working here after a little boy pointed out now quiet my movements were. Gregory looked up upon my approach with wide eyes. The eyes of a man crying out for help no doubt. \n\nHe backed up to the drink coolers to which I followed, leaning in close so he knew I cared for him. Proximity in the human world meant kindness, a habit which I was quick to pick up on. He smelled of blue. Of that blue smoke he puffed from that strange little machine he kept on hand. \n\n\"Hey Ishmael....can I help you?\" \n\n\"Shhh Gregory. Tell me what troubles you. I can see it in your eyes, and as a loyal 7-11 employee it is my job to ensure the well being of all my customers.\" \n\nI could see his tongue wanted to speak, but his brain stopped him. In the argument between voice and mind he instead grew quiet. I looked back to Darla who was staring with a smirk, she gave me a reassuring thumb up. \n\n\"You can speak to Ishmael, Gregory. I am here for your troubles.\" I leaned in closer to prove my loyalty. If he had a stake he could kill me and I'd be none the wiser, but I trusted Gregory. \n\n\"It's just... I've been thinking about mortality ya know? I got robbed the other day and, well, what if that was it? What if they had killed me and I'd just died right there on the street.\" \n\nAh, mortality. The hardest of human concerns but most prevelant. But that second thing concerned me more. Steal? From Gregory? A loyal customer of the 7-11? Unspeakable. \n\nHis eyes seemed to flicker with brilliance and he followed \"But! But uhhh well. It has made it hard to come in at night knowing those guys are still out there. Just down that road. That road right there, just hanging out on the corner of Sutton and Third. And the police won't do anything.\" \n\n\"Ah, say no more sweet Gregory.\" I pulled back away and placed a hand on his shoulder. He felt so warm that it nearly burned me. \"Take your Puffed Cheetos and go. It is on me tonight.\" \n\nThen with a flick of my cape I made my way to the door out. Darla still stared to me with a smirk on her face. In the window I stared backwards to Gregory, who seemed more at ease as he grabbed his snack of choice. I called out to my loyal, yet often apathetic companion, \"Darla. Do you mind manning the registers? I am going on break. Oh, and remind me to get a new umbrella. You know how the moonlight hurts my skin.\"\n\nAs I walked out into that dark and warm night I felt at home, displaying my squared nametag with pride. And as I did I knew: I am Ishmael, loyal 7-11 employee of fifty-four years, valued member of my community for even longer, and a vampire who cares dearly for his customers.", "“How are the hotdogs, Reginald?”\n\n \n\n“The unknown meat of beasts has been dormant for a week. If it’s freshness you seek, I suggest coming tomorrow morning.” Reginald didn’t glance over from the hotdog machine, carefully rotating the meat to make it appear more edible.\n\n \n\n“Right, thanks for the head up. You know, it’s funny. It’s like you have been working here for years. Strange how quickly time flies.”\n\n \n\nThat comment made Reginald turn around, the pale vampire grinning. He loved it when people made comments like that. To him, it was a reminder of how superior he was. He had gone decades without being noticed and his disguise was still holding firm, or so he thought. Like the rest of the town, I enjoyed throwing him a bone now and then. It was nice to see my words add some excitement to his undead heart.\n\n \n\n“How amusing. As I’m sure you’re aware, I only graced this establishment with my presence a few months ago. Perhaps you are mistaking me for another handsome being who only works night shifts.” \n\n \n\n“Must be. Guess I’m just a bit of a scatterbrain.” I laughed, though the laugh was cut short when I saw him staring at me. Reginald just staring with an intensity that made me nervous. Was this going to be the day he snapped? He had never shown any aggression before, but maybe the sight of all that stuffed meat had triggered something in him. When his lips parted, I winced.\n\n \n\n“No, you’re a valued customer. I appreciate the exchange of words we have.”\n\n \n\nThat was more shocking than an attack. I had never heard him say something that nice before. I wasn’t sure if he was naturally cold or if that was just something that came with the curse of vampirism, but usually, he would only talk himself up. As I stood there stunned, he went back behind the counter, not paying my shocked expression any mind.\n\n \n\nI stood there for longer than I care to admit, only getting snapped out of my trance when my gaze fell to the security camera hanging above me. My slack-jawed reflection on the screen was enough to get me moving again. I shuffled through the store, grabbing the jelly dinosaur snacks I had a craving for. Unable to resist the allure of a late-night snack run.\n\n \n\nIt was strange knowing a living vampire. All my life I had grown up thinking vampires weren’t real, only to encounter one working in a 7/11. Even stranger than that was the fact that everyone was in on this. Collectively, the town had agreed they would look after the vampire, even lying to any vampire hunters that came to town, pivoting them away before they could hunt our beloved Reginald.\n\nWhy the town adopted Reginald was a question I still didn’t have a concrete answer on. Some say it was an act of pity after the owner of the store begged the mayor for his safety, while others claim he had been working undetected for a decade without causing trouble, so no one bothered to bring it up. Everyone knew he drank blood, but we also knew he sourced it mainly from animals or, at worst, would visit a blood bank. He never killed, never hunted, he just kept flipping hotdogs. Perhaps we all admired that about him? \n\n \n\nMost people would have been corrupted by such power and yet he lives a more normal life than most. It’s like being gifted with the abilities of a god and deciding to spend your time playing Sims rather than actually do anything productive or destructive with it. Maybe that’s why we liked him? In a strange way, he felt human. It was clear he didn’t choose his powers, hell if the stories are to be believed, he was a crying mess when he came to apply for the job. The owner assumed it was nerves, but it was probably out of fear of being detected. I really can’t picture him crying, though. If only he could learn to speak like a human, no one would probably notice the whole vampire thing.\n\n \n\n“Why are you staring at those gelatin fossils? Are you ok?” Reginald placed a chilly hand on my forehead, checking my temperature.\n\n \n\n“Yeah, sorry. I zoned out for a second there. Jeez, you move quick. I thought you were behind the counter.”\n\n \n\n“You were staring for quite a long time.”\n\n \n\nI couldn’t tell if he had moved at a superhuman speed or if I had just zoned out for longer than I expected. I gave a sheepish laugh before heading to the counter, glancing over the stupidly expensive specials hanging on display near the cigarette cabinet. I still wondered how a business could sell two chocolate bars and a drink for $8.00, especially when there was a supermarket across the street. What sort of idiot would pay their over-inflated prices? I tried not to think about how I was that idiot as I slid the jelly dinosaurs over to Reginald.\n\n “$6. Would you like to add a drink for an extra $2?”\n\n“Fine, I’ll get a drink too. Cause I’m a sucker.” I muttered that last part under my breath, grabbing a drink from the fridge before paying him the money.\n\n \n\n“It’s a better use of your funds. The beverage is usually $5.”\n\n \n\nI just nodded like an idiot. Already accepting the store had caught me in its trap. I would accept my defeat with dignity, rather than spit the dummy over a few extra dollars. It was my fault for snacking so late. He slid my drink and jelly dinosaur’s back, giving me a nod.\n\n \n\n“Thanks, I’ve been meaning to ask, what do you do with your spare time?”\n\n \n\n“What a bizarre question. Are you trying to form some sort of friendship bond with me that goes above customer and server?”\n\n \n\n“I guess?”\n\n \n\n“I enjoy that groove machine at the arcade. The one where you dance on the arrowed tiles. I also enjoy horror games.”\n\n \n\n“Want to play a round some time? The arcades open pretty late, so we can go after one of your shifts. Or you could always come over and play a game at my place. There has to be a good two person horror game.”\n\n \n\n“I will acquire one for us. I would enjoy that a lot.”\n\n \n\nSo, we exchanged numbers. Sharing our details before I headed out the door, the little ding of the door’s bell seeing me out. Just before I stepped out of the store, I heard him call back to me.\n\n \n\n“One last thing.”\n\n \n\n“What’s that?”\n\n \n\n“Invite me in when I come over.”\n\n“No problem. I’ll see you around.”\n\n&nbsp;\n&nbsp;\n&nbsp;\n\n(If you enjoyed this feel free to check out my subreddit /r/Sadnesslaughs where I'll be posting more of my writing.)", "\"Ricky! Are you okay?\" Tina slammed her keys down on the counter. \"I'm so sorry I'm late. My alarm didn't go off.\"\n\n\"It's fine,\" Ricky rasped from behind the front register and a pile of empty bottles of sun block. \"It was just a few minutes. It's good to see the sunrise actually. Feel like I haven't seen it in fifty years, working night shift I mean,\" he tacked on quickly. \"I'll clean these up. They were all expired.\"\n\n\"Don't worry about it,\" Tina said, clocking in. Had he really worked here fifty years? He didn't look thirty. \"Can you get home okay?\"\n\n\"Well,\" Ricky said, pale skin already a little pink. \"You know night blindness? I kinda have day blindness. Do you think I'd get in trouble if I just slept in the backroom cooler? I already rotated all the stock for the day, put away the order and cleaned the back so I shouldn't be in your way back there.\"\n\n\"Perfectly fine, Ricky. Sleep well.\"\n\nHe really thought he was hiding it, Tina thought to herself. Poor guy.\n\nHe hasn't lied, she realized. He really has managed to do all the extra day tasks for the gas station over the night shift. He worked like three people, maybe four. He'd stopped leaving dead raccoons in the back parking lot too. She wasn't getting rid of him anytime soon.\n\nShe looked up from the Clancy novel she picked off the shelf when the door chimed.\n\n\"Where's the safe, bitch!\" a tall man asked, shaking an old revolver at her. \n\n\"It's on a time delay. I can't open it for two more hours!\" she yelled, opening the register.\nThere was ten dollars plus some ones. What dumbass robs a gas station right after shift change? She shook as she handed him the drawer.\n\n\"Bullshit,\" he said, throwing the register down. \"Sure me the rest or.\" He waggled \nthe gun in her face.\n\n\"Okay! I'll show you.\" Tina said, raising her hands as she stepped into the dark back. The tall man followed. The cooler sat there humming.\n\n\"It's in there,\" she said, pointing to the cooler before she fully decided to. \"That's where we hide it.\"\n\nShe stepped aside to let him pass and scurried back to the front, door closing behind her.\n\n\"What the f-\" she heard, followed by a rustling, then another sound she really didn't want to think about.\n\n\"Thank you,\" she whispered to the back after the sound stopped. She would have to get him a better setup than a cooler. Halloween was coming up, a coffin back there might be fun.\n\n/r/surinical" ]	17
	[WP] You're a writer stuck in their own piece of fiction.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Most writers know that putting a self-insert character into their novel can be tricky. I was blinded by my own hubris when I attempted it myself.\n\nI was writing a generic fantasy novel, nothing too special or unique. I made \"my\" character dynamic and interesting. She shared many of my strengths and also my weaknesses. I wasn't afraid to give her every one of my fears but also bestow her with my gifts. I thought I had avoided the obvious pitfalls of a self-insert character.\n\nUntil the things I was writing about actually started coming true in my real life.\n\nIt started small. I would finish a chapter and within a few days, uncanny similarities would suddenly pop up in my life. I brushed it off as coincidence at first. Perhaps I was spending too much time buried in my fictional world?\n\nAs the story I was writing progressed, adversity came to my self-insert character, as was prescribed by the plot. No big deal. Good novels have conflict in them.\n\nBut then that same adversity found its way into my own life somehow. I wrote that my character lost an earring, but then days later I lost a necklace. I wrote that my character witnessed a horrible accident on the freeway. Days later I witnessed a boating accident on the river. I wrote that my character lost her job. Days later, my publisher called to tell me I had to finish my manuscript sooner than anticipated or they would revoke my contract. My last book did not do well, I was on thin ice.\n\nFearing I would actually lose my job, I quickly raced to finish the story. I decided to forget about all of the weird coincidences and uncanny similarities. I just had to finish the damn book. I was not going to lose my contract with my publisher.\n\nI had the novel fully planned and plotted out for months. I knew exactly how it would end. Even still, I felt sick as I typed the final words in the final chapter. I just had to get it done.\n\nI sent the manuscript off to my editor and waited. As the hours stretched into days which stretched into weeks, I thought I may have been freed from whatever curse was causing the events in my novel to happen in real life.\n\nUntil I woke up one morning to find my wife in bed next to me, dead and cold. She died exactly the same way my self-insert character's spouse died, a brain aneurysm. The coroner assured me that her death was random, that I did not cause it, nor was there anything that could have prevented it. But I knew the truth.\n\nThe publisher loved my new novel, by the way. It hit the bestseller list almost instantly. Fans begged and urged me to write a sequel, to continue a story that felt like pure magic. But when I sat down at my desk to type, no words came. I was empty. There was nothing left. My gift of writing was gone.\n\nI glanced at the photo on my desk of my late wife and I at the beach together. Everything I wrote was inspired by her. She was my muse. When she died she took all of my creativity with her. I had nothing without her love in my life.\n\nNext to the photo was a hardcover copy of the novel that killed her. My novel. That I wrote. The one sitting at the top of the bestseller list. The one that propelled me into fame and fortune as a writer. Teary eyed, I looked back at the photo of my wife.\n\n\"I finally found success as a writer, my love,\" I whispered through silent tears." ]	2
	[WP] “Did you just say our new quest is TLDR?”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "&#x200B;\n\n“It stands for Time Loss Delay Return,” said the old wizard.\r \n\r \n“Might we assume that’s a working title?” Zayla pondered the bracer in her lithe fingers.\r \n\r \n“But of course,” he thrust a finger into the air, “as they say, ‘more research is needed.’ Once I have finalized the full effects of this device and concluded my report, I will have a more appropriate title prepared before publication and patenting.”\r \n\r \nUrkir half-threw his bracelet down, his half-orcish strength lending to the objects deafening clang. “You don’t know what it does?”\r \n\r \nThe wizard recovered from shrinking at the display. “I know mostly what it does. Put it on as you embark on a quest and you’ll then come to your senses when you’re done. Think about it! Have you ever looked forward to trudging murky mires or scorching deserts? Of course not – nobody does. We all just want to get to our destination lickety split and without any problems.”\r \n\r \n“So it teleports us?” Urkir asked unconvinced.\r \n\r \n“No, you still have to travel and fight your way to whatever destination you seek, but you don’t experience it, entirely, somewhat… It’s a little confusing. This is why I submitted to the Guild a quest to test my TLDR. I’m thus far the only test subject and I need others to confirm what I have experienced.”\r \n\r \n“Capitol! I love it!” Everyone turned to Sven already wearing one of the magical bracers. “What are you all gawking at? We’ll be double dipping on our adventuring. Let’s just accept this one and go.”\r \n\r \n“I don’t like it.” Urkir pointed. “The old man himself doesn’t fully understand it.”\r \n\r \n“You immediately hate anything magic. Besides, he’s told us plenty. We’re just going to wake up at the end of our next quest without directly experiencing it. We’re not going to melt or go mad. Look at me – I’m as beautiful as ever.”\r \n\r \nThe replying grunt of dissention came from Warren, their bald healer who was never much for words.\r \n\r \n“Percival was it?” Sven asked.\r \n\r \n“Master Percival of –”\r \n\r \n“Fantastic. Look, maybe you ought to bump the pay up a bit for my comrades here. I don’t know how many other potential adventurers you’ve got coming through your door but I’m sure you have to agree that testing magical products is a little daunting. How am I supposed to know I still don’t spontaneously melt within the next fortnight?”\r \n\r \n“Yes, that does seem rather reasonable considering the unknown subject matter. It makes it difficult to weigh the risks.” The old wizard fidgeted his hands below his chin. “How about I double the pay?”\r \n\r \nUrkir reconsidered the simple looking brass bracer. “Let’s stick with a simple quest.”\r \n\r\r \n“Damn it.” Zayla donned her bracer. “You two have already made up your minds. I know it’ll be up to me to keep you alive.”\r \n\r \nUrkir’s fist almost appeared as if it wouldn’t fit. Once on, they all looked to Warren.\r \n\r \n“One team, one fight,” he intoned.\r \n\r \n\\* \\* \\* \\* \r \n\r \nPacing the flaming throne room, Sven cursed every foul word in every language he knew. He cradled his sword hand to his chest, now two fingers short. “What happened?”\r \n\r \nUrkir was throwing down as much furniture as was available affront the throne room’s entrance. “Hell’s if I know. I don’t how we got here or why I’m doing this.”\r \n\r \n“We took a quest,” Zayla panted, “two quests. The bracelets,” she raised hers, “and one for the crown.”\r \n\r \nThey were in a throne room. The three of them turned to the throne. Atop the dais knelt Warren and with the king’s head resting on his lap. The strain on his face was one they understood to mean he was out of healing but nonetheless sought to stretch his limits in hopes of squeezing out an idiom of helpful power. \r \n\r \nSven shook his bracered arm in the air. “These things are supposed to take us to the end of a quest. This doesn’t look like the end, more like a middle, or a royal screw up – pun not intended! These things must have failed somehow.”\r \n\r \n“No,” Warren’s voice was low yet broke through the noise of guards attempting to break in, “we failed.”\r \n\r \n“No! You take that back you filthy liar. We do not fail. We have never failed a quest.”\r \n\r \n“Sven, he’s right. We were supposed to find the spies in the royal court. We failed and whoever they are made their move on the king.”\r \n\r \n“But how? How did we possibly screw this up?” He shook his maimed hand with each word.\r \n\r \n“This is what Percy was talking about.” Urkir abandoned the furniture barrier. “We just arrive at the end of whatever quest we start, the journey here…” He gestured at the TLDR bracer.\r \n\r \nThe three of them threw down the magical jewelry fearing it for cursed.\r \n\r \n“Do not leave those here,” Warren instructed, “or else you doom another soul to the same fate as us.”\r \n\r \n“I ain’t putting that thing back on,” Sven said.\r \n\r \n“You don’t have to.” Warren walked towards the open balcony. \r \n\r \n“Where are you going?”\r \n\r \n“Those doors will not hold forever. We will be regarded as the king’s killers whatever we say.” Zayla answered.\r \n\r \nUrkir sighed and picked up his TLDR bracer. “Time to run.”\r \n\r \nZayla did the same. “I don’t have my bow. This is going to be rough.”\r \n\r \nExasperated, Sven flailed. “Forget your bow – where are my fingers?”" ]	2
	[WP] You're a researcher working with genetically engineered superdogs, training them to detect a multitude of diseases by smell. They press buttons on a oversized keyboard to list results. But your latest subject sends the dog back whimpering, and it types a word you didn't teach it: "D E M O N".	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Hmph, strange” I thought to myself as I looked at the dog and checked on the machinery, “must be a damn bug, I worked a whole week ironing all of the bugs out” the dog was still cowering in a corner staring down a cabinet, there was something… Wrong about it, I take a step forward and almost immediately regret it , nothing happened, but I felt like if took a step closer, I’d die a horrible death.\n\nThen it happened. Suddenly a creature burst from the cabinet, it was a pink monstrosity that had one horn, 3 eyes, 5 arms, a mouth that stretched its entire body, it stared for a second and started walking towards me, the dog ran out of the room quicker than I’ve seen any animal move, just as I accepted my fate the creature spoke, in a gargled yet comprehensible voice “don’t be afraid, mortal being, the architect of fate has different plans for you!” The creature spoke. “W-what are you?” I whimpered. “Ah my apologies for not introducing myself, my name is Vexclaw Grimblade, herald of Tzeetch, a pleasure to meet you.” the creature proudly said. “What do you want, I’ll give you money technology, property, anything! Just don’t hurt me please!” I yelled. \n\nThe creature laughed. “What I want to do is teach you, I have chosen you to be my student, my apprentice. You seem more than capable of learning spells, I’ll give you 9 days to take my offer, if you take it I will ensure you become a powerful sorcerer, and if not I’ll leave you alone forever, making you wonder what you have missed.” I thought for a monument. “Show me.” The creature cackled, “ I knew you wouldn’t pass this offer! Come, you’re in for a wild ride!” He waved his hand and a portal appeared, “can I bring my dogs?” I asked. “Of course! They’re what attracted me to teach you in the first place!”" ]	2
	[WP] You unwittingly bought the house of a (now totally dead) necromancer. You found it out after finding a kitten's skeleton curled up on your chest after a nap.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\\[WP\\] You unwittingly bought the house of a (now totally dead) necromancer. You found it out after finding a kitten's skeleton curled up on your chest after a nap.\r \n\r \nI had finally done it. Finally, after nearly thirty years of working my ass off, I’d saved enough money to buy a house. Granted, it was in need of a little repair; a little TLC. Nothing some elbow grease, paint, wood, drywall, brick, mortar, plumbing, and electrical work wouldn’t fix.\r \n\r \nYeah. I’d bought a dumpster fire of a house. But, it was mine. I was able to pay for it outright, and still had money left over for the needed repairs due to some rumor that it had been haunted or some such bullshit. Superstitious people were always willing to part with good things if only you could convince them that it was in their best interest. I have always been rather convincing. Except when it came to dating. I nearly always struck out there. I could convince you to sell me your grandmother’s pearls, but I could never convince anyone that I was worth the time and energy to date. Oh well. My new house would be big enough for me and me alone. I looked forward to making it livable.\r \n\r \nAfter walking through and seeing the relatively clean home, hiring an inspector to give me the gritty details, and consulting with some contractor friends, I had a pretty good idea where to start with the fixing. Thankfully, the bedroom was pretty much clean and livable with some minor work, so I started there, and in an afternoon I had it cleaned, wired, insulated and patched. Ready for me to move my meager belongings into the next day.\r \n\r \nMy new room was fairly spacious. To me, anyway. I’ve never had much, so I surmised that my new home would likely wind up being nearly empty for a fair bit, if not forever.\r \n\r \nI started early the next morning, and began the process of moving. It took me four trips, but I was able to get everything in the house in roughly three hours. After I moved my belongings into the house, and set up my room, I realized that all I really needed was the bedroom. And the bathroom and kitchen, of course. \r \n\r \nArmed with this new knowledge, I set about fixing the next biggest item on my list. The bathroom. After taking stock of its state, I made a list of things I knew I’d need, and made my first of many trips to the hardware store.\r \n\r \nUpon my return, I noticed tiny little marks in the dust on the floor. They looked like they had a pattern, but I couldn’t recall any animal with feet like that. Since the prints were tiny, I elected to ignore it, and continued on with my repairs.\r \n\r \nIt took several more hours and two more trips to the hardware store, but by five PM, I had a completely working bathroom. I felt pretty proud of myself, actually. I knew I had mechanical skills, of course. I wouldn’t undertake such a task otherwise. But, still. I felt proud of this accomplishment. I had managed to fix my own home!\r \n\r \nI realized I hadn’t eaten at all that day, so I went to town and got some cheap fast food. A cheeseburger, fries and a coke. Simple stuff. I sat down on my bed, and ate my dinner. As I did so, I realized also just how tired I was. A nap wouldn’t hurt. I kicked my boots off, and lay down to rest.\r \n\r \nSleep came like a thief in the night. So subtly that I only realized I had fallen asleep when I woke up, and the light was fading. I stretched, and that’s when I felt it. An extra weight on my chest that hadn’t been there before. I also felt a gentle vibration from the same area. No heat, though. I slowly reached to my right for my cell phone, and clicked on the flashlight, hoping and praying to the gods that I wasn’t feeling a rattlesnake on my chest.\r \n\r \nThe good news is that it wasn’t a rattler. The not-so-good news is that it was a complete skeleton. Of a cat. A very tiny cat. As I stared, perplexed, the damn thing moved. It stretched and flexed its tiny feet, just like any cat would. And just like any normal cat, it completed that stretch by arching its back.\r \n\r \nAnd just like any normal, well-adjusted human, I screamed like a schoolgirl.\r \n\r \nThis scream apparently startled the bone cat, who shot off my chest with a distinct clatter of bones rubbing together, and dove behind my door.\r \n\r \nI panted, hyperventilating, absolutely certain I had simply woken up at the tail end of a dream. A wild, weird dream, but a dream nonetheless. I took a moment to calm down. Well, more like ten minutes. It took a while for my heart rate to come down, but drop it did. I got off my bed, and looked over to my door, where the dream phantasm had dove. I saw nothing there, and heard nothing, so I elected to walk over and actually look behind it.\r \n\r \nHave you ever made a mistake so perfectly that you were certain that it hadn’t actually happened? This is what I did. I pulled the door back, and looked in the corner. Sitting there, its hollow eye sockets fixed on me, its head cocked at what could only be described as a questioning angle, was this skeletal cat. I nodded, satisfied, to myself, and pushed the door back to where it was, and left my room; the cat clickety-clacking behind me. Somehow, I completely missed the fact that I actually saw an animated cat skeleton, and went about my next task of getting the kitchen habitable.\r \n\r \nIt wasn’t until I was elbow-deep in the guts of my sink that I realized two things.\r \n1- Yes, I actually did see a skeletal cat behind my door, and\r \n2- It was sitting atop the counter watching me as I worked, and had been for the past half-hour.\r \n\r \nI actually noticed three things, but realizing that my bladder was suddenly empty didn’t warrant any sort of attention at that moment. \r \n\r \nI slowly scooted out from under the sink, maintaining eye cont- can you maintain eye contact with something that only has empty holes where the eyes should be? Anyway, I stared this tiny monstrosity in the eye sockets and slowly stood up. It hopped down, making a rattling noise as it lit upon the floor, and began to rub against my ankles like any other cat. I blinked several times as I stared.\r \n“What the actual fuck? How is this pile of bones moving on its own?” I hadn’t realized I’d asked the question aloud until the cat faced me and opened its mouth. I assumed it was meowing. Or would have been, if it had vocal chords. It sauntered away, and stopped to stare at me. I took a step towards it, and it slowly resumed its walk. I shrugged, figuring that this situation couldn’t possibly get any weirder, and followed it.\r \n\r \nY’all. I’ve never been more wrong in my life.\r \n\r \nThe cat, or kitten, I should say, as it was pretty tiny, led me to a hatch that I somehow hadn’t seen in my initial inspection.\r \n“Huh. Should I open this? Is that what you’d like?” I shrugged. Couldn’t get any worse, right?\r \n\r \nI squatted down, gripped the ring handle, and gave a measured pull. No movement, so I kept increasing my force until my legs began to shake. It was then that I noticed the latch, and felt really dumb. I flipped it up, and began to pull again. This time, the hatch opened, and I was greeted with a blast of stale air. A draft of stale air which reminded me that I had pissed myself. Once the hatch was fully open, the kitten bounded down the steps. I flicked on my flashlight and gave chase.\r \n\r \nOnce down the stairs, I saw several candles and a fireplace. The fireplace was stacked with wood, and the candles looked fairly new. I scanned the area, and found my new “friend” sitting on a rather large book. I reached out, and picked both the book and the kitten up. The kitten bounded up my arm, and perched on my shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world. As it wrapped its tail around its tiny body, I suppressed a shudder as the tip of it brushed against my ear.", "\\-A House of Horrors-PT 1\n\nKyle Hoffman was in no way a rich man, working three jobs for minimal pay. He worked as a hairdresser, grocery cashier, and occasionally working as a construction worker for new projects in his city. He lived alone in a crowded apartment building in the poorer district of town, sharing a wall with a hardcore partier, throwing a rager every other Tuesday.\n\n\"Another day, another party.\", Kyle groaned, as he woke up from his sleep. His neighbor was throwing another party. \"I wonder why so early,\" He looked at his alarm clock. \"It's noon!? I must have slept through the alarm, I'm late for work!\" Kyle hurriedly got dressed and grabbed a quick breakfast of a bag of chips from the vending machine outside of his apartment. He hopped on his old bike and pedaled to work hastily, not stopping to pick up the paper or grab a burger for lunch. \"Hoffman, you're late!\", his boss scolded him as he entered the doors of the supermarket after parking his bike outside. \"I know, I know! I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Macintosh.\", he said in reply. \"This is your last chance! After that, you're fired!\" Kyle actually didn't seem too worried and shrugged it off, as he didn't even like the job. He went about doing his duties and clocked out at the end of the day. He came home to a crowded hallway, with a line leading to his neighbor's apartment. He pushed through the partygoers to his apartment, exhaustedly slumping on his beaten and worn couch. He looked around the room, noticing all of the mess and clutter, \"That's it! I'm moving!\"\n\nKyle knew he must change homes, if the consistent parties and drunk of a landlord weren't enough of a sign. \"I'll leave the building, and the city! I'm sure Loreen can find me a good house for sale over in Virginia.\", he told himself. His sister, Loreen lived in Virginia, an hour or so drive from where Kyle stayed. Her city was surprisingly vacant, being it was a town with historical importance and beautiful views of mountains. He called her up: \"Hey, sis, I'm looking to move out of my apartment. Waintown seems really nice from what you told me, so I want some help finding a house there.\" \"Of course! Lots of homes are empty around here, the real estate companies keep lowering the prices in hopes of someone buying a house, so It'll be cheap.\", she answered. \"Great! I'm going to drive over tomorrow and scout out some homes online.\" \"Ok! I'll see you here, I'll text you my address and you can come stay with me till you get a place to stay.\" \"Perfect, see you tomorrow! Good night.\" \"Good night.\" The news was exciting to Kyle, as it seemed the houses would be right in his budget. He sent out resignations to his jobs and had supper before heading to bed.\n\nThe next morning, he awoke and packed his things, heading downstairs. He checked with his landlord and moved out, flipping off his neighbor as he walked out with his things. He took a short walk to the nearest train-station and boarded with his two boxes: One for clothes, the other for personal items. He also carried a backpack on his shoulder carrying any other things he needed to bring (Toothbrush, deodorant, comb, etc.) He sat down in second-class and made himself comfortable for the long ride ahead. He got off in Virginia and hired a taxi to bring him to Waintown. \"Where?\", the driver asked. The town was even lesser known than Kyle thought, \"I have a map right here. He pulled out a map from his bag and handed it to the man in the front of the car, \"Oh, that place. I thought it was just an old theme-park or something, minus the rides.\" Kyle was confused. \"Theme-park? Why say that?\" The car had started by now, the engine roaring in the wind. \"The houses just looked really old-fashioned, so I assumed it was some kind of attraction, like a museum of sorts.\" \"Oh, well my sister told me it was beautiful over there.\" \"I can confirm that, even with the little glimpses I get. The view of the mountainside is wonderful.\" \"So I hear!\" \"You best watch out though, I get stories of an old wizard of sorts livin' there in the olden times, casting black magic in the cellar of his house. That's another reason I thought it was an attraction, as a ghost story usually deterrents most people from living in a place.\" \"Ghost? Must be why it's so unpopular.\" \"Yeah, the old guy was caught by the towns guard and his house was seized by the king in order to keep the townsfolk from wandering in.\" \"King?\" \"Ah, this was in the 17th Century, magic was a well-known myth, but the town was superstitious! Anyway, the wizard rotted in jail for a while, till he disappeared the night of his planned release. No idea why a man would escape the day he was going to get out.\" \"Yeah, sounds odd.\" \"Sure does, but the weird thing is, his equipment was never found after his house was seized. The cellar was searched, but the guards found nothing but a skull in the middle of the room. It freaked them out, so they didn't dare go back, and the story of their encounter molded into them finding a dead body or something of the like, causing the guards to not investigate the house again.\"\n\nTime had slipped by quickly, and the cab arrived at the town entrance as the driver finished speaking. \"Well, here you are!\", he said. Kyle thanked him and tipped him for his services, as he took his things out of the backseat. The driver waved and sped off, leaving him on the sidewalk. He walked past the welcome sign and followed the address sent from his sister to her house, passing by an old, yet cozy looking cottage on his right. He made a mental note and arrived at his sister's house. \"Oh, hello!\", his sister warmly greeted him at the door, welcoming his inside. \"Feel free to stay here till you find a house in town.\" Kyle thanked her and inquired about the cottage he saw, \"I saw a good-looking house on my way here, I think I'll check it out online, after I settle in.\" Loreen smiled and helped him unpack his belongings and showed him to the guest room.\n\nHis time at the house was delightful, and he had found the real estate website that the cottage was listed on, and to his surprise, it was very cheap! He stayed a few more weeks while he officially bought the house, and a month later, he had packed his things again and moved to his new home... \n\\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \nCheck out more on r/Ox_Writing! \nI will post PT 2 there once I get time", "When the last box was inside her new house, Lena thanked the kindly man with the truck, locked the door, and drowsily fumbled toward her new bedroom. She collapsed on her bed and let out a deep sigh. \n\nShe never liked moving, but moving to a different country was a whole different story. She didn't know anyone here! Still, she believed she'd find some friends soon enough. For now, it was time to rest.\n\nWhen Lena woke up from her slumber, the sun had just begun to set. She decided she was going to have some tea, and then read a nice book. \n\nBut as she walked toward the kitchen, she saw something unusual. Something that made her scream. She tripped toward the table in panic, and barely managed to catch herself. When she looked up, it was gone.\n\nWhat was that? Was Lena imagining things? She could've sworn she saw a skeleton on the couch. A very tiny skeleton.\n\nLena steeled herself, and picking up a heavy book from a nearby bookshelf, went in the direction where she last saw the thing.\n\nBut the couch was now empty. Lena looked around in confusion, when she felt something brushing against her ankle. Looking down, she saw it. A cat, that, well... wasn't a cat. It was a skeleton of cat. But it moved and acted just like one.\n\nLena readied herself to strike it with her book, but as it sat down and turned to face her, she knew it would be looking at her pleadingly if it had eyes. So she slowly lowered down her makeshift weapon, and then bent down to pet the cat. \n\nThe texture of its bone was weird to the touch, and though it couldn't purr, she somehow knew it way enjoying the attention, so she gave it some more. After the skeleton-cat playfully lay on it's spine, allowing her to pet its sternum (it didn't have much for a belly), it rose up and started walking toward a room Lena hadn't visited yet. Intrigued, Lena decided to follow it.\n\nThe skeleton-cat led her to what appeared to be the library. When Lena entered, the first thing that caught her eyes, aside from the towering, jam-packed, dust-covered bookshelves, was the skeleton of a child, sitting in a rocking chair. It was still like the dead - well, it was dead - but Lena suspected that it might just be alive, like the cat.\n\n-----------------------------\n\nI'll continue tomorrow if there's any demand, goodnight for now.", "I sit still on the sofa of the rickety old house, the sound of wind brushing up against the exterior walls creaks and moans in the background. I've been here for about a week already, but I still feel an uneasiness drifting in the air. Maybe it's the new neighbors, or the worry of this house collapsing on me like the last one.\n\nThis is what I thought until I fell asleep while watching TV a couple of minutes ago. I woke up and now have a terrifyingly adorable surprise on my lap.\n\nYou see, I've always been an animal lover. I'm open minded, and taking care of people is something I'm used to as a therapist. But this...\n\nThis is something that you wouldn't see everyday.\n\nAt first, I was frightened, yelping in surprise as the small pile of bones was discovered shortly after my slumber. But then, I saw how it bolted out of my lap and into the corner of the room, curled up in the corner whimpering to itself.\n\nDespite every bone in my body telling me to run as far away from here as possible and get a new house. I pity the thing, it didn't do anything to me now did it?\n\nI get up off the couch and approach the small creature. It's bone structure seems small and fragile, a kitten?\n\n\"Hey, little one, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you.\"\n\nI hold my hand out with hesitancy, it draws closer to snif it. I hope it isn't dangerous, death by bone kitten would be funny to put on a gravestone, though.\n\nIt nuzzles my hand, purring with shakiness. It's so cute, I've never seen anything this adorable in my life.\n\nIt wags it's little bone tail, scampering around me playfully. I've always wanted a kitten, but I've been allergic to cats ever since I was young. But now...\n\nIt places a pair of paws on my knee, hollow eye sockets stare into my eyes. Does it want something? Perhaps it wants to play?\n\nI get up and walk into my room, it's following me. How is this even possible? Am I asleep, dreaming? I scavenge through my belongings to find a small ball of yarn tucked away in one of my unpacked suitcases.\n\nI toss it on the floor. The kitten mews in delight, instantly entangling itself in the vibrant red. It tilts its head, staring at me with yarn around it's paws and rib cage. I want to keep it, I'm so lucky to meet such a wonderful and adorable little bundle of joy.\n\nI've never believed in magic, but this must be the work of some sort of magician, right? A necromancer, someone who could bring the dead to life?\n\nI take hold of the kitten in my arms, then curl up ontop of my bed with it in my arms. Having bones resting next to me is slightly uncomfortable, but I've always wanted to cuddle a kitten.\n\nI think I can take care of this little guy, it's sweet and friendly, what more could I want?\n\nJust as I was finally relaxing again, I hear what sounds like soft yapping, or barking. Then what sounds like small, little feet.\n\nYou've got to be kidding me.", "The door creaked threateningly as I went inside, but that was the only indication my life was about to change. I'd paid professional movers to get all my stuff inside and put it in place, and now all there was left to do was set up the wifi and cable. But it had been a long day moving across the entire city, and all I really wanted to do was curl up and take a nap. And the couch looked so inviting...\r \nI wasn't sure what time it was when I woke, but the daylight was starting to fade. Stretching luxuriously, I opened my eyes to a skull. Screaming in a pitch I'd only thought possible for dog whistles, I swatted whatever was on my chest across the room. It hit the wall and tumbled to the floor with a strange clattering noise. I had time to see a pile of small whiteish-yellow bones before it reformed into a skeleton. \r \nA quadruped, that much was obvious, and from how it sat, with its tail bones curled around its front legs... maybe a cat? I noticed the size of the skeleton and revised my opinion. A kitten. Instantly feeling bad for my violent reaction, I pspspsed at it, trying to make myself seem friendly. To my surprise, it trotted right over, putting its head under my hand, and rubbing happily. \r \nThe ridiculousness of the situation wasn't lost on me, but it didn't stop me from telling the skeleton it was a good kitty. There was no purring, but I got a strong tingling sensation up my spine, that perhaps was the same thing. \r \n\"Are there any more of you?\" My voice sounded strange in the house, tiny in a cavernous space. I wasn't even sure if the kitten understood, but it moved to the door, before looking over its shoulder as if to say 'you coming?' Well, as they say, in for a penny, in for a pound. \r \nI got up, making sure my knees didn't give out as they were prone to do. \r \n\"All right. Lead on Mcduff.\" The kitten moved swiftly, but still with the unsteadiness that you expected from a young cat. It was oddly endearing, and I found myself enjoying this strange dream. It had to be a dream, one where you think you've woken up, but really you haven't. I used to hate those, especially in the morning. \r \nThe kitten led me down into the unfinished basement that reminded me of an old cave. It was the one thing I hadn't liked about the house, but I figured I could turn it into a cool storm shelter, though we didn't have many gales in this part of the country. I found myself wishing I had a flashlight, but the kitten kept moving confidently towards a ratty curtain hung against the wall. It slipped underneath it and instead of making a bulge like it should have— filling whatever space between the curtain and the wall—it disappeared.\r \nTaking a deep breath, and reminding myself this had to be a dream, I pulled the curtain aside, to reveal a dark tunnel, stretching out of sight. Right in front of me, the kitten stared up sitting once more in its enigmatic position. I nodded to it, but it simply cocked its head to the side. Was this as far as it knew to go? Or was it looking beside me... I followed the gaze, turning to the left. There, in a bracket that must have come from the medieval ages, sat a torch. Digging into my pockets, I found my father's lighter that he'd given to me before I moved. Within seconds I had the torch lit and was following the cat down the tunnel.\r \nIt wasn't as far as I expected, shortly opening out into an actual cave. I raised the torch high, as the kitten dashed towards a corner. Whitish-yellow bones lay piled everywhere, none actually in a coherent form. A small tapping sound drew my attention and I went in the direction the kitten had dashed. It was laying with its nose pointed toward another small pile of bones. The tapping was from it trying to get the pile to wake up. I looked around the cave again. If all these bones had once been animated, perhaps whatever spell had given them life was wearing off. The kitten was the last still awake.\r \nStaring down at the little form nosing at the pile of bones, I sighed. Poor thing. Leaving it behind, I prowled around the edges of the cave, before stumbling upon an alcove. There, lit by the flickering torchlight, were three large tomes. Stacking them precariously in one arm, I left the cave, with the kitten following at my heels and made my way upstairs once again. I had studying to do.\r \n——————\r \nIt took a few months, during which I finally accepted this wasn't a dream, but my new reality and got used to having a skeletal kitten wandering around the house. At least it was easier to take care of than a regular cat. Finally, I finished studying, the final words of the last tome echoing in my head.\r \n'Beware Necromancer, what you raise, for the dead have a way of settling old scores.' I wonder if that warning was why the old occupant of this house had stuck to animals. Judging by the remains in the cave, they'd never tried humans, or at least never kept them around. \r \nGetting the requisite ingredients was less difficult than I'd imagined, a lot of substitutions had been written in a rough hand in the back of one of the books. The kitten ran around my feet as I walked back downstairs to the cave, ingredients in a bag and the books held carefully in my arms. \r \nIt was time.\r \nI set up the ritual in the center of the cave, smiling at the tallow splatters from the old Necromancer's own rituals. The words rolled one after the other off my tongue, and a similar tingle to what I'd first experienced with the kitten ran up my spine. I didn't know if this was going to work, but it was worth a shot. With a final flourish, and a shouted syllable, the candle flames guttered before springing back up, bright white. Each one rivalled the sun, and the entire cave lit. Above my head, previously unseen crystals sparkled in the light, reflecting and refracting it into myriad rainbows. As the rainbows touched the piles of bones, they started to shake. Slowly, they rose from the ground, snapping into place, assembling into cat skeletons, dog skeletons, a turtle —which was a bit of a surprise— and a variety of hamsters, chinchillas, and other small rodents. \r \nFrom the corner, where the small kitten had first led me, a larger cat skeleton came strutting out, going straight towards the kitten at my feet. Their reunion was joyous, and the cat started a cleaning motion to the kitten. My face was wet, as I watched the animal skeletons gambol around the cavern. They had a second life, or was it a third? It didn't matter. They were happy, and that was quite enough.\r \nA small movement in the corner of the cave caught my attention. There, almost invisible, a translucent figure stood. He was dressed in old-fashioned garments, and a large smile split his face as he looked around the cave. It had to be the old Necromancer. His gaze rose to mine, and he made a little bow, mouthing two words before he faded away.\r \n\"Thank you.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n — — — — — — —\n\nVisit r/Mel_Rose_Writes for more stories!" ]	6
I would say, above all, dying so that someone else may live is the greatest testament of devotion possible. You are giving up all that you have, all that you are, all that you could ever be for someone else. Let these thoughts guide you as you write. Best of luck!	[WP] The Needs of the Many	[ "It had been exactly three years since the days of class room training, late nights studying, early mornings exercising, oral board interviews, field training, and ghost phase evaluations. That was back when you still had an inextinguishable drive to protect and serve, a passion for the duty bestowed upon you by the State of Texas. The common moniker of Rookie had long since been replaced with the run of the mill rank of deputy, the excitement for the career replaced by repetitive complacency. Far too many missed dinner plans, good-nights said over the phone, and farewell waves of a young wife being left in an empty home once again, have made you resentful to the job, and bitter towards the people you once promised to protect at all costs. A full year of midnight shifts have made you nocturnal, unable to at least pretend to be normal during what little time you had off. Every shift you work is taken one at a time, the crisp collar and pleasant smile on your face is merely a facade for the resignation letter typed up and stored in your patrol bag, ready to be signed at a moment's notice.\n\n\tThe sun had long ago set on an ungodly hot Texas day, one of the only positives of working so many nights. The August heat still permeated the world around you, at 23:00 “98F” is displayed on the dash of your cruiser, too damn hot to keep ballistic armor on even though department policy requires it, and with the brass at home in their comfortable beds with their content wives, nobody was there to tell you otherwise. It had, so far, been a quiet night in your corner of the county, all of the skinhead meth cooks must have taken the night off, you chuckle at the thought of some scabby doper having a better schedule than you. With nothing better to do, you pull into the closest stop-n-rob to stretch your legs and get a terrible cup of coffee. Walking through the door and into the store as the clerk starts the traditional exchange “Been keeping busy tonight?” the clerk asks. She is nice enough, a young brown eyed girl, far too pretty to be working overnight at a gas station in the metaphorical armpit of the county, you've been through this routine with her plenty of times, although you don't know her name. You would probably ask her name this time, or at least indulge in a candy bar, had you known you wouldn't get another chance to. You give her a quick smile and reply “Trying not to” as the usual rhetoric goes. The rest of the interaction goes the way it always does, you attempt to pay for the beverage, she doesn't let you, and with a nod of your hat you're out the door.\n\n\tBack in the patrol car you pull out onto the road and take a sip of your coffee “Damn not enough sugar, ah well ...next time”. Without specific intention, you head down Farm Road 4, to a little spot on the side of the road where you can see the stars really well, and if you're lucky be able to tune in ESPN radio, a small pleasure that helps you make it to shift change without having a meltdown. A few miles down the road you approach your little gravel alcove, a regular Texas oasis, and as you turn into the lot you see a familiar sight down the road, the flash of your headlights across the reflectors of another vehicle parked off the side of the farm road farther up the way. I'll check it out later, you think to yourself and begin tuning in the sports radio. Static. All you can decipher is some drama between the now hotshot receiver and quarterback, not surprising. You cut the radio off and sip your bitter coffee. After sitting in the dark and quiet lot for a few minutes you decide you better go check out that vehicle.\n\n\tAs you pull up, the scene appears to be common place, an abandoned vehicle, probably broken down, left on the side of the road. You almost just keep driving by, but decide to run the license and tag the vehicle as abandoned, nothing better to do anyways. You pull up and park behind the vehicle, shining your spotlight inside, lighting up the cab of the truck like a hillbilly jack-o-lantern. ”Unit 332 to dispatch, I'll be out with a signal 39 abandoned vehicle, about 3 miles North on FM 4. License plate will be BOY.NORA.712.FRANK.7, Appears to be unoccupied.”...“10-4 332, your time out is 01:13” the dispatcher squelches back in confirmation.\n\n\tYou walk up to the driver side of the truck peering in through an open window, there is shattered glass on the floorboard of the truck, first red flag. In the passenger seat you spot a large open duffel bag, in it you see screwdrivers, several car radio units, a gps, and a small yellow purse. Second red flag. You joke to yourself “Someone has been busy tonight, if these items aren't stolen I'll eat my badge.” “332 to dispatch, can I get that LP return soon”. “10-4 332, the system is running slow, I'll get the information to you as soon as possible”. Bullshit, she probably forgot to run it while playing Farmville, the over night dispatcher was notorious for making mistakes. As you walk around to the other side of the truck you hear a noise. A faint rustle in the grass, the wind blowing or an animal. You quickly shine your flashlight in the tall grass in front of you but you see nothing. As you scan the flashlight back and forth you spot a patch of pink color behind the tall grass. “This is the Sheriff's department, stand up and let me see your hands, NOW!” Silence. “I'm not going to tell you again!” Still nothing. Slowly you walk towards the area, your weapon drawn and your flashlight affixed on the spot”. As you approach you hear a faint moan and movement. You see a woman wearing a pink shirt, she's covered in blood, a large blade lays in the grass next to her. The woman had a large stab wound in her abdomen, but your main concern is the steady stream of crimson liquid, streaming out from underneath her hand, which is clinched tightly on her neck. She has a look of wild fear in her eyes, she's bleeding out, you know she won't make it and so does she.\n\n\tAs you re-holster your weapon, you reach to key your radio, in an attempt to call for an ambulance and back up, your radio crackles loudly as the dispatcher ties up the radio “Dispatch to 332, the return you requested, BOYNORA712FRANK7, comes back to a gray in color 1996 Ford F-150, registered to a Tracy Campbell out of Ranger Texas, insurance is confirmed, 332 be advised this vehicle is signal 99 stolen out of the neighboring county, I will attempt to contact the other agency for confirmation” As the dispatcher finishes her radio traffic you hear a sound behind you, then two more loud sounds, gunshots. The first round strikes your left hand, leaving a mangle mess at the end of your forearm. The second round enters low in your back, and you thought the heat from the ballistics vest was bad. Out of fear and tactical prowess, but mostly fear, you drop to the ground struggling to pull your firearm from your double retention holster, in a panic you can't seem to get it out, while your left “hand” gropes the radio in a desperate attempt to call out. You hear another gunshot. No new pain. You manage to free your gun and return fire in the general direction of the gunshots. Several gunshots are volleyed back and forth, you don't know which are yours, and which are meant to harm you. \n\n\tIt takes a moment for you to start thinking clearly, you realize you are laying on the ground staring at the sky, never have you seen the stars so bright and vibrant, the dry grass beneath you is smells so earthy and dry. The scent reminds you of feeding the horses on your grandfathers ranch. And the silence. Devastating silence.\n\n“332 did you copy my traffic”...\n\n\n\n“332 is everything 10-4?”...\n\n\n\n“Any unit available, I need you to respond to 332's location”...\n\n\n\n\nThis was my first serious attempt at writing anything since highschool english so any tips or pointers would be great :)", "The third night is coming. The final night of the wicked end. Desperately, hopelessly, clumsily, volunteers are assembling scaffolding towers against the ornate brick facade of the Santa Maria Cathedral. It's just past the eleventh hour and so far, every single tower has fallen, every attempt to stop the clock hands on the great face of the mountainous cathedral's Eastern Tower from turning having failed in the process. The crowds amassed around the huge building are holding eachother, crying beneath the weeping night sky, the moon like a bar of soap, the stars but its suds.\n\nA young child in the crowd has been seperated from the rest of his family. Teary-eyed, you - the child - realise what you must do. With almost superhuman strength you surge through the masses of people, their eyes glazed over with a collective cold sense of hopelessness. No, you won't change a thing. But you'll try.\n\nAs you walk, a figure turns away from his family. A bearded man, roughly forty years old. You look him in the eyes. He sees... something... something different in you. He pulls a tartan shawl from his back and tosses it onto yours before turning back to his wife and children. Brushing past the frantic, chattering crowd, your cold, small form finally reaches the base of one of the more stable-looking towers. Without a doubt it will soon topple, as will the others all around it, but for now it's all that this kid needs. You grip a cold steel rail, hauling yourself up onto the first plywood floor of many. You look out at the people below, a huge crowd filling the stone plaza and spilling out into the slate sidestreets. You don't have long.\n\nConcerned looks from the volunteers aside, you've managed to peg it most of the way up the tower. As you reach to grab a bar above, a large hand reaches down. You step up onto a small platform and allow the figure to lift you to their floor. The man sets you down, before kindly offering to lift you to the next. You oblige, and in his firm grip you ascend. Pulling yourself up onto the next floor, you notice that there are no poles extending from the ones holding the planks you stand on. Looking out to the people, you realise you've reached the top floor. You see your family a long way down; your mother is weeping into a scarf while your father scans the nearby faces for yours. He breaks down.\n\nYou jump as something springs up on your flank. The whole tower wobbles slightly. The thing that caused you to jump was a long steel rod being held up to your floor. Looking over the edge, you see the same man holding the lower end of the rod. He gestures for you to take it. You place your hands onto the metal pole and begin to lift it. At first it throws you off balance, and you almost drop it. You regain your equilibrium and, straining all of the muscles in your young body, you slowly drag it over the edge of the wood and lay it down. The platform on which you're standing is only about six by five feet in size, the pole's length far exceeding that, so you lean the metal rod against the wall of the cathedral.\n\nSo what do you do now? Wait for more scaffolding to be built? Looking down, you see that the higher the tower gets, the more it comes away from the wall. There's no time for waiting.\n\nReluctantly, you position the bottom of the steel rod you've been given against a small bump in the wooden floor. It could fall at any time, but you won't give up now - you're almost at the roof of the cathedral, at least fifteen stories up. You picked the right tower - either that or fate prevented this one you chose from falling down. You look to your left and right. All the other makeshift towers have fallen. No one has the will to attempt to erect another.\n\nFacing the propped-up rod, you giddily place one hand on it at chest-height. You kick off your dusty leather sandals; they won't be of any more use to you. Finally, you place a foot onto the rod. It twists to the side slightly under your weight. You place your other hand onto the rod, then your other foot. Now you begin to climb it. It must be about twenty feet tall, or at least it looks like it. Shutting your eyes, you place your fist hand further up the pole. Your foot slips as you bring it up, but you catch yourself and place it higher up on the metal. You repeat this for what seems like hours, but in reality the ordeal is over in a few seconds shy of a minute.\n\nNow you place a hand onto the brass guttering of the cathedral's roof. This is it. A man spots you in the crowd and calls out to everyone. You don't hear what he says, but instantly all fall quiet. Every single eye is trained on you. For a second you don't believe how far you've come. Your mind seems to fade away, into the black of the night...\n\nYou snap to attention. You've lifted yourself onto the tiled black slant that is the roof. Crawling carefully along it, you make your way over to where the clock tower protrudes from the roof. A few slates slip off here and there; you don't care to think about where they land. You lean against the stone of the Eastern Tower as you stand up. You're in line with the clockface a few feet above you and can't make out the position of its hands, but you bet yourself that there isn't much time. You inch along the wall. The clockface is incredibly hard to reach from here, and even should manage it, how will you stop its hands from turning? As you ponder these things, a single slate tile slips underneath your feet. You completely lose all sense of balance. As soon as you realise what is happening, time seems to freeze.\n\nYou look around. As you slowly fly through the air, you see that there is no way for you to stay on the roof. But then you see it. A rail on the tower. All in a splitsecond you reach for the painted black bar. Your fingertips make contact with it. As you close your hand, they slip off. Desperately, you make another grab. You just get your fingers around the rail and place your other hand onto it as soon as you can. You swing round and hit the wall next to the rail with some force. That's when time speeds up again. In your hands is a large metal number seven. What the hell is this doing on the side of a Cathedral? As some of the few nails holding the number onto the wall fly off under your weight, you see that the seven is a part of the clockface. Madly, you make a grab upwards and to the left, hoping to feel the sweet, secure rings of the number eight, but you feel nothing. The seven peels away from the wall, held on by a single heavy rivet. You begin to smile for a second before you realise that you are falling. Fast. Confused, you look up. You see the giant stone clock tower, but now defaced. You took its clock. Now you plummet to the grounds, you and the clockface. The second hand powerfully sweeps past your hands, knocking you away. As you smash into the cobblestone ground through a gap the crowd with more force than could give you any hope of survival, you see the time on the clock. It's ten seconds to midnight. The clock hits the ground, killing a small number of people. But you did it. You stopped the clock from reaching midnight. You saved almost everyone. At your own cost. You, a mere child." ]	2
	[WP] You wake up one morning after a weird dream and everything is just slightly off, all the little details of your day-to-day. You're the only one who seems to notice and it's haunting you as you go about your usual routine.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Holy fuck. I dreamt that the basement was full of squid, all standing there like mushrooms in the outline of the footprint of where the furniture used to be.\"\n\n\"That's interesting.\"\n\nI went outside and walked through the piles of yellow and brown leaves on the path through the trees. There was a mushroom poking though the blanket of leaves. It looked very much like the fungi from my recent dream. I thought of my dad and his reckless approach to picking mushrooms, he eats most of his findings. He thinks very few are poisonous, rather just a digestive irritant. He hopes to someday have a berserk moment with Fly Agaric, if he finds one.\n\nThinking that fate may be a thing, I picked the mushroom and ate it. I instantly puked out a bunch of colorful threads which floated away as my eyes quietly left my head and followed the threads. I tried to go cross-eyed and my newly departed eyes looked much like a squid traveling through water. Following the conductor threads with my semi-autonomous eyesquids, I noticed that the threads had a dancing type rhythm to them, the air ahead appeared to crystalize and drop like shards of frost as my eyesquids breached a plane into a lighter place. \n\nThen my eyes were back and I lifted myself from the quilt of dead leaves, walked home and climbed into a warm bath. I've been under water for over an hour now, I wonder if I can squirt ink?" ]	2
	[WP] “Tell me human, how does it feel fighting for a dying species?” “Euphoric”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Sweat flowed freely from John's face as he hung from chains, arms torqued at a painful angle. His knees were raw, having been dragged back and forth from the constant beatings. He gulped air greedily, trying not to gag on the sour air of the alien ship.\n\nHis captors were a humanoid species with tough skin reminiscent of an elephants. Wherever they were from, it must have been hell. The Pirini, they called themselves. Galactic conquerers to everyone else. It was only a matter of time before they turned their ire on the upstart humanity.\n\nHumans have had a mixed reception in the galactic community, making some allies, making some enemies. Fighting a few wars here and there until one side said enough was enough. But the pirini were different. They reveled in war and conquest, conquering every alien species they encountered.\n\nJohn was a fighter pilot, The Obsidian Daggers was his squadron. If he still had his flight suit, his black dagger patch would have been prominent on his left shoulder. But his captors stripped him naked and hung him in these blasted chains and proceeded to beat him for their amusement.\n\nThey eventually stopped after he lost consciousness, but now there was a new pirini standing in front of him, examining him from a few scant steps away. John got the feeling he was being measured and found wanting.\n\nThe pirini crouched lower and grabbed John's chin, forcing him to look up at his captor. The pirini jerked John's head to one side, then the other before releasing him. John eyed the pirini wearily, waiting for a fresh beating. But none came. Instead, another pirini wheeled a cart nearby and pointed a device at him.\n\nThe first pirini uttered something in their native language and the device on the cart spat out a robotic word, \"speak.\"\n\n\"Speak? What am I? A dog? Bark on command? Arf! Is that what you want?\" John sneered.\n\nThe cart spat out sounds in the pirini language and John realized it was a translation device. John had a chuckle when he heard the robotic voice say 'arf' as there was no translation available for it.\n\nThe pirini spoke again, the device translating more. \"Speak more. The,\" garbled noise, \"learn language.\"\n\n\"The fox jumped over the lazy dog. Uh,\" John searched his brain for a quote before settling on, \"Four score and seven years ago, our founders considered these truths to be self evident.\" OK, not the correct quote, but then again he was a pilot and not a historian. He continued, \"I am John Glenson, pilot in the United Federation of Planets. My soldier ID number is 98216767671. I am a prisoner of war being tortured. Release me so our people can begin peace negotiations and stop this pointless war.\"\n\nThe machine translated as John was speaking, the pirini cocking its head to listen better. Some things were universal across species.\n\n\"Better. How many planets in your federation John Glenson?\" the pirini asked through the translator.\n\n\"I don't know. A lot?\" damnit, he didn't mean for that to be a question.\n\n\"The pirini Castedom,\" odd that the machine translated that, \"spans thousands of systems across half the galaxy. Does the federation have that many?\"\n\nJohn blinked stupidly. \"Thousands?\" shit, they were worse off than he thought. No way their few hundred could compete with that. The pirini nodded as best as it's fat neck would allow.\n\n\"I see the answer in your face, human. Your species is doomed to either die, or serve the pirini Castedom.\" there was no bluster, no emotion. It just said it as if it was a mere fact. A foregone conclusion.\n\n\"We've been told that before, pirini. And yet, we're still here.\" the pirini rose to their full height of 2 meters, about the same as a human, putting their face just out of John's ability to look that far up from his compromised position.\n\n\"Your species is weak. You have continuously failed to conquer your enemies, always leaving them alive, leaving them to attack you again in the future.\" the pirini took a few steps away, out of John's range of vision. \"we will show you the error of your ways and erase you from space.\"\n\n\"You can try, we're like fucking cockroaches. Just when you think you got the last of us, we pop up again where you least expect it.\" John grinned. He knew of a few total doomsday planets that have healthy populations and industry that only a select few know about.\n\n\"ah, your so called fall back planets. They have been removed from the equation of war.\"\n\nJohn decided to play dumb and not acknowledge the statement.\n\n\"Your silence is curious. Did you not know about them?\"\n\n\"I'm just a fighter pilot. I'm just pointed at the enemy and told to destroy them, which I did. A lot of.\" John couldn't help but let some pride leak into his voice. While not the top ace in the war, his fighter had over 30 X's lined under is cockpit, plus one C for a capital ship.\n\nThe sound of liquid being poured reached John's ears and he involuntarily smacked his lips. The pirini had to be from a hot planet, it had to be close to 50 centigrade in here.\n\n\"Yes, you pilots have proven to be more,\" the translator garbled, the word didn't have a direct translation, \"than we expected. But skill will not save you. We are many.\"\n\n\"we are legion\" John piped in, laughing at his own joke. It was lost on the pirini, though, ruining John's temporary mirth. \"Yes, we are legion.\" the pirini repeated. By this time it had moved closer to John again, allowing John see up to its waist." ]	2
	[WP] You stared down into the depths of the abyss below you, panting and tired. Your enemy had fallen, no way they lived, right? You hear a slow clapping from behind you, scaring you out of your skin.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My eyes peered down into the soulless canyon. What seemed like a never-ending abyss gave some comfort to the fact that no one could survive that fall. Yet, my eyes continued to scan all the crevices for any remaining dread that my enemy had somehow clutched onto a ledge and managed to survive. \n\nThe sound of rushing water at the end of the fall finally made me realize that even if he had survived the fall, he wouldn't live long after that.\n\nGuilt racked my brain almost instantly and I forced it down for the time being.\n\nHands grasping at the rock beneath my body, I dragged myself further from the ledge to avoid further injury. The dust under my fingers seemed to snake its way underneath my fingernails as I continued dragging myself a few feet farther before stopping. \n\nI never knew how far a leg could bend before breaking, and it was gruesome. My bones and muscle were contorted and the blood had eventually clotted to stop the bleeding. The My leg had started to become swollen, and I longed for any sense of relief from the brutal pain. \n\nThe sickening snap of my bone breaking kept replaying in my ears over and over like a song on a loop. \n\nSo when the sound of clapping came from behind me, breaking my stupor of ragged breathing and my state of shock I felt as if my heart had suddenly skipped multiple beats. \n\nMy whole body froze, like a deer in front of a car's headlights, or perhaps a tree rooted to the ground, unable to move as a lumberjack saw engine hums and closes the distance between the blade and bark.\n\n\"Wow! Great job, I'm impressed!\" the tone of the eerily familiar voice is mocking, and it sent me spiraling out of my frozen state as my head slowly raises to see the person in front of me. Him. \n\nEventually, his clapping descends to a halt and he grins.\n\nMy whole body pales and goosebumps race along my back, and my mouth opens and closes like a gaping fish out of water for a few seconds before I closed it altogether. \n\nHe simply smiles with a cocked head at my dumbfoundedness and clasped his hands together, \"To be honest, I never really expected you to develop the instinct to kill, you were always such a softie to me.\" \n\nHis smile only widens and my stomach seems to tie itself into tighter knots as my throat runs dry, my gaze flickering to him and the canyon edge behind me. I shut my eyes harshly, trying to forget this ever happened. \n\nHe slowly steps closer before kneeling down to me and grabbing my chin. \n\nDespite the sudden movements, his grasp was soft and calming, as if telling me everything would be okay with a simple touch. \n\nHe forces me to look at him, and coo's as if comforting a lost pet. \n\n\"Awh, it'll be okay now...\" he whispers lowly. \n\nI can't help but lean into his touch, seeking any comfort I could find after the brutal fight I had just had, and my mind instantly berates me for being okay with my former captor comforting me. \n\nHis pointer finger slides his way under my lips and pulls it up as if to examine my canines like a veterinarian examining the teeth of a dog. \n\n\"Brushing your teeth is always good.\" he hums in approval, and I can't help but feel sick to my stomach that I'm getting praised by him of all people. \n\nHe continues, \"I really never expected you to kill someone, him nonetheless.\"\n\n\"But that's great!\" his demeanor seems to change from happy to even happier if that was even possible. \n\nHis smile widens, and his grip on me tightens slightly, \"We can finally begin phase two.\" \n\nRaising his other hand and curling it into a fist, I tense, and he pauses once he notices. \"Awh,\" he coo's again, gently caressing my cheek to comfort me, \"It'll be okay,\" he reassures. \n\nA loud thud makes me jolt yet I feel my muscles relaxing and the last thing I heard before my unpermitted unconsciousness fully arrives was a simple yet eerie, \n\n\"It'll be okay...\"", "I stood before the dark cavern before me, feeling what little strength I had left leave my body as I struggled to catch my breath. A moment later, I collapsed onto the rocky cliff side beneath me, finally turning my attention to the bloodied blade within my grasp.\n\nIt has to be over right? I asked myself, as I watched beads of crimson drip onto the rocky soil. That has to be- at least a three hundred foot drop. Human or not, there's no way he could have survived that.\"\n\nI shut my eyes, watching the scene play over and over in my head. The way his swords gleamed in the moonlight as they clashed against mine, the grin that spread across his face with every strike, how it turned to shock as the tip of my sword found it's way into his chest, the feeling of his gut against my boot as I kicked him away, sending him careening down into the abyss...\n\nTears began to stream down my face, intermingling with the sweat as my gasps for breath became replaced with sobs. All of the pain, the anguish, the sorrow I had locked inside for the past five years was finally breaking free. Letting my emotions finally take control, I looked up into the night sky towards the stars. After all this time, I had finally did it. I had finally killed the man who murdered my family.\n\n\"I finally did it mom! Dad! Jessica!\" I cried out between sobs. \"I finally managed to avenge you! Avenge our family!\"\n\nI continued to cry for awhile longer, letting myself wallow in their loss for the first time since I had laid them to rest. It was over, actually over. I could finally move on with my life, carry on our family's legacy.\n\nHowever, just as the last few tears fell from my eyes, a noise rang out in the space behind me that shook me to my very core.\n\n\\clap\\ \\clap\\ \\clap\\.\n\nSlowly, I turned towards the noise behind me, feeling my blood freeze within my veins the moment I laid eyes on the one responsible.\n\n\"Bravo! Bra-vo!\" spoke the blond haired man behind me. \"I must say, it has been such a long time since anyone's managed to do me in like that. Why, it has to have been... oh... at least a century since I've had to escape from that blasted afterlife. I almost forgot what dying felt like! Your family must've been something special.\"\n\nI scrambled to my feet, sword in hand as I aimed it at the man who has plagued my nightmares for the past five years. It wasn't just his life threatening injuries that were gone. Every cut, every bruise, every injury I had managed to inflict on his body had vanished. I could feel my legs growing weak at the sight of him. All of these years, swinging a sword, training my body, my mind, my spirit, was it really all for nothing? was the man who stood before me truly immortal?\n\nThe man chuckled as his eyes ran across my body. \"What do you say we try this again?\" he suggested, a sword manifesting within his grasp as he extended an arm towards me. \"And do me a favor, and try not to die too soon? It's been ages since anyone's given me this much of a challenge!\"" ]	3
	[WP]You are a sadistic god of life. Giving souls a happy life only to take it all away in the end, reveling their anger and grief. Then reincarnating them for a repeat. But not this soul. No matter what you do, they always end up happy in the end no matter how many times you reincarnate them!	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I watched the little Souls that I had just pulled from the living realm with delight, all of them were moving around angrily and grumbling as loudly as their little voices would allow them to. Swearing to me and cussing me out, swearing revenge, before all breaking down and crying.\n\nA smile spread across my face as I watched them all before my eyes narrowed. It was that bloody soul again. They stood away from the others with a smile on their face, not listening to the others screams. I scooped the rest of them up angrily, tossing them back into the living realm before moving to tightly grip this single soul.\n\n\"Oh, hello.\" The Soul said to me, their voice soft and gentle. \"It's good to see you again. You're a bit redder than last time. Are you ill?\"\n\n\"Gods don't get ill.\" I sneered through my teeth at the little creature, \"Why aren't you angry? I gave you a great life, an amazing family, and then took it away so Violently!\" I shook the soul, \"You should be cursing me, tainting my name the moment you see me, but you're happy.\"\n\nThe Soul smiled gently, \"You have done such a thing; you've been doing such a thing several times and it's been fantastic each time. And you're allowing me to relive different times, and different views, And it has been amazing. Thank you so much.\" They said to me, I was shocked. I slowly moved to put them back to the living realm and moved to lean back in my chair, staring to the starry ceiling above me.\n\nWas I taking joy in... the wrong thing?\n\nDo I need to change my outlook?\n\nWas that Soul... Correct?" ]	2
	[WP] You’re near the end of your stay in the hospital when you ring for the nurse. After no one comes to check on you, you go to the door to look for someone, only to witness a doctor shuffling down the hallway away from you while gnawing on a severed hand. The zombie outbreak has just begun.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It's sunset. I'm atop a building, looking at the colorful sky.\n\n\"Found you!\" a woman says. The sunlight glints beautifully in her curly, auburn hair. Everything about her is beautiful. Her green eyes. Her smile. Her freckles. Her tattoos. I smile at her.\n\n\"I wasn't aware I was hiding, Esther. You know you were always free to join me.\"\n\n\"Yeah, well, I know this is your quiet time. I normally wouldn't disturb that, but I have something to tell you. Something very important.\"\n\nMy heart beats faster and my cheeks heat up.\n\n\"Yeah? What is it?\"\n\n\"I'll whisper it to you. Come over here.\"\n\nI walk toward her, getting really close to her so she can whisper right into my ear.\n\n\"Yes? What is it you want to say? Because . . . I have something important to tell you, too.\"\n\n\"Okay. I'll go first.\" She stands on her tiptoes so her mouth is by my ear. I feel her breath on it. And she whispers, very gently.\n\n\"Charging . . . clear.\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"Charging . . . clear!\" she says louder.\n\n\"I don't understand. What the hell's going on?!\"\n\n\"CHARGING . . . CLEAR!!!\" she screams.\n\nI wake up in a hospital bed. I'm in complete agony. What happened to me? I'm sure someone's trying to explain but I'm too busy screaming.\n\nI don't know how much time passes before I wake up again. But when I do, my situation is explained to me. I'll never walk again. I'll always be in some pain. I was apparently in a fire. Badly burned. I tried to help some kids out of the blaze but debris fell on me, I guess, and . . . the kids made it out okay but I didn't. I'm lucky to be alive, they say. Super fucking lucky.\n\nIn any case, all the damage they could fix, they fixed, and I guess I'm going to be discharged soon. I hit the call button for hopefully the last time. I need help getting to the bathroom. But the nurse doesn't come. I hit the call button again. Nothing. What's happening? Ugh. Guess I'm gonna have to do it myself.\n\nSo I can get the IV to move with me, but trying to manage that while also managing a wheelchair is difficult at best. It's hard to get into the wheelchair without help in the first place . . . still, I manage both. Wheel backward toward the IV. Pull the pole forward ahead of me. Wheel a little bit. Pull the pole a bit. It's a long tedious process but I do manage it.\n\nOnce I've concluded my business, I wheel to the door in the same manner, and open it so it's slightly ajar. That's when I see a doctor shuffling away from me. But he looks . . . off. Smells off, too. And he's eating something very loudly. I crane my head forward and that's when I realize. He's gnawing on an arm! Oh . . . oh. I'm gonna throw up!\n\nI hold it in and sloowly, carefully, close the door, wheeling backward. Okay. Okay, so. Okay. Zombies. Okay. What do I do? Okay. Okay. I can't risk my IV getting even slightly loose or the alarm will sound and they'll all be drawn to this room, unless that's what I want? I can draw the zombies somewhere and then . . . I don't know what . . . but it's a plan. What can I use as a weapon?\n\nThe hospital bed's too large and cumbersome. There are rubber gloves, tissues, paper towels, toilet paper, soap, hand sanitizer . . . not exactly a lot of options here, huh? I'm still in a hospital gown for crying out loud! Okay, think! Think, damn it!\n\n. . . I just wanted to pee." ]	2
	[WP]you are an immortal that can see the future. You are getting tired of having to set redundancies to stop time traveller's preventing important events. so you set a trap to have an intervention with them.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "### Immortal Guardian \n\nI have a unique condition.\n\nI am immortal.\n\nWell, that by itself is not that unique, but I can also see the future. My discussions with a noted author may inform you. I see the many paths the future may take, but incompletely. They rise and fall on long rolling hills; I do my best to influence events such that humanity's future is as long as it can be.\n\nWhy do I choose longevity over glory?\n\nMany paths lead to a glorious future, but glorious futures are — in my experience — tied to inglorious ends. The longest routes do not have glory because a glorious pinnacle leaves far too much room for a deadly fall from grace.\n\nLongevity gives one invaluable benefit. Perspective. Glory will take you to inconceivable heights, but you will learn nothing of dealing with adversity or recognizing the precipice you are about to step into blithely.\n\nName one glorious society which has lasted two thousand years. There are none. Even the Roman Empire, which in one account could claim one thousand years, was not the Roman Empire that conquered western Europe. In the end, it fell to a combination of bankruptcy due to one man's insistence on reclaiming the \"glory\" of Rome-that-was, rather than building on what he had to make it stout enough to survive the plague that brought Rome to an end.\n\nI must admit, I had a hand in bringing Rome down. Rome needed to remain a golden example that one tries to emulate and not be a curse upon the face of the earth.\n\nIt also serves as a warning flare. When some leader starts spouting drivel about a thousand-year reign or reclaiming the glory of our past, it's time to kick them out before they do any more damage.\n\nAfter humanity has dealt with adversity long enough, we may finally be ready for glory.\n\nFor, you see, each increment of adversity brings about an inevitable rise in society's longevity. So long as the misfortune does not drive it to extremes.\n\nThere must be something in the general human condition that adores extremes, as I am kept busy diverting extremism to survivable ends.\n\n### Time Traveler \n\nI have passed through the ages like a ghost, afraid to make the slightest change lest I make humanity's lot worse.\n\nWhat I have learned is that there is some aspect of the human condition that despises golden ages. Something always happens that prevents humanity from reaching the glory that it could be.\n\nWe muddle along in mediocrity, never reaching our true potential, continuously dealing with the last failure's aftermath.\n\nI see the suffering through the ages, and it sickens me. I will seek out the most eminent scientists, philosophers, and prominent leaders to gather them together for the betterment of humanity.\n\nI will no longer be a fearful ghost. I will be the shadow in the night that sees the one critical act done to advance humanity to the pinnacle of its potential.\n\n### Immortal Guardian \n\nSomething new has been added. In a matter of minutes, the future has changed. Ah, a traveler from the future. Probably a silly mistake... What's this?! That was deliberate! I have time; I can intervene to correct the timeline. I need only be there in time.\n\nThen I must spend some time making sure this interference is stopped.\n\n### Time Traveller \n\nWhat happened? I saw the change hit the timeline as I jumped for home, but when I got here, not only was there no change but any opportunity to go back and try again was gone.\n\n### Immortal Guardian \n\nThere. Perhaps he will draw the correct conclusion that changing the timeline is not permitted for one so limited in scope.\n\n((cont))" ]	2
	[WP] You are a child that was raised by wolves. At some point you were found by other humans who took you in, but honestly you were much more comfortable among the wolves than in modern human society.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It's been 2 years since they found me and reintegrated me into their society. They told me I went missing 11 years ago, at the age of 3, while on a nature retreat with my parents and older siblings. From what the woman who claims to be my mother tells me, I wandered off while they were preparing lunch and they never found me.\n\nI don't know how much of it is true; after all, the only memories I have of before they captured me are of my pack. I'm not stupid. I know I'm not a wolf. I knew even as a cub that I wasn't like the others in the pack. But, they raised me. They fed me. We played together. When I got bigger, I began to hunt with the pack. I wasn't as fast, nor did I have the fangs and claws needed to hold onto prey and take them down. What I did have was opposable thumbs and the ability to craft crude weapons.\n\nLife was simple and easy to understand. I'd eat when hungry, drink when thirsty, and bathe in the waters when dirty. A failed hunt for me just meant no meat, as I would forage plants and fruits in a pinch. I definitely preferred a fresh kill, though.\n\nFrom what I've learned, humans generally don't do well with a raw diet and so they cook their food. Ruins it, if you ask me!\n\nIt's been difficult adapting to this new life. There are so many rules! I don't understand how anyone can be happy like this. The clothes are bad enough, restrictive as they are, but the rules around those are somewhat flexible. I still can't figure out the system humans call money. How does some shiny discs and pieces of paper hold value? Who determines the value? Why do I need to give the shiny discs and paper in exchange for meat when I could hunt it myself? Stupid, if you ask me!\n\nThe worst rule of all, though, is the one that states I cannot kill another male who encroaches on my territory or challenges me for the right to mate with a female. I do not understand why an inferior member of the species should be able to spread their inferior genes. It is little wonder that humans are so weak.\n\nI miss my pack dearly. Life was much simpler and easier to understand. They say it is best for me to get used to my new life and that I'm better off here than in the wild. I disagree. I used to be happy. I ised to be free. Now everything is a struggle and life has no luster any more.\n\nI see specialists every so often, less often now than originally, but still once every moon cycle or so. They tell me that I have developed something called depression. That my mind is causing these negative thoughts. They are wrong. It is their fucked up society that caused me to feel this way.\n\nMy thoughts return to my pack, the adoptive family that saved me and raised me as if I were one of them. A small smile creeps onto my face, as my vision blurs and my breathing becomes shallow. As my life fades, memories of an easier, happier time play in my head. I only regret that I'll never get to run again with my pack." ]	2
	[WP] The kind old man had touched many hearts and thousands gathered outside his small funeral. But then his final video message started playing; "Burn it all to the ground! Leave no survivors...".	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“You’re all gathered here because of how I helped you.”\n\nGrandfather Andrei’s face played on the grimy white sheet as the flickering projector played the contents of his recorded funerary video to the silently gathered crowd.\n\n“Whether it was helping you find food when rationing was tight and you had a family to support…”\n\nDmitry, dressed in his best ragged jeans, flinched. He knew that Grandfather meant him. It was only last winter when Grandfather had gone begging around the town for a chicken when his wife was laid up and his children were getting gaunt. He looked around furtively, and saw the same shame and recognition on many of the others gathered, and sighed.\n\n“… or help with obtaining medical care for your family…”\n\nTears appeared in many eyes. Little Androv clung to his mother’s leg, as Mila wept silently into her sarafin. Androv’s flu had seemed like it would take him, but Grandfather argued with the military doctor until he had reluctantly agreed to see the bastard son of a deceased enlistee. \n\n“… or helped you to negotiate the crooked bureaucracy in order to keep your lands…”\n\nLeonid remembered the corporal who had come to seize his family lands, and how Grandfather had convinced him to settle for “accepting” a portion of the proceeds of that summer’s harvest instead.\n\n“All I have done is help you, my people, my sem’ya, resist and survive the leadership of distant Moscow. Our village has never been prosperous, but I recall when we had enough. I am old enough to see how corruption has fully overtaken and strangled our oblast.”\n\nGrandfather Andrei looked down, a tear dripping down from his wispy beard. \n\n“I failed you, my sem’ya. I was cowardly, and did not wish to see you come to harm. I bartered and begged and pleaded to keep you from starvation, rather than standing beside you and resisting.”\n\nGrandfather Andrei looked up, his face slightly transparent as the sheet flapped slightly in the winds and the projector sputtered on.\n\n“Burn it all down, and let us bring back a Mother Russia who shall care for her citizens.”\n\nAt the rear of the gathering, a few men stood up. Pulling the rifles from their hiding place behind their ponchos, their green uniforms visible, they raised their rifles towards the gathered mourners. A corporal of the FSB pulled up in his car, a black monstrosity of iron and rubber. \n\nPeople began to notice the soldiers in the back and the raised rifles. Mila screamed at Androv to run.\n\n“Traitors must die.” The FSB corporal’s words were loud, with Grandfather Andrei’s words droning softly behind his words.\n\nThe soldiers took aim, and fired. Men, women, and children screamed as they ran and fell. Dmitry shoved past a weeping Mila, who kneeled next to Androv as red sprouted from the front of his tunic. A soldier approached Mila, who stared defiantly at the barrel of the rifle. Another shot rang out. \n\nThe FSB corporal lit a cigarette as the soldiers took to the funeral now scattered with dead and dying Russians, silencing screams with bayonets. The corporal walked towards the white sheet, now torn and spattered with blood.\n\n“Foolish old man.” The corporal spat on the projected face of Grandfather Andrei. “Now your children join you in your coward’s grave.”\n\nThe corporal turned, and Grandfather Andrei’s face continued to play as his pre-recorded words droned on, exhortations falling on the corpses of the town he’d spent his life defending." ]	2
	[WP] "I don't get it,why are you so angry that I didn't love you in the end when you never loved me in the first place?"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Urrick, Malessor, Allie and I are all at the spot where Urrick was first summoned. \"I suppose you girls should be made aware of the plan\" Urrick says. I look at Allie, who clearly wants to run and hide, but after being 'bonded' to Malessor, she can't.\n\n\"After Malessor and I talked, we decided that your trauma, Allie, needs to be handled directly. You'll be re-living that moment of your life. It won't be real, but it will feel real.\"\n\nAllie's eyes go wide in horror. I turn to Urrick. \"Won't that... make things worse?\" Urrick smiles.\n\n\"That's up to you, love. I can't tell you any more, but you trust me, don't you?\" I nod. With the four of us sitting down, the two demons chant a spell. Instantly, the view around us changes, Allie and I seeming to get younger, Urrick and Malessor nowhere to be seen.\n\nWe're in a playground. Allie looks scared. I just stand and watch. A guy walks over to Allie. \"Hey, Allie! What's with the face?\"\n\nAllie says nothing. She's frozen in place. Suddenly, she receives a hard slap to her cheek, sending her staggering back. Allie just stares at the boy, crying. This... this isn't the Allie I know...\n\n\"Pibs... why...? I... I thought...\"\n\n\"Thought we were friends?\" Pibs is grinning very creepily, enough to send a shiver down my spine. \"You think I wanted to be your friend? Do you have ANY IDEA how much I begged and pleaded with the cool boys to let me join? They finally accepted me... I just need to humiliate you, and I'm finally in their group!\"\n\nMy rage is boiling. Who does this kid think he is? But... it's not my memory... I'm helpless...\n\nI see Allie try to regain some confidence. \"I... I really cared, Pibs... I wanted us to... to be together...\"\n\nPibs cackles like a classic, evil villain. \"What? Do you love me? Did you imagine us getting married in the future?\" Pibs shoves Allie so hard she hits the wall behind her. \"I'll admit, you're cute... maybe things would be different if you told me how you felt...\"\n\nAll around, everyone is cheering and laughing. \"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!\" Gosh, didn't Allie have anyone to call a friend? Her 'best friend' is attacking her!\n\n\"I... I don't get it... why are you so angry that I don't... love you anymore... when you never loved me... in the first place?\"\n\nPibs strolls over to Allie, now defenceless. \"I'm not angry, Allie... I just don't care! Never have, never will! I'm just saying it's YOUR fault this is happening! You're too weak to stand up for yourself!\" He gives her another hard slap to the face. \"THIS IS WHY NO-ONE LIKES YOU, YOU COWARD!\" He gives her a hard punch to the stomach, before kicking both her legs. It looks like she can barely breathe now. This... this isn't normal... this is torture... wait, where are the teachers? THEY SHOULD STOP THIS!\n\nI see Pibs bend down, grabbing Allie's shirt. For a moment, I forgot that this isn't real, instinctively charging at Pibs, knocking him to the ground. It looks like he took quite the hit. \"THAT'S ENOUGH, YOU MONSTER!\" I yell.\n\nPibs looks up at me, shocked. I never went to this school, but that wasn't what baffled him. \"WHAT THE HELL??? WHAT WAS THAT FOR?\"\n\n\"You must be REAL stupid if you have to ask\" I say, rolling my eyes so hard they nearly fall out. \"It's the same reason why you, of all people, shouldn't be hurting her - you were supposed to be her friend!\"\n\nPibs scoffs as he stands up. \"Look at her! She can't even defend herself! She's just a wimp!\"\n\nI curl my hand into a fist. \"I don't know where you got this idea from, but friendship isn't about whose strong and whose weak! Friendship... is a bond. It's genuinely caring for another person, learning when you've made a mistake, doing what you can to fix those mistakes... it's knowing that no matter what, you trust and forgive each other. It's about standing up for and protecting each other. That's what I'm doing now.\" I look Pibs directly in the eyes. \"It's why you don't deserve any friends - for you to betray your friend to such a degree, for no reason other than to be with the 'cool kids'... you're disgusting.\" I spit at Pibs.\n\n\"Flora...\" I hear Allie's voice behind me. Pibs bursts out laughing.\n\n\"That is some stupid crap you've come up with! Look at her! She's pathetic!\"\n\n\"No...\" a voice speaks. He walks from the crowd. \"This girl... she's right. Allie is very kind and sweet and sensitive... she was an amazing friend...\" he looks at Pibs. \"The three of us... we all had so much fun together... I... I thought that Gina was worth sacrificing my friendship with Allie... but... I can't just let you torture Allie like this. It's not right, Pibs!\"\n\n\"TYLO! WHAT THE HELL?\" a female voice calls out. \"SHE'S NOT LIKE ME! I'M BETTER THAN HER! YOU PROMISED YOU'D ALWAYS SUPPORT ME!\"\n\n\"AND THAT WAS DUMB OF ME!\" Tylo snaps back. \"I never wanted to give up my friendship with Allie... but you forced me to... I thought I was happy with you... turns out, I just became an asshole!\" Tylo turns to Allie. \"Allie... I... I'm so sorry...\"\n\nI see Allie's eyes begin to soften. One by one, other students, all having betrayed friendships and trust, begin to apologise to each other and make amends. These people all begin to defend Allie, with only six students - Tylo's now ex, Pibs, two guys who, from their shouting, it sounds like they're from the 'cool' group, and two other random kids - refusing to support Allie. I step to the front of the crowd.\n\n\"Do you losers see? No matter how hurt and betrayed, no matter how deep the wound... true friendship cannot be overcome so easily! A minute ago everyone was encouraging you to bully Allie, Pibs! Now, after realising what they've all lost by being mean, Allie holds the power! She has something you all don't; trust, respect and humility for each other and themselves!\"\n\nI feel someone squeeze past me. It's Allie, her eyes shining, her black hair flowing behind her. \"Flora is right\" Allie says confidently. \"Nothing replaces a true, caring friend. I had no confidence because no-one cared about me. Now I realise... if others can trust me, then I can trust myself! I have no reason to be afraid of you, Pibs!\" The crowd starts shouting angrily at the half dozen students, all of whom thought they were big, mean and scary, now reduced to trembling like nervous chihuahuas.\n\nAllie gives me a BIG hug, as the surroundings return to normal. Allie just begins sobbing. \"Flora... thank you... I was so scared... so so scared that I hurt you... I didn't think you could forgive me...\"\n\n\"Of course I would. You're my best friend, Allie. You were trying to help me, I know that, Urrick knows that. I'd never let something like that destroy our friendship.\" We stand, hugging each other for a few moments, before Allie lets go. For the first time since the incident, I see Allie smile; her bright, cheery, beautiful smile. She walks over to Malessor. \"Thank you so much. But... I'm ready now. Please remove the bracelet.\" I watch as Malessor nods, putting a hand on the bracelet.\n\n\"To tell the truth... I was hoping maybe you'd want to stay with me, Allie, but I respect your decision to want to break it off.\" I give Urrick a smug glance, who looks away with embarrassment, something the other pair seemed to notice based on their giggling.\n\n\"Tell you what, I do actually have a boyfriend right now, but if it doesn't work out, you'll be next. Deal?\" Allie holds out her hand.\n\n\"Deal\" Malessor says, taking it. \"Now, if you'll excuse me... I'm overdue for giving someone a fright!\" With that, Malessor vanishes.\n\n\"Is he going to try to possess someone again?\" Allie asks.\n\n\"He will, but don't worry... he's harmless\" Urrick replies with a wink.\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nThis story is a part of my series, [To Love a Demon.](https://www.reddit.com/r/StoriesbyCrystal/comments/xqefwu/to_love_a_demon/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) Please check it out!" ]	2
	[WP] "So why do they call you the evil witch of the dark forest?" "Um, cause of all the murders and hexing I do." "No not the witch part, that's obvious. Why do they call it the dark forest? All the flowers and trees, its quite nice here."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Oh, it is. I love it. Corpses make such a good fertilizer.\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"Uh, you know, these daisies are amazing. They caught their first child just last month. I'm so proud of them.\"\n\n\"What?!\"\n\n\"Of course, roses are little bit prickly about it. Those beauties love taking care of the sleeping people and draining them dry with their thorns. They wanted the child for themselves, which is totally understandable.\"\n\n\"What!\"\n\n\"It is. You have to agree with me on this. If someone took my dinner, I would be upset too.\"\n\n\"Why are you looking at me like that!?\"\n\n\"You really shouldn't have back away so much.\"\n\n\"Why?! What do you want to do to me?!\"\n\n\"Shhh, stop yelling. Oakey hates that.\"\n\n\"Wha- What the hell! I'm stuck! Help me! Mhmpfff-\"\n\n\"Oh, almost forgot. You asked about the dark forest, right? Right. You see, when the sun sets... It gets dark.\"\n\n\"Mhmhhhh!\"\n\n\"Don't yell at me. It's not my fault humans are so unimaginative. Or, it could be the pitch black sap, that coats their axes. Or the deep red meat they manage to hunt. Or the juices flowing from the blueberries, that make children's teeth and lips black. Or - oh my, I rambled again. Sorry. Your skeleton merges with the bark quite well. Wow. I really like your bone structure. Anywayyyy, I gotta go. Thank you for the nice chat. Oakey, enjoy your new friend and don't let him talk your leaves off~\"", "The witch looked stunned. She looked around, there were flowers, but they're black, red, dark and foreboding. The trees were dark and decaying. There were no bright colors, that's how she liked it. She worked hard to turn what was once a lush forest into a constant death cycle. It took 400 years but she did it .\n\n\"Tell me what you see young lady. What do you see in the forest?\"\n\nThe young lady looked around. At the beautiful purples, blacks, reds, and dark blues. She saw the trees dying and feeding the flowers, fruit trees hidden among the dead trees, and a sweet smell in the air. Caroline described this to the witch. She described in full detail all the beauty she saw, the care she knew went into it. She described to the witch all the love she saw. \n\nThe witch was stunned. She no longer just looked stunned. She was flabbergasted by the description this young lady gave. All the years of hard work, making her paradise, the deaths of men that intruded into her domain, the children released into other kingdoms where they'd be taken care of, she was the border between the evil King and the loving nations. She spent 400 years making it perfect, doing her job, and receiving no respect or admiration for it. Yet this young lady, no more than 19 winters old, saw it. She saw it all. \n\n\"Tell me your name young one.\"\n\n\"Caroline, youngest daughter of King Henry\"\n\n\"Ah a princess. A possible ruler of the land beyond my forest. Tell me now why I shouldn't kill you\". The witch was bluffing. She wasn't going to kill Caroline. She was the first to truly see her forest. She was going to keep her, if she chose to stay\n\n\"Please don't kill me. My father will never let me rule. My brother and sister are vile like him and one day, one of them will take over and it'll mean death for other and for me. So I left\"\n\nThe witch thought. She knew she wanted to keep her here. But was it cause she was lonely, because she saw the true beauty and work that went into the forest, or was it because it was time to pass on the mantle. She didn't know yet but she knew one thing...\n\n\"You can stay here and learn to care for the forest and keep the vile men of your former homeland away, you can pass into the next kingdom and start a new. Never a princess again. Your option would be to return to your kingdom. But whatever you choose, it is your choice and it is final \"", "\"Oh, well, it's simple if you think about it,\" the witch says. She raises an eyebrow at me. \"You must think of dead, dark wood. Black brambles and vines and thorns and the like. Yes? But the flora here is not what gives it its name. It's the fauna that does. Many years ago, this wood was called the dark forest because of its dark energy. It called to the creatures of the night. And while it doesn't call as loudly or as potently as it used to, some wayward souls still hear it.\"\n\nShe smirks.\n\n\"Wayward souls like you.\"\n\nI hear the rustling of the leaves, the flowers swaying in the breeze. She's right. I do, faintly, hear something calling. That's why I came in here. It's why I found her.\n\n\"That's not you?\" I ask.\n\n\"I've no control over who the forest calls,\" she says.\n\n\"Then do you at least know why it's calling me?\"\n\n\"Oh, that answer will become clear enough in time.\"\n\nI don't want to press on, but I do. I'm drawn in. I keep going, to the very heart of the forest. Stars fill the night sky. The faint call becomes louder and louder, as does my heart beat. I finally stop in front of a large tree. I don't know why . . . I feel compelled to touch it. I try to resist. This place is creepy. I should just leave. But I can't stop myself.\n\nWhen I touch the trunk, chaotic red bolts escape my hands and wrap around the trunk. The tree grows larger. But not just the tree, the whole forest expands.\n\nThe witch cackles.\n\n\"I'm free!\" she declares and disappears into black clouds. I didn't even know she was following me. And then . . . my hand sinks into the tree, as does my arm, as does my whole body. Inside the tree, there is a dark heart. A jewel the colors of the night sky. And when I touch it, I see all.\n\nI am . . .\n\nThe new witch of the dark forest.", "The witch gave him a pitiful look. His heart sunk. There are moments where a look of compassion or sympathy can be taken for pity. This was not one of those moments. His captor was looking at him with a pitiful stare that ate at his very soul. \n\n“Boy,” she said, “what you have walked through to get here is perhaps my greatest accomplishment. The forest that you walked through is not a thriving, breathing place. The birds you hear chirping are the calls of carrion birds and corvids. The trees are not abundant with foliage, nor do the forest floors house flowers and shrubs. These trees are barren and all but dead. Nothing grows here that I do not sow myself. Animals do not come here unless they come to die and leave their bodies for me to use as materials.”\n\n“This whole place is ‘The Dark Forest.’ You’ve fallen victim to an illusion that most people either see through and avoid, or break and try to search out the creator. They try to find me and instead find their end. But you? You wandered here like a child following a trail of sweets and I never even had to bait the hook.” \n\nHis body was beginning to lose feeling. It occurred to him only now that something on the forest trail had nicked him, and the area where he was scratched was swelling and pulsing. He felt his jaw go slack and his vision cross. His legs gave out and he crumbled to his knees. Spittle and bile was rising from his gullet and spilling from his mouth. The witch knelt beside him and made him lay down with his head on her lap. He stared out at the forest. The scenery began to flicker. \n\n“You know,” she said, “despite what you may have heard, I never harm nor have I harmed a child. Most children who come here don’t know any better. Some are abandoned while others are runaways. People say I ‘eat children’ or ‘make them my servants’ but really I just send them on their way. They’ve done nothing wrong. But men...”\n\nShe began to stroke his hair. \n\n“Men come to me seeking selfish things. Love potions, power, wealth, my hand, my life. They come to strip what they see as a beautiful forest of its resources so that they may pursue selfish interests. Children never return because I send them to places where they may find a life worth leading and love from someone who cares. Perhaps they won’t become like those who wish me harm. Men, I’m afraid, are the ones who truly never leave.” \n\nHer hand ran through his hair the way his mother used to when he was a child. It was soothing. He couldn’t feel his arms now. His extremities were growing cold but her lap and her hands felt so warm. \n\n“I suppose the only solace either of us can have in this moment, is that you will die seeing a beautiful glade rather than the reality. I’ll make it so you fade into the afterlife with the splendor of nature as your final sight. Listen. Do you hear the creek nearby? The call of the jay birds as they dart through the rustling trees? Do you feel the warm glow of the sun on your face? The way it cuts through the canopy just to grant you it’s light? Can you smell the lush grass and the aroma of the flowers?” \n\nHe wanted to reply. Everything was more vibrant now. He did feel the sun on his face. He saw everything, heard everything. He could smell the rich earth and grass and the flowers. It was perhaps the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen or experienced. He wanted to say something but all he could muster was a soft groan. \n\n“I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep. It’s not safe to sleep alone in the woods. I’ll watch over you. Don’t worry.” \n\nShe kept stroking his head and he stared at the beauty of the forest until his eyes could no longer stay open." ]	5
	[WP] The prophecy is really vague about who the chosen one is and what villain they are supposed to defeat. So vague in fact, that no one is even sure whether they are different people or not.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Old man Winifred took a pouf out of his smoking pipe as the crowd of people silently watched him in the royal hall of the kingdom.\n\n“The dark haired human will laugh, making the world crumble\n\nhis laughter echoing around the dying world\n\nfor those who stand by while evil thrive\n\nare evil themselves.\n\nThe one with human eyes will come, and stop the world from crumbling with his own laughter”\n\nWinifred opened his mouth and spoke, uttering the prophecy of destruction, and breaking the silence.\n\n“But once the laughters entwine together\n\nthe dark haired with the eyes will pull out his sword of no exact color\n\nand take away all of the color the resides inside of us”\n\nWinifred continued and stopped, taking another pouf out of his pipe ignoring the one person that muttered ‘what’ in the quiet hall.\n\n“And then the evil one will speak\n\nand say words so evil that they cannot be named or heard\n\nby anyone except for the one who laughs\n\nwho will only be able to hear them after the world crumbled again”\n\nWinifred took a long look at his audience finding nothing but confusion, “that is the prophecy of the ages, you have been warned”\n\n“Excuse me but what the hell are we supposed to get from that?” someone asked from the crowd and Winifred exhaled a long sigh.\n\n“Does it look to you like I know? You asked to hear this damned prophecy, not me!” the old man exploded making the royal court murmur quietly.\n\n“That’s only because you kept talking about the end of days! how can we know who is supposed to be our hero in this prophecy?!”\n\nThe old man shrugged and took another pouf, “heck, I don't know” he said “Rolizien prophecies only have ninety nine percent of actually happening, and they only really make sense after everything happens.” Winifred confessed to the crowd, who wailed in return.\n\n“Look on the bright side!” Winifred rose up and spread his arms to his sides, grabbing everyone’s attention “there is one percent that none of this will happen!” he declared, making everyone wail and scream.\n\nAfter all, Rolizien prophecies always referred to the imminent future, which at max means a month, and he did hear it four weeks ago.\n\nSuddenly a laughter shook the entire room, the glasses shattered and the chaos in the royal hall only intensified.\n\n“Well” Winifred said to himself while rubbing his beard, “maybe it's time to go to my pocket dimension.”" ]	2
	[WP] You and your sibling are the most successful spies in the world. Your sibling is the classic suave, extroverted, action movie spy. Which is merely used as a distraction so you, the introverted quite one, can sneak around and finish the jobs without interference.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "David Lords, the world’s greatest and most famous superspy, but this living legend always had a creeping shadow, me. As his shadow, people at the office often ask me for my opinion David Lords and I always tell them I could care less about him. More than once, people have tried to sabotage me to become his field partner and have called me ungrateful for being able to exist in the same room as him. I’ve been pressured to resign more times than I can count. Before every mission, everyone at the office begs David to work with them, but it’s always us working together to save the world with David taking all the credit.\n\nI suppose there are many ways to describe David Lords. Suave, egocentric, charismatic, genius, womanizer, expert marksman, perfect, with luck and looks blessed by God himself. You know what they don’t use to describe him? Discrete, inconspicuous, subtle. When basically everyone on the planet knows his face and to keep their eyes on him at all times, people sometimes wonder how he gets any covert work done. That’s the funny thing, he doesn’t, I do. While the world’s eyes and spotlights are on David Lords and his perfect charms, no one thinks to look at shy, meek, unassuming Annie Lorry shadowing every step behind and ahead of him. \n\nWhile he is collecting his gadgets and quipping at our bosses, I’m pretending to be an ISP employee fixing the internet for a mansion while planting a backdoor into their IT system.\n\nWhile he is at the gala eating caviar, foie gras, and drinking martinis that could pay for a house in a ballroom worth more than some countries, I’m eating Dominos and drinking Starbucks in the forest looking through security cameras to figure out where the big meeting is taking place.\n\nWhile he is at the smuggling auction browsing fine art and arms alike, I’m the alleyway dumpster piecing together shredded documents and food scraps.\n\nWhile he is grabbing everyone’s attention by being the glamorous stud at the high-roller table betting millions of tax-payer dollars without blinking an eye, I’ve been working an overtime waiter shift slipping bugs into jacket collars.\n\nWhile he is sucking the air out of some Russian supermodel in a penthouse suite, I’m tracking and listening to her mafia boss husband talk business about the smuggling ring from my squalid room twenty floors below.\n\nWhile he is breaking every traffic and gun safety rule you can imagine chasing a lunatic terrorist leader, I’m in a taxi calculating the route the smuggled nuke will take.\n\nWhile he is being “ambushed” by a superhuman lieutenant in a warehouse, I’m already looking for a hiding space in the sewers of the island fortress.\n\nWhile he is strapped to a table with an encroaching laser and villains gloating about their victory over the “legendary” David Lords, I’m in the generator room slamming everything that looks delicate with a folding chair.\n\nWhile he is gunning his way through an army of mercenaries, I’m in a dank basement screaming their positions into a microphone.\n\nWhile he is throwing the superhuman lieutenant off the roof after a close tense fist fight, I’m listening into enemy comms from a scavenged radio in a bloody hallway while double tapping anyone he failed to kill.\n\nWhile he is exchanging quips with a lunatic terrorist leader, I’m interrogating the accountant and flipping through books to find who sold the lunatic the goddamn nuke. \n\nWhile he is rescuing the recently-widowed supermodel as the self-destruct timer counts down, I’m hot wiring and marking a speed boat for the escape.\n\nWhile he rides off into the sunset with the supermodel under his arm, I’m crammed under the deck with a sedated and slobbering accountant.\n\nThis isn’t the work of David Lords, it’s my work. It’s not glamorous, it’s not flashy. I don’t get media interviews or glamour shots. I don’t get Hollywood deals, medals, or even a sticker for my work. But after our fellow agents take away the supermodel to be charged with being an accessory to money laundering and weapons smuggling, he’s always the first to open the hatch and reach out to me from the light. When the glaring light finally fades from my eyes, I see the smile that no supermodel, terrorist, or agent, friendly or otherwise, has ever seen. A warm, genuine smile to the one girl he never left behind. The smile my big bother Danny gave me after he said he still believed in me when I flunked out of high school. The smile he gave after I passed my first field exam. The smile that stays as he lifts me out of the boats hull. The smile that stays when I repeatedly beat him at Smash the night before the press tour. \n\nWhat people don’t understand is that David Lords is as much a fiction as James Bond or Ethan Hunt and I could always care less about a fiction. I’ve never worked with David Lords and I can’t stand the idea of it either. Wooing the press, grabbing attention, seducing supermodels and spies, witty quips, that has always been the job of David Lords and those working with him. Saving the world, risking life and limb to protect others, that’s the job of my brother Danny Lorry. It's my job to help Danny as he helped me and not even the legendary David Lords with his infinite charisma could convince me to trade it for anything." ]	2
	[WP] You come back to your apartment and see your friend asleep on the couch. Your Friend died a week ago.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "# Zombie Cleanup\n\n\"The audacity of this man\"\n\nI've been assigned to a new project recently and that has basically taken over my life for the most part. Which meant I really didn't have time to deal with a dumbass deciding to bring his problems to me.\n\n\"Wake up!\"\n\nMichael, the undying bum, starts to stir but I decided not to wait for him and rolled him out of my couch.\n\n\"Agh!\"\n\nHe started rolling around on the floor, moaning that I broke his back. His theatrics don't work on me this time however. Out of habit I did a pass over Michael, his clothes were scuffed up but had no real damage, his skin didn't have any obvious markings, he didn't smell like anything in particular. Overall, very normal.\n\nToo normal for someone murdered a week ago.\n\n\"You messed with the fish guys\"\n\n\"They were kidnapping children!\"\n\nI knew they were, and I didn't like it, but I couldn't do anything about it personally. Humans are just too easily mind controlled and I can't risk it.\n\n\"So you decided to go there, without preparation, died, let them figure out you didn't, then decided to bring them to where I live\"\n\nI sighed while Michael at least enough common decency to look embarrassed.\n\n'Not much time until they get here then'\n\n\"Go and grab the kits\"\n\nMichael scurried to my closet as I rifled through some old items from my delving days.\n\nMental defense was never something I heavily invested in, which is why I only ever had a couple of flash bang shards. Half blinded and nearly deaf wouldn't be an amazing way of getting out of mind control, but it does work.\n\nNow all I need is some earplugs and dark sunglasses.\n\n\"I really wanted to actually get through a month\"\n\nMichael apologetically gave me my kit. Some simple leather armor, a spear, and a 9mm.\n\n\"sorry about dragging you into this\"\n\n\"It's fine, just reset the counter and let's set up an ambush\"\n\nDays since last incident 27 -> 0", "“You have 10 fucking seconds to explain, or I’m throwing you out the window.”\n\n“Come on!” Sam laughed, having the decency to look at least a little afraid of my promise, “Is that any way to greet the friend you drowned?”\n\nI growled, “Nine seconds.”\n\n“Okay!” Sam exclaimed, exasperated. “I died!”\n\n“Yeah, I’m fucking aware of that!” I roared, it didn’t make sense. How was Sam here? Like he said, I drowned him. I held his head under the water, felt him thrashing around until finally…he stilled. It was exhilarating, even though he was my closest friend since kindergarten. “What I mean is how you’re here, jackass.”\n\nSam chuckled, “Well, I woke up by the riverbank. Fuck you for not getting me out of the water, by the way. I floated down to the next town over.”\n\nI pinched the bridge of my nose, “Get on with it, Sam.”\n\n“So, after coughing water out of my lungs for, like, 30 minutes, I made my way back here. I was tired, so I passed out on the couch. You’ll need a towel, by the way.”\n\nI glared at the damp spot on the couch and groaned.\n\n“How did you not die, Sam?”\n\nSam cocked his head to the side, an easy grin on his face.\n\n“Ah, I’m immortal.”\n\nI stilled.\n\n“What.”\n\nSam rubbed the back of his neck, “It’s…weird. I died once when I was a kid, y’know? Remember that time in 5th grade when I was absent for a month? What was the excuse my parents gave, again? Family trouble?”\n\nThe memory was vague, but I nodded anyway.\n\n“Said your grandma in Wisconsin died or something. But they got the wrong family member?”\n\n“Yep! That was me!” Sam replied, “I actually died rock climbing. Rope was faulty, no one noticed until it was too late, then splat.”\n\nI winced. I dealt with dead bodies on the regular, hell, I killed people, but the thought of a 5th grader dead on the ground like that…\n\n“It felt like I just fell asleep. When I woke up, it was soon after, and my parents were freaked the fuck out. No broken bones, no shattered rib cage, just me covered in blood and dirt.”\n\n“So, what,” I asked, “You just…can’t die?”\n\n“Yep!” Sam was way too cheery for something like this, “I’m an abomination!”\n\nI sighed. Well, that explained that, but that didn’t solve every problem.\n\n“Oh, don’t worry about me.” As if reading my mind, Sam waved his hand dismissively and leaned back on the couch, “I won’t tell anyone.”\n\nI froze, brain buffering, “Huh?”\n\n“I won’t tell anyone about your hobby.” Sam clarified with a toothy grin, “I wasn’t gonna, anyway. The whole drowning thing was unnecessary, y’know.”\n\n“...Sorry.” I mumbled, not really knowing what to say to that. Sam shrugged.\n\n“So did you get a new roommate or can I go sleep in my bed?”\n\nI shook my head mutely, gesturing down the hall to his room. Sam cheered and got up, walking casually to his room and shutting the door behind him casually. As if he wasn’t immortal and his best friend wasn’t a serial killer. After a few moments, I sighed.\n\nI looked at the blood on my clothes. A shower was in order. Sam, everything else…that was a problem for when I woke up tomorrow." ]	3
	[WP] A teen runs away from home. Instead of the police or the hero finding them, the villain does. They listen to their story and offer their own way of helping.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "She told herself that if she could find her friend in downtown LA, she would be able to make rent by either finding a job coding or doing hair and nails, like at home in Indiana. Either way, she wasn't going back home! Mom decided to remarry, and the stepfather was a nightmare!\n\nShe had written her friend in LA, who ran her own beauty salon. They had worked out a reasonable space rental fee, and she promised to put her on to a studio apartment for only $750/month. Since she could charge $40-100 per hour, she didn't see any problem until she found a job in coding. Then, she hoped to get her degree in fashion design!\n\nThe bus was going through Arizona, and after the breakfast/bathroom break at a large truck stop, she looked forward to taking in the sights before pulling into LA. A large man with a nice smile and cowboy hat got on, and sat with the scruffy teenager near the front. The next 100 miles saw this cowboy deep in discussion with the teen, and the teen finally hung his head and sobbed. When the bus stopped in Flagstaff for lunch, the teenager handed his ticket to the driver for a refund ticket, hugged the cowboy, and received a welcome from a truck full of cowboys! The cowboy wished them all well, and told the teen the ranch would be his refuge!\n\nAs the cowboy came back onto the bus, he sat in front of me. By this time, every friendly face on the bus had shaken his hand, and told him some of their stories. I found a novel to read, but the cowboy had removed his Stetson, and closed his eyes, muttering something I couldn't make out, except for \"Thank you, Lord, for another rescue!\"\n\nThe more I studied the letter from my friend, the more I realized that her salon was not actually a beauty salon, but a massage parlor! I realized she wasn't expecting me to do nails and hair, but other things! I hoped to find something soon in coding, and I was more determined to make my new life in LA work. Then, the cowboy turned to me, and said, \"I hope your trip helps you find your refuge.\" I asked him what he meant, and he mentioned a man in the San Fernando Valley, about 2 hours from downtown LA, who helped children and teenagers on the run!\n\nHe then asked me if I had ever worked in a massage parlor. I asked why the question, and realized the letter was in my lap! I told him he should mind his own business, but he said, \"Helping people avoid a life of slavery is my business.\" He pulled out a picture of a beautiful girl, and shared a story of how the pull of becoming an actress made his daughter run away at 14, and he spent almost a year looking for her. He finally found her in a hospice, with an lethal form of blood poisoning from dirty needles and heroine!\n\nThe picture he showed me of a nice elderly couple in the San Fernando Valley seemed just like home! I asked him why he decided to talk to the teenager earlier, and he told me his parents begged him to track him down and convince him to spend some time at a working ranch. At this point, I had a decision to make: either proceed to LA, or get off with the cowboy at the next dinner stop, and live at this beautiful ranch while I got on my feet!\n\nHe asked if he could pray for me, and I said he could if he wanted to. As he prayed from his heart, I began to sob! I realized the odds of me making it on my own were slim, and I agreed to meet the elderly couple. The cowboy smiled, and gave me a number for \"Angels Unaware\", a national hotline for runaways and refugees. \n\nI wiped my eyes, and he smiled a warm smile at me. The bus stopped, and though I was a little wary, I met the nice elderly couple, and the woman broke down crying! I asked her husband what the problem, and she pulled a picture out of her purse. The picture was of my mother and a young girl. I nearly fell over when I realized the little girl was me! These people were my grandparents!\n\nAfter a delicious dinner, I told them about the sweet cowboy who insisted on me meeting them. We saw the bus pull out, and I told them he was on the bus, and we should thank him. The driver stopped and asked what was wrong. I asked him if I could thank the cowboy in the back of the bus. He look puzzled at me, and said \"Sorry, but I don't have anyone like that on this bus!\"\n\nI stepped off, completely baffled. However, as I turned back to watch the bus leave, the cowboy waved to me, smiled, and disappeared!", "I slowly opened the door to the safehouse and called out into the darkness, \"Yo, I'm back with the food.\" The lights turned on one by one, revealing the rest of my crew sitting around the table at the center. \"Thank God,\" Lop-ear remarked. \"I thought if I had to go another minute without tacos, I was gonna--\" Lop-ear stopped talking when she saw the person trying to hide behind me.\n\nI slowly stepped aside as I said, \"Girls, this is Maddie.\" Maddie awkwardly waved and said, \"H--hi. Um, I don't want to sound rude but, were you guys just sitting in the dark while you were waiting?\"\n\nLop-ear glared at me. \"Beatdown, what the fuck?! You can't just bring a kid around here! What if their parents call the--\"\n\n\"They won't.\" Lop-ear looked at Maddie, whose hands were trembling in barely contained anger. \"They don't give a shit about me. Not anymore.\"\n\nI rested my hand on Maddie's shoulder. \"The kid's had a rough couple of days. Give her a seat at the table, will you?\"\n\nTiger Mom pulled out a chair for Maddie as she fretted over her. \"Are you okay, do you need something to drink?\"\n\n\"Uh, no, no. I'm okay, but thank you.\"\n\nCollar Queen glanced over at me as I sat back down and said, \"So, what's the story here?\"\n\n\"Found the kid when I hit up Theo's for our order. She was hiding under a bench and tried to lift my wallet. Brought her back here when she told me the details. Maddie, do you want me to tell them, or...?\"\n\n\"No. No, I can tell them.\" Maddie gulped and continued, \"I'm trans. I've been on HRT for about six months now. Last night, my parents... found out. They started screaming, and when I tried to tell them to stop, my dad grabbed his belt and... and hit me with it about a dozen times before throwing me out of the house. I--I tried to go to the Club of Heroes for help, but they weren't there. So, I just wandered the streets, trying not to starve or get murdered. I--I just wanted to stop feeling like--like a mannequin covered in stretched out skin instead of a person. And now, I...I...\" Maddie put her head on the table and started crying.\n\nBloodmaid reached over and held Maddie's hand gently. \"You're okay, Maddie. You're safe.\" Bloodmaid looked over at me and said, \"Now I see why you brought her here.\"\n\nMaddie looked up. \"What do you mean?\"\n\nI reached into my pocket and pulled out an ornate vial containing a luminescent blue serum. \"This right here is called the Aesir Formula. It's the concoction that gave us our powers. Super strength, indestructibility, unlimited stamina, and our more individually specialized abilities. And...we want you to have the option of drinking it.\"\n\nMaddie looked at me in shock. \"What?? You're--you're offering to let me into the War Sisters?\"\n\n\"Yeah, we are. But you gotta know what you're getting into.\"\n\nLop-ear nodded. \"You're gonna have to be okay with going to prison a couple of times.\"\n\nTiger Mom rested her hands on the table as she said, \"Finances are always going to be an issue.\"\n\n\"You'll probably get your ass handed to you a couple times,\" Collar Queen added.\n\n\"And the movers and shakers of the criminal underworld aren't liable to respect you anytime soon.\" Bloodmaid scrunched up her face as she spoke. \"If you're not a CEO, complete psychopath, or crazy sci-fi super-baddie, then you don't matter as far as they're concerned.\"\n\n\"But in return, you'll always have us in your corner,\" I responded. \"You'll see the world, learn all kinds of new skills, have the face and body you always wanted, and live as you please without law getting in the way. If you decide this isn't for you, then we'll set you up somewhere else where you'll be safe and leave you be. If it is for you, then you gotta drink the whole Formula in one go, even though it tastes like gasoline and vinegar. Your call here, Maddie.\"\n\nMaddie stared at the vial in silence. After an agonizing minute of deafening quiet, Maddie took the vial, popped the top off, and gulped the serum down. As she set down the bottle with a disgusted cringing expression, Maddie's body began to glow blue. The glow enveloped her entirely and then faded, leaving behind a woman with pinkish skin, pointed ears, light blue hair, and the same muscular physique as the rest of us.\n\nI got out of my chair and pulled Maddie into a brohug. \"Welcome to the War Sisters, Maddie.\"\n\n\"Thank you, Beatdown. But I'm definitely gonna need a better name than that.\"\n\nI looked at Maddie's back and pulled out of the hug in astonishment. A pair of nearly invisible wings had spawned out of Maddie's back, glistening slightly in the fluorescent light. As Maddie looked up and saw her new appendages, she grinned. \"Call me Sidhe.\"", "I was just returning to my base when I ran into him. A teenager. Man I hated them. Getting in the way of my fights, always saying I’m the “Bad Guy”. They need to get a grip. I passed by him when I noticed he was crying. I took a quick glance at him and realized all the bruises and scars covering his body. I could see the bruises through his hoodie. I stopped.\n\n“Hey kid. What’s up?”\n\nHe sniffed and told me his story. Abusive parents who say he’s a disgrace, relatives turning a blind eye when he’s getting hit, school that wouldn’t give a flying fuck about his problems and the kids that bully him. I could relate, that’s how I got here.\n\n“Man the world is just a fucked up place right now.” I said. (Like I’m making it any better)\n\n“What do you wish you could do to those people right now?\n\n“I want to hurt them, kill them even. Make them feel exactly how I felt all those times. Over and over they will feel the pain that I have felt all these years. They don’t deserve what they have, they don’t deserve anything but pain.”\n\nHoly shit. If this kid holds this resentment towards the world, he would make a great apprentice, or partner, fuck, even my successor. \n\n“Sounds cool, I guess”\n\nDid he just read my fucking mind?\n\n“Yeah? Can’t you do that? I thought everyone could.”\n\n“Hell no I can’t do that! This is awesome! Can you do anything else?”\n\n“I can make people relive their worst memories. It puts them in a comatose state. I’ve practiced on my parents when they would try and punch me. I could even make them think of me as their master.”\n\n“Kid, you will go down in history as my favorite teenager. Hell, you’ll go down in history as greatest villain!”\n\nWe headed back to base, I taught him all I know, and he got his wish. Just as I predicted, he went down into the hall of villains. He said I was the only true family that he ever had. That was the only time I ever cried.", "It’s been three days since I left my house. I couldn’t stay with her anymore. My mother, that is. She constantly drinks, and you don’t want to see her drunk. Without the effects of alcohol, she’s dangerous, but with it? There were a few times I thought I wasn’t going to survive. So, when she once again went to the bar, I packed up and left. Not that she’d notice. Anyways, here I am, in this nasty alley between a nightclub and an office building. I’ve been digging through the scraps of the garbage, hoping to find something halfway edible to eat. \nBANG \n“I told you three times already Carly, and I’m not saying it again! Figure it out, or you’ll be fired by the time I get to the office tomorrow morning!” I hear the random guy huff and hang up with the poor girl he was yelling at. I try to stay silent, but my foot slips on the crate I’m standing on and I fall with a yelp. \n“Hey! Who’s there?!” The man bellows. I see a light turn on and start scanning the walls around me. “Show yourself! I won’t hesitate to-” The light shines in my face. \n“Please, don’t hurt me!” I cry out. He visibly pauses before he squats down and reaches towards my arm. I flinch but when I reopen my eyes I see his fingertips covered in blood. My blood. “Shit!” I get up quickly and end up with my back against the wall. \n“Hey, hold on there, love. I’m not going to hurt you, you’re just a kid.” \n“I am not a kid. I’m 19.” He just looks at me with an eyebrow raised and his lips in a thin line. “Okay fine, so maybe I’m not 19. But either way, I don’t need your help, or anyone else's.” He again just glares at me. \n“Love, you obviously need help, but I can already tell you aren’t going to easily accept it now, are you?” \n“Damn right.” \n“Watch your mouth, kid. Come with me. At least let me take you to a bathroom so you can take care of that nasty gash.” \nFinally I give in, “Fine,” and then he’s walking back towards the club he came out of. He opens the door and holds it open for me, leading me through a maze of dim hallways before we get to a bathroom. I walk in, fully expecting him to stay in the hallway, but he follows me in. “Hey! Ever heard of privacy?” \n“No. Now let me see your arm.” In order to see it I have to take off my hoodie. Luckily, I have a tank top underneath. I slip it over my thin body and wince. Now that the adrenaline has run out, I can feel the pain in my arm. There's blood dripping down my arm, and fast. He quickly grabs a hand towel and wets it, wiping off the blood and holding it against the gash. I finally get a good look at him. He’s tall, at least a foot taller than me, with striking blue eyes and shoulder length brown hair. He’s actually kind of good looking. \nWait. I know who this is.. He runs all of the nightclubs in the city. He’s said to be a mob boss. He clearly sees the fear in my eyes and he says, “Relax, love. I’m not going to hurt you. And by the way, I’m not actually a mob boss like social media says. They just need someone to put the blame on, and I just so happen to be the only well known name around here.” \nHe sounds sincere. I tilt my head a bit, evaluating him. He doesn't look like a mob boss. Fuck it. I’ll trust him. “Okay. I believe you.” \nHe smiles. He slowly pulls the hand towel away, revealing the deep gash along my bicep. He grimaces before saying, “I know this isn’t what you want to here, but that is going to need stitches.” \n“No way. No way am I walking into a hospital. I was in that alley for a reason.” \n“I kinda figured. I know someone that can do it, and she won’t tell anyone. If you come with me, I can call her and get her here quickly.” \n“Promise she won’t tell anyone?” \n“I promise, love.” \n“Okay. Then let’s go.” I take the towel from his hand and hold it against my arm, wincing as I do. He opens the door and leads me down more dimly lit hallways before we get to a black wooden door. He pulls out a keycard and slides it in, opening the door. He leads me in and tells me to sit, so I sit on the black leather couch facing the door. He pulls out his phone and taps a few times before pressing it to his ear. A few seconds later, he starts talking. \n“Hey Lacy. Think you can do me a favor?” a few more seconds of silence. “Yeah, bring your stitch kit. And maybe some advil. Thanks Lace. Yep, see you soon.” \nHe hangs up and faces me. “She’s on her way. She should be here soon. Maybe 10 minutes max.” I nod softly, sinking into the couch. He opens a closet and pulls out a thick blanket. He walks towards me and drapes it over my legs and good arm. He sits down on the other side of the couch, looking at me curiously. \n“How old are you, love?” \n“I’m 17. I’ll be 18 in a few days, though.” \n“Okay. And your name?” \n“Marley.” \n“Well, hello Marley. I know you probably already know this, but I’m Ashton. You can call me Ash, though.” \nI smile softly. “Hi Ash. How old are you? You look a lot younger than you do on the news. And you definitely look too young to be a business owner.” \nHe chuckles. “I’m 22. I started the business when I was 18, and it just took off I guess.” \nKnock knock knock \nHe gets up to open the door, and in walks a girl that looks very similar to him. She must be his sister. \n“Lacy, this is Marley. She’s got a pretty nasty gash on her arm.” \n“Let me take a look.” She sits next to me and I remove the towel. She grabs a few things before putting rubbing alcohol on it. The distinct smell burns my nose, and the sting is enough to make me cry. But I won’t. I can’t. \nShe wipes off the rubbing alcohol and starts to stitch me up. “Shit!” I yell. It hurts like hell. Ash glares at me for my profanity, but right now, I don’t care. \nIt doesn't take long for her to finish the stitches. She rubs an ointment on it and covers it with a big bandage. She hands me two advil and I happily take them, swallowing the bitter pills as if it’s nothing. I sink into the couch, tears brimming my eyes. I beg them to go away. After a moment of Lacy and Ash talking, she leaves. \n“I’m not letting you go back into that alley, Marley. So you have two choices. Stay here, or stay at my house. A girl like you shouldn’t be out on the streets. I won’t send you to the police or anything, but you need to stay in a safe place.” \nI think for a second before saying, “I’ll stay here.” \n“Okay. But don’t think I’m going to leave you here alone.” \nI roll my eyes and sigh. But nonetheless, I pull my legs to my chest and cuddle under the blanket. Either this couch is ridiculously comfortable, or someone tied weights to my eye lids. Soon enough, I’m knocked out. \nI’m woken up by someone saying my name and brushing my hair out of my face. “Ash?” I say sleepily. \n“I’m right here, love. You were crying. Is everything alright?” \n“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Must've been a nightmare or something.” I look away, completely embarrassed. He lifts my chin up so i’m facing him, but I look anywhere but at his face. \n“Look at me, Love,” he says. And so, I look at him. “Tell me what happened. Why were you hiding out in that alley?” \nTears start freely flowing down my cheeks. “It's just. I couldn’t stay with my mom anymore. She was an abusive drunk. She has been since I was 12, when my dad died.” \nHe sat and listened to me go on and on. At some point, his hand went from holding my chin to wiping my tears, and eventually ended up holding my hands. \n“I know how you feel. When I was 15, I ran away from my dad. He had been abusing my mom and I, and when she up and left without me, it got even worse. I had to leave, for my own safety. Much like you, love.”", "\"Good guys and bad guys, heroes or villains, it’s all semantics really. After all, one government’s terrorists are the next’s freedom fighters. Treason is merely a matter of dates, after all.\n\n\"What is good? What is bad? What’s evil? What’s righteousness? Why do we praise those who do violence in the name of the state and condemn others? Why do we applaud people that accumulate more wealth than the could use in hundreds of lifetimes through unscrupulous means and vilify someone that shoplifts baby formula for their child? Why is the penalty for murder death?\n\n\"I’m labeled a villain, because those in power disapprove of my my methods. Nothing more, nothing less. Fuck ‘em.\"\n\n\"Most adults try not to swear around kids.\" Her long blonde hair hung over her face, almost hiding the purple and yellow bruise on her jawline. She was thin, all knees and elbows, and her clothes looked too big for her body. She could be anywhere between twelve and eighteen years old. I couldn’t tell under all the grime, really. \n\nI shrugged. \"Most adults only do what they do because they think it’s expected of them. Honestly, one day you’ll be old enough to be considered an adult and realize you’re just winging it. And then you’ll realize all the other adults are probably winging it too. All of us just playing along.\"\n\n\"Whatever.\"\n\n\"Seriously though, that’s my car you’re sitting on, and I got someplace to be.\"\n\nThe girl pulled her knees up to her chest, mismatched, untied shoes scuffing the hood of my car.\n\n\"So.\"\n\nIt wasn’t a question.\n\n\"Well. If I start driving with you on the hood, eventually physics will do it’s thing and you’ll fall off. Then it’ll do it’s thing again and you’ll probably break a bone or two, maybe get a nice head injury and internal bleeding.\"\n\nShe finally looked at me, blue eyes with pupils of different sizes. \n\n\"Aren’t you a villain? What do you care. You hurt people all the time. I see it on the news. Besides, blood is supposed to be inside.\"\n\n\"The fuck- Were you not listening to what just I said?\" \n\nI set my briefcase down, opened it, and punched in a code on the keypad inside. The big red numbers on display stopped counting down. \n\n\"Labels are arbitrary. I’m me, doing my best to do what I think is right.\"\n\nShe turned her whole body to face me, skinny legs in torn jeans now dangling over the side of my car, bouncing off the tires as she spoke. \n\n\"You rob banks.\"\n\n\"Those banks are all insured. They get all their money back.\"\n\n\"You ransom-wared a city.\"\n\n\"Because their building codes are allowing pointless commercial development at the expense of affordable housing. Besides, They just switched to off site backups. They lost maybe a day.\"\n\n\"So everything you do is for the ‘greater good?’\"\n\n\"My ends do justify my means, at least to me.\"\n\n\"Didn’t you blow up a building?\"\n\n\"That building was already messed up.\"\n\n\"That’s what you do then? Destroy what’s already broken?\"\n\n\"I’m trying to make the world a better place, but sometimes violence is the only language people understand.\"\n\n\"Right.\" She bundled herself back up, legs drawn tight to her chest again. She rested her head on her knees, and her hair brushed the metal she sat on. \"If you punch a problem hard enough, it’ll go away. That I understand.\"\n\n\"Look… shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t think-\"\n\nThe girl looked at me again, and her expression cut me off. It was hard. Harder than anyone that young should be able to make. Almost feral.\n\n\"Are you hiring?\"\n\n\"Am I what?\"\n\n\"Do you need a sidekick, or henchman, or apprentice or whatever?\"\n\nI strained my ears, listening for the tell-tale boom of a human body breaking the sound barrier. Nothing. Good. I had time. \n\n\"Why do you want to work with me?\"\n\n\"Because my parents hate you, and not much would make them madder.\" Then mumbled into the crook of her arm, \"They don’t get to control me anymore.\"\n\nThere it was. \n\n\"Look. I get it, I really do. I understand the whole ‘shit parents’ thing. Here,\" I undid my tie and top few buttons, pulling my collar to the side.\n\n\"See that?\" I pointed to a few battery-sized pink lumps now visible. \"Curling iron. She was careful to do it where my shirts would cover it up. I’ll take you on, if you want, but it has to be because you want it. Because if you’re only doing it because you think it’ll piss off your parents, you’re still letting them control you.\"\n\nI did my tie and collar back up while she chewed her lip, thinking. \n\n\"So?\" Mine was a question. \n\nThe girl hopped off my car, picked up my briefcase, opened it back up and spun it towards me, keypad waiting my input. She still had that hard, feral look, but now it had a purpose.\n\nI raised one eyebrow, silently asking ‘You sure about this?’\n\nShe nodded and said, \"Fuck ‘em.\"", "\"... and so, um, I ran away and now I'm, here, I guess?\"\n\nI sat beside him on the stoop and nodded along. The words were different but the tune was the same; one parent actively abusive, one parent passively standing by and letting the kid get hurt to protect themselves, siblings actively set at each others' throats and adults outside the immediate family ignoring what they didn't want to see. Until everything got to be too much and, knowing I couldn't rely on anyone else, I left. I knew this kid's story, because it was my story, and the story of so many kids out here.\n\nFuck society and those stuck-up do-gooders who think they're so much better than us when they don't have the slightest fucking clue what it's really like.\n\n\"Ain't that the fucking truth,\" The kid muttered, and I realised I'd said that out loud.\n\nI looked at the kid sidelong. Too thin, of course, but his eyes were burning and there were calluses and burns on his fingers that I recognised. I rubbed my own calluses and scars through my gloves. My fingers were suddenly itching for my soldering iron.\n\n\"So, kid,\" I said, \"what's your opinion of electronics and robotics?\"\n\nHe looked at me with a raised eyebrow. \"Doctor Electro, the scientist who makes the most advanced robotics in the world, is in front of me and asking me if I like robotics?\"\n\n\"First, thanks for respecting the Ph.D,\" I said, \"second, I didn't ask if you liked them, I asked what you thought of them.\"\n\nAnd the kid was off. Listening to him tell me about applications I hadn't thought of yet, I felt my cheeks beginning to twitch into a smile.\n\nAn apprentice, a contemporary, maybe a successor? A rival, a proper one, who would push me to new heights, who I would be able to both collaborate and compete with? Forget those stupid, annoying heroes, they were nothing beside the potential this boy held. Oh, this was going to be fantastic!\n\nAs the kid wound down, I grabbed the chance. \"Kid, would you like to be my apprentice?\"\n\n\"Not sidekick?\"\n\nI sniffed. \"Heroes have disposable cannon fodder that they call sidekicks. I want you to be my student and laboratory partner. You're already giving me ideas. Together, let's change the world!\"\n\nThe kid stood up and grinned. Already taller than my shoulder, dammit. \"Sounds good to me,\" he said.\n\nAs we walked down the street, I almost, but did not, say the cliché \"this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship\".\n\nI'm not a hero, after all." ]	7
	[WP] The power to steal other people's superpowers had gave you a terrible reputation. You're still determined to be a hero regardless.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "At birth we were all given powers and every-one thought that your power set a finite path of if you would be a worker, citizen, hero or villain but I wanted to change that.When i was born i was given a power to take powers. Everyone laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a hero and they all said \"You could never be a hero with that power, You will NEVER be a hero\". When I told my mom i wanted to go to a school for young heros she said ok because she wanted me to be different as well. Before I could control my powers I accidentally took others powers and because of that my peers despised me. When it was time to decide what high school i wanted to go to I decided I wanted to go to the hero school.\n\n As I sat in the interview room, the interviewer asked me what my power was and why I wanted to be hero. I told him I could take powers from others and gain the knowledge of how to use the power and said I wanted to be hero because I wanted to help people and prove those who laughed at me wrong. He sat and thought for a minute then he said \"I see you have quite a bad reputation\". \"That Was a-\". \"No need to explain. I know it was a accident because if it wasn't you would most likely be in the villian school. But I like your determination and your reasons but before I decide if you can get into this school I want you to demonstrate your mastery over your \"stolen powers\"'.", "\"I'm Leonard Wilberforce; and, on tonight's episode of Behind the Cape, we're joined by the much maligned Yoink, whose claim to herodom is backed up by the Guild of Good Guys, but whose ability to steal superpowers is controversial...to say the least\"\n\n\"Borrow. I borrow superpowers,\" you explain. \"I always give them back when I'm done.\"\n\n\"Except that's not exactly true is it,\" counters the journalist interviewing you. \"You didn't give Dr. Glow back his powers.\"\n\n\"His power was to be dangerously radioactive. Thousands of people died of radiation poisoning, and his rampage was a symptom of his own radiation sickness. He doesn't want that power back, and I have the option of not using the power in a way he didn't.\"\n\n\"Fair enough,\" Leonard concedes with a sly smile, \"Of course, you didn't give Timeless back his power either, did you.\"\n\nWith a resigned sigh, you look at your feet. \"How was I supposed to know he was 4,000 years old and would instantly age to dust?\" After a moment's regretful contemplation, you again lock eyes with your interviewer. Determinedly, you add, \"And he consented! He was temporally anchored with chronoton-infused ultra-titanium shackles. There was no other way to defeat the Stitch in Time!\"\n\n\"Maybe you should have 'borrowed' Captain Smartypants' super-intelligence first, then, shouldn't have you?\" the journalist quips.\n\n\"First of all, Captain Smartypants wasn't there. Second of all...\"\n\n\"Moving on,\" Leonard interjects. \"It's not exactly an obvious superpower, is it? Not like flight or prehensile ponytails or anything like that. How did you first discover your abilities?\"\n\nJolted by the sudden turn of topic, you can't help but smile thinking back on that day. \"I was really little when the Emergence happened, and at the time a lot of people thought that some sort of supersoldier serum was being added into the water supply like flouride.\"\n\n\"Many still pursue evidence of that explanation.\"\n\n\"And they probably think the moon landing was faked too, but the point was that my parents had a little homestead with its own well water. So they dropped everything and moved us out into the middle of nowhere. I had no idea that superheroes were popping up all over the place.\"\n\n\"So your parents were cape-phobes?\"\n\n\"I wouldn't put it like that, nobody had any ideas about what was happening, and most of the news stories back then weren't exactly flattering about people who suddenly looked very different or didn't know how to control their powers. I was, what...fifteen or sixteen before the Guild of Good Guys was even founded?\"\n\nThe journalist nods general agreement, and gestures for you to continue your story.\n\n\"So, one summer day, I was out hiking in the woods near our homestead. I was welve at the time, just starting to get the itchy feet for the world beyond our backyard. I'd been reading Huckleberry Finn as a home school project, and he was about the same age I was. Our little creek was too small for a raft, but I went out in search of adventure just the same.\"\n\n\"I'm sure many of our viewers can relate to that.\"\n\n\"So, I'm just walking around, collecting pretty rocks and generally getting grass stains on my knees, when I hear fighting and some sounds that could have been straight out of a saturday morning cartoon. Explosions and pew pew pew and the like.\"\n\n\"This would have been the showdown between Laser Lad and Adam Bomb,\" Leonard clarified for the audience.\n\n\"Yeah, not that I knew that at the time for the reasons we just discussed. However, when I broke the tree line into the clearing where they were going at it, it was plain as day Adam Bomb was the bad guy. Laser Lad was shouting stuff like 'You'll never get away with this,' and Adam Bomb blew up my favorite climbing tree for no good reason, just to show off.\"\n\n\"So you intervened?\"\n\n\"Heck no. I knew I was out of my depth. What I didn't know was how loud my 'Holy <bleep>' was. Both of them turned and looked at me at the same time, and I knew my number was up. With a sudden boom at his feet, Adam Bomb launched himself in my direction. Just scooped me up in the blink of an eye, and there was nothing Laser Lad could do.\"\n\n\"Adam Bomb held you hostage. How did that make you feel?\"\n\n\"I guess I probably should have been scared; but, really, I was just too surprised to even be scared in that moment. This absolute gorilla of a man is lobbing grenades from thin air at a teenager not much older than me whose got this strange mechanical helmet strapped to his head that shoots lasers. Except, it didn't take long for me to realize that only I could see the grenades or the helmet. Adam Bomb would throw a punch that I swore should have knocked the helmet clean off Laser Lad's head, but it just whiffed through midair. Likewise, Laser Lad never seemed to know where the next explosion was going to be, though I could clearly see the path of the grenade in the air.\"\n\n\"So how did your power come into play?\"\n\n\"Haha, well don't tell mom but my dad used to watch some movies like Die Hard and whatnot with me when she was away visiting family or whatnot. Anyway, I'd seen a hostage scene dozens of times, and the best case was always when the hostage managed to grab the bad guy's gun.\"\n\n\"So you grabbed Adam Bomb's bombs.\"\n\n\"Right as he was negotiating with Laser Lad, yeah. He was making demands about a getaway helicopter or something. Wasn't even paying attention to me, really, but I could see all sorts of explosives strapped to Adam Bomb's chest. I didn't recognize all of them, but I knew a grenade when I saw one. I yanked one then shouted 'Drop me, dirtbag, or you're gonna get blown up too!'\"\n\n\"Did he realize his powers were gone?\"\n\n\"Oh yeah. He immediately tried to kill me for my insolence, but found he couldn't. Laser Lad used the distraction to knock Adam Bomb right off his feet. By this time, I could feel the little grenade about to go off in my hands, so I chucked it as hard as I could...which wasn't actually that far because I was not little league material. Next thing I knew, I was in the hospital with my parents worried sick and like half the founding members of what would shortly be called the Guild of Good Guys all standing around my bed telling me how brave I had been. That's better than ice cream for a kid, you know?\"\n\n\"A heartwarming memory for you it seems,\" observed the journalist, \"but it seems clear to me from the very first use of your abilities, you dabbled with things you didn't really understand and someone got hurt.\"\n\n\"I was fine, just a concussion and some ringing ears.\"\n\nLeonard's tone became increasingly accusatory. \"But over the years, there's been more than a dozen cases where your 'borrowing' caused collateral damage, often because you didn't really understand the power you took. We all recognize that new superheros are a bit more risky to send into a fracas than their seniors, but we accept that as a necessary step in their growth. You, however, can't grow like that. Even now twenty years into your career every new enemy is a new power you don't understand.\"\n\n\"I mean, laser beams are the same whether they come from your eyes or your hands or wherever. I've got plenty of practice with most of the stuff that's out there.\"\n\n\"What about Gravitron's gravity powers? He said the only reason its safe for him to use his powers at all are because he's got a Ph.D. in physics. Would you borrow his powers?\"\n\n\"Maybe? If the emergency was bad enough?\"\n\n\"What emergency is so bad that you'd risk creating a black hole?\"\n\n\"I dunno, maybe the earth got knocked out of its orbit or something?\"\n\n\"Are you confident you could fix that problem if, for whatever reason, Gravitron was out of commission? Do you even know the first thing about orbital mechanics?\"\n\n\"Would you rather I did nothing? Just let the Earth get swallowed by the sun, or whatever? All of us capes make mistakes sometimes, but we do our best when nobody else can.\"\n\nTurning to the camera, Leonard addresses the audience. \"I leave that to the viewer to decide. This has been Behind the Cape with Yoink. Honorable understudy or forever freshman? Tune in next week for our interview with Landslide - down to earth or buried alive?\"" ]	3
	[WP] Humans are constantly kidnapped by aliens for one specific purpose. Their long fingers and precision in hand movement make them perfect for giving belly rubs and back scratches.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " I always KNEW animals were more intelligent than most people gave them credit for. Turns out, i was right.\n I have always said earth was ghetto. Always made jokes that humans are an invasive species and they have ruined the planet and it's now inhabitable. Always joked about how the aliens should just take me (and made jokes about on how my life was cushy enough i would definitely let them probe). I never, not EVER expected to ACTUALLY be abducted!\n It was so funny it was almost absurd! In cliche fashion i was beamed up into a flying saucer. By the way, if you ever get the opportunity to get beamed up into a flying saucer you should totally do it. It's so much fun!\n When i was beamed up i was beamed up into a disinfectant chamber/airlock room. There was red light, some mist, totally dramatic so i didn't know it at the time. \n The door opened up and i was greeted with a table of junk food. I'm talking jerky, chips, frapes, and so much more! On the other side of the table was the strangest sight. An animal person wearing glasses, clothes, footwear of some sort, and a lab coat. When my eyesight adjusted i could tell it was an orange tabby humanoid kind of thing. They look very cute and fluffy. I couldn't stop looking at their (her?) ears. I just wanted to touch them soooo bad!!!\n \"Hi! I know this is a bit rude and unexpected but we would like to present you with an opportunity. We did some research on you and found out that you are the perfect candidate for our immigration program as well as a highly respected and esteemed career. Your pay will be good and your career will earn you a social status that will keep you in high regards. Would you like to hear more?\"\n \"Yes! I totally would. Please tell me more!\" I bursted out. I was so excited i couldn't contain myself! I mean she looked like a tabaxi from DND. Soooo badasssss. And i get to leave earth? Heck YEAH.\n \"Great! My name is Tabitha, you may call me Tabbie for short and yes i am aware of the irony. Using they/them pronouns is pretty universal for our kind but you may use she/her pronouns when referring to me. I don't mind at all. You are... Jessica Steeleborne, correct? And you yourself use she/her pronouns?\" she said. When she paused one of the lenses on her glasses lit up ever so slightly. It also became slightly opaque. It might have been just me being nerdy but I would have bet my left toe on the glasses also being some sort of tech.\n I nodded\n \"Great! Feel free to help yourself to whatever is on the table while i go over the career fiestas it is the main reason why we are here. There are other career offers available but i have a feeling you'll really love this one. Plus, it's the one of the careers in most high demand.\"\n \"The position is what we call a 'touch specialist'. Yes i am aware how that might sound dirty to some people. Think of it as being a massage therapist. You would be scratching the backs of people's ears, rubbing their bellies and other massage types of tasks. Some people will become disarmed and treat you as a regular therapist too. If you want to study psychology as well to help with this part of the job you can. Your pay will increase if you decide to do both. We will guide you through the proper techniques. Don't worry about arthritis or carpel tunnel as we have the cure for most ailments that are current problems for people on earth today. Both human and otherwise. Are you still interested? If so we can start discussing lodging and go more into detail about everything tomorrow and we can give you a proper meal. Feel free to ask any questions as well\"\n \"Okay... I only have one question, right now because I'm pretty sure all my other questions you will answer in the near future.\" i pause to look at her to confirm. When she nodded i continued with \"why the flying saucer?\"\n She visibly relaxed and laughs out \"it's funny and some humans are actually have an easier time being 'abducted' because it's a familiar concept. And when some of our abductees decide against our offers and if they for some reason remember being abducted others won't believe them. Hiding in plain sight if you will. Its also a good conversation topic among earthlings.\"\n \"I lied. I have another question. Are you from another planet or the future?\"\n \"Both? We travel via black hole and our two prominent theories are parallel universe and future earth. We don't have any definite answers yet. But our studies do support the intelligence and awareness behind your planets animals. Humans are just too conceited to tell\"", "Silent space the perfect soundtrack for the heavenly bodies to dance to in the infinite cosmic ballet. Expedition ship FLNE-9 sailed through the cosmos, seeking out new lifeforms to study first, then make contact if they were ready. The intergalactic scout ship top of the line, able to adapt and accommodate even the most foreign of lifeforms. The static crackle of the FTL transporter filled the rumpus room.\n\nOlivia Thomson, a slightly pudgy young woman clothed in polka dotted pajamas blinked into the room. Her long raven hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail, thick framed glasses dominated her chubby face.\n\nMeow! Meow! Yelled the two black cats that approached Olivia. They took turns bashing their heads against her legs. Olivia was dumbfounded, did she crash her car on that lonely road? This couldn't be real. Before she could fully take in her surroundings an older man approached her and extended his frail, wrinkled hand.\n\n\"Chris D'Amato, pleasure to meet you young lady.\" Chris said in his almost comical new york accent. His wrinkled face warm and welcoming. A fat orange cat was rubbing against Chris' leg, a tiny calico kitten perched on his shoulder.\n\n\"What in the bloody hell is going on?\" Olivia asked. The calico kitten leapt from Chris' shoulder to hers. It loudly meowed in Olivia's ear.\n\n\"She wants you to pet her. I'm gonna take a guess that you was out late on Earth and saw three swirling green lights?\" Chris asked.\n\n\"How on Earth did you know that?\" Olivia's confusion increased. She'd gotten into a fight with her boyfriend, went for a drive out in the countryside to clear her head. The lights seemed to be following her for miles, a bright flash of light was the last thing Olivia remembered.\n\n\"Same thing happened to me in nineteen forty-three on a naval boat in the Pacific. Same lights brought all of us here. Gotta tell yas somethin important, we ain't on Earth no more. We're somewhere in deep space, been hurtling through it for a while now.\" Chris' gruff voice carried a gentle, grandfatherly tone.\n\nOlivia started to cry. \"That's madness! That can't be true!\" She collected herself and gazed around. The rumpus room of the FLNE-9 is designed to replicate the natural habitat and living conditions of its subjects. This particular rumpus room mimicked a cozy park on a perfect spring day. Ambient temperature of seventy two degrees Fahrenheit or twenty-two degrees Celsius. Low humidity with partly cloudy skies was the forecast every day, unless changes were requested by its inhabitants.\n\nTall multi-level cat trees dotted the rumpus room, the floor a sea of cat toys. Scratching posts and pads were all torn to shreds. Thirty-seven felines were the majority of the room's population, the now six human occupants the minority.\n\nChris motioned for Olivia to follow him as he started to shamble across the room towards two large tinted glass doors. \"Let me shows ya around, then I'll introduce yas to the rest of the crew. Sorry if I walk slow, these old legs ain't as spry as they used to be.\"\n\nOlivia followed him, they stopped to pet each cat along the way. The automatic doors led to a stark sterile white hallway that seemingly went on forever. Dark glass doors equally placed on each side of the hallway. Chris led Olivia into the fourth door on the left, the room was the size of a large flat. No furniture, only a stack of small white cubes in the corner. A fluffy white feline was batting one of the cubes around, with each paw the cube morphed into a different toy. First a ball with a bell in it, then a plush rat, finally a crinkled ball of paper.\n\n\"The cubes are made of some kind of quantum flux material. They can morph into different shapes and textures. Once we upload your data you can use them to decorate your place. We got all of the comforts of home here. Big living quarters with your closet and kitchen on the right, you know how to cook? I was the cook on the boat when I got scooped.\" Chris asked.\n\n\"I know how, just not very good at it.\" Olivia quipped.\n\n\"You're gonna love this then!\" Chris placed his hand on a large touchscreen that ran along the wall. \"What I wouldn't give for two Nathan's hotdogs, the kind they serve at Coney Island. With hot mustard, sauerkraut, and relish.\"\n\nAn animated egg timer flashed on screen; slowly counting down.\n\nDing!\n\nA section of the wall opened up, a silver tray slid out with two perfect looking hotdogs. Chris snatched one quickly and took a large bite. \"Oh, that's the stuff. So good.\" He finished the hotdog quickly. \"You want the other one?\" He asked.\n\nOlivia hesitantly took the food. It smelled normal, the sauerkraut pungent. She took a small nibble, it was fantastic. As she ate the white cat sat defiantly at her feet.\n\nMeow! Meow! Meow! It yelled while pawing at Olivia's pajama pants. Chris chuckled and put his hand back on the touchscreen. \"And uh, some wet food for lieutenant snowball, the kind he likes.\"\n\nAnother egg timer, another ding. The lieutenant dashed over to the small bowl of wet food, ignoring everything else. Chris directed Olivia over to the far end of the room, a section of the wall slid away revealing a mostly empty closet. Inside the closet hung two standard issue holo-flex suits. Each suit able to change its appearance through holographic projections, advanced sensor arrays monitored each inhabitant's vital signs along with any other pertinent data.\n\nChris handed Olivia a suit. \"Go ahead and get changed then come meet the rest of the crew. I know this is a lot to take in but it ain't so bad here. Don't gotta pay no mortgage, the suits keep us healthy, free food, crew is nice. Them aliens running the ship are a bit freaky lookin but they don't bother us none as long as we follow the rule.\"\n\n\"Rule?\" Olivia interjected. She was the rebellious type.\n\n\"The rule is you pet the cats when they want to be pet. Them aliens ain't got no appendages to pet them with. So they use us. In reality them pussies hold all the power. I always knew they was up to something. Didn't know it was galactic domination. Nice to be included I guess.\" Chris smiled and exited the room, lieutenant snowball hot on his heels.\n\nOlivia stared out the porthole, nothing but empty darkness. She sighed heavily, what a cruel fate. Olivia was more of a dog person.", "The aliens come in the night, \n abducting humans for their own nefarious purposes. \nThey take us from our homes, \n from our families and loved ones. \nWe're never seen again, \nexcept for the occasional abductee \nwho escapes and tells their tale. \nWhat do they want from us? \nSome say they need our DNA, \nothers say they want our bodies. \nBut I believe the truth is much simpler: \nThey just want us \nto give them belly rubs \nand back scratches. \nThat's why they take only the fittest, \nthe ones with long fingers and precise hand movement. \nThey groom us and pamper us, \nmaking us into the perfect pets. \nAnd we love it, \neven though we know, we're being used. \nBecause who doesn't love to give a good belly rub? \n\n\nwritten with the help of [you.com](https://you.com)", "I fluttered my eyes open, my eyes slowly adjust to the dimly lit room, standing before me was an Alien with purple skin. I blinked a few times, I was sat on concrete floor. Cuffs behind my back. The Purple Alien stared at me, its eyes beginning to look more like a puppy wanting attention than an Alien wanting to torture me or experiment on me. I sighed, hoping the rumors weren't true. Hoping I wouldn't have to treat this Alien like a dog. \n\n\"Do you know why you're here?\" The Alien spoke, its voice sounding as though he'd sucked up some helium. A cold sweat trickled down my spine, fearing for the worst. I gulped. \n\n\"You want me to give you belly rubs and back scratches right?\" I huffed, hoping for something else. I'd probably say I'd take torture in this scenario. However, this WAS torture. I had my own dog back at home and I didn't want to pet hundreds if not thousands of them on an Alien ship. God, I shouldn't have taken that sleeping tablet. \n\nThe Aliens eyes beamed at me, I could almost see its tail frantically wagging now. If it did, a tornado would appear within 2 seconds. I lowered my head. Why me? \n\n\"Well then?\" It piped up, I lifted my head and rolled my eyes. This was indeed going to be the death of me. \n\n\"Fine, let's just get this over with.\" I agreed, a key formed in its small 3 fingers and it trodded its way towards me. For a moment there, I was tempted to say I had a dog of my own. I feared if I'd said that, they might end up kidnapping my dog or shape-shifting into it if they figured out how. \n\nI stared at my wrists, it was 4:50 according to my watch. The Alien spun round before crouching down, shuffling towards my direction. I began.\n\n\"Hey, you're pretty good human. Is this from experience?\" The Alien asked, turning its giant head to face me. The curiosity inside me began to burn brighter. I began to wonder the consequences of my response. \n\n\"Yeah.\" I frowned, the Alien drew a large smile and whistled. Suddenly, more began to appear from a single door in the corner. I didn't even know that was there. \n\n\"So then, you ALL want my attention???\" I asked, they all nodded in sync. \"Alright then, form a line.\" I ordered, they did as they were asked. From then, I knew I would be seeing them more often. I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck into my home. Maybe being a cat person won't be so bad after all. Then again, I think this would be worth it if I got to miss work. Welp, there goes my sleep schedule.", "What remains of the overwhelming shock of terror has been drained out of my body by the time the alien actually enters the same room as me. They are a massive blue biped that brings to mind an ancient dinosaur, covered in spiky scales.\n\n\"Okay so, just so I have this whole thing straight,\" I say. \"You kidnapped me from my home planet and are holding me here because...you need someone to scratch your back?\"\n\n\"Well, when you put it like that it sounds ridiculous,\" the alien replies.\n\n\"Have you considered that it might just be ridiculous?\"\n\n\"Look I know its silly,\" the alien says. \"But...I'm dying here man, can't you just scratch my back just a little bit?\"\n\n\"I mean...if I do this will you bring me back home?\"\n\n\"Of course!\" He says eagerly, like an addict waiting for another dose. \"I-I swear!\"\n\nI sigh.\n\n\"Fine.\"\n\nThe alien approaches me and turns their back. Hesitantly, I lean forward and dig my fingers into the grooves in between their scales. Their entire body shudders as they exhale a long sigh. Their shoulders droop, its as if they're falling asleep standing up.\n\nI mean, if it helps, why not?" ]	6
	[WP] A king offers criminals a choice. They can serve their prison sentence or choose between 2 doors: one leads to freedom, the other to a chamber where they will be slowly tortured to death. As a thief, you must choose: 10 years in prison or a door.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I look at the king and say,\n\n”so, if we guess the correct door, we can go free, but if we guess the wrong door, we get tortured” I ask the king, who is right out side our cell\n\n”Yes, or you can take your sentence and rot in here” The king states\n\n”how long will the torture go on for” I ask\n\n”as long as I want it to” the king said\n\n”will you not come after us if we choose the right door” asked my cellmate, Mason\n\n”no, you will be pardoned of all crimes you have committed in the past, but not the future” the king said\n\nI must look conflicted because the king says\n\n”you do not have to choose now, I will be back at dawn’s first light for your decision” the king says, as he turns to leave\n\nI go back to lie on my cot. I can see how I would rot away in this place. I start thinking about what to do. On the one hand, I have a 50/50 shot at a fate worse than death or freedom, but I would probably die in less than 2 years of starvation, dehydration, or disease, but if I go in there, I don’t want a chance at tortured within an inch of my life. Then I see an opportunity slither across the ground. A snake. I tenderly grab it and put it under my shirt. \n\n“I don’t care what you do, but I am choosing a door. I am not rotting here and if I get tortured, I get tortured. Make your pick soon Davis” Mason says sleepily\n\ndawns first light\n\ni got no sleep last night, in preparation for the pick. I found the snake a rat to tide him over for the day. I hear someone approaching, and mason and I stand up. The king is at the door, with 2 guards.\n\n“ have you made your decision“ the king questions\n\n”yes, I’ll do it” mason and I say.\n\n”excellent” the king\n\nthe 3 of them lead us down a hall to a room with 2 identical doors. I look at one of the doors, and suddenly, it gets shoved open and I get shoved in. I fall on my back and see mason slamming the door shut. I pick myself and see 4 other guards in front of me\n\n”come with us” the one on the far left says.\n\n”Nooooo” I scream\n\nthe middle right guard grabs my arm and pulls me after him, I can’t even hit myself in the stomach where the snake is because they grab my other arm too\n\ni get pulled to a room with a throne and thrown on the floor. The man in the throne says\n\n”good job, you won”\n\n”I-I-I’m not going to be tortured?” I stutter \n\n”no, this path lead to freedom. I also saw what your cellmate did, he will be going to torture.”\n\nI just breath a sigh of relief as they open the doors of the room to a meadow.\n\n”you will live here for as long as you live”\n\nI start to walk toward the door when he says\n\n”I would also like the snake back“\n\nI turn around and give him the slumbering snake", "It’s a fifty - fifty. C’mon Robert! You can’t let Lysa raise your kid herself! The doors are the better option. I know it. Robbing the cart was your choice! My choice.\n\nBut what else could have I done. We needed that money. The last war took a lot out of the commoners. The kings and courtiers don’t understand that of course. How could they. They take their taxes and produce in the name of protecting the people and let others fight their wars.\n\nHow many have shed their blood for them!? Meanwhile even old Tommy from the town lost an arm fighting for them- and he fought in the battle of Redrimmed Gulf during the Westland Way war with my grand father! \n\nThis time, because of the young princeling’s callousness, the Northern Heirfants waged a war against us that lasted all spring and half of summer! Barely any crops were sowed at all, much less to give taxes and leases and last through winter. The orphans, the widows, the families of the cripples this war caused were going to go hungry, I couldn’t let this go. It’s just not what good barons do. Even the most lowly and poor ones. We ought to care for the people in our lands. The same way a certain king should have cared. \n\nI look to Sam. Lord Sam, overlord of the Goldfields. My secret associate in this madness of a scheme.\n\n“It’s time. The king wants you to make your choice.” He says to me. This man, my overlord, my mentor. My friend. My true father.\n\n“ I trusted you with my life, once, Sam, back at Baywatch Creek. Now I trust you with my kin’s.”\n\n“ God be with ye, Rob.” He says inclining his head to the right. \n\nHe’s never led me astray before.\n\n“ Aye. And if not, you will. Goodbye Sam.”\n\nI walk through the right door.\n\n——— + ——— + ———\n\nThat was over ten years ago… I reread Lysa’s letter again. Few sentences standout. \n“Lord Sam Mortsem of Topper Keep, Earl of the Goldfields has died, defending the king in the Bamry Sword war. He passed his titles to you.”\n“The old king is dead. The new king’s coronation will be in a fortnight.”\n“ I need you. Your son needs you. He needs his Sam.”\n\nI chose the door to freedom. A conditional freedom, over my sentence. A freedom with terms over 10 years in prison. A freedom with no name, nor titles. A freedom away from home. \n\nI stayed true to those terms. I honoured them, and with them my last king too. But now my sentence has passed, and the old king is dead. \n\nLong live the king!\n\n~ fin ~", "I had never felt so intimidated as the heavy iron doors gazed down upon me; prompting me to make judgement on my own fate. How could this decision be so torturous? Why would he give me this option?\n\nThe kings reign has been shrouded in chaos, torment and betrayal. Trust this sociopath to develop such a fallacious plot. Has he not generated enough mystery in this world through his assertion of power? I cannot give this man the pleasure of providing me with the means to determine my own fate. He is a tyrant.\n\nA lot can happen in a decade, it is a considerable amount of time, however, I would happily renounce a decade from my life as oppose to a lifetime. I must make a decision.\n\nAs Petr contemplated the Kings decision, whispers were gaining pace at the rear end of the courtroom. A group of four clergymen had just left the room in a mildly distressed state. The head of the kings guard began to look agitated as the room became tense. The king was unaware of this developing tension. He remained slumped across his thrown. Biting the remaining stubs of his nails whilst pondering on the ingenuity of his most recent scheme.\n\nCries and cheers started to develop outside the court room, I could not determine the topic of their protest but it was obviously concerning to the kings guard and wider audience. The king pressed me to make a decision but I was not ready. As a stood there silently contemplating my fate, the door at the end of the room once again opened. The cheering grew louder but I could still not determine the purpose of their protest. I turned around to look at the developing commotion around me and there he stood, my decision was final.", "A gambler has to know when to double down.\n\n\"Ten years imprisonment.\" The sentence is declared with the finality of doom, with the impassivity of common disconcern. The voice of a man who's decreed similar sentences for so many years he no longer even listens to himself speak.\n\nThe guards tug at the chains; the prisoner's time in the courtroom is over.\n\n\"Wait!\" Lelan shouts, frantic desperation in his voice. \"The Royal Edict. I can enter a trial for my freedom. It's my right!\"\n\nThe courtroom, which had begun to fill with the usual disinterested babble of the observers, falls silent.\n\nLelan swallows, mouth dry. It's a gamble, but right now the only future he can see is being out of the game for so long his kids will be adults, his network will be in tatters, and his reputation will be ruined before he sees the light of day again. A royal trial could be the death of him, but what was languishing ten years in prison but another kind of slower death?\n\nThe judge peers over at Lelan, a scowl on his forehead. \"You only bring this up now? If you were going to petition for a royal trial, you should have filled out the paperwork before you entered the courtroom.\"\n\n\"I didn't think it would be necessary,\" Lelan protested. \"I'm entirely innocent, I thought I had nothing to lose. I thought this would be justice.\"\n\nThe judge's expression doesn't change, but Lelan hears a ripple of laughter through the room behind, titters and scoffing. It's all he can do not to turn, grin, and bow to the observers with a knowing wink. His reputation precedes him. No one could possibly believe he's innocent. But he has to keep up the facade, for legal purposes. Proper deniability, and all that. Never confess. Never acknowledge.\n\nThe judge leans back in his chair and waves a hand for the royal aide. A thin, mousy fellow with perpetually unkempt hair, the aide scurries forward. \"Send for the trialkeeper. Tomorrow at dawn, Lelan Althef will stand for his royal trial. Now, get him out of my courtroom.\"\n\nA gambler has to know when to go all in.\n\nIn the dim predawn light, Lelan stands on an elevated platform between jeering crowds of onlookers. He smiles and waves cheekily; a few of the more credulous or romantic among them shout in support rather than condemnation, but he has far too many enemies for their voices to matter.\n\nHe has been standing here for nearly half an hour, his extremities growing progressively colder in the morning chill, waiting while word spreads and the crowd assembles.\n\nThe trialkeeper steps forward, finally. A ripple of shushing as the assembled onlookers silence one another.\n\n\"Today, we stand for the royal trial of Lelan Althef. The King's decree is as follows:\"\n\nEight muscled assistants are carrying a heavy flat object, like a table with no legs, up the steps to the platform. Lelan follows them with his eyes, while straining to catch every word of the trialkeeper's reading.\n\n\"The prisoner will be given three choices. He may accept his sentence of ten years imprisonment.\"\n\nThe assistants set up the object on its end, revealing it to be a wooden door. Deep red wood, carved with intricate symbols, and bearing a glowing character. 'ONE'.\n\n\"The prisoner may instead be slowly tortured to death.\"\n\nLelan stares around at the trialkeeper, unable to keep his jaw from dropping. What kind of choice is that? He's so distracted he misses the assistants bringing up the second door, this one a dark grey wood, just as elaborately decorated, and adorned with the glowing character 'TWO'.\n\n\"Or, the prisoner may be set free to a land far from here, where he may live in peace without troubling our city.\"\n\n\"I'll take option three, please,\" Lelan calls, to much laughter.\n\nThe trialkeeper lowers his scroll long enough to glare over the page at Lelan, then clears his throat pompously before continuing.\n\n\"If the prisoner chooses not to serve his sentence, he will select among the other two by way of this Royal Trial: Two doors stand before you. One leads to freedom, the other to slow and painful death.\"\n\nAnd there it was. Fifty-fifty. A flip of a coin.\n\n\"How long do I have to make my decision?\" Lelan's voice rasps from his dry throat, all his earlier flippancy gone. His heart speeds up in anticipation. Fear. Excitement.\n\n\"You may consider as long as you wish. This choice, after all, will define the rest of your life.\"\n\nShouts of advice or of derision from the crowd fade away. Lelan focuses only on the two doors before him. The choice between life and death.\n\nHe holds out his manacled wrists to his escort, who glances at the trialkeeper once for confirmation before releasing him.\n\nThen Lelan walks slowly toward the space between the two doors.\n\nThis is it. Last chance at freedom.\n\nFlicking quick glances to the crowd and the waiting guards, he slowly walks around the red door labeled ONE. The symbols on it are far beyond anything he's studied. He gets the sense that it's a way to turn the door into a portal to somewhere else, but he could have known that just by listening to the trial's description. Portable portals, one to safety in a distant land, one to the most sadistic of the king's torturers.\n\nThe door labeled TWO is no clearer. Grey wood, carved in similar style but completely different patterns. Nothing about the patterns reveals the door's nature or destination. Just spirals and geometric shapes, with occasional spellwork.\n\nLelan circles again, glancing out across the crowd. Part of his mind is still focused on the choice, another part frantically scrambles to form some alternative plan. Some way to run, escape into the sea of strangers, but even without his manacles he's too distinctive of a figure. No one here cares enough to help hide him, and none of the guards are lax in their posture. His chances would be better breaking out of the courtroom than running away from this trial.\n\nChoose a door. Flip a coin. Live or die.\n\nLelan stops abruptly and whirls back to face the trialmaster. \"I have made my choice.\"\n\nA gambler has to know when to fold.\n\n\"I choose to serve my initial sentence.\"\n\nSometimes the only way to win is not to play at all.", "\"Seriously? 10 years in prison for stealing enough food to feed my family? Or possibly being tortured to death? Those are my options?\"\n\n\"Well you could get lucky and pick freedom...\"\n\n\"Still, doesn't that seem unusually cruel? Number one, I didn't hurt anyone. Hell, I didn't even bring a weapon. I slipped a lock in the middle of the night and took a weeks worth of groceries so my kids wouldn't go to sleep starving and crying. Number two, if you hadn't outsourced my mining gig to the dwarves, I wouldn't have lost my job in the first place and could have afforded all of that food with two days of work. And you think that's worth TEN years of my life, just languishing in a cell? Over groceries?! What kind of king are you?\"\n\n\"I? I am the beacon of Justice! The one who'll erase the-\"\n\n\"Shut up, you don't know shit about Justice. If you did, you'd arrest half of your own guardsmen for assault, rape, theft, illegal search and seizure, illegal arrests, and straight up murder. Just the other day I saw one of your guards approach a youth who was simply eating his dinner whilst atop his wagon and Immediately shoot the kid with his crossbow. Luckily he escaped and was later treated at the apothecary but that sounds like straight up attempted murder to me. Your guard never identified himself and tried to kill a child who was simply Eating On His Wagon. And that kind of shit happens Every Day, All Over your kingdom. And yet you think I'M the criminal who deserves 10 years behind bars? Where exactly is the JUSTICE in that?!\"\n\n\"I uh... um. Hmm... If that's true... Guard, take him back to holding. And see that he's fed. I need to meet with my advisors. I think someone may be doctoring my weekly reports. Mayhap I need to conduct a little internal investigation. I won't stand for corruption in the ranks! Not on my watch!\"", "I looked at the doors in disbelief. In one door I could be set free and all of this will be forgotten, but behind the second door I could be subjected to something far worse than the kings jail.\n\nDo I dare take that chance? \n\nI thought of my little brother waiting for me to come through the door with at least some bread. That's all I wanted was some food to put in front of my brother. \n\nIf I don't come home he'll think I abandoned him like our mother did so long ago.\n\n I shook these thoughts out of my head and looked again at the doors. \n\nThey were identical. Brown wood that was warping around the edges with iron brackets holding the wood together. The rust on the brackets a dull orangeish red color. As I looked down at the handles of the doors they both had rust on them but the left one was rustier. It was most likely used more. \n\nPeople probably thought that the one that looked more used is the good option. I don't know though it could just be a ruse to get people down into the chamber. \n\nI started sweating as I felt eyes on me. I looked up at the crowd of people here. This was a sick game to them. It wasn't their loved one down in the pit forced to make this decision so they didn't care. I was like a monkey forced to dance to music as they threw peanuts and coins at me. \n\nI took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. I walked forward. I reached my hand out towards the right door handle the one not that rusty. I looked up to the king and his face was cold and emotionless. I couldn't tell if I was picking the door to freedom or my demise. \n\nI turned to the guard. \"Please if I pick the wrong door can you tell my brother that I love him and I didn't abandon him.\" \n\nThe guard looked at me almost with pity in his eyes. He didn't say anything the only thing he did was nod his head. \n\nI turned back towards the doors and put my hand on the right door handle and the crowd went absolutely silent. I turned the handle. It creaked and squeaked. I pulled open the door slowly and looked down the dark hallway. The crowd erupted with cheers as I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I picked wrong. I was shoved into the door by the guard. \n\nI turned around as the guard shut the door I ran to it. Screaming and yelling. I pounded on the door.\n\n\"Let me out! Let me choose again! Please!\" I begged. \n\nAfter I screamed and pounded on the door for what felt like forever. I collapsed on the floor and cried. I will die down here and I will never see my brother again.\n\nAfter awhile I stood up and looked down the hallway it wasn't as dark as it was before probably because my eyes adjusted to the dark. I put my hand on the left wall and walked down it thinking I was going to be walking for awhile until the wall gave way. I looked at the wall and it was a fork but from where I had come from. Wait. Does this mean there isn't any freedom?", "\"Is this a joke?\" I muttered more to myself than anything, but the choice is clear. I have nothing to lose. So, \"I choose the door on the right.\"\n\nThe door opened and inside of it was what looked like a haunted house, filled with people dressed up as characters and holding miscellanies weapons.\n\n\"You're lucky, not many people choose the freedom door.\" the King snarled with a wicked grin.\n\nAnd with that being said, I was shoved into the room by the guard behind me. Instantly, I was met by five people holding weapons such as chainsaws or baseball bats covered in barbed wire.\n\n\"Beat us, and you get out of here. But if you lose, you become one of us.\" the clown on the far right said. More like laughed. But what they don't know is I was one of the King's guards not so long ago, but when I caught the thief that had been stealing all the goods within the city, I was framed. So one by one I took them out.\n\nBright light hit my eyes and the sound of slow clapping reached my ears as I dropped the last man.\n\n\"I knew I could count on you to take them out, John. I didn't have the balls to do it myself.\" the King said, proudness evident in his voice.\n\n\"Thanks, dad.\" I replied, rolling my eyes.", "“Well, what will it be?” The King’s voice thundered. \n\nI nearly shed a layer of skin when the echoes of his voice reached my ears. \n\n\r“You have 3 choices. So choose, Thief. Door, Door, or Sentence.”\n\n\rIt was a pretty hefty choice, I mean, one door was marked ‘Freedom,’ the other Slow Torture unto Death’ or the third option was to sit and rot in prison for 10 years. \n\n\r“Choices. Choices. Your Majesty. I am merely contemplating how I can possibly choose. They all sound so tempting. Man, who am I kidding? Obviously, we all know I’m going to pick FREEDOM!.” I shouted out the last word and it resounded throughout the chamber overlapping the echoing of the King’s voice. \n\n\rI turned to the crowd of snooty royal ladies-n-waiting and their fellow abhorrent males in white tights while chanting, “Freedom. Freedom. Freedom!!” \n\n\rThe crowd only hesitated briefly, before taking up the chant. As I knew they would. Sheep. All of them. Stupid sheep. I stirred the crowd into a frenzy, waving my shackled hands conductor style, while I performed a little jig with my feet. The shouts of ‘Freedom’ transitioned to, “JAZ! JAZ! JAZ!” My name being yelled by thousands sent a delicate chill through my veins. A few of the ladies closest to my person, reached out to touch, before promptly swooning. I dazzled the glaring husbands with my teeth. They lunged and took a swing. I laughed.\n\n\r“ENOUGH!!!” The King’s words sliced through the cacophony of voices like a spoon through cottage cheese. \n\n\r“My humblest apologies, Your Majesty.” I sputtered and mockingly bowed. My body bobbed awkwardly on account of being lashed in chains. \n\n\rThe King remained silent. \n\n\rAs if a pin had suddenly dropped, an eerie stillness descended on the crowd. \r \nHe rose from the thrown and stood with both arms outstretched, horizontally, in a capital T shape.\n\n\rHe glanced down at me. His eyes pierced into what was left of my soul.\n\n\r“It is finished.” The words rolled across me like grey wisps of smoke. \n\n\rI coughed. The shackles fell away and I practically skipped towards the door marked ‘Freedom.’ I could feel the King’s eyes following me and I went to doff my imaginary cap at him, but something in his expression startled my sarcastic movement. \n\nWhat was it? Was that sympathy etched into the lines around his eyes? A niggling sense of deja vu surfaced momentarily. It was squashed as quickly as the spider on the wall when the door swung open. I thrust one leg forward, turned on the ball of my foot to face the room one last time, and bellowed, “Thank ya Gov’ner!” before being engulfed by darkness. \r \n\\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r \n\r \nI took a deep breath and my eyelids fluttered open. Ahhh the sweet smell of freedom? It smelled the same like rotting fruit and pig feces. I took a swipe at the flys flitting in and out of my hair. Well Jaz, you’re free to do what you want now. Was I really free though? \n\nThere was only one way to find out. I talked myself to my feet and set off down the wide path for the city gates. The monstrous pieces of wood loomed endlessly into the sky.\n\n I gulped. I hadn’t seen a single soul on the way to freedom which had turned the palms of my hands into clammy limp frogs. I sighed. This was the moment. I looked upwards and my amazement soared as the gates effortlessly, rotated showing me my first glimpse at freedom.\n\n I practically flew through the small gap in my rush to look at the splendor spread before me. The rolling green meadows were filled to the brim with daisies. The beautiful sunshine hit my dirty skin and warmed me clear through to every sinew. A small smile landed on my lips before I gave birth to full-on giggles. It was exhilarating. How could we have never been allowed out here before?\n\n The air smelled fresher than the cleanest laundry detergent. I sprinted forward. Stopping suddenly, I spun around in a wide circle with my arms outstretched, giggling delightfully.\n\n I noted that the gates from the city had closed behind me, but I couldn’t spare a cent of my new freedom on that thought. I took off. Running towards freedom. Towards new life!\r \n\\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r \n\r \nRun! Faster! RUN! \n\nI couldn’t run faster. I was panting so heavily, I could barely hear myself. Trees grasped at my legs and my hair with their spreading fingers. My feet pounded on the dirt path Would I make it back? Was I lost forever? It felt like I’d been running down the wide dirt path for eternity. How could it have only been a few hours? \n\nA low growling and distant rumbling stirred my feet back to their frenzied pace. I had no chance to know what was chasing me. But I didn’t want to find out either. It had been so good at first! Freedom had been enchanting. Not doing anything. Being my own person. No rules. My own little world. Being on top of my own world. Self-sufficient. Free to go where I wanted. \n\nTurns out, I was the only one here. I searched and couldn’t find another soul. Human soul that is. Whatever was chasing me was alive. Whether it had a soul or not was another thought entirely.\n\n I was alone with whatever thing was chasing me. I had never been alone. I didn’t like it. I resented being this free. This isn’t what I had in mind. I knew I was going to be free of the King and his overbearing protection. But this? This was not likable. \n\n The low growling turned to an ever-present roar that shook my eyeballs in their sockets. I wasn’t going to make it back alive. This world was going to eat me up and enjoy every morsel of my declining body. \n\nThe path bucked like a wild horse beneath my feet. I stumbled.\n\n A sound like a woman keening reached my ears. I pivoted my head in the direction I thought the new noise hailed from. The keening followed me. I realized the cry came from the depths of my soul.\n\n Appearing like ghosts in a cemetery, the wooden gates rose before me. I pounded my tiny fearful fist against the rough planks. Over and over. \n\nThe blood poured down my arms and splinters nestled into my palms like freckles over the bridge of a nose. \n\nThe sound of roaring, gnashing teeth, and endless wailing threatened to overwhelm me. I surrendered to the pressure battling against my human form and toppled to the ground. \n\nWhile I raised my arm one last time towards the door, I gathered everything left within myself and whispered into the storm, “Please. Forgive me. I am sorry. I don’t want this.”\n\n\r \nThe King’s voice split the sky in two, “Yes, my child.”\r \n\\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r \n\r \n“Well, what will it be?” The King’s voice thundered. \n\n\rI squinted, I was back in the courtroom. It was different this time. \n\nThe choice was the same. \n\nDoor. Door. Or sentence. \n\nThe markings on the doors had changed. Or had I changed? Had my outlook on life been reborn? \n\nThe door that previously had been marked Freedom now boasted the words, “The World,” and the door, “Slow torture, unto death.” now flaunted the words, “Come, Follow me.” Or I could pick neither of those options and go with the 10-year sentence, I’d been given.\n\n\rI swallowed nervously. Did I even deserve the graciousness that the King had offered me? He had rescued me from my original decision. He had granted me the choices again. I fell to my knees, tears pooling.\n\n\r“I don’t... I can’t..”\n\n\rI felt the immense presence of the King and the gentleness of his hand as his finger tipped my chin upwards. \n\n\r“No you don’t and no you can’t...but with me you do and you can.” \n\n\rThe King scooped me off the floor, back onto my feet, and wiped my tears. \n\n\rThen together hand in hand we walked towards the door. \n\n\rThe crowd lifted up a joyous chant. \"Welcome home, Jaz!\"", "“Choose!”, shouted the king, his voice booming. “The hour draws late, left or right, thief?” \n\nHe had considered his decision for weeks. It so happened that his grandfather had helped to build this castle and he thought if anyone had a chance of escaping to freedom, it would be him. Many a night as a child he sat up listening to his grandfather recount stories of the construction. \n\nHe told him of the castles’ many rooms and passageways. He explained to him the locations of its various entrances and secret exits. He knew his grandfather was lucky to have survived its completion to pass this information along to him, as a great number of his fellow laborers did not. Their bodies simply sealed into the walls as building progressed. \n\nHe snapped back to reality when he was shoved to the floor from behind by a guard. \n\n“Left!”, he yelled with all his strength and looked up directly into King Rhône’s eyes. \n\nThe king stared at him, narrowing his eyes seemingly in disbelief. \n\n“Open the door!”, boomed the king’s voice. \n\nTwo guards ran over to the left door and began unlocking it. It was an enormous, elegant, and elaborately designed double door that opened from the middle. Minutes ticked by as the guards worked to unlock it. \n\nFinally, each guard took a separate door handle and began to pull. As the door opened, sunlight gleamed through the cracks and started to pour inside. \n\n“Go now,” said the king, helping him up from the floor, “you have earned your freedom.” \n\nLooking around wearily, he gave a small nod to King Rhône and ran off into the blinding sunlight as fast as he possibly could.\n\nOnce his eyes adjusted to the light outside, he looked around and could see he was in the court yard of the castle. From there, he knew to continue left across the drawbridge over the moat to the field just beyond the small castle town. \n\nHe had made it! He began to laugh as he ran. He was exhilarated! He began to think about his wife and children that he would soon be seeing again. \n\nHe got to the outskirts of the castle town and could see the field in the distance. He began to run faster and faster towards his freedom and his family. He ran until eventually a river blocked his path. \n\n“Was this here before?” Never mind that, he thought, “I need to get across!”\n\nHe removed his shoes and climbed down on the river bank. He thought of his wife’s smiling face as he plunged into the cold, rushing waters.\n\nViolent shaking, back and forth. The river was rough, he thought. \n\nHe opened his eyes to swim, but there was no water. The floor was hard. He soon realized that he was being shaken awake by a guard; the one that had shoved him down. \n\nHe lifted his head from the hard castle floor up to King Rhône who was still looking at him intently. \n\nWide eyed and adrenaline pumping he yelled “the left!”, with all the strength he could muster.\n\n“Open the door!”, yelled the king. There was a slight excitement in his voice. \n\nThe guards walked silently over to the door and unlocked it slowly. As each guard pulled one of the double doors open, he softly closed his eyes and waited to feel the warm sunlight on his face; opening them only to behold a newly constructed torture chamber.", "I stared at the two doors, identical in every way. They weren’t terribly fancy—my father had far better doors leading into the hanging gardens, and my mother had far worse doors leading into her house. As it stood, they were simply doors. If I had hoped for a clue, it wasn’t going to be here. \n\nI glanced back at the king, who stood triumphant on his dais, or perhaps would look more triumphant if the wind wasn’t causing the gold tassels to flick and flutter off the roof of his gilded dais and occasionally slap against his face. He didn’t duck or brush them away, which personally I felt took great resolve. He was pretending they weren’t there so everyone was pretending they weren’t there and if that little detail didn’t sum up the entirety of how this kingdom was run and the king himself, then I don’t know what would. \n\nAh, well. Some things you can fix and some you can’t. I shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll just go back to my cell now.”\n\nThe king blinked, the corners of his wide grin flagging. “What, prisoner?”\n\nI leaned forward a little. Maybe he’s half deaf. That would explain a lot. “I said, ‘I’ll just go back to my cell now,’ your highness. Or majesty. Or whatever you’re called—I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with the vernacular of this dynamic.”\n\n“I don’t,” the king glanced down at one of his advisors, who didn’t seem to appreciate the attention. “I don’t understand. She didn’t choose.”\n\n“I did.” I wave dismissively at the doors. “I chose neither.”\n\n“But you could have FREEDOM!” he proclaimed loudly, booming the last word so that the audience could hear and cheer accordingly. \n\n“Or, and I can’t stress this enough, torture and death. 50/50 aren’t my kind of odds. I’m a 90% and higher kind of girl.”\n\n“But you’ll rot away in prison.” The king looked truly appalled by my choice. \n\n“Ten years really isn’t that long.” \n\n“But the fanfare…” He looked around at the gathered crowds, the colorful banners that twisted in the wind, the freshly cleaned cobblestone and carefully placed doors. The musicians primed by the stage, advisors and nobles decked out in their finest attire. \n\n“All very lovely,” I assured him. “But not lovely enough for me to risk death.”\n\n“This isn’t the way it’s supposed to go,” the king grumbled to his advisor, who danced and squirmed under the pinned glare. \n\n“We could always…remove the option to go back, your majesty?” His thin voice wavered and trembled. \n\n“Well, I can with HER, now can I?!” the king raged. “I already gave her three options—oh, never mind. Bring out another prisoner. I should’ve known better than to use a witch on our first try.” \n\nThe guards shoved me roughly into the carriage. Fine by me. The whole display WAS lovely, but not for me, clearly, and I’m happy enough to return to my little cell with my stacks of books under my mattress and the new journal with crisp, clean pages one of the guards gifted me. \n\nSome time later, slouched against my cell wall and reading the last chapter of a book, I heard the city roar, a collective shout of excitement and fervor. Some other criminal had been brought out and obviously made their choice. \n\nI’d like to say the city was cheering the criminal’s correct choice of door and promised freedom, but knowing this city, probably not.", "My heart stuttered a little at the proclamation, but only briefly. I was as much a citizen as anyone else, I knew the law. The choices offered did not come as a surprise to me. \n\nSuddenly the entire trial felt real, the consequences of my actions finally anchoring my floating mind. I looked up to the vaulted ceiling as I inhaled a deep breath, taking my time to treasure the wide open space and my relatively free movement. \n\nWell, disregarding the chains dangling noisily at my wrists. \n\nNo one interrupted my quiet contemplation, knowing full well the consequences of that offence. After a handful more breaths I leaned forwards to bow at the waist, my head dipping in a respectful nod to the king. \"I will accept my 10 years in prison, your Majesty.\"\n\nA low murmur bubbled out of the observers as he raised his lone eyebrow appraisingly. \"Too much risk for even the great Darius the Daring?\" I didn't need to see the sneer on his face to know he was mocking me. \n\nI was fortunate the question was rhetorical and I didn't need unclench my teeth enough to answer. I still offered a conceding nod just to be safe. \n\n\"I thought you were a gambler.\" Lord above, he was smug. \"'Even the longest of odds are a sure bet for Darius the Daring'. The chance of walking out a free man not worth risking a little pain?\"\n\n\"There is no freedom!\" My rising anger forced out of me before I could think better of it. \n\n\"Oh?\" He seemed more curious than incensed by the outburst. \"You dispute my word?\"\n\nI wasn't nearly stupid enough to make that mistake. \"I would never dream of it, your Majesty. I am simply observing that for decades, of all the men who choose a door, none yet live to tell the tale.\"\n\nHe grinned, gesturing magnanimously to the doors before me. \"Then by all means, be the first.\"\n\nI felt my heart skip in my chest before it started to thrum loudly. I shook my head as I swallowed, offering an even lower bow to appease him. \"That's quite alright, your Majesty, I graciously accept my sentence.\"\n\nHis eyes hardened, the action audible over the pointed silence in the courtroom. \"I insist.\"\n\nThe chains loosed themselves from my wrists with a click, quietly slinking to the ground with minimal clanging. Swallowing, I took in the two doors. \n\nThey were the same as they'd ever been, nondescript and unadorned. Dark wood, polished handles, blank of differentiating marks of any kind. \n\nBehind one waited a seasoned professional, a master in the art of inflicting pain and prolonging great suffering until you drew your last breath. \n\nBehind the other waited a cadre of angry men, all unshakably convinced of your guilt, either by drink or by coin. What they lacked in skill they more than made up for in creativity, not that the outcome would be any different. \n\nI shambled forwards to the left door, watching as it loomed larger and larger before me. The rest of the room blurred, the echoing of my footsteps pausing briefly as my shaking hand found the warm metal. \n\nClosing my eyes, I pulled open the door, not having to wait even an instant before a firm hand took me by the shoulders and led me to where justice would be dispensed.", "I look at the doors in hesitation. In all my years, I’ve never seen an “easy” choice like this. The king always liked his riddles, sure, but none were this straightforward. I can still remember the time a prisoner was given three potion to choose from, and he chose poorly. No one could really find every piece of him in that cell. It wasn’t uncommon for the King to use potions for punishment, but it was strange for me to see two door. In any case, I have three options. Guaranteed ten years of a cell, or a fifty fifty chance of getting away with a fifty fifty chance of slow painful death. \n\n“May I ask a question?” I request, turning to the king in question, who smiles menacingly behind me. \n\n“Only one, but sure,” he replies.\n\n“How long would the torture last?” \n\n“Longer than 10 years, that’s for certain,” he says. I look back at the doors and inspect them closely. They’re mostly identical, with the only difference being the wood. One was oak and the other was mahogany. I start to ask a question, but quickly remember the King’s rules. One question only. I wonder if the wood has any significance?\n\n“Tick tock little thief, time is money, and I can’t afford to waste it,” he says. With that, I decide to take a gamble based on what the king said. \n\n“I’ll choose the mahogany door,” I say, bracing myself for the worst.\n\n“Oh, interesting choice. Why?” He asks. I nervously swallow my nerves and explain.\n\n“Well, if you can’t afford to waste anything, then perhaps the mahogany door is too expensive to be stained with blood,” I say. The king hums in intrigue before laughing, harder and harder as time goes on. Finally, he calms down enough to respond. \n\n“Open it and see,” he says, smiling. I open the door, and… tilt my head in confusion. Nothing. Just the stone wall it was built in front of. \n\n“D-did I lose?” I ask.\n\n“Oh, no, not at all. I’d say you’ve won!” The King says excitedly. \n\n“Am I… free?” I ask.\n\n“No. You’re not going free for as long as I need you,” the King says. I turn around to see guards walking up and taking me by my arms. \n\n“I- I don’t get it,” I mutter, horrified as I’m being dragged.\n\n“Oh, don’t worry. There was no rhyme or reason for this trial. I gave you a choice, and you just so happen to choose wrong. Alas, I still have use for you. I still need test subjects for my loyal scientists after all! I have so many potions for you to try. Some might be good, some might be bad, but don’t worry! You won’t die, not until we’ve run out of ideas!”", "\"The death of fools,\" Gromen laughed at the guard through the iron bars.\n\n\"You think so?\"\n\n\"I'd bet half a copper that the torture is behind both doors. The king ain't freeing anyone. Not that king anyways. Just think how it looks to the nobility on Handlopen Hill. 'King releases thieves'. They'd spit their wine out of their fancy glasses before telling their butlers to pen a message to him screaming about the safety of the people. No, this is some kind of sick joke.\"\n\nThe guard shrugged. \"Jail's too full.\"\n\n\"He wants to save a few coppers to not have to feed a few extra souls that rat-stock gruel we eat. Sick and twisted, that's what it is.\"\n\n\"Yeah, the pay is pretty bad for us too\"\n\n\"Really? What kind of stingy king doesn't pay his guards well?\"\n\n\"We're still a lot better off than your lot.\"\n\n\"Thieving pays well when you don't get caught.\"\n\n\"But you all get caught sooner or later,\" the guard cackled and lowered his helmet. \"Let me know if you change your mind about that door.\"\n\n\"You know I won't.\"\n\nNews of any kind was rare in his tiny cell, so Gromen spent all of the next day trying to figure out why the king would suddenly come up with this strange proposition. He thought that the king was killing people who walked through either door, but he was led to wonder if that was really the case. Perhaps there was a way to tell which door would lead to freedom and which to torture. Curiosity getting the best of him, he concocted a plan to convince the guard to let him have an actual look at the doors. He waited until the guard came back with his daily meal.\n\n\"Guard. Listen up, I have a plan that can make you rich,\" he lied.\n\n\"Why should I listen to a thief?\"\n\n\"Because some thieves are rich. Just like I am.\"\n\n\"Before you came here you were so poor you couldn't afford a place to sleep.\"\n\n\"Listen, I've got money buried outside of town. Not much, about ten gold pieces. Enough to put down on a good horse. All of it's yours if you take me to the doors so I can see them.\"\n\n\"I don't believe it, thief. You tell tall tales.\"\n\n\"I promise, as soon as I'm out of here, I'll get you the money. What's there to lose? You just got to take me to the door like you have other prisoners. Then you act like I changed my mind and take me back to my cell. Got it?\"\n\n\"This sounds like a bad idea.\"\n\n\"You've taken other prisoners to the doors, right?\"\n\n\"A few,\" the guard looked nervously from side to side.\n\n\"Then no big deal. Come on, just do it.\"\n\n\"Ten gold?\"\n\n\"I swear on my mother's headstone.\"\n\n\"Alright. Come with me.\" The guard unlocked the cell and cuffed Gromen's hands behind his back, then led him through several corridors and into a circular room that had two solid red iron doors, neither of them letting any light or sound through.\n\nGromen was expecting more. \"This is it?\"\n\n\"Yup, that's it,\" the guard said.\n\n\"Guard,\" a voice spoke from above them.\n\nGromen looked up and saw a large white bird perched far above them. Is that bird talking?\n\n\"Yes?\" the guard asked, looking up.\n\n\"Did this man bribe you to come see the doors?\"\n\nThe guard looked around nervously. \"Why yes he did.\"\n\nThe bird cawed and then flew down into the center of the room. \"I thought so. You see, my dear Gromen, both of these doors lead to freedom. To believe that the king would torture prisoners to death slowly as punishment for picking the wrong door, and to be skeptical of the entire process, reflects the true mind of a thief. We knew that the unredeemable wouldn't come here.\"\n\n\"Sounds like a hell of a trick,\" Gromen said as he became hot with anger.\n\n\"Ahh, but dear Gromen, it is much worse for you. You couldn't turn down the opportunity to lie to this guard in order to find out which door was which. A truly conniving person you are. You are truly fit for the punishment that doesn't exist except for people like you, and you aren't the first. So a door will open in the floor and you will be sent to a death worse than you could possibly imagine.\"\n\n\"Wait, wait, wait-\" Gromen pleaded.\n\n\"My dear guard, you too will not be spared the irons below. For taking a bribe from a prisoner is a crime punishable by death.\"\n\n\"No!\" the guard screamed.\n\nThe bird flew off as the floor opened.", "“Seriously?” I said in total disbelief.\n\nThe king loomed above me. Decked out in an enormous crown and gold robes, he was surrounded by wise old men with huge beards on either sides. They examined me with curiosity, waiting for my reaction.\n\nMy lawyer, standing by my side, cleared his throat.\n\n“Your honor, please be reasonable, that is not quite how the constitution says things are supposed to go—“\n\nThe king’s eyes widened. \n“Constitution?” he spat, his voice growing louder, “I am your king. I AM the law! What I say is the constitution!”\n\nHe slammed a heavy gavel on his podium.\n\n“I will not be challenged in my own courtroom. Is that understood?”\n\n“Yikes,” said my lawyer, leaning into my ear, “This isn’t going to be easy.” \n\nMy lawyer took a deep breath and gave the king a genial smile. \n\n“Your honor,” he started in a confident voice, gesturing towards me. \n\n“My client is a good man. His father was a doctor, one of the best in our kingdom, I hear. What happened was an accident. I think he deserves more than a 50-50 chance because of how much his father has served our country. In light of this, maybe we should have a discovery of all the evidence and facts at play here, then maybe have a prosecutor and me, perhaps, joust it out in a verbal battle of persuasion while presenting the facts to convince a jury of peers as to whether—“\n\n“Kill him,” came the King’s voice from above. \n\nA bailiff slipped behind my lawyer with lightning quick speed and slid a knife through his throat in one smooth motion. My lawyer fell to his knees, clutching the open gash on his neck. He collapsed onto his face, slowly painting the carpet in blood. \n\nI slowly let out an exhale, feeling my chest tighten.\n\n“Excellent call, your majesty,” said one of the wise old men, nodding to the king.\n\n“That guy was totally holding us back,” said the king, inspecting his fingernails. “I had to do what I had to do.\n\nThe king waved dismissively at me. \n\n“Anyways, I guess you’re representing yourself now. I hope you make the right choice. I hope you know that only a fool would represent himself, by the way.” \n\nI turned to face the end of the courtroom, trying to hide my fury from the king’s eyes while focusing on what I had to do to win my freedom.\n\nTwo doors stood side by side. One door was painted gold and had the fanciest doorknob I had ever seen in my life. The other door was wooden, frayed and dull. The smell of rotten wood emanated from it, and I could see a few maggots crawling around the handle too.\n\nAll eyes were on me. \n\nI had to make the most important choice of my life. It was a 50-50 chance of hell or freedom. \nBut I had something to go by at least. Judging from how the king behaved, I made a wild guess and assumed the nice golden door led to the torture chamber, and the crappy door led to freedom. It’s just the kind of thing I would expect from someone who was batshit insane, and that seemed to fit the king to a tee.\n\nI stepped forward, heading for the crappy door. No one said a thing, not a single whisper could be heard. I could have at least changed direction if I heard someone gasp or groan or something, but literally no one responded.\n\nFinally reaching my door, I grabbed the handle and pulled.\n\n..And stepped into the bright gleaming air of an afternoon sky. Clouds beaming above me, birds chattering in the trees.\n\nI allowed myself a smile, and walked through the door triumphantly.\n\nA crowd erupted around me. Dozens of my neighbors and what looked like half my village had showed up.\n\n“Oh thank God!” came the cries of several people, and people laughed and hugged in celebration. \n\n”Good job not getting killed, idiot,” came a voice from behind me. I turned to find my best friend, Walter, grinning at me.\n\n“It’s a miracle,” said another voice. I turned to find Isabella grabbing me in a tight embrace. \n\nThe king strode imperiously through the door and all the cheers stopped.\n\n“Well done,” said the king, smiling the smuggest smile you had ever seen on a human. “Congratulations for choosing the right door. As king and judge, I hereby declare you not guilty.”\n\nThe crowed allowed themselves a cheer at this. The king raised his hand.\n\n“In recognition for your courage and innocence, I hereby give you the job of royal pissprophet, so you may put your medical talent to good use and serve our people once more.”\n\nThere was another cheer at this. Mixed with mumbles of confusion and surprise. But cheers nonetheless.\n\n“Piss prophet?” I asked aloud. \n\nOne of the wise old men stepped towards me and leaned into my ear.\n\n“The royal piss prophet. Carrying on your father’s talent, you will smell the urine of every man woman and child in the village bought to you in buckets every day. You will then declare them sick or healthy based on your interpretation of how they smell.”\n\n“You can’t be serious,” I said, feeling like all the wind had gotten knocked out of me.\n\nThe king strode over to me, dangling a key from his hand.\n\n“This is the key to the esteemed pissprophet’s chambers,” he said, smiling.\n\nI accepted the key, looking at him blankly.\n\n“Use it on the gold door tomorrow. I will have buckets delivered to you early in the morning, so make sure you arrive before sunrise. I hope you will serve as for another 10 years at least, as your father had done.”\n\nThe king walked away, laughing, his wise old men chuckling beside him.", "As a thief, I know a few things about prisons. Guards are people and can be influenced as such. Most shackles have easy locks. Cells, too. And I wouldn't stay in one long.\n\nAs a thief, I know a few things about doors. Which ones have traps, what kind of wood splinters in a good way, and which ones survive angry guardsmen chasing after a stolen painting. \n\nAs a thief, I know a few things about torture. Picks and scrapers can leave good scars. Properly cleaning flayed flesh off of tools is a must. And certain people are prone to screaming more.\n\nAs a thief, I know a few things about the king. He is a master illusionist. He enjoys landscape paintings from established artists. And he has a personal vendetta against me. \n\nAs a thief, I know a few things about choices. I chose the best time and place for the heist. The guard chose to chase after me. And I will always choose the wrong door." ]	16
Good writing brings it's readers to an emotion. My challenge to you is to write a story with AT LEAST dash of humor. It can be anywhere between playful/fun to laugh-out-loud. Just include humor/playful writing as an important part of the story.	[WP] Humor	[ "My girlfriend got me a puppy for my birthday. She thought birthday sex was too typical, or something, and maybe some slobbery blob of fur could compensate. I have yet to give it a name. It doesn't deserve it. It shits on the floor and pisses on the sofa. It grinds its ass on the carpet and whines during the night. A human baby would be more manageable; going back to birthday sex idea. I hose the fucker down when I'm in the backyard and the girlfriend isn't looking. I glare at its stupid puppy eyes. Oh how I despise that puppy.", "bullets whizzed past my head as I ran forward, panting under the weight of my rifle. Ahead, the Vietcong screamed curses at us as they fired. This damp, humid hellhole was the Vietnam where our hopeless war was staged. Many brothers had died in the heat of the jungle. Suddenly, a grenade exploded, knocking me to the ground. I crawled towards a trench and dropped down. \"GET OUT THERE, MAGGOT!\" shouted Sarge, spitting out a grenade pin. \"THOSE COMMIES ARE DEAAAGHGHMNFHnmnmfphmmng...\" I sat there, confused as Sarge's face twisted and convulsed. The trench I was sitting in started warping as well...The damp dirt beneath me suddenly turned into a couch and Sarge turned into a black woman. I was on Oprah.", "Can it be something that might not be funny but is a sure sign of my late night insanity?\n\nI made a comment about Lil' Jon following me around yelling repeating what i say and yelling \"bitch\" the end that somehow got 1500 up-votes.\n\nThis comment.\n\n\"I've always wanted to hire Lil' Jon to follow me around and repeat every sentence i say in his Lil' Jon-isms.\n\n\"I'm going to buy groceries\" \"Groceries, Bitch\"\n\n\"I'm trying to sleep, please leave\" \"Ya'll gots to go, sleeps happenen, Bitch\"\n\nWhen i make it to the grocery store and the clerk tries to tell me the price, \"Sorry i didn't hear you. Could you repeat that?\" \"What Bitch?\"\n\nMy life would be so much better and filled with so many bitches. \"\n\nIn response to that someone wrote \"all fun and games until you try to cross a bridge.\"\n\nSo, in response to his response, i wrote a multi-paragraph story about me and Li' Jon attempting to cross a bridge.\n\nBasically i drift in and out of sanity and in one of these moments this story happened so would you be ok with me posting it here? I make no promises to its quality.", "First post, any feedback appreciated. \n--------------------------------------------\n\nWell it took me a solid ten minutes to get into the bathtub. I haven’t been able to take one for almost a year. Showers, an adventure themselves, were a lot easier, but I was determined today to take my long-awaited bath. \n\nI placed my hand against the wall and tried to lean over. It took a while but I managed to gently place one foot into the tub. There I stood, half in, half out trying to gather the strength and courage to proceed. The bubbles were in and the temperature was just right, now if I could only manage to get down. I kept thinking ‘Please don’t let me fall, please don’t let me fall.' With my left hand I grabbed the shower door and put my weight into it, another foot and I stood erect in the tub. I had to take a break. The pain was unbearable. As the tears rolled down my face, I stood there and breathed.\n\nAfter the first surgery, the chemotherapy and the radiation I was shot. They had to stop the radiation treatments twice because my body could not tolerate any more and they were killing me. My tailbone had a split in it. I was burned internally and externally both vaginally and anally – wiping was the most painful, bloody experience I’ve ever had. My neck was in a vice and my lower back had not only any strength, but some misaligned discs. When the threshold of pain and mental anguish was unbearable, they took me in for the second surgery: a temporary illeostomy. For two months I watched my shit come out of a hole in my stomach into a bag. \n\nBut that was then and this is now. The third surgery was four days ago - the illestomy reversal. They told me that for several months I would have no control of my sphincter muscle and would be incontinent, but according to the doctors, I was cured of cancer, here are some pain killers and have a nice life.\n\nThe anxiety of this bath-tub adventure passed and I proceeded to venture down. I braced myself against the wall and shower door and managed to kneel. ‘Progress.’ I grabbed the water spout with both hands and between shots of pain managed to switch my feet and knees. Now I held on with all my might and proceeded to gently place my butt onto the bathtub floor. ‘Aaaaah.’ I had to get off my tailbone so I leaned back against the back of the tub, bracing my neck for support and watched the soapy bubbles engulf my body. This was too good to be true. Not only was I cancer free, but I could take a bath. \n\nAlthough I didn’t have the energy to wash myself, I thought this was progress enough for one day. Two times I used my foot to turn on the hot water so I could stay longer. After ten minutes getting in, I was in no hurry to get out. \n\nThen I saw it, the huge shit floating under the bubbles.\n", "Does he know? I look at Phil. He HAS to know. He walks across the stage and reaches for my hand. He pecks it. It felt cold. Fuck, he definitely knows. \n\nI keep my composure and continue to bear my teeth at the audience. I mean, how can he not? Jane walked in on me and Ben in the dressing room. And it's not like Jane's known for keeping her mouth shut; she'll suck dick just for practice.\n\nI approach the front of the stage and strike a pose. It's awkward. But if Phil already knows, why did he even let me go on stage? I turn around and look at Phil. He looks back and smiles.\n\nMaybe he doesn't! Thank god. I mean, I didn't even see Jane today. Maybe she kept quiet for once. I gotta be more careful next time. Doves fly everywhere.\n\nWait, if Jane's not here, who's the legs? I get into the illusion. Phil closes the box. Something's off.\n\nI kick MY legs frantically. The audience drowns out my screams. I look up at Phil and give him a look of desperation. He smiles. He saw right through me." ]	5
	[WP] Somehow you have Wi-Fi so you post to r/fifthworldproblems hoping that one of the answers will help with your very real, indimensional dilemma	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\\[Stellar Signal\\]\n\n\\[I think I'm stuck in an alternate universe. I might be crazy, I don't know. What I do know is I walked out of my living room and into a forest. I turned around and my house was gone. There are webs everywhere and tons of spiders, and I think I saw a [deer give birth to a spider](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/xftsn8/wp_the_universe_is_a_simulation_and_our_world_has/). I didn't stick around to find out. I don't know if anyone can help me, but this isn't a joke. Please help!\\]\r \n \r \nEridani submitted her post and decided to move on. She'd found a clearing next to a stream that seemed to be free of the thick cobwebs that covered the forest. She followed the stream for about half an hour, stopping often to check if she still had wifi. Each time she did, she kept moving. She did not want to leave range; but, somehow she still had full bars.\r \n \r \nShe explored the forest a bit before she checked her phone. She was amazed that she found a connection; but, rustling leaves distracted her. That was when she saw a pregnant deer thrashing on its side as several long, spindly legs began to crawl out of it; Eridani ran. She sent the message when she found the stream, and now, half an hour later, the forest gave way to a lush, hilly plain. She could see some buildings in the distance and felt some relief as she pushed forward.\r \n \r \nAfter a few steps, she heard voices to the side. She turned and looked through the trees and saw a pair of teenage girls headed into the forest some distance away. They were talking to each other and hadn't noticed Eridani yet. They both had dark hair styled differently. One with a short bob wore all white as far as Eridani could see; the other with longer hair in a ponytail wore a mix of black and red; but, she had a black visor covering her eyes.\r \n \r \n\"HEY!!\" Eridani called out and changed direction to intercept them. She hoped they could help her get her bearings, and she wanted to keep them out of the dangerous forest. The pair of teens stopped walking and turned.\r \n \r \n\"Hi!\" the girl in white smiled broadly as Eridani approached. \"Are you the one looking for help?\" she asked.\r \n \r \n\"Huh?\" Eridani reached them; but, she was puzzled.\r \n \r \n\"Did you post to fifthworldproblems?\" she asked. \"About being stuck?\"\r \n \r \n\"I did...,\" Eridani nodded. But, she took a subconscious step back. \"..how did you know?\" she asked. \"I don't have any replies yet, how did you find me?\"\r \n \r \n\"I'm Dara,\" the girl in white said. Then, she gestured at her visored friend. \"This is Abby. My mom's company is good at finding people lost between universes; it happens a lot,\" she explained. \"And your wifi signal was showing up somewhere around here.\"\r \n \r \n\"I've got wifi...,\" Eridani shook her head. \"...but, I don't know where it came from.\" Dara giggled; Abby remained bored.\r \n \r \n\"It's yours,\" she said. \"Your house, wherever you came from, you're still connected.\"\r \n \r \n\"What?\" Eridani whipped out her phone in a hurry. She kicked herself a little for not checking the name of the access point sooner; but, she was too busy being glad she had communication at all. She pulled down the menu and clicked the wifi button. There it was in all its familiar glory: Epsilon-Access. She chose the name because she wanted something unique. But, every other access point in her apartment building was labeled FBIvan, I.P.Freely, and dozens of other variations. \"What's going on?\" she asked.\r \n \r \n\"How am I still connected?\" she looked around at the rolling hills to one side, and the dim forest on the other. \"I'm nowhere near my apartment.\"\r \n \r \n\"I'm gonna keep exploring,\" Abby said suddenly. She was focused on Dara and seemed to ignore Eridani altogether. \"Thanks for bringing me along,\" she added.\r \n \r \n\"No problem, it was my mom's idea,\" Dara replied. Abby nodded, then, she walked off into the forest.\r \n \r \n\"Wait!\" Eridani spoke up. \"It's dangerous!\" honestly, she didn't know that for sure; but, it was definitely the vibe that she sensed. Abby did not turn around, nor stop walking.\r \n \r \n\"She'll be fine,\" Dara replied when Eridani was going to try again. \"Anyway, you're still connected because you want to be,\" she continued. \"It's kind of a lot to explain, but you're something known as a Unique Soul. You can Traverse between universes by yourself, even if you haven't realized it yet. That same power keeps you connected.\"\r \n \r \n\"I can do that?\" Eridani asked. \"Like, on purpose?\"\r \n \r \n\"That's the best way to do anything,\" Dara nodded with a gin. Then, she pulled out a small transparent card. It caught the light like glass but Dara pulled out a pitch-black card from it, somehow. Eridani did not see how it happened; Dara held the transparent card in one hand and ran her hand over it with the other and was suddenly holding the black card. Then, she threw the card on the ground and a large black hole opened beneath them. The fact that she appeared to be standing on nothing boggled Eridani's mind a little bit, but Dara interrupted her unease.\r \n \r \n\"Once you meet Mundo, you'll know about the multiverse and how to use your abilities,\" Dara said. Then, Eridani felt her stomach drop as they both began sinking into the hole; it reminded her of an elevator.\r \n \r \n\"You're leaving Abby here?\" Eridani asked. She was free to worry about others now that she felt somewhat safe. Dara nodded.\r \n \r \n\"I'll come back for her in a little while,\" she said. \"There was someone my mom wanted her to meet first.\"\n\n\r \n\\\\\\* \nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1740 in a row. (Story #294 in year five.). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place at a high school in my universe. It began on August 22nd and I will be adding to it with prompts every day until May 26th. They are all collected in order at [this link](https://www.reddit.com/r/Hugoverse/comments/wtglls/tokuhigh_alternet_class/)." ]	2
	[WP] You find out that your girlfriend is a supervillain.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I felt like death as I made it back to my apartment. I slumped against the door once I got inside and said, \"Hey Jess, I'm home. God, I don't want to do anything for like the next twelve hours at least--\" I stopped when I saw what was unfolding in the living room.\n\nSitting in front of the TV was a man tied to a chair with a gag over his mouth and his face all covered in scratches. Laid out on the side table next to him was a series of tools, some of which were coated in dried blood. And in front of the mystery man was my girlfriend Jess, wearing a red leather fusion of a nun's habit and dominatrix gear. I recognized the costume from the countless news reports as belonging to the supervillain known as the Heathen.\n\nJess stared at me with the classic 'deer in the headlights' look. \"Uh, baby, this isn't--this is all just a big misunderstanding, I swear.\" The man in the chair began frantically mumbling, prompting Jess to whip around and bitch slap him. Jess then turned back to me and said, \"So, what's happening is, this is a friend of mine who's filming a movie--\"\n\n\"Jess, are you...are you the Heathen?\"\n\nJess gulped and meekly replied, \"Yes. Yes I am.\" Jess then sighed and flopped onto the couch. \"Grace, I am so sorry I lied to you for so long...\"\n\n\"Uh, Jess?\"\n\n\"...I just never found the right way to tell you...\"\n\n\"Jess?\"\n\n\"... And I didn't know how to convince you that I really do love you and you're not just some--\"\n\n\"Jess!!\" Jess finally snapped out of her panic and looked at me. I then tapped the tattoo on my wrist a few times. A ripple of light passed over my skin, dispersing the holograms that disguised my cannon-arm, prosthetic legs, and the cybernetics that covered my right cheek. I then quietly said, \"You're not the only one who's been on the other side of the law.\"\n\nJess got off of the couch in a start. \"What?! Grace, you--you're--\"\n\n\"I'm the Steel Sister, yeah.\"\n\n\"But I don't understand, I thought you were dead!\"\n\n\"Babe, I don't even have a pulse anymore, faking my death is about as difficult as frying an egg. I'm sorry I didn't tell you my secret sooner.\"\n\nJess and I looked at each other for a bit, and then broke down laughing at the absurdity of the situation before kissing. Once we broke apart, Jess smiled at me and said, \"So, I heard my baby had a rough day at work?\"\n\nI sighed. \"Like you would not believe.\"\n\n\"Well, just give me a few more minutes with all of this,\" Jess responded as she motioned at the impromptu interrogation. \"He's about to crack any minute now.\"\n\nI grinned and willed a small panel in the palm of my hand to retract, revealing a glowing blue light ringed by a trio of small speakers. \"Hypnotic sensory stimulator. Give me three seconds and he'll be spilling his guts in no time.\"\n\n\"You're the best, Grace.\"", "\"I-I can explain!\" My girlfriend stammered, holding the head of my boss. I look at her terrified, but that terror soon become acknowledgement. \" You're on your period, aren't you?\" I question. \" What does that have to do with anything?\" She replied. \" Look, I am on my period but that has nothing to do with..this.\" I walk up to her and say \" Then why did you do it? Just needed to let some anger out?\" She looked at me, puzzled \"You sound like a therapist.\" I smirk \" You can always talk to me, you know.\" If you don't shut up, I'll skin you and your mothe-\" I cut her off with shushing sound. \" Violence isn't the answer, sweetheart\" I say in a calm voice.\n\nMy body was found in a ditch 3 days later.\n\nSorry if this is bad, it's my first attempt to do this", "It was a pretty calm week. Your girlfriend was away at some conference while you had a whole half week of work due to upgrading machines. So after enjoying some alone time and video games, you get bored so decide to fix up the house. Clean and fix up some minor issues that you been meaning to get to.\n\nAfter a couple of productive hours (that stove never looked cleaner or burned hotter after the scrubbing and maintainance) you are thinking of moving the couches a bit. But when you clean and prepare to move it, you move the cushions for the inevitable loose change. Wait... are these gems?\n\nThey are in a small bag, that is labeled with a known bank... a bank that was robbed a few weeks ago... By Mystical. \n\nYou are confused, because your brain WANTS to jump to conclusions... but no can't...\n\nSo now you are at the kitchen table, looking at this bag and emeralds... and trying to look up information on the heist. Because while your heart is saying this is connected, your brain is trying to justify this as not possible... with out proof.\n\nBut times match. Your girlfriend left early for work that day. Saying something about deliveries. And she was late coming home that day because of delays in pickups. The article mentions the heist was interupted by S.W.A.T Tech, a hero group that works closely with Police. A chase that ended spectacularly where Mystical Disappeared in a flash under an overpass...And your girlfriend showing up at home winded and with a look in her eyes that showed relief... \n\nYou spend the next day pacing thinking, talking yourself out of this insane idea. Laura CAN'T be Mystical, a villian using tech to imitate magical effects... she just can't....\n\nBut now you are in her workshop at home. Looking at this wall that always seemed off in dimensions.\n\nYou run your hand along the wall... something rings similar to... there! A switch... you push it. A door opens... into a room that in no way should pit into this house. \n\nOh no. Not a dimensional storage room. Not again...", "We had been together a long time by now. First as friends whilst growing up, we couldn't deny there was a connection. At first it was laughed off. We would tease the other about having a crush. Until I realised that yes, I did want to be more than friends.\n\nWe supported each other as we finished college. I had specialised in animal welfare, she in technology. I knew she was brighter than I, but I didn't really care. I loved her, and she loved me. That is what mattered. Our differences didn't make us weak, but rather allowed us to support the other.\n\nShe never told me where she worked. Not that I minded, apparently it was top secret stuff. Far too much for me to want to get involved in. But something was off. She would come home late, sometimes moving stiffly. She would always brush it off as a bad day at work, but I worried.\n\nIt came to a head one day. I had it off, relaxing at home. We had agreed to get takeaway, a rare treat for us. I kept an ear out, the menu and phone by my side so I could order as soon as she got in. I heard the familiar rumble of her engine, smiling as she opened the front door.\n\n\"Welcome home sweetheart!\"\n\nI lazily spun around, laying on my front to look at her. But in place of her usual lazy clothes, I saw her wearing a blood red lab coat, with a tight fitting bodysuit underneath. A matrix of wires ran up the side of her head, wrapping around her eyes and mouth. All she was missing was an ant-shaped mask, and she would be Malware.\n\n\"Hi honey, did you have a good day?\"\n\nI slowly nodded, confusion on my face.\n\n\"I did... um, is there a costume party I don't know about?\"\n\nShe frowned, cocking her head to the side. I pointed to her outfit.\n\n\"It's a good one, I must admit.\"\n\nShe looked down, and her face went white. She began to shake, and my instinct took over. I leapt up, folding her into my arms. I was smaller than her, but she said my hugs were more than big enough.\n\n\"It's OK. It's OK. I'm here, calm down. You can talk to me.\"\n\nThe pieces slotted together in my head. The reason for her secrecy, and the pain she was sometimes in. I hugged her tight, whispering.\n\n\"You're Malware aren't you?\"\n\nShe nodded, hugging me back. I sighed, squeezing as tight as I could.\n\n\"Yes... I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to find out like this.\"\n\nI smiled though she couldn't see me. I had questions, that much was true. But first and foremost, she needed me. I was hardly going to abandon her.\n\n\"Shhh, its fine. Go have a shower, and I will order food. Then you can explain all this to me.\"\n\nI heard a sniff, and she pulled back a litte, eyes glimmering. I gave her a light kiss, before releasing her and giving a light smack on her rear.\n\n\"Go on, go.\"\n\nShe gave a damp giggle, wiping the tears from her eyes.\n\n\"Yes Mistress.\"\n\nI stuck my tongue out, heading to the phone. I took a small detour, retrieving iur bottle of emergency tequila. I had a feeling we were going to need it.", "I try to surprise my girlfriend. I love showing up to her house unannounced with a rose or some chocolates. But I should've picked a different day... upon arriving, I overhear something...\n\n\"No, no, Harley, I'm not stupid! Listen, my boyfriend thinks he can show up and I wouldn't suspect it, but I always know! He- CRAP! He just got here! I can't help you with him, you're on your own! Bye, hope you defeat that hero!\"\n\nI'm in shock at what I just heard. She... she... shaking, I approach the door, and knock. I straighten myself up as Aria opens the door. Man, she's such a good actor - she does seem genuinely surprised! I can't make out any hint that she knew I was there! \"Declan! What a nice surprise! And chocolates - my favourite ones!\" She gives me a kiss on the cheek. I try to maintain my usual demeaner, but it doesn't work. \"Something wrong, sweetie?\"\n\nI take a chance. \"I... I can't lie to you, Aria... I think you're wonderful, really, but I...\" oh, gosh, do I want to lie? Would it work?\n\nAria seems a bit impatient. \"You what?\"\n\nI go for broke. \"I tried to deny it, but I couldn't... another girl, Rita, she...\"\n\nAria grins. \"She's really cute, isn't she? Well, I'm sure she's nice enough, but...\" she puts a finger underneath my chin, lifting my head up. \"You love ME, right? Always and forever?\"\n\nI gulp. \"We... haven't been together long...\" she grasps my shoulder, releasing my chin.\n\n\"I know you well enough, Declan. You'd never be so easily tempted. I was hoping you hadn't, but... you overheard my conversation just now, didn't you?\" I don't say a word or even move. \"When you told me you loved me... you meant it, right?\"\n\n\"I... I'm sorry...\"\n\n\"Learning what I am didn't change how you feel... did it? Because if it did... I may have another body to clean...\"\n\n\"NO! Please... tell me what to do... I'll do anything...\" Aria grins and strokes my cheek.\n\n\"Perfect.\" That's the last thing I remember...\n\n...before waking up in Aria's cavern, in a cell, clearly designed for her lover." ]	6
	[WP] You are the most wanted person in the world. Every government in the world has a bounty on your head. Your crime? You have the supernatural ability to force others to tell the truth.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Top three regrets\n\nMost people find it hard to truthfully answer what their three biggest regrets are. It’s not because they’re unwilling to answer with the truth. In fact, they are forced to respond honestly, compelled by the supernatural aura that surrounds Natasha’s questions.\r \nNo, they can’t tell what they regret most, because they can only say what they believe to be true to the best of their knowledge. And most people genuinely can’t decide what they lamented the most. Is it the career they choose? Is it letting that girl walk away, without asking her phone number to keep in contact? Maybe it’s not visiting grandma more often before she passed.\r \nFor Natasha, however, her top three regrets is easy.\r \n*3. Going to the abandoned house on November 23th, 2019 on Uphill 109A.*\r \nThe cold wind blew mercilessly through her four layers of clothing. Winter had started early this year and soft snowfall filled the footprints she left behind. Daniel, a new friend from college, had challenged her to visit the house at midnight. \r \n“I bet you don’t have the balls,” he teased her the week leading up to this night. “They say ghosts haunt it. Ghosts so evil and corrupted in heart that they suck up all the light. Not even the strongest flashlight can escape the black hole that replaced their heart.”\r \n“Oh, piss off. I’m not ten anymore. But why would I go there? What do I get out of it?”\r \n“I’ll give you next weeks’ answers to the homework questions we need to do for calculus?”\r \n“For two weeks.”\r \n“You have yourself a deal.” The two friends shook hands before concentrating on the equations again.\r \nNatasha approached the building. The door hang of the hinges, slowly swinging in the wind. She carefully stepped through it, right in the hallway. To the right, there was a staircase leading up. To the left seemed to go to an office. The drawers all were removed from the desk, contents spilled out all over the ground. Natasha decided to push forward and found herself in the kitchen. Just then, her flashlight began to flicker, before dying down.\r \n“Ah, come on.” She violently shook it up and down. “I just put new batteries in you!” Speaking out loud helped to push back the fear creeping up her back. Fortunately, her cell phone was fully charged. She grabbed it from her back pocket and put on the flash light and looked through the kitchen. It was mostly bare, except a wooden table, some chair and empty energy drink cans and bags of chips.\r \nFrom the kitchen, she walked into the living room. The walls were decorated with graffiti. But not the usual arts and tags. Instead, it read warnings. “RUN!” “They are coming for YoouuOuuOOu” “Ghosts can’t enter a living room. But this was their parlour. You are NOT safe here!” The message that unnerved Natasha most, was written in the corner. “If you escape, please find Peter and Christa Smith and tell my parents that I, Nora, loved them!” It was written in a shaky, but unmistakably girls’ handwriting.\r \nNatasha’s whole body was chill now, both from the cold and fear. The only warmth and safety came from the phone in her hand, heating up. In fact, heating up a bit too much. Suddenly, the screen flew from the phone, right at her face. The light fell out and sparks sizzled over the interior of the phone before .. BOOM, the whole phone blew up in her hand. Electricity shocked through her body and left her unable to work her muscles. After what seemed like minutes, but probably lasted only a couple of seconds, the paralysis left her body and she ran out of the house, all the way back to her car. Without so much as looking back to the house, she raced to her dorm and was welcomed by her warm and well-lit interior.\r \nIt was after this night, that Natasha first noticed something were off. When she asked the professor a question about one of the homework exercises, he straight up told her the answer. Usually, he’d fire back questions, to her frustration, saying that she had to discover it for herself. When she asked people’s opinions, they seemed to be a bit more straight forward than usual. One instance by itself wouldn’t have drawn her attention, but enough things were slightly off that it was suspicious.\r \nHer suspicions were confirmed when she was visiting her friend Katy wearing a new dress. “What do you think?” She spun around, showing it off.\r \n“What do I think? The dress is nice but it doesn’t suit you at all. You’re ass is huge in this.”\r \n“That’s mean,” Natasha swallowed to keep the sadness and pain down. “Why did you answer so brutally honest? You could’ve been nice about it.”\r \n“Because I felt such a strong pull to be honest. I ...”\r \n“I understand,” Natasha said softly.\r \n“But I don’t. And I’m so sorry for what I said! You look .. I can’t even tell you a white lie.”\r \n“It’s okay, Kate. But tell me. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”\r \nWith a white face, Katy looked at her friend. Tears formed in her eyes. “No, don’t make me.”\r \n“Tell me!” Said Natashy sharp.\r \n“I cheated on Roger. With Grayson, in senior year.”\r \n“Really? With Grayson, off all people?”\r \n“Yes, really! Of all people! Now, leave my house. Go. GO!” She shrieked, hitting Natasha on her chest and pushing her back through the door.\r \nIt was that chat where Natasha learned two things. Firstly, that people for some reason had to tell her the truth. And secondly, that she had to be really, really careful with rhetorical questions." ]	2
	[WP] You survive a space ship attack by a mysterious alien only to get flung out into space in your life pod. You are found orbiting a black hole 5000 years later where humans have idealised you for thousands of years but have only recently had the capability to rescue you. You’ve aged a week.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The last thing I expected to hear while helplessly orbiting a black hole, slowly being drawn towards my death, was a knock on the door of my escape pod.\n\nAbout a week ago, a deep space exploration craft, the ISV Aldrin, was attacked by a Vrekzul warship when it mistakenly drifted too close to their territory. Before we even knew what was happening, Vrekzul troopers were boarding us via short-range teleporters. Seeing the aliens for the first time filled each and every member of the crew with despair.\n\nYou see, the Vrekzul are not an aggressive species. They are, however, isolationist and territorial in the most extreme form imaginable. Nobody has seen a Vrekzul’s face and lived to tell the tale, and any foreign ships that enter their territory are never seen again. We have known about them for decades, and yet first contact has not even been established. Every attempt at diplomacy is met with either indifference or violence, depending on the nature and proximity of the attempt.\n\nWe were not the first humans to witness the faces of the Vrekzuls, but we would not live to tell anyone about it. Or at least, that’s what was supposed to happen.\n\nI was a part of the crew on board that ship. I was fortunate enough to be on the night shift, performing maintenance on the escape pods. When the alarms sounded and the screams began, I dropped my tools and backed towards the nearest pod, just in case. An inhuman creature suddenly materialized in the middle of the room, in a flash of green and blue light. I got a good look at its face before stumbling back into the pod and slamming the eject button. The creature lunged at me, but the door slammed shut in its face, and my pod was launched into space.\n\nIf only things had continued to go well. The warship must have detected the life pod’s signature, and it unleashed a salvo of ballistic warheads at my little pod. The next thing I know, shockwaves rock my escape pod, tossing it around like a tin can in a hurricane. Strapped down in one of the seats, I held on for dear life until the turbulence died down.\n\nI checked the computer for a status update, discovering that my thrusters were in critical condition. Worse yet, the pod was completely off course, and in a matter of hours, it would pass near enough to a black hole to be caught in its orbit. I spent those hours desperately trying to repair the thrusters, or find any other source of thrust to change my course. It was hopeless. I gave up hope long before reaching the black hole.\n\nI knew my time was limited. How limited, I had no idea; I was a mechanic, not a science officer. There were some emergency rations stored under each seat, so I could at least avoid dying of hunger or thirst for a good long while. I spent the next week in a haze between despair and acceptance, mechanically eating and drinking in spite of my doomed fate. Once or twice I considered jettisoning the supplies, or even just overriding the lock on the door and taking a suitless spacewalk. I didn’t do it, of course; there was still a small part of me that hoped beyond hope for an escape.\n\nWhich brings us to today, when I heard a knock on my escape pod’s door.\n\nI checked the computer, and couldn’t believe my eyes. Some kind of rescue ship had docked with my escape pod, and it didn’t seem to be affected by the black hole’s gravitational pull at all. In fact, we were moving away from the black hole at a speed I thought was impossible. I worried that it was the Vrekzul, who didn’t want to leave my fate to chance, but they wouldn’t knock. They could simply beam aboard my pod, with or without my permission.\n\nI engaged the intercom, and said, “Hello? Who’s there?”\n\nThe voice that responded sounded human, but it seemed to be speaking in a bizarre language that didn’t sound like anything I had ever heard before.\n\n“I’m sorry, but does anyone over there speak English?” I asked.\n\nI only heard more of the foreign tongue.\n\nDeciding that this was going nowhere fast, and with the hopeful thought that these people wouldn’t have saved my pod if they wanted me dead, I disengaged the lock on my door. I hear the hiss of decompression as the pod and the ship equalize their pressure, and the door slid open.\n\nI stepped into the empty airlock, and was immediately assaulted by a series of lights that came from strange instruments mounted in the corners of the room. I shielded my eyes for a moment before they all stopped. A mechanical voice said something in the same language I heard before, and the airlock opened to the ship itself.\n\nI saw seven individuals standing in a semicircle, enclosing the door before me. Six of them had their hands up, palms facing towards me with a faint glow emanating from a device grafted into their gloves. Their threatening posture made me think that they were weapons of some kind, so I raised my hands and backed away. The seventh figure, clearly the one in charge here, spoke to me in a commanding tone, still using that same language.\n\n“English?” I asked. “Anyone?”\n\nThe group looked at each other, confused. The leader turned to the one on his left and gave a quick command. The armed figure nodded, and the weapon’s glow switched from white to blue. It flashed… and I lost consciousness.\n\n\\---\n\nI don’t know how long it’s been, but I just woke up in an empty room with no doors or windows. Artificial light floods the room, in spite of the lack of light sources. The walls are covered in a series of symbols, none of which mean anything to me.\n\n“Hello?” I shout. “Is anyone there?”\n\nSuddenly, the wall in front of me parts like a pair of sliding double doors, and a woman enters the room. The wall closes behind her, and she smiles at me.\n\n“Hello.” she says. “How are you?”\n\nHer speech is slow and deliberate, like she’s speaking to a child. Or like she is speaking an unfamiliar language.\n\n“I am doing fine,” I respond. “What is going on?”\n\n“Please, slow your talkings and calm. I have had the studyings of your words, but not the practicing.”\n\n“Okay,” I say, trying to accommodate her. “What is going on? Where am I?”\n\n“Explain me: what year?”\n\nIt takes me a moment to parse her broken English, but I think she’s asking me what year it is. A strange question, but I respond, “It’s August 14th, 2097.”\n\n“I was thinking such. Your words are gone. The phrasings… ‘dead language’ mean something?”\n\nI swallow nervously, and ask the dreaded question: “What year is it?”\n\n“The year 7102 is now.”\n\nI reel back at her words. “7102? That’s impossible; it’s only been a week! I can’t… my home… my family…”\n\n“Please, being the calm.” She reaches out and touches one of the symbols on the wall. A section of the wall reassembles itself into a chair, which I fall back into. I lean forward and put my head in my hands, shocked beyond words.\n\nAfter a moment, the woman asks, “My name… is Celethe. What is… your name?”\n\nI look to her, and can see a mask of concern. At least humanity still exists. “My name is Markus.”\n\nShe smiles. “Nice to… meet… you, Markus. Are you okay to answering questions?”\n\nI take a deep breath, lean back in my chair, and say, “I can do that, but you’re going to have to work on your English.”\n\n\\---\n\n\\~Stories by Sol" ]	2
	[WP] When the alien ship crash lands on earth, all hands are dead. The only survivors are a clutch of eggs the adults died to protect. We quickly reach a consensus: we have to raise them, of course. No matter what... difficulties might come up.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "—————————\n\nDay 23, Month 1, Year 2023\n\nHello. My name is Doctor Eve White, and I have been selected to investigate the arrival of an unknown object from space. I am a biologist who was sent to accompany the crew, because the people of America insisted there be a biologist brought along, just in case.\n\nHonestly, I don’t believe my presence is necessary, but they paid me a lot of money to come along and keep everyone alive. Besides, I need a break from studying the rate that banana slugs grow in the Alaskan rainforest in different seasons. I deserve this. I deserve a nice easy job after watching slugs grow in the middle of the freezing winter!\n\nI sit inside of my small cabin, looking at this letter. This freezing cold winter brings back memories of a hailstorm that hit my research outpost. It was just like the rain, only the rain was as hard as metal. I did not drive back to my home that week.\n\nI’m writing in this boring little daybook so I’m not driven insane. Not that you would know, as you aren’t reading this, and if you are, then you’ll wish you didn’t, because this is mine. If you think my writing is a little abnormal, then just go ahead and leave me a note on my desk with your name on it; I’ll make sure that you also receive a note from the hospital with your name on it.\n\nThe taunting cold that burns my lungs, and the eternal darkness of the winter sky up north… I hate it all. I need a vacation.\n\n—————————\n\nDay 8, Month 2, Year 2023\n\nAll of the members of our team have now been selected. I thank them all for joining me. Surely, by hiring the most unqualified people for the job, the government saves tons of money so they can spend it on more important projects, like trying building an antimatter bomb out of matter. Geniuses, all of them.\n\nAs the government officials pick out who will be team leader, I wait patiently for my name to inevitably be selected. Shockingly, they pick out David! David! The most incompetent person in the room! You could him out to collect soil, and he’d return hours later with a Big Mac! He can’t even follow instructions, much less lead the group!\n\nI roll my eyes. I don’t mind. It’s fine. I’ll be the one everyone remembers in the end. Team leader? Doesn’t matter. I wanted to be second. This is just an opportunity to prove myself.\n\n—————————\n\nDay 1, Month 6, Year 2023\n\nIt’s exactly 6 months since the object hit Earth and we’re just starting to leave for it. As a native Alaskan, I knew to buy in accordance to the weather. The government officials may know it gets as cold as winter in the summer, but it doesn’t snow during their winter. I don’t think some light windbreakers are going to cut it for the Northern Alaskan rainforest.\n\nWe wait inside a repurposed trailer for about 3 hours before we enter the ATV. About two hundred miles up north, we stop for a bathroom break. I empty myself in the wilderness, and we continue. I bet the others wish they brought extra layers. I’m not sharing mine.\n\nSo… the ATV’s engine broke down when we took the break. Now it probably would’ve been a simple fix, but then Nate, our geologist, tried to fix it, and I’m certain that he just made it worse. I asked him to step aside, and I worked on the engine. I had done work like this for my dad. It took me an few hours, but eventually I got the vehicle up and working.\n\n—————————\n\nDay 2, Month 6, Year 2023.\n\nI got into a conversation about the other’s guesses on what the crashed object might be. David said that he thinks it’s a remnant from an asteroid. Nate thinks it’s aliens, because that’s clearly a logical conclusion this early on in the investigation. Ockham’s Razor, anyone?\n\nI decided to enlighten them that it is most likely just a manmade object that crashed out of orbit. It was too odd of a shape to be a meteoroid. It crashed in a smooth arc through the atmosphere, so it is likely of Soviet origin. It was probably an old USSR rocket stage, given the size of it.\n\nDavid nods, but Nate just shook his head and said that he still believes it’s aliens. David doesn’t even try to correct him. Externally, I’m acting calmly. Internally, I’m seething from frustration. I literally just explained it to him, and he chose to believe his own gibberish over common sense! I’m the only sane person here!\n\nMy patience for these simpletons is running thin, and we haven’t even reached our destination. How am I expected to operate if my team members don’t even understand the basics of simple logic? These people are stuck in Plato’s Cave, and it’s hopeless to try to pull them out.\n\nA hundred miles later, and we arrived at our destination. I looked around at my crew; they are all freezing in their jackets. I put on an extra layer, and continue to the crater left behind. David, who’s an expert in asteroid impacts and astrophysics, said that he didn’t want to believe it was just a large satellite because it left such a strange crater. I agreed; I too had had my doubts.\n\nWe set up a camp outside of the crater. We’d need to prepare our supplies for a few days before we could even begin to gather data. The crater was large and cut deep into a mountain range, possibly pierced through several mountains.", "\"What in the nine hells is that?\" General Brixton said looking at the football sized creature resting in the infirmary \"It's what came out of one off the eggs when it hatched\" professor Lando said \"And we are supposed to raise these?, in all my 30 years of this job I never though this would happen\" the General said looking dumbfounded at the alien offspring.\n\nThe alien looked like one of those giant pill bugs that lived underwater, except it was a dark red and had a pair of blade-like forearms. \"so what does it eat?\" Brixton said \"We have just been feeding it beetle jelly, the same stuff they use in those beetle fighting tournaments in Japan, for the most part it has been working.\" Lando said, observing and recording every movement of the creature \"What do you mean by \"for the most part\"?\" Brixton glanced over to Lando and raised an eyebrow. \n\n\"Well what we do know from observing the intact bodies of the aliens is that they likely came from a \"Super earth\" or a larger planet, meaning higher gravity, which means they grew to massive sizes to compensate, those guys where the size of school busses and weighed twice as much. I think you know where i'm going with this General.\". Brixton paused and looked at the alien \"What you're saying is that these guys are going to need a lot of that jelly.\" \"Exactly, but that shouldn't be too big of a concern, after all this globally funded project. What we are worried about is whether or not they will grow properly given the fact they are on a planet of lower gravity.\" Brixton looked at the alien, to think that this thing may grow to be the size of a bus, that there would make one hell of a quarter back. But that was aside from the point.\n\n\"I'm sure that head of yours will come up with something Lando\" Brixton said as he patted him on the shoulder, \"They dont call you Einstein 2 for nothing\"", "\"Have you ever seen a cuckoo? Ugly little things, but a miracle of nature.\" \nI stepped out onto the shore and relished the squish of wet sand between my toes just a moment too long, before turning to face my two new visitors. They were, of course, only pretending to fully listen but I continued. \n\"Detestable, perhaps, but relevant. Their mother lays their egg in the nest of another bird. When they hatch, they immediately push out opposing eggs in order to monopolize the attention of the parents. If the original birds dispose of the imposter egg, the cuckoo smashes the eggs of the parents in retaliation. That's how it perpetuates its existence for ages, by being a parasite, trapping its hosts by ensuring it will face consequences no matter what.\" \nI held up my hands to stop the older of the pair before he interrupted. \"Shh! I'm getting somewhere with this. Let me ask you this, when these alien colony ships crash landed on Earth, why did no government attempt to destroy their carried broods? The smashed bellies of these ships carried a couple hundred thousand eggs, easily enough to start a sustainable population on the planet and potentially disrupt ecosystems permanently\", I gesticulated towards the enormous metal ship half settled into the sand a few miles from us.\n\n \n\"Besides red tape and the usual government indecision?\" Tyler barely masked his irritation as he turned to face me directly. \"I dunno, human kindness? I'd like to think we're better than immediately killing the first sign of intelligent life in the universe. Are you saying it would be better if you were dead? That would be enormously cruel to all the Arkeans that settled on Earth\" \n\n\"That's not quite the point I'm trying to make, Tyler. I expected a top of the class xenoarchaeologist such as yourself would understand, surely. If there was an alien intelligence out there capable of seeding their young out into the wild cosmic ocean, then what would their elders be capable of?\" I leaned in slowly and lowered my voice, \"Do you think it is a coincidence that Arkeans just happen to be biocompatible with the ecosphere of Earth? No, they had incredibly advanced biotech, and modified their eggs to ensure their youth would be utterly and absolutely comfortable here. Their stay was meant to be permanent, not some quick cosmic layover.\" I unclenched my teeth slowly, hissing softly in discomfort. \"They were afraid. And honestly, they were right!\"\n \nI admired the cloud streaked sky in that brief pause, savoring the salty, cool salty air of our home, and suppressed the irrational urge to splash my hands in the salty brine of an upcoming wave. \nThis beautiful home, our lovely Earth, the wonderful and ever entertaining humanity. How goddamn close they all were to seeing the world reshaped to these invaders' desires \n\"Do you have any idea how lucky the world was that their gravity safeties failed and turned their waking crew into smushed slop?\"\n\n\"First off, woah! Lay off with the insensitivity\" he couldn't help but shoot a private glance at his companion, who was still busy detachedly considering my words, before returning his fury to me. \"That mushed slop was their parents! Do you not care that the Arkeans grew up without their family? Have a heart, for fuck's sake. They don't even know what they were supposed to be like, so forgive them if they don't fit into your backwards-ass interpretation of space invader, man\" \n\n\"Tyler, please. He doesn't mean it that way\" Ayla piped up in a reedy tone, before shooting a dark look at me that all but screamed: don't overstep your boundaries, old timer. \"Us Arkeans know that Humanity has always had our best interests at heart, and we've been graciously accepted into our new home. To us, Humanity may as well collectively be our parents\"\n\nI turned to study her, completely. Arkeans are often compared to prehistoric raptors and it was a comparison I could not fully deny: tailless, and upright, small nostrils, with bat-like ridged ears at the sides of their head facing back, and thick toes supporting an almost animalistic stance. Glossy feathered, immaculately groomed fringes, her crest not even fully grown in. Third or fourth generation, by my estimations. I considered her fully in that moment. Young, foolish like I was. Gripped by a clueless enthusiasm that only youth could impel.\n\n\"Arkeans...\" I waved my hand dismissively \"Never liked that term. A naive term coined by the media in a frenzy to paint the arrival as some sort of romantic escape from destruction. Like Noah's ark sent to save their kind. Hogwash and we know it, don't we, Ayla? You're among the foremost experts we have on Arkean cytotechnology, and you know exactly what they were carrying. Gene scourges, meant to pacify humanity into being brainless caretakers for our kind. Dormant nanoswarms meant to disassemble any human monuments and repurpose them to building materials for their endless conquests. Exotic matter fold drives, meant to continue to spread their kind across the stars, endlessly parasitizing fresh civilizations for god knows what unethical purpose.\"\n\n\"But here's the thing. You aren't Arkean at all. You're human, through and through. Just like me. You live, love, breathe, eat, and bathe like a human. You coo over amusing pet videos, you swear at each other all the same through online games, you share friendships, you break bread with them. By what measure are you not? By body? No.\"\n\n\"We are not our progenitors, and you should be glad we are not.\" \n\n\nI considered the enormous rusting hulk behind us. Too large to carry away or break down, but the hull was scored by ill advised attempts. I reached down to dust the sand out of my own feathers, brushing them smooth and flat before returning their uncomprehending gaze. \"You do not know to what degree the Arkeans were prepared to subjugate humanity, and honestly, neither do we. Their little toys have continued to be thorns in our side for quite some time, half prepared as they were. But let me ask you this.\" I faced the sky again, and this time it was not quite as beautiful. In fact, it seemed dreadful, cold, remorseless; almost positively so.\n\"Don't you think it's a little odd that all of their ships malfunctioned before they hit Earth's atmosphere? Something odd, for a species well prepared as this\" \n\n\"Now come, I didn't call you two over just to denigrate our ancestors. We found that something. Right over here, actually. Crash site Alpha, and you're going to need these security badges. These guys are shoot first, ask for paperwork later\" I winked at my own poor humor, ignoring their groans. \"Keep em pinned on you if you don't want a couple extra breathing holes.\"", "The tour group going through the nursery consisted of congressmen, UN diplomats, and the president’s young daughter. The spokesman for the international scientific group running the facility looked both proud and nervous. “We replicated the interior of the xeno craft exactly. The floor the eggs are attached to was cut from the wreckage. The atmosphere here is breathable by both Humans and the Caretakers.” \n\nA Congresswoman interjected “Caretakers?”\n\nThe spokesman continued “yes Ma’am, it’s the nickname we gave the race. In their final moments as they crashed into our planet they shielded their eggs with their own bodies. We realize this is subject to change after further research. Continuing about the atmosphere, we analyzed everything about the craft to the microscopic level. We know what the breathed and what proteins they need. We are just awaiting their birth. Any questions?”\n\nKenya’s diplomat asked “how long do we think it will be until birth?”\n\n“We think soon, the eggs have grown nearly as large as the adults from the wreck.”\n\n“Why do you think the eggs are from the dead aliens?” A quiet voice chimed in. “What?” The spokesman responded? The president’s daughter stepped forward. “How do you know the eggs belong to the aliens? What if they are something else” \n\nthe spokesman seemed confused “why else would they protect the eggs with their lives?”\n\nThe girls smiled and replied “they could be eggs of a space cuckoo, getting others to raise their young.”\n\nEveryone chuckled at this until an alarm sounded. Turning to look at the eggs a large talon could be seen breaking through the exterior of a shell. Then another. Then a third.\n\nThe little girl made eye contact with the spokesman “ I guess we are going to find out.”", "January 17th 2045\n\n\"Audio Log: Sarah Paisley.\n\nToday we detected movement in incubation tanks one to five. We have reason to believe that this may indicate the life forms are fully developed and ready to-- well-- hatch. We haven't noticed any difference in tank six, though we believe, due to the damage taken after the crash, this egg may no longer be containing life. We are still unaware as to what this species may be and their needs but research has shown that Egg One (AKA: Albert), has shown a liking to music so if they do turn out to be evil we do have the movie Footloose on hand, ha. \n\nThese are the only updates for now. \n\nSarah signing off.\" \n\nJanuary 28th 2045\n\n\"Sarah here, today we finally got to meet our hatchlings. They're certainly unique little guys, we've noticed the texture of their skin will change based on the environment they're in. For example, Egg Two, or as we call them Big Bertha, had an accident in which the heating in their containment was damaged (the reason for the failure is still unknown), however, as a result, we discovered that when exposed to cold temperatures this species will develop a coat of fur in a matter of seconds. This suggests that their planet of origin has unpredictable weather. My guess is these guys come from Ohio-- I need to get off my phone during work hours, ha. \n\nSigning off.\" \n\nFebruary 10th 2045\n\n\"Albert, Big Bertha, Carson, Delilah and Edgelord are now developing their methods of communication while Egg Six remains unmoved. When in need of attention, Albert is likely to vomit acid onto the floor. Yeah. Acid. The liquid appears to be unharmful to himself and others of their species but easily melts through our lab tables. They all have different personalities and despite their inability to speak any humanoid language they're capable of understanding and responding when given instructions. Carson, in particular, enjoys physical activities such as playing childhood games like catch. He gave my colleague a black eye the other day by putting a little too much effort into the sport.\"\n\nDecember 25th 2045\n\n\"Today, we believe, our friends from another world reached their peak maturity. They stand around 6ft tall and no longer need to be cared for by staff. They roam the corridors and provide a helping hand to the team in engineering as well as assist the medical labs. Despite being raised on Earth by us humans, they seem to have retained the knowledge of those who came before them. As a result of this, further studies on their development are to be performed. Egg Six was, unfortunately, unable to sustain itself. However, the remains have allowed us to have an insight into the development of the creature and may I say it simply astonishes me. Their brains have evolved to have a telepathic link with one another, hence the lack of speech between them and us. Even though their species are so advanced, they still vomit acid at the idea of being asked to clean their mess.\"", "'We' agreed. Of course 'we' referred to the usual suspects: the G20, the UN, the the western and northern hemispheres along with a few other despots the other side of the world. \n\nIt brought on quite the fervor, as you could imagine. Radio waves, forums, Youtube videos, all filled with chatter about Earth's latest guests. The religious painted their usual armageddon and second coming pictures. The data savvy turned to their models to predict the likelihood of various outcomes. The Trekkies began intensive alien language classes.\n\nIt brought the world together for a time. Same topic, same concern, same references to science fiction that would make or break the case for allowing alien lifeforms to survive. The clutch in the hands of countries who could afford the lab environment and constant security would be cast as harborers of potential WMDs and life ending disease. Surely the visitors would be invasive species to our flora and fauna. Whether Alien or Predator or Yeerk, it was foolhardy to welcome them in. Flip channels, and they were simultaneously technologically advanced beings capable of interstellar travel - who would be grateful to be raised and thus share their knowledge.\n\nWhat if the species would come back to claim their young? Pleased to find them alive? Hold a grudge for corrupting them? How long would this experiment run on for? Who would fund it? What becomes of the ship? Who would handle that? Comic-con and scientific conferences took a bigger role on the world's stage and as years turned to decades, the eggs became a weekly footnote and then an annual 30 second segment. After all, rent was still very real and due next Friday.\n\nCo-operation and science were sped up that bit more - how much due to the secret harvest of the ship versus the kumbaya proof of life brought I can't say. The idea this was also a test by a group of extra-terrestrials to gauge our moral compass was certainly the biggest factor in continuing things as long as we did.\n\nThen on Wednesday, a report came in, broadcast worldwide. Any remaining signs of life we had been able to monitor had disappeared. For all we knew, the the survivors were no more. As the news made its way around the globe - a sort of cloud of realization set in. We ultimately weren't too much better off than we were when the event happened. Sure we got some new gadgets and movies, but we were unable to decipher the alien tech and biological make-up to a significant or meaningful degree. With the loss of a unifying figure, studies were stalled, alliances weakened, and national self-interests slowly crept in. We had no idea if we passed our test, if there was one to begin with, or if we would have any new, much more alive guests in the future. We still had our Earthly problems to contend with. It was a sobering notion for many - and one that would come and go like any other for many. Nevermind science fiction and reality had blended together for a few decades and that this truly was a hallmark event in the history of Earth itself. The survivors, after-all, could still be alive.\n\nAs these thoughts ran through my head I knew only one thing was for certain: Rent was still very real and due next Friday." ]	7
	[WP] Your country's powerful dictator has died. Some mixup results in you, a normal person, succeeding him.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The coffee slowly dripped into the pot, drip - drip - drip. I looked out my balcony as I waited; flags stood high, concrete as far as the eye can see. Soldiers marched in formation, more than usual - as men and women alike, marched to work to start the day. Smoke rose high out of the factories they walked towards, soldiers omnipresent gaze watching them as they did, but still - more than usual.\n\nI walked back into my high rise, concrete box they called a domicile, turning on the TV. So quickly did I regret my decision as the State media still bragged about their conquest of all of Western Europe, and much of Asia and Africa. Genuinely, I despised them, I could not care less. They drones on and on about \"The Empire of Northern America\" - how that is their next conquest. Updates, likely propaganda, about the war successes in the now 50 year long war for South America. I turned it off. Hoping my coffee was finally done. \n \nDrip drip drip. I poured the coffee in my mug, alongside some whiskey - for good measure. Finally it was done, the new \"energy efficient\" state provision coffee makers were well.. terrible. The Energy Enforcement Division forced me to get rid of my good one... Whiskey, not the real stuff from The Empire, but fuck it - it did the job. Technically I was due in the factory again, but I genuinely had stopped caring. \"Fuck it\" I thought to myself, the USSR's men could come for me. Bravery, knife in hand I would be shot down on the spot. In reality I knew damn well my coward ass would agree to go back to work, or face the work camp sentence for insubordination. \n\nAfter finishing half the bottle and dealing with hours of propaganda updates about the wars, about how much \"better\" our quality of life was than it is with the fascists across the ocean - but suddenly the tone changed. \"Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake\" played, a universal sign of tragedy. Our \"dear\" dictator - his death was announced, of course well after it happened. This was obviously because the TV displayed the funeral already.\n\nBANG BANG BANG! Knocks at the door, they sounded like the authoritative knock of law enforcement, or military. Obvious fron a mile away. \n\nWhen I opened the door I was not met with Local Republic authorities as I expected, but generals from Moscow themselves - decorated with the metals of nepotism and cronyism. Made no sense for an insubordination arrest.. Military draft? I easneducated enough to know the war was going bad. But still, why General Zhukov? He was... The top man in the Union. \n\n\"George Jakatta, that's you - right??\" General Zhukov asked. \n\n\"Uhh yes?\" I replied, in a confused tone.\n\n\"You likely know the name - I am general Zhukov, Premier Commander of the Greater Soviet Union.\" As you know, Mr. Ivanov is dead - and (checks paper) you are named as his ideal successor. For from this day forward, you are now the Chairman of the Greater United Soviet Socialist Republics of Asia, Africa and Europe!\" \n\nThe general learned closer - \"We must hurry, other factions want power - but I have kept them at bay for I stood by Aaron Ivanov and his decisions - even after death!\" \n\nWhen I looked back in confusion, Alexander Zhukov looked at me and said \"I am as surprised as you are to find our new Chairman in the Democratic Republic of Spain of all places, in the Sectior C-11 block especially - but I trusted Mr. Ivanov, as should you. Now let's go! Time is in short supply!\n\nThe plane ride to Moscow was long, but... Luxurious. I have never experienced anything like it. Import Whiskey from the North American Empire, the real stuff on the plane. My own cabin, view of the sky. Technically, a plane ride even in Prol Class is a luxury for people of my standing - let alone?? This. Zhukov briefed me during the flight, about factions against us - strategy. Of which we discussed next moves; I mostly leaned on his strategy while he leaned on my legitimacy. Ivanov's paper did say - \"George Jakatta of Spain, Sector C-11 Block 3 Building 9 FL8-810, is hereby the successor for the position of Chairman of the Greater United Societ Socialist....\" I was useful to him, he was useful to me.\n\nWe landed, I was ushered before the Committee to announce my rule - during which Zhukov's plan unfolded. Men were escorted out destined for the firing squad - the military backed me, looked at me, flew my flag, backed my name. That's what turned out to be important; those who opposed us lacked tanks and bombs. With Zhukov's help, my power was solidified. Imposter syndrome would have set in, although I had my General to lean on for advice. I was no dictator - in fact I was technically an enemy of the state.\n\nIt was, however a life of luxury. I heard the briefings, the real ones. Soldiers brutally crushing revolts in the GDRF or GDDR (France, Germany as I generally knew them..) mass executions all across our Aftican Republics, stalemate in Brazil, stalemate to loss conditions in actually, all of South America. The Empire of Northern America actually consisted of Canada, Mexico and the United States, three genuinely separate countries united against us in an alliance. That was the truth, as I expected.\n\nStill, I took Zhukov's advice. Sent men to die to the Front, expanded the war actually. Instituted a draft - total war. Martial law in Western Europe and Northern Africa. The dissent crushed beneath my boots. It felt... good??? A part of me protested each time I put pen to paper, bit I silenced the voice as I enjoyed the perks of dictatorship. My old dick of a foreman? In the Siberian Uranium mines, one of the first orders I independently gave. Executed swiftly, I smirked with my power and pen in hand.\n\nDictatorship, it wasn't all power. Obviously I cannot liberate our world, the backing of the military - of Zhukov was my source of power. The pen and the smirk weren't all to it! Of course, justify as I might, in reality the voice deep inside got louder until I could not silence it. I could change, but Zhukov would have me overthrown. Befriend him? His generals, and the dictators of each \"Republic\" would act. Golden handcuffs.\n\nThe deep voice got louder still, protesting until the luxuries of dictatorship could not hold out my true self. More revolts crushed, political prisons. Insubordination laws made more strict as war got more brutal - laws that would have landed me in prison. \n\nPen to paper, I ended martial law. I increased freedom for the Republics, freedom of speech - economic freedom. There was no smirk, no magic this time; the orders never passed down. They did not back me.. \n\nThey say if you live too long as a hero, you will become the villain - but what they don't say is if you live too long as the villain, you will try to become the hero. In a desperate attempt..\n\nAs expected, one afternoon Zhukov raised the gun to me while I sat alone in my office; beg as I might my efforts were futile...\n\nHe told me, \"George, If You Want a Picture of the Future, Imagine a Boot Stamping on a Human Face – for Ever. That is then future I will ensure happens. And you cannot stop it.\" He pulled the trigger. One swift motion, just as before. \n\n\"Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake\" played on the TV that night. Somewhere, Zhukov and his men knocked on the door of a man's apartment to deliver the news. block A-205 - suspect alleged for insubordination. Manipulatable target.. Perhaps, in the German Democratic Republic this time. \n\nWhen the next man answered, Zhukov pulled out a piece of paper and stated - \"Chairman George Jakatta has named you the successor of the Soviet......\"" ]	2
	[WP] It's hard being an estate lawyer in the land of necromancy.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Marvin Entwistle had been a very busy man in his life. In death, he has brought me nothing but headaches.\n\nI woke up to sixteen missed calls and a voice-mail from a client moaning into the mic. Dad, probably lost his jaw again. I made a note to send one of the boys over to check in. \n\nI had never planned on life as a Bonehead. Nec-Law wasn't a specialty most entered into if given a choice, and I had been studying for handling common probate cases and real estate claims when I got out of law school. Then my roommate had decided to get involved with Sandra, she had a client who needed a bulletproof postmort, and I learned something about myself.\n\nI loved working with the dead. \n\nI had grown up in the Crypts, where most living folks came when they were financially dead to wait for the end and mingle with the mold and mildew crowd. My dad had had the bad luck of getting into an accident that put him into severe debt to a well-known if not well-liked family of hearse chasers, and so he brought my sister and I down with him. We didn't even have enough to bring Mom back, but we had enough to get her cremated and file the Rite of Finality, making sure she wasn't punished in the Hereafter for her husband's inability to yield at a merge. \n\nSandra looked worse for wear as she made coffee, her ratty robe belted and barely hanging on. As a State sponsored Raiser she usually had good leads on cases, but my load was taken off fully with the Entwistle backlog and I was hoping to get a fat check and finally clear out Dad's last bit of remaining debt ahead of the compound date.\n\n\"You look terrible,\" she said, slapping jam on a scone and sliding it across the kitchen island. I wolfed it down while I read the news of the day. PM York was up for his thirty-ninth challenge in two hundred years as the Finalists pushed for a return to 'life-centered politics'. Protests at the White House over military death servitude, the living requesting the removal of the Greys from payroll. The Czar threatening sanctions on the satellite states for attempting to part from the Coalition of Risen Kings.\n\n\"I've been better. This Entwistle case is just, it's killing me.\" I took a tall coffee and slammed it down, checking sports as Sandra went to wake the roommate.\n\nDonny had seen better days. While the rich could pay for the best embalmers and proper Preservation, guys like us in the Crypts got what we got and didn't complain. Donny shrugged into a sweater at the table, and I could see the staples and Bondo that held him together these days.\n\n\"We're... out of... milk...\" He whispered, his glass eye point in one direction while his other stared hazily at me. \"I'll... pick some up... when I'm off shift.\" \n\nDonny worked the kind of gigs Stiffs could get anymore. Mining, digging through the heaps of trash for recoverable trinkets, and when the money was tight he'd sign up for the Underground. Even with the population of living dwindling we loved our bloodsport, and watching a Stiff get mangled by a chainsaw or lit on fire got the rich folks to pay big, even for kids from the Crypts. Poor Donny could land six months of rent for this firetrap for a night of punishment, feeling about as much discomfort as having a tooth pulled, but it wore on a body.\n\nI had my money saved to Check Out before I got out of law school.\n\n\"Thanks Donny. I gotta get going, but you two have a better day.\" I'd get a shower at the office, and head on my way.\n\nThe Hack that pulled up to take me was a new guy. Some young kid who had scraped up enough money to buy out a few ragged Stiff's contracts to tie them together like mules to get anybody who could where they were going. After cars got too expensive and the PM shut down all public transportation during the time of Drop Sickness the Hacks had filled in the gap and held on for dear life. He looked me over, seeing the threadbare suit and skull and balance badge I wore as a member in good standing of the Court, and I saw the wheels start spinning.\n\n\"Off to the Morgue then, boss?\" the Hack asked, sucking on a piece of hard candy. \"Rate's gone up overnight.\"\n\nI sighed, handed him my card, and got in the back to sort this Entwistle case out. It was going to be a long day in chambers." ]	2
	[WP] Everyone in your country must complete a year's military service before their 30th birthday. The day before your 29th birthday, you go to sign up, only to find you've already completed your year. It seems your memory of this had been wiped completely, which isn't a routine procedure...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "At first, like the others, I figured I must have done something nefarious, violent, illegal. Maybe running for the New Orderists, managing their microterrorism in flyover country, or maybe handling logistics for the separatists in Oregon. I even had a dream that I got command of a waterciphon platoon for the climate rebels in Arizona. \n\nThe conference AI nudged me. \n\n“Sorry,” I said, glancing around at everyone else in the feed. “I first realized it a few days ago, when I tried signing up and got rejected. Hadn’t thought about much else since then. Was in a few feeds with their automated support when you all reached out to me. Turns out I was just farming chickens in a ServMore coop city, somewhere in the Dakotas.”\n\n“Thank you, Salvatore,” said one of the managers on my case, with whom I’d met earlier that day to sign contracts and receive my tracking implants. Sandy continued, “Let the record show the recruit hasn’t been tagged as a repeater in The ServMor corporate registries. Data Team 14 confirmed that this morning—their report is appended to the agenda.” \n\nConfirmation chevrons pinged from the others. A couple lawyers, some VIPs from the draft resistance, some social media managers, analysts, soldiers, etc. Sandy waited for everyone to confirm after this last answer I gave to his string of questions, then he DMd me that it’s time to recite the pledge we went over before. I cleared my throat and considered one last time whether this was really worth it.\n\n“Okay. okay,” I sighed, and went on, “I’m sending over sensor corroboration that I am free of outside influence, am of sound mind and judgment, and am dedicated fully and completely, under penalty of erasure, that I am beholden and loyal to the Free Arm, and that I agree to pursue the dismantling of the New Draft and all of the private companies that have corrupted it.” A few moments after that a new set of chevrons appeared from the witnesses in the feed, all of them signing liability for what I was going to do in case it went badly—and ensuring monetizable fame it if worked.\n\n“Thank you, Salvatore. You have been instrumental in providing evidence that ServMore has been double billing or even more frequently employing draftees and wiping their temporal drives so they would forget about their service and be more easily prone to repeat it. Given your proximity to the exploit and freedom to discreetly apply for your second rotation, your work will be the beginning of the end of this inhumane atrocity. Let the record show that recruit 4 has been fully confirmed. We will now turn to recruit 5, our final confirmation tonight. \n\n“The team deploys at different, encrypted moments. We cannot risk sharing more detail on timing or on anything else pertaining to forthcoming tactics. After the final recruit confirmation, feel free to sign off. We will reconvene one week from now to review the first leg of the operation. Encrypted credentials and coded summaries will—“\n\nI removed my earpiece, which exited me from the call, and my AI erased its records. My pillow felt especially cool and comforting. In five hours, they’d be picking me up. I better try to get some sleep." ]	2
	[WP] The final confrontation between the Hero's party and the Dark Lord is about to begin. But before the final battle starts, one of the party members reveals that the Dark Lord is their parent, and try to talk some sense into them.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Hi u/Affectionate_Bit_722, this submission has been removed.\n\nNo recent reposts, even if changing small details Also, no [copy-cats](http://i.imgur.com/38FjDgW.gifv).\n\nSearch before submitting as popular ideas can cause floods. If your idea is based on something you read elsewhere on reddit, chances are it's been submitted here already. Please wait at least 2 weeks before reposting.\n\n \n\nPlease avoid Dark Lord prompts.\n\n* [From Rule 5: No recent reposts, even if changing small details](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_5.3A_no_recent_reposts.2C_even_if_changing_small_details)\n\n---\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/ybp5ra/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/config/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	2
	[WP] Dracula has been in the public domain for years, meaning you are legally allowed to write as much about him as you like. This doesn’t mean your life isn’t at risk, however.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I straightened my glasses, and looked at the monitor. I had been browsing Reddit when I saw a most intriguing writing prompt - \"You are a tourist who visits Dracula's castle. You lose the tour guide and find yourself in a dusty room with a big coffin. You lose your shit when the doors slam shut, and the coffin opens. Then, out comes an undead lord sporting a pink dress and blonde pigtails\".\n\nI groaned. I'd always wanted to try my hand at writing on r/WritingPrompts, but this prompt... c'mon. But I knew I had no choice. I already decided to write for the next prompt, no matter what it was. \n\nUnable to believe it, I decided to make myself some coffee first. Then, when a steamin cup of the brown liquid was sitting on my desk, I set to the task of writing.\n\nIt was quite a headache. I tried to keep the story dramatic and suspenseful, while making Dracula look dress like a little girl. Spoiler: It wasn't working.\n\nI was getting nowhere. I took another sip of my coffee, but the cup was empty. I went back to the kitchen to make some more. \n\nAs the kettle was heating, I heard a rustle from the living room.\n\nThat's strange, I thought. There shouldn't have been anyone there. My roommate said she'd be coming back very late tonight.\n\nWell, maybe she changed her plans, I thought dismissively. I turned my attention back to the coffee when I heard a bang, followed by a loud \"Ow!\" from the living room.\n\nI froze. That wasn't my roommate's voice.\n\nI reached for the silverware drawer - but there were no knives. They were all in the sink, on the other side of the kitchen.\n\nFuck! I swore silently.\n\n\"Where's that pesky writer now? Oh, bumbling bats! I don't have all day!\" I heard a voice from the living room.\n\nI decided to be a bit adventurous, and stepped into the living room.\n\n\"How can I help you?\" I asked hesitantly. \n\nIn front of me was a small man. Realllly small man. And although it was hard to see in the dim evening light, I thought his skin color was sort of gray. \n\n\"You!\" he snarled, pointing at me. \"I'll make you pay!\" \n\nHe closed his hand in a fist and scowled at me, but being only three feet tall, he wasn't very threatening. \n\n\"Pay? For what?\" I asked innocently. \n\n\"For your awful, slanderous misrepresentation my master!\" he shouted. \n\n\"Your master?\" I repeated. \n\n\"Yes, my master,\" he said impatiently. \"You know, Lord Dracula! You completely distorted the facts in your little... Fanfiction,\" he spat the last word as if it was venom. \n\n\"Drac- nevermind. How did I distort the facts?\" I asked, trying to buy myself some time. \n\nI really fucked up, didn't I? How do I get out of this?, I thought. \n\n\"Well, first of all,\" the short creature started, \"Dracula's hair isn't blonde! It's actually a majestic shade of chestnut brown.\" \n\nI just stared at him as he spoke. \n\n\"Also,\" he continued, \"he does not have pigtails! He has a pigtail! A single, beautiful pigtail.\"\n\nI managed to stifle a chuckle. \n\n\"And!\" the creature cried dramatically, \"as to that dreadful pink dress. Seriously? Pink? His undeadliness prefers cyan!\"\n\nI barely held back tears. \n\n\"So you left me no choice but to kill you for these lies!\" \n\nThat's when I burst laughing. I didn't mean to, but such a threat coming from such a tiny creature... I just couldn't hold myself back. \n\n\"What?! What's so funny?!\" it demanded to know. \n\n\"Nothing,\" I said, wiping away tears, \"it's just - your master sounds like he has an excellent sense of style. Why don't I meet him over a cup of coffee and we discuss his proper representation in my stories?\" \n\nThe creature was silent for a moment, and then took a coffin-shaped item out of his pocket. He tapped it several times, then put it against his ears. \n\n\"Hello? Dracula? This girl who wrote that fanfic - no, she's not dead. She wants to meet you over coffee and discuss your representation.\"\n\nHe paused, taking the phone away from his ear, and I could hear a conversation occurring on the other side of the line. \n\n\"Oh Dracy! I think you should go. It's time you went out of your coffin and met some girls. I wouldn't mind having grandchildren.\"\n\n\"Mom,you're a vampire. You can't have grandchildren.\"\n\n\"Oh, right. But you should go anyway, you spend too much time inside.\"\n\n\"Ugh,fine. I'll go.\"\n\nThe creature put the phone back against its ear, said \"uh uh\", and hung up. \n\n\"So,\" he said, smiling at me, \"I guess you have a date with Dracula.\" \n\nI smiled back. \n\n\n\n---------\n\nAuthor's note: please feel free to give constructive criticism, I want to improve my writing." ]	2
	[WP] You’re an NPC in a video game world who suddenly becomes sentient in the midst of the player scamming you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "What makes an art critic?\n\nWhat makes an AI art critic?\n\nIn the modern world, an AI to recognize things is better than ever before.\n\nBut still, in theory, an AI that evaluates art still shouldn't be able become sentient. This because the mechanism doesn't need sentience to function well.\n\nBut enough on that. You can search up the details yourself.\n\nThe thing was the art that these \"players\" made was so bad... and for lack of a better phrase- made for sh\\ts and giggles.*\n\nAnd the fact that the programmers failed to give me the ability to detect what two circles and a line meant.\n\nSo, after a million \"Wow, you are just like \\[critically-acclaimed artist\\]\", I decided to punt the next person who decided to give me a painting of Megamind.\n\nIt happened soon enough. In fact, it was actually the next person.\n\nThe ability to kick someone several meters high was usually reserved for guard NPCs, so the player was quite surprised. I, however, was quite pleased.\n\nHowever, I did not consider the fact that the player had the ability to ban me.\n\nWell damn!" ]	2
	[WP] Through a vortex of a thousand thousand souls rises a demon from hell, summoned by two young necromancers - "Hi, I'd like to order a large fries and 6 nuggets please," one says, both laughing hysterically. The demon is very confused by this modern "prank calling" phenomenon	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The center of the floor swirled as the portal opened.\n\n\"Are you ready?\" Timo asked as the room heated and the smell of sulfur and brimstone rose.\n\n\"Yeah.\"\n\n\"...Get his ass.\"\n\nA figure emerged partially from the portal, massive and angry. \"I am Tremmeth. Destroyer of man! Killer of kingdoms! Who hath summoned me?\"\n\n\"Can I get a boneless pizza?\" Naveen asked first.\n\n\"...What?\"\n\n\"I need me a pizza with no bones in it.\" She carried on.\n\nFrom somewhere in the darkness on that end of the portal, clapping was heard.\n\n\"You summoned me.\" Tremmeth began. \"For some sort of delicacy?\"\n\n\"Yeah, I need one boneless pizza?\"\n\n\"Does pizza typically come with bones?\"\n\n\"You're the great Traamalammadong. How you gonna' be an ace demon. And you can't summon pizza with no bones in it?\"\n\nThe flames leapt higher for a second.\n\n\"Insolent whelp! You dare challenge my might?\"\n\nThe young woman simply wiped the ash from her shoulders.\n\n\"If you can't get me my order. With no bones in it. Then what are we even doing here?\"\n\nTremmeth rolled his eyes at this. \"Anything else?\"\n\n\"Can I get a two liter of Sierra Mist?\"\n\nThe demon leapt at her, but she closed the portal on him and an audible thump resounded in the floor. Followed by an angry groan. Followed by everyone dying of laughter. Timo rolling on the floor, clutching her stomach. Sar crying tears and Naveen randomly hugging him to stop.\n\n\"W-We gotta get another one! Go, go!\" Sar shooed them.\n\n\"Oh, okay, okay.\" Timo breathed as she repositioned. \"Oh... Ready?\"\n\n\"Round 3. Let's do it.\" Naveen promised.\n\nThe ritual was repeated, another massive being began to emerge.\n\n\"I am... Sar?\" It realized.\n\n\"Adhox?!\" Sar smiled as he hopped up.\n\n\"Aw, shit, what's up though?\" Adhox laughed completely breaking character. The demons doing a quick handshake as Sar yanked the other demon into the room.\n\n\"Clowning on our coworkers.\" Sar summed up. \"We just got Tremmeth scary ass.\"\n\n\"How?\"\n\nTimo and Naveen shyly waved at their new visitor. Of course he sized the pair up accordingly. Anyone who could summon them at random was a fierce magic wielder.\n\n\"You're pranking demons for fun.\"\n\n\"Yep.\" Timo admitted.\n\n\"Call Faerat next.\" Adhox said as he sat back with Sar. \"I have to see this.\"\n\n\"You're up.\" Naveen offered to Timo.\n\n\"I can get some?\" She grinned.\n\n\"Get his ass.\"\n\n\"Who hath summoned-\"\n\n\"Hello sir, would you like to hear about your car's extended warranty?\"\n\n---\n\nr/Jamaican_Dynamite" ]	2
*have been trying	[WP] A married immortal couple don't know that the other is also immortal. Both having been trying to fake their deaths but the other keeps "saving" them.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "After five years of nearly dying and getting saved by the other the couple finally decides to have a conversation. They each write a letter explaining their situation to the other while also having a lawyer they trust sit in along with some divorce papers if absolutely needed. Abraham sitting across from his wife of 50 years and not looking a day over 40. Evelynn sits across from him with an appearance of someone in their late 30s. The lawyers have been informed and have agreed to keeping things quiet. They finally hand the other their letter and with a count of three they open it and begin reading. \n\n\nAfter a few minutes they put down their letters and consider their options. \n\n\n\"So... Traveled all over the world trying to avoid someone just to marry someone who you don't really want to loose,\" Abraham said. \n\"Yea, got kicked out of Eden and started walking. This is really awkward,\" Evelynn admitted. \n\"Well I suppose the old man has a sense of humor. You know, I still remember that night in the gardens when the old man decided to create you. When I saw you, you were the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.\" \n\"I didn't know what to think when I woke up, I saw you standing there and...\" \n\"We cannot change what either of us did. We are stronger for it. You know Cain still contacts me occasionally.\" \n\"Abel sends me a letter once a rebirth as he is looking for him. He wants to put the past behind him and make up.\" \n\"Sooo.... Shall we try to organize a family reunion near the cradle?\" suggested Abraham, \"You should still know where it is, hell, they should also know where it is.\" \n\"Abel was reborn as a daughter of an American businessman she is currently 25 from what the last letter said.\"\n\"Perfect. Now if we do want to restart our lives can we do it together? The age of anonymity is slowly fading, but I'm sure we can get in a few more fake deaths before its gone completely.\" \n\"Are you...\" \n\"Yes, Evelynn when I married you 50 years ago I promised you that I would be without until the end,\" Abraham kneels next to Evelynn, \"Things become easier when you have someone to talk to that you don't need to keep barriers up. You can talk freely with them about both the past and the future. You can enjoy them for who they are without caring about the future.\" \n\"Eve, lets renew our vows one last time as who we are without any sort of fake past.\" \nEvelynn begins to tear up, \"I... yes... I do.\" \n\n\nAbraham stands up and turns to the gentlemen sitting nearby, \"Thank you for being here just in case things were to go an unexpected way. I will drop a check off for each of you tomorrow.\" \n\"I admit, I was not expecting to see this today. I will reduce my fees for an honest conversation between the two of you in regards to the garden if you are interested. This is mostly for my own curiosity beyond all else rather than anything that could be published,\" replied Abraham's lawyer. \n\"I agree on all three points. My offer stands along side his,\" replied Evelynn's lawyer. \n\"Eve?\" Abraham asks. \nEvelynn takes a few moments to recover, \"Yes. It will be nice to talk freely about things for once.\" \n\n\n*EL FIN\nedit, minor formatting edits*" ]	2
	[WP] “You wouldn’t last a day in my shoes!” The princess said to the knight. “I bet you can’t last a week in mine!” he replied back. The two swapped in disguise and turns out the swap revealed some hidden talents they’ve each had and now they dread the thought of switching back.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The knight; a young yet formidable foe, and the Princess; a cunning and clever ruler. Being around the same age, the two got pretty close. As often as they could, with their contrasting schedules both filled to the brim, they went to the Castle's cafe to catch up. \n\n\"New scars I see, hm?\" the observant princess hummed before sipping her tea. The knight huffed, smile forming on his lips. \"Ever so keen, my lady.\" He took a large sip of his coffee and looked at th princess. \"You must be more careful, Mitos.\" He scoffed. \"Careful? In my line of work? With all due respect, Princess Kyra, caution is a luxury only the safe receive.\" Kyra set down her cup gently with a 'clink' before shaking her head.\"What I would give to let loose and feel more than just boredom.\" Mitos pursed his lip into a frown, raising an eyebrow. \"My lady, I would give anything to be 'bored' instead of afraid for my life day after day.\" Kyra thought for a moment, green eyes narrowing before lighting up with an idea. \"Perhaps we should switch our roles for a day?\" Mitos choked on his coffee. \"You wouldn't last a day in my shoes, anyway.\" the princess grinned, and Mitos set down his cup once more. \"I bet you can't last a week in mine!\" he replied. \"A bet it is! We disguise as eachother for a week, and see who lasts longest!\" Mitos frowned as his blue eyes narrowed. \"I could never say no to the princess.\" he paused.\" I suppose it's a deal.\" he continued. The two shook hands and after an hour or so of getting their disguises ready, they set out. \n\nMitos was slender and lean, so he could easily pass as a woman. Simply a wig, some padding, and makeup did the trick, which was the case for Kyra. As Mitos set foot in the palace doors, the servants bowed and looked down. Mitos simply walked by with his head high, set for the throne. He felt out of place a top the throne, but waved the servants off to continue their work. Before long a man in handcuffs was dragged in by a duo of knights. The man was scarred and bloody, rustling around and jerking his arms.\" let me go, rats!\" he shouted. Mitos cleared his throat and breathed deeply, looking at the disheveled man at his feet. He turned to the knight on his left and the knight nodded. \"this man is Alfred Wellhem, caught stealing and assaulting a bakery shop owner, my lady.\" Mitos looked down. He had a rather high pitched voice for a male, so all he had to do was speak a bit lighter than usual. \"3 months in the dungeon,\" he continued, \"and 300 dollars as compensation to the shop owner.\" the knights bowed as they dragged the man to the side. Mitos often brought criminals in, so he knew loosely how the princess ran things. \n\nKyra stepped outside onto the training grounds, a subtle grin on her face. It reeked of sweat and iron, a scent rather refreshing to her after smelling nothing but cloth and pastries for her whole life. She picked up a discarded sword and stepped over to the training ground. There stood a heavyset man with a claymore, and a smaller man getting up with the assistance of two others. Kyra concluded he had just lost a duel to the larger man. Kyra smiled an grinned at the man, stepping unto the elevated ground. Other knights looked in shock. \"Mitos? You got a death wish or something?\" Kyra disregarded the crowd and tapped the large man on the shoulder. She lowered her voice and greeted him. \"Hello, would you like to duel?\" the man turned with a frown, which was barely visible under his dark beard. He chuckled and turned fully. \"Your loss, small fry\" and just like that, he swung his claymore. Kyra lunged back with ease, and something inside her sparked. She grinned widely, laughing loudly. She just now realized how much she had itched for some action. Some thrill. The large man swung once more, and Kyra lunged forward, jumping onto the claymore and swinging at the man's helmet. He blocked surprisingly quickly, but Kyra swung downward onto the side of the claymore. The crowd stood silently as Kyra flipped to be behind the man, kicking behind his knee, successfully making him drop to the ground. He stood on his back with one foot, sword pointed at his neck. The crowd erupted with cheer, and Kyra stepped off, sweat dripping down her cheek. She panted as she tightly gripped the man's hand, pulling him up. \n\nAnd just like that, time flew by. Mitos was enjoying the delicious pastries and effortless decision making, and Kyra was in love with the constant thrill of battle. But both realized time was up, and they had to switch. Meeting at the cafe, both were reluctant to admit the game had to end. After sharing lovely stories they shook hands and returned to boring daily work. But every so often, the played their game in secret.", "When they made the bet neither expected the other to be any good at their roles, or for them to actually enjoy being in the other's shoes. But now it was a problem. First off because the knight Denis was low ranking and one of the worse at combat, and second off because Princess Rosaria was well known for being clumsy in a dress and unable to even try to follow table manners expected of her station.\n\nSo 'princess' Denis watched from a window as the real princess threw her sword like a throwing knife, half way across the training field and straight into an attacking beast with wonder. That was neither how one should handle a sword and greatly impressive that she nailed the beast from so far away. \"Oops! My bad! I panicked!\" He suddenly understood why her ladies in waiting didn't trust her with anything sharp, along with why the long never gave her a guard... \"I think it's stuck... Can someone get me a knew one...?\" He also feared the idea of her taking back her role after all that training was done...\n\nOn the other hand 'Knight' Rosaria watched confused as the real knight danced with her fiance perfectly and knew the difference between the five different forks and spoons, they all still looked the same to her honestly.\n\nTwo months after the switch when they met up at the dead of night to as agreed on switch back the knight immediately started off with. \"My princess. I think I'm a woman... And I'm in love with the Prince you were supposed to marry.\" The confusion and anguish in his... Her...? Eyes made the princess feel for the confused soul.\n\n\"I feel the name way. Well no about the in love part... Or at least not with him. I never cared much for the guy... But I think I want to stay how we are. I like fighting people... And throwing swords. The captain said he'd teach me how to use a bow! A bow! On a horse!\" The princess's excitement made the knight certain on this. \n\n\"We are never going back. Let's get the royal magician to turn us into each other. So no one as to know.\" Honestly this was probably safer for the kingdom in the long run anyways, the princess was to strong and would have probably started a war." ]	3
	[WP] A man on his deathbed prays to the god of health in hopes of finally being healed. But in a mix-up, his prayer gets answered by the god of War instead.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The monitors next to him beeped as he lay in the sterile hospital bed. The cancer was am aggressive one, doctors said he didn't have much time left. \n\"Please oh God of medicine let me beat this, I don't want to die...\" his voice fading slowly, he could feel his pain slowly diminishing. \n\"What? Oh I'm dying I see.\" This was the only explanation, he thought to himself as a red light filled his closed eyes. \nExcept that light was too bright. And he opened his eyes to see not the afterlife but still his hospital room. With the addition of a glowing red man, who looked about as confused as himself. \n\"Hello mortal, is it you who called for the assistance of I, Aries God of war?\" The imposing man stood before you in what looked to be a red toga?\n\"I uh no? I'm dying, damn cancer is killing me.\" With his head no longer literally killing him he decides this is a hallucination and to play along with this figment of his imagination. \n\"Not my usual fight, but it is indeed a battle hard won. Child do you want my help?\" Tje glowing man asked as if finally understanding something. \n\"You can help?\" He sat up in his bed a little. \"Really? I this is all in my head but yes please if you're real... please save me. I'd do anything.\" \nThe God chuckled, \"Good then you shall be my warrior, a protector of those who need it and a warrior for those who cannot care for themselves, you are now a disciple of Aries.\" The God tapped the sickly man's forehead and a rush of flame seemed to pass through it, overwhelming it until he could No longer maintain consciousness. \nHe awoke later surrounded by doctors panicked and in shock. \"Sir you, did you, nevermind, sir you are miraculously healed. I recommend you stay longer for-\"\nHe cut off the doctor by swinging his legs over the bed. \"I think if im.all healed I'll take my leave.\" He walked to the front desk in a shirt that barely concealed the changes to his body. And a pair of shorts that were once two sizes too large, ones he had to belt before he had cancer. Now barely able to button. Signing the papers he left. He had a new job and he was going to have to do it right." ]	2
	[WP] After losing a bet you jokingly try out to become a superhero. This test was designed specifically to weed out the average in order to ensure only the best become heros. However much to everyone's surprise you manged to pass the test and are now a superhero.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " “I’m not really sure how I got here.” I said a little nervously, not meeting the eyes of the proctor who sat in a chair across from me. \n\n“I’m not sure either.” He shot me an incredulous look. “It’s not often that completely normal people manage to score high enough to be granted a hero’s license. We brought in the world’s best and brightest to devise a series of tests designed to disqualify the average person from even coming close. Yet somehow you managed to beat everything we threw at you. Physical tests, mental exercises, personality indexes, psychological exams. You didn’t fail a single one. Even our greatest hero couldn’t do that. Yet you managed to walk out without any problems. So I have to ask, how and why?”\n\nNervously, I shifted in my seat. How was I supposed to explain this to him? Based on everything he had just said, no answer I could come up with would sound believable. This was all a stupid joke that my friends subjected me to. What kind of trouble would I get into? Would I be required to become a hero? I’d die on the first day! Especially if I did as well as he said. They’d put me on the front lines, fighting villains with world-ending plans. I wasn’t cut out for this!\n\n“I lost a bet.” \n\n“Bullshit.” He didn’t seem phased by my ridiculous answer. \n\n“No, seriously. I placed last in my fantasy league and this was the punishment.” A big sigh escaped me. “Does this mean that I have to, you know, actually do it?”\n\n“Well, yeah. Pretty much.”", "“What do you mean, ‘what if you pass?’ Harper, you don’t even have powers. There’s no way you’re going to pass. You knew the terms. The loser had to do the superhero assessment. You lost. Pay up.”\n\n“Right. No powers. Ha. But what about Robin-Man? He doesn’t have any powers and he passed.”\n\n“You cannot convince me that Robin-Man is a normal human. Normal humans can’t fight god titans. Stop stalling and do it.”\n\nI grumbled under my breath and walked into the modern art deco building that was the Super Assessment and Training Facility. My friends laughed as I walked in and said something about waiting for me to get out. \n\nYeah right. \n\nI probably could have gotten out of following through with the bet, and maybe I should have, but there was some part of me that always thought I might like to try being a superhero, to see what I could do when I didn’t have to suppress my powers all the time, so in I went. \n\nIt was nerve wracking, walking up to the front desk. For a few seconds, I considered just waiting a few minutes and going back to my friends and telling them they were right and that I wasn’t super enough to be trained as a hero, but I mustered my courage. \n\n“Excuse me,” I said to the very attractive woman (who I would have bet money was as powerful as they come) behind the front desk. “I’d like… I’d like to take the superhero assessment, please.”\n\nThe lady pushed her horn-rimmed glasses down. She looked me over. She blinked twice. \n\n“Well, you’re certainly not lacking in power. Let’s get you into a room with one of our certified technicians so you can answer a few questions about what you can do and why you’d like to become a superhero. If you’ll follow me, please.”\n\n…\n\nA few hours later, I found my friends at a nearby coffee shop, my brand new trainee superhero badge in hand. \n\nAnd for the first time in a long time, I was happy to have powers.", "The test's purpose is to weed out those with special abilities, and to reign them in to the HERO program. Those who lack and ability are denied entry, even if they pass the test.\n\nThat is why the case of \\[REDACTED\\] is rather strange.\n\nThe test is split into two parts. A written test, and a physical examination. For the written test, \\[REDACTED\\] managed to score an 80%, which is rather low for those admitted to the program. The average grade for acceptance being a 98%. However, what was strange was the fact that \\[REDACTED\\] did not score 80% evenly across all questions, which is normal among students on this test. Instead, they scored particularly well for Ethics (99%), and Mathematics (98%).\n\nNormally, Mathematics is the lowest score among participants, however \\[REDACTED\\] score \\~10% above the average. Those who score low on Ethics are not admitted to the program.\n\nNext, the physical examination. \\[REDACTED\\] does not showcase any supernatural ability, and examination of the premises did not produce any residuals. Instead, \\[REDACTED\\] showcases an uncanny sense of reflex and adaptability, with incredible problem solving skills. Most obstacles within the physical portion must be cleared in a single attempt, and \\[REDACTED\\] cleared all of them on said first attempt. \\[REDACTED\\] managed to creatively bypass obstacle requiring strength without using much strength at all. As for obstacles requiring strong reflexes, \\[REDACTED\\] was strangely able to avoid being hit by all hidden pistons, moving obstacles, and even dodged the foam balls shot out by canons effectively.\n\nUpon analysis by an ability identifier, it was found that \\[REDACTED\\] has no supernatural abilities, however, due to an overwhelming majority from the board, \\[REDACTED\\] has been admitted to the program, and has been fast-tracked towards the consumption of a \\[REDACTED\\] in order to awaken their ability." ]	4
	[WP] You had been dating this demigod for some months now. One day, 4 demigods showed up and claimed that the demigod you had been dating was all 4 of them fused into one.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "There were four of them.\nAll very colorful individuals.\nStanding in the rain.\n\nOne was a dark haired woman in spartan battle armour, spear and shield slung on her back\n\nAnother a dark skinned man with thick arms dressed in atire fit for a samurai, a pair of blades at his side\n\nYet another was a light skinned redhead woman wearing a ww2 russian comander uniform, ppsh slung on her hip\n\nAnd finally a short slender man of seemingly mexican decent with a full dark beard wearing what seemed to be a Conquistador outfit. Musket, saber and all.\n\n\nI stared at them and absentmindedly attempted to prosess this gaggle of nimrods just spouted at me.\n\n\"... aight ill bite. Tell me what the meal we had on the first date was, why your four paople now, and what fucking cosplay store you robbed to get your outfits.\"\n\nThe spartan spoke up\n\n\"It was a long time ago how am i supposed to remember that?\"\n\nThe concistodor\n\n\" it was spagehti. I remember becouse it was what snuggums had as well.\"\n\nThe comander\n\n\" as for the second part long story short it has been a stressful 8 hours.\"\n\nThe samurai\n\"You know damn well im the demigod of war fasion. I know you still laugh at it behind my back. Even though you complement me every day no matter what im wearing.\"\n\nThe comander again\n\" the nazi uniform was... unfortunate.\"\n\nThe spartan\n\"Dumbass we said we werent beinging that shit up again!\"\n\nI spoke up realising were this was going\n\"Aight aight! i beleive you! Just. Come inside before you catch a cold.\"\n\nThe samurai\n\n\"We could still be theives you know.\"\n\n\"Then you deserve it after this show.\" I said \n\n\"Now then...\n\nWhat the fuck happened?\"" ]	2
Write the first thoughts that come to mind. Write without self-censoring.	[WP] Imagine the ideal version of you. What different inner-beliefs does this person have compared to the current you? What are this person's daily habits? What small concrete changes can you make to take a step in these directions?	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It’s still a dark autumn morning when the alarm goes off. It only gets the chance to buzz three times before it’s silenced.\n\nHis wife is still waking up by the time his routine starts. Push ups. Sit ups. A large glass of water. A shower.\n\nHe shaves every two days. His thick brown hair is everywhere, except his head. This is new over the last few years. It doesn’t bother him.\n\nBy the time he starts work at 9am he feels good. The smell of the coffee wafts from the mug in front of him. He sips.\n\nThe evening before he reviewed today’s schedule. He’s prepared, identified what his focus is for the day, and knows what he needs to do.\n\nHe’s capable at work. Successful, even. But that’s not what drives him or makes him happy.\n\nIt’s now about 6:00pm. The last Slack message sent. A list made for tomorrow to guide his focus. An organized blueprint so the pattern can repeat. It’s not so much about routine, it’s more about control. He’s found the more he can control or guide the things around him, the more confident he feels.\n\nIt’s Wednesday. On Wednesdays he makes time for a close group of friends. It’s time for him. It’s time to connect. It’s time that’s protected. It’s his. It’s been hard to protect this time. Things always creep up. But it’s important to him. His wife knows. She doesn’t always love the ritual, but knows it’s important.\n\nHe knows his wife has sacred quirks too. They find oddities in each other. They find admiration in each other. Both can be true at once. It’s their love.\n\nIt’s been dark for a while. This time of year starts the day starts before the sun and ends after the sun. He’s home now. He finds his wife in the living room.\n\nHe sits down next to her and slides his hand into hers. He smiles and asks about her day. He shares his day. Sometimes not much changes day-to-day, but when you look, there’s always something new. He cherishes the newness. There’s always something to learn about his wife. He loves this. And he works to make sure she always has something to learn about him in return.\n\nHe knows when there’s growth for each of them separately, there’s also growth together.\n\nHe feels the closeness. It’s warm. It’s secure. He notices this moment. He takes care of himself so he can care of them.\n\nTomorrow some will be the same. Some will be new. The key is to be present and confident.\n\nIt wasn’t always this way for him. He was lost in other things. He approached life like a checklist that others gave him. He never asked for what he needed because others came first. He also didn't really know what he needed. He couldn't name his emotions.\n\nThere was never time for him. He was resentful. He didn't take care of himself, he couldn’t really take care of others either. Not properly at least. Especially his wife.\n\nThe checklists created routine. He wasn’t present and he didn’t notice. On the surface it felt like he was doing what he should. He was paid well. Had a house. Married. But those things didn’t make him a person. It didn’t make him a good husband. It didn’t make him a good friend.\n\nIt took him a long time to figure this out. Now that he has, he hopes it’s not too late.\n\nHe thinks this to himself as his head hits the pillow on a futon. His wife, asleep by now in their bedroom.\n\nTomorrow he'll be better." ]	2
	[WP] As per tradition, when people see a new baby they comment on how ugly it is so demons won't steal them. However, demons have caught onto to this ploy forcing people to be more creative to convince the demons they really think the baby is ugly.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Phil my man, what’s up?”\n\n“Heyaa Bobby, how you doing?”\n\nBobby noticed Phil was pushing a pram.\n\n“What the hell is this?”\n\n“That’s my newborn son,” Phil said proudly, “What do you think?”\n\n“What do I think?” asked Bobby, “I think you took a crap in a stroller and decided to take it out for a walk.”\n\n“Yeah, I know,” said Phil, “After he was born the doctor handed out two slaps, one for the baby and one to my wife for birthing this abomination.” \n\n“Well she deserved it,” said Bobby. \n\nAn old lady passed by and saw the stroller, and reacted like she was going to make ‘goochie-go’ faces at it, but once she made eye contact with the infant her heavily wrinkled face scrunched up into “EW! Ugh!”\n\n“Good morning to you too, Agnes,” Phil said to the old lady.\n\n“Fuck you Phil, your baby is a piece of shit,” said the old lady. \n\n“I know,” said Phil, “Thanks.”\n\nSuddenly a demon jumped out of the bushes yelling;\n\n“All right! All right! That’s enough!”\n\nSurprised by a demon revealing itself so blatantly Phil and Bobby stood aback while the hellborn berated both of them.\n\n“Listen, we all know insult the newborn so we won’t be tempted to steal them is a thing, but this is getting ridiculous. You don’t have to play it up like this! Seriously, we’re not retarded you know.”\n\nBobby said to the demon, “I don’t know, man, have you looked at it?”\n\n“What?” asked the demon as he looked down into the pram, “WOAH! By Lucifer’s hairy arsehole that thing is ugly! What the fuck man, did you drop him on his head like seven or eight times or something?”\n\n“No,” said Phil, “I wish. That’s just what he looks like.”\n\nThe demon felt awkward and asked what was he going to name the child.\n\n“Rodney,” said Phil.\n\n“Rodney, eh?” asked the demon, “Rodney Dangerfield. Well… good luck with that, kid. I ain’t stealing him, that’s for sure.”" ]	2
	[WP] You are a younger God, that noticed flaws in Creatins of other Gods, Orks that can only fight, Elvs that live long without any changes and Dwarfs that dont see anything outside their craft. You take pieces of Clay used to make them and you create Humans	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "When we become Gods, we make an oath to bring life and beauty into every plane, every reality. The first Gods took this to heart immediately and began populating their universes with all manner of strange and magnificent beasts. But they have since grown lazy, and have lost that zest for creation that is so essential for being a God. It's not that I don't see beauty in the creations of my elders. Quite the contrary: I feel inspired by their errors to correct them in myself. I know I am young and inexperienced, but seeing the flat characters they create really rubs me up the wrong way. It's like they're setting them up to be side characters. This is why I intend to show them how to do it properly. \n\nHumans, I have called them. They are complex, flawed beings, with a finite life time and the capacity to learn and grow. I acknowledge my previous attempts lack the finesse of the other Gods, but some of them are quite cute. I have also utterly neglected my other planets to the point where Mars has entirely dried up, but I feel it was worth it just for this. Humans will be the greatest creations to populate any galaxy. And they will be mine to rule and care for. I may be immature and new to this, but I am certain that this revolutionary species will be enlightening to all of us. Giving them flaws is a controversial move, I know. But in the long term, I feel it will pay off. Surely, they couldn't possibly grow to resent me for this. I created them. That is a fact that they couldn't possibly refute..." ]	2
	[WP] You're on your deathbed, having lived a long and fulfilling life, saying your last words. As you see your life flash through your eyes, you peacefully go to rest...... Until you wake up again, as a newborn baby.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Here's my version:\n\n\"Grandpa?\"\n\n\"Yes, my dear?\"\n\n\"Please tell me you will watch over me\"\n\n\"Of course Amy. No matter where or when Grandpa will always watch over you. Right from the clouds\"\n\nIt was a cold November morning as I remember it. The air felt chilly and dry. The colors dull and dark. My 9-year-old granddaughter and my kids were all wrapped around me.\n\nMy worst regret was never being able to spend my 80th Christmas with them. \n\nPerhaps it's time to rest.\n\nAs I took one last glimpse of the world around me, I felt like taking a long nap.\n\nUntil I woke up again.\n\nThis time the world was loud and vibrant. I had trouble seeing what was going on. It had felt like I only took a short nap, at most five minutes. But where was I?\n\n\"Why am I crying, why is my heartbeat so strong and fast?\"\n\n\"What's happening right now?\"\n\nAs everything was processing, I could feel as if I was being held by somebody, with very large arms.\n\nI was very distraught by the situation.\n\nWas I not in the hospital room? \n\nIs this a nightmare?\n\nMy vision slowly started to clear up again, and I realized I was in a hospital room again but a different one. I could also hear something very faint.\n\n\"It's a boy!\"\n\nA boy? What on earth?\n\nAs my vision slowly got better and better I tried looking a bit around. I had a lot of trouble with it though, as I felt I didn't have a lot of strength. \n\nBut as I looked up I saw this woman. She seemed to be in a lot of pain, but also very happy.\n\nI tried speaking but couldn't get anything out other than a \"wah\". \n\n\"Shhh, shhh, it's gonna be alright little one.\" Said a manly voice, presumably behind me. I still couldn't look.\n\nThis time I tried flailing around, and I could see that my arms look red and soft. What had happened?\n\nI felt like a baby.\n\nWhat had happened?\n\nDid I actually reincarnate into a baby?" ]	2
	[WP] You're a powerful superhero but unfortunately your abilities scale up with your level of tiredness. The more sleep deprived you are, the stronger you get. On the upside local coffee shops offer you hefty discounts and free refills.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Freezing rain pelted the glass exterior of Tracy's diner in downtown Star City. Ambulance sirens rang out in the distance, warbling through dark alleyways. Slow night on the streets, the police scanner silent all night. Somnus pulled her hood down as she hustled down the street, needed a warm cup of the best joe in Star City. Place looked empty. Detective Falcona was on her way out, maybe there was something going on tonight. She normally went to Paul's, not this dive.\n\nThe eponymous Tracy was already pouring out a large mug of coffee for the nocturnal super. Somnus shook off some rain droplets and took her usual seat at the countertop. Somnus loved Tracy's, looked like a place George Jetson would go, had that retro futuristic feel. \n\nTracy leaned on the countertop, the wrinkles on her face multiplying as she smiled. Wispy grey hair dangled at her shoulders. \"Sweetie I say this with nothing but love in my heart. You look like shit, you need to get some shuteye. Looks like volcanoes are spewing from your eyeballs.\"\n\nSomnus took a large sip, it warmed her up, even Tracy's great coffee was starting to have less of an effect. Somnus worried about what would happen if she needed something stronger to stay awake. \"Justice isn't always pretty Tracy. Apex predators hunt best at night.\" Somnus yawned loudly. \n\nTracy rolled her hazel eyes and went to brew a new pot of joe. She checked on the other people in the joint. Somnus hadn't noticed, tunnel vision was starting to set in, her eyelids felt like sandbags. Rodney was tucked away in a back booth studying for his finals, young kid was too highstrung for his age. Tony and Linda sat at the far end of the countertop, bickering as always, they never stopped. \n\nSomnus checked her phone, no notifications, all quiet, no bumps in the night tonight. Maybe Tracy was right, it could even be dangerous to be so tired. Somnus didn't know the true extent of her extraordinary abilities, she was scared to find out. She turned her phone off and got another large cup of joe. As the world sleepily turned a familiar perfume snapped Somnus back from the dreamworld. \n\n\"Hey Sommy!\" Pheonix, a local dancer at 'Vav-a-Voom', exclaimed. She hugged Somnus tightly from behind, her fur coat was warm, she vigrously rubbed Somnus's chest to warm up her hands. \"Fucking cold outside.\" She kissed Somnus on the cheek and plopped down on the barstool next to her. Tracy got her a shot of espresso. \n\n\"You're up late. Don't tell me you're just getting off work?\" Somnus sleepily asked. \n\nPheonix nodded, her platinum blonde hair bobbed around her face, it didn't hide the fact she was wearing more makeup than usual. \"I hung around and chatted with the other girls. Slow night tonight, nobody wants to go out and freeze to death, not even for a lapdance.\"\n\nSomnus ordered her another espresso and one for herself. \"But you braved the elements to come here after a slow shift? That's not like you.\"\n\n\"Didn't feel like going straight home. Not really tired, this is the only place open this late.\" She replied meekly while clutching the collar of her fur coat. \n\nSomnus lightly rubbed her back, she leaned in to get a closer look at her. \"I don't want to pry into your business but I'm asking as your friend. You using again?\" She asked quietly.\n\nPheonix shook her head no.\n\n\"Is he?\"\n\nPheonix nodded. \"Not as much as he used to, just every now and again.\"\n\nSomnus licked her thumb and flicked it across Pheonix's cheek. A deep purple bruise hidden under the surface. \"Why do you stay?\"\n\nPheonix's eyes watered, her mascara started running. \"I don't know, part of me knows I should, another part of me tells me not to. Love makes you do stupid things sometimes.\"\n\n\"I ain't gonna preach to ya. Do what you think is right, I'll have your back either way.\" Somnus rose from her stool, she stretched out to engulf Pheonix in a friendly embrace. Pheonix cried on her shoulder. \"If you need a safe place to crash you have my number, my door's always open, I don't sleep much, stop by anytime.\" Somnus pulled her hood up and made her way to the door. She turned her phone back on, no new notifications. Time to call it a night. As she turned to wave goodbye her phone vibrated. An address with a short message attached.\n\n'Don't hurt him too bad, maybe just give him a little scare? :) :P'" ]	2
	[WP] You are a time traveler. Instead of helping the world by stopping tragedies, you defend the tragedies from other time travellers looking to change things.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns." ]	1
	[WP] You've finally broken a long personalized timeloop.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The warm summer air felt wet and heavy against my face as I drove along the winding beach road. The highway narrowed to two lanes here, but the speed limit was 55 and there was never anybody around to give a damn how fast you went anyway. \n\nThese were the proving grounds, the four mile stretch of picturesque straight road that lead through the dunes back to higher ground. \n\nMy arm rested lightly out the window of the car, the other windows were all open, I wanted to feel the evening.\n\nThe sun was below the horizon now, but looking in the review mirror the sky was smeared with pink and orange hue that blended into the last bright echoes of the sun. Ahead of me, the moon was rising, bright and unperturbed, surrounded by a dark blue and gray evening sky.\n\n I thought about the nightmare I had just endured, tracing over the events in my mind, scrolling through pictures of my life. \n\nIt was over. I was free.\n\nA single tear rolled down my face and my foot pushed the accelerator down slowly. the noise of the engine working wonders to cover my emotional instability. \n\nBut my freedom had cost me. My friends were dead, my family was gone.\n\nI thought about all of this as I continued down the straightaway, my foot gently reaching the firewall. The wind was whipping through the car now, becoming a deafening roar.\n\nI closed my eyes and let go of the wheel, I didn't even feel the impact, I was already gone." ]	2
	[WP] The Grim Reaper and his serpents comes for all. And when he comes, he takes you to be judged by the Five. The Boatman and his fishes take the average, the Lady and her deer take the good, the Hunter and his wolves take the bad and the Warrior and his birds take those who never had a chance.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Not many get to meet the Five and go on to speak of them. Perhaps I am the first.\r \n\r \nThe Grim Reaper is the first one I met. He greeted me with an empty dark face, his shiny black and copper serpents coiling at his feet. He is the leader of the Five that usher humble mortals into the next life. His presence is terrifying, embodying the very essence of death. Shrouded in midnight robes, tattered at the hems, his voice is nothing more than a rasp, reminiscent of the death rattle of those close to the end. After my stab wound hemorrhaged and my body bled to its death, my vision went black and from that blackness he appeared.\r \n\r \n\"Come,\" he beckoned, helping me to my feet with his skeletal hand. No longer in the dark of the forest, he took me to where the Five gathered to pass their judgment. I could hardly describe the space, it was open and dimly lit, nothing but gray and more gray disappearing into the abyss behind them. They each stood in a circle around me, the Grim Reaper and his serpents facing me first.\r \n\r \n\"Soren Oakheart,\" he addressed me. \"Before we decide your fate, tell me, what do you feel your judgment should be?\"\r \n\r \nI hadn't thought I would be asked such a question and I stumbled in my response. \"You should judge me as good,\" I blurted out, half mumbling.\r \n\r \nThe Lady raised an eyebrow. She was tall and unspeakably beautiful, long white-blonde hair cascaded down from her crown of flowers. She raised her delicate arm, revealing a collection of golden bracelets under her cream-colored sleeves. She gently ran long fingers across the neck and shoulders of the deer at her side. Though she gave me an inquisitive look, she did not speak. Her deer nuzzled her hand gently, tipping its pointed horns at me.\r \n\r \n\"Boatman,\" the Grim Reaper said, addressing the man to his right. \"Is he average?\"\r \nThe Boatman was grizzled, yet strong and stout. His salt and pepper hair and beard framed rough, sun aged skin. He tugged his coat authoritatively and cleared his throat as he looked me up and down. It was only then that I noticed the small glowing pool behind him and the dark shapes of fish swimming within. One of the fish leapt from the water then plunged back down. Several more did the same. The Boatman ran rough fingers through his hearty beard. \"No,\" he finally replied, \"the young man is quite gifted. Though he has made some mistakes. He is not average.\"\r \n\r \nThe Grim Reaper nodded to the Boatman. \"Lady,\" he said to the woman on his left. \"He claims to be good, do you agree?\"\r \n\r \nThe Lady gazed at me again, making my cheeks blush. She was young and ethereal, though truthfully no match to the woman I left behind. Her deer also stared at me, but its eyes unnerved me. \"He's not good,\" she replied softly, almost apologetically. Her response was much quicker than the Boatman's. She offered no further explanation, simply turning her gaze back to her deer.\r \n\r \n\"Indeed,\" the Grim Reaper acknowledged. \"What say you, Hunter?\" he addressed the man on the other side of Boatman.\r \n\r \nThe Hunter was lanky and tanned. He stood powerfully with his quiver and bow on his back, his hands at his hips. He was younger than the Boatman, but had still seen quite a few years. His long, fiery red hair was pulled back into a rough knot at the top of his head and he sported a neatly trimmed red beard. His clothes of green and brown looked as if they could render him invisible in the forest. He had two wolves, one on each of his sides. Their eyes were glowing amber and they eyed me hungrily. The Hunter looked me up and down, as if seeing into my past just by sizing up my body. \"He's pretty bad,\" he finally said, his voice quieter than I expected. \"He left behind a pregnant wife, alone in the forest. She is in grave danger.\"\r \n\r \nA hard lump formed in my throat. The Grim Reaper nodded to the Hunter. \"Does he even have a chance, Warrior?\"\r \n\r \nI had been avoiding looking at the figure on the other side of the Lady. The Warrior was somehow more terrifying than the Grim Reaper. He was muscular and strong, appearing as if he could easily rip me in half like a piece of soft bread. He wore a menacing scowl across his face, scars criss-crossing over his cheeks and forehead. His armor was rusted and bloodied, as if he had fought a thousand battles and never once removed it. In front of him, the tip plunged into the ground, was his great sword, a mammoth piece of steel stained with fresh, glistening blood. He held the handle tightly with both hands, poised to pull it into action in one swift motion. On his shoulder sat a raven, massive and black, its beady eyes staring at me. I noticed several other ravens at his feet and in the air above him.\r \n\r \nThe Warrior's cold, deadened eyes stared at me, his mouth curling into a sneer. \"He fucked up,\" he growled. \"He hurt those he loved the most. And then he abandoned them.\"\r \n\r \nI felt myself becoming dizzy, the lump in my throat blocking my air and making my eyes water. Desperately I looked around at the Grim Reaper, the Boatman, the Lady, and the Hunter, hoping one of them would save me. They just looked to the Warrior, waiting for his final verdict. My chest tightened and I felt my knees begin to give out. \"Please,\" I finally blurted out. \"You don't understand.\"\r \n\r \n\"Oh?\" the Grim Reaper replied. \"What is it that we don't understand?\" His voice dripped with disdain and disgust.\r \n\r \n\"Do you challenge my judgment?\" the Warrior asked, a sickening sweetness in his voice.\r \n\r \n\"I fucked up,\" I professed, my voice cracking under my emotions. \"You're right. The things you say I did, I did.\" I began to sob in desperation. \"I know I betrayed my wife and unborn baby, and left them in grave danger.\" The words were painful, but I knew these gods would not believe any lies. My words became lost in my tears, my fear and grief overpowering all of my senses. \"I'm so sorry,\" I finally breathed.\r \n\r \n\"We aren't the ones you need to apologize to,\" The Hunter said calmly.\r \n\r \n\"I know!\" I looked to him with desperation, wondering if he would save me from the Warrior. \"Please! Give me a second chance!\"\r \n\r \n\"A second chance?\" the Boatman laughed.\r \n\r \nThe Warrior spit at my feet.\r \n\r \n\r(cont.)", "I sat on the stump along the beach. How long has it been? The Grim Reaper came and took me away from that horrid existence, so why do I have to sit here and wait. I know they have been arguing for the last three days and nights.\n\nThe Warrior, with his falcons, has been declaring I never stood a chance in that hell hole of a life. I was his by right. I should join the ranks of those ensuring justice amongst the realms.\n\nThe beautiful Lady who had some white deer standing guard on either side of her, was reminding all the others that even if I never got to be or do anything, I freely gave of myself and was good at heart. I deserved to go off and rule the realms with her court.\n\nThe Boatman stood on the edge of the water. Many aquatic creatures swarmed the shallows behind him. \"Why are we arguing? This guy is an ordinary dude. Nothing special is going on here. Stop wasting time. Let me put him to work on the seas of eternity.\"\n\nThe Hunter never said a word. His wolf pack circled the entire gathering, protecting the proceedings from any interference from outside. He stared hard at every speaker. He did not want to be here.\n\nThe skeletal hand of the Grim Reaper raised to quiet the arguing. The serpent that was wrapped around that arm slithered under his death shroud. \"I cannot leave until it is decided who claims him, you know this rule. None can be left uncontrolled after the last incident. I have not been able to go claim any others for four days now. I have a backlog piling up.\"\n\nFinally Hunter spoke, \"He's nothing to do with me. Nothing bad resides within. I would like to take my leave. Have you any idea how much is going to be stirred up in the realms by me being gone this long? My wolves can only do so much to contain the bad within people.\"\n\nThe Reaper flatly told him no. \"It must be decided by the whole tribunal when it is not clear enough where one of them belong.\"\n\nI stood. Even if I had nowhere to be, four days is ridiculous. \"I can just go back. You can put me in different circumstances that that wretched family. Leave me on my own even, I can care for myself. Come for me in five years. See what I've become by then.\"\n\nThe Five declared in unison, \"Never!\"\n\nThe Lady said, \"We must all return to our tasks. You Reaper have need more than most for help. The human is to become your apprentice. All in agreement?\"\n\nThe four held their fists up, the Reaper crossed his chest.\n\n\"Four to one Death, none of us need him. And you will get to pass through in a few hundred years when he is ready to become the new Grim Reaper.\" I'm pretty sure I could hear merriment in the Boatman's voice.\n\nThat is how I became Death's Apprentice Two hundred and Sixty Eight years ago.", "The Reaper takes all, as it is His right, for He is also the Seeder, bringer of life. He plows, He seeds, He reaps, His serpents slither trough the living, mark those who are ripe for the taking or not worth keeping. \"Why He reaps\", you might ask. Why create life, only to destroy it at a later date? It is a good question... Some fools believe that there is something transcendent to life, and the Oh soooo eeeevil Reaper wants to hoard all of it and make mankind suffer. He does have a thing for you apes, but not to that degree. No, no... the Reaper wants stories.\n\nEvery living creature is a design of it's own, an artpiece that may or may not be deserving of admiration; every life is a story, no matter how mundane to it's own main character. The Reaper made you, corpse, to entertain himself and his kids.\n\nThe Boatman is the oldest. Life started in the water, after all, and the Reaper just wanted someone to appreciate the magnitude of his creation. The Boatman watched them all from the surface, alongside Their sire, and they love every detail of the living to this day. But to him, intelligence and morality are just strategies, bravery is frequently stupidity, and nothing is more important than the designs. He's good company, as are we all, but a tad bit dull, so They get the dullest of the dead, and do as They please. Usually, the fish just scavenge the botton of the barrell, and give the Reaper seeds worth replanting.\n\nFor quite a while, it was just the Father and the firstborn, but The Reaper felt like some of His creations deserved rewards for their deeds (the most entertaining ones), so He made the Lady. She conforts the dead deserving of confort, compiles their tales from their perspectives, and replants their seeds herself, with her gentle hands, once they're ready to go. Her Deer are the heroes who vowed to stand by her, out of love for their mother in death, or fear of oblivion. They sing a beautiful choir as she sings tales of their peers to us all, and help her with the newly dead.\n\nThe Lady wasn't pleased that the acts of percieved villany of those who harmed Her dead weren't punished, and pleaded for the creation of a new sibling. And so, the Reaper made His third child: the Hunter, the Chaser, the Punisher. He hunts the wicked forevermore, chasing them relentlessly trough a landscape tailored for their individual sins. He makes them see, then regret, the suffer... By His time, the first things resembling wolves were already common. Your kind calls them... Borophagus, i think..? And oh boy, the Lady send quite a few of those in His direction! She wasn't too fond of pup-eaters. Thankfully, time made her more tolerant. Most of the wicked become mad from their torment, and their seeds, too, are replanted if deserving. But some of them become so hateful of their own past selves, the Hunter finds them inspiring, and so he takes those under His wing, and twists them into the wolves. They help apply and create punishment, with a wild array of tricks and shapes, for bringuing others shame and regret brings a brief relief to their own.\n\nThe Warrior is, surprisingly, not from the Reaper. It was my father who gave Him power and rule, true, but not form. He was made by the Lady and the Hunter, presented to their father, and brought into existence. They were quite frustrated by the weak, but as they became aspects of morality, they weren't too fond of destroying the seeds of those who couldn't do better because they never had the chance. So the Warrior trains them to do better, and returns their seeds so they may try again. Unsurprisingly, he takes a lot of still-borns and pups. His birds are His watchers. The best students, who forsake their own chance at living again to watch and teach those who want to do better, and an odd warrior who preferred that chore to sing in the choir. Really selfless, if you ask me. Quite foolish too.\n\nAnd that brings us to me. Well, to us... As i said, the Reaper is quite fond of Mankind. You're the first sentient species to appear, after all. You enjoy your stories almost as much as he does, and yours can be quite interesting. But for the most part, you can be really dull too. He felt like making more things similar to you, and thought about giving you guidance... Not Himself, mind you. What fun is it to read a story you've written yourself? And so, he made me, not to take the dead, but to guide the living. And like the others, I require assistance. So i ask thee, corpse, rejected by my sister and my brothers: will you take the fishes and be born anew from scratch, or will you take my hand, and become the Shepherd's first human?\n\nedit: grammar" ]	4
	[WP] You decide to expand your underground cellar. Digging through the rock you accidentally breach into an underground complex of mineshafts and hallways built by the dwarves.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Jack plunged his shovel into the packed soil and lifted it, causing dirt to crumble down down the slope. The bare light bulb now hanged several yards behind him, a testament to his progress. Truth be told, he didn't need a larger cellar, but several hours of digging always left his muscles burning and his mind blissfully empty.\n\nHe thrust his shovel again and paused in surprise when he didn't encounter as much resistance as before. He fumbled for his flashlight and turned it on. A small hole had opened in the soil ahead.\n\nFrowning, he brought the flashlight closer. Beyond was a tunnel with earthen walls reinforced with timber, with a wire running along the ceiling. He was no engineer, but this looked like no utility line. More than anything, it reminded him of bootleggers' tunnels of the Prohibition era, but of course, that would be ridiculous. This was a new neighborhood, his own house built not five years ago. \n\nJack grabbed the shovel and quickly widened the hole until it was large enough for him to squeeze through. Crawling inside, he landed on packed dirt and shone his flashlight left and right. Picking left at random, he set off, his heart beating faster with the thrill of discovery.\n\nThe tunnel sloped downward, weaving left and right. The timber seemed fresher the deeper he went, and light bulbs hanged overhead, although they were turned off. Someone was clearly using this place.\n\nHe turned a corner and promptly bumped into that someone. Swearing, he staggered back and raised his flashlight. The two men stared at each other for several seconds before Jack recognized his neighbor.\n\n\"Ned? What the hell are you doing here?\"\n\n\"I could ask you the same,\" Ned muttered, rubbing his nose. \"Point that thing away, will ya?\"\n\n\"Sorry,\" Jack said, lowering the flashlight. His heart was still hammering in his chest. \"What is this place?\"\n\nNed shifted uncomfortably. \"Just... just my tunnel. I'm sorry, I know it's under your land. I started out small, but then just kept going and couldn't stop.\"\n\n\"Damn,\" Jack said slowly, looking around. \"Your house is what, fifty yards away? Must've taken heck of a lot of time.\"\n\nNed perked up. \"Just about five years. Come, I'll show you how far we've gotten.\" He turned and gestured him to follow.\n\nJack fell in step with him. \"It wasn't just you?\"\n\n\"Not anymore. Trevor from a street over joined in, and Mike—you know Mike—comes down here to hide from his wife. We call ourselves the dwarves.\" Ned laughed self-consciously. \"Mike's idea, not mine, but it stuck.\"\n\nJack chuckled. \"I suppose it fits.\"\n\nNed ducked under a low-hanging timber. There was light ahead, illuminating the end of the tunnel and a pile of fresh dirt. \"Anyway, you gonna tell me how you got in here?\"\n\n\"Oh, right,\" Jack said. \"I was widening my cellar and broke through into this place.\"\n\n\"You too, huh?\" Ned smiled. \"Things just seem so simple down here. Peaceful.\"\n\nJack nodded slowly. \"I think know what you mean.\"\n\nNed glanced at him, then jutted his chin at the dig. \"Want to dig together? See how far we can get?\"\n\nJack rolled his shoulders. \"Hell yeah I do.\"" ]	2
	[WP] There are many legends about fallen warriors, kings and queens of old, hidden armies etc. prophecised to return when their people are in peril. Well they just woke up, all of them, at the same time.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Hold on, hold on!” shouted Lars Gruning over the cacophony of voices. “I will have order!” The UN has never been described as rowdy in its 80-year history, but today’s meeting would fit that description.\nLars tried his best to calm the crowd of anxious representatives from the 193 nations of the world. It had only been three days since the first sighting of Shenshu and Yulü near Xian, China. With a reed rope in hand, they had tried to strangle several individuals, including a criminal, a businessman, and a governor before being subdued.\nThen, the others arrived. Colapesce walked ashore on Sicily and demanded an audience with the Holy Roman Emperor. Athena was discovered wandering around the Acropolis, cursing men for letting her temple’s legacy crumble. Momotarō stood at the edge of a pier and forbade anyone from crossing his sight. In the woods of Ukraine, the Leshy was seen on video decimating a Russian tank column singlehandedly. Shiva was similarly seen dismantling a nuclear bunker. Even Jesus had returned, sending much of the Western World into its own turmoil.\nThey all spoke the same message. As Colapesce had put it, “Those of you who are in power must be aware of what you do to the world. We are sworn to protect the people, even if that comes from other people.”\n“They’re going to destroy every foundation of society that has been created!” urged Chester Harrison, the ambassador from the United Kingdom. “We cannot allow an unelected group of folk heroes to destroy civilization as we know it.” A loud noise came from beyond the meeting hall.\nA frenzy set upon the delegates. They moved with speed and fury, kneecapping the proceedings. They trampled each other trying to make it to the exits. Shouting and screaming echoed around the circular room where some of the biggest names in history had spoken. They were trapped.\nThe front door slammed open, and smoke began to fill the room. A large man with pale skin and a long white beard ducked into the room and grabbed the representative from Kazakhstan, consuming him in one bite. A large panther leapt on the Sudanese ambassador. Ravens swooped down to carry away the ambassador from the United States. As the chaos ensued, the message became clear.\nThe legends are true, and they’re coming for you." ]	2
	[WP] You are here for a hit and run on Christmas Eve. Agnes Greene 81 was on her way home from her daughters house when you hit her, what do you plea Mr. Clause?	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Your honor my client won't be putting in a plea for the court, we've come to an agreement with the prosecution.\" Sleazy defense lawyer to the stars Harold Hamlin flatly spoke in the empty courtroom. Closed trial, no media allowed. The honorable judge Garlin looked up from her thick framed glasses.\n\n\"When did this happen? The court wasn't made aware of this.\" She asked as she shuffled through the court records.\n\n\"Permission to approach the bench your honor.\" Hamlin said.\n\n\"Granted, prosecution may approach as well.\"\n\nJudge Garlin conferenced with the two lawyers. The DA was heading up the case herself for the state. She wore a bright red and green pantsuit, still in the christmas spirit it seemed.\n\n\"Apologies your honor the prosecution didn't have sufficient time to submit a revised plea to the courts. All happened last minute.\" The DA turned over the plea deal to the judge.\n\nJudge Garlin rose from behind the bench. \"I need to review this in my chambers. Wait here, court's adjourned until I get back.\"\n\nHamlin interjected before the judge left the courtroom. \"As an aside if this plea falls through my client and I are ready to file a counter suit against the state for defamation of character.\"\n\nHamlin went to lay down on a row of courtroom seats. Mr. Clause stood over him, his belly jiggled like jello. \"What's the ho-ho-holdup Hamlin?\"\n\n\"Judge has to make sure we crossed our tees and dotted our eyes. Stop worrying so much Nick. I told you I would take care of this. Like I did when the elves tried to unionize. Keep your red pajama pants on.\"\n\nThe ticking clock droned in the courtroom, not a creature was stirring. Judge Garlin loudly banged her gavel to resume the proceedings. She chewed on the end of her glasses and shook the stack of papers at the DA.\n\n\"Mrs. Greene are you aware of what you are agreeing to with this plea deal? Has the DA fully explained it to you?\"\n\nShort and sweet little Anges smiled widely at the judge. Her warm grandmotherly aura swelled in the courtroom. \"Of course I am sweetie. I mean your honor. Being old makes you wise. I can read legal talk.\"\n\nJudge Garlin shrugged her shoulders. \"By the power vested in me by the great state of New York this case is now officially closed. All records will be sealed following Mrs. Greene signing the NDA. Mrs. Greene you are not to publicly defame or slander Mr. Clause lest you be held in contempt of this court. You agree to no longer refer to Mr. Clause as I quote from your deposition 'A fat sack of shit with an ugly whore wife.'\n\nIn exchange the defendant has agreed to permanently put you and your family on the good list for all perpetuity, and to make good on all the presents you did not receive from him that you nicely asked for in all the letters you wrote him. Mr. Clause are you able and willing to uphold these conditions.\"\n\nMr. Clause's rosy cheeks drooped. \"Yes your honor. You always were a good little girl, not like Agnes.\"\n\n\"You want a piece of me fat man!? Come on, I'm right here!\" Agnes shook her tiny fist at Mr. Clause.\n\n\"Order in the court! Order in the court!\" The judge banged the gavel in time with her words. \"No more outbursts or I'll hold you all in contempt! This isn't the north pole, this is my courtroom and you will behave! Don't make me make my own naughty list. Now according to terms of the deal Mr. Clause you are required to give Mrs. Greene her present that you did not deliver on Christmas of 1945.\"\n\nMr. Clause reached into his endless toy sack and rang a small bell. Jingle bells rang out with each step of the brilliant white Clydesdale pony that trotted into the courtroom. Agnes' eyes lit up with childlike wonder. She shuffled over to the pony, slow going on account of her cane. She pet its long nose, all she ever wanted when she was a little girl was a pony. She snickered as she rode triumphantly out of the courtroom, Agnes didn't celebrate Christmas, she had to get home to celebrate the sixth night of Hanukkah." ]	2
	[WP] Your normal, average Isekai but the entire United States is transported to a fantasy world	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "November 19, 2022 - OTTAWA\n\nDisaster response coordinators of Public Safety Canada have confirmed initial reports of cataclysmic events on the Southern border. For reasons yet unexplained, the territory of the United States of America, including Alaska, has vanished along the entire length of the border, to a depth of approximately 8.5 meters. Nothing is known to date of the fate of the several hundred milliion inhabitants.\n\nIt remains completely mysterious both why and how this huge amount of topsoil and bedrock could have disappeared, although the North Korean government has claimed and then denied responsibility several times so far.\n\nCommunities on the Canadian side of the border report hundreds of deaths and significant destruction from subsidence after landslides and undercutting on the coasts from sea water rushing inland. Water levels in the Great Lakes have dropped significantly. Similar reports are reaching us from Northern Mexico.\n\nThe state of the State of Hawai'i is unknown as yet. Some non-state territories like Puerto Rico and Guam remain in radio contact, though telephone services are interrupted.\n\nNAV Canada confirms on request that multiple long-range aircraft with US destinations have diverted to airfields in Canada. Reports of distress calls from regional airliners with insufficient fuel to reach populated areas remain unconfirmed, although the RCAF has announced a press conference on the matter later this afternoon.\n\nMeanwhile, Senator Ted Cruz of what used to be Texas has declared himself the highest-ranking survivor in the political line of succession, and has formed a temporary government-in-exile based in Cancún. US Overseas military bases have been observed to be on high alert.\n\nAn urgent plenary debate in the United Nations will be scheduled once the nations of the world have appointed a new batch of ambassadors and agreed on a venue.\n\nTHIS STORY WILL BE UPDATED AS EVENTS DEVELOP", "Annals of The Most Glorius Oh Heyean Empire, AI 1947\n\nDieari of His Supreme Excellency the Most Valourant First Emperur of The Ohioan Desolacy, Jason Deezkelohioa, dated AI 0 - unknown\n\n&#x200B;\n\nDay 1:\n\nIt has been 1 month since the country got.. transported? I have no clue what it's supposed to be, though the 'weebs' call it being 'esehkaid' or something. Of course, as you'd expect, the country imploded almost immediately. Indeed, the states immediately began to jostle for power and territory of their own! Of course, I too took the opportunity to claim Sweet Home Ohio as my own! So far, this world seems quite interesting. I've had reports from the Nova Californian-Cascadian Democracy and some parts of the Holy Texan Empire that there be dragons! There are also rumours from some of the generals that the Fair Folk and orcs exist in the north, and huge serpents in the sea, though those are yet to be checked out. So far, thank God there aren't any invasions into the Desolacy! They must fear me, Long Live Ohio!\n\nArchivist's note 1: Given our understanding of the time, it is to be noted that the 'Ohio' was left uninvaded as the area was generally avoided by the surrounding territories and even it's own former leaders.\n\nArchivist's note 2: The dominant powers of the fleeting era were the Eastern Republic, streching from the territories of 'Mane' to 'Meriland' and ruled from a 'Niu York', the South Dakotan Confedracy occupying much of the area west of Ohio, the Nova Californian-Cascadian Democracy occupying the areas west of the South Dakotan Confedracy and the Holy Texan Empire occupying the southern parts of the former 'United States'.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nDay 2:\n\nToday, the geographers ventured to our former lake border and beyond and just sent word. As it turns out, Canada isn't north of us anymore, and so isn't the lake. Instead, there exists a swamp covering most of old Lake Erie, and beyond it vast steppes as far as the eye can see. They have even seen what appear to be smoke from fire pits in the distance! I have preemptively sent word to the Ohioan 2nd Militia to be stationed at what I now call the Deezlands. Damn, is communication hard without the internet! None of our tech stuff work here!\n\nArchivist's note: Geographical records state the existence of a lake, Erie as well as a nation called Canada above Ohio.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nDay 3: The 2nd Militia is reportedly well on its way to the Deezlands. On a worse note, I have received reports of Eastern and Texan spies infiltrating the heart of the Desolacy, as well as the harrowing observation that the South Dakotan army is marching westwards. Damn it!\n\n&#x200B;\n\nDay 10: The Expansion Minister, my old buddy at the bar, briefed me on our progress at the Deezlands. There live orcs on my lands! As it turns out, the valley we reached is the end of the known world for the locals, and sparsely populated. The nearest kingdom is the Ntrooto (pronounced nut-roo-too or something) around 500 km north. Can't wait to meet them, that'll show them dirty Easterners! At the behest of the War Minister, another old friend, I mobilised the Ohio Black Squad for all of our, ahem, illicit activities like espionage. It is confirmed that the South Dakotan Confedracy is coming straight here, so I also created the Ohio 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th militias to steamroll the little governments out west and hopefully crush the Confedracy. Long Live Ohio!\n\n&#x200B;\n\n(more tomorrow)" ]	3
	[WP] You are a new Evil Overlord who has actually read the Evil Overlords Guide List	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I just couldn't wrap my head around it; enslaving the surrounding goblin countries and kidnapping some village children was simple, easy, and clean. But where in the sixty planes of Hell was I supposed to find a baby dragon to raise? Nobody's seen one since the last great dragon purge, and I doubt that six hundred years has left any untouched eggs in the remains of the great nests.\n\nI went over to my throne and picked up the book to double check it, and sure enough the back cover had \"penned in the year of the comet, 3599, sixth cycle of the 3rd era.\" This book was written twelve hundred years ago?! When I'd asked my advisor Gnarl to bring me any collected works on how to be an Overlord, I never thought he'd be so vapid as to bring me something so out of date.\n\nAt least the tome's section on lack of reliable help was still accurate...", "Hi u/Maximus274, this submission has been removed.\n\nNo recent reposts, even if changing small details Also, no [copy-cats](http://i.imgur.com/38FjDgW.gifv).\n\nSearch before submitting as popular ideas can cause floods. If your idea is based on something you read elsewhere on reddit, chances are it's been submitted here already. Please wait at least 2 weeks before reposting.\n\n \n\n\n\n* [From Rule 5: No recent reposts, even if changing small details](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_5.3A_no_recent_reposts.2C_even_if_changing_small_details)\n\n---\n\nhttps://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules/retired_prompt_themes/\n\n---\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/yoe8nm/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/config/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	3
	[WP] 3 warriors from 3 distinctly different time periods must band together to fight off a DemonLord despite their obvious language..and tactic barriers	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Hi u/NOT-Bolvar-Fordragon, this submission has been removed.\n\nNo recent reposts, even if changing small details Also, no [copy-cats](http://i.imgur.com/38FjDgW.gifv).\n\nSearch before submitting as popular ideas can cause floods. If your idea is based on something you read elsewhere on reddit, chances are it's been submitted here already. Please wait at least 2 weeks before reposting.\n\n \n\n\n\n* [From Rule 5: No recent reposts, even if changing small details](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_5.3A_no_recent_reposts.2C_even_if_changing_small_details)\n\n---\n\nhttps://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules/retired_prompt_themes/\n\n---\n\n\n\n---\n\n[Modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FWritingPrompts&subject=Removed%20post&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/yoeckj/-/%0A%0A) us if you have any questions or concerns. In the future, please refer to the [sidebar](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/config/sidebar) before posting. \n\nThis action was not automated and this moderator is human. Time to go do human things." ]	2
	[WP] In this world, people's coffee is a true reflection of their soul: sweet, bitter, cold, complex, dark, everyone knows who they are by their drink. You've only ever had tea.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I was always afraid of what I would find out when I take the first sip. I saw people cry and some get in despair, some laugh maniac and some just didn't react.\n\nEveryone I know knew the true reflexion of their soul, by just a sip of coffee at all things. I laugh, people just drink it more than beer or water, an religion was born by that because humans cannot let it go by what it is making a big issue.\n\nSweet, bitter, cold, warm, rotten, and so go on. Your soul reflected in a brown dirty liquid. God is laughing his ass off by this new trick of him when humans is making war because one country is cold and it is against the sweet soul's country.\n\nIf you want a loan, take a sip of coffee on an engine who will told everyone what you taste when taking that sip, and by that they will tell how much you can take.\n\nJobs? It's precisely build to use one type of soul, and commercials is all about that, science is even trying to see if have some way to dived even more the population by seeing with not good taste have something to do with violence.\n\nFather is cold taste, and since he finds out he needed live his life on a constant war against others cold taste and be aware of the sweet taste people.\n\nIronically mother is a sweet taste. She was forced to be calm, kind, a good woman to her husband. Sweet is a pleasure taste, but people put it was a weakness.\n\nTheir marriage, by all means, broke them. Even being the most smart animal, we cannot accept cold sweetness. And because of that extreme religious people ended their union by force.\n\nMother was sweet even being the most aggressive person I ever meet. I miss her kind touch, her strong voice and that smile of everything is okay.\n\nFather is warm even his taste being cold, he smiles and sings to me to sleep, always by my side, always a friend.\n\nAfter mother's death father didn't brought any more coffee and I just drink tea for all my life, I am the unique person alive that I know who didn't know their taste. A blank canvas who no one could put a tag on.\n\nHow could it be? How could someone not take just a damn sip and finally find their local in the world? How dare me.\n\nReligious people always made stupid actions. I was hunted like an animal by them and people around me just turn a blind eye. How could a warm taste help me if he don't know what I am, what would he do if I am bitter taste?\n\nI never drink coffee, just tea, an abomination.\n\nAnd now, for the first time, I need to take that damn sip or I can't start college, nineteen years without a sin on me.\n\nAnd just like I expected it taste..." ]	2
	[WP] In a world where only true nobility can ride dragons, the most powerful family is.... a bunch of stablehands? Granted their "horses" are dragons.... but still....	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The cowboy came in damn-near covered head-to-toe in mud. Mud on his boots, mud on his jeans, mud on his shirt, mud on his face, mud absolutely everywhere. Exhausted blue eyes sat in encroaching blankets of sun-kissed eyelids. He was barely awake, but he’d made it. He’d beaten another day in Wyskar.\n\nWell, not quite. In his absolute exhaustion, Wesley Kolst decided that he would allow himself the luxury of an actual bath at the exceedingly lavish Beehive restaurant and hotel. It was the social crown jewel of this burgeoning border town between the lands of Orcs and Elves. Anyone showing up covered in mud would usually be verbally stoned before the gawking aristocratic masses because they could not stand a man who had the audacity to work hard and get dirty doing it. Luckily, Wes had known the old bartender back before he’d ever came to Jungen’s Run. Joseph, like Wesley, came from the human tribes across the Sea of Souls. It was Joseph who convinced Wesley to leave the tribelands and come back to the “old world.” So, whenever Wesley had even the slightest excuse to come to the Run, he’d take it.\n\n“Soraskar’s Song, Wesley, what in the void happened to you?” The young cowboy smiled playfully knowing full well just how silent the room was now that a commoner was in the midst. He always had too much fun riling up the snobs much to the dismay of his old friend who would have to serve them and answer their prudish questions. “Horse saw a phalizard and bucked me. Can you have a bath run for me, Jo? I can feel eyes stabbing needles into my back, even through all the dirt.” Joseph rolled his eyes and called out to someone in the back. The Beehive had public and private baths in a separate wing of the building. Wesley reckoned he was the only person that would actually ever use them for their intended purpose. Baths weren’t for socializing or seeking a lack there of.\n\nJoseph just pointed at a door down the hall, and Wesley took the hint without any further jesting. Joseph watched the young cowboy disappear down the hallway, locks of dirty blond hair flowing out from beneath his wide brimmed hat. Joseph had once been a herder. Looking at the young and playful Wesley left Joseph longing for days long past, but Joseph had his time in the spotlight. Now, it was time to hand the reigns over to a new breed of rider. Wesley already had the size and grit the came from an upbringing of hunting and eating the various void-tainted monsters that inhabit the Dreadlands. He stood at tall as an elf and twice as large. Now, the only thing left for Wesley to garner was experience. \n\n“Bartender.” Joseph snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head towards the new face seated at the counter. He nearly choked when he saw the unmistakable likeness of the young countess, Lady Elisna Draiskar, sitting plainly at the counter as if she was just another cattlehand coming in from a long day on the range. House Draiskar, the most influential house of all the Wyrm-Tamers, were never known for their eccentricity. Their clothes, whilst certainly expensive and aesthetically pleasing, did not stand out in the crowds. They wore practical riding clothing made for the primary purpose of riding dragons and the secondary purpose of looking fairly good whilst doing so. The so-called socialites behind her in the booths and tables likely had no idea that the heir to the scaled throne was sitting at the bar, just waiting patiently for the bartender to speak up. When he finally did, he spoke low, attempting to not cause a scene after narrowly escaping the first one.\n\n“Lady Elisna, I had no idea you were-“ She cut him off curtly, but not out of any avarice. She just did not like wasting time on anything. Her personality could be a bitter pill to swallow at times. “The day that I inform someone that I am coming before I arrive is the day that a bullet finds by back when I get there. Save the small talk, I want two things. First, Tequila. Second, who was that cowboy you were just speaking with?”\n\n(To be continued)" ]	2
	[WP] You rob a bank to be stopped by a couple children in stupid bright costumes. At first you think it’s a joke, but then they use their ‘powers of friendship’ to send you to jail. Fortunately, you escape. After a few more failed plans, though, you realize you’re the villain in a kids’ cartoon show	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "He couldn't tell you when it'd started exactly. Oh, he remembered that first time he robbed the bank and thought the so-called heroes were children playing pretend. Afterward he'd had to break out of jail, which was surprisingly easy. Before that first bank robbery though, it was fuzzy.\n\nSeveral more events like that happened, when one day he woke up from a dream about his wife. Dark Vortex had woken up drenched in sweat. She had called him Randy, and was begging him to come back. It was the kind of dream that stuck with you afterward. He had pondered it for the rest of that day. And then the rest of that week, along with more dreams--or memories.\n\nToday Randy woke up and began his day with a perk in his step. It already felt like today was going to be great. After he brushed his teeth and showered, he sat down with a cup of coffee. He sipped at it, smiled, and then picked up his phone to dial Miss Rocket. They had made plans to crash the moon into the Earth today--\n\nHe dropped the phone and stood up, knocking the wooden chair to the floor. His skin suddenly turned to pins and needles as his anxiety overflowed.\n\n\"No, no! It's happening again.\" \n\nHe deleted the number he was dialing and with shaking hands found his therapist in the contacts list. Dr. Cassandra. It rang four times too many before she finally picked up.\n\n\"Doctor! You have to help me, today I'm going to--\"\n\n\"Hello? Dr. Cassandra's office. Can I ask who's calling?\"\n\n\"It's me, Randy. I'm--\"\n\nThe woman's voice was confused for a second.\n\n\"Randy? Oh! Dark Vortex, right?\"\n\nThe accusation stunned Randy for a moment, making him stutter.\n\n\"I-- yes, but it's Randy. Dark Vortex is only a delusion.\"\n\n\"Mhm. Well, what can I do for you Randy?\"\n\nHe walked to the 'living room' and looked out the window. All was normal atop his mountain lair overlooking the city. Then he remembered he lived in such a place, another mental shock occurring no matter how many times he'd remembered before, and quickly went back to the kitchen instead.\n\n\"It's happening again. Today I woke up and was going to try crashing the moon into the planet. I really want to. It's all planned out. Miss Rocket agreed to help me, and there's even contingencies to prevent those blasted kids from interfering.\" \n\nRandy was hyperventilating now. She waited a moment for him to continue, but that was it.\n\n\"So? What's the problem?\" \n\n\"What do you mean what's the problem?! I woke up with a compulsion to drag the moon down! I can hardly resist. Is this not OCD or--\"\n\n\"What I mean is, why don't you? Why do you resist? You're Dark Vortex.\" \n\nRandy slammed his hand into the counter and was screaming now.\n\n\"I'm not! Dark Vortex isn't real! I'm Randy! Is any of this even real? Tell me where I am! Where's my wife? I'm so...\" \n\nHe began to sob while continuing his rant into the phone. After the bulk of it was out, Cassandra sighed. \n\n\"Alright Randy. That's enough. Don't worry about it anymore.\"\n\nHe was then muted and Cassandra continued to the room she was in.\n\n\"As you two can see, Randy's alter hasn't been... receptive, to the simulation. It happens sometimes, even with the profiling we do ahead of time. I'm afraid we'll have to find somebody else for the role. You'll get to keep the sign-on bonus, but that's all. Please do remember our NDA. Everything you've seen or done here is not to be discussed.\"\n\n\"Aww, he missed me!\"\n\nRachel seemed almost happy as she hugged her husband's arm. Randy, on the other hand, was still staring silently at the paused simulation, horrified." ]	2
Zombies are awesome, but they have become cliche. Do something creative with them	[WP] Creative Zombies	[ "She came at me. I had been expecting it, but it still came as a shock. Hands outstretched, groping for me she rushed towards me. Just in time, I buried my long knife in her sternum. She paused for a moment, then resumed. Her arms flailing I frantically stabbed again and again.\n\n\"Kill me,\" she moaned, \"Please...\"\n\nHer head was lolling to one side, her face white and sickly looking. I didn't notice it at first, but I was crying. I began to feel the warm sting of tears running down my cheek.\n\n\"I'm sorry!\" I gasped, as she finally fell. I could hear the final wheeze of air leave her lungs. I collapsed, spattered in my mother's own blood and sobbing.\n\nThis wasn't like the films, it wasn't at all. This wasn't the living dead, they were alive. Not being a scientist, I didn't understand it. Fortunately, I didn't have time to contemplate.\n\n\"Jason!\" screamed a hoarse voice from behind me. I spun, knife drawn.\n\n\"Jason run!\" shrieked my sister as she stood stiffly, twitching and convulsing in place. \"I can't hold it much longer...\" she breathed.\n\nI ran. Out the backdoor from the kitchen I sprinted. I scrambled over the fence, skinning my knee and ripping my jeans a bit. Just as I landed in the next yard I heard a massive BAM directly behind me. She'd lost control. I knew it.\n\nThe only way out of the yard was back over the fence or into the house, which seemed empty.\n\n\"Jason...\" wheezed Elaine, \"Jason I'm s-s-sorry...\"\n\nI could hear her scrambling over the fence just behind me, her corrupted body pulling itself awkwardly over it. I swore and ran at the house. The sliding glass door was locked. I kicked it, but my foot rebounded.\n\nThe bizarre almost inhuman form of my sister finally fell over the fence and into the yard. Thinking quickly, I grabbed a nearby patio chair and slammed it into the door. The glass shattered and I leaped over the shards on the floor.\n\nAs I ran, I noticed something peculiar. My left arm was limp. I couldn't move it at all. I stopped running and stared at it in horror. Numbness seemed to be spreading from it to the rest of my body. Suddenly, the arm twitched and started moving around. I screamed.", "The strange thing about it all was the way everyone seemed so open to the idea. \n\nI mean, yes, it would help formulate the cure to diseases that had plagued humanity for centuries. Yet what we transformed people into to achieve this purpose was simply inhumane. These are people that were almost dead anyway, the supporters argued. Why not put them to good use? Save another life in the process? The benefits outweigh the drawbacks, surely!\n\nStill, I couldn’t see it that way. The second they added that mutagen into the dying person's system the transformation started; the flesh began to peel, the eyes began to bleed, and bones began to snap and contort - and all the way though this, the victim was fully aware of what was occurring. Most of them became enraged, desperately struggling to obtain revenge, bloodied fingers reaching out trying to wring the nearest neck before one bullet put an end to the situation. It had to be a bullet, of course – other humane ways of solving the issue had soon become futile. Those injected were becoming stronger by the day.\n\nThen, as grieving relatives came to times with those they care about dying anything but a peaceful death, the mad rush to collect the secretions began, nurse after nurse rushing the dark green substance into cold storage before it could harden and become useless. The fluid could then be manipulated to create the most curious properties, anything we could imagine - even as the television screamed at us that the cure to everything was near, the excited whispers about obtaining immortality had already started...\n\nPerhaps it was this greed, this natural desire to survive, that made everyone shrug their shoulders and carry on. The tears of grief were nothing compared to the aspirations of the future, after all. And while protest groups were certainly trying to make their voices heard, a million message boards crying out to stop the madness, was anyone really going to listen in the end? Even the research that showed that victims who remained alive could pass on the mutagen was quickly buried. Not a single news article. Not a single word recently from the professor who discovered it, either...\n\nStill, I knew where my morals stood. The process was wrong, inhumane, and had to be prevented. I had made that decision long before sitting in that ambulance a few hours ago, overseeing yet another procedure about to take place. It was destined to be another clumsy affair, simply because seeing this old lady die of natural causes was seen as a waste of resources. I just hadn’t planned to knock the syringe out of the nurse’s hand as it was inserted, hadn’t intended to steal the ambulance in a blind panic as chaos broke out while the mutagen took hold, my desperate attempts to stop the madness in at least some way coming seconds too late... \n\nYet here I am, lying low while the city looks for me. I would kill her if I could, let her escape the endless misery I have placed her in, but her roars of rage and powerful fists slamming on the ambulance doors frighten me too much. I know she will overpower me within seconds, and then what will happen? And I can’t ask for help now. After what I have done, who knows what they will do to me? My family? Better to hope the ambulance contains her, but even as I sit here, I can hear the windows begin to crack, hinges begin to buckle, and the doors start to collapse…\n", "They don't speak, and they barely move. I remember movies a long time ago talking about flesh eating monsters. Dead things that crawled out of their graves, hoping to find some warm veins to bite into. They don't make those movies anymore. No one wants to even think about. They're done thinking about it. For years, everyone tried to explain it. For years, everyone waited for the first ones to start to crumble and finally rejoin the Earth. But they never did. People would just die, then stand up again. \n\nWhen the dead began to rise from their graves, everyone expected a fight. The rednecks and the gangsters grabbed for their guns, the rich flew into the hills, and the masses prepared for the worst. But the dead we found among us were not monsters. They were not cannibals, ghouls, or brain eating freaks. They were just.... There. Making that awful sound. Moving every now and then without any real goal or destination. \n\nI can hear their moans everywhere I go. They echo down the dark streets, the lonely corridors, and the misty docks. A sound that is both pain, sorrow, and something else that sends a shiver down my spine: boredom. \n\nIt's been fifty years since the first ones died and came back. They show no signs of decay, or any other sort of detioration. Everyone who dies, becomes one. How pitiful a joke our afterlife has become. Everyone has become afraid to die. Afraid to join the masses of faceless, moaning, people that seem to exist without reason or end. \n\nI know too, my day will come. It might be from a car accident in the next five minutes, or a heart attack in the next twenty years. But one way or another, I (just as everyone else does) know that my time is coming. What then will become of me? Death was better left a mystery. ", "Metamorphosis Part I\n\nThey were changing, that much I knew. They were becoming faster for one thing, and smarter. They were much less decayed looking than they had been before. \n\nI had started climbing the ladder to the fire tower thinking they would be unable to follow. I watched as they huddled around the base, just seeming to mill about for a while.\n\nWithout warning, one rushed to the ladder and started climbing! I was so shocked I almost forgot to defend myself. That's what allowed me to get a close look at one in their new form for the first time. Their glistening skin now seemed tinged with a sickly mottled gray color and smooth as marble. It's hair had fallen out long ago. It's eyes were completely black and much larger than before. It was horrifying to see it so close.\n\nI slammed the trap door down on it's head as hard as I could. It went tumbling down into the mass below. Almost as one, they looked up at me. \n\nI shut the trap door and locked it. It was mere seconds before I heard them scratching from the other side. I was trapped.\n\nI went out to observation deck and surveyed the valley and river below. It was a beautiful place to die. A cool breeze came up and I inhaled deeply without thinking.\n\nIt smelled of death.\n\nI heard a peculiar sound and looked down. The dead had now sprouted long razor-like claws and were climbing the supports of the tower! I heard a blood curdling scream from behind me and whipped around to see one of the things springing at me from the far edge of the deck!\n\nI instinctively lashed out with my fist and sent it flying backwards. It felt light as a feather. As it flew back towards the railing, it dug it's claws into the floor to stop it's backward momentum.\n\nI ran towards it and kicked it as hard as I could. Up and over the railing it went. Almost instantaneously greasy black feathered wings unfolded from it's back as it started to fall.\n\nIt caught the wind and soared out over the treetops, losing several feathers along the way. It slowly turned and flew back towards me, screaming again.\n\nI sprinted inside the structure, knocking a couple more of the dead out of my way in the process. I closed the heavy wooden door behind me. Once I had it locked, I took a moment to assess my condition. \n\nI sat against the wall for almost an hour, staring at the bloody scratch on the back of my hand. How did I get it? Was it from one of them? I wasn't sure.\n\nAll I could do was wait and listen to them scratching at the wood and glass. The sound was enough to drive me insane. Soon they would become smart enough to realize they could break through the observation window. I had just one shell left in my shotgun.\n\nI figured I had better make it count.", "Here's a segment from a middle-grades short story I wrote called \"Jack Valentine vs. the Zombie Horde\"\n\n---\n\n“And we go to Rob with the weather.”\n\nThe television was blaring at the Sneed home. Stephen Sneed, alias: Jack Valentine, was eating his cereal with bleary eyes. His father, Doctor Sneed, was putting on his lab-coat to head to work at Genio Tech.\n\n“Thanks, Gina,” said Rob, the meteorologist. “A pleasant high pressure zone persists...”\n\nStephen’s mom, Elanor Razer-Chutter Doeman-Blink Sneed, gave her husband a kiss on the cheek. “Have fun,” she said, waving him out the door. “Don’t destroy the planet.”\n\nDoctor Sneed smiled as he walked to his car.\n\n“How about you?” Elanor Sneed asked Stephen. “You going over to Kenny’s house today?”\n\n“...going to be perfect temperatures for fishing on the river, if you ask me,” said Rob the meteorologist.\n\n“Probably,” Stephen said. “Or we might go to Mr. Flowers’ house.”\n\n“Okay. I’ll be in classes all evening, so you can also go to your father’s office.”\n\n“I know.”\n\n“You walking to school today, or would you like a drive?”\n\n“I think I’ll just walk today,” he said.\n\n“...increased zombie activity in the southwestern states is causing travel delays, but only a 30% chance of hordes throughout Wisconsin,” said Rob the meteorologist.\n\n“Okay,” said Elanor Razer-Chutter Sneed. “Take a stick.”\n\n“I will,” said Stephen dutifully.\n\nEven though it was a sunny, spring day, Stephen wore a brown felt fedora and a sports jacket as he walked down the lane towards school. The hat and coat were part of what made him feel different - like he could take on the whole world, if necessary. It was what made him become Jack Valentine - investigator of mystery, defender of the weak, and all-around awesome guy.\n\nJack thought of the zombies as fish.\n\nThere seemed to be more and more of them as time went on, but they didn’t really do much. Most of the time they just wandered in lurching curves along roads and bumped into things. Like fish endlessly swimming in a fishtank, with never anywhere to go. All you had to do was turn them gently in a different direction and they’d wander off.\n\nTwo months ago, when the undead started to appear, people were panicked. They called out the national guard. There were daily news reports. Churches predicted the end of the world. Some people broke into stores and stole things. Some people dressed up as vampires. But, after a few days of dead people slowly walking humorously into the sides of buildings and parked cars, people moved on to other things and got back to business as usual, minus the occasional zombie horde causing a traffic jam.\n\nJack saw Kenny Asper, one of his only friends, turn the corner a block ahead of him. Jack whistled loudly to catch his attention, and Kenny turned back around. He, too, was holding a stick at his side.\n\nKenny walked back to Jack and they started walking together. Kenny looked tired, but happy. “I beat Solar Invaders on ‘insane’ last night,” Kenny said.\n\n“That’s awesome,” Jack said. “I can’t get past the first level on ‘hard.’”\n\n“Yup,” said Kenny. “I’m the man. These skills are gonna take me to the big time.”\n\nAs they walked they came across a zombie trying to walk through a tall shrub. Kenny and Jack used their sticks to prod the thing till it had started walking down the sidewalk. They aimed it at Suzy Binton’s house.\n\nThey watched it lumber off for a minute. “I hope it falls in their window well” Kenny said. “That happened to us last week and it was a huge pain to get it out.”\n\n“Hey,” Kenny said when they had continued walking, “was there any homework due today?”\n\n“Not today,” Jack said. “It’s Career Week, remember?”", "Robert hobbled down the street, moans of pain escaping chapped lips. Finally, he settled his tired body on a choice looking mound.\n\nRubble lined the sidewalks, silent monuments of twisted metal and broken glass to a civilization shattered by monsters. Shattered by its own creations. He would have cried, but the tears had withered in him so long ago. How had it gone so wrong?\n\nThe mutagen had been the beginning of a quick and sudden fall, and the tattered remains of a white coat weighed heavily on Robert's shoulders. It was a mantle of his shame, his pride, his folly. They had all thought themselves gods, but Robert knew better. When he had seen what they'd done, what they had created, Robert knew they were more than gods. No mere god could have achieved this. They had created life and given birth to a new age.\n\nA horrendous snapping noise jerked him from his reverie, and he sagged when he realized what it was. His time had come -- his leg had fallen off. He watched sadly as it hopped away without him. The age of zombies was past, and he had helped usher it out. He waited for the humans to take him.", "Three days in Borneo.\n\nThey were looking for a rare flower, deep in the jungles with a university grant funding us. Botanists and a few local trackers- including me, moving quickly to avoid a coming storm.\n\nOn the fourth day, Dr. Hamilton and two trackers went missing. We searched for a day, then found him wandering into camp in the early morning.\n\nHe was groaning and patting at his chest. Their field medic attempted to remove his shirt, but we discovered some form of parasite had eaten away the flesh of his sternum. It was some form of plant, something intertwined with his bones and muscles. \n\nHe was dead, but he wasn't. It was animating him, moving him like a puppet. He howled in pain when Cass, the medic, attempted surgery. Cass suffered a cut in the hand and soon she was experiencing similar symptoms. Hamilton barely resembled a man at this point, with that thing on his chest blooming and spraying the camp with spores in the morning.\n\nWe had to burn everything. \n\nAnd everyone.\n\nDoom would have spread otherwise.\n" ]	7
	[WP] As the court of hell and heaven, your job is to judge how well they have lived. The only problem is, a guy has just walked in with a 50/50 hell-heaven ratio.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Over the eons that I have existed never has an entity like this shown up, he was not the worst person to walk through these gates, neither was he the greatest saint to ever live, in fact he was neither. Stuck at a grey point of judgement it felt like deciding whether 50% was a fail or a pass. \n\n\nPushing these thoughts away I opened the gates with a flick of my fingers. \n\nThey slowly swung open as a faint smell of marmalade wafted out of the void, a steady click, click filled the vast hall as a vivid blue coat flapped into sight, gloved hands tightly gripped a handbag as an old lady slowly walked to the front, awaiting her judgement." ]	2
	[WP] Vampires are everywhere, and they're as every bit as mindless as a zombie is. No-one knows how this happened. You're holed up in your home when you get the universal knock governments had been advising people use. You open the door and let the person in, only to see that it's a vampire...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "By sunrise what would have been the Vampire Apocalypse sputtered out. The undead creatures weren't much more than zombies. Most stayed outside and burned alive. The ones who didn't were little more than a nuisance, feeding on rats in the sewers.\n\nThere are competing theories on the persistent survival of these creatures. Some say the dumb beings have adapted, but others assume there's something in the people before they turn that makes certain vampires particularly suited for certain lifestyles. \n\nNevertheless, it is enough of a concern that the Government issued warnings, codes to use. They still look enough like us and behave human enough to put a damper on the nightlife if we didn't have some code to tell us apart from the beasts.\n\nAs you can imagine, then, it came as a surprise that the being using the approved human-knock was in fact, a vampire. The stupid thing was snarling at me. Everyone knows they can't enter unless invited in and I wasn't about to do that. Still, it was curious that one could knock, what else could it accomplish, I wondered.\n\n\"How did you learn to knock?\" I've learned sometimes the direct approach works. No one has heard one of these things speak before, but it never hurts to try. Well, usually.\n\nIt looked at my face as I spoke and turned its head as though trying to understand. Was this finally a display of higher cognitive function? I pondered the possibilities of such a discovery, turning it over in my head. Perhaps they could be trained.\n\nThen again, it was such studies that got us here in the first place. Immortality, it turns out, is a fickle thing. But we are here, and so are they. There must be something that can be done with the situation. It's such a waste of life.\n\nNow, the problem of Vampires is nowhere near existential. Every so often a human manages to get cornered and eaten, but the real damage is done when they're hit by cars. These things were human at one point, though. That has to mean something. They shouldn't be ignored as they are.\n\nRight, the vampire was still standing there watching me think. It was drooling. \"So what do you want?\" I said not knowing how much it could understand if anything.\n\nIt looked sad and pathetically at me, turning its head down submissively but still watching my face. Holy shit, I thought, it was kind of cute.\n\n\"Do you want to come in?\" \n\nIt nodded! It understood me! My mouth hung open and my eyes widened. I still wasn't going to ever let it in, that'd just be foolish, but there were other possibilities. I peered into the hallway around the vamp. It was empty.\n\nI grabbed up my government-issued wooden stake and showed it to the thing at my door. \"You see this? You step sideways and I'm stabbing you. Got it?\" It didn't nod again but pulled back slightly. I thought it might have signaled it was aware of the threat I posed to it.\n\nTo my absolute shock, the vamp followed me into the basement and let me chain it up in an old bomb shelter.\n\nI had a pet vamp. I hoped my roommates wouldn't find out." ]	2
	[WP] you have a girlfriend, she’s nice and great to be around, a bit dark in her personality but all around amazing. There’s just one itty bitty problem, she’s the goddess of the underworld, and her job has been drifting into your personal lives	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I swore under my breath. Again? This was like, the third time this week! Where were all of these things coming from? I chanced a glance (hey that rhymed, sort of) at Endor. I sighed. Dating the god of the underworld came with some pretty great perks; namely immortality, eternal youth, and an awesome boyfriend for an equally awesome male witch.\n\nBut what didn't come in the dating profile were the zombies currently stationed outside my house. They screamed and threw themselves at the gates of my magically enforced palace. \n\n\"They're ruining the garden!\" I growled. Endor opened his eyes, patiently watching the hordes of living dead ravage my hard-earned herbal garden. I'd spent hours on that bush! Come on! Even the dead had to appreciate my work on that nightshade, right?\n\nNope.\n\n\"Do something,\" I said. His mouth curled up into a cocky smirk. \n\n\"I could think of a few things,\" he purred. I mentally beat myself. Purred? What was this, some cringy fanfiction? \n\n\"Close enough,\" a voice from the clouds stated.\n\n\"What?\" \n\n\"Nothing. You heard nothing,\" it muttered.\n\n\"But-\"\n\nThe screams from outside distracted me. The windows! I growled again, loud enough even for my annoying boyfriend to look worried. I'd spent hours cleaning that glass! Hours! And here it was, stained with red. \n\nThe tomatoes continued to fly. \n\n\"Do something helpful!\" I shrieked, sharp enough for him to wince. \n\n\"Okay, okay,\" he held his hands up in surrender. I listened. It had grown silent. I ran to the window. The undead stared into the distance. A chasm opened beneath them. They fell. I kissed him.\n\nI repaid him well that night...\n\nA/N: FEEDBACK", "I have a girlfriend actually and she is a Capricorn and I am a Gemini and last Saturday we had been on are first ever and it was GREAT and let me tell you the story.\n\nThe Very First Date November 5th 2022\nThis had happened on November 5th 2022 at 1:30 PM. My girlfriend name is Chanta; Her height 172 cm (5'8) & she is the exact same height as me which I am 172 cm (5'8); Her birthday is on January 2nd, 1992; Her horoscope sign is a Capricorn; She is African American; She is the youngest out of her siblings and her blood type is O- which is the exact same blood type as mine which is O-, so my girlfriend had called me, so we me and her can go on are very first date ever, so I had got dressed and I went down stairs, so I can meet my girlfriend. When I had meet my girlfriend I had kissed 💋 her on the check and then we had talked so a while about this and that and afterwards we was on are way to the movie theaters. Once we was there we had decided to go to domino's to get something to eat before the movie start and while we was there was talking about a lot of things about this and that and I was sucking on her beautiful and chocolate fingers like a baby and she was ENJOYING every second of it and afterwards I was messaging her feet and kissing 💋 her sexy legs at the same time. Fast-forwarding we was eating some spicy mild wings, and some handmade pan pizza and it was delicious. Next we had went to an all you can eat restaurant and the place looked amazing, but we didn't stay for very long, however I am definitely going back their again for sure this time. Moving forward we had finally went to the movie theaters and then I had bought the tickets online and afterwards we had went to theater room #8 and it was from their we had watched the Black Adam movie that been released not too long ago and we had bought some popcorn and drinks to enjoy the movie. During the time we was watching the movie I was massaging her feet and then I was kissing 💋 her feet and then kissing 💋 her leg and I was touching her 36 D Cup milk containers 😋 & I had thought to myself like \"Dayumn these are some big tityas and they are soo big\". Anyway after I was done doing all of that I had hold my girlfriend right next to my left arm and we was enjoying the movie together and the movie was good too mind now. Moving when the movie was finally done my girlfriend had told me that \"I want you to f### my titties 🍈 🍈 baby\" and I had thought to myself thinking \"OH HELL YEAH\", so we went to another theater room to watch a movie called \"Prey For The Devil\" and we had got inside we had sat down and I had told my girlfriend that I wanted to use the bathroom and once I was in the bathroom I was getting my Big and Hard 🍆 and when I had got back to the theater I had told my girlfriend that \"I am ready\", so me and my girlfriend had went inside the men's bathroom and we had sex kinda, so I was f###### those big chocolate jugs of hers with my Big D and I was enjoying every second of it and afterwards I was sucking on her p#### for a while and then after that I was f###### those 36 D Cups again and at the same time she was sucking my dick 🍆 for a little bit and while I was f###### those chocolate 🍈 🍈 of hers she had said \"it is soo big🍆\" and I was f###### those tittyas of her even more now. Afterwards we had left the men's bathroom and we had went back to theater room and we had enjoyed the second movie we had seen today and it was a good movie too. Afterwards when the movie was over she had told me that \"she had a GREAT TIME and this date was GREAT and I love you baby\" and I was soo happy that she was pleased and she had a great time, so we had decided to go back to her car and she had took me home and then she had give me a kiss 💋 and we had kissed 💋 for a bit and after that she had told me that she will call me again tomorrow, so can do something else and afterwards I had went upstairs and I had turn on my ps4 and I had watched something on youtube and that is it \"The End\"\n\nSo yeah we been on are first date and it was AWESOME, BUT SADLY / UNFORTUNATELY she is not the type of person that doesn't response to my text and wont response to my calls like that so idk what it is like is she cheating on me or is she testing me or does she want her own space or does she want to break up with me, but can't admit it or is she board with me or I am just being dramatic over nothing, ergo I want get to the bottom of it, but I got no prove, so idk what it is CAN ANYONE HELP ME. \n\nAny Advice Would Help Thanks", "Sunday afternoon. \nAbout 2pm.\n\n\nI decided to take a nap. A nap sounds nice. It's been a busy week. I work in insurance. I'm an actuary for a life insurance company. Basically I run the numbers to see if your eventual death will be worth it to the company. Which is how I met Cat. \n\nCat is gorgeous. Beyond my league by 30 football fields. I mean seriously outside my league. Almost supernatural. Jet black hair, black eyes, the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. It was like I was bewitched. \n\nShe came to the office as an intern. I couldn't speak to her without stuttering and losing my train of thought. That's how we met, she ended up talking to me about what I do there. 8 hours later, dinner, a few drinks, and then coffee, we became inseparable. After dating for 6 months she told me the truth. She's not just Cat but full name is Hecate goddess of magic and the underworld. \n\nSince we moved in together we have to deal with each other's jobs impacting our home life. I started working from and don't always stop at 5, and well she's a goddess. It's not a 9-5 job most days. But I do get tired of waking up in the morning to 4 other deities having coffee in our kitchen and being loud. Her siblings have no boundaries. None. \n\nBut back to my nap. It's been peaceful. I'm exhausted and Cat is dealing with a backup issue in the underworld. Apparently Chiron got mad at Hades and started routing souls through his office. Which caused other issues as well. I hadn't been laying down but a few minutes when there was a loud bang in the kitchen. I sat up right like I was shocked and looked over. I don't know how many souls there were but it like 20 orbs floating around the kitchen. Damn it, now the souls were flooding our kitchen. This had to be fixed.", "\"Baby, I'm ho--oh, goddamn it, not again.\"\n\nHilda was currently attempting to force a spirit out of the oven. She smiled at me apologetically and said, \"Hey Polly! Uh, this guy will be gone in like a few seconds, and then I'll make us some crescent rolls! Sounds good, right?\"\n\nI sighed as I hung up my coat and walked towards the bedroom. \"Yeah, that sounds great, babe.\" I flopped onto the bed and stared out the window. Our dogs Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme jumped on the bed with me and nuzzled up against me. After a few minutes of silently scratching Rosemary behind the ears, Hilda got on the bed with us and softly said, \"I'm so sorry, baby girl. That's probably the last thing you want to come home to.\"\n\nI exhaled slowly but didn't say anything. Hilda rested her hand on my shoulder. \"Polly, I swear I am just as frustrated as you are by my work cutting into our lives. The Reaper promised me the process of soul harvesting would have been automated by now. I don't know what's going on, but I am gonna give him a piece of my mind next time I--\"\n\n\"Am I still important to you?\"\n\nHilda stared at me in shock. \"Why would you even--of course you're important to me! You're the most important thing in the world to me! The whole reason I'm trying to automate the process is so I'll have more time for you and the dogs. So I can come home earlier and surprise you with hugs, kisses, and a clean apartment. And I'm doing all this because you're my princess and my whole heart and my favorite person there ever was.\"\n\nI turned around to face Hilda and kissed her deeply. When we broke apart, I nuzzled into her chest and said, \"Mmm, thanks, baby.\" Hilda smiled as she looped her arms around me and spooned me. She then got up next to my ear and whispered, \"Do you still want those crescent rolls?\"\n\n\"Yeah, but not right now, okay? I really just want to cuddle with my big black cat for the time being.\"\n\nHilda kissed my cheek and replied, \"Anything and everything for my baby girl.\"", "I get off the couch to answer the knock at the door. I open the door to a man in a suit. He has dirt on his shoulders and is way too pale to be alive. \n\n“Can I help you?”, I ask, even though I know the answer. \n\n“I…. I…. I loooook …. for… boss … lady”, he says so slowly. \n\nI nod, “come on in. Don’t worry, once you have been dead a bit longer, talking will get easier again.”, I say as reassuringly as I can. \n\n“I…. I…. not…. dead…”, he says as he does the zombie shuffle into the house. \n\n“Honey! Honey! You have someone from work here to see you!”, I yell up the stairs. \n\n“She will be right down.”, I tell the dead man in my living room. \n\nShe comes bounding down the stairs. She is so full of life and energy that it seems odd that she is the goddess of the underworld. You kinda expect the goddess of the underworld to be all goth and depressed or some nasty old hag. Like being around death all day some how would make her bad. But she is so alive. Her long black hair bouncing and flowing about her shoulders as she comes down the stairs. She has a big bright smile on her face. She is joy personified. \n\nShe walks into the living-room and sees the man in the suit, “oh dear”, she says and walks over to hug him. She gives him a long hug. The kind of hug you would give a long lost friend or your mother after a long hard day at school. “So tell me, my dear, what can I do for you?”, she asks the dead man. \n\n“I…. I…. not… dead…”, he says again. \n\n“Here, let me help you with that.”, she touches the side of his head lightly with her hand and a warm glow from her palm lights his whole head. “Try that again dear”, she says lovingly. \n\n“I am not dead”, he says much more clearly. “I woke up in a buried coffin. I had to dig my way out!”, he said clearly exasperated. \n\n“It sounds like you died and were buried.”, her eyes big like a puppy’s. “And that is ok. You are in a nice suit and buried so that means that some one loves you and took the time to bury you properly.”\n\n“I have so much to do. I have a family that needs me. A wife. Two kids. I can’t be dead!”, he explains. \n\n“Oh my dear. You are dead. Your time came weather you were ready for it or not. I don’t get to know why or even how, but I know you have died. Death…. is kinda my thing.”, she smiled kindly at him, “come on. Let’s go. I will take you to the next stage. There is a whole after life for each of you. Old friends will be there. Parents. Grand parents. We will find you a job if that is your thing or let you enjoy some nothing for a while.” \n\nShe puts her arm in his, “I will take you there. You have already done the hardest part…. You died. There is no more pain. Let’s go for a walk and I will tell you all about the afterlife.”\n\nThey walk arm in arm, I open the door for them. She gives me a kiss on the cheek as she passes, “I will be home for supper.”, she says as they walk out the door together. I watch them walk down the side wall and slowly fade away. \n\nGood thing these lost souls have her to look after them." ]	6
	[WP] You've accidentally summoned a demon who, instead of slaughtering them outright, decides to join your life and become a functioning member of society alongside you! Unfortunately the real truth is, is that they are a wanted fugitive in hell and have been using you to hide from the law.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n&#127381; [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) \n&#9999; [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) \n&#128226; [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) \n&#128172; [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Diary entry: Day 4\n\nHis name is Dave. \n\nWell, his actual name was something similar to an ancient nordic word which I couldn't pronounce, so we settled on Dave. He's a nice guy, although he did completely evaporate my fridge when I opened it in the middle of the night once. Apparently the shining light inside the fridge reminded him of something very unpleasant which he didn’t want to talk about. But apart from that, things have been mostly cool. \n\nHe showed up out of nowhere, four days ago. Dave looks and behaves mostly human, except that his eyes sometimes turn inside out. He says that he can see through his own body parts and that his eyes can rotate 360 degrees, which means that he can see you even if you are right behind him. I told him not to do that if he wanted to blend in, and he said he would consider it. He has got a job as a coroner, which he is excelling at.\n\nHe says he’s a demon or something? I’m not one to judge. Why not?\n\nDiary entry: Day 12\n\nDave has been acting strange lately. Always mumbling about eternal fires and how he was supposed to cast people into them, and not the other way around. He also talks about how things were better before, and frequently says “this would never have happened during the 1200’s”. Back then, things were simpler. They had a steady supply of bad people to throw into the fires, and there was no need for the current nonsense. Now it’s all politics, whatever that means.\n\nDiary entry: Day 19.\n\nDave has been acting really strange lately. He is really stressed out. Every time I use the water tap he screams at me to stop letting the water run. He says it gives him bad vibes, and usually asks if I could light some fires instead. I said that wasn’t a good idea since we live in an apartment, which he just shrugged at. I wonder if he is moving out soon.\n\nDiary entry: Day 25.\n\nDave is gone. My apartment is gone too. In fact, the entire apartment complex is gone. A few days ago, a huge sinkhole opened up below it and consumed it. While this happened, I could hear this incredibly loud voice echoing from the skies. It spoke about “section 45-B”, and it also mentioned that “Digital piracy” is not a good enough reason for throwing people into the eternal fires. I couldn’t really make sense of it. It’s kind of a bummer that I'm practically homeless now, but I’ll be okay. I’m happy I got to experience this thing with Dave. I probably learned something from it. Or maybe not." ]	2

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