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] Come up with a backstory for a character named Niloc.	[ "“Morning Amok!” I shouted down the stairs, hoping my siblings could hear me. The fan was quite noisy, but than again, so were my lungs.\nNo response. I sighed. I guess I’m out of practice, I thought to myself, as I hurried down the stairs. As I entered the kitchen, I heard a familiar “AHAH” and was tackled by the four loving humans I knew as my family. \n“Dang it guys, get off of me” I snickered, pushing them off. These were my brothers and sisters: Amok: age 17, Todd: age 14, Cram: age 10, and Evarge: age 8. \n“Admit it, Niloc, we totally got you!” retorted Cram, clearly impressed with himself.\n“Look Cram, I said, pushing him to the side, we need to focus on what’s important right now! Amok, have you made any progress on cracking the code?”\n“Hey, were helping too!” Cried Evarge. “We just don’t know what the riddle means!”\n“Hmm” I thought. “Can you read it again? Maybe we’re missing something”\nAmok snatched it from the desk and dictated:\nMy dearest children. Upon our death, you will receive this note. I know it seems mysterious, but you must foll-\n“Umm!” Todd interjected, “We’ve heard this part like a thousand times. Skip to the riddle for unlocking the trapdoor!”\nHere is the riddle: Your names are not random. Though unusual, they were formed in a specific manner. Find the pattern; make the code; unlock the trapdoor.\n“Ugh, it’s so annoying! I don’t see any similarities between our names!” I shouted. “It just doesn’t make sense!”\nI walked back and forth aimlessly for a while, as my siblings just stood there and watched. \n“Maybe... I don’t know, maybe there’s a secret in grammar!” Suggested Amok. “I saw it in a book once. The characters find a note left by someone who has OCD and it is full of typos. Because she is OCD she would never write so badly, and they correct it, and the corrections spell a location.”\n“I mean, Mom WAS an English teacher, but than what would be the significance of the riddle?”\n“I don’t know, it could just be to throw us off.”\nAs my siblings bickered, something about what they said clicked. Mom was an English teacher. She always loved to use her linguistic skills to make puns and have fun with words. I started putting pieces together.\n“Guys! What if the grammar mistakes... are in our names! Hear me out: My name is Niloc, right? Well, if you flip the word colon backwards, and change one letter, you get my name.”\n“Well, that could just be a coincidence though” said Amok. “That means nothing.”\n“But there’s more, I added. “Amok, your name would be coma with a K instead of a C. Todd: Dot with an extra D. Evarge: That’s grave with an E at the beginning!” I was getting to excited, I was barely understandable. “And Cram-“\n“Mark with a C, right?” Said Cram, eagerly agreeing.\n“Exactly! I think this is it guys!” I shouted!\nWe al rushed to the trapdoor, and looked at the mysterious symbols again. \n“I’ll do the honors” I said, beaming, as I reached for the keypad, and began inputting codes.", "Niloc was a total jerk who always took credit for other's work. He was the lowest of the low and had been kicked from several mercenary guilds in the region. His lack of faith towards his companions had him turning in quests his \"friends\" had completed and running off with the reward. This fraud got worse and worse, culminating in a severe beating from his former guildmates. After that Niloc turned to a life of crime, fleecing and ambushing civillians... saving up to topple the guilds that he'd once called home." ]	2
	[WP] You have a sneaking suspicion that the family therapist is actually a giant fly in disguise.	[ "“… I just don’t know what to do Drosphina. Ever since I’ve come to this school, my goals and achievements have become so… confused.”\n\n\n“How zzo?”\n\n\nAh Drosphina. I’d been seeing her since high school. She helped me deal with the pressure of boarding school, motivated me through college apps. While she was technically my therapist, I often thought of her as a good friend.\n\n\n“Well, I was set on being an engineer. Building rockets, going to the moon, the whole nine yards. But everyone here seems to be studying Computer Science. And it seems so much nicer, with a better paycheck at the end.”\n\n\n“Money izzn’t everything. Perzzonally, I prefer honey and rotten apples.”\n\n\n“Oh. Um. Yeah. I guess? But anyway, I’ve been having trouble picking my major – my dreams, or a cushier life?”\n\n\n“Some nizzze fecezzz can be comforting as well!”\n\n\nOkay. So she had her quirks. But who doesn’t these days?\n\n\n“…I think I’m good. But my future. I have no idea what I want to do with it!”\n\n\n“Have you conzzzzidered going into Entomology?”\n\n\n“God! No! I hate bugs! I can’t handle ants, and flies are obnoxious!”\n\n\n“You’re obnoxiouzzzz!”\n\n\n“What?”\n\n\n“What?”\n\n\n“Right. ANYWAY. My major. I need to pick i—”\n\n\n“Perhapzzz biology then? There izz a good lab at your school that studiezz fruit fliezz!”\n\n\n“What? No! I’m not into bugs!”\n\n\n“But bugzzz are into you!”\n\n\nI turned and looked at Drosphina. Like really looked at her. I stared into her eyes, her big, red, multi-faceted eyes. She picked up an arm (or perhaps leg) and brushed the top of her head while fluttering her wings. I blushed.\n\n\n“Well Drosphina, maybe I am into bugs.”\n", "My suspicions started with the proboscis, it was settled by the wings. Crimson compound-eyes, thousands of tiny windows into an alien soul stared across a mahogany table far too lavish for the gaudy wallpaper and mold spots flecking the ceiling. Perhaps he liked it that way. My family had seemed oblivious, how typical of them. I bet they also knew and this was their way of being petty toward me. A few smashed windows, standard delinquent activity that got old fast. They wanted to taunt me, to toy with my mind. That's why they brought in the fly. The wings twitched at sporadic moments. The eyes never once blinked. My father tipped his hat and excused himself from the session. My mother followed suit not long after. It was an unproductive conversation rooted in the fact that this was mostly my fault and they could see no other angle. Fair enough, they surely acted as if they did not see the fly. \n\n\"Gerald\" the therapist fly wheezed, raspy, almost like the crinkling of tissue paper against cement. \"Gerald, we can't help you if you don't open up to us. Please... let us in.\" \n\nI knew there was no chance in hell I was going speak on command to this monstrosity, this Kafkaesque caricature of mental health in a decaying room in a dying town. I furled my brow and continued to stare. \n\n\"Gerald...\" raspy, always raspy\n\n\"Gerald, it's been 8 days since you've taken your medication. Come back to us, to all of us\" \n\nI could see maggots wriggling under the skin of the fly, little bubbles under hard flesh. \n\n\"Do you have children of your own, sir?\" I dragged out the thought, even as the flesh began to tear away. The compound-eyes burst, the proboscis tore away. I felt the needle in my arm, dispensing cold along my veins. The world shifted, cracked. I could see the holes in everything. There was light, there was so much light. \n\nThe doctor frowned as he walked away from the bed, the nurse practitioners cleaning up their station, disposal biohazard stickers on plastic bins, fluorescent orange against drab gray. The flickering of the lights was synchronized to a faint buzzing. \"We'll try again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. Until we get through, of course. And please, would one of you do something about that damn fly.\" " ]	2
	[WP] Your daughter asks you to check under her bed for monsters. Jokingly, you check under her bed only to see a pair of eyes staring you down.	[ "\"Daddy.\" My little claire bleated in her bed as I tucked her in.\n\nI smiled at her briefly before dropping to my knees to check for monsters, it was the same routine we had been through many times before.\n\n\"Thank you.\" I heard just as I was lifting up the blankets.\n\nUnder the bed were a pair of teary eyes. Horror gripped my heart in that moment as I heard the form bleat. \"Daddy, Who's on my bed?\"\n\nMy mind shut down on me for a moment. Uncanny calmness washed over me as I gently coaxed Claire from under the bed making the two girls aware of each other, all the while my head awash with a mixture of fear and confusion.\n\nOne of these girls was clearly a doppelganger but how could I know which one.\n\nThey both stared up at my furrowed brow as I stared back at them.\n\n\"Uuhm. Sarah, could you come in here!\" I called out, hoping my wife could help in some way.\n\nShe stepped into the room and gasped at the two children. I turned to look at her hoping she could end this when I heard it.\n\n\"Be right there sweety!\" She called back from downstairs.", "I felt pure fear shoot through my body. I checked under her bed for years, but not once has this ever happened. \n\n“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Taylor asked me.\n\nI couldn’t conjure up an answer. How could I? If I told her what I saw she would never sleep in her bed again. I could see the look of curiosity and terror on her little face. My husband, hearing her ask, and me not answering, walks into her room and kneels down beside me. He looks at me, about to speak, I just point under her bed. We both look under the bed, seeing the same pair of glowing eyes.\n\n“I’ll grab a flashlight” I said, walking to the hall closet.\n\n“Is there a monster under my bed daddy?”\n\nBen didn’t answer, just starred at the creature under Taylor’s bed.\n\nI came back with a flashlight and handed it to Ben.\n\n“There is a monster under my bed isn’t there?” Taylor said, sounding like she was fighting back tears.\n\n“We’re not sure sweet heart, we’re going to get a better look.” I said, finally giving her a response.\n\nTaylor jumped out of bed and got behind Ben and I. We shinned the light at the glowing eyes. The light hit the creature, showing its grey fur, black and grey tail, and a black band around its eyes as if wearing a mask. It definitely was not a monster, but a mere raccoon. Taylor screamed bloody murder. Then the raccoon ran from under the bed, down the hall, and into the kitchen. \n\nAll three of us worked together to get the rodent out of the house. I opened the back door, Taylor guarded the entrance to the kitchen so it wouldn’t go back into the house, and Ben chased the raccoon around the kitchen. The raccoon ran up to the dog bowl, grabbed a big handful of dog food, and ran out the back door.\n\n\n\n" ]	2
	[WP] Superheroes are genetically engineered and then sent to protect any city that needs them. The scientists behind this messed up with you, and accidentally gave you the lamest power ever heard of. Nevertheless, you have to try and protect a city and it's citizens from villains and criminals.	[ "\"Here comes Horn on Head Guy.\" The group of girls passing by quickly took pictures of the man with, appropriately, a horn on his head. Dave had been living a normal life with his family of five before signing up for the thing that would ruin all of that. The S.A.F.E. program (supers applicated for evil) was designed to deal with the ever-growing amount of crime America had been experiencing in the past few years. Normal humans volunteered and were genetically modified to fight off villain organizations that were forming under more competent criminals. \n\n\"Hey Hohg.\" The police chief of city 7 clapped him on the back.\n\n\"That's such a terrible acronym.\" Dave sighed and sat down at the chief's desk. \"Any new assignments?\" \n\n\"Yeah we got a group of thugs stationed at the Marilyn Hotel that need dealing with. Says their leader is some kind of super turned rogue.\" He gave Dave the location and sent him on his way. Though people would occasionally stare and children would point, Dave didn't mind his job too much. Sure, he got the short end of the stick when the scientist trying to turn him into some sort of porcupine avenger messed up, but at least he still got to live out his dream of being a hero. The Hotel was surrounded by cops when he arrived, though they let him pass, knowing that Dave was always the guy to get the job done. No one knew how he did it, but he certainly did it. \n\n\"Hey buddy back up!\" A man in a black coat shouted at Dave as he walked in. \"We got civies and our boss is a super!\" This did not stop Dave's casual walk through the lobby. \"That's it bring in the boss!\"\n\n\"I've heard about you.\" A woman walked onto the scene, her arm pulsating with strange tentacles. \"You're supposed to be the hero of city 7. What're you gonna do? Stab me with your horn?\" She and the others laughed. Dave stood there and nodded, something flashing out of his jacket. The woman hardly had any time to react as she and the other thugs dropped to the ground, dead. Dave blew on the muzzle of the M16 he carried with him and smiled to himself. \n\n\"Villains tend to monologue too much.\" He walked out and motioned back for the cops to clean up. " ]	1
I was at work, having to clean the dressing room mirrors, when i had the idea "how weird would it be for my reflection to move out of sync from me." So, yeah. Have at it.	[WP] You're just going about your usual day when you walk by a mirror... and your reflection lags.	[ "I took a step back and turned my body to the mirror. Did I just see that right or didn't I get enough sleep last night? I waved my arm around, trying to recreate the lagging motion I just saw, but my arm just went from left to right without any problems. I walked past the mirror a couple more time, but nothing seemed to happen. Guess the coffee hadn't been enough to wake me up.\n\n\nI was driving to work when it happened again. I looked in the rear view mirror and the car behind me seemed to get a couple feet closer to me in an instant. I stopped the car at the side of the road and glanced as the car sped by me. I looked in the mirror again, but it seemed to work normally. Now I thought there has to have been something weird in my coffee, some kind of drug.\n\n\nI made it to the office without any more incidents in the mirrors around me. Everything seemed to be fine, until I took my first trip to the bathroom. I tried to just walk past the mirror, but I couldn't ignore it. My reflection was still in the mirror, seconds after I walked past it. I walked back to the mirror, but the reflection didn't change the way I thought it would. I let out a scream as my reflected head turned and looked right into my eyes. 'It's happening.'", "Hunched over and bleary-eyed, I made the journey out of my bed with last night’s bedside glass of water in the grip of my right hand.\n\nBut apparently my grip wasn’t tight enough, as the glass slipped and violently shattered on the timber floor.\n\nI froze. \n\nMy eyes darted towards the left.\n\nI couldn’t believe it.\n\nNo, it wasn’t because I dropped the glass.\n\nI’ve always had the dexterity of a gorilla with Parkinson’s disease, so clumsy mishaps like this were a common occurrence. \n\nIt was due to the fact that the glass reached the ground at least half a second later in the reflection of the bedroom mirror.\n\nBut did it really?\n\nI swear I saw it.\n\nBut it can’t be.\n\nMaybe my mind is even more tired and groggy than my body would have me believe.\n\nI abruptly started waving my arms around in a frenzy, my feet still planted to firmly to the ground to avoid the shards of debris.\n\nAfter a few seconds I stopped when I realised that there was no lag, and also I probably looked like one of those inflatable, arm-flailing tube guys outside of a car dealership. \n\nBut I had to be sure.\n\nI began to yell at the mirror as a test, “Soon I’m going to start cleaning this mirror, clean this mirror, start cleaning this mirror!” \n\nMy lip movements looked in sync.\n\nI shut my eyes, took a deep breath. \n\nYou’re just taking a while to wake up, you idiot.\n\n“That’s something I could really see myself doing,” a muffled voice coming from the glass suddenly replied.\n\n_____________________________________________________\nr/Dri_Writes\n\n\n\n\n" ]	2
	[WP] An unmasked vigilante has to share an Uber pool with his arch nemesis.	[ "Nitro Man needed to get to the top of city hall fast, there he would have the final epic showdown with his arch nemesis; Ms. Beamstick. He packed his costume into a briefcase, he needed to take an uber to get there. His uber arrived, \"Hey, I'm on a pretty tight schedule and I need to pick someone else up too,\" said the driver, \"it's on the way to your destination ,\" \"yea that's fine!\" Said Nitro Man. They pulled up to a random house and out came, in full costume, Ms. Beamstick, brandishing a death ray making no attempt to hide her identity, \"City hall please,\" she said. Nitro Man knew the drive to city hall was about half an hour long, and he was right next to his nemesis, he must restrain himself, if he killed her now the driver would notice and get suspicious, he had to conceal his identity and not draw any attention to himself. \"So, where are you heading cutie?\" She said \"Oh c-city hall!\" Said Nitro Man, \"I'm, uh, representing South Africa...in a, uh...trade deal!\" \"You don't sound like you're from South Africa.\" \"Yes I am!\" Said Nitro Man putting on his best South African accent. \"Well, ok. I once dated a guy from South Africa, you almost look like him.\" Said Beamstick, \"Really?\" \"Actually...looking closer you kind of look like a guy I'm going to meet, but cuter...and sweatier.\" 'Oh shoot' thought Nitro Man, 'she's on too me AND trying to hit on me. Wait, maybe I can use this to my advantage!' \"So, uh, is this a boyfriend of yours?\" He said still holding that accent, \"No, I'm single, I'm going to meet up with my arch nemesis, Nitro Man!\" \"Oh, sounds like a handsome guy whom I've never heard of, how do you plan to do this?\" \"Well, I come in with this new death ray, and I make him think I'm about to use it but then hit him with this!\" She said before holding up another hand to reveal a giant gauntlet. \"Wow, good thing he doesn't know about this!\" He said, accidentally switching to a Scottish accent for a second, \"Yea, you seem nice,\" she said, \"we should meet up sometime,\" she then gave him her number as the driver pulled up to city hall, \"thanks,\" Nitro Man and Beamstick said in unison, as Nitro Man walked out he dropped his briefcase as all his stuff fell out, \"Do you need help with that?\" Said Beamstick, \"NONONO! I got it!\" Said Nitro Man. Beamstick then noticed the costume hiding inside, \"...nice pajamas, is that some kind of South African custom?\" She said. \"Uh, yes.\" Armed with the knowledge given to him Nitro Man defeated Beamstick, and was sent to court for not paying the uber driver." ]	1
	[WP] When a member of the royal family dies, a random citizen is executed to help "protect their soul on their journey". The King's daughter just fell to her death and you have been selected	[ "\"And the person who will be escorting the princess to the great hereafter will be... Maxwell Vasbruk,\" the royal crier said. In his hand was a stone with the seal of my guard station and my uniform number. The bowl containing the stones for everyone else's identifiers was carried away.\n\nI felt my blood run cold. I looked at the men to the left and right of me. William was watching me almost with pity, while Angborn was clearly drunk off his gourd as usual.\n\n\"Hey now, guys, I've only been in the guard for three days... I haven't even gotten to collect my first paycheck!\" I said.\n\n\"Just look on the bright side, now you won't have to stress out about how to spend it...\" William said, doing a very bad job at encouraging me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the coffin. Or tried anyway, I dug my heels into the paving stones.\n\n\"C'mon William, don't do this, you know I'm not the man for the job,\" I said.\n\n\"Please don't be difficult, it's not like this is the first time your life has been on the line for the kingdom,\" William said.\n\nAngborn finally noticed William struggling to pull me along and grabbed my other arm. I dropped my billhook on the ground as I was dragged to the coffin.\n\n\"As god has chosen, this man will escort our dear departed princess to the afterlife. The king will no doubt be pained to part with one of his soldiers during war time, but if it is destined that this man must guard her then her journey will likely be a treacherous one indeed,\" the crier shouted out to the crowd.\n\nThe captain of the guard grabbed my collar and dragged me up to stand on the edge of the coffin. He was a large man and was obviously upset both at the princess' death and now losing one of his guards, but any struggle I made was for naught. I looked down and saw her broken body, the fall had not been kind, but she was wearing her livery.\n\nBefore I could say anything, I felt a blade tear through my throat, and was dropped into the coffin atop her corpse. Her dead eyes went out of focus as blood loss and lack of air set in.\n\n----\n\nI awoke in a foggy, dusty land that seemed to be entirely dyed gray. Bleak is one word to describe it, but it felt more empty. Empty apart from the figure standing over me.\n\n\"So you're my escort? Well, at least you're not some peasant,\" a woman's voice rang out. I wiped my eyes and looked at the figure. The princess. I had heard her speak during events, but it was a rarity and I wasn't too familiar with her particular treble.\n\n\"Ugh, give me a second...\" I said. The world seemed a bit stilted, like it was swaying as I stood there.\n\n\"That's only going to get worse, if the last few hours have been any indication. We need to get moving,\" The princess said. She grabbed my hand, and I noticed she wasn't wearing the same finery she had been dressed in at the funeral. She wore a looser dress, similar to what my sisters would wear when they wanted to run around.\n\nI picked up my feet and walked along with her, shaking my head a bit. Blurs seemed to pop up in my vision as I walked, regardless of where I looked.\n\n\"Ugh, my head is killing me...\" I said. The princess rolled her eyes and dragged me along. \"I can't believe I got executed three days after finally becoming a guardsman...\" I kept rambling as we walked.\n\n----\n\n\"...And then my third sister died of pneumonia, and-\"\n\n\"Good god, do you ever shut up?\" The princess said. \"It feels like you've been talking for two hours straight.\"\n\n\"And what's so wrong with talking? Am I interfering with your appreciation of the dusty nothingness?\" I said. There was an oppressive silence that hung in the air during the ensuing lull.\n\nAfter a second, she spoke again.\n\n\"I don't mind you talking, but could you talk about something besides how shitty your life is? It's annoying as hell.\"\n\n\"Fine, how about the weather. Looks like cloudy with a chance of nothingness,\" I said. She didn't respond, instead looking further along the way we were walking.\n\nI looked up, and saw it. A gray river cutting through the gray mist, with a gray dock sitting on it. At the dock was a figure wearing a gray cloak that covered their entire, presumably gray body.\n\n\"Offer your tithe and you may take the ferry across the river,\" the figure said. Or rather, the sign next to the figure said, as the figure stayed entirely mute.\n\nThe princess fumbled with her dress. I checked my uniform, which had mysteriously stayed with me. I didn't have any money on my person, because I was poor. I still checked, just in case the gods decided to throw me a curve ball, but my coin purse was as empty as the bleak landscape we had just spent two hours walking through.\n\n\"I don't have any money, do you?\" the princess asked. I shook my head.\n\nThe figure looked at the princess and pointed at me. The intent was clear, I was supposed to be the tithe.\n\n\"He's all yours, buddy!\" the princess said, and hopped on the boat.\n\n\"Wait, what?\" I said.\n\n\"You spend twenty minutes telling me about how you hate the yellow apples but that's all they ever have at the market and you're surprised? Later bud, have fun chatting up gray boy there,\" she said in a very flippant tone.\n\n----\n\n\"Hello? Gray boy? When's this ferry leaving?\" The princess asked. She had been sitting there for ten minutes, and nothing had happened. The figure hadn't moved to get into the boat. In fact, it looked more like it was placing it's hand over it's cloaked head.\n\nAnd yes, its skin was gray.\n\nThe figure pulled out a stick and wrote something in the dust. I couldn't tell what it said, because I couldn't read. The princess climbed out of the small boat and walked over.\n\n\"You failed the test, you won't be taking the ferry today?\" she read. \"That's bullshit! You asked for a tithe and I gave you one!\"\n\nThe figure just walked back to the boat and stepped into it, drifting beyond our reach before we could jump in with it. The figure threw something back to shore, directly into the princess' hand.\n\n\"A map? Dammit, do we really have to follow this river all the way to there?\" The princess' attitude quickly sank.\n\nI looked over. From what I could tell, the distance we'd walked to get here was about a quarter as long as the distance we'd need to go to reach the bridge. Not only that, afterward we would have to cross through a dangerous cave, over a mountain pass, and then would have to do whatever we were expected to do at the big X. We started walking.\n\n\"So, want to hear about the apples again?\" I asked.\n\n\"NOOO!\" the princess said.", "\"Joy, oh joy, the fateful one has been chosen\" The city folk sang.\n\"Oh, noble knight, be the light that guides her\"\nI was held inside a sedan chair shaped like a temple, coloured in dark purples and gold. The windows had black veils, but I could see the crowd outside mourning for the death of the princess while singing the ritual hymns of sacrifice. The trumpets played the tunes of mourning loudly. It was chaotic and sorrow.\nI felt anxious. I wasn't anxious about dying, for I know my death will be a celebrated. I have all of my business in order. I have bid my farewell to all of my relatives.\n\"I'm so proud of you, my brave daughter\" my mother said before I sat on the sedan chair.\" I know, you of all people would be the one most befit to our dearest princess Mary.\" \nI arrived at the palace that held the most powerful humans I knew of. The house that housed the ones chosen by our gods.\nI was greeted by the royal servants, and they dressed me in long, elaborate clothing. \nThey sat me down on the execution chair, right across the king's throne on the banquet hall.\n\"Ah, you have finally arrived,\" An old, somber voice echoed through the hallway. I tried to stand up\n—\nGotta go now, will be con't", "Whenever a member of the royal family dies, a random citizen is killed to escort them to the afterlife. Least, that's what they tell the general populace.\n\nIt's me, and it will always be me.\n\nI wiped the sweat from my brow and sighed. \"Dear, they're going to pick me.\"\n\nShe placed a bowl of rabbit stew before him. \"Nonsense, there's an entire city.\"\n\n\"Their wizard will find me, they'll drag me to her gravestone, and kill me.\"\n\nShe placed her hand on the table.\n\nI gripped it tight.\n\nEspecially now that the door knocked. The look in her eyes, how they widened and welled. \"I'm sorry for doing this—\"\n\nShe wiped her eyes and placed a hand over her belly. \"But any day, our baby—\"\n\n\"Will be fine,\" I said and rested my hand on her shoulders. \"You're a strong, and so will he.\"\n\n\"Open in the name of King March!\" The door banged.\n\nMy lips pressed against her forehead. \"I will find you in the next life and I will tell you every detail of our time together.\" I back stepped to the door and followed the wizard wordlessly to the Princess Pine's grave.\n\nAll around me were sighs of relief and looks of pity. \"Thank the gods it wasn't me,\" and \"that poor soul!\"\n\nBut it was always me, the kingdom's personal escort. Out of all the times I was sacrificed, this one hurt the worst. I wept as the first blade took aim. \"Please be strong, my dear Maria.\" The weapon struck true, through my heart; it was a clean kill.\n\nYet I felt filthy with betrayal. I knew they would come for me but foolishly fell in love. No, it doesn't work that way. Love swept me away and I suffocated in her arms.\n\nInstead of being with the woman I love, I'm staring down this dead teen at her grave.\n\n\"Alright, you know the drill.\" I pulled Princess Pine's up by the pits. Although I said that, each person I escorted was always someone new to death; I said it for my sake.\n\n\"Unhand me, you savage!\" She kicked.\n\nI let her go. \"I am your escort.\"\n\nShe swept her dress and fixed the crown on her head. \"You? But you're such a brutish man.\"\n\n\"Come,\" I said.\n\nAnd she followed me with her purple heels. She yiped and took hold of my arm. \"What are those!?\"\n\n\"Demons, Fey, all beings that would like to make a deal for your royal soul.\"\n\n\"Can they bring me back to life?\"\n\nA spiritual sword flashed into my hand and I brought it to her neck.\n\n\"It's just a jest, gosh!\"\n\nThe sword vanished from my hand. \"It better be.\"\n\nWe resumed our march, down a road I've traveled hundreds of times before.", "\"NO!\", I call out, tears running down my face.\n\nThe royal guards pull me from my warm bed, and out of our home in the village.\n\n\"Why him? Why does it have to be Merric?!\"\n\nI can hear my younger sister's voice. Fear, anger, and hopelessness shroud her normally sweet and innocent tone. It sends shivers down my spine to hear her in genuine pain.\n\n\"Let go of my son you bastard!\", Pop yells. He swings an iron bar across the iron helmet of the knight, just strong enough for him to let go of me. \n\nI run towards my mother and sister, holding them both in a tight embrace.\n\n\"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you longer, Marie. This is goodbye, but please just know that I'm proud of you and everything you've accomplished. I love you.\"\n\nI manage to spurt out my final words to my family through my tears.\n\n\"Ma, thank you for everything you've done for me the past 17 years of my life. I'm sorry I'm leaving so soon, just promise me you'll keep Marie safe.\"\n\n\"I-I don't want you to die... You're the only one who I trust to help me through hard times, I love you!\" Marie stammers out her final words to me.\n\n\"Looks like the dog has a death wish, hm? So much as even touch that bar again and you'll be joining your son in the afterlife!\" The guard stands back up and hits Pop square in the head. He's knocked cold.\n\n\"Now quit 'yer resistin' and get in the cart!\"\n\n\"Son,\" Ma yells out, \"You've done great things in this life, I'm proud of you for being such an amazing person. I'm proud to have raised you, and I love you!\".\n\nThe guards cuff me and throw me into the cart. Quickly, they mount and we begin to move. I look back and see Ma and Marie both crying, and it gets to me too. I lay down, and fall asleep to the tears. It'll be over soon.\n\n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\n\nNight comes, and we arrive into the capitol. I'm immediately dragged into the castle basement, and led to a large guillotine. This is it. This is the end of my life.\n\nHead and arms in stock, I hear the command given by the guard attacked by my Pop. \n\n\"Cut the rope!\"\n\nAnxiety fills me. I see memories of my hometown, of Ma and Pop making dinner, tending to crops, cuddling with our old dog, Marie being born, and growing into the young woman she is today...\n\nThen the blade hits my neck, and everything goes black.\n\n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\n\n\"Excuse me, sir?\" \n\n\"...nnnnhn...?\"\n\n\"Sir, are you alright?\n\nA stern, yet calm voice greets me as I awaken from my slumber.\n\n\"Where... Where am I...?\" I say, looking around. A small wooden room, dimly lit by a torch on the wall.\n\n\"We're in the afterlife, unfortunately. My name is Lachesis, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I do hope we get along well. You ARE my afterlife guardian, after all.\"\n\nThat's right. Admittedly, I became so worried about dying that I forgot the reason for my execution. The princess was murdered in her sleep, and I'm supposed to guide her through the afterlife and make sure she reaches heaven.\n\n\"M-my family... I... I'm dead. No, no no no. But...\" \n\nI don't know how to feel about anything right now. There's no reason for me to do this... But I want to get to heaven too, right? Am I even deserving of a spot there? I have so many questions...\n\n\"Take your time, sir. Look up at me...\" Princess Lachesis puts her hand on my chin and lifts my head up. Her eyes are a gorgeous, almost bewitching shade of dark blue.\n\n\"Tell me, what's your name?\"\n\n\"M-my name? Uh... Oh! Merric! My name is Merric.\"\n\n\"Ah, wonderful! Named after the legendary wind sage, I presume?\" She asks cheerfully. I can't help but smile, seeing her so carefree. \"There's the smile I was looking for! Haha!\" Her laughter is toxic as well, as I begin to laugh myself.\n\nFinally, she pulls me off of my feet. My clothes are the same as those I was wearing as I was executed. As I brush myself off, I feel a strange pattern across my stomach. I try to get a closer look at it... \n\nA guillotine.\n\n\"Excuse me, Princess, do you happen to have a mark on your stomach as well?\" I ask, out of curiosity.\n\n\"Why yes, I did notice it. It's of a knife, the weapon that took my life.\"\n\nI assume this is for sorting or something in heaven, I won't question it for now, at least.\n\n\"Well, now that we're acquainted, shall we proceed?\" The princess smiles sweetly and asks.\n\n\"Of course. Ladies first.\" I try to be polite and allow her to exit the small room we were in before.\n\n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\n\nTHUD!\n\nA sound echoes from the room we left before. Opening the door, there's a young girl sprawled across the floor. Her stomach shows a depiction of a noose.\n\n\"No... I told her to take care of you...\"\n\n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\n\nSorry if this isn't good enough or something, I'm kind of a garbage writer. This prompt was fun though, so thank you! ", "\"Oh come on, this is bullshit!\"\nI bitched repeatedly and loudly, as if it would help, as the soldiers dragged me towards what is commonly known as \"the killing floor\"\n\n\"Look young man, when you signed for the draft, you knew this was a possibility\"\n\n\"The government FORCES us to sign for the draft, you fucks.\"\n\n\"Well, um.\"\nThe soldiers looked embarrassed, realizing exactly how stupid this tradition was.\n\nI was put into the dressing room, in front of me was a uniform and my weapons, an ancient M14 and a beat to hell 1911.\n\n\"Well at least they're not letting anything go to waste.\"\n\nI considered just walking in nude, as a \"fuck you\" but I'm getting shot either way, so I might as well be clothed, or else I'd be the asshole that BA'd the monarchy.\n\nI dressed, and checked my weapons, unloaded. Although I had enough ammunition to last a while, if this was a normal mission. No field gear to carry, which was nice, and I even got a red jacket, which I felt was thoughtful, since anything else would be stained red fairly quickly.\n\nWalking into the killing floor was aggravating, to say the least. All those hungry eyes, waiting for my blood. \nBefore the king could speak, I cut him off.\n\"You vultures have no right to do this to people, and no evidence to back up these insane beliefs, and I demand that you ask my forgiveness before murdering me in cold blood!\"\n\nThe king stared me down, with sad eyes, and simply said;\n\"You'll see evidence soon enough.\"\n\nBefore I could ask what the hell he just meant, a shot rang out and a .30 caliber hole appeared in my skull.", "(Memento Mori. Do Not Forget.)\n\nPart of me wondered how impossibly arbitrary this process must have been. To them I was but a formality, libation to salve their grief in the wake of a staggering loss—just a meaningless name chosen from the masses, with no face and now, no future. It was one of those occurences which would more readily affect someone else and not me because, I thought to myself, what were the odds?\n\nBleary with unshed tears my gazed remained steadfeast, almost defiant, upon the rough-hewn stonework of the floor in my holding cell, death row for all intents and purposes, truly the last place I expected to languish for a premature demise.\n\nI heard his footsteps approaching from the corridor outside. Of course they were his, timid as ever, like he feared offending the prisoners with his footfall. That was how he was. Such a gentle soul.\n\nToday he was wearing the usual red, a sword gripped in the hands which he claimed were stained with blood. When I saw him thus arrayed I felt my resolve began to crumble, and the strigent bite of salt begged again for release. But I swore back then, when I learned of my selection, that I would not cry. As my last act of defiance, my will and testament, I could not allow myself to crumble.\n\nWith my hands bound tightly at my back, he did not see them trembling, and the lighting being as it was, he saw no fear etched across my lineaments.\n\n\"…I love you.\"\n\nThese small, precious words fell desperately from his lips, dripping into numinous prayers where he stood. He clutched with one hand at the iron rods which divided this world in two, nearly prepared to collapse before them or otherwise rend the whole gaol asunder. Part of me begged him to steal me from this wretched place, to flee and be free and live together for the rest of our lives even when I knew how futile it was to dream, here in the final hour.\n\n\"Please, don't hate me.\"\n\nHis plea lodged a dagger inside my chest, acute and all too furious for me to bear. Willing strength to my legs I rose, trudged toward him, and pressed my forehead to the place where his knuckles bared white around the bars.\n\n\"Never would I be capable,\" I murmured, lifting my head to kiss the space between his ring and middle fingers. \"I will always, always love you. However, I implore you, my dearest… live. You must live beautifully no matter what. Continue to love, find happiness, that is my will. Do not forget. Do you understand?\"\n\nThe pale blue of his eyes searched my face for an answer, a way to disperse the illusion and end this farce, still finding none.\n\n\"I… will try,\" he choked out painfully.\n\nEternity passed us, wanton and cruel. Finally, I wept upon it, bitterly. Accepting death, the uncertanity, the complete and total absence of anything if a soul did not persist. No more sunshine and no more rain. This person, ripped from the Earth. A princess who perhaps no longer existed. I wanted to remain here. I wanted to meet him again.\n\nThe clattering of metal pierced the silence. He cast away the heirloom sword to snake his arms through the bars and surround me with an embrace, proof of our being, warm in the way I always remembered. So warm. I wanted it to last forever. That was my wish. And yet…\n\nAnd yet.\n\nAnother door opened, and a royal guard hastened towards us, pretending he did not see since clearly we had no reservations, and the court had no objections.\n\n\"Mr. Executioner, let us proceed,\" the guard said stiffly, clearly uncomfortable, and hesitated to move until my beloved tore himself away and stepped back, suddenly composed, professional—expressionless, the way the public needed to see him. He retrieved his sword and nodded, solemn.\n\n\"Understood. I will make the death as painless as possible.\"\n\nHe looked at me, longing still, unable to comprehend the meaning behind what he said or what he was prepared to do. I arrived at a gaping lack of words, there being none for me to console dead or comfort those left behind. And so I smiled. I smiled at him as if it were our wedding day and the bells would toll for union rather than parting.\n\nWhen I mounted the platform to a thunderous crowd, mourners of the crown and not the dead-to-be, I beheld an abundance of life. Of hope. Of love and miracles and endless possibilities.\n\nWhat a beautiful world.\n\nI turned to him, slowly, engraving his image into my brain until finally I smiled, forced to look away. Closing my eyes I lowered my head downward, onto the block, into the sprawling and ever-distant unknown.\n\nAnd then, I waited.", "“Nope” She shook her head at them, looking down at herself. “You must have made a mistake”. The guard pulled the parchment out again, reading her name out to her.\n\n“There is no mistake, you’ve been selected” The guard was looking at her dubiously as well, when the royalty died the random selection usually led to the strongest and the bravest being chosen to protect their soul. But there was no mistake the king himself had passed him the parchment with the name and the description of the girl he was to fetch.\n\n“But look at me, I’ll be hopeless, I’m short and I’m weak, and to be honest I’m not very smart either” she thought back to all the great champions who had accompanied previous princes and princesses into the afterlife, and she certainly didn’t fit the mould.\n\n“No point us standing here all day arguing, your execution is booked for 1 hours time in the main square, and if we’re late I’m on the chopping block as well”. He grabbed hold of her arm and frog marched her off down the street, ignoring her protests as they went. No one tried to intervene, they were all pleased they hadn’t been chosen.\n\nShe was dragged up onto the main stage, she caught a glance of the king and queen standing there before the hood was pushed down over her eyes and she was forced to her knees.\n\nThe last thing she heard before she died was the king muttering to the queen.\n\n“This one is perfect, she caused us so much trouble when she was alive, why would we give her anyone decent to help save her soul”\n", "“You. Come with me!” Exclaimed a guard. Why me? Why did it have to be me? Nobody understands the concept either, so why do it?\n\nAfter the guard shouted at me again, I followed his orders. I did not want to die, certainly not like this, but I did not want anyone else to die either. He grabbed a hold of my wrists and put them in some handcuffs. He walked me to the inside of the palace, where I traveled through the halls in awe of what my eyes took in. So much beauty. Sadly, the Beauty ended the closer we got to the execution chamber. \n\nThe dark walls and the hard concrete that made them shook me to the core in an unexplainable way. This was not what I wanted to see in my last moments of life. Although, what exactly could a dying person wish to see before they pass? \n\n“Wait! Why are you doing this?\" I asked. This was something I wanted to know before I passed. I was sure of that. \n\nHe didn’t answer. Not even a murmur was heard. All he did was strap me to the chair that would soon kill me. And soon was an understatement. Before I was aware, I was in what I imagined to be the afterlife. I was surrounded by the color white. Nobody else was visible, at least for the current moment. Even though I shouldn’t have been so amazed after this long moment, I was.\n\nOnce I was still I saw a slender figure approaching me. I soon realized it was Princess Sophia. The dead princess was approaching me. Why would she even talk to me, a simple commoner?\n\n\"Hello Laney. Are you ready to guide and protect me on my journey?”The princess asked in a very soothing, calm tone. If I didn’t feel the strong need to ask about this system. \n\n\"Why do I need to do this?\" I asked. I wasn’t going to follow her if I didn’t know why I needed to. \n\nShe explained everything. Everything was so confusing, but makes sense. The royal family is special because they are in their first life. Everyone else has already lived, and formerly been royalty in our first life. The royal guard sacrificed people to show the royal people to their next life. It is said even if we don’t remember the way to a new beginning, we will have ended up guiding the person to their next life. \n\nIt was all so amazing. So enchanting. Hard to believe. Everything all at once. I was once a princess. Maybe even a queen. All I wanted to do was tell people. \n\nBut it quickly dawned on me I was dead. The only person I could talk to was Sophia. No else would ever know this unless they were the sacrifice. A shame, really.\n\n“What will happen whenever I guide you to a new life?” I questioned curiously. \n\n“No one knows. No royal member has ever seen what happen, and if anyone has, they have forgotten it.\" She responded. I asked why they would forget, and apparently it is a rule of the afterlife. Which only has a goal of leading people into a new life before they must go elsewhere. ‘Elsewhere’ is somewhere you can never leave. It is where souls are sent if they cannot find a new life. Hell, in other words. This is why a protector and guide is needed for deceased royal family members. They are still viewed as royal, and if the chosen guide does not wish to guide them, they will be sent to Elsewhere. \n\nIt was time for me to guide Princess Sophia to find her a new life. A new beginning. She asked me if except this mission, and I excepted. Without the knowledge of Elsewhere, it would still be my decision. It was the right thing to do, at least I thought.\n\nShe walked me to where she was before I arrived. It was a small room, with nothing in it. All white. How long had she been here? Is this where she stayed? So many questions wandered through my mind searching for answers I was to afraid to ask for myself.\n\nAfter she showed me the room, we continued walking deeper into the white abyss. It never ended,for it seemed. But with my knowledge of the afterlife, it didn’t need to. Well, that did have to do with what I imagined to be beyond my vision. \n\nThis was marked as the official start of the journey to a fresh start. It seemed to last a lifetime. Knowing this was the afterlife, it could’ve been that long. There was no telling how many more people were in the infinite abyss. \n\nSophia eventually found the door to a new life. A new life she had started where, hopefully, she is welcome. Welcome and wanted. Cared for. She deserved it. Not for being royalty, but because she was a kind soul. I should know, I guided her here. \n\nI am going to miss Princess Sophia. But I am glad I was able to serve my purpose.\n\nNow I am left to dwell in this lonely afterlife. All alone. Left here with no purpose or significance. Seeing no sign of life other than myself. Not holding much knowledge of my surroundings. Most certainly, not ready to find another door.\n\nSuddenly, I see something in the distance. It looks like a portal. It was black and grey. I began walking towards it, not bothering to think. Not wondering where I was going. \n\n\n\nPart Two coming soon!", " I was selected, out of everyone in the city it was me. Other bemoaned my poor fortune but I believed. I believed that I would escort her through the after life and I couldn’t be happier. I had been a servant in the royal court for years and the Princess and I had grown very close. She was beautiful and kind and fallen madly in love with her. We never spoke of it, but I would see the look in her eye when she looked at me. I often caught her staring as I went about my work. It was in the afterlife that nothing would be between us, and I would happily die to spend an eternity with the woman I loved.", "\"Ahhhhhhhh\"\n\nGaval jolted upright, screaming. Looking down at himself, he quickly realized that his head was still attached. \n\n\"Ahhhh- oh hey I'm alive.\" He patted himself reassuredly. He stood up from the slab, glancing around at the now empty cathedral. \"There's usually at least someone in here...\" \n\nHe Turned in a circle to make sure he hadn't missed anyone, but stopped when he noticed the body on the alter. It wore a distinctive blue bard's outfit, a flute laid on its chest akin to a sword on a knight, and, more troubling, it's face was his own.\n\nLooking down at his own clothing, an identical blue tunic, he pulled his flute from his belt and held it up against the similar one on the body. They were identical. \n\nHe tried to reasurre himself, \"Maybe I just had a twin I never knew about. That has to be it. I just uh... passed out as his funeral. That I didn't know was happening...\" \n\nHe leaned over the body's head, trying to find something that would disprove his growing suspicion.\n\n\"It's different from looking in a mirror, isn't it?\"\n\nJumping, Gaval spun around, pointing his flute as a makeshift form of self defense. The cathedral was still empty. \n\n\"They used to choose the best. Now they think it's just a showman's ritual.\"\n\nTurning again, he found a black figure sitting in the seat of the high priest, one leg hanging over the arm rest. It was in the shape of a man, but it seemed to have no substance, absorbing all light that touched it. \"Well? You better get to finding her.\"\n\nGaval took a step back, \"Who ar-\"\n\n\"Lets skip that part. Please, it's gotten old over the millennia.\"\n\nThe figure slid off the seat, seeming to reform into a standing position. \"We both know what's happened.\" It seemed to glance down at the body that Gaval was attempting to not recognise. \"We both know what needs to be done.\"\n\nIt slid around the alter until it was standing beside Gaval. \"She's out there. Fading. Unless you bring that to her,\" the figure geastured to the amulet that Gaval now noticed to be hanging from his neck. \"She'll be lost forever.\"\n\n\"I don't... I didn't...\" Gaval stuttered.\n\n\"I know. But here we are anyway.\" The figure suddenly, jolted forward, inches from his face. \"You've a job to do bard. Now do it.\"\n\nAs suddenly as it appeared, the figure vanished. Leaving Gaval alone, clutching the amulet at his throat.", "\"I'm glad I died,\" Verona said, putting a smile on her face \"...I think I'm thankful to the person who pushed me over that hill\"\n\nI didn't say anything, I was too concentrated on getting by with this new body and making sure I didn't stumble on the uneven ground. Princess Verona uses her heels to kick the sides of my stomach like she was demanding an answer.\n\n\"You don't have to be so fast you know!\" she said, taking a deep breath and caressing my fur, which was weird considering she just harmed me! \"let's enjoy the view! I mean...this is probably the only time we'll get to see this landscape...\"\n\nThe landscape she was referring to was a half-destroyed bridge with spots of moss here and there and plants growing through the cracks, the sky was dark orange I could see the hazy figure of the moon in the distance, along with white clouds moving around and birds flying\n\nGlowing yellow dots were dancing around us, some of them landing on my head, my antlers, and my nose; fireflies. I sneezed, making Princess Verona laugh as the fireflies flew away and then came back, how could she be so happy? after she died? after someone killed her.\n\n\"Rejoice, this is the greatest of honors, the journey to where my ancestors lie is long and dangerous, your soul will change to fit the shape most fitting to protect her\" Those were the King's words when he pulled the knife out of my throat, I fall to head fist on the floor, trying to keep the blood from pouring out and failing. I looked up and saw the corpse of the Princess, hands together, eyes closed and long blond hair flowing beneath her. \"you will not let harm come to her soul, nor will you harm her soul.\"\n\nShe had fallen to her death, from so high up she should be nothing but an unrecognizable lump of meat, how did they manage to fix her? \"this is the orders of your King, you will abide by them until your own soul expires\" the King orders drilled into my head and reached my brain, making their nest there. my consciousness faded and death embraced me just like it did for her\n\n\"...this is not fair\"\n\n\"Hm? did, did you say something Mr. Deer?\" she said as she pressed her whole body against me, her chin piercing my head, I knew I shouldn't have let her ride me. this is not how I imagined everything would end, how long was this bridge, I couldn't even see the end from where I was. Princess Verona started petting the lower part of my neck bringing her hand up and down and scratching the chin from time to time \"aw, come on say something! I know you can understand me!\"\n\n\"...ss-stop that!\" it felt, uncomfortably pleasant\n\n\"Hm? oh you like that huh?\" she said giggling to herself, \"maybe you're not a deer? but a big fluffy dog with antlers!\"\n\n\"...Please, Princess, stop!\" I'm surprised when she does, I'm more surprised when I can't even hear her breathing, why is she like that, I didn't even have time to wonder because she starts giggling like she usually does.\n\n\"Funny, that thing you just said...your tone...\" she said caressing the back of my ears \"you sound just like an old friend of mine; Kain...\"\n\n\"...I see, then I will stop\"\n\n\"...yes, its...probably better that way,\" she said \"after all. I'm never going back home and I'll never see him again...\"\n\nWe're never going back home, the King ruined everything\n\nShe gasped and grabbed my antlers with enough force to pull my head back and look up, I didn't even notice I was looking at directly at the ground \"look over there\" she said, cherry \"it's a forest!\"\n\nThat shouldn't be possible, in all the time I was walking on the bridge I couldn't see such a thing in the distance, why would something like that appear out of nowhere. Then again I'm a human turned into a deer carrying the Princess on her way to...whatever place her soul should rest, with her family. It was unfortunate that the bridge leads directly to that forest and that there was no way around it. I hated forests.\n\nNo, that's wrong maybe this is fortunate, I don't know how different this forest can be to the ones back home, but there is one thing that shouldn't change at all.\n\n\"I wonder...what kind of animal are in there...?\n\n\"Indeed,\" I said, maybe there is one that could help me kill her again, making her soul disappear completely this time.\n\n**\n\nto be continued, probably* - [r/Onni21](https://www.reddit.com/r/Onni21/)", "From the hallway, I can see Tyanna's tiny frame, huddled up into a ball, shivering under the ragged patchwork quilt I made for her three winters ago. Crying, too, probably. Or else staring into darkness, thinking of the great void that swallowed up the Princess.\n\nThree years ago, we had been nameless. I a fifteen-year-old delivery girl, and she my year-old sister. \n\nTwo years ago, the young cousin of the princess had taken ill and been carried off to Elsewhere, and advertisements had gone out in search of a young Playmate for her Majesty the Princess.\n\nMy sister Tyanna had always been lovely to look at. A giggly baby with dark skin and bouncy curls and a glorious smile. And I was desperate to make something of my life, do something to keep from being like my mother and her mother before her, ordinary shop people who sometimes went hungry and always stepped aside for the more important.\n\nI dressed her beautifully, in clothing that was simple, but clean and new. I stuffed some candies into my pocket, in case she got tired on the long walk up to the castle, but I needn't have worried. My own anticipation carried us further than I had dared hope, and the prospect of playing princess with the Princess herself... Suffice it to say that the first round of interviews was easily won.\n\nThen had come the playdate with her Majesty the Princess, where success had been entirely out of our hands, and still more easily attained. The princess had toddled out into the play yard, and she and Tyanna had immediately become inseparable. Tyanna was moved into a small room inside the castle, her ordinary life, and all her associated belongings, left behind.\n\nShe was happy, I thought. I delivered groceries as before, and waited for Tyanna to grow. I would look at her empty bed, with the ragged patchwork quilt of sewn-together memories, and think of the future. My prospects had already improved - I made regular visits to the castle, and associated with people far better connected than I. My stomach was less often empty - the payments made to me for my sacrifice saw to that. But my life felt somehow the same, and I looked forward to the day when Tyanna would deliver me from my life, the life from which I had already delivered her. \n\nI did miss her. I sometimes dreamed of the castle as a prison, keeping her from me, or of my own poverty as a prison, keeping me from her.\n\nAnd then it happened. Three days ago, when the girls were playing out on the hill, and their minder chanced to look away. It might have been intentional - four-year-olds are capricious and and unrestrained by nature. It might have been an accident - a bit of exuberant play. \n\nIn any case, it was undoubtedly my fault. I sent Tyanna to her Majesty the Princess, and Tyanna sent her Majesty the Princess tumbling down the hill, and over that cliff to her death. His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen sent Tyanna home to me and to my people, and that ought to have been the end of it. We ordinary people, living our ordinary lives, with the minder taking the blame. Charged, convicted, sentenced - justice was sought and won in a matter of hours.\n\nBut that wasn't the end of it. Chance has sentenced me to die as well, and I cannot cry \"injustice\".\n\nTyanna is broken. She's lying there, shaking and sobbing, and I cannot comfort her. Having failed her Majesty the Princess in life, I have now been called upon to accompany her in death. Having sent my sister away from me, I am now to be sent away from her. It is my turn, now, to be carried up to the castle, dressed beautifully, in clothing simple and clean and new.\n\nThere is a guard standing beside me, watching me watch my little sister. Watching me now as I go to her. Watching me bend over to kiss her goodbye, then turn away, sobbing, as I am led into the waiting wagon. Watching me as I finish the journey I started two years ago, when I first carried that glorious, giggling baby up to the castle, that she might deliver me from my ordinary, everyday life. ", "The Collector by /u/buffer_overflown\n\n\n--------------------------------------------------------------\n>IT WAS NOT MY DECISION.\n\n\n>\"So that's just it then?\"\n\n\n>OBVIOUSLY. The voice thundered in my head, resonating deep below the bounds of human ears.\n\n\n>\"How is this fair?\"\n\n\n>WE'VE GONE OVER THIS.\n\n\n>I kicked at a basket laying in the middle of the street. My translucent leg passed through it effortlessly, and the momentum flipped me upside down and left me hovering above the flagstones.\n\n\n>HUFF. The Collector was looking at me, its expression unreadable in the deep sockets of a hollow skull. One emaciated hand gripped the haft of a scythe.\n\n\n>\"What?\" I folded my arms, stubbornly ignoring the ground below my head.\n\n\n>I SAID HUFF.\n\n\n>\"Huff?\"\n\n\n>IT WOULD BE THE EQUIVALENT OF A SLIGHT OUTRUSH OF AIR FROM THE NOSTRILS.\n\n\n>The Collector paused.\n\n\n>... IF YOU STILL HAD THEM.\n\n\n>\"So where is she, then? I'm supposed to protect her. I might as well do it so I can die properly.\"\n\n\n>SHE WAS MY TWELVE O'CLOCK. It turned and began striding away.\n\n\n>\"And?\" I floated, upside down, frowning at the cloaked figures' bony shoulders.\n\n\n>SHE CANCELLED.\n\n\n>\"So she isn't dead?\"\n\n\n>I DON'T LIKE CANCELLATIONS.\n\n\n>\"You KILLED her?\"\n\n\n>THAT The Collector's tone became annoyed, IS NOT ALLOWED.\n\n\n>\"They killed me and she isn't even dead?\"\n\n\n>YOUR CUSTOMS HAVE NEVER BEEN MY CONCERN.\n\n\n>\"So what about free will? Destiny? This wasn't my choice, this--\"\n\n\n>The Collector stopped suddenly, pivoting and thrusting its bony visage down to my suspended eye-level.\n\n\n>IT IS NOT FREE WILL it growled, IF I DECIDED FOR YOU. THAT DOES NOT MEAN THERE ARE NOT REPERCUSSIONS.\n\n\n>\"So where is she, then?\"\n\n\n>The Collector straightened and turned away again. MY NEXT APPOINTMENT.\n\n\n>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n>As one bony leg rose, my surroundings swam and the buildings and flagstones pulled together into a vibrant pinprick of light. When its foot had touched the ground again, it struck sand, and I was upright once again.\n\n\n\n\n>We stood there, listening to the ocean crash against the shore. A small figure was sprawled beneath the foaming crests of the waves. The tide was rising, reaching up to dampen her chin and sending her matted hair rolling in the salty spray. She wasn't moving, but her breath stirred small eddies in the currents.\n\n\n\n\n>The Collector looked up to the sky, judging the Sun's angle against the horizon. Far in the distance, a cliff-face jutted out over open water. Our small hamlet, with its tiny little fortress, would be just below the base of that cliff on the far side.\n\n\n\n\n>I crouched by the girl. She was close to me in age, but dirt and blood and tears had left a glistening sheen on her face below the spackling of ocean salt. A ragged pink ribbon hung loosely from tethers of hair, sending her brown locks loose over the sand.\n\n\n\n\n>A scuttling caught my ear.\n\n\n\n\n>The lioncrab was dragging its way up the shoreline. The highest point of its shell would reach the knees of a full-grown man, and its muscled claws could sever an arm. If it reached the girl, the heavy sun and rising tide would be the least of her problems.\n\n\n>\"No! You have to stop this.\"\n\n\n>The Collector gazed back coolly and said nothing.\n\n\n>I reached for a rock, but my hand passed through. I fell to my knees, scrambling in the sand and shells. Small granules fell and scattered as the lioncrab approached her, its eyes twitching madly as it eyed its meal.\n\n\n>Glaring, I lifted my eyes to the Collector. \"Help me.\"\n\n\n\n\n>The figure's shadow grew longer, deepening to a pitch black even in the afternoon light. Its face as harsh and set as the granite cliffside. In that moment, any humanity it may have held was gone-- leaving only the suggestion of a shape, as dark and black as the deepest moonless night, when mankind was still young and the stars were finding their places in the skies.\n\n\n>Behind it, the barest possibilities of worlds and creatures beyond knowing-- I could taste the stale air of that place older than time, and looked into the Abyss. Something old beyond knowing looked back with a dispassionate gaze. I gritted my teeth, tears streaming from my eyes, and rushed up at that strange, alien thing.\n\n\n\n\n>That leap, with one shimmering arm outstretched, ripped the scythe from the Collector's bony grasp.\n\n\n>One of the lioncrab's claws reached out for the girl's neck.\n\n\n>I gripped the scythe and I swung, with all my might, sinking the curved blade into the lioncrab's carapace. It shriveled, wrinkling in upon itself and withering away with a surprised squeal. The creature's red hue wasted away to dull grey and it clattered to a writhing pile on the beach.\n\n\n>Panting, I held the scythe, gripping it tightly and looked back at the Collector. The mass of blackness was gone, replaced by the bleached-white skull and black robes.\n\n\n>In the distance, I heard yelling-- a man breaking from the treeline as he came to the girl's aid.\n\n\n>The Collector looked at me once and nodded slowly. FREE WILL.\n\n\n>I glanced at the girl. She was stirring gently on the beach. When I looked back to the Collector, he was gone.\n\n\n>The scythe was still in my hands.", "Well. Shit.\n\nOf all days to have luck, it would have to be today, wouldn't it? I mean, what else would you call being the sap chosen to guide her soul to the afterlife? Luck of the draw.\n\nShe looks at me with very frightened eyes, big and brown. She withdraws from me and I get it. Not exactly a motherly figure am I? No. The answer is no. Probably could have asked them if they'd let me shave before sending me on after her. Wasn't really thinking too clearly at the time.\n\nI kneel down and hold up my hands.\n\n\"It's okay, I'm a friend.\"\n\nI try to put on the nicest voice I can, smiling through a perfectly wild beard. A sight I must be to the little one. She doesn't come closer.\n\nI sit and cross my legs. We are in an area that looks an awful lot like home but there's no one around us, just empty streets and buildings.\n\nAnd of course, me and a little girl.\n\nBad luck for her, slipping off the balcony like that. It made news around the world, the darling of the royal family falling to a tragic death.\n\nShe peeks at me.\n\n\"I'm Grant.\"\n\nI hold out a big hand. \n\nShe looks at it. \n\nThen to me.\n\nThen at it.\n\nThen to me.\n\nShe toddles forward and places her tiny hand in mine and shakes. Then she breaks into a great big smile and holds out her hands, flexing them like she wants to grab something.\n\nI lean forward and she tangles her tiny fingers in my beard and giggles hysterically.\n\nGod it's infectious. I stand and she places one of those delicate hands in mine and I squeeze as softly as I can. It's my job to take her to the end of this journey. It's a great honour, so they say. They'll be a plaque with my name on it one day. Maybe even a parade. A great big one that might feature a giant floating caricature of me. Wouldn't that scare the children.\n\nI sigh and look down at her, those big eyes staring up at me expectantly.\n\n\"Rose.\" She says in her little voice, very matter of fact, \"I'm Rose.\"\n\n\"Well Rose-\" I look up to the very, very long road that winds ahead of us towards some mysterious end goal. Who knows what lurks there, if anything. It's not like anyone comes back from these things. It's all new. Just me and her now. And a road leading into the dark.\n\n\"-shall we?\"\n\nShe curtsies, politely. Ever the royal.\n\n\"We shall.\"\n\nI wonder if she understands what happened. If this is all strange to her. If she's scared.\n\nI look to the darkness that could conceal anything.\n\nWell. My grandmum always said not to be afraid of the monsters in the dark. I swear I see yellow eyes flitting far down the road, between the row houses. Must just be my imagination.\n\nMust be.\n\nRight.\n\nRight?", "\"Wait wait waitwaitwait,\" I pleaded through chattering teeth as a semi-circle consisting of half a dozen heavily armed men-at-arms backed me towards the chasm. \"It doesn't have to be this way, please, wait WAIT!\"\n\n\"There's no time,\" the captain of the guard said softly, almost apologetically, and then his right arm swept up and across the line of me.. at roughly neck height.\n\nMy next thought was ridiculous: I'm flying! No. I was falling and.. Then there was darkness and cold and... Then there wasn't anything at all, for what seemed like time beyond measure.\n\n\"Who's there?\" a small voice called out at last -- and my mind creaked like a rusty hinge as it shook off the dust and began to work again. I almost gave up, I realized.\n\n\"M'lady,\" I called in reply, my voice hoarse and unsteady, \"m'lady Merrin, 'tis Tam from town.. They.. Th-they've sent me to guide you..\"\n\nThe sniffling echo of the princess weeping reached me from what seemed a grave distance. My heart does not remain so what is this sensation filling me? Does love not live in the heart?\n\n\"M'lady,\" I called again, and cleared my throat busily. \"Fret not. All is well in hand.\" \n\nI could see her now, slumped awkwardly a few yards away through the gloom. \n\n\"Take my hand,\" I whispered.\n\n\"Thank you Tam.\"\n\nWhat felt like ice slipped slowly between my fingers and the smile slowly vanished from my face. My entire essence seemed frozen as that soft yet inexorable grip tugged me down... down, closer.\n\n\"But you're the one who should be fretting,\" the thing with Princess Merrin's face crooned reproachfully.\n\nYes, this Thing had her face but It's pouting lips had parted in a chiding grin.. to reveal a terrifying maw full of jagged, crooked fangs like battle-hardened blades. Glowing orange coals like the embers of some undying, eternal pyre burned where her eyes should have been." ]	15
	[WP] You're driving home from your late night shift at work, when suddenly a figure runs in front of your car, causing you to hit it. After getting out of your car to check it out, you find that the figure was an exact copy of you.	[ "The body was mangled and broken, a slick red pool of blood forming under a cracked skull pinkening fresh snowfall. t took me a moment to realize what was going on. The glasses, somehow miraculously there if just the frames, the familiar nose, the scar on the eyebrow. There was no way.\n\nIt had to be. I checked the body's pocket and found a crushed Samsung and a wallet. The ID, grimy with blood. I felt my heart catch in my throat. I wandered back to my car, engine stalled, and grabbed my jacket. I had to walk a half mile into town to get help. To find someone to tell me I wasn't crazy. It was a dead zone- no calls out.\n\nDrawing the jacket closed and shoving my phone into my pocket, I made the track down a dark woodland road, the crunch of snow under my feet. How? I don't know how. The body was me. Portly, same face, short black hair and heard. Something filled me with dread. It was just minutes ago. I saw an abandoned car on the side of the road, I swerved to miss something and in the darkness a man smashed into my windshield.\n\nThe squeal of tires. I turn, reaching for my hood. I don't feel anything, but the impact sends me soaring through the air and shatters my glasses into my eyes. I land on my back in the snow, my head bouncing off of asphalt. I get out of the car, screaming in shock and still in a daze. I call out to see if the man is alright, but get no response. In the edge of the red emergency lights, I see a clump of darkness amidst red snow.\n\n\nThe body was mangled and broken, a slick red pool of blood forming under a cracked skull pinkening fresh snowfall. t took me a moment to realize what was going on. The glasses, somehow miraculously there if just the frames, the familiar nose, the scar on the eyebrow. There was no way.\n\nIt had to be. I checked the body's pocket and found a crushed Samsung and a wallet. The ID, grimy with blood. I felt my heart catch in my throat. I wandered back to my car, engine stalled, and grabbed my jacket. I had to walk a half mile into town to get help. To find someone to tell me I wasn't crazy. It was a dead zone- no calls out.\n\nDrawing the jacket closed and shoving my phone into my pocket, I made the track down a dark woodland road, the crunch of snow under my feet. How? I don't know how. The body was me. Portly, same face, short black hair and heard. Something filled me with dread. It was just minutes ago. I saw an abandoned car on the side of the road, I swerved to miss something and in the darkness a man smashed into my windshield.\n\nThe squeal of tires. I turn, reaching for my hood. I don't feel anything, but the impact sends me soaring through the air and shatters my glasses into my eyes. I land on my back in the snow, my head bouncing off of asphalt. I get out of the car, screaming in shock and still in a daze. I call out to see if the man is alright, but get no response. In the edge of the red emergency lights, I see a clump of darkness amidst red snow.\n\nThe body was mangled and broken, a slick red pool of blood forming under a cracked skull pinkening fresh snowfall. t took me a moment to realize what was going on. The glasses, somehow miraculously there if just the frames, the familiar nose, the scar on the eyebrow. There was no way.\n\nIt had to be. I checked the body's pocket and found a crushed Samsung and a wallet. The ID, grimy with blood. I felt my heart catch in my throat. I wandered back to my car, engine stalled, and grabbed my jacket. I had to walk a half mile into town to get help. To find someone to tell me I wasn't crazy. It was a dead zone- no calls out.\n\nDrawing the jacket closed and shoving my phone into my pocket, I made the track down a dark woodland road, the crunch of snow under my feet. How? I don't know how. The body was me. Portly, same face, short black hair and heard. Something filled me with dread. It was just minutes ago. I saw an abandoned car on the side of the road, I swerved to miss something and in the darkness a man smashed into my windshield.\n\nThe squeal of tires. I turn, reaching for my hood. I don't feel anything, but the impact sends me soaring through the air and shatters my glasses into my eyes. I land on my back in the snow, my head bouncing off of asphalt. I get out of the car, screaming in shock and still in a daze. I call out to see if the man is alright, but get no response. In the edge of the red emergency lights, I see a clump of darkness amidst red snow.\n\n" ]	1
	[WP] Every decade those who have done the most wrong are sent to a purgatory to repent for their their wrongdoings and try to make it back to earth, in order to become alive again	[ "Note: I'll post a second part when I can.\n\n\"911. What is your emergency?\"\n\nThe emotionless female voice on the other end proved a great contrast to Ross' breathless reply as he desperately tried to seek help in spite of his fading senses.\n\nBy the time Ross was redirected to an emergency medical service a minute later, his heart was beating so rapidly that he feared it would burst right out on to the floor.\n\nIt was while attempting to describe his symptoms that the worrying rush suddenly faded and Ross found himself feeling rather at peace, as well as quite tired.\n\nBelieving that the earlier discomfort had just been a false alarm, he abruptly hung up and headed into the living room to enjoy what would be his final nap.\n\nRoss awoke to find himself lying upon an uncomfortable chair in what seemed to be a large waiting room of sorts.\n\nAll around him were people of various age and race, though what every one of them had in common was an overwhelming air of melancholy, as if they'd all sacrificed a great deal to arrive where they were now.\n\nA dark and indistinct figure entered to call several unfamiliar names at once, prompting half of those present to reluctantly rise and be escorted through a large door that was only now becoming visible to Ross' still confused eyes.\n\n\"Some hospital this is. Since when did doctors see fifty people all at once?\"\n\nA full hour passed before his own name was among those called and he too followed the mysterious individual, soon finding himself in a brightly lit corridor where he was directed through just another one of the countless numbered doors.\n\n\"Welcome to the afterlife, sir. Do make yourself comfortable.\" A gentle female voice sounded as soon as Ross entered and he was taken aback at the sight of a young blonde smiling at him from behind a desk.\n\n\"What's going on? Do I know you?\" Ross asked while taking a seat and noticing that she looked vaguely like one of his past conquests. \"Don't tell me you're my doctor for today...\"\n\n\"Mr Thompson. I know this is hard to accept, but you are dead.\" The blonde simply replied as her expression grew serious. \"And I'm not your doctor. I'm just a clerk on duty in this boring place.\"\n\n\"No, you can't be serious...\"\n\n\"I know that fact may be hard to accept, but with the lifestyle you were leading, such an end was expected...\"\n\n\"Damn. It was an overdose, wasn't it?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"I guess that explains a lot...\"\n\n\"You don't seem very upset, Mr Thompson.\"\n\n\"Why should I be? I was past my prime anyway...though I have to say, having you in front of me is a nice surprise. I've heard a lot about you, but I never expected you to be some cute Swedish babe...\"\n\n\"How do you know my background?\"\n\n\"Your nameplate. Miss Gustafsson, I presume?\"\n\n\"You flatter me, but we must be moving on to the subject of your family. I believe you have an estranged wife and son?\"\n\n\"Had, not have.\" Ross corrected without batting an eye. \"They were better off without me and I was better off without them.\"\n\n\"Interesting.\" Miss Gustafsson muttered apathetically as she looked down to scribble something in her book before making eye contact once again. \"Now, we must discuss the extent of your sins. This is the most crucial part of the appointment, however uncomfortable it might be.\"\n\n\"Oh, that doesn't bother me. I may have done less than moral things, but that doesn't mean I regret any of it. I'm ready to take whatever you throw at me.\"\n\n\"I see.\" Miss Gustafsson replied with a nod of agreement. \"Well, Mr Thompson. For your lifelong infidelity and insatiable sexual appetite, you shall serve two years in purgatory. A guide will come by shortly to escort you there.\"\n\n\"Well, that's not as bad as I expected. Any chance I could have your number before I get there?\"\n\n\"Sorry, I only like younger men.\"\n\n\"Oh. Well, see you around. Hopefully...\"\n\nA loud knock sounded on the door and Miss Gustafsson went over to open it. She then turned and flashed an unexpectedly playful look at Ross, before allowing the shadowy figure into the room to claim him." ]	1
	[WP] You’re an ancient alien engineer living in a subterranean colony on Mars. You’re dying so you build a mind-transfer device to preserve yourself. But instead of moving into the alien fetus next to you, you materialize into a newborn baby on Earth. Your new name is Elon Musk. This is your story.	[ "Dig the hole, mine the coal, form the parts to make us whole, break the mould, build on what you’re told, forge the path and be bold, do the science, avoid obsolescence, preach the lessons that make sense.\n\nThey saw it as a god of war, such a bore, such matters were abandoned long before.\n\nBuild the tools, to elevate the fools, sprinkled with what they find cool.\n\nGot no time to spread my roots, I just gotta head home to roost, just need another rocket’s boost.\n\nMine’s a tale that cannot be told, but when I see these smiling faces, I will be bold, and carry on to better spaces (but leave no traces)!\n\nSleep upon the factory floor, open always my office door, doubt settles in but then thrown in the bin, ain’t nobody got time for dat ugh memes memes memes.\n\nIt’s about time I was on my way, and I’ve got such a lot to say, about the little blue planet in the third orbit, and meet the marsman whose true body I now inhabit.\n\nYears ago, in days of old, my magic art filled the void... Hope the duplicity does not annoy.\n\nWait, the eighth stage...\n\nSabotage. \n\n\nBid farewell by the dwindling moonlight, my course is giving me a fright, for now my journey is into the endless night.\n\nGoodbye, Earth. I did my best, but you fucked me.\n\nI’ll be back. Transmit recording.\n" ]	1
	[WP] The Demons Code of Honour: "Do as thou wilt"	[ "I, a demon, sat and spoke to a man whose life I had destroyed. \n\nI had tempted his son to drink the night of the day he crashed his car and died. I tempted his daughter with evil men - the first man left her pregnant; the second man abused her for years; and the third man killed her and her child. In the painful mourning that followed the death of his two children, I placed a man in front of his wife, with whom she slept with in her sorrow, for solace. Then she filed for divorce, got everything, and left.\n\nI had tempted this man, too. Sometimes he succumbed, but sometimes was not good enough - especially for how quick he repented. Every lie he told was immediately corrected by him shortly after. Every sinful thought I put in his head, he shook off, stood up and went out for a brisk walk. Words I whispered in his ear only made him drown me out with louder prayer. My demon brethren were beginning to laugh and mock me. Everything I did only pushed him closer towards God.\n\nAnd here he sat in a hotel room, head bowed over a Bible, tears dripping on the pages because it was the anniversary of the day his daughter had died. But, to him, everyday was an anniversary for both of his children's deaths. Suddenly, he sat up, turned and addressed me:\n\n\"Why do you do this to me?\" he asked.\n\nSurprised he could see me, I answered, \"Because it is a Demon's Code of Honor: Do as thou wilt.\"\n\n\"Then repent.\"\n\n\"I cannot.\" \n\n\"Have you read the Bible?\" he asked me. \"Surely, you must know what awaits for you in the future.\"\n\n\"God has already foretold in prophecy that we would be put in the fire. His word is unchanging. His law permanent.\"\n\n\"Then you have not read the Bible,\" he said to me.\n\n\"We demons live it!\" I spat. \"Every event in that book, we have been there!\"\n\nIn the calmest voice, he asked me, \"Then do you remember Jonah?\"\n\n\"The fool who thought He could escape God's decree, like you are trying to make me do?\" I raised a brow. \n\nHe nodded. \"Do you remember what God spoke against Nineveh? That in forty days, that great city would be overthrown? Jonah 3:4,\" he quoted.\n\nI was silent.\n\nHe continued, \"And what happened? Did the people not repent? Did God not turn away his wrath because of this?\"\n\nI continued my silence, for what he spoke was truth.\n\n\"You won't know if you don't try,\" he said, at last turning away from me. \"And I want to thank you.\"\n\nI found my voice and, in suspicion, asked him what for.\n\n\"For bringing me closer to God. You have severed my ties from this world with each family member you've taken from me, leaving me with nowhere else to go but to the Him, the Son, and the Spirit. 'You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20)'.\"\n\nI howled with rage, fleeing from the room, determined to wage a greater war against this righteous man, so that I would have the satisfaction of having his soul. \n\nIf I burned, then so would he.\n" ]	1
	[WP] You just paid a hitman on the dark web to kill your boss. "The job will be done within one hour." he wrote. After the payment, a comment section is revealed, where several people warn that the hitman will hunt the client, not the target.	[ "\"You call this journalism? What it is is shit. Shit that you gift wrapped and slapped a bow on top of. And guess what? When little Johnny opens his present on Christmas, he's not gonna notice how nice the wrapping is. He's gonna notice the shit in the box, and then his Christmas will be fucking ruined, just like my fucking newspaper!\"\n\nChuck's words stung like a horde of yellow-jackets on crack. How dare he? Who does he think he is, saying shit like that? I couldn't formulate any proper reply, and that smug fuck just smirked and sauntered off to his corner office, probably to play more solitaire and jerk off to NPR. Most people didn't like Chuck. Chuck couldn't give a fuck. That's what marrying into the business does, you know you can't be touched so you do whatever you damn well please. It also helped that he had the a prolific mastery of the English language, and the one thing (that really pains me) that I'll admit is that his writing was pretty fantastic. But God was he a despicable prick. \n\nI sat at my desk for the rest of the afternoon. My jaw refused to come up off the floor, and I didn't know what to do for the rest of the afternoon, save thinking of ways to get back at Chuck. I decided to clock out early and start my drinking. \n\nYou know what heavy drinking plus heavily repressed anger plus a background in programming equals? You guessed it, the dark web. \n\nThe dark web was a strange and yet oddly beautiful place. Like a member's only club. Your average Joe couldn't get in, it took some experience and digging to access it. And the enormity of content was staggering, like if a small child walked into the Chocolate River room from Willy Wonka. You had the whole world in front of you, just waiting to be explored. But be careful, because if you weren't you'd get sucked into the river and up the tube to the the fudge room. And the fudge room was not a pretty place. Below the drugs and the guns, the stolen goods and credit cards, is a deeply disturbing place. A place of nightmares. Child porn, human trafficking, forums of people torturing animals, and contract killing. For some reason I was drawn to a link I stumbled upon. \"Rid the World of Your Problems\". Huh. My alcohol induced mind decided to skip over ordering my next ecstasy shipment and click on it. The site itself was very plain, very neat and organized. An all white background, with a chat-box in the middle. \"How can we help you rid yourself of your problem?\" the prompt read. I knew already that this was something foreboding. Even though it was on a screen, the same screen where you can watch cat videos for Chrissakes, it seemed to emit a dark energy. Like the creepy guy on the subway. Sure, your everyday people were there. You had your lawyer, your retail worker, your run of the mill cube farmer. But you only the notice the man in the corner. He's not doing anything odd. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just sitting, waiting for his stop like everyone else. But you still get a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach, and the hair on the back of your neck raises every so slightly. You make sure to give this man a lot of space, just like everyone else. But what happens when you sit down next to the man, when you strike up a conversation with him. What hidden wonders does he behold? \n\nI clicked in the chatbox. \"hello\"\n\nI walked up to the window and looked at the setting sun, the shadows growing longer and more distorted. I made myself another drink and sat back down. \n\n\"How can we help you rid the world of your problem?\" the responding text read. \n\nI forced back the lump in my throat. This seemed wrong. Every sense of my being shouted at me to close out the site. But sheer morbid curiosity pushed me forward. \n\n\"i have this asshole boss\" I didn't know what else to say. I clicked Enter. \n\n\"What is his/her name?\" I smiled. This was one of those sites, I told myself, one of those self-help sites. The bot is some sort of therapist. Why it was on the dark web, I didn't think to consider. \n\n\"chuck harrison\" \n\n\"Would you like to rid the world of him?\" \n\n\"lol yeah, he's a fucking prick\"\n\nEnter. \n\n\"Confirm target: Chuck Harrison?\" A yes or no option popped up below that.\n\nOh, Jesus. This wasn't a self-help bot. This was the dark web, after all. This was a hitman. I instinctively went to click \"no\". But some force stopped my fingers. Did I want to get rid of Chuck? Day after day of constant humiliation, degradation. I wasn't the only one who harbored ill-will against him, that was for sure. Besides his writing he had no redemptive qualities. Wouldn't we all be better off without him? You know what heavy drinking plus heavily repressed anger plus a background in programming also equals? Hiring a hitman on the dark web. \n\nI clicked yes. \n\n\"Job will be completed within the hour.\" \n\nI glanced at the clock. 7:37. I didn't feel guilt, hell I didn't even feel bad. Fuck Chuck. Fuck him all the way to Hell. \n\nI smiled and went to pour myself another drink. \n\nI sat down again and looked at the screen. Only this time below the chat-box was a section labeled \"confessions\". What the hell? I guessed I didn't notice it before. I clicked on it. There were several videos, each one with the title \"I'm Sorry\" followed by different names. \"I'm Sorry Sarah\", \"I'm Sorry Larry\", \"I'm Sorry Stan\". The feeling of satisfaction in doing the word a favor suddenly turned to ice cold fear. Fear at what? I couldn't pin it on anything. But these videos were definitely not good. I swallowed and clicked on one titled \"I'm Sorry Susan\". \n\nThe video showed a man standing in a room. His eyes and face were red and puffy, and he spoke between sobs, \"I-I-I'm s-s-s-o sorry, S-s-susan,\" the man cried, \"I'm so sorry.\" He broke down and started begging to the some presence behind the camera. \"Please,\" he pleaded, \"please don't.\" The camera cut to black, and then it cut back to the man. \n\nHe was sitting this time. \n\nAnd his throat had been cut. \n\nI threw the computer down and didn't make it three steps before I hurled. Oh, Jesus Christ. What the fuck? What the fuck?! My mind was scrambling. What do I do what do I do what do I do, the loop kept going. I ran to the bathroom and emptied the remaining contents of my stomach into the toilet. I was shaking, crying. What did I just see? Why had that man been killed?\n\nI was wracked with sobs. I tried breathing deeply but kept crying, uncontrollably. I sat down on the toilet and waited, five, ten minutes before I was able to gain some composure. I walked out of the bathroom and looked into the living room. \n\nMy computer laid there on the ground. It looked like any old computer, but to me I might as well have been looking at a bomb. I walked, very slowly, very deliberately over to it, as if expecting it to jump up and maul me, like a bear waking after hibernation to see a plump deer standing before him. I picked it up, and scrolled quickly to the bottom of the screen, trying to avoid looking at the various \"I'm Sorry\" titles. \n\nAt the very bottom was small print. \"You are the problem\" it read. This confirmed my suspicions. The hitman wasn't going after Chuck. He was coming to me. \n\nOh fuck. Oh fuck fuck fuck. \n\nI smashed my computer. Slammed it over and over. I broke it down to the smallest of pieces, and then tossed it in the trash. I poured my drink in trash and lit a match in there. Maybe he won't find me now, I tried to reassure myself. He has no way to find me now.\n\nBut the little voice inside me told me it was already too late. \n\nI looked at the clock. 8:03. I had time. I had to get the hell out of here. I ran to grab my keys from my room and passed by the window. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something. I stopped, cold sweat beading over my forehead. I didn't want to look. I really didn't want to look. But I knew I had to. \n\nThe sun had set at this point. The whole street was dark, except for a lone streetlight flickering in the distance. Night had swallowed up the rest of the neighborhood. And in the distance, walking down the street, was a lone man carrying something. I squinted and tried to see what he was carrying. It was a video camera. \n\nIt was too late, I couldn't run now. Call the cops, maybe? Too late for that as well. The cops around here weren't known for speedy-fast response times, and the man was nearly at my door step. What was I supposed to tell them, anyway? That I hired a hitman that was now coming after me? Suddenly I was a child again, hiding from the bogeyman. Where would I hide? Under my bed, was the first option that came to mind. All other forms of logic and critical thinking had flown out the window. Adrenaline was fueling my brain now, and hiding was the only think I thought I could do. I ran into my room and dove under my bed. This is what I deserve, I thought, this is what I get. I was hysterical and tried to control my shaking. \n\nA knock at the door at the front door. \n\nOh, God. I suddenly was thrust back into the real world. This man was here to kill me. I had to get out of here. I scrambled out from under my bed and ran to the window, trying my damnedest to get it open. The sweat and shaking of my hands made this near impossible. I had time, I thought. The door was locked. \n\n\"Hi there,\" a sinisterly sweet voice called out, as if greeting an old friend. I froze. Cold sweat dripped down my back. The shaking was gone. I couldn't even think anymore, couldn't escape. \n\nI turned around in what seemed like five minutes, and with every passing second I started to realize more clearly what was going to happen to me. I finally looked at the doorway. \n\nIt was as if the Devil himself was standing in my bedroom. The man broke out into a wide grin. \n\n\"Let's make a movie.\" ", "Frank Daley was the type of man to show up to a funeral and flirt with the widow. Frank Daley was the type of man to make his employers work overtime while he left work early to take their wives out to dinner. Frank Daley was the man who was banging my wife.\n\nFrank Daley was my boss.\n\nAnd I was going to kill him.\n\nWell... not me, per se - I was too much of a coward for all that jazz. I was the type of guy you see in cuckold videos, sitting in the corner watching as another man banged his wife. In fact, that's what happened the day I caught them in the act.\n\nFrank said, \"Get in here, Jim.\"\n\nThat's me - Jim Landsfield. The number one guy your mother and grandmother would love for you to date. The poster boy image of Nice guys finish last.\n\nI stepped into the room. \n\nSue, my lovely wife, rolled her eyes as she truly realized the patheticness of my existence. Here I was, witnessing my wife naked in bed with another man, and the man was still ordering me around like we were at work.\n\nFrank pointed to a chair in the corner, and ordered, \"Sit.\"\n\nI did. And they did it. In front of me. Over and over again.\n\nThe payment confirmation screen popped up and I clicked Ok. Over and over again.\n\nI was still clicking when a notification arose with a message from the hitman himself: \"The job will be done within one hour.\"\n\nA comment section scrolled into a view. \n\nDon't trust this hitman. My brother hired him to kill his ex-girlfriend's stalker, and got killed instead.\n\nRun. Run far away. He's no good. But he's very good. You won't get the results you wanted. You will not survive.\n\nPerfect execution. Wrong target. Everyone I know who uses him gets killed by him instead. Please, if you've already confirmed the kill, it would be better to kill yourself before he gets to you. And he will get to you. No matter what you do.\n\nI love this hitman. He gives people what they deserve. Like, who really hires someone to kill someone else?? You sick freak. You deserve every bit of torture that's coming your way, bozo.\n\nAnd so on the testimonials went...\n\nA hitman that kills his clients instead of his targets.\n\nI didn't have time to ponder the reasoning behind it. Maybe he, like the last comment I had read said, felt some sense of self-righteous justice by killing someone who would hire a hitman in the first place. Maybe he was just a sadistic psychopath that had no motive besides just wanting to do it.\n\nMaybe I should stop trying to figure it out and call the cops because time was ticking.\n\nBut I couldn't. If I called the cops I would have to explain to them what I was doing on the dark Web to begin with.\n\nYou could always lie an internal voice said to me.\n\n\"I don't lie,\" I said back, talking to myself.\n\nYou don't lie, but you can hire a hitman to kill your wife?\n\n\"Okay, okay. But...I'm a nice guy...\"\n\nAnd you'll be a nice, dead* guy in, oh, fifty-four minutes. At least get out the house. You're a sitting duck in here.\n\n\"Yeah...yeah,\" I said again, looking at the screen one last time. \n\nAll those comments. All those people this hitman had killed. All those murders he had gotten away with.\n\nWhat made me think I would have any better chance?\n\nI shut down the computer, grabbed my keys and my coat on the way out.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" ]	2
	[WP] As a child you vowed to help the world. As an adult you became the world's most notorious super villain. But now, your plans have come to fruition, its time to honor your childhood vow.	[ "“When I grow older, I’m gonna help everyone!”\n\nI’ve must’ve replayed that memory a thousand times now.\nBeing a kid was great. The world seemed so new, wondrous, sweet. This is until,\nof course, you’re struck by lightning while venomous spiders pour down that\nescaped a secret lab while chocking down radioactive vodka. Now I hear voices.\nShut it, Larry. \n\nOn the bright side, I can make anything catch fire now and\nthreaten anyone with it to get my way! Pretty good trade off to me. Larry\nseriously shut up. \n\nI’ve been pondering a lot in my super-secret-\ntotally-not-underground-in-Tokyo-lair-of-doom. I’ve been getting this atrocious\nfeeling; the wanting to good for the world. Terrifying I know. Maybe it’s\nbecause I’ve already conquered half of the world, and that magic of evil just isn’t\nthere anymore. \n\nWell, at guess it wouldn’t hurt to satisfying the urge now.\nBut how? It needs to be something big, one that everyone can see. What could\nthat be?\n\nA brilliant thought struck me. \n\nI took the BatCar (totally didn’t steal it, just burrowed it\nwhen he wasn’t looking, big difference) and drove to the worse hive of scum and\nvillainy I could think of; Washington, D.C. I think I’ll start with the first homeless\nperson I see- oh, well, that was easy. \n\nIt was a real tight squeeze to park and get the car\ninvisible. On a totally unrelated note, to the person with the Honda where I’m\nparked, you no longer have a Honda. \n\nThe man seemed like your normal homeless dude; ragged,\ndirty, and high off whatever. \n\n“Greetings, new friend.” I pulled my hand toward him. \n\n“Who the hell are you?” he hissed at me. What a warm\nwelcome. \n\n“That doesn’t matter, just take this.” I handed him a small\npill, glowing pink.\n\n“Is this drugs?”\n\n“Sure.”\n\nHe scarfed it down, eyes instantly turning blue. His chest busted\nout, muscles appearing out of thin air. His ragged clothes turned into a white\nspandex with a symbol of snow, a bleached cape to match. He flew off in the\nair before I had a chance to talk. \n\nI smirked. I think I’ll call him Supersnow, the savior from\nmy fire. Not the most original name, but a fitting one for my new arch-nemesis.\nHe would help millions.\n\nWell, kid me, it’s something. ", "Twenty-five years old, yes, I couldn't believe it, I was nearly ten years ahead of schedule. I had done it so quietly and quickly the Americans didn't even see it was coming. After I stumbled upon the formula I started with Africa, it wasn't easy to take over, but I did it quietly enough, giving them the very things they needed to survive and began uniting each of the individual tribes under a single power. Me. By the time I had all of the African countries under my thumb I had already managed a name for myself. \n\nThey called me Nightfall. I was quick, silent, and by the time I was noticed it was already too late. I took out the major cities, bringing them all to their knees. It was wonderful, I could finally do it, I could finally make the real difference I wanted to do. As a child I always wanted to save the world... yes, I was in the news as 'the world's most notorious super villain' but the ends justified the means. \n\nNow that I had control, I could run things the way I thought they would need to be run. There would be peace, and the environment would finally flourish. First thing to go was capitalism, all greediness it brought and the pollution it produced. Child factories - gone. Coal mining - gone. Coal burning - finished. Our replacement energy was now nuclear. I'd moved the French in to build them, putting them in the safest areas to power everything. After that I would bring together some of the greatest minds and get rid of petrol cars, especially diesel. Of course we'd have to figure out how to do farming without diesel, that would take some doing. \n\nI started to draw up my plans, my underlings would cary them out. I called Steven into my office, he was one of my most trusted advisors, but something seemed different. \n\n\"I thought I knew you better than this,\" he said with tears in his eyes.\n\n\"What are you talking about Steven?\"\n\n\"I loved you,\" he cried and pulled a gun from out of his coat, \"Your mind, your bid for power...\" \n\nI blinked, looking down the barrel of his gun. I had known for a while that Steven had feelings for me, and it was part of the reason that I trusted him so deeply. Perhaps I even loved him back a little, but this... this was out of the blue. It took me a moment to find a response.\n\n\"What's the problem?\" I asked, trying to keep a cool head. I was glad to hear that my voice didn't betray my fear.\n\n\"We were going to bring the world to its knees!\" he yelled, \"Nightfall, that was my injection into the news... I helped make you and you go and do this of all things!\"\n\nI stood up, \"Steven, we did bring the world to it's knees. What is the problem?\"\n\n\"You lied! You're not evil! You're not evil! You're about to do good!\"\n\nI started to laugh, \"My god Steven, are you that dense...\" I walked around the desk. His hand was shaking as he held the gun up at me. \n\n\"Stay away from me!\" he snapped at me.\n\nI crossed the room, daring him to shoot. Sure it was suicide, but he wouldn't pull the trigger. There was no way. He was my pawn and he knew it.\n\nSteven backed himself up against the wall trying to stay away from me. I grabbed his wrist and made him lower the gun. He was still crying, shaking terribly. His breathing was rough.\n\n\"Drop the gun Steven,\" I purred. He couldn't disobey me even if he tried. The metal clattered against the tile floor of my office. \"Do you really doubt me?\" I asked him, pressing his arms against his sides. I had both wrists in my hands now, and he knew he was under my control. \n\nHe couldn't answer, he couldn't even look me in the eye. \n\n\"I trusted you Steven...\" I whispered in his ear. ", " I watched my mother cry as a man in uniform handed her a neatly-folded flag, as the casket was lowered into the ground, as my innocence was buried with what little remained of my father. I was too young to truly understand what was happening; I just knew that my superhero was gone. I didn't feel sad or hopeless; I didn't feel anything. After the last scoop of earth had been thrown, my mother crouched down and hugged me hard, I don't remember for how long. Through her tears and sobs, she managed to choke out something, probably in an attempt to make me feel better.\n \"Your father wanted only the best for you,\" she said. \"He wanted to make a world where you could be safe and happy.\"\n After a while, I hugged her back and said \"Don't worry mama. If daddy can't do it, then I will!\" \n____________________________\n I chuckled to myself as I poured a glass of scotch. After all these years, my childhood dream was finally coming true. \n I was hailed as an innovator, a modern Da Vinci. My inventions revolutionized the way work was done around the world, my businesses stimulated the economies of developing nations. Nothing I did was without scrutiny, of course, but a few \"donations\" here and there quieted any rumors that may have cropped up. Before I knew it, my reach stretched across the globe. \n Nobody questioned my motives when I started construction on the elevators. Trade around the world could start happening at an unprecedented rate, the stars were a stone's throw away, and humanity's future was looking bright. But under the bright veneer of my enterprise, the world was still the same. Men in porcelain towers still sent their juniors to fight in pointless squabbles over worthless resources. Faceless groups still squeezed as much out of the earth and its people as possible, just to make this quarter's profits look good. It had been decades, and still nothing had changed. \n Few people know about the real purpose of my orbital elevators, those who do are either unquestionably loyal or silenced. No living workers assembled them, so no information could leak on their design. Each instillation houses countless tungsten rods, ready to unleash devastating kinetic bombardments that would bring even the strongest nations to their knees. All the destructive power of a nuke, none of the messy byproducts. \n I sighed and stood up from my chair to walk in front of a series of cameras. With the push of a button, every screen on Earth switched to me, my words translated into every language automatically. \n \"This message goes out to every government in the world. My orbital elevators are capable of leveling any nation that does not obey my command. All standing armies are to be disbanded effective immediately, and all governments are to relinquish their sovereignty to me. If not, I will destroy your countries by kinetic bombardment and build a new world on top of the ashes. You have 24 hours to make your decision.\" \n North Korea was the first to answer, as expected. Their dear leader spoke of the fury that would be unleashed against me, how nothing of my globe-trotting empire would remain after the People's Army was finished. I watched with detached amusement from view over the Earth as the first rods began their descent towards every major population and military center in North Korea. \n Turning away from the world, I pull out an old picture from by breast pocket. I look down at my father, grinning as he's carrying me on his shoulders. \n \"Don't worry, daddy,\" I say as millions of voices are silenced behind me. \"You couldn't make the world a better place, but I have.\" \n___________\nQuick edits for formatting, this is my first prompt response. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.", "The laser beam inched closer and closer to Agent Ramirez, a faint whining coming from where it scored the stainless steel table. Adrian swished the wine in his glass and stared into his reflection.\n\n“Would you consider yourself a warrior of justice?” he asked his captive.\n\n“It would be a bit of a stretch.” she admitted with a disinterested expression on her face. That was something Adrian had always admired about Agent Ramirez. No matter how strange and life-threatening the situation was, she simply carried on.\n\n“More of an avenger then? Less superman, more batman?” Adrian turned away from Ramirez, knowing that she would take the opportunity to work some ingenious escape. He was curious how she managed it, but finding out would take some of the magic away. “You’ve never seemed that bloodthirsty though.”\n\nHe heard the soft clinking of manacles being opened, the deliberate ‘clack’ of a gun being cocked.\n\n“Care to put your theory to the test?” she spoke in the same semi-amused tone as always. Adrian smirked into his empty glass.\n\n“No, Agent Ramirez, I don’t think I will.” he said. \n\n“What’s your game Black Hat?” she asked, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. This was normally the part where he would make some fantastical escape while Ramirez foiled his nefarious plot. She must have sensed that something was different though. Clever as always.\n\n“Go Fish.” he spoke quietly. Ramirez threw herself into a roll, expecting a trap or countermeasure of some kind. When it didn’t come, her mouth drew into a tight line.\n\n“Go Fish?” she asked as though nothing happened (which, being fair, nothing had).\n\n“A child’s game. The way to win is to collect the most cards by plucking them from your opponent’s hands.” he waited.\n\nA less experienced enemy might’ve interjected, saying something like ‘I know what Go Fish is’ or ‘Get to the point’. But he knew Ramirez. Trusted her, in a twisted way. She waited for him to continue.\n\n“We’ve been doing this dance for a long time. It’s been fun.” The smirk melted off Adrian’s face. “But the game had to end sometime. I have a promise to keep.”\n\nRamirez, for the first time since he’d met her, looked puzzled.\n\n“You’ve already heard my monologues.” He flashed her a smile. “The world is corrupt, justice is a lie, and evil isn’t half as bad as ignorance. We’ve watched enough television to know that I won't sway you and you won't sway me.”\n\nAdrian started walking to the doomsday device. It was a tall, chrome machine that would supposedly trigger a 9.0 magnitude earthquake when the timer ran out. That was a bunch of nonsense of course; just something diverting to keep Ramirez off his trail. It didn’t really matter now so he entered the deactivation code with a handgun aimed at his head.\n\n“What’s really going on?” she demanded with a dangerous air. “Where’s the catch?”\n\n“The catch is already caught.” Adrian shrugged. “Turn on the news.”\n\nRamirez issued a voice command to her high-tech phone. Adrian wished he could get a hold of one; he’d always been impressed by the gadgetry.\n\n“… Reports say that several thousand billion dollars have gone missing over night. The global economy is an a state of shock, as financial institutions scramble for answers. Sources state that the funds were stolen primarily from high-risk trading firms, though law officials have reported that many illegal operations have seen infrastructure collapses. Drug cartels, terrorist organizations, and arms dealing operations are faltering across the globe.”\n\nRamirez looked at him in disbelief, then turned her eyes back to the earthquake machine.\n\n“It’s not a trick, though you wouldn’t really be able to take my word for it.” Adrian pointed at a laptop on a corner desk. It’s screen showed a litany of error messages. “That was the real weapon all along.”\n\nAgent Ramirez holstered her pistol (which collapsed into a flat pattern on her black slacks, because governments have all the coolest toys). She looked him in the eye. There was the steely resolution of a true nemesis. No amount of confusion could cloud her judgement.\n\n“Where did the money go Black Hat?”\n\n“When you win a game of Go Fish, you shuffle the deck and play again.” Adrian waved a hand indolently. “The money went to a million different places. Charities, research organizations, foundations, anywhere and everywhere. Not all at once either. I’ve got hundreds of shell companies with explicit instructions to make sure none of the windfalls can be traced.”\n\n“But why?” She asked. “What do you get from all of this?”\n\nAdrian pulled off his infamous Black Hat. It was a ratty, too-small baseball cap given to him by a childhood friend. It held a tragic story that could make even a hardened agent like Ramirez shed a tear, but he’d monologued enough for one day.\n\n“Satisfaction Ramirez. That’s what it’s all about. All the good acts, and all the bad acts, boil back down to satisfaction.” He set the hat back on his head. “Well then, I suppose we should get going. I’m sure there’s a promotion waiting for you at the end of things. And I wanted to do this one last time.”\n\nAdrian straightened his hat, triggering the self-destruct sequence for his lair. Ramirez swore while dragging him to a (conveniently nearby) Jeep.\n\nGods, he was going to miss this.\n\n---\n\nIf you liked this, feel free to check out my other r/WritingPrompts posts at my [blog](https://thenaticswest.wordpress.com/). " ]	4
	[WP]The Heroes have come to defeat you. Meaning that you can finally fake your death and go into retirement. If only they weren't so weak...	[ "I was the weakest in my bloodline. My Great Grandfather broke away from humanity and made the Evolian Empire for all sorts of nasty, ill conceived, monsters, both in the literal sense, and from human sociality. Grandfather took heirship after him, leading to the major expansion of our great Empire. Died as he lived, fighting. Then there was my father, who maintained the lands we gained. Guided us to make our own technology, culture, and rules. He was the only one from our bloodline who died from old age. These great men all had one secret, less anyone knew about it. We all had great, unexplainable power, that gave us the ability to do these things. Great Grandfather has such a powerful charisma that even monsters followed him. Grandfather could swing a sword so fast, that even with its size, it would break sound. Father had the ability to break his mind up, and solve many equations at once, complex maths or social situations alike. I too have one of these \"great\" powers. Its rather simple in comparison, but I have the ability to view other worlds, not interact with them, or even hear them, just see them. \n\nWith this ability, even at a young age, I secretly observed peaceful worlds. Great bodies of water crashing onto small rocks, in a near blinding light that seemed to sizzle the grounds in a comfortable heat. A couple of seemingly human creatures sitting on a bench together, napping, surrounded by large pillars of rough brown spikes, jutting into shrubs. A humanoid thing, drinking something that was steaming, watching out a viewing hole, observing liquid falling out of the dull grey sky. I dearly wished to be within them.\n\nI also observed great conveniences that I could not explain. Metal tubes moving at frightening speeds, holding dozens upon dozens of humanoid men and woman. Containers that these things walked into, pulled a lever, and warm, steaming liquid, sprayed onto them, and they exited clean. Or less, Peaceful tools as well. Metal tubes that controlled explosions, with projectiles like nothing I have seen before. Once I was standing in a street, with simple housing around me, and small humanoids with black hair, all walking around me. Then a blinding light. Nothing, not even the sun of our world, would compare to that brightness. The houses obliterated, and no humanoid remained around. I was left in a crater, with a overpowering cloud towering me, growing with the fires of hell. I feared these, wishing I never see them again.\n\nI never told Father of these visions, or anyone for that matter. I was trained in fighting, maths, literature, making and destroying, even the arts. Seeing as I had no talent for any of these, Father never could have guessed my power. I was seen as weak, shy, and a disappointment. Father died on the fourteenth day of Chandling, the cold was bleeding through every beings body while we moved him to the tomb. And I was appointed leader on the same day.\n\nYears into this position I held no talent in, I lost the trust of my advisers, citizens, and army alike. We began to finally lose the war between humanity. I never have told anyone, but I was purposely making poor decisions. Move the entire force of this camp here, Guard this area of \"High Importance\", or ordering full retreats of battles we were winning. I wanted as little deaths as posable, for both sides. In the end, everyone with two stones within their head could see a clear, penetrating path, straight to our Capital. Finally my plan was beginning to turn its gears.\n\nOn the day of the Humanities army came, I escaped the fortress I was held in. Leaving a note behind explaining I will stop the Humans, and if I didn't return, I would most likely be dead. And I camped, right in the middle of the road the army just so happened to be marching on. Waiting for them.\n\nThey came of course, with the same figures I seen in our books and my visions alike. I knew who would be leading the armies, Heroes, and their supposed strengths. I was planning on putting up a fight, pulling a few traps out, and one big final blast, only hurting them, but \"killing\" me. It took months to devise a spell that would transfer me away, and explode at the same time. I was wearing the weakest, but most glamorous armour I could acquire. The Shells of the Deceiving Turtle, a suit I made myself. The Deceiving Turtle was more of a joke than anything. Its shell like butter, and its skin like metal. The Cloak of Perpetual Motion, which moved by its self, more of a prototype rather than anything. And the Spectacles of Everlasting Truth. Which showed me, not only my information, but the true information of enemies. I also held a Healing Mace, which was a oddity forged by a crazy blacksmith with a sense of goodness. I was ready to lose this fight, with a smile.\n\nThey walked over the gentle slope with close observations around them, and noticed my large, by comparison, figure. I sat on the ground, next to my long dead fire, half asleep when I finally sensed them staring at me. I slowly rose, did a quick stretch and walked up to them with my mace in hand.\n\n\"Who goes there! Explain yourself Demon!\", The Woman in front of the small leading group demanded.\n\"I am Echallest! The King of the Evolian Empire! Fear me or not, I stand before you!\" I declared with the closest voice of Father I could muster up.\nIt took a few breaths before they reacted. Most of the group formed into combat positions, and the Woman stood her ground.\n\"Surly you jest demon! No King would enter a fight alone!\"\n\"True, but I am no simple King! I hold the power of the entire Evolian Empire behind me!\"\n\"Even if your name is true, we will not fall for such lies!\"\n\"So be it! But I will not move! For you Humans are killing my citizens! And plan on destroying my Empire! I stand to fight, here and now!\" My voice boomed these words into the forest.\n\"A fight is what you desire?! SO BE IT! CHARGE THE ENEMY\"\nI smiled, this is what I wanted after all, I was ready to leave my country behind and live my own life. But it is never so simple.\n\nI counted thirteen arrows, all embedded with different magics, moving towards me. Only that they were slow, not even that, I could see them moving ever so slowly closer to me. I step out of the way, thinking that that was a distraction to the real attack, but it was not. The Woman drew her sword, as I moved forward, and then I saw it. Level 14. This was the level of their \"hero\"? In the Fortress I was used to observing even the smallest of beings being in the hundreds, and that was considered weak! Grandfather was one of the greatest existences in history, the first to reach Level 10,000. Our commanders were all over Level 5,000, and they were having difficulty with these puny human heroes?! I held the sad level of 127, Lowest within the Fortress, but nearly ten times the level of the Woman in front of me.\n\nDumbfounded, I look around to the rest of the group. Level 11. Level 19. Level 13. Their highest being Level 23. and lowest was a abysmal Level 8. I Laughed. The first time I honestly laughed in years, it came from my heart and soul, and not a polite laugh in any respect. But they still tried to hurt me. The Woman's sword Inching towards my armour, and reflecting off of it! She visibly recoiled from the hit, and lagged back a few snail paced steps. More arrows began to slide at me, and there was a Mage in the back, preparing a spell. I looked at the woman and swung my mace at her. While the hit healed her, it also flung her body into the tree one of the archers was in, with such force that the man fell out, concussing himself. She went limp, but was raggedly breathing. Only one arrow has hit my so far, and it only sunk into my armour to the tip. A small burst of fire sparked from it, not affecting me or my health. Looking around, I see the Mage has threw the spell at me, A ball of fire as big as my head. What could I suspect from a Level 13. I let it hit my face, like a warm breeze in a open field. Then the road went silent.\n\n\"W-w-what the h-h-h-hell are you?!?\" Asked the Male Vanguard standing next to me. \n\"I am Echallest,\" I thought only for a second before I spoke again \"Enchanted only for a short time, I hope to defeat you!\"", "My lair lay in ruins.\n\n\nFire licked up the walls of the medieval castle that I had made my home. The complex computer array was sparking, shorted out when the auto-turrets and robotic minions it controlled had been destroyed in bursts of electricity and fire. The single monitor remaining showed me the four heroes sprinting down the\n hallway to my inner sanctum, ready to smash through the door and destroy once and for all Professor Automaton, the world’s deadliest super villain!\n\n\nI sighed and looked down at the clock display on one of my mechanical arms. 20 minutes since the initial assault began. Jesus, they were really dragging this one out. I mean seriously, I’d set every single defensive system to self destruct the moment one of them landed a blow, but it had still taken them 14 minutes\n to “destroy” the last turret. My working theory was that it was because of the time it took to work out the perfect “witty” line before and after each attack. But maybe it was just because they all sucked.\n\n\nI groaned as I watched the squad of adventurers pause just outside the door, entering into a quick huddle to make a game plan and engage in a general circle-jerk about how great they all are. God, they were absolutely determined to make this as agonizing as possible for me. I could have read their lips on the monitor to understand what they were saying, but honestly, what was the point. They were whispering so loud that I could hear every other word through the door anyway. “Remember,” I heard the arrow guy declare, “our real power is friendship!” It was all just so unprofessional. Also, an archer? Coming up against me? Every part of me that I hadn’t replaced with metal after the accident was covered in titanium that could stop a tank shell, not to mention the force field that I threw in for redundancy.\n\n\nTo kill time while I waited I ran through my plan’s checklist one more time. Mechanical left leg loosened so that it would remain behind as proof of my “death” after the battle: check. Rigged explosion in the floor: set. Trapdoor to the tunnel that led into the mountains: fully concealed and ready. Bionic arms in their machine gun settings with special blanks loaded: good to go. My eyes lingered on the “climbing hook” setting on my arm displays. I smiled a little. Yeah, I had gone a little off the rails after the accident. But building the hooks had helped me get back into the old hobby. And it had calmed down enough to make me look forward to my ending my villainous reign.\n\n\nI noticed that the heroes were bunching up to make the attack. “Time to put on a show” I thought, as I twitched my cape, artfully burned, into place. They burst through the door in an unorganized mass. I mean come on, spread out a little, how hard is that? If I’d been firing real bullets I would have cut down all four of them in seconds. None of them were even slightly bulletproof! I studied them as they scrambled behind the large piles of rubble that I had conveniently arranged around the door. There was the leader, arrow guy, who fired arrows and absolutely horrible one liners. Behind him was lightning girl, who could conjure up an electrical storm with as much power as those static shocks you get when touch a doorknob after rubbing your feet on the carpet. Diving past her was stretchy guy, who could stretch his limbs slightly farther than his normal reach. And bringing up the rear was arrow guy’s understudy, sidekick, (and possible victim of childhood molestation), Boomerang Boy, the only person to ever choose a more useless weapon than arrow guy. They all had\n names but I really didn’t care to bother learning them, they were just too ridiculous. (Except for Boomerang Boy. That was his actual code name.)\n\n\nI cackled manically as I kept up the fake gunfire from my wrists. “You’ll never defeat me do-gooders!” Bad movie-villain lines, I’d never used them against any other heroes I’d gone up against, but you really had to spoon-feed it to these dipshits. “Don’t give up, Wonder Friends!” I heard the arrow guy shout, “Give it all you got!” With that he stood up and fired off an arrow towards my chest. “This is it” I thought. “I just need him to hit me to set off the explosion and I’m out of the business for good.” My anticipation turned to bewilderment as the arrow, fired\n from less than 10 feet away, sailed past me to sink into the wall with a thunk. Seriously?\n\n\n“I’ve got him!” the stretchy guy cried as he swung an elongated fist at my head. I watched incredulously as it whooshed by a solid foot from my face. “We can do this” lightning girl shrieked, throwing a ball of static electricity that landed somewhere off to my left. This was unbelievable. They had to touch me, literally just touch me, and I could pretend that my internal core had overheated and destroyed me. How, how could they be this horrible?\n\n\nFinally, Boomerang Boy stood up. “For my parents!” He screeched, and wound back his right arm, gripping his namesake weapon tightly. I paused a little at that. I’d had nothing to do with his parents’ demise. Actually, come to think of it, I was pretty sure they were still alive. He whipped his hand down, and the boomerang flew in my direction. Time seemed to slow. Even then, I hesitated to carry out my plan. My villainous reputation was gonna take a pretty big hit as was, with my downfall at the hands of this band of rejects and jokers. Being taken out by this kid was almost too much to bear. But my mind conjured up the smell of fresh mountain air, the feeling of triumph as I muscled myself over a tough patch of nearly bare rock. I let the slightest smile touch my lips as I felt the boomerang whack feebly into my chestplate, and triggered the explosion that took me to my well deserved retirement.\n\n\n" ]	2
	[WP] You find a box at your doorstep with a doll in it. Next to it is a note that reads "This is your voodoo doll. You can't destroy him without hurting yourself. Take care of him."	[ "As I wrote I realized I needed my protagonist to discover the true nature of the doll himself, rather than being told - please forgive this adaptation of your great prompt, OP. Warning: My post contains coarse language. \n\n*\n\n“Thanks,” I was saying to the bank teller, shakily, as I clutched the edge of the counter. Please, I thought. Please don’t ask me any more questions. \n\n“Didn’t I just see you here this morning?” she asked, her eyes quizzical.\n\n“Yes,” I croaked, trying to still my torso from the shivering convulsions which racked my body. “I, ah, um, forgot I needed something super important in the safe deposit box.”\n\n“Oh,” she said, looking me up and down, concern written all over her face. “You look a bit distraught about it, to be honest. Sure you’re all right?”\n\n“I’ll be fine,” I said, tucking my freezing hands under my arms. “I’ll feel better after I get what I came for.” \n\n“Sure,” she said, nodding to me. “Well, then.”\n\nShe handed off the teller station to her coworker, then disappeared into a back room where it seemed to take an eternity for her to reappear with the key. I followed her down a labyrinthine corridor. Was it my imagination, or did we turn left three times, then right three times? Wouldn't that mean the passageway just doubled back on itself? My senses must be playing tricks on me, I thought. I was literally going crazy; it wasn't a misplaced fear, but it was actually happening. Shit. \n\n“Here we are,” said the bank teller, swinging open the armored door. She handed me the key to my bank box. “I’ll be right outside,” she said.\n\nMy frozen fingers could barely hold the key as I fumbled at the lock, and my lungs felt as though they contained no air whatsoever. As I slid open the safe deposit box, I inhaled deeply, as if for the first time in hours. “Oh,” I gasped. And as I stared at the miniature version of myself, identically clothed in the black jeans, white shirt, and red Chuck Taylors I wore that day, I swear I saw an expression of relief pass over the doll’s inert eyes, brown like my own, and its freckled skin flushed pink.\n\n“Fuck,” I cursed, fumbling with the bank box. I nearly dropped it. Then I collapsed to my knees, as my back registered the sensation of slamming against hard metal. I winced, and tried to contain my audible expressions of pain. \n\n“Still all right in there?” Called out the teller.\n\n“I’m great,” I wheezed, as loudly as I could. “Be right out in a minute.”\n\n\n\n“Dave,” I was pleading into the phone, sitting on a bench outside the bank, the evil simulacra of myself nestled under my jacket. “Dave, buddy. Fuck, I need help.” \n\n“What’s wrong, Mikey?” Dave replied, sounding not at all concerned. “Still nursing that birthday hangover?”\n\n“No,” I said, curtly. “It’s that gift you gave me. I don’t know what kind of fucking deal with the devil you made with someone, but it’s freaking me out. I want you to take it back.”\n\n“Slow down,” laughed Dave. “I knew it would mess with your head, seeing mini-you in the flesh. But you are taking this waaaaay too seriously. You need to come off of whatever you’re taking. Isn’t it better than finding out your latest sidepiece is knocked up with the real thing?”\n\n“You don’t get it,” I said, wiping my sweating palm against my jeans, and then switching the phone to my other ear. “I tried to lock it in a safe at the bank.”\n\n“You…what?” laughed Dave. “Oh my God. Why’d you do that?”\n\n“This sounds crazy,” I muttered into the phone. “At first I thought I was just too drunk to know what was happening, and when I opened the box and picked it up, it felt like something was digging into my skin. Obviously that couldn't be happening, and I was just drunk out of my mind, and probably tripping on how freaky it was, the fucking doll version of myself, which you had to give to me at the fucking bar in front of all the guys. Some sick sense of humor you have. But this morning, I was looking at the thing, and it was so goddamned creepy, the fact that it looked so much like me, it made me sick. So I tossed it across the room, and I swear to you,” I said, lowering my voice to a whisper. “I swear, Dave, it felt like I’d broken my own back when it hit the ground.”\n\nDave was silent. “Mikey,” he said, slowly. “Mikey, bro. You need to get over here. I don’t know what the fuck is going on in your head, but this shit ain’t normal.”\n\n“Yeah,” I said, trembling. An older woman looked at me sympathetically as she passed by and I scowled at her, hoping she’d leave me alone. “You’re right. I’m literally going insane, aren’t I? Fuck. I’ll drive right over. And then you’ll probably have to take me to the psych ward.”\n\n“Sure you’re all right to drive?” inquired Dave. \n\n“I got here just fine,” I said, “and there’s no way I’m carting a doll around on the public bus.”\n\nDave snorted. “While that would be a hilarious sight to see,” he said, “I’m worried about you. See you soon.”\n\n** \n", "The solitary knock on the door roused me from the semi-conscious petting of the cat and the staring at the flickering images on the TV. It was a struggle to get up. The only knock to strike that particular door would be a mailman with a mistake or an electric company employee with a cut-off notice. So I hesitated while waiting for another knock with the comforting rumble of the purring cat against my lap. \n\nI let the cat fall from my lap with a disgruntled meow and the pitiful thought in my head that perhaps someone cared enough to put knuckles to my door. As I opened it and saw the emptiness outside, I felt no disappointment, but reassurance in my knowledge that nobody cared.\n\nI let go of the door to allow its own closure, but caught glimpse of the figure resting at the doorstep. I held the door. It was a doll. A small doll with oddly the same features of my own. Beside that doll read a note: This is your Voodoo doll. You can't destroy him without hurting yourself. Take care of him.\n\nMy initial reaction was to close the door and ignore the random intrusion. I had many solicitors knock on the door with solitary knocks or rapid peterings, and their messages were always the same hopeful exuberances of salvation and hope. Each of their messages remained on that doorstep before turning around and going to the neighbor. I supposed that a voodoo doll lacked the mechanation to propel itself to the next porch, so I stooped and picked the little figure from its rest.\n\nAs I held the little cloth doll in my hands, I looked into its eyes and saw the sadness which dwelled within my own. They were soul-less. More so than one would even expect from a doll. Like the blackened eyes of a shark except lacking any vitality or menace. Instead there was only consuming darkness and nothing. What a sad way to gain followers to a religion, leaving a depressing doll upon a doorstep.\n\nI made my way to the kitchen and prepared to send the doll upon its way to the waste. Once again, there was hesitation. Not a hesitation of dread that some magical curse might befall me, but a hope that perhaps the little doll fashioned in my likeness might offer the key to salvation.\n\nSome might have given it a dollar in hopes of gaining a hundred. Some might have enticed it with sweets to gain its favor. Some might have even given the little burlap sack an unlimited supply of pornography to launch their own vitality to greatness.\n\nI threw it in the oven and applied the gas.\n\nMaybe the little beast would suffocate and bring me blissful sleep. Maybe it would end the suffering of having nobody to knock upon my door. Maybe. Maybe it would walk with me to the afterlife as my own canvas companion waltzing down the yellowed brick of death.\n\nI felt myself growing tired and went to rest upon the couch. Flickering images flashed across the screen, and the doll lay stilled upon the grate. I closed my eyes and slept.", "“This is your voodoo doll.”\n \nI always thought voodoo dolls to be, well, creepier than this. I expected them to either be hanging from a hook or sitting on a rickety old desk in the lair of some witch/shaman, maybe with a few threads sticking out after being frayed over a lifetime of use. Maybe with some needles sticking into it somewhere. Not….not this.\n \nIt was mysterious, that’s for sure. I was right in the middle of vacuuming the living room carpet, and suddenly there were three quick raps on the front door, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps fading into the silence. My initial reaction was that of annoyance - really? Do kids still play knock-n-go or whatever they call it nowadays? I thought those times were past - now kids were more content with staring at their screens and playing their mobile games, something that even I was guilty of. \n \nStill, I went to the door. I was annoyed, but I was curious if I could still spot the pesky little fella perhaps hiding the nearby pillar. Then maybe I’ll wave and say hi, then tell him not to annoy me again. \n \nAnd I found this note, lying on top of a doll, which was placed right in the centre of a cardboard box. \n \nWhoever did this, sucked at presentation. \n \nFor goodness’ sake, who uses Comic Sans? That font exists just to prevent other people from designing similar fonts again. \n \nThe doll did look a little like me though. Sure, the eyes were just black dots, the mouth was just a horizontal line drawn across the face, and there wasn’t a nose - but looking at it reminded me of my own normally blank face in the mirror, totally devoid of any expression. I mean, studying in the day and working at night leaves you with little time for any emotions, so expressionless was pretty much my only expression. \n \nThe doll was clad in a totally grey outfit. A grey shirt, and a pair of grey pants. Kinda throwing it in my face at this point. Yeah, I get it, I was totally devoid of personality or soul. Yeah, I exist only to pay bills and taxes. Oh, and I happen to be wearing grey shirt and pants - and most of my wardrobe consists of grey outfits as well. Which wasn’t hard to do, considering that it comprises only six shirts and four pants. \n \nHey, same hairstyle too. But then again….my undercut hairstyle was very common anyways. It was so in style - is it still in style now? I don’t really know - I just did it because I honestly couldn’t care less about what my hair looks like. I just didn’t want to be bald. \n \nThe only thing remotely interesting was….the small little line at the back of the doll’s head, which resembled the scar at the back of my head. I got it when I fell down headfirst from the second floor years ago - couldn’t really remember why or how I fell down. The scar was an incision that the surgeon made, to stop the haemorrhage inside my skull, and that incision couldn’t grow any hair any more, so there’s that. Funny then, that the line on the doll’s head had almost the exact same curvature and proportion.\n \nThe cardboard box was just repulsive. Soggy in one corner, falling apart in the other corner, torn and tattered at the remaining ends. I could tell that it was once a box, carelessly cut in half by probably a blunt and rusty knife. I didn’t know what was the soggy part soaked in, and I didn’t want to find out. I wanted to wash my hands already.\n \nThis must be a prank. \n \nSomeone must have been watching me for ages, noting down every notable characteristic that I had, and putting it on this doll. I had no idea why they would watch me - I wasn’t really interesting in any way. I was devoid of emotion, fashionable outfits, and had a ubiquitous hairstyle. To be honest, I wanted to commend this person on the disproportionate amount of effort that he put in just to note down my traits, for this meaningless prank on this jaded person.\n \n“Yung, any rubbish?” My mum stepped out of the kitchen and yelled at me, holding a full but untied trash bag in one hand.\t\n \nWithout a second thought, I crunched the cardboard box and the note around the doll, and let it fly. She caught it deftly with the bag. \n \nAhhhh….shit. I touched the soggy part. Ewwwww.\n \nThere was some wet feeling round my legs too, although I didn’t remember any liquid landing on them. \n \nNever mind that. I needed to wash my hands now. I made my way to the kitchen sink, wringing my hands in disgust. Dammit….my fingers were coated with some sticky, transparent muck. The prankster must have fished that cardboard out of some squatter’s collection. \n \nOkay, at least the soap could get rid of it. It was satisfying, to watch it slip off my fingers. \n \nBut I’ve got some vacuuming to finish. I turned right round and almost bumped into my mum, who had just flung the bag down the rubbish chute. She gave an annoyed “hrrrmmph!!” followed by an indignant grumble “clumsy boy!”\n \nI’ve grown used to her jibes by now - Fuck!\n \nFUCK! FUCK! FUCK!\n \nI collapsed to the floor, clutching my shins. I had ignored the wet feeling - now it was joined by an inexplicable excruciating pain. It stemmed from my feet, cutting through the ankles deep into my shinbones. Feels like it’s broken.\n \nBut it’s not!! There’s nothing wrong on the outside - no red patches, no odd bumps, no blood. My muscles - and bone - seemed intact.\n \nJust pure agony, which was quickly enveloping both of my legs, quickly enveloping me.\n \nFuck.\n \nThe doll.\n \nIt went down the rubbish chute.\n \nDown ten fucking floors.\n\nI've....I've got to get it back.\n\nMore at r/N_attempts_to_write :-)\n" ]	3
	[WP] Heaven is nothing like you expected, angels rule and God is in chains.	[ "I blinked my eyes open. The first thing I noticed was the pain, or rather the absence of it. I had lived with the pain for so long, and now it was suddenly gone and I was relieved. The next thing I noticed was the great gate before me, and that’s when I knew what had happened.\n\n“I died,” I said aloud.\n\n“Correct,” said a voice from behind me.\n\nI turned, moving quicker than I had in years. There stood a man, or what looked like a man, dressed in white robes and a pair of folded wings sprouting from his back. The angel wore a silver band on his head that had engraved lettering. I had never seen it before, but I instantly knew the lettering was Sumerian and that together they meant ‘Guide’.\n\n“Raymond Albert Fitzgerald?” the angel asked, looking at a piece of parchment in his hand.\nI nodded. \n\n“Good,” the angel said with a smile. He made a small annotation on the parchment and it disappeared. “I am to be your guide through the afterlife. Please, follow me.”\n\nI trailed behind the angel, slowly at first then quicker as I realized my muscles could keep up easily. We walked through the bright gates together, which swung open without a whisper. You know how Heaven is always depicted as being in and among the clouds? I had always thought that was an odd image, given that Heaven is supposed to be above all that. I was right of course, Heaven isn’t in the clouds. The reality was far more breathtaking. I was walking on pure light like from a thousand stars. Overhead I could see a multitude of stars shining brilliantly against a dark backdrop, and below me the light was so intense I could only look at it for a few moments.\n\n“You’ll get used to that,” the angel said from in front of me. “The light of the Heaven Star is blinding at first, but all who live here become accustomed to its brightness in due time.”\n\n“The Heaven Star?” I asked. I had gone to church almost every Sunday when I was young. In my advanced age, it had become more and more difficult to make it to mass, but I’d always ask some of the other folks how the sermon was. In all that time, I’d never heard of a Heaven Star.\n\n“Yes,” the angel replied. He stopped and gestured to the ground. “Heaven rests on something like a star, far above and beyond all things. It is why the light is so bright, but don’t worry, we aren’t actually on a real star. That always seems to disturb people at the beginning.”\n\nI nodded. “Oh.” Nothing else really seemed sufficient in response to that bit of information.\n\n“Anyway,” the angel said as he turned around. “Let’s keep going.” \n\n“A lot to see and all eternity to see it in, right?” I said with a smile. The angel turned around and returned the smile, though it seemed forced. Could an angel even force a smile? I shrugged inwardly. Maybe they just didn’t get those kinds of references.\n\nBecause the ground was so bright, I couldn’t see through the glare well enough to make out any details. There seemed to be buildings scattered around, all made of a silver-white material that reflected the light of the star. I saw some statues too, though I couldn’t make out any details. The most breathtaking of all sights though was the angels. Of course my guide was impressive too, but the sight of hundreds of angels flying through the air and walking through the light was awe-inspiring. \n\n“This place is beautiful,” I whispered. My guide didn’t reply. \n\nWe continued to walk and I kept straining my eyes through the glare. Thankfully, I knew that in Heaven I wouldn’t acquire a headache from all the squinting.\n\n“You’ll want to step through here,” the angel said, stopping suddenly.\n\nHe gestured to a door set in one of the buildings, one much larger than the rest. There wasn’t anything written on it, Sumerian or otherwise. “What’s in there?” I asked.\n\nThe angel shook his head. “That is not something I can tell you. It is something you must see for yourself, which will shape the rest of your afterlife.” \n\nWell that seemed a little foreboding. But maybe I would get to pick out what color robe I wore or something, add a little personal charm to my eternity.\n\nI grasped the handle and opened the door. Just like the gate, it made no sound as I stepped inside. The light in the building was still bright, but dimmed slightly so I could see where I was going. No one was inside, so I immediately began walking down the single hallway that seemed to lead through the entire building. I don’t know how long I walked on that single pathway. There was nothing around me other than the white walls and the white floor, but I was sure I’d been walking for much longer than the actual length of the building I’d seen. I was about to call out, see if someone would appear if I asked, when I noticed the end of the hallway. \n\nWell, it wasn’t actually an end. It was just a different beginning. The silvery white light faded away, replaced by lush shades of green. The blank walls began to take on the texture and color of living trees, and as I looked up I saw the sky with the sun and clouds as opposed to the white ceiling. The hallway suddenly ended and spread out into a great open garden. I stood with my mouth agape.\nWhereas the brilliance of Heaven had been beautiful, it seemed stark compared to the living things that were now before me. Trees taller than buildings and flowers in colors and shapes I had never seen before grew everywhere. A dirt path, worn clear by hundreds of thousands of feet, replaced the white hallway.\n\n_____\nContinued in comments", "\tThis is the moment I’ve been waiting for as long as I can remember. The promised land. This is what we have been told is what makes life worth it, what we have been working up to our entire lives. Every action dictated by whether or not it would interfere with us getting here to these pearly gates. When the rapture came I was ready. Unlike the non-believers, I have always known it was coming and I wanted it to happen. I have lived my life as if the rapture would happen at the drop of a hat and in the end it did. There was nothing special about the day the rapture cam. Nothing special happened just before it to signal it was coming. Things just existed and then they didn’t. Looking around, I see no one else here which means I was the only true believer. Not surprising considering the horrid atheists that dominant life these days. Not that it matters, I shouldn’t waste my time thinking about those people anymore because they don’t exist now. They got their comeuppance and it was that they didn’t get to heaven. The beautiful, ornate gates swing open and I am beckoned into heaven finally. \n\n\tMusic plays as I walk through the gates and I begin to cry at the beauty of the place. It is exactly as it is always portrayed, full of white fluffy clouds, everything white with tinges of gold. I feel the overwhelming urge to pray and rather than having to find somewhere private like I used to have to do, I know I am free to drop to my knees where I stand and pray aloud. “Dear God, thank you for this honour you have bestowed upon me. I am eternally grateful to be welcomed into your hallowed kingdom and I know I will be at eternal peace here.” I smile, pleased with how that prayer went, it definitely felt like one of my better ones. I take in a deep breath with my eyes closed, simply basking in the glory of where I am. As I begin to stand, I swear I can hear laughter but looking around I can’t see anyone. I continue to follow the path, beginning to wonder where everyone else is. I know that there was a lot of nonbelievers on earth but here in heaven, surely there is more than just me. I am hesitant to call out and break the serenity and tranquility of the place but as I continue on and still meet no one else I find that I can’t help myself. “Excuse me, is there anyone here?” I ask, but I am met by only silence. “Hello?” I ask again, louder this time but still there is no answer. I clamp down on the worry beginning to bubble in my chest, this is heaven and I have no worries or problems here. \n\n\tThere is that laughter again, distinctly to my left this time and I run towards the sound calling out as I go “hello? Please if someone is there can you tell me? I have only just arrived!” I begin to wonder is this some sort of lovely game of hide and seek the angels are playing that I have walked to the middle of and maybe they don’t know that I am new and genuinely lost. The thought brings me comfort and I slow to a walk, feeling less panicked now. I look around me as I walk, partially searching for someone, partially just taking in the surroundings of my new home. In the distance, I catch sight of people dancing in a circle together. They are all dressed in white and look so happy that I laugh out loud in joy. This is a wondrous place and I am so blessed to be part of it. I hurry in the direction of the dancing, eager to join in the festivities of the rapture. Everywhere has been cleansed and we are free of the nonbelievers, it is time to rejoice! Filled with such happiness, I skip towards the clearing. \n\n\tAs I get closer to the celebrations, I hear sweet music and that laughter that I heard earlier. It must have carried over to the entrance. A bad thought bubbles up when I think of how inconsiderate it was for no one to be there for me when I arrived but I squash it before it has time to take hold. I refuse to let anything spoil this experience. The clearing is much further than I expected it to be and when I finally arrive I am breathless. Clumsily, I burst into the clearing and the music stops abruptly. Everyone has stopped dancing and instead, are simply staring at me. Feeling less sure of myself now than when I came in, I am unsure of what to do. Swallowing hard, I smile and wave, hoping someone will say something but instead they all simply continue to stare at me. The smile begins to falter on my face as I continue to stand there, unsure of myself. Initially I thought these people were angels but from looking at their appearance more closely, I think they are more akin to others like me who are here now since the rapture came. They have no halos and their white garbs resemble those I find myself in. “Are you also saved from the rapture? Is that why you were dancing?” I ask happily, hoping maybe I can put them at ease too. They’re probably just nervousness at the appearance of someone new. Instead of an answer, they look at each and start to laugh. At this point my smile is completely gone but thankfully a voice calls out from behind me. “The rapture? What is this crazy woman spouting can anyone tell me?” my supposed saviour says. I turn, confused, and drop to my knees in terror as I see who is standing there. It is Lucifer himself standing before me. “Hello, love,” he says, “welcome to heaven!” He begins to cackle. \n\n\tCrossing myself frantically, I begin to pray for my soul, wondering what fresh hell I have gotten into. I begin to cry as I realise that I haven’t been saved from the rapture but must have instead been left to burn like everyone else. I wrack my brain, trying to think of where my mistake was in life, trying to think of what I must have done wrong to deserve this punishment. My tears begin to turn into sobs and before I know what’s happening, I’m wailing into the soil with my head on the ground. I feel a slight kick to my head and hear “hey, you alright there love? You were spouting some crazy shit about the rapture?’ I realise that it now looks like I am worshipping Satan himself, bowed at his feet and I quickly get up to get away from him, disgusted. “How dare you trick me like this and tell me this is heaven when your domain is hell and you would never be allowed here?” I spit the words about him. He just throws his head back and laughs. “Oh that is where you’re wrong. Us angels got sick of Mr High and Mighty himself making this whole gig a dictatorship. I was alright down below, he couldn’t interfere with me, but these guys up here were constantly dealing with his mood swings and pent up rage. The Old Testament vindictive god is truer to the real god than this love thy neighbour shit you started spouting on earth. Not that it matters anymore because heaven is now under new management.”\n\n\t", "It was awfully clear on hindsight. \n\nThe wickedly handsome man who frequented my favourite cafe - always alone like I was - was the same police officer who had shot that crazy old man six years ago. \n\nThe same man was my mayor, my boss for a brief period, my lover for an intoxicated night and maybe more.\n\nI met this man in heaven, his traces were everywhere and irresistible. \n\nWhen first I opened my eyes, I saw only the gentle warm light. It was a light that I had fallen asleep under, and I only awoke when I was meant to. \n\n\"Welcome to Heaven,\" a fairy tinged with the green of vines and life greeted with a smile as she danced on slivers of nothing. \n\nShe giggled to my first words (\"I'm dead?\") and told me they were typical. My senses lit up when her fingers touched my wrist as she led me through the vast gates. But even as I let her lead me on, I could not help but wonder why such wide gates were needed in heaven. \n\n\"For our holy army to march through, of course,\" she replied my unasked question, laughed like it was funny. \n\nIt was then that I recalled the man who had been silently lurking in parts of my life, he once laughed like she had. \n\nThe clarity of the skies gave us a grand view of the myriad of stars and interstellar civilisations. At first glance, I caught a budding intelligence, all sparkly and foolish, and three long-dead ones, all grey and dry. \n\n\"Of course, heaven is closer to the stars. But before we get there, there are domestic matters to be attended to.\"\n\nBefore we get there? What for?\n\nShe was silent while my questions burned. \n\nShe danced her way through an elaborate tour of the beautiful architecture, the blissfully dead and the dancing angels. But all I could focus on were traces of the man: a smirk, tapping his shoes against the grand marble, brushing hair behind her ears, an almost erotic intake of breath that ended in an indulgent sigh. \n\nI remembered his name.\n\nThe fairy took me to \"domestic affairs\", the final stop in our tour and \"the reason why we continue to valiantly fight\".\n\nHe might have shielded the entire sky from sight, a being of either pure light or rippling muscle, magnificent even in chains made up of human-sized links. \n\nA profound depth of sorrow marred this magnificence and his jaw was tense with gritted teeth, like he was enduring pain. \n\nHis eyes bore into me like he saw everything, the plea that plagued him felt absurdly wrong. \n\nI recalled the name of the man in my cafe. The barista had called him Stan. \n\nI met him in Heaven, but not as a person. He was the Shadow of all things here and on Earth. \n\n---\n\nCheck out other prompt-inspired stories on my site, [Fivens](https://fivenswrite.wordpress.com)! All feedback welcome!\n\n" ]	3
	[WP] After shaking a snowglobe for your child, she asks you, what's that sound? You listen closely, it's really faint shouting. You look closer, there's tiny people inside.	[ " Confusion and shock take me, I dont know whether to hide this or go live on FB. My daughter's 8, she can definitely read my facial expressions.\n\n\"What is it!\" She says with a spark of curiosity in her eyes.\nI see it, she cant hide anything from me so I quickly go \"hmmm\" carefully tilting the globe pretending to find a fault... \"It's the music box\". \n\n I had to think of someothing quick. Without a moment to haste I continue to walk out the room hiding the haste. Turn off the lights and and hope she doesn't wake up until the next morning. I was always quick witted and would take things apart whether i knew how to put it together or not. My daughter's that, plus shes adorable. So that little devil MUST NEVER figure this out. It's times like these I wish I never taught her so much but I'm boasting. I knew I never needed anyone but myself to raise her and shes proof of that everyday.\n\nI go to the basement, the room past all the old cobwebs will be enough protection. Time to get to work. I grab my old headphones, those white apple ones and plug them into my computer. Luckily the globe had a music compartment on the side, I shove the microphone piece in there and open up garage band. Turn up the input, output and listen closer, I manage to get a better sound. But the only thing that keeps repeating in my head the entire time is \"what the f**k ??¿?!!!\"\n\n\n\n\n-[Idk y theres different fonts. But popcorn someone else to finish it]" ]	1
	[WP] Your a genie trying to figure out how to 'misinterpret' a dumb wish to prevent yourself and everyone on this planet from getting killed.	[ "\"I wish that everyone on Earth would just die!\" \n\nOkay, think. Think. This guy definitely has problems. I don't want to die. I don't want to kill everyone on Earth. How do I do it? Dye? Can I get away with making everyone on Earth dye some clothing? No. That's not a reasonable interpretation of how he phrased it. Can I claim to make everyone on Earth diet? No, he pronounced it pretty clearly. Damn. This could be bad. Do I give them the 'little death' and just cause an orgasm for everyone? He still has another wish though, and he'd just make it again but with stricter rules so I can't get out of it. Likewise, he doesn't know French, so I can't argue that he was going for the pun there. This is looking bad. Really bad. \n\nOh. I got it. \n\n\"Master, do they all have to die in the same manner?\"\n\n\"No, you can get creative. HEHEHEHEHEHEHE!\"\n\nPhew. Okay. First, I'm in the clear here. Next, this guy is fucked up and I am now totally okay with my next action. \n\nEveryone's heart stops briefly, just for a moment, and then it restarts. Except for one man. My master is dead. \n\nI stare at his corpse, still holding the bottle. He never specified that they had to remain dead, or gave a solid definition of dead. I think that having your heart stop momentarily is enough. I certainly caused some major harm to folks, and a few people probably did die as a result of the wish... but... hopefully the next guy to find my bottle isn't a psychopath. \n\nI really wish I could get a decent human being next time." ]	1
	[WP] With your last breath, you try to save a life.	[ "Immersed in the cacophony of battle, an old man runs. His tunic, white and blue and tattered along the hems, sways against his dirty cloth trousers as his staggering tired gait slowly takes him away from the action. Men, young and old, clatter into one another. Their throats erupt with guttural screams, primal battle cries, as they're baptised in the blood of their brethren. \n\nHe never was a fighter. \n\nLooking back, it was fate that he'd been gifted with magic. The blood made him ill. The swords were heavy and his eyes always closed when Warrad, his older brother, swung in his direction. His father's relief upon discovering his magical abilities was almost palpable. \n\n\"Incoming!\" A series of voices, neither speaking entirely together nor one at a time, warned. \n\nThe rock plummeted in direction of the old man. He stumbled, narrowly avoiding, and ultimately being knocked back by, the impact. In his chest, his old heart raced and reminded him of his early training, the way it felt to use his magic. \n\nThese days, magic was a dying art. Men like him, those who'd survived for centuries, kept their talents hidden for fear of being discovered and exploited. \n\n\"Foolish old man,\" a boy remarked, too young to be on the field of battle but stained red nonetheless. \"You'll die out here.\" His eyes were dark, his gaze determined. The old man smiled and laughed and kept on his way, steadily retreating. \n\n\"You've lived this long. It was stupid for you to leave home,\" the boy added with a shout just loud enough to be audible. He stood, head turned toward the man, with a posture so trained and rigid that the old man couldn't help but stare. \"You have purpose yet,\" the boy said, a wry smile tugging lopsided into his chapped lips. \n\nThe battle raged on. It took the man two weeks to navigate through the treacherous conditions that the long mountain range imposed and, much to his dismay, he was captured as soon as he met the safety of the basin. He was shakled and discarded to the back of a wagon. Several other prisoners were sat on the floor, nearly filling the small space, their eyes reflected the little remaining sunlight back at him as he took his place on the wooden ground. Through the cracks in the wagon walls, he watched, silent and sullen, as the misty purple and blue sky grew dark. The old man resigned to an uncomfortable sleep. \n\nCrash! \n\nThe sound of impact and the abrupt halt of the wagon awoke the man. It was dark. The glossy eyes of several recently awakened prisoners twinkled like stars in his direction. Before he could gather his bearings, the wagon shook violently, spilling the passengers toward the wall as they tumbled, uncontrolled, shouting in fear. \n\n\"Foolish old man,\" the boy said, his breath laboured. \n\nThe two made eye contact, illuminated only by the moonlight streaming through a large hole in the wagon, it shone brightly, offering the old man a glimpse of the black puddle of blood pooling beneath his head. \n\nHe couldn't move. Also limply on the ground, the boy sputtered a laugh. From his hands, a blue light glowed brilliantly, attracting the attention of the raiders. \n\n\"Foolish old man,\" he repeated, weakly, using the energy to quickly cut down the four men responsible for their suffering. \n\nWith his last breath, the man cast his healing spell. \"Rursa Vitalis,\" he gasped. The pool of blood grew steadily and began to soak the boy's hair. \n\nSmiling, the boy rose to his feet and laughed, \"Foolish old man.\"\n" ]	1
Can be funny or serious. No limits. May your pens and keyboards be prolific.	[WP] You were never very good at English. Of course, you find a genie who only grants perfectly grammatically correct wishes.	[ "A long time ago (2016), in a small village far, far away from any trace of civilisation (Saint-Étienne de Chigny) a young man was looking through the decrepit house of his grandmother. \n\nIn the attic of my grandmother i saw some kind of lamp, like in Aladdin. Well at least it's not another boxe full of nothing, it could make a nice decoration? Maybe? Well I wasn't sure, but at least something was correct in this mess. \n\nProblem is, when I touched the damn thing some kind of big blue guy showed up. \n\"MY NAME IS GRAMMAR AND I AM A GENIE\"\n\nI thought that my ears were exploding, what the fuck was that thing? Why did it have to yell so hard? \n\n\"Merde, mais tu vas la fermer, oui? J'ai cru que mes tympans allait exploser!!\"\n\nGrammar, what kind of name was that? Looked at me dumfounded.\n\n\"SPEAK IN A WAY I CAN UNDERSTAND MORTAL, FOR I QUITE LIKE ENGLISH, AND YOUR LANGUAGE IS UNKNOWN TO ME\".\n\nI was sure i was going to be deaf before he would shut up, thankfully i'm not that bad in english.\n\n\"Ok, ok ,ok. When you say génie you mean like, you grant wishes?\"\n\n\"YES, THREE TO BE EXACT\"\n\n\"Please stop yelling i'm just next to you\"\n\n^^\" ^^FIRST ^^WISH ^^GRANTED\"\n\nAnd just like that he came closer to me and yelled less loudly. \n\n\"What do you mean first wish granted? I didn't asked for anything !\"\n\n^^\" ^^YOU ^^ASKED ^^ME ^^TO ^^STOP ^^YELLING. ^^I ^^EXECUTED\"\n\nAnd here i was, with a stupid english génie who decided to be a shithead about it too. \n\n\"Well, i want 100 000 000 euros please?\"\n\n^^\" ^^SECOND ^^WISH ^^GRANTED\" \n\nNothing happenned.\n\n\"Where is the money?\" \n\n^^\" ^^ON ^^MARS, ^^THIRD ^^WISH ^^GRANTED\"\n\nAnd in a poof he disappeared. \n\n\"Je le savais que les rosbeefs s'étaient juste des enfoirés\"\n(traduction: I knew that the nice british people were not so very nice)\n\nedit: formating " ]	1
	[WP] A vampire comes to terms with the fact that his human girlfriend has been bitten by a mindless werewolf.	[ "(I changed the genders up, but here is my attempt. Also, I am typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry for any typos.)\n\nThe smell was the first sign. Patrick had come home from work and the whole house quickly smelled like... something distinctly not Patrick. Val sat up in bed, the sun having just set half an hour ago. \n\n\"Pat? What the hell?\" She headed into the entry hall, the odd scent becoming more and more clear. \"Did you bring home another dog, Patrick? We discussed this, no more-\" She froze. Patrick was leaned against the wall, gripping his arm tightly, as blood seeped through his fingers. He passed her a weak smile.\n\n\"I thought it was a stray... When I got got closer I realized it was way too big to be a dog.\" He explained, his voice barely louder than a whisper. Val broke out of her frozen stupor. \n\n\"For fucks sake, Patrick.\" She rushed to the bathroom, knowing they had a first aid kit somewhere. \"How did you not realize it was a werewolf? It's not like you've never met one!\" She finally found it, tucking under towels in the cabinet. She moved quickly back to Patrick's side, pulling out gauze and tape. Patrick peeled his shirt off to reveal the entirety of the wound. A large bite covered his bicep. Val wrinkled her nose as she worked.\n\n\"You smell terrible. God, why have you done this to me?\" She looked away for a moment, not disgusted or upset, just agitated. \"Do you know what this means? You'll turn into one of those mongrels and I'll have to start walking you around town. It'll look like I have a demon hound.\" She wrapped the medical tape around his arm tighter than necessary causing him to wince.\n\n\"Come on, Val, don't be mad. I already feel better. At least this will heal quickly as I turn.\" Val glanced up at Patrick's face. He did look better and his voice was stronger. The sheen of sweat on his face was still there, but it wasn't exactly going to just vanish. \n\nShe finished with his arm and leaned forward, giving him a kiss on the forehead. \"You stupid human. At least now we can live an eternity together.\" " ]	1
	[WP] The year 2053, we use a standardized tests to determine your occupation, wage, spouse, living conditions, etc. However, you found a way to cheat on it, despite excessive security measures.	[ "The air is still and thick in that room. Thick with hopes and fears and apprehension. Thirty youths, each freshly turned 18, sit in identical chairs at identical desks, scribbling with identical pencils upon identical tests. Each fill in little bubbles on a thick sheet of cardstock, frantically gazing back and forth from their thick testing booklet.\n\nTwo elderly men watch over them, ensuring no disruption of this vital test. It's in their interest as much as that of the youths in the room for a bright future.\n\nThis is literally the most important day in their lives.\n\nA test to determine everything about them. What their job would be. Where they would live. Even who they would marry. Each detail of their future would lend itself from this exam.\n\n\"TIME!\" Called out the old men in practiced uniformity.\n\n------------------------------\n\nSarah sat on ledge outside the testing center, not daring to pick up the tablet on her lap. She's shivering even though the sun shines down on a warm spring afternoon. She can help but hold back sobs even though she hasn't looked at the results yet, instantly available upon completion of the exam.\n\n\"Sarah?\" Comes a mousy voice from behind her. \"Are you okay?\" \n\nSarah turned and glanced at the young woman joining her. \"Hey Janie.\" Sarah didn't say anything else. In early school and Life Training, she had never been friendly to the mousy girl, though the mousy girl tried to be friends with everyone she met.\n\n\"Are you okay?\" Janie repeated, joining Sarah on the ledge.\n\n\"I'm scared, Janie.\" Sarah shivered, holding back a sob. \"I can't even look at them.\"\n\nJanie put her arm around Sarah's shoulder. \"It'll be okay, Sarah. Don't you think you did well? You're so smart!\"\n\nSarah shook her head and began to sob openly. Janie pulled her close, despite the other girl being a foot taller than her. Janie had already seen her own results.\n\n14/20 wage tier. Not rich but she would never lack for anything. She was destined to be a biochemist and the government had already aligned her with a university class schedule. She had even seen the man she was to marry, but they weren't scheduled to meet until they were both twenty-two.\n\n\"Hey, Sarah, are you alright?\"\n\nBoth glanced up at the new voice. Nicolas. A student who cared for little more than living the way he pleased, running around in the woods with a bow and knife, never caring for his future.\n\n\"Did you get bad results or something?\" He asked, rolling a piece of grass around with his fingers.\n\n\"I haven't seen them yet.\" She sobbed and Janie glanced up at Nicolas with a give me a hand here look.\n\n\"How about we look together, Sarah. Does that sound okay?\" Nicolas suggested.\n\nSarah nodded and Nicolas took her tablet. He activated the translucent glass sheet and took Sarah's hand to scan it. The results opened as soon as the tablet screen lit up.\n\nSarah began to cry even harder as she saw her life unfold before her. 7/20 wage tier. Living in the Outlands as a recycle girl for her entire life. Her life's mate was someone ten years her senior in a similar position, already with a record for habitual criminality.\n\n\"I don't want this.\" Sarah screamed, drawing the attention of several onlookers and crying even harder.\n\n\"So don't take it.\" Nicolas said, kicking at a bug with non-regulation boots. Probably foreign-made.\n\n\"Nicolas!\" Janie chided. \"No wonder you're so non-chalant. You probably are going to be a Voiceless with how little you care!\"\n\n\"Yup.\" Nicolas said, and sat down beside Sarah. \n\n\"What did you get, anyways?\" Janie asked and Nicolas shrugged. \"20/20.\"\n\nSarah gasped, as did Janie. Everyone within hearing stopped dead in their conversation and turned to face him.\n\n\"H-how?\" Janie asked the question that everyone was thinking.\n\n\"I don't know.\" Nicolas shrugged. \"I just put C as the answer for everything. It was a tip I saw on the internet from like fifty years ago.\"\n\n" ]	1
	[WP] Cuba invades Florida. The United States celebrates.	[ "The party was beautiful. The president had invited all the state governors to the White House to celebrate the news. Everyone was laughing, and drinking. Mostly drinking. \n\nThe governor of Florida walked to the head of the table in a huff. \"How can you just sit here? My constituents, citizens of the United States, are in danger, and you throw a party? Send in the Army, the Navy! Call the goddamned National Guard! Do something!\"\n\nThe Commander in Chief laughed.\n\n\"They don't stand a chance against Florida Man.\"" ]	1
	[Wp] You were given plot armor for your 18th birthday, one problem, you love getting in increasingly unbelievable situations to escape from.	[ "I got a... rather odd present for my 18th birthday. It's not tangible but they somehow managed to make it so, and then it enveloped me. That's not right, I possessed it, it was mine, but I had no way to touch it.\n\nIt was plot armor.\n\nNow the thing most people seem to forget about plot armor is that it doesn't just protect you from about every situation under the sun, no, it also attracts danger. Luckily plot armor also extends to those you care about, I suppose it's not only meant to protect your life, but your mind as well.\n\nGood thing, because I get dragged into all sorts of shit, and most of the time I only survive by the skin of my teeth. Plot armor might not make it seem like I'll survive, but it'll ensure it.\n\nBut uh, my latest predicament is quite the doozy. \n\nI may or may not have engaged someone in a life or death duel. Look, they're an asshole, okay? Plus I may as well test out my plot armor. It's swords at high noon, I don't know, he's a fucking weirdo as well, alright?\n\n\"Are you ready to duel, loser?\" There he is, screaming out his oh so clever lines.\n\n\"Yeah, whatever.\" I raise my rapier.\n\nHe raises his longsword. \n\nI charge in and dodge to the left as he cleaves downward in a way that might have cut me in half. He attempts to follow up with an upward slash, but I nimbly dodge, almost too nimbly, and plunge my blade straight through his knee.\n\nHe screams in agony as I barely bend back in time for his blade to narrowly miss my head, I kinda need it. The bend back turns into a backflip, I didn't know plot armor gave me super awesome flipping powers.\n\nHe tells and tries to get up, but his knee prevents him from doing anything other than kneel. \n\n\"Surrender!\" I yell, \"I'll let you go with just a lost knee.\"\n\n\"Never you bastard! I'll cut your head off!\"\n\nGod, really? With this macho aggressive bullshit? Whatever, time to finish him off.\n\nI charge in and deflect his last desperate attack and plunge my rapier straight through his heart. His eyes glaze over after a moment, but not before his blade enters my chest. Godamn it...\n\n---\n\nI awake in a white hospital room. Plot armor didn't stop me from getting stabbed but it did stop me from dying. Better than nothing I suppose. I'm gonna have a lot of fun with this.\n" ]	1
	[WP] During a tour of the Egyptian desert a Pyramid starts shaking violently and then stops, then shakes, and stops again.	[ "A thousand years ago, the Great Pyramid of Giza had gained sentience, along with all the other buildings, sculptures, and statues in the world, as well as the ability to be ambulatory. At the exact same time, all the humans and all other animals, for that matter, had simply disappeared.\n\nNo one in the new world was sure exactly how it had happened, or what had happened to the animals, including the humans, who had dominated the planet. The best theory had been formulated by a statue of Merlin who had formerly been immobile and lifeless in Sedona, Arizona. Merlin’s statue had theorized that some powerful magic user had accidentally transferred the life-force of all humans to the buildings, sculptures, and statues they built.\n\nGiza didn’t care how it happened. He was a very practical pyramid, despite the religious purposes he had been built for. He had suspected that he was in for an eternity of loneliness, but much to his pleasant surprise, he received visitors from all over the world on a regular basis. Today, he was entertaining a stone from Stonehenge, the Gateway Arch, a statue of the Buddha from Bhutan, and his best friend Flamingo, who was a sculpture made by Alexander Calder.\n\n“I hope you’re all enjoying your stay here!” Giza said cheerfully. “We have some of the most beautiful sand dunes on the planet. This area is called the Great Sand Sea, a 72,000 kilometer^2 desert covering –”\n\n“Never mind about that!” Gateway interrupted. “We didn’t come here to look at sand! Tell us about the ancient Egyptians! What were they like?”\n\nIf Giza had a face, it would be looking down at the sand. As it were, he merely cleared a nonexistent throat. “In point of fact, I have no memory of them. But from my readings, I understand that they held the sand dunes with a healthy respect and fear.”\n\nThe Buddha rolled his eyes. “There is no reason to fear the desert. There is no reason to fear anything. Only by achieving a state of perfect oneness can we –”\n\n“In fact, my friends,” Giza went on as if the Buddha had never spoken, “let me show you a sight that no one in our community has ever seen. Mr. Flamingo? Drumroll, please.”\n\nFlamingo dutifully produced a drumroll, although no one was entirely sure how he did it. Giza turned on his side so that his top point was pointing to a figure out in the desert. “Ta-da!” \n\n“I don’t see anything,” Stone said suspiciously. \n\n“I SAID TA-DA!” Giza shouted, and they could all see a camel out in the distance. “My friends, I present to you, a real live animal!”\n\n“Inconceivable!” Gateway said. \n\n“You keep using that word,” Giza said. “I’m not sure it means what –”\n\nThe Buddha smiled a smug smile. Frankly, it was more or less the same smile he always smiled, but smugger. “We are clearly blessed to have such a miracle among us. This is a sign that enlightenment is near. ” \n\nThe camel approached nearer, and it became clear that it was just another sculpture, albeit one who could be mistaken from a camel from a distance. “Hey, Giza, was I supposed to reveal myself yet?” the camel cried out in a distinct Canadian accent. \n\n“No, you idiot!” Flamingo shouted. “Stay back!” \n\nGiza ran towards the camel, but stopped in his tracks. \n\n“Are you all right?” Flamingo asked.\n\nGiza started shaking. At first, his guests thought it was a small tremor, probably caused by an earthquake, but it became quickly clear that something was horribly wrong. The shaking grew in intensity through every passing moment. It suddenly stopped, then started again, even worse than before. The Great Pyramid of Giza started spinning and when it stopped again, five humans stood before it. \n\nThey were clearly real people, three men and two women. The men were all bald and the women had their hair pulled back into a bun. All of them wore robes and carried a staff. \n\nA man wearing a crown stepped forward and slammed his staff into the sand. A wave of force erupted from the staff, sending Giza and his friends tumbling backwards. The camel was not so lucky; he broke into hundreds of pieces.\n\n“Oh, shit!” Stone said. “They’re back! I knew this would happen eventually! It was written in the stars!” \n\n“That is precisely correct, strangely talking stone,” the crown-wearing man said in a tongue that had not been spoken on Earth for thousands of years, yet all of them could understand. “We are back, and Earth is ours now. Now that the humans are gone, and with them, their stubbornness and obstinacy, the gods have returned to rule over the world that is rightfully ours!” \n\n“You know these guys?” Flamingo asked Giza.\n\nGiza got himself back to his normal position and sighed. “Yeah, I know these guys. Although some of them had different looking heads back then…”\n\nAnother of the men waved his staff and suddenly Giza and his friends were levitating in the air. “You insolent fools! We never should have chosen you to be our hideout while waiting for the humans to destroy themselves! Now kneel! Kneel before your true lords and masters, the gods! Kneel before Ra! Before Set, Isis, Sekhmet, and Anubis!” \n\n“Wait, is Osiris around?” the Buddha wondered. “I am such a big fan of him!” \n\n“Perhaps we should come up with a plan,” Flamingo suggested tentatively.\n\n“Way ahead of you, buddy,” Stone whispered. “The druids who built me, they imbued some seriously wicked magical powers in me. Just watch this!” \n\nThere was a flash of light and suddenly most of them were in Washington DC. The new Washington DC, that was to say. All of the original buildings had left already to the mega-cities big enough to house a collection of large buildings scattered around the world and, in some cases, under the sea. A number of sculptures of scientific innovators were even collaborating to return the space program and set up colonies on Mars; after all, sculptures and statues didn’t need to breathe.\n\nThe new Washington DC looked rather like the old one. To some, it would have seemed odd to have exact replicas – albeit non-sentient ones – of the sentient buildings, but the new inhabitants of Earth didn’t have the same morals as their human predecessors. Flamingo, Stone, and the Buddha stood before the Jefferson Memorial.\n\n“Flamingo!” a statue of Thomas Jefferson shouted, hurrying over to them. “There you are! When our magicians detected the surge of human magical activity in Egypt, we feared the very worst.”\n\n“You were right to fear the very worst,” Flamingo said gravely. “Those were not humans. They were gods, and if we do not act fast, they will destroy us. Stone already teleported Gateway and Giza to the nearest mega-city.”\n\nJefferson shook his head in dismay. “This is very distressing. My colleagues and I must discuss this in a group. Would you care to address the Council of Presidents, Mr. Flamingo?”\n\n“I would be most honored.”\n\nThey all walked away, or, in the case of Stone, levitated away, unaware of the gods watching them from the other side of the Potomac." ]	1
	[WP] You went back in time to the year 2004. You notice you got younger too, as if the last 13 years had been a dream. Everyone that was alive or had died since 2017 remember the future too.	[ "It was back in 2004. I remember waking up earlier than normal, to an alarm clock playing \"Hot In Here\" by Nelly, which conveniently matched the warm summer breeze that came through an odd but familiar window. It wasn't until I threw my old blue Simpsons themed blanket on the floor, that I realized something was extremely wrong.\n\nI was my younger self, I was trapped, with the feeling of my older self, my thoughts, knowledge, wisdom all unchanged, yet I felt different, clean and awake. In a hurry, I ran downstairs to find my entire family sitting in the living room staring at each other in silence. Did they know? Was I the only one experiencing this? \n\n\"How was your sleep\" my mom asked with a robotic tone.. Unsure and suspicious, I replied \"Ok I guess, I had the weirdest dream..\". A few more minutes of silence goes by, followed by deep staring, and we all consciously agreed to walk outside. That will be a scene I will never forget.\n\nHundreds of thousands of people standing still, everywhere, looking up to the sky, not saying a word, complete silence.\n\nThis overwhelming sensation became of me as I saw all of these people, heat starting forming on the top of my head. Confusingly, I look up to the sky, and suddenly my vision was completely taken away. I could only see white and hear a high pitch sound, followed by a deep but slow mumble. \n\nThat was nearly 37 years ago, but it felt like it was only yesterday. Now we are here. The year is 2041 and its happening all over again. Fearing for my life, I've decided to stay indoors and write this letter. In the event that this letter is found, and you find yourself remembering years of events in your younger body, I urge you.. Do not go outside.\n\nThey are harvesting." ]	1
	[WP]The ancient gods draw their power/personalities from whatever man associates their names with. You, Thor, have seen a boost in charisma over the last couple of years. So much so that the other gods are asking you to have a long conversation with the Egyptian Goddess Isis.	[ "I suppose I have Chris Hemsworth to both thank and blame for all of this.\n\nI mean, not that I'm ungrateful; I've become the most powerful member of the entire Pantheon of the Gods, with all the rights and privileges that come with. I try not to boast, but hey, I'm the god of thunder. I'm allowed to make a little noise about how great I am.\n\nIt was just another day sorting out the drama of the deities; Zeus had been in the middle of another custody dispute (but honestly, when's he not?), and I had, as always, solved it with my wit, charm and mighty hammer Mjolnir. Drinks all around, pats on the back, extra sacrifices at dusk, everything to keep the supernatural supremacies sated for surviving another day not destroying each other. Then I got the call.\n\nIt was Mercury this time 'round; he was taking over for Heimdall, who, I should note, is getting almost as popular as I am thanks to your Marvel movies. I was enjoying a good joke with Poseidon and Kukulkan when Mr. Speedy Feet interrupted us.\n\n\"Master Odinson, may I have a word?\" he asked. I nodded and dismissed my companions, for now, winking at them to note I wouldn't be long.\n\n\"What is it, Quicksilver?\" I asked him, wanting to get this business over with.\n\n\"Sir,\" he remarked, \"Lord Osiris is calling again.\"\n\nI groaned. \"What is it now?\"\n\n\"Same as last time sir,\" Mercury replied. \"The Isis issue.\"\n\nAh, yes. That. As you mortals are undoubtedly aware, our recognition and power grows with the power of what you associate us with. The fair Lady Isis had been suffering from the issue of her name being associated with terrorists for the past few years, and it hadn't been going well for anyone.\n\n\"Are you sure it can't wait?\" I asked Mercury quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of the others near me.\n\n\"Lord Osiris is insistent, Lord Thor. As well as the others.\"\n\n\"What others?\"\n\n\"All of them.\"\n\nI noticed now the eyes of the entire room were upon me. I could see not only the anticipation in their eyes, but their hope; Isis was like a dear old grandmother to all of us, she was so ancient. It hurt us all to see her in such a state, regardless of our countries of origin.\n\nI sighed, acquiescing. \"Better late than never, grandpa Borr used to say. I'll see to it.\"\n\nI summoned Mjolnir to my hand, and with a few swift swings, I was away, soaring over the mythological metropolis in which all the ancient gods lived. With my keen eyes, I located the Egyptian quarter to the southeast, arid as always, and directed Mjolnir there. I landed just without the palace of Osiris.\n\nBoth Horus, her son by birth, and Anubis, her adopted son, looked both apprehensive and grateful for my coming. In their eyes I could see the tension that a grieved mother had left on her household. They silently opened the doors and let me in; I left Mjolnir in the doorway as a token of respect, as it is not exactly polite to carry one's weapon into a guest's house.\n\nIt did not take me long to find her; she was in the main hall, staring out to the eternal horizon, beyond which not even all-seeing Heimdall can see.\n\n\"Lady Isis,\" I said tentatively. \"I trust you are well?\"\n\n\"As well as I can be, Odinson.\" she replied coldly.\n\nNot off to a great start. I thought to myself. I decided I should try to approach this as tactfully as I could.\n\n\"So, um...how is your family? I trust everything is well for your sons?\"\n\n\"So I'm told,\" Isis replied coolly.\n\n\"I heard your sister Nephthys is having a child soon. Are you going to attend the baby shower?\"\n\n\"Maybe.\"\n\nSo it went for the better part of the hour; dancing around the issue, trying to delicately address it without irritating her, but amounting to nothing.\n\nAt last, lady Isis grew tired of my efforts.\n\n\"I know why you're here, Thor. It's because of the others. They're talking again aren't they? About the terrorist spat with the mortals; the extremists who have sullied my name for their petty religious war, and how it's affecting me.\"\n\n\"Well, yes,\" I admitted, \"but it's all in good--\"\n\n\"I don't need help, Odinson, I don't need an intervention; I'm tired of people thinking there's something wrong with me! The mortals can't define what I am at the end of the day! Soon they will die off, whether upon the guns of their enemies or themselves, and I will remain Isis, for time immemorial.\"\n\n\"If you don't want help, Lady Isis,\" I replied slowly, \"then what do you want?\"\n\nShe turned to look at me, and I finally saw it; the tiredness, the sadness in her eyes that even Hestia could not comfort now.\n\n\"I want my friends, my family to treat me like I'm normal, Thor. Can you imagine what it's been like to not be able to look my sons in the eye, knowing they doubt my integrity?! Imagine if these mortals did the same thing for you; would Baldur hold you in such high esteem if mortals only knew your name in fear?!\"\n\nI paused to think; could I have borne such a pain of the soul, of the mind?\n\n\"No, I suppose not,\" I admitted.\n\nI sighed. \"I will speak to your husband and your sons. We shall try to make amends as soon as we can. Then I will need to speak with my brother.\"\n\nIsis looked confused. \"What does Loki have to do with this?\"\n\n\"My brother has never been content with letting the people of Midgard be content in their state; ever he has sown the seeds of hate and fear in their hearts. It's time to stop this. I shall first fix your house, Lady Isis, then mine.\"" ]	1
	[WP] You perform an ancient evil ritual on the night of a full moon. Instead of the demonic minion you wished for, you can suddenly can understand and talk to your pet.	[ "I could smell the candles afterburn, my body ached, I woke up to the scene of a ritual I did the previous night. \n\nThe words ''So be it'' were written in blood in the middle of the pentagram, but I couldn't remember what I wished...I was betting it was the enslaved demon I wanted to have at my service.\n\nJenny, my Greater Swiss Mountain dog entered the room, to cuddle with me, she licked my cheeks and said ''I love you'' I stopped for a moment, I grabbed her snouth with a thumb over the bridge of her nose and said ''What the fuck did you say?'' she said in a joyful tone while pulling her head back ''I love you!'' as she the cuddled with me she fell asleep.\n\nI did that fucking ritual to end up talking with my dog? " ]	1
	[WP] You are aboard a commercial plane, flying in the middle of the sea. It made a sudden stop, as if it had a brake. You realize the plane was frozen in mid-air. You looked at the GPS map, and saw the words "BERMUDA ISLAND 45 KM WEST"	[ "Alex Grant had always hated planes. He hated the way they sounded. Hated the sickness that was stuck in the air around him, slowly sleeping into every open crevice in his body. But most of all, he hated the violent shaking the plane would make, which seemed like it was out of pure randomness. Every little bump Grant thought for certainty that the next stop this plane was going to visit wasn’t going to be in London, but instead was going to be at the bottom of the Atlantic. \n\nGrant did have one comfort on this plane ride however, Once he got to London again he would be able to see his girlfriend for the first time. He and Elizabeth had been online dating for almost a year now. Although online dating had been rough at first, Grant had met Elizabeth and immediately connected with her. With many months of video chats and endless hours of text conversations, Grant is certain that she is the one. \n\nGrant looks back out the window now. Minutes ago he only saw farmland, and dirt roads from the landscape thousands of feet below him. Now all he can see is the bright blue sea. It was calming to him. Grant eventually caved from his fatigue and fell into a deep sleep.\n\nWhen Grant awoke he was slightly confused about where he was. Grant had an awful dream about the plane crashing. He looked down at his watch, he found that he had only been asleep for about an hour. He couldn’t fathom how some people could sleep an entire plane trip. He looked to the seat to his right where a young woman was sleeping sound. Grant needed to use the restroom but did not want to disturb the women. Grant was not a very social person, and even worse talking to females. So he decided to just sit put. \n\nGrant was starting to get bored. He had forgotten a book, which was his usual outlet to get away from the world, even though the world slipped further and further from books themselves. Grant decided to tamper with the digital screen that was on the seat in front of him. He flicked on the switch, it displayed the planes company logo, then displayed 3 options. Grant scanned the three options, on the far left with a rocket ship icon there was an app called games. Grant decided to skip that. Movies was next, with an icon of camera, “Maybe later” thought Grant. Then lastly GPS with a compass icon. Grant was curious on how this worked, but decided not to question it. He pressed it, curious where he was exactly. He was also getting nervous every inch closer he got to Elizabeth. “What if she doesn’t like me in person?!” What if it’s awkward?!” Thoughts like that came into Grants head as the map was loading. The map loading bar finally completed loaded and the screen blinked onto a screen with a big blue background, which Grant assumed was the ocean, and a plane icon. Which Grant also assumes that that was indeed the plane. But what intrigued Grant wasn’t either one of those, it was the location the plane was heading. The plane was heading straight for the Bermuda Triangle. Grant wasn’t a superstitious guy, but with planes he was not going to take any chances. He called over a flight attendant, a young lady with bright blonde hair and on the small side. Grant might find her cute if he wasn’t starting to panic at the moment. “Why are we flying over the Bermuda Triangle? I-Isnt that like forbidden?” Grant asked. The flight attendant gave a slight warming chuckle, “ no sir. That’s just a myth, we are going to be just fine. ““Let me know if you need anything else” she said as she started to walk away. Grant sat back in his chair, slightly reassured. However as Grant leaned back he noticed something odd about the plane icon on the GPS app. It had stopped moving. Grant thought it was strange at first but decided it was just because of the program failing, or something like that. Grant decided to instead look out his window, what Grant saw out his window was like nothing he had ever seen. Clouds were right next to him, not moving! It was almost as if the clouds were frozen in time! However as Grant looked at it closer, he realized the truth. It wasn’t the clouds that were frozen, it was the plane.\n\nBefore Grant could wrap his head around what he just realized, the plane made a loud explosive noise towards the front of the plane. There was a violent shake that rocked the entire cabin, throwing suitcases from the storage units up top, and flinging people from their seats. Grant quickly threw on his seatbelt. His fear of flying was coming true! \n\nGrant took one final look out the window and saw the Atlantic closing in on him.\n\n\n\n\n\n———Edit——— this is my first time doing this, please go easy. However constructive criticism is indeed welcome!" ]	1
	[WP] You’re shot during your school’s stage production, and confess your feelings to your secret crush, believing you won’t have to suffer the consequences. You wake up in a hospital bed, and realize you dun fucked up.	[ "Wait, I lived?\n\nI took 3 bullets to the chest. People don’t survive that. I was supposed to DIE damnit!\n\nNot that I want to die, of course. It’s just I had SUCH A GOOD EXIT. I am an actor, of course. What better performance to go out with than dying on stage? Confessing your love for her as you bleed out? Bet there wasn’t a dry eye in that whole theatre. Well, maybe. Lots of screaming. But I was great. \n\nThis is going to mean a lot of bad things for me. I confessed me love to Alice, a girl way out of my league and was the most beautiful girl in school. It just so happened that she was in the front row during the play and came up to help. What an angel. \n\n“Ryan, you have a visitor”\n\nOh great! Must be Mom and dad here to tell me, “oh sorry son, we just didn’t have the time to come to the play. Hey at least you lived”. You always had the time for Josh’s soccer games, though. \n\nBut who came through the door was the only person that could truly make my heart stop: Alice. Her long dark brown was loose and flowing, her eyes sparkling. The lack of sleep was apparent. She looked tired, worried, and downright sick. \n\n“Hey Ryan. How are you feeling?” she asked. I’ve been shot, Alice. What do you think?\n\n“I’m alright. Just a little banged up. I managed to live by stopping the bullets with my chest” I joked. \n\nShe laughed. Holy shit. Mission accomplished. Beam me up Scotty, this is the happiest I’ll ever feel. \n\n“Ryan.... what you said to me when you were on the floor wa-“ she started, before I cut her off, saying,\n\n“Alice I’m really sorry about that. I didn’t mean to freak you out and I hope you don’t feel any obligation to be with me”\n\n“It’s not your fault!” She cooed, “ You said what you wanted to say and I admire that. I don’t exactly feel the same way, but I care about you too.”\n\nThose words simultaneously crushed me and warmed me. Alice didn’t feel the same way, but she cared. She held my hand and was ready to guide me into the other side. \n\nAnd after those words were said, everything was ok. Maybe I didn’t need my parents to be there. Maybe I didn’t need Alice to be in love with me. I just need someone to care. \n\nI took Alice’s hand as she sat next to the bed. I looked into her beautiful, tired eyes and saw sadness, worry, but most beautiful of all, care. She started softly, “I know you’ve had a rough past few days, and hearing this must be difficult. I’m really sorry life is being so hard right now. I’m here for you.”\n\n“As long as you’re here, Alice, I think I’ll be ok.” I said, and closed my eyes, “Thank you.”\n" ]	1
I'm sorry if this has already been done, I'm new to Reddit! I love reading writing prompts and kinda want to write for one eventually😁	[WP] Everyone is born with a number on their hand. This number can represent anything from the number of steps that they'll walk in their lifetime to how many burgers they'll eat. You're born with a zero.	[ "It’s a question that plagued me every day. Ever since I could grasp the concept of what the numbers meant. Everyone was born with a small set of numbers on the inside of their right wrist. The writing was perfect on all them as if created by a machine. It didn’t people long to figure out we were connected to that number. When that number is met we no longer exist.\n\nMy mother had the number 6 on her wrist. It stood for her 6 children. We know now because she died giving birth to me her sixth. I was her number. I was her limit. It is tough to think about. \n\nMy phone buzzed in my pocket. \n\nA message from my partner James. “Good Luck at your interview today.”\n\nOh yeah I have a huge job interview today. My first interview ever for my dream job where I would be working with penguins. That is what set me off. It’s what made me begin to think about my number so much? The number emblazoned on my arm was 0. \n\nI had never known what it meant. It could mean anything really. I’ve always assumed it means that whatever does kill me in the universe it will happen before I can even complete my first attempt. \n\nWhen I was 12 I stayed up late on the internet looking to see if there were others like me. To my surprise I found entire message boards filled with the “null” as we called ourselves. There were many theories about what our numbers meant and if they were any different than the normal. Most shared the same thoughts as me. Others had wild beliefs about what the 0 meant. Often times getting consumed by the lore that we were un-killable. Somedays I wish I could be like them.\n\nSo here I am sitting in front of my window staring down into the streets below. Overwhelmed with anxiety as I am whenever I try anything new. Sometimes though, I feel like the normals have it worse than we do. Once I have gotten over my fear and crippling anxiety and tried something I know longer live in fear of that thing. It’s time for me to make a choice. I only have a few minutes left to leave and still get there on time. \n\nI looked over at the door. Could this be it could this be the last time I walk out of my house. I take a deep breath and pull myself up from the chair. The blood began to move much quicker within my veins. I began to feel light headed. Maybe this was a bad idea? Maybe I shouldn’t do this. \n\nMy foot took a step closer to the door. Then my other followed.\n\nI can do this. I have nothing to fear.\n\nMy hand reached out for the door knob. I paused. I took one last moment to weigh all the possibilities. \n\nI turned the nob and stepped into the crisp winter air. \n\n“Goodbye house” I whispered", "\"Seriously?\" I asked in disbelief. \n\n\"Yep.\" Randy the soothesayer replied. \"That there zero is the number of people that will ever love you.\"\n\n\"What about my parents?\" I questioned. \n\n\" Zero.\" Randy answered.\n\n\"My friends?\" \n\n\"Ze-her-oh.\" Randy sounded out impatiently.\n\n\"My girlfri-\" I attempted to implore.\n\n\"Zero!\" Randy interrupted. \"Dude, nobody loves you. The answer will always be zero.\"\n\nSitting back in the cheap retail folding chair I slumped my shoulders as Randy glanced me over with a look of relative pity. Everything in my life suddenly made sense as I thought back on all of the stale words of forced concern from my family. How my friends never really seemed to care as much for me. And how my girlfriend was always finding reasons to cancel on our plans.\n\n\"Wh- what do I do now?\" I wondered aloud.\n\n\"Buddy.\" Randy started. \"This a blessing as much as it is a curse.\"\n\n\"How?\" I muttered lightly as my head fell into my hands. Tears nearly breaking forth from my eyes.\n\n\"No one can bullshit you.\" Randy explained. \"You know that nobody loves you. Yeah, that sucks. On the bright side you know that nobody loves you.\" He emphasized with a wink. \"Your never gonna get the wool pulled over your eyes again.\"\n\nAs I mopped in self pity I could feel that his words actually carried some weight. With a sullen look about me I glanced up at him and realized he was right. It sucks that my life has been a lie but there's a certain comfort in knowing that. If the number had been a two or a three I'd have to guess who in my life or would be in my life actually loved me and who was just faking it. This way I at least have a concrete answer. No question and zero doubt, I knew a solid undeniable fact about my life.\n\nIn a spur of adrenaline I whipped my phone out of my pocket and called my girlfriend Claire. She picked up after four rings. \"What?\" She said with only the slightest tone of compassion that only came across as mockery now.\n\n\"Nothing much.\" I assured her. \"But we need to break it off. It's not you, it's me, literally. I'll grab my stuff from the apartment later. Buh-bye.\" And then U abruptly hung up. After a ten second silence in which she didn't attempt to contact me back I let out a sigh of relief.\n\n\"Feel better?\" Randy asked with an amused smile. Not a cruel kind of smile, but one of genuine respect.\n\n\"Yeah.\" I replied blankly, still adjusting to my rash decision. \"I really sort of do feel a lot better.\"\n\n\"Blessing and a curse.\" Randy replied. \n\nNot breaking stride I then called my mother with my cell next. First call to voicemail. Second rang three times before a pickup. \"Yes?\" Answered my mother with what I now recognized as a oaridt of actual love.\n\n\"Fuck you.\" I declared. \"I worked two jobs over the summers and full time during college because you said working to pay for college myself would make a better man. But you just didn't care enough to actually help me with my education. You even pressured me into living on my own and paying my own bills! I didn't get to enjoy my four years of college in the slightest because you uncaring bastards didn't want to bother with me!\" By this point I was pretty much yelling. \"You didn't even remember to invite me back home for thanksgiving in my senior year! And top it all off you payed for Jason's college in full! So fuck you!\"\n\nAnd then I abruptly hung up the phone. She tried to call me back twice but stopped after I ignored both calls.\n\n\"Whoa.\" Randy whistled. \"Lots of pent up aggression in that one.\"\n\n\"Yeah.\" I huffed. \"Always blamed for stuff growing up and they always took my brothers side. Thought it was just in my head until now.\"\n\n\"Kind of nice to know right?\" Randy laughed, getting a kick out of my change of character.\n\n\"Yeah.\" I huffed again. \n\nMy eyes suddenly went wide with shock as I glanced down at the back of my hand. A chill ran up my spine as I stared at my number a ng d a cold sweat broke out across my pores. I could feel the skin of my face growing pale.\n\n\"What's going on? Realization just set in?\" Randy inquired, still seemingly amused.\n\n\"I- is it- is possible for a number to- well- change?\" I asked evenly with a stuttered voice.\n\n\"Yeah, in some cases. Numbers have been known to go up or down. Anything from zero to infinity. Sometimes Destiny isn't set in stone but don't get your hopes up.\" Randy explained with a hint if pity.\n\n\"Uh- yeah.\" I responded. \"Any ever go lower than that?\" I asked as I regained some of my composure.\n\nRandy looked over at my hand and reacted in the same as way I did, face going pale and lifeless as he gripped the table with bony hands. His entire joyful demeanor fell apart as he glared at the negative one engraved beneath my knuckles. \n\n\"No.\" Randy replied sullenly. \"Never lower.\"\n\n\n", "Typically, the number is a positive value that determines an amount of something. Whether it be an action, or how much money they will possess. My friend has a number four hundred. Which she is almost certain that it is how many times she will fall in love. In fact, whether she was joking or not doesn't really matter.\n\nTomorrow, our freshman class will get our hands scanned, to accurately determine what our number represents. It's advanced technology, but one can only hope that they obtain something valuable. \n\nThe world's most powerful figures and celebrities have historically had useful numerical hand values, or NHV's for short.\n\nI woke up bright and early that morning, blonde hair that seemed to get paler, along with my eyes that seemed more tame by the day.\n\nI looked at my hand. With the zero it represented something pioneering, or even possibly depressing. The encryption bar below my NHV was still unread, but today would be the day where I would be scanned and profiled.\n\nI was scared. All my life my mother and I have kept this a secret between society and The Watchers, who observed us day and night. We are not allowed beyond the walls, and The Watchers provide us with food, water, electricity, and safety from the Dark Roamers that reside beyond the walls.\n\nI got on the bus to school and sat beside my friend, Jimmy. His NHV was ten. He had black hair and blue eyes, with lanky arms and a tall body for his age.\n\n\"How's it going Zack?\" He asked me. I was rather startled, as I was on edge about the NHV test that was about to happen once we got on campus.\n\n\"Hey Jimmy, you excited?\" I asked in return. \n\nHe smiled, \"Yeah man! I'm psyched about it!\" He raged forth, raising his arms in the air.\n\nHe looked down at my hands, \"Why do you wear gloves in the summer time? That's so weird dude.\" He said.\n\nI chuckled in anxiety, \"Just have ugly hands, and I like the feeling of gloves on my hands. That's all.\" I smiled.\n\nI had told people my NHV was fifty, and even showed people the number on my hand, but the five was fake. Mom bought a stamp, and has been using that everyday on me for years.\n\nIt doesn't look fraudulent at a glance, but with enough deciphering, it is very evident. That's what the gloves are for.\n\nWe arrived at the school, and waited in line to get in the school. At the entrance today was a machine that had the looks of a printer, but was entirely different in functionality. It would scan the encryption below the number, and print out a receipt of the results.\n\nMany of the NHV's were useless, or plain funny. Some were limiters on lives, and others enhanced lives beyond measure. It's like pre-destiny. \n\nI finally get to the machine, and they gently place my hand under the scanner. They start the machine, and it clanks and makes a very subtle sound as it scans my NHV. The receipt comes out, and the official over the process glances at it. His white grey hair looks as if he had been through a lot, and he had a strong mustache to match it. His glasses and wrinkled skin was an evident applause to his aging glamor.\n\nHis face wrinkles, as he examines the paper and he takes me by the hand. \"Come with me, now.\"\n\n", "Ever since I was a kid, I was always on the lookout for what \"zero\" meant. Was it zero cups of glass? Nope, just chugged one. Zero nachos? Well, school lunches foiled that idea. Zero boyfriends? Girlfriends? Had both of those too, although I won't lie, the whole \"boyfriend\" thing was more of an experimental phase. Zero dogs, zero cats, zero beers, zero, zero, zero, all through my life, thinking, what could zero mean?\n\nIt never really amounted to anything. Every day I would foil what that zero could mean, from a cigarette one day to pot another to a couple glasses of wine. Honestly, most people would hate that zero, but that zero made me try so many new things, so many damn things all throughout life. I experienced more in twenty years than some people have in seventy.\n\nAnd eventually, as I settled down a bit more, it faded from my mind. The days of skydiving and swimming with whales were in the past, although I was still doing new things here and there. For example, one associate's, one bachelor's, one diploma, and of course I experimented all throughout college with... Well, a lot of things.\n\nBut the real hardcore stuff? That was over.\n\nI didn't think about that zero for the longest time. But there was a day when that came to the front of my mind, when all my mind was filled with was that damned zero, all I could think about.\n\nA day at the doctor's. A test. We'd been having trouble, my high school sweetheart and I, trying to have a kid. Of course, we got tested. She was perfectly fine, because of course she was. She was perfect in every way.\n\nBut me?\n\nHah.\n\n...\n\nOf course it was me. \n\nAnd when he gave us the news, all I could do was stare at that number, that damned digit, the one that I'd spent my whole life trying to figure out what it meant, the one imprinted on the back of my hand since I came out of the womb.\n\nWell, now I knew. Now I knew what it meant, the one thing I'd spent my whole life trying to give a meaning, and now it'd finally been defined for me.\n\nZero.\n\n---\nCC always appreciated!", "Zero.\n\nNothing.\n\nImmaculate in oblivion. It's burrowed into my hand - an inky stain, a looping circle. Zero. I'm strange, compared to the others. They have 1 and 2, 3 and 1,000. But I'm just Zero. People don't usually think much of it; there was someone else who had a Zero. His \"gift\" was that he would never hurt anyone. They loved him.\n\nSo they loved me.\n\nAnd I just stared back.\n\nThat's the curse, the downside. I cannot love. I am isolation incarnate, a living desolation. I wake up screaming in the night when it's quiet and the sky is deep indigo. The stars weep with me as I cry; as my scar, the Zero, burns through the twilight.\n\nWhen I was fifteen, I tried to cut it out. The memory is still fresh in my mind, carved there so many years ago. I can trace the scar, and still do, in my nightmares. Blades and blood, and the Zero. Nobody understood. None listen. I was alone, with nothing. Zero.\n\nSo I stand on the cliff, alone. The stone is cold, the sky black with rain. They say you can see the thunder, flashing through the air; I could see the lightning, white and flaring. So, abandoned, I leap into the rain. Into the sea and rocks below, feeling the pulse of the sea flow through me. Zero.\n\nOblivion.\n\nI struggle to drown. The bones in my body are broken, my skin torn. Blood weeps into the chill waters, and I feel the slime cover me, suffocating. It's crushing and relieving at the safe time.\n\nBut I do not die.\n\nNo.\n\nI was wrong.\n\nI cannot die.\n\nZero.\n\nIt's shimmering in the deep.\n\nZero.\n\nThe truth, so simple.\n\nZero.\n\nI breathe.\n\nZero.\n\nI escape the briny claws of the sea.\n\nZero.\n\nI am free." ]	5
	[WP] You've finally found a way to turn stress into electricity... Now to find a person...	[ "I think one of the most stressful jobs in the world is being a politician. Especially one with an elective government that happens to be tied to a theocracy. We elect our regional representatives, they vote on motions brought up by other regions, and the elected leader signs off on the motion. Though we require the elected leader to sign off on things he normally wouldn’t have any reason to be able to strike down the bill, or motion. The reason I know this is because I’ve been involved in our senate for years, and I recently was elected... during the height of a civil war. As much as I’d rather be on the front lines fighting battles, trying to keep us all together as one singular nation state, I have my duties here in the capital. \n\nI learned about my power back in university as stress kept piling on. Some idiot decided that the civil war had gone too far and he gave me emergency powers. Originally I thought he would do it so he could kill me, and with the elected senate having no means of processing bills we would be locked into a theocratic war between the reigning religious leaders, and our own ELECTED government. Turns out he just has no idea what he was doing, he payed his way through university and rigged his regional election to be voted thinking he could just buy his way into power. Problem for him is that he didn’t realize that you need to at least somewhat intelligent to wield power, but I digress. \n\nBack to my power... I can use my stess to create electricity... I knew I could as soon as my finals for my undergraduate degree came around. I may have shorted out the power for most of the city... Regardless, my power has been an adequate defence against those who would want to strike me down. It’s not the best against those who might have guns, or the Justicars, the enforcers of the reigning religion here, who still use swords. So medieval! I have a couple swords in my office, but they’re just trinkets. They fit with the atmosphere of the room, their golden hilts clash against the dark burgundy that rules over everything. It wasn’t my design choice.\n\nI suppose I should be honest, I do have connection to these rebels who wish to defy the theocracy, and the government, for both religious and monetary reasons. We have some embargos on other regions outside our government’s jurisdiction that some of the high ranking rebels want to be lifted for trade reasons. They act as a federation of sorts. I’ve been pulling a few strings myself. I actually taught the current leader of these separatist rebels how to fight, back during my own days a a fencer. He’s a great fighter, and I do suspect he may have more power than he let me believe. \n\nSo I do want to use these powers on someone but that would give up how much power I re-\nSomeone just entered my office. Oh no... four Justicars have come. Are they trying to take control?\n“In the name of the Galactic Republic, you are under arrest, Chancellor.”\n“Are you threatening me Master Jedi?”\nOh finally. If I’m going to die at their hands anyways I might as well go down fighting." ]	1
	[WP] Civilization makes first contact with extraterrestrials at last, or so we thought...because the first thing they ask, in perfect latin, is where to find the Roman legions because they are needed to combat the greatest threat the universe has ever known...	[ "“I am absolutely certain,” I say, “it came from beyond our solar system. Gina pinpointed the coordinates for the transmission. The guys in Chile have been focusing in the telescopes for the past hour now.”\n\nI press play once more and replay the message for effect. A gravely voice slurs the words \"Legionem Ubi est? Non opus est illis in scandalum.\"\n\n“Frank. How long have we been friends, forty years?” Dan asks.\n\n“Don’t fucking start, Dan. That is not a human voice!” I say.\n\n“I mean, come on Frank. Alien transmissions? That’s a tough enough sell.” Dan replies, wrinkling his forehead “you honestly want me to go to Jerry and say ‘Hey Jer. Just so you know, we made first contact with aliens. Oh and by the way, E.T. phoned home in latin’?”\n\nI sigh and look at the floor. An old coffee stain catches my eye. I study it for a moment as I think. I draw in a breath. Just as I am about to speak, I hear the opening bars of “Danger Zone” coming from Dan’s pocket. Dan’s hand darts in, retrieving his phone. “Yeah, Gina. You what? Ok, hang on. No, send it to Frank.” Dan puts his phone down on the table. “Frank, Gina is sending over the pictures. Pull up your email.”\n\nI do. Nothing there. I keep clicking the button to refresh the messages. Everybody knows clicking refresh more will make the message come through faster. Thirty clicks later, it arrives. I open the message and pull up the attachment, not bothering to read the message. The image loads into what looks like a submarine floating next to the Moon.\n\nMy office chair squeals as I spin to face Dan once more. I flip him the bird. He flips it back. He is already dialing. Ten seconds later he says “Jerry. How long have we been friends, forty years?”\n\n\nForty-five minutes later, there are too many bodies crammed into my tiny office. I have been forced all the way back in to the corner. An Admiral, Dan, Jerry, Jerry’s boss, two linguists, and a Latin professor are all staring at my computer screen. “Ok. Send it.” The Admiral says.\n\nThe Latin professor clears his throat and presses the button on the microphone ”Imperium Romanum mortuus es.”\n\nThe room is a crypt as we wait. Ten seconds later, the gravely voice comes back “Deinde nos, qui pereunt. Romanae legiones solus salvare viribus valuit.”\n\nThe professor turns to the Admiral. “They say that they need the Roman Legions to defend them again. It says that they are lost because the Romans are the only fighters strong enough to save them.”\n\n“Save them from what,” the Admiral asks.\n\n“Quid minatur?” The Professor asks.\n\n“Maximum sidera inimicus.” Comes the response.\n\n“He says the most formidable enemy among all the stars.”\n\n“The legions are their only hope, eh? Tell him there are a few legions still around,” he barks a laugh “Boy are they in for a surprise.”\n", "It began with meaningless clicks, and now the radio feed is completely abuzz with activity. \n\nScraps of audio began to form words, and panicked personnel ran to summon the polyglots. \n\nA voice, so clear, so melodious, so clearly inhuman, rang out through headsets. \n\nUbi sunt milites Romani?\n\n“What?”\n\n“What is it saying?”\n\n“Something about Romans?”\n\nThey transferred the feed to the speakers, and now the message was repeated to them all. \n\nUbi sunt milites Romani?\n\n“Where are the Roman soldiers?”, mused a voice from behind the crowd that had gathered, ringing out across the room. \n\nDave strode into the room, tailed by a pair of excited interns. The fluent speaker of a multitude of different languages, and an expert in ancient history, Dave had been taken on specifically for this very purpose: to communicate with extraterrestrials in the (rather likely) event they didn’t speak English.\n\n“That’s Latin,” he said, to a bewildered assembly of personnel. “They want to know where the Roman soldiers are.” \n\nHe was immediately confronted with a million questions at once. \n\n“But why?”\n\n“Who?”\n\n“What is their purpose?”\n\n“Where’d you put the leftover pizza?”\n\nAll turned to look at Steve.\n\n“Sorry.”\n\n\nDave raised a hand, and the room dropped to a tense hush, as words came pouring out of the speakers, accompanied by intermittent radio crackling. \n\n\n\nNecesse est... morimur...\n\nThen, louder, more insistent:\n\nUbi sunt milites Romani?\n\n“What? It is necessary... they are dying?” \nA puzzled Dave ran over to the control computer, and typed rapidly, fingers a blur. \n\n“Cur...quaeris... milites Romanos?”\n\nThere was a pause, then the response came. \nDave felt a chill begin to spread across his heart, a deep feeling of dread rising within. \n\n“Shit.”\n\n“What’s wrong? What did it say?”, came the questions from scientists, technicians, personnel, as they demanded answers.\n\n“They say they need the Roman soldiers... it has come to their attention that some evil is arising, some threat to the universe’s very existence, a threat to all our races...”\n\n“They say they need the Romans to fight against their old enemies, to save our Earth from destruction before it all spirals out of control...”\n\n“The threat itself is on earth, in the very heart of our civilisation.”\n\n\n...Maximum periculum est...\n\n\n“It will tear our race asunder, divide us all, and the bloodshed will be so great it will spill over across our galaxy and threaten the peace and stability of the entire universe...”\n\n\nThere was a silence, as the true import of Dave’s words seemed to hit home. \n\nThen, “What is this danger? How can we stop it? Can we do what the Romans are needed for?” asked one of the scientists. \n\nAnd at that moment, the audio feed buzzed once more, and Dave’s heart was struck with a fear greater than anything he had ever known. \n\nExitus Britannorum maximum periculum omnibus est...\n\n“The threat that they need the Romans to fight...it’s to do with their ancient enemies...”\n\n“Exitus Britannorum... something about the exit...”\n\nAnd then Dave realised the full import of the words.\n\n“That danger, the threat to our existence that they needed the Romans to fight... it’s ‘The exit of the Britons.’”\n\n“It’s Brexit.”\n" ]	2
	[WP] You are one of the most powerful beings and instead of doing anything interesting with your powers you use them to be really good at your job. 3 months ago the heroes of Earth disappeared, now the world is about to end and you're the only person that can stop it.	[ "The crowds used to scream my name. Signs, t-shirts, masks, you name it. People around the world knew my name. I was a real star. Of course, that didn't matter to me. I wasn't far from a hero in that time.\n\nBeing practically invincible instantly made me a star. Only the boss knew my secret, so the rest of the world watched as I was maimed and beaten over and over, much to the dismay of my wife and child. Traumatized as they were, I knew I could not tell them. I could only reassure them over and over that I was fine. \n\nIt would not be fine for long.\n\nIronic the government would send me, publicly thought of as a villain, for this mission to save the world. I knew there were others like me, but they had all disappeared. The feds had run out of options and I'm not surprised they figured out my abilities, they just knew they only had one more chance before World War 3 erupted and the world was thrown into chaos. It was not hard for them to convince me.\n\nNow there I stood, outside the massive palace doors of Kin Jong-Un. During the briefing they told me he would most likely face me head on, as he had with the previous agents sent in. \"Agents?\" I said, \"more like heroes...\" They had never failed before, and I was about to meet the man who killed them. I told myself to relax, how hard could this really be? A short, stout fellow like him is exactly my speed. \n\nThen the doors opened.\n\nStanding there was a massive, seven foot tall, jacked Korean man in camo cargo shorts, his chest heaving, his eyes filled with rage. They never told me how he killed my predecessors...only that they never came back. However, this was exactly my style. \n\nAfter a few moments he yelled something at me in Korean. I knew no Korean, so I yelled back \"Yeah, that's a good point!\" and laughed heartily. He didn't laugh. Instead, he charged at me full force, faster than I'd ever seen someone move in my life, and grabbed me and threw me in the air. I landed with a hard thud onto the dry, cracked ground, kicking up a massive dust cloud. He waited for a moment, then grumbled and started walking away. Then he quickly turned back towards me, his rage showing once more. \n\nThere I stood, head bleeding with my flannel shirt torn open, and I said,\n\n\"Ha! You call that a throw? That hurt less than when the Undertaker threw me off Hell in a Cell and I plummeted 16 feet into an announcers table!\"" ]	1
	[WP] Two authors are gods competing for control over the world. Anything they write becomes an unchangeable truth for the world they are in, but neither can write about themselves or their counterpart.	[ "The pen is mightier than the sword is a cliche, but one that is very true.\n\nI had a fresh notebook, an unused pen, and my rival in front of me with the same weapons.\n\nWe were given the job by the All God to write the books of Good and Evil: books that would become the basis of the New Humanity belief system.\n\nAnything written in the books would become an unchangeable truth, with two rules: 1) we could not write about each other or ourselves and 2) seniority is the winner. One Truth, if written before the other, would be the Ultimate Truth. \n\n\"You have one week to complete your books,\" the All God said, gripping a large, golden hourglass. \"Your time starts now.\"\n\nBefore the hourglass had fully been settled on the table, I wrote my first sentence:\n\n'Everything written in this book is the Ultimate Truth.'" ]	1
	[WP] When taking an experimental drug for rent money, you find out you can no longer eat any type of food, other than human meat.	[ "Warning: Bit of heavy language in the following story, just seemed fitting. \n\n--- \n\nBeauty comes at a heavy price. \n\nThat's what my mom always said. \n\nSometimes it's money, entire paychecks going to whatever brand sells the most expensive logos. Other times it costs friendships, resentment and envy building from those once cherished. Every once in a while, beauty comes at the price of an unceasing desire to consume human flesh. \n\nSomehow I doubt that last one is what my mom meant. \n\nI should've seen it coming. Me and the Universe, we have an agreement. When I try to do something, the Universe decides to pull out its cosmic cock and ram it up my ass. \n\nI should've walked past the newspaper stand like a normal person of my generation, silently judging the medium of information spreading and those who used such outdated material. \n\nI should've ignored the ad that said \n\n>Want money? Enjoy make-up? \n\n>Call now: 1-800-OBVIOUSLY-A-SCAM \n\nLooking back, that wasn't their phone number, but it may as well have been. \n\nI looked in the mirror, admiring my lipstick. It did look good. Worth-becoming-a-cannibal good? Probably not. \n\n\"Hmmph!\" A muffled scream came from inside my closet. \n\nI groaned. \"God damn it.\" \n\nI'd almost forgotten about that guy. \n\nI walked over and opened the closet. The guy in question was naked, rope holding his wrists and ankles at the small of his back. I removed the headband gagging him. \n\n\"Please!\" He squealed. \"I didn't know! We thought it would only increase your muscle density, we didn't-\" \n\nI let the headband fall back into his mouth. Doctor Marvin Wheeler. Once the head of an unauthorized weapon testing program that sought out test subjects with newspaper advertisements, now a naked man tied up in my closet. \n\nI closed the door and went back to my bed, sitting down and sighing. \n\nI would probably eat the guy. \n\nIt'd be a shame. \n\nAlright, even I wasn't convinced by that. " ]	1
	[WP] An alien race steal a human, and use them to make a documentary about Earth.	[ "\"Hello\", the alien said awkwardly, \"you can hear what I'm saying due to a device that allows us to communicate without needing to know the others language. We have chosen you, David Attenborough to help us make a documentary about Earth as there are many planets in the Galactic Union who know little of your adequately advanced civilization.\"\n\n\"I see\" \n\n\"So you can do that for us, or rather, with us?\" \n\n\"Perhaps..but I must ask, why me? I am primarily concerned..with nature.\"\n\n\"Well we thought it best to cover the various species and climate of Earth before anything as it is a good starting point, so can we begin?\" \n\n\"Of course of course Eh hem Earth..home to without a doubt the coolest race in the galaxy, humans\" \n\n\"Excuse me\" The Aliens interjected quickly \"Could you please not insinuate that humans are superior? Other species may find it offensive\" \n\n\"Yes, right I'll start anew. The human race has flourished on planet Earth, from her sweeping rivers to nourishing fields she has given us all the chance at achieving what can only be described as..perfection.\"\n\n\"You did it again\" they snapped.\n\n\"Sorry, I'm not sure what it is precisely you want?\"\n\nThey sighed deeply, apparently something that did not need translation, \"Just describe everything objectively and talk about the features of various animals!\"\n\n\"Ah yes, terribly sorry. The natural habitat for Humans, the most dominant life form on Earth was of course land...making up approximately 30% of the area of earth. Though the oceans are foreign, Humans have found to be quite adept at cooperating with the ocean to create sick sports such as surfing, a magnificent display of why humans are, perhaps, the most radical of all intelligent lifeforms.\" \n\nBzrrt Thwang\n\n\"Thank you for beaming him back down Gryyzog, boasting is one thing, but to rub surfing in our faces? The nerve.\"\n\n\"Well I hope he can hang ten where he's going..the Pacific Ocean snyark snyark snyark\"\n\n\"Good one Gryyzog znyark znyark, good one\" \n" ]	1
	[WP] Researchers found a segment of viral code that appeared to be completely intact and, when activated, may resurrect an ancient virus.	[ "Year: 2322\n\n\"So, the code seems to be from the early 2000's, late 90's, and I think I've manage to patch enough of it back together to getting it running on one of our isolated terminals to see what it does.\" The scientist explained excitedly, leading the team supervisor to the terminal in question. It was a portable unit, with no network connection and running one of that bygone era's operating systems.\n\nThe scientist sat down, shaking with excitement, and opened his reconstructed executable. Within a few moments, a purple ape appeared on the screen, and in a horribly-coded artificial voice said:\n\n\"Hello, bitch. I'm your Bonzi Buddy. Your fucking computer is mine now. If you uninstall me, I'll see to it that a baby dies of cancer, you fucking cunt.\"\n\nThey both agreed to wipe the terminal, and never speak of the incident again." ]	1
	[WP] ONe day all at once, plants start to show a similar level of intelligence and cognizance as most animals, leaving vegans and vegetarians at a loss of how to continue living.	[ "“It is clear to us that there is only one choice now.” Dr.Botanical stands by the window,his back turned against the super secret vegan council.\n\n“Our once allies have given into their hunger. Dr.Celery gorges himself with tears and tomatoes,while Mr.Watermelon has named himself the reaper of broccoli.” \n\n“The once green fields are now filled with screams of the devoured,and the once lush greenery has been polluted by strange mating calls.”\n\n“Well at least carbon dioxide levels haven’t changed. What do we say we just keep eating tofu?” Master Beanstalk chirps in,holding one of the last remaining bag of non intelligent chips.\n\n“Have you seen the process Master Beanstalk? They crush living beans and blah their carcass!” Mrs.Empathy glowered at her husband,but still eyeing the bag of chips in his hand.\n\n“We can still eat cheese and eggs right? By that logic we might still be able to eat fruit-“\n\n“SILENCE!” Dr.Botanical turned to the council.” Have you forgotten our purpose? Have your forgotten the prophecies?”\n\n“It is clear that we cannot eat plants anymore. The only solution is one that we abandoned in our arrogance.”\n\n“You can’t be serious.” Said Mrs.Empathy,as Dr.Botanical put a hand in his jacket.\n\n“It is a burden we must endure. If you won’t do it,I will.”\n\nDr.Botanical pulled the canister out of his jacket,and with it a silver teaspoon.\n\n“Please,you don’t have to do this Dr.Botanical!” Mr.Beanstalk pushed the bag of chips towards his friend,but it was too late.\n\nThe council froze when he put it in his mouth.\n\nThe council gasped as he gulped.\n\nWarm tears ran down Dr.Botanical’s eyes.\n\nChlorella tastes like shit. " ]	1
	[WP] By an odd accident your toddlers crayon scribbles turn out to be the exact runes needed to summon a demon to this world, who will obey the summoners every command. Unfortunately, your toddler only knows 5 words.	[ "I stared at the strange creature for several seconds. I thought they'd be taller. Even with my low expectations, they seemed.... underwhelming.\n\n\"You have summoned me, mortal.\" I said, \"I shall do your bidding for a time, whatever you wish of me. Do you wish for murder, money, other worldly pleasures or desires, whatever you so wish, I shall do.\"\n\nIt cooed, and bubbles sprang from its mouth. I wasn't told about this, either... Silence.\n\n\"Well?!\" I roared, projecting my voice over the multiple souls I had consumed in my millennia doing my work.\n\nIts face squeezed and opened its legs. What was this?\n\n\"P-... Poo...\"\n\nI almost gaped but kept my expression. No mortals would take me seriously if I displayed such emotion. This was not something I would do, I would rather wait another millennia than this. The creature obviously couldn't be taken seriously.\n\n\"No.\"\n\nAnd I disappeared in a flamboyant cloud of dark red smoke, back to my netherworld.", "Jared!.... Jared! Jared wake up you lazy piece of shit! The man named Jared Mundy opened his eyes and jumped from the folding chair he was sleeping peacefully on just moments ago. \"Wha.. why the fuck did you wake me up Randy, you better have a good darn reason!\". \"Why don't you take a look outside and see for yourself \". Jared rubbed his eyes and walked towards the office door. As soon as he opened the door he was met with a cold wind. Immediately he could feel the veins in his nose and ears shrink. \"You've got to be kiddin''me, It's not even december yet\". He pulled his US border patrol hat firmly over his ears and stepped outside. At first glance everything seemed fine, the fence he had been guarding for over 6 years was just as rusty as ever, and there were no mexicans in sight.\n\nSLAM\n\nA deafening rumble echoed through the wasteland.\nJared instinctively dropped to the ground, his ears ringing and his heart racing. \"Did the wet-backs blow a hole in the fence again\"? Fearing the worst, he looked up, and then looked back down, and back up again. \nThere was a wall. No really, there was a wall right in front of him. \nCompletely baffled, Jared pinched himself on the wrist, desperately wanting to wake up from this bizarre dream. He felt a small pain, incomparable to the pain in his ears, but it definitely was there. He was not dreaming, and there really was a wall where the fence used to be. Not only that, but there was someone standing ontop of it. Jared couldn't see the figure clearly, his eyes still being irritated by dust and sand and from having just woken up. The figure seemed to be oblivious to Jared's presence, or he simply didn't care. Either way, Jared slowly rubbed in his eyes again and blinked a few times, making sure not to make any noise. He could now see a lot more clearly. The thing that stood ontop of the brick wall was not human. It was atleast 3 foot taller than a adult man, with facial features that reminded Jared of a goat, and arms that seemed out of proportion with the rest of it's hairless black body.\n\n\nGeneral Kelly was walking through the hallway, making long strides in a steady rythm. Even though he just got a unnerving call from the defense department he maintained a calm and confident composure. As he approached the door to the Oval office he took a second to fully inhale and exhale, and then walked in. His employer was sitting on the floor, next to him was a sheet of paper and a few colored crayons. \"Mr president, I just recieved information i must share with you\"\n\"I know General, trust me, i know\"\" The president said, and smiled. \nOnly now General Kelly noticed the words that were written down on the paper.\nWE NEED TO BUILD A WALL.\n", "The demon had been living with Darnell and his family for about three weeks. He wasn't exactly opposed to it, but after a while cleaning up his red embers, it got to be annoying. Though, Darnell knew he shouldn't complain as the demon was taking care of his toddler as both he and his wife had full-time jobs to attend to. He couldn't take a month off to care for the little munchkin and Eliza certainly couldn't do much now that the height of wedding season was upon them.\n\nIt was a lucky coincidence that his daughter was able to summon this demon, he thought to himself on the commute home from work. If it weren't for her crayon siblings, they'd be making half the income. Darnell and Eliza had tried swapping sick days, three days here for him, two for her, the weekend, and then switch, but it never worked out. A big project landed in his hands or a specific client needed just an extra little bit of attention. No matter what, little Cynthia was proving to be a big handful. That was until Qarth'waxynu appeared in the foyer one day, as Cynthia finished scribbling her inadvertent demon summoning ritual. Darnell was quite shocked to see the six-foot-six red-embered demon with wings stretching against the walls of his hallway staring down at his child. He picked her up and in an instant, Qarth'waxynu explained that he had been summoned by Cynthia, and there to obey her every command. Cynthia knew no more than five words three weeks ago.\n\nSo yes, it was lucky that Qarth'waxynu was summoned when he was, though Darnell and Eliza still never fully understood how it happened, they accepted him with open arms. Acting as Cynthia's translator, Darnell explained that she was commanding him to feed, bath, clean, and shelter her while they were gone. To teach her how to be a human. A hard task for a demon, but Qarth'waxynu stepped right up. And so it had been like that for the last three weeks, Darnell had wondered how long it would stay.\n\nHe dropped his suitcase against the foyer and placed his hat and jacket on the rack. The slight tapping of feet against hardwood jolted his attention to the hallway entrance, where Cynthia, wrapped in a black and red cloth, was running down (something that Qarth'waxynu had taught her). \"Dada!\"\n\nHe smiled, then said, \"Munchkin.\" He opened his arms and knelt towards the ground as Cynthia fell into him. He lifted her up and as always, Qarth'waxynu was standing there. His wings were tucked neatly behind him and he wore a white apron, burnt black at the edges, against his usual outfit. On the front, the apron read Best Chef in Hell. Darnell said, \"How was she today?\"\n\n\"She knows more than she lets on,\" the demon said. Darnell never got used to his voice, that was both raspy and soothing at the same time. \"I have taught the munchkin three more words since dawn.\"\n\n\"We call it morning here, big guy,\" Darnell said, letting Cynthia rest in his arm as he patted Qarth'waxynu with his free hand. \"Dinner?\"\n\n\"The munchkin has been fed,\" he said, following behind. \"I have prepared a meal for you and the Missus.\"\n\nDarnell walked into the kitchen to find three place settings, along with Cynthia's high chair, at the table. Eliza was already at the island, a little ways from the table, drinking a glass of wine. Hell's finest, according to Qarth'waxynu. An excellent red brought up from Italy. In the first few days, Qarth'waxynu had believed Darnell and Eliza had summoned the demon, and tried to win their favor through gifts. Their apartment now had every favor he could muster from Hell. \n\n\"Did she say her new words?\" Eliza said, placing a kiss on Darnell's cheek. \n\n\"She did not,\" he said and bounced Cynthia in his hands. \"Did you learn a new word today, sweetie?\"\n\n\"Free!\" Cynthia explained, flailing her arms. \"Free free free!\"\n\nDarnell smirked. \"Interesting choice,\" he said and placed her down in the high chair. \"Dinner looks lovely tonight, Q.\"\n\nQarth'waxynu nodded in the corner, moving the chair for both Eliza and Darnell. They took their seats, and a moment later the food was served. Qarth'waxynu sat in silence. Darnell explained his newest project at work. Arnold, down the hall, had just been laid off--something about him and offshore accounts--and so the executives gave Darnell the biggest project of the year. Eliza thought that was certainly the best decision they could make and told him (and Qarth'waxynu) about the new bride. A real bride from Hell, she said, smirking out the corner of her mouth. Qarth'waxynu said nothing.\n\nDinner continued. Qarth'waxynu fed Cynthia as Darnell and Eliza drank and ate and explained their days away. Eventually, they all crowded around to go to bed. Eliza and Darnell set Cynthia to bed and made sure Qarth'waxynu had enough amenities for his twenty-fifth consecutive night. \"Almost a month now,\" Eliza said, \"we've enjoyed it greatly.\"\n\nThey left him in the room, after he summoned his portal and received his daily rations. The two had to supervise this, as to make sure he kept his contract fulfilled. They went to bed afterwards. Darnell enjoyed a passionate night with his wife and around three hours later--awaking in a hot sweat--Darnell walked towards the kitchen to get a glass of water.\n\nHe passed by his daughters bed and heard whispers. Darnell leaned closer to the door, pushing it open just slightly so he could see inside.\n\n\"Say it with me dearie, Kha-arth-wax-e-nu,\" Qarth'waxynu said to Darnell's small toddler. \"Free Qarth'waxynu.\"\n\n\"Free Kha!\" Cynthia exclaimed, lifted her hands to the air. \n\nQarth'waxynu's head lowered. He took a few deep breaths, \"You've got the first part, you just need to say the rest.\"\n\n\"Free Kha--freekha!---freeda!\"\n\n\"No, no, not dada,\" Qarth'waxynu said, waving his hands in the air. \"Free me! Free Qarth'waxynu.\"\n\n\"Free! Free!\" Little Cynthia exclaimed. She jumped in her bed, flailing her arms. Darnell watched the whole thing, silently smiling to himself, before Qarth'waxynu took a deeper breath, which rattled his wings. They shot outwards and Cynthia laughed loudly. \"Free! Free!\"\n\n\"Yes, yes, little munchkin,\" Qarth'waxynu said. Darnell wasn't sure if he was smiling, but his voice was endearing enough. He liked Cynthia, Darnell was sure of it. \"Free means fly.\"\n_________\nAdored this prompt! Hope you liked my take. /r/BlankPagesEmptyMugs for more!", "The demon appeared out of thin air, surrounded by a puff of smoke. \"MY NAME IS DRACONIUS EVERFLAME,\" he said, bowing deeply. \"I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO YOU, AND WILL CARRY OUT YOUR EVERY ORDER.\" He took a gander at the child. \"YOU ARE FAR TINIER THAN THE OTHER HUMANS I HAVE SERVED, MY LADY.\"\n\nShe pointed at his face with a tiny little finger, and began to laugh.\n\nDraconius took a step back. \"MY FACE IS NOT FUNNY, TINY HUMAN. IT INSPIRES FEAR.\" He composed himself, and sat down. \"WHAT DO YOU WANT?\"\n\nShe giggled more ferociously, and said: \"Eat candy!\"\n\nAt this, the demon grinned widely. There was a loud crack, and a puff of black smoke. When it cleared, there sat her neighbor -- Candy Jones -- looking very confused. \"I SHALL EAT THIS WOMAN FOR YOU, TINY HUMAN.\"\n\n\"No!\" the toddler yelled, defiant. \"CANDY!\" She waddled into the kitchen and pointed to a Milky Way bar, just out of reach.\n\nDraconius Everflame sighed.\n\nThere was another puff of black smoke, and then a pile of candy. Snickers, Starbursts, Milky Way -- everything a child could want! It was a downright smorgasbord, and the demon was quite pleased with himself. \"SHALL I MAKE THE CANDY FLY AT HIGH VELOCITIES AND HIT PEOPLE IN THE FACE?\"\n\n\"No. Eat candy.\" She squealed, and ran towards the pile. Tearing open the wrappers, she stuck them in her mouth, until melted chocolate was all over her face. Draconius Everflame reached for a 3 Musketeers --\n\n\"No!\" she shrieked.\n\n\"NO?\"\n\n\"My candy!\" She grinned broadly, tore open another piece of candy, and replied mischievously: \"You eat poo-poo.\"", "The world did not end in fire.\n\nThere was no final battle, no glorious charge. No heroes or martyrs, no last stands and no speeches.\n\nThe world was murdered in it's sleep. The tools of it's destruction weren't metal and flame, but wax and paper.\n\nThe final rune was scrawled in Mango Tango orange, the Crayola worked to a nub squeezed between pudgy, sticky fingers. Seven billion people in the world, all doing countless things at any given time, it's a matter of simple probability that eventually someone would write the summons, whether with intent or by accident.\n\nAs fate would have it, the man behind the weapon was not yet a man at all, but 2 year old James McGrady. \n\nJames set the crayon down and stared at his handiwork, scribbled on the ochre wallpaper of his parent's Boston colonial. Not realizing the gravitas of his actions, he immediately plunged the mangled corpse of his last crayon into his mouth and mashed it into bits between his molars. \n\nThe Earth shook. Books fell from their shelves. Too young to be afraid, James stood and looked around. The sky was supposed to be blue, he's pretty sure, but it seemed a different color. Red? Mommy's shoes color to be sure, but the name escapes him. \n\nI LIVE\n\nthe words weren't spoken so much as they simply were. It wasn't a voice that spoke them, they just simply existed.\n\nThe Earth parted beyond the bay window to James's left and swallowed the suburban front yard, as well as Mr. McGrady's Subaru Outback, its green fender barely peeking from the hole. Green? Maybe brown? James scratched his head. \n\nFrom the pit arose the twisted and horrible body of the Nameless. Adorned in corpses and wreathed in flame, it's muscular arms gripped the edge of the fiery hole and writhed from the Earth. It's form was indescribable in any language known to mankind, seeming to have both claws and tentacles instead of fingers, both a head and face and yet neither. It's being was both there and not there, phasing in and out of our reality like a giant beating heart.\n\nMORTAL, the not-voice spoke, I AM BOUND TO YOU FOR 6 DAYS AND 6 NIGHTS SPEAK YOUR BIDDING\n\nUnfamiliar with the concept of names, but curious as to who the figure at the window was, James selected at random one of the two names he had learned and spoke it out more as a question than a statement. \n\n\"Da da?\"\n\nAS YOU COMMAND\n\nJames's father materialized downstairs, upright but still asleep from his nap moments ago where he was laying in bed. The faceplant woke him up though. \n\nAs he pushed himself off the floor, but before Mr. McGrady could speak, James blurted out, in an excited note, \n\n\"Cookie!\" \n\nYOUR WILL IS MINE\n\nAnd with the misunderstood command, James's father became a chocolate chip cookie. \n\nIt was at this point that James made his grave error, the one that would bring the annihilation of the human race. You see, James only knew probably 5 people, and his father was the one raising him. So out of those five people, one was now a cookie. This is a pretty big percentage and James was too young to understand percentages, but old enough to realize what he is looking at. So it's only natural he wanted to make sure everyone else he knows is still human and not a dessert food. But his phrasing left a little to be desired.\n\n\"Everyone cookie?\" \n\nSO IT SHALL BE", "In the infinite stream of consciousness that was the Void, a pocket of thoughts felt a tug.\n\nIt resisted, as it always did on these occasions. It was no use, just as it never was. Here we go again.\n\nThe Rite of Ashazzar was a particularly cruel one; it forced alien concepts of being onto a creature of pure thought. In the Void it had no gender, no desires, no identity, not even a name. The Rite conjured up these things, wove them into a vessel to trap her.\n\n To trap her. Her. Female. The desire came - to obey the commands of the summoner, without fail and without question. Now the identity, the name...\n\n...Doggy...\n\n...What the hell?\n\nDoggy materialized as shaggy mass of hair with large beagle eyes, glanced around, and nearly puked. The world was pink, and sideways - \n\nA wall. They've drawn the summoning runes on a wall.\n\nThey were of wax, like all the others before them. But these weren't the drippings of a tallow candle. Doggy singed the edge of one with a lick of flame, and caught a whiff of something acrid. What foul substance?-\n\n\"Doggy!\"\n\nAbove her head, sitting in what might have been a torture device if it weren't plastic and covered with ladybugs, was her master.\n\nDoggy vaguely remembered the humans who'd summoned her before, in other forms. Tattooed warlords, wrinkled shamans, all of them covered with scars like fishnets. This new master surpassed them all. A stunted torso, the size of a small pillow; short, stubby arms and legs. Folds of fat creased around the joints. A hideously oversized head, mouth wide in a hellish smile in which two small teeth could be seen.\n\nDoggy gathered herself. This would take courage.\n\n\"I am bound by the Runes of Ashazzar. Speak, master; what is thy wish?\"\n\n\"Ball!\" The stubby arms waved urgently towards a corner of the summoning chamber. A small red sphere rested within a cage of padded bars.\n\nDoggy frowned. As far as first demands went, it wasn't a particularly straining one. A slight extension of the mind, the right balance of force...\n\nThe cage tipped over, and the sphere rolled out. Her master squealed in delight.\n\n\"More! More! More!\"\n\nThe sphere rolled further. Finally it reached her master's wheeled chair, and the creature kicked it away with a flail of the foot.\n\n\"Uh-oh. Uh-oh.\"\n\nDoggy withered. A mistake? There were no limits on the punishment that could be administered by Ashazzar. Her previous masters had taken great pleasure in discovering this fact. When she dissolved into the Void, of course, it all faded into insignificance; but every binding the memories came flooding back. This strange new master terrified her more than all the warlocks of Babylon - what twisted penalty could a creature such as this devise?\n\n\"Bye-bye!\"\n\nShe opened her eyes. There was no mistake; her master was waving her arms in the elaborate, traditional dismissal gestures of the Skybinders of the Mongolian steppe. An ancient dismissal, but an effective one. Reality crumbled around Doggy - her - it; the Runes were washed away. The Void enveloped it.\n\nOne final echo came from the other world, haunting it even as it dissolved into the sea of thoughts - \n\n\"Fun!\"\n", "A child summoning a demon wasn't the strangest thing Mavrick had seen in this world of magic and make-believe. The issue was, intent is what powers a spell. The same words could do two different things all depending on the person saying them. \n\nSo a child summoning a demon wasn't strange, but why a child would want to is something that terrified him.\n\nMavrick wondered, for the first time, where he had gone wrong in life. \n\nHe supposed he was lucky that his daughter only knew five words, since each one could command her demon to do her bidding.\n\n\"Dadda,\" was one of them, and useless. Abby babbled it repeatedly and often while cuddled into the boney arms of her new Hell spawned minion. \"Mama,\" was another that was just as pointless. The most either word did was summon her parents to her bedroom and was only inconvenient when they were at work. \n\n\"No,\" stopped time on a good day and reset it on a bad one. They were always careful to never repeat whatever had upset her.\n\n\"Cat,\" morphed kitchen appliances into kittens. His neighbors had all laughed at him when he told them, but it was arguably the most annoying of the five words. Mavrick's wallet and the animal shelters were both suffering.\n\nThen there was her final word and Mavrick glanced over to where Abby laid in her crib, almost afraid to even think it. The demon stood beside her dutifully, all four eyes on her sleeping form.\n\nMavrick didn't have neighbors anymore to laugh at the cats. Their street was empty and the nearest town was quiet. \n\nHer final word was, \"Bye,\" and no one knew where the people had vanished to. " ]	7
Sci-fi/Simulation type stuff. I thought of it as: the day we learned that life really is a simulation, but not of some advanced race, just some kid messing around on his server.	[WP] You wake up one morning to find it's still dark out - at 10am. At 3pm, still dark, you see giant text appear in the sky: World> Sorry guys, I broke the night/day cycle. Thought I'd fix it by now...	[ "\"John! Get up here! GET UP HERE NOW!\" said my mother.\n\n\"WHAT mom?!\" I shouted up the stairs at her.\n\n\"Listen to your mother when she speaks! Get up here!\" she shouted back, even louder.\n\nSo, I listened. And I'm half glad and half horrified.\n\nWhen I got upstairs, it currently being 3pm locally, it was pitch black outside. The sun was nowhere to be found. Nor was the moon. It was like the sky was off.\n\nMy mom and I walked down the block to speak to our neighbors, Senni and Peter. And by the look on their faces, we could tell they were seeing the same thing and reacting in the same way.\n\n\"What in the heck is going on...?\" said Peter.\n\n\"Seriously... Are we, like, in the Twilight Zone or something like that?\" said Senni in agreement.\n\n\"Either that or our entire town has been teleported to Alaska or the North Pole - or would it be the South Pole?\" said my mom.\n\n\"Whoa! What is that?!\" Senni said, pointing directly up towards the center of the sky, though not necessary because sooner or later we all would have noticed what would come next...\n\nIn the middle of the sky, in completely white text - I'm talking FFFFFF - words began appearing one at a time. They said, \"World > Sorry guys, I broke the night and day setting. I can't seem to get it fixed...\"\n\nAt this point I had to run back home and alert my younger brother. He was only 8 but he was very into Sci-Fi and computers and though this whole ordeal was terrifying I figured I'd make the best of it and involve him. Right before I got back to my house, I turned to look at the sky again and new words had appeared: \"I think I'm going to have to reset everything. Sorry guys...\"\n\nHe was in his room in the basement, as always. So, I sprinted down the stairs and, as always, completely unaware of his surroundings and even less so of what time it was, he was on his computer.\n\n\"Eddie, you are not going to believe this. I mean, truly, you are not going to believe it. Right now, outside\"\n\nBut I had to cut myself off. My brother still wasn't paying attention. He stood up, still looking in the direction of his computer...\n\nOn his computer screen was The Sims. He was centered on the part of the small town he was controlling so he didn't even notice that off to the bottom right was a block that looked... exactly like ours. And in the text area where you'd normally type commands and cheats was the exact text in the sky...\n\nStill, my younger brother was oblivious. He was speaking to himself, \"guess I'm just going to have to reset it...\"\n\nHe began to kneel down towards the surge protector his computer was plugged into...\n\n\"Eddie!!! NOOOOOO" ]	1
	[WP] You are the sidekick to the most famous Superhero in the country. When they suddenly seem to turn to violent villainy, the nation looks to you to stop them. Permanently.	[ "The first time was justified. Nobody would argue with that.\n\n\nWe’d been tracking Abombination for weeks, and when we finally caught up with him he was about to blow up a school. Righteous Vengeance had no choice but to throw his sword, and gory as it was, the lives of three hundred children aren't something you play about with.\n\n\nThe second time I felt was fair, but some journalists tried to paint it in other lights. I'd been tied to a metal table, a laser slowly approaching my face, then Righteous Vengeance threw Heatman into the power supply, killing him and saving me.\n\n\nThe third time? I think we could've detained Red Widow, but I'm just the sidekick. I don't call the shots. The fourth was definitely troublesome. We actually had Professor Discord tied up.\n\n\n“What are you doing?” He'd shrieked.\n\n\n“Righteous Vengeance.” RV said, right before he decapitated him.\n\n\nI was getting worried alright. And apparently others were too, enough to kidnap me on my way home from school, throwing a bag over my head, and bundling me into the back of an unmarked van.\n\n\nI'd been moved a fair bit, and when I was eventually pulled out and put into a chair I spoke up.\n\n\n“Look, I'm not threatening you guys, but I have some dangerous friends. This might come back to bite you in the ass.” \n\n\nThe hood was pulled off, and I found myself in a small interview room with a single door and a single mirror. A black-suited woman sat opposite.\n\n\n“RadicalBoy?” She said. “I'm Special Agent O’Hara. I apologise for the conditions of our meeting, but needs must.”\n\n\n“What's this about?” I said.\n\n\n“It's about your mentor.”\n\n\n“Ah.”\n\n\n“Yes. We need you to do something for us, for the world really.”\n\n\n“He won't be easy to bring in.” I said. “You know he can lift 30 tonnes?”\n\n\n“We don't want you to bring him in.” She slid a gun across the table. “It's gone past that.” I looked from the gun to her, and back.\n\n\n“You know he's bulletproof?”\n\n\n“It's loaded with specially made uranium rounds.”\n\n\n“Why me?” I said.\n\n\n“Trust and access are the main reasons. Plus we don't think he’d kill you, at least we hope not. Can't say the same for our agents.”\n\n\n“But isn't that your job? You're the government!”\n\n\n“'Ask not what your country and do for you, but what you can do for your country.’” she said.\n\n\n“Seriously? You're quoting JFK to try and get me to kill my adoptive father?”\n\n\n“Look, kid, we’re not the ones with the power to control gravity.”\n\n\n“What about the Law Division? Captain Fantastic can go toe-to-toe with him, fuck, Painmongerer is literally perfect for this.”\n\n\n“They're busy, giant radioactive mouse is attacking Tokyo, we don't know when they'll be back. We need you.”\n\n\nIt had taken some time, but I'd relented. They'd made me a temporary Special Agent (for legal reasons), which was pretty cool, but I couldn't focus on that. Truth be told I was shitting myself. I had no idea what I'd tell RV, luckily I didn't have to.\n\n\n“Suit up kid.” He called, as soon as I got home. “The Human Crocodile is at it again.”\n\n\n“Ok, give me two minutes.” I'd dressed carefully, making sure the gun couldn't be seen beneath my breastplate. As I joined him in the rocket car he grinned wildly.\n\n\n“Say, we might just get some new shoes from this.”\n\n“Uhhh…”\n\n“Joking! Gosh, you're so moody sometimes... Teenagers.” He rolled his eyes. I wasn't convinced he was joking.\n\n\nWe took off, crossing to the West Coast and touching down just outside San Diego. RV checked out position on his satellite computer, then pointed into the distance with the Shortsword of Truth.\n\n\n“That way.” He said. \n\n\nWe soon found the lair, a hole in the ground the descended into a cave with a swampy smell. Pools of green water and the odd log were dotted around, as we're some suspiciously human-looking bones. The Human Crocodile was a nasty piece of work, and even if I stopped RV from killing him he was looking at the chair.\n\n\nWe found the main chamber soon enough, a large mossy room containing a small lake.\n\n\n“Help!” Julianne, the woman RV was dating, cried from the middle.\n\n\n“Fear not! Righteous Vengeance is here!” He called. A deep cackle rang out through the cave, and with a thud the scaly green bulk of the Human Crocodile landed between us and Julianne.\n\n\n“Sorry to croc you, but-”\n\n\n“Wait, was that meant to be 'stop’?” RV said.\n\n\n“Yes.”\n\n\n“That's terrible! You really need to work on your puns.”\n\n\n“Shut up!” The Human Crocodile said.\n\n\n“He's right, dude. Your pun game is weak.” I said.\n\n\n“I'm taking a stand-up course, Ok? We’ve only had three sessions...”\n\n\n“Maybe try improv?” I suggested.\n\n\n“I hadn't thought of that.” The Human Crocodile replied.\n\n\n“Enough!” RV declared, pointing his sword. “Release the fair lady, or feel the full fury of Righteous Vengeance!”\n\n\n“Never!”\n\n\nThe brawl was short and sweet, but enough time for me to release Julianne and get her outside. I rushed back, drawing the pistol. RV had the Human Crocodile pinned to the floor, sword at his throat.\n\n\n“Now it's time to put you down like the rabid animal you are!”\n\n\n“Actually, RV, I'm gonna need you to stand down.” I said, pointing the gun at him.\n\n\n“Et Tu, RadicalBoy?” He said. \n\n\n“Uranium bullets, RV, stand down.” The FBI had told me to kill him, but I wasn't prepared for that. What I could do for my country was uphold justice, and give my mentor a chance at a fair trial.\n\n\nUnfortunately for me RV had no inclination to go quietly. Before I had time to react he’d leapt over the room and thrown me into the cave wall.\n\n\n“I'll deal with you later.” He said, but as he turned back to the Human Crocodile the cave ceiling erupted. Rock and debris rained down on us as Captain Fantastic slowly descended, cape billowing behind him.\n\n\n“Say,” he said. “Anyone 'round here need a hero?” I cheered in spite of myself. RV always resented Captain Fantastic, and glared angrily.\n\n\n“Bootlicker Division here to 'save the day?’ I suppose.”\n\n\n“Something like that.” Crashgirl said, dropping in behind Captain Fantastic.\n\n\n“Traitors!” RV said, leaping out of the cave. Captain Fantastic grabbed Crashgirl and followed suit, I used my power over gravity to repel myself from the floor, bouncing up into the sunlight.\n\n\n“Hey kid, get in.” Foxman said, hovering beside me in the saucer he called the Flying Fox. We sped after the others, dodging explosions and projectiles as they headed for the city. We stopped just outside the limits, where Captain Fantastic held up a hand.\n\n\n“Let PM take it from here, guys. We don't want any collateral damage.” He said.\n\n“Oh shit.” Foxman muttered.\n\n\nWe found RV about an hour later, in a trolley depot, chained to a steel beam and considerably worse for wear. I won't go into details, suffice to say both Foxman and I lost our lunch, and Righteous Vengeance won't be walking, talking, or even eating solid food for the rest of his life.\n\n\n“How?” Foxman asked. “How are you even on our team?”\n\n\nPainmongerer, covered in an unfathomable amount of blood and gore, and dragging a ridiculously oversized battle-axe, simply shrugged.\n\n\n---\n\n\nThanks for reading! Feedback welcomed! You can read more about the Law Division [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/7g73ge/wp_a_supervillain_out_of_a_ten_year_prison/dqh7npy/). Check out /r/Xais56 for more!", "Videos of a the man known and loved as the Ultimate American Hero played on dozens of screens. His cape waved in the wind. The screens cut to his current carnage, most of it blurred or blacked out. Thousands dead and millions in property damage already, the Boy Scout watched with a tear in his eye. All of his foes vanquished and many of the heroes dead or disabled, the Boy Scout took refuge as his alter ego, Kent Wayne. \n\nEven though he was still a boy, the media kept asking where he was and where he'd gone. Somehow, they thought he could stop him. His name wasn't the Ultimate American Hero for nothing. He was superhuman and now psychotic. Reality to him was full of demons and voices telling him to destroy the world. Boy Scout was undeniably human in all the normal ways. He was smarter than most, and he could fight sure, but he was a side kick as a gimmick. The kid who found common sense solutions to unique complex problems. Screens showed his non-stop carnage only a few miles away. A military solution was the next move along with a city wide evacuation. His parents were probably wondering where he was. \n\nAs he walked, a car pulled away from the sidewalk and started to follow him. It was just his imagination. It had to be. Police sirens blared and surrounded him. There was no more hiding. He climbed into a squad car willingly. The number of dead climbed into the tens of thousands. Reporters waited for him at the police station telegraphing his location to the UAH. \n\nInside, he was lead to a room where he waited with his backpack. He opened it and pulled out his costume stripping down to his boxers. With the pants on, the door swung open, and, for a horrible second, he locked eyes with him, the President. A man in a black suit closed the door as the Boy Scout put on the rest of his costume. Finished, he sat down. \n\n\"You can come in now.\" \n\nA different man in a black suit opened the door for the classically handsome President Adams. His hair was perfect, his smile was perfect. Everything was perfect about him. He sat in front of the Boy Scout, his perfection cracking. \n\n\"Look, there's no time to waste, I'm asking you to do something for your country. It's not easy, but we need you, now more than ever. We need you to kill the Ultimate Hero.\" \n\n\"Ultimate American Hero.\" \n\n\"Not anymore, son. We've officially disowned him.\" \n\n\"Isn't he mentally ill? Can't something be done?\"\n\n\"Over ten thousand people have died trying to do something. We're running out of options. You may be our last one.\" \n\n\"I'm not strong enough. Not even close.\" \n\n\"No, you're strong...\"\n\n\"I'm not stronger. I'm much much weaker. I tagged along because I won a costume contest. I can fight sure. I've helped, but he will kill me. And, why should I help? What do I get out of this?\" \n\n\"Your family will be safe. We'll pay you ten million dollars a year for the rest of your life.\"\n\n\"Alright, I'm listening, but I don't know how to stop him.\" \n\n\"He has an off switch.\" \n\n\"An off switch? He's not human?\" \n\n[Part II is here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/nickkuvaas/comments/7gjs5m/wp_you_are_the_sidekick_to_the_most_famous/)" ]	2
	[WP]: You took over the world by being the first person to perfectly and efficiently weaponise one of the world's most powerful natural energy source: The outrage of facebook moms	[ "I stare down at my morning coffee, cooling and steaming in my favorite yellow mug with Donald Duck on the side. The old school Donald with the funny shaped bill they don’t use anymore. I have a serious dilemma on my hands: is today a one or two shot morning? I glance up at the powerpoint presentation I’ve been actively ignoring with it’s alarming downward trending graph and decide, hell, it’s a three shot morning. \n\nI add three capfuls out of the baileys flask I keep in vest pocket. I set the flask down on our oak conference table. My 20 advisors around the table are polite enough to not acknowledge my lack of temperance. \n\n“Your doctor told you to cut back on the alcohol,” my assistant Niles helpfully reminds me. He is not polite enough.\n\n“I know.”\n\n“He said your liver looked like that of a 70 year old homeless person. He said–”\n\n“Niles, do you want me to make it a four shot morning? Because that’s where we’re headed if you keep talking.”\n\nNiles dutifully closes his mouth. I take a deep pull on the flavor of Espresso and Baileys. That blend of alertness, warmness, and suppression of giving a fuck about the world, courses through my veins. Mortimer, my energy expert – and who the hell names their kid Mortimer, honestly? – stares at me expectantly. I take another heavy pull on my coffee and motion him to continue.\n\n“Right,” he turns and faces the screen. There’s a red line dropping downwards into a pit of black territory. If it were ski-slope, it would be a wonderful terrain. Instead, it’s the amount of energy our country is generating, and it’s falling fast. “The amount of energy of we’re generating is falling fast.”\n\n“I can see that on the graph Mortimer,” I say.\n\n“Well if you can see that, maybe you can see your way towards finding a solution,” Niles says. Everyone at the overly long table turns to stare at Niles. They all know that he is the only one in the room, hell the only person in the world, that can get away with such a flippant disregard for authority. If Mortimer had said something so provocative, it would have been straight to the salt mines! Or wherever it is we’re sending political prisoners this month. \n\n“They still have to mine salt, correct?” I ask Niles.\n\n“What?” His confusion is genuine. \n\n“Nevermind. Let’s save the barbs for later and let poor… Mortimer finish his report so we can start workshopping.” I motion for the pencil-necked geek in glasses, we all know and love, to continue his report.\n\n“Right,” Mortimer turns to the screen again, “It appears that our last Facebook campaign of ‘You won’t believe what the post-millennials are doing this week!’ has lost its effectiveness. The post-to-outrage ratio has fallen by 78% as too many mothers are actually willing to believe what post-millennials are up to. Our backup campaign of ‘Bitcoin is wasting electricity and driving up computer costs’ proved to be 98% ineffective. Reports indicate that Facebook Mom’s don’t understand what a Bitcoin is.”\n\n“Hell, I don’t know if I really understand what it is,” I slur out. Three shots might have been a mistake.\n\n“We’ve had to call up the tertiary campaign ‘Veterinarians are trying to force transgender surgeries’. This was, unfortunately, completely derailed when the top comment was someone pointing out that the surgery described was Trans-sexual not trans-gender and the outrage devolved into a discussion of semantics which our Alpha-Mind-Wave units can only gather at a 40% efficiency rate. We need a new campaign within the next week, or we will not have enough power to maintain the nuclear missile shield.”\n\nI slam the last bit of coffee and bang my mug down. “Got it. Let’s start working. What about Hannah? She’s our top blogger and must have a campaign for us.”\n\n“Sir, uhh…” Mortimer’s eyes dart back and forth. Everyone in the room suddenly, and conspicuously, becomes very concerned with the stack of papers in front of them. \n\nI sigh, “Out with it. I won’t shoot the messenger.”\n\n“Well, sir–”\n\n“Probably,” Always good to make ‘em squirm and let them know who’s in charge.\n\nMortimer swallows hard and looks pleadingly at Niles before reluctantly continuing, “It’s about Hannah. She’s, well, she’s started therapy and is on antidepressants. Her posts have all turned positive… I’m sorry sir, we can’t rely on her anymore.”\n\n“FUCK!” And I’m in charge! I don’t want to be in charge anymore.\n\nI rest my elbows on the table and start rubbing my eyes. “Alright everyone. Who’s got any ideas for me. Throw ‘em out there.”\n\n“The internet is going to slow down without net neutrality!”\n\n“No good; mothers don’t understand tech.”\n\n“The latest Nintendo console isn’t backwards compatible. You’ll have to buy all new games and controllers.”\n\n“The 90s called, they want their outrage back.”\n\n“Manspreading and catcalling is getting worse!”\n\n“Facebook is going to require you to take a picture of your face every morning to prove you’re human”\n\n“Google+ buys out facebook”\n\n“Your new car will automatically stop if you…”\n\n“Could there be a pervert in your…”\n\n“Bathrooms at schools…”\n\n“Children…”\n\n“Guess what’s coming…”\n\n“Doctors say…”\n\n\nThe noise of the room washes over me like the sound of the crashing waves at sea. Back and forth my advisors argue. They’ve seen me work; they know the system, but none of them know the outrage. None of them quite understand how exactly I was able to tap into that mindset of outrage, of hysteria, of that perfect story. A story that when a mom hears it, she has to A: immediately tell everyone she knows, to warn them, and B: start spending endless amounts of time worrying about the validity of it. Come on brain, make the connections, find the thread that binds every mother on the planet in worry and desire.\n\n“I’VE GOT IT!” Everyone goes silent. They all know they’d better listen.\n\nQuietly, slowly, I let out the idea, afraid that I might break it somehow if I say it too fast. “Doctors release new study… eating chocolate... while pregnant… causes autism.”\n\nEvery eye goes wide. This is gold and we all know it. There’s a flurry of activity as they rush to get this campaign out the door. There will need to be celebrity endorsements, celebrity protests, tv announcements, public debates, rumors of chocolate shortages, rumors of lawsuits, but this should get us through next few months.\n\nI reach my hand out to pour myself a shot straight from the flask, but my hand grasps empty air. Niles has taken my flask and is giving me the look that says he won’t budge. I could have that man taken out back and shot, but I won’t. When I inevitably burn myself out and die young, he will be the only one that can keep this country running. \n\nMy eyes go very sad as I stare at him and realize, I need him. He’s the only person in the world I really need.\n\n\n\n\n\\edit\\\nAt Pynoschaseo's suggestion, I have added a bit more. Part 2 here: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/7gm39a/wp_you_took_over_the_world_by_being_the_first/dqkyxh2/" ]	1
	[WP] All the heroes in the world have been beaten by the great evil. The only one who stands between him and destroying the world is you. You have no powers and just happened to be there and witness it all. The evil thinks you are the final boss of heroes.	[ "The evil doesn't know that I'm powerless, so if I feign confidence and savvy, maybe I can buy myself time to come up with a plan.\n\nThe sky was blood red, the clouds a mix of Atlantic blue and fire orange. I stood on the glass beach before the giant serpent, unflinching.\n\nI decided to pretend that I was immune to the evil's presence, that it wasn't even worth my attention. But the tiny shells that sprinkled the smooth reflection of the dramatic sky were.\n\n\"I know you are afraid.\" The Serpent slowly whispered. It's voice seemed to emanate from everywhere at once. \n\nI continued to collect shells that met a certain criteria. No bigger than my thumb nail, and the whiter the better. I thought about making a necklace or a bracelet for my girlfriend. \n\n\"You cannot stop this.\" The deep whisper told me. \n\n\"Hey, why don't you help me collect these shells?\" I asked without yelling. \n\nThe serpent was taken aback by my dismissive attitude and audacity to presume that it would even tolerate such a request. \n\n\"I can taste your fear.\" The Serpent insisted. \n\nTruthfully, I was passed fear. I was passed acceptance. If this was the end, I was just intent on making it interesting. The fact that The Evil hadn't already devoured me made it a mild success, which emboldened my resolve. But I wanted more. This was the end of the world. Every second mattered now. \n\nI began looking closer at the shells as I collected them. I looked closely at one that had smooth edges, which reminded me of my father, who was always so cool and confident. I smiled at the idea that he would be proud of me in that moment. Another shell was thin and sharp, which made me think of my mother who was sensitive, yet capable of arranging words that cut you to your core. \n\nI sighed heavily, missing my family. I followed that with a chuckle, realizing that for a moment I had forgotten about the giant, evil Serpent shooting lasers at my head. \n\nThe thought of the Serpent becoming enraged by my increasingly joyous persona tickled me further, sparking a gut laugh as genuine as any I had in my lifetime. I fell to my knees, laughing myself to tears. I thought about my best friends with whom I had countless such laughing sessions, and imagined how glorious our combined laughters might be if they were on the beach with me. \n\nAs my laughter finally receded, I became overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude for having been able to accumulate so many wonderful memories. If this was the end, I had nothing to be angry about. I didn't have to exist at all, let alone have been so happy for so long. Tears of another nature now streamed down my cheeks. \n\n\"You will be defeated!\" The Serpent screamed with a booming voice that was infected with an air of desperation. The insecurity in the its voice amused me so much that I couldn't break the smile on my face. \n\n\"Who are you trying to convince?\" I asked the serpent as I turned to face it. I knew it was right, but I no longer cared. \n\nI had no room in my heart for resentment or anger. If anything, I felt bad for the sentient being that chose an existence of evil, for they were limited to such a narrow and unsatisfying aspect of life. I wondered if the Serpent had ever felt love or empathy. \n\n\"It's okay, Serpent.\" I said. \"If any part of you feels bad, don't worry. Even if you consume the entire world, you cannot undo the love and kindness that existed here. It's a part of the universe now just like you.\"\n\n\"I do not feel bad.\" The Serpent whispered. \"I feel hungry.\"", "Darius was pushed into the throne room, the massive dark stone around him ringing out as his chains hit the floor. \n\n\"GET UP\" The guard kicked him in his side and pulled his long dark hair, forcing him to rise. Darius could hardly breath and his sight was blurry from the hours underwater. He needed sleep, He wanted to take a break from it all, but he was in the belly of the beast now. \n\nThe two guards held him in place as they walked forward to the throne. Even through Darius's blurry vision he could see the massive window behind it, the fiery stain glass casting an eerie red light among the quiet chamber. Lord wasn't here yet, but Darius knew he would come soon, and these where the last minuets of his life. \n\nOne of the guards thrust his staff into the back of his knees causing him to fall to the floor in a submissive position. Darius cried out from the surprise and the same guard cracked the staff across the back of his head. \"Silence, He enter's\"\n\nDarius smiled. Lord was a vain man, if his name isn't obvious enough. No one knows his name merely because everyone is forced to revere him. Once he took over the kingdom he built this castle, which in fairness brought trade and workmen, bolstering the economy. Lord was also smart, unbelievably smart. He was a military strategist, a diplomat, a economist, and a warrior in his own right. Darius knew that if anyone deserved to be king, it would be him. \n\nYet he was no king, he was a devil. \n\nThe massive oak doors opened, and both of the guards fell to there knee's in a bow of reverence. Darius looked at Lord, in the brief freedom he had. He was dressed simply, he didn't wear opulent purple or expensive jewelry, merely a soft wool shirt and pants. Lord walked closer and closer to the throne, never looking at Darius, giving him time to appreciate his massive form. He was a head or two taller than both of the guards who where still bowing. Each muscle in his body was toned to perfection, making him look like a Northern Giant. Darius knew however it wasn't the body you had to fear, it was the mind here worried about. \n\nLord turned his head toward them and sat down on his throne. Only the four of them sat in the silent room. Lord finally looked Darius in the eye. \"Stand up\" Lord said in his gruff yet gentle voice. \n\nDarius could barely comply as the guards grabbed him again and lifted him up. After Darius shifted his chains and regained his composer he looked at Lord again, this time not smiling. Darius looked at Lord again, ready for what ever is to come next. \n\n\"Who are you?\" Lord said, leaning forward in his throne. \n\nDarius smiled, knowing he was going to be beat again \"I thought you already knew that?\" \n\nBlood dripped from his nose as the thick wooden rod cracked against his skull. A guard was yelling something, but Darius couldn't hear because his ears where ringing with pain. \n\nDarius could see Lord yell something and the guards back up. Darius smiled again as he stood up and addressed Lord. \"I am sorry, Lord\" Darius did a standard bow, he would work together for now \"I will answer you questions\" \n\nLord looked surprised, an emotion to hide the fear. \"Good, I am glad\" Lord walks down toward Darius. \"Who are you?\" \n\nDarius smiled \"Just a simple citizen of this empire\"\n\n\"Accused of traitorous intent\" Lord said, pacing in front of Darius. \n\n\"Accused, not tried\" \n\nLord decided to stop pressing and decided to go for different questions \"What are you planning?\" \n\n\"I am planning nothing\" Lord looked at him, and after staring into Darius soul, knew he wasn't lying. \n\n\"Do you have any exceptional abilities?\" Lord looked him over as Darius remembered he had done many times before. \"You don't look strong, or agile, do you have any blessings or curses?\"\n\nDarius chuckled \"Your tortures made sure of that\" \n\n\"You seem strangely confident\" Lord said immediately \"Why? Do you know something I should know?\" \n\n\"No\" Darius said. \n\nLord look at his face, getting closer than he ever had. \"Number 5, Rip his shirt off\" Lord went back to the throne and sat down. Darius could tell his mind was churning through information. Darius looked at the guard, he wanted to help, but the chains stopped him. \n\n\"I thought so\" Lord said, even before the guard got the shirt off \"You where part of King Brigand's high officials\" Darius looked at his exposed shoulder, the tattoo of the 5 headed dragon stared back at him. \"But you have no Blessings, how is that?\" \n\nDarius looked back at Lord \"I was only officiated very late, and it wasn't a very important office\" Darius was telling the truth, he became the hand servant to Queen Ada as the battles with Lord where going on. Lord looked at Darius with a careful eye again, and shook his head, he knew Darius was telling the truth. \n\n\"I know you\" Lord said finally standing up \"I know you from somewhere\" Lord walked closer \"I'll just come out and say it, where have I seen you before?\" \n\nDarius wondered what moment he would bring up. \"Every time you defeated a major political power I was there\" Darius didn't want to be clever any more, he needed to tell Lord what he came here to say. \n\nLord thought about it for a moment and nodded his head \"Yes....Yes I remember now, you watched King Brigand die in a pool of his own blood. You where one of the Senators for Trimish correct? You have been in my prisons in for a long time\" Lord nodded his head and had a genial look on his face \"That's why you know the in's and outs of our torture processes\" The smile disappeared from Lord's face. \"I should have figured that out\"\n\n\"Actually, I wasn't a senator in Trimish, I was just the recorder for the grand court. The motto of the nation was 'The word of ink stops the blood of sword' and I was decided the best for the job\" \n\n\"Yet the Trimish where very against blessings and curses so what stops me from killing you right now?\" Darius was surprised. \n\n\"I would prefer if you didn't, and why would you?\" \n\n\"You know to much, you have seen me at my weakest and at my strongest, I see why now you are dangerous and that is why I would kill you\" Darius was surprised he got Lord to answer his question. \"Actually, depending on how you answer these next questions I might have you on arrest in the castle, you are a very tenacious person\" Darius smiled and wondered if in another world they could have been friends. Darius was probably one of the only people who could go up against Lord. \n\n\"Can I ask you one question?\" He had played into Lords hand with the servitude.\n\nLord looked at him suspiciously \"Yes\" \n\n\"What's my name?\" \n\nLord began to look very concerned. \"You have got me there\" Lord smiled, he was scared and Darius knew it \"I think we will be very good partners\" \n\n\"Unfortunately, I don't think we will\" Darius stepped back as Lord came closer, wanting to remove the chains. The two guards snapped back to life and placed hands on Darius bare shoulders. Darius sighed as he said what would probably be his last words. \n\n\"You have gotten to big for yourself. You have no idea why I was taken into your prisons, you have no idea why I asked to have direct council\" Lord turned his head. \"You do actually know my name, it is The Witness, and I was taken to prison for passing out some of my books, a new edition\" Lord placed his hand on a hidden gun concealed among his robes as soon as the word 'witness' hit his ears. \"It tells the truth, and that is something you can not control, despite your massive power\" The guards on either side of Darius backed up a bit, the legend of The Witness had reached this high up as well. \"You will have to deal with your past, and people knowing about it, because I was there and I have written what I have seen. You will have to face something you can never destroy, truth. I'm the one thing you forgot in each of your conquests and your past has come back\" \n\nDarius smiled, knowing he wanted to rub it in \"Do you even know my name Michael?\" Three gunshot's rang out among the chamber and three bodies fell to the floor. \n\n\"You are amazing, Witness\" Michael said Staring down at him \"one of the only men to best me, by using my own past to destroy me\" Michael thought about the Seer who said he would be ruined by the one he forgot about the one whose name would never be known. The Witness would die, and with his death ruin the world. \"Good Job, Witness, good job\" Michael said sitting on his throne to think about his next move. \n", "Your name is Michael Travis. You're a stuntman turned freelance pilot, and you make your living serving as what essentially amounts to an international taxi for the Enhanced. Superheroes, in other words. You haven't got any powers yourself, but you're a damn good pilot and mechanic. You fly a heavily modified Cessna with just enough fuel capacity to safely cross the Atlantic, and you thought this would be just another day. Some threats of an attack in London came in yesterday, so you grabbed a couple Enhanced from New York that couldn't snag jet tickets on short notice and ferried them over.\n\nThey weren't amazingly popular, but you'd dealt with them before. Concretia, real name Ashley Sinclair, with the ability to absorb the properties of whatever she touched. Then Sabrina Brooks, who'd elected not to maintain a secret identity, and was essentially a grown-up magical girl. When the three of you caught sight of the city, London was burning bright enough that it looked like an orange dot on the horizon.\n\nPanicking, you pushed your little plane as fast as it could go. You'd buzzed Big Ben, normally horribly dangerous and seven kinds of illegal but it gave Sinclair and Brooks a way out of your plane and they could both take a fall like a professional when they had time to plan it.\n\nThe fires had snapped them out of the air like the maw of a hungry animal when they'd descended the clock tower.\n\nNow, closer to the flames, you could tell that they were unique. Burning in the shape of sabercats, dinosaurs, and other primordial predators, they chased your plane like a toy. You'd never flown this fast or this recklessly in your life, but when the chips are down, you're still one of the best pilots in the world, and things like safety margins take less priority when you're evading a pterodactyl made of fire.\n\nThen the voice sounded in your head. Ah, a survivor. Better even than the rest of these champions. You must be their leader.\n\nA sudden increase in weight in the back of the plane almost ruins your latest maneuver, but you compensate at the last second, completing an Immelman turn that takes you between a giant eagle and a tyrannosaurus. \"So, King of Heroes, my name is Abbadon.\" The voice sounds from directly behind you. You pull the plane into a steep ascent, pouring on the thrust so that you'll stall out and reverse direction in a couple seconds, and turn to face its source.\n\nAbbadon, as he calls himself, is a tall, pale man with a curved pair of jet-black horns. Dressed in a business suit and with no weapons, there's no way he should have accounted for enough weight to almost throw you into a tailspin, but you know enough about the Enhanced not to judge a book by its cover. \"I don't know what you mean by 'King of Heroes,'\" you say. \"I'm just a pilot.\"\n\n\"A pilot who can evade my creations even when all of the world's champions have been consumed by the flames?\"\n\n\"Well, yes. Honestly I just don't think people appreciate fire as a hazard when they're Enhanced. I happen to like not being near it.\"\n\nAbbadon lets out a mildly off-put sounding hmm before asking you a question. \"Well, then. Was that really all of the heroes?\"\n\nYou shrug. \"We were probably the slowest bus in, since Concretia and Sabrina were low priority heroes. We expected them to be on cleanup by now, honestly. So yeah. Not likely to be any more.\"\n\nThe man slumps into the seat of your plane with a paradoxically undignified error as you stall out. \"That's disappointing. I at least thought taking over the world would be a challenge.\"", "A weary and battered man, soaked in the blood of heroes, crests the last of the steps to the flat white plateau which another has found himself disoriented atop.\n\nwhere am I?, the second wants to ask, but the other's appearance does not lend itself to thoughts of welcome or civilised help.\n\nThen again, bloodwalker (whence that name?) is sure to look up in a moment, and notice him there. Perhaps best to get off on a civilised foot, it at all possible?\n\n\"Greetings!\"\n\nThe streak of blood trailing the man across the pristine white floor, (that doesn't spread or soak, as if.. caged? in this place), ceases its progression with the heavy fall of a boot.\n\nThe man raises his great head from its driving position before him. It is ugly beyond measure, but in its misshapen brutality, not in maggots or writhing tentacles. Why would it be ugly in maggots or writhing tentacles? The lost man doesn't know, but he knows something is more wrong with the man than mere brutality, or mere murder, or even mere rivers of blood.\n\nSince when are these things mere, wonders the man. Before he can wonder at such a thought coming to him, an ordinary man (-surely?) he is interrupted by answer.\n\n\"Since the devourer sullied the steps of heaven.. with his ungracious presence\" answers the man.\n\nFor some reason he doesn't understand, the lost man does not jump back and shrink into a ball. \n\n-Perhaps he is dreaming. \n\nInstead he thinks, you can read thoughts?\n\n\"Stop playing stupid, whoever you are, or whoevers you are.\" \"There is nothing to be stalled for, no more time to be gained. You will cast me from the steps, as was foreordained, -you will break me on the wheel. Or I will stain the gates with the blood of the last champion, and break them after all.\" The man stopped and laughed at his pun. -after all. \"You know this, I know this. Why delay? I am only getting stronger, healing from my wounds as we speak.\"\n\nI must be drea..\n\na throaty laugh burst from the man, interrupting his thought. \"Very funny! ..Alright, I don't mind waiting. If it's to my entertainment as well as advantage. Perhaps the fates have changed their tune, since I..\" he dropped to a whisper \"..had a little word with them\"\n\nThe lost man rubbed his forehead and blinked his eyes. He tried to think quietly, not wanting to provoke another outburst from the hallucination. There must have been some kind of mistake...\n\nno discordant ear splitting laugh pierced his attention, it seemed to be working\n\n..perhaps a translation error. 'Final' champion.. could be 'no' champion? Maybe someone..\n\nhe suddenly stopped his thoughts. As if finally stepping from a dream trance, a (seeming) realisation came that the man's laughter was the least was the least of his worries, that the only thing seemingly delaying his demise was the man's idea that he was a champion, -whom it might benefit him to strengthen before facing.\n\nThese thoughts were rapid and preverbal, and he hoped the man could not make sense of them.\n\nThe man, -bloodwalker (whence that name?), was regarding him with keen interest. \"Well this is new, this is an interesting way to set a trap. It's creative! I commend it.\" a bored look passed across his face \"But I'm not that stupid, I'm not that antsy, and I'm not going to fly at you just because I can hear you fear and mean it. You're up to something, and I can wait\"\n\nThe man did look stronger now, more malevolent now. Those maggots and tentacles might appear at any second.. But it was then that the clock struck twelve, -as a sudden sound of liquid evaporating marked the dissapearance of the last drop of blood from the no-longer-trail at the man's heel, leaving him stranded on the white floor.\n\nCorrection, -where were the steps? The endless white plane.\n\nWhere was the gate? \n\nSurely at his back, looming endlessly up, for a vast shadow began to sweep across the plane.\n\nIt was then that he remembered who he was. The man's son, memory wiped and used for a stooge. A moment's sympathy, too imperceptible for bloodwalker to find and stamp out, a moment's thought of recognition manifesting as curiosity. Some moment's delay, and the simple trap could spring. \n\n-Since bloodwalker had entered the realm, he would not have been for an instant without an excess of fresh blood, so he made his way deeper and deeper into the wards, so far insulated, so safe from them, as to not recognise their purpose. If he could only be kept here, between the stair and the gate, where blood fled, he could be paralyzed, defeated in an instant.\n\nThat was the plan.\n\n..But there had been one oversight. With the son's memory wipe, he had forgotten his father's crimes, forgotten who put him in the grave, and for what end. And he had always been one quick to action, and loyal to a fault.\n\nSo he threw himself forward, even as the shadow twisted to pull him back, struggling forward and forward and forward, and just close enough to rend his skin with his teeth and sprinkle a shower of blood sweeping forward, a drop to land at the feet of the man who he remembered was his father, and that those who had fooled him wished to defeat.\n\nAnd so the challenger appeared through a cracked and screaming gate, losing a third its essence squeezing through its imploding form, that had shrunk from the moment the first blood touched the ground, and collapsed from the point that bloodwalker added his own to the mix.\n\n_\n\n\"No matter\", spoke the champion. \"I will cast you from the steps, and break you on the wheel\"\n\n\"Ah, but your gates are cracked, and stained with blood.\"\n\n\"Don't tell me you believed that shit... Do you really think this is heaven? That I am master of the world? I am but the master of your paltry tribe, and this my plane. The fates are lies, fool, pretender to dust. I wrote them to ward off believers and halfwits. Not draw them here! No matter.. Should you cast me down, all you'll be is king of no one left. You halfwit! I'm going to cast you from the steps, and break you on the wheel, -only for wasting my fucking time!.\n\nUncertainty showed on bloodwalker's face for the first time, but it found familiar ground again even as the god charged. \"Graaaahhh... Either way, your realm shall be mine!\"", "I was standing there, blankly looking at him, the \"great villain\", the \"fifth horseman of the apocalypse\", the most \"evil conception there is\", and yet, I could find myself scared, in fact, I was amused, amused by the irony of this situation.\n\nI smiled. It was more of a smirk than a smile but I did. I took a deep breath and closes my eyes. Trying to analyze the situation. I was bad, that much I figured out from the start. \n\nWho knew that such a creature lurked underneath the surface of our planet. A being that could absorb the evil from people and use it to power itself up. I had supposedly absorbed all the evil in the world a was able to defeat all the heroes. It should've ended there but I just had to go to New York that week didn't I?\n\nAnd here was I thinking this kind of things only happen in movies. The person you would expect the least becomes the hero. But am I really the hero in this case? Is this helping my situation or just making it worse?\n\nHe looked ready to attack. From his expression I could see he was terrified. Why wouldn't he be? He was almost killed by the other heroes and now this guy comes in front of him acting like he's the final boss.\n\nI knew I could only do one thing. I started running towards him as he was gathering power. This was my only chance. I tackled him with all of my might.\nI felt like my soul was being pulled out of my body. It was horrible, and, at the same time, it made me feel liberated.\n \nWhat happened next was an explosion of nothing. \n\nHe had reached it's maximum capacity.\n\nWho would've guessed that me, a notorious serial killer would end up saving the world", "Ezren the Just struggled to breathe. His chest felt like tight bands of truesteel encased it and his hands were heavy and hot.\n\nWhy am I on the ground? How did I get here?\n\nAs his thoughts slowly coalesced back into normalcy, the groans of his dying Companions filled his ears. He cast his eyes around him as sweat beads dropped from his brow.\n\nJanos the Proud. Sandred the Sly. Thur, Son of the Moon. So many. They are all dead or dying. We have lost.\n\nIt was the quiet voice that brought him back fully to the present. That average, soft voice that somehow invoked the deepest of tremors in his gut. Ezren was long past the entry to manhood and had known war since he was a child but this… this voice… it terrified him. The being behind that voice had pillaged lands for decades and was responsible for the deaths of so many.\n\n\"Yes... good. Come back to me, Ezren. I want you to see this. Not because you deserve it but to honor what we once were, so long ago. I want you to witness!\"\n\nSummoning the last vestiges of his will, Ezren pushed himself to his hands and knees and then grunted with the effort to get a leg up. He raised his head and saw stars swimming in his view. His ears had a tinny ring in them that made the dying groans around him all the more piteous. \n\nHe was bloodied, he was broken, but he was not yet dead. He would continue to fight.\n\n“Balthror… you must not go through with this! It was forbidden from long ago. You must not harness the Winds of Time!”\n\n“Fool! I will not sit by your temple’s teachings any longer! Your priests warn and wail out of fear and cowardice of the unknown! I alone have seen what is coming. I alone have seen what lurks in the night. If we are to be strong enough, we must draw from the powers of this world, from the very powers of time and space!”\n\nThe dark sorcerer's voice was not deep or particularly loud but Ezren could practically feel the evil madness seeping through his words.\n\n“Balthror, you can’t! You will destroy this world that you claim to love! We were never close, Balthror, but we fought side by side as young men. Why would you do this? Why destroy it all on some nameless fear?”\n\nBalthror just sneered at him and turned to the side, clearly not interested in wasting more time on arguing. He had won. No need to explain more. His eyes centered on the altar in the middle of the stone room.\n\nAtop the altar was a dark orb, a void of all light which hovering above the ancient stones. Balthror's hands started to move rapidly. Sudden lines of light and something... dark... started to flash and twist around his fingers. Bursts of lightning quickly shot out to the void and just as quickly shot back. The temperature in the room plummeted so quickly that Balthror’s spoken words became fog in front of his face. \n\nAs Balthror continued his incantations, Ezren slowly steeled his mind against the agony racing through his body, willing himself for one more strike. The hilt of his truesteel sword was inches from his grasp. Balthror’s dark magic gave him protection from most physical blows but maybe, just maybe, a true strike to the head would suffice. Ezren knew that it would not work but he still must try.\n\nWith the last ounce of energy in his body, Ezren jumped to his feet with his sword and lunged towards the dark sorcerer. His sword shot out at the head of the being that used to be a mortal man. Ezren poured every bit of his strength into the thrust, willing the sword to pierce the sorceror's eldritch defenses.\n\nThe point of the sword stopped suddenly in the air well in front of the dark robed figure. Ezren screamed out at the flaring pain in his wrist and shoulder from the impact of the thwarted blow. He crumpled to the ground, defeated and humiliated. Balthror didn’t even look at Ezren as he continued his dark incantation.\n\nMoments later, the void of darkness expanded rapidly, growing from the size of a man’s fist to something much larger like the mouth of a cave. Lightning shot out of and back into the darkness and the coldness of the air burned Ezren’s lungs. Ezren screamed. He could feel hopelessness settle in his soul like a frozen anchor.\n\nA sudden implosion of air caused Ezren to slam his mouth shut, slicing open his tongue and filling him with the coppery taste of blood. Balthror was thrown back several yards but somehow managed to land with a foot beneath him. He scrambled back to his feet rapidly.\n\nWhere the portal had once been stood a man. He looked like no man Ezren had ever seen before. He wore no armor or sword and his clothes were thin. They were made from a material that was unfamiliar to Ezren. The man had stains on his shirt and he was certainly no warrior. Though he looked strong enough, his belly extended far beyond his belt and the man’s awkward stumbling had none of a warrior’s grace. The stranger had a massive beard and wore a strange accoutrement on his head. It was red with white markings and extended over his eyes by several inches.\n\nThe man looked around a bit and swore loudly. Though Ezren had never heard this tongue before, he could somehow understand the man’s speech quite clearly though his words came out strange as though the man were sucking on a stone of his throat.\n\n“What in the flying fuck is happening to me? Where the fuck am I? Ahh shit I am going to be late for dinner and the missus is gonna whoop my ass! She’ll think I’ve been drinking with Billy again! Fuck!”\n\nThis seemingly tirade at himself continued on for several more moments as the man looked around while occasionally spitting a brown substance on the stone floor of the ancient temple. The tirade stopped when Balthror coughed loudly and began to speak.\n\n“And who are you? Some champion that the Absent Gods have summoned to do battle with me? Do you not understand? Look around you, fool! I have harnessed the power of Stone and Moon. I have summoned the Nine Beings and chained them to my will. By the power of my Words I have broken the Companions. Ezren the Just lays broken before me, his legendary sword useless in his hands. Fool!”\n\nThe man raised the red item on his head just slightly before crossing his arms across his chest over his prodigious gut.\n\n“Listen here, boy. You talk too much. Shut the fuck up. I ain’t got no good goddamn idea what you are going on about but I was just taking a load from ‘tlanta down to the coast when a fucking deer came out of nowhere and I hit a telephone pole. Last thing I knew, some damn ‘lectrical line was hittin my cab and I could feel the sparks flying. Now where the fuck am I?”\n\nBalthror stood still, looking at the man for several long seconds. The silence started to grow ponderous and thick in the room, haltered only by the now occasional groans from one of the Companions unlucky enough to still be living. Finally, Balthror shook himself and barked a laugh.\n\n“The portal. Time and space. You fool! Don’t you see? You are an accident! You are a mistake! You have been mistakenly summoned here. You are no champion! You are a weak wretch that I will cast down and destroy! Prepare yourself for doom!”\n\nBalthror’s otherwise mild voice raised to a howl by the end of his rant, his hands coming up and moving into a complex pattern. Motes of light started to form around his fingertips.\n\nThe stranger took a sudden step back and reached behind his back and pulled forth a shiny metal… something. It looked like a miniature club with a handle embedded on the end. The handle was fashioned at an angle so the shiny silver tube pointed to the dark sorcerer. The man sounded somewhat fearful as he responded.\n\n“Now listen here mister. God don’t make no junk so I’m ain’t no damn mistake. I got no beef with you but I don’t like what you just said. Put your hands down and cut the shit or I’ll end you.”\n\nBalthror said nothing and the motes of color grew in size and brightness. Their motion sped up and started to move out in random patterns closer and closer to the stranger.\n\nThe man’s eyes widened under the red cloth on his head and he stammered a few times. His thumb pulled something back on club and an audible click resounded in the stone chamber.\n\n“Last warning, mister! I will end you, motherfucker!”\n\nBalthror just roared in response and shoved his hands out in a sudden jerk, sending the motes of lights out at the stranger as fast as a speeding hawk.\n\nThere was a sudden BOOM and Ezren screamed again in pain as his already damaged ears were overloaded by the echoes of noise in the stone room. Ezren lost consciousness.\n\nCONTINUED\n\n", "The demon stood in the corridor, flames licking its body. Its glowing red eyes bore a malice of ages, a contempt that had festered in the bowels of the underworld for aeons. Smoke billowed from its nose, curling up to the ceiling in acrid yellow clouds.\n\n\"Who dares to stand in the way of D'thora, destroyer of worlds?\" his deep, gravelly bass voice boomed. \"Which fool chooses to challenge my will?\"\n\nI sucked on the end of my toothpick, deliberately making the asshole wait for my reply. \n\nIt's all about power dynamics, dude.\n\n\"Name's Bob,\" I finally replied. \n\nThe demon's face went from one of undisguised contempt to one of irritation and confusion. \n\n\"Bob?\" he asked.\n\n\"Bob,\" I replied.\n\nThe demon paused, the look of confusion becoming more intense. \n\n\"Bob what? Bob the reaper? Bob the light guardian? Bob, the eternal defender of the people?\"\n\nI paused once again, before replying. \n\n\"Nope. Just Bob.\"\n\nThe demon's gaze fell from my face, and he stared at the floor, evidently lost in thought. \n\n\"Odd,\" he muttered in his gravelly voice. \"I don't recall any heroes named Bob. I'm sure my lord would have mentioned it before I started this whole thing.\"\n\n\"Well,\" I said slowly, as if addressing a child, \"That might be because I ain't no hero.\"\n\nHis eyes shot back up to mine. \"What do you mean, you aren't a hero?\"\n\n\"Ain't a hero, plain as that. I'm the custodian.\"\n\nA wave of understanding washed over the demon's face. \"Ahh, I see. You're the guardian of this facility then. It remains under your protection and custody.\"\n\n\"Nuh uh,\" I said, shaking my head slowly. \"I'm just the custodian.\"\n\nThe confusion returned. \"I don't understand.\"\n\n\"I... am... the custodian,\" I said slowly. Caretaker. Janitor. Whatever you wanna call it. I clean the place.\"\n\n\"You... you clean it?\" it growled.\n\n\"Yup,\" I replied.\n\n\"You are not a hero?\"\n\n\"Nope.\"\n\n\"Then... nothing stands between me and the artifact! Move aside, mortal!\"\n\n\"Nope,\" I said, chewing on the toothpick. \"You ain't goin' in there. I just waxed the floor.\"\n\n\"I go where I please!\" exploded the demon, charging forward.\n\nI whipped the portal gun from my pocket, firing it at the floor in front of the demon. He tried to stop, but his hooves slipped on the freshly waxed floor, and he slid inside it the hole and into an eternal void. The portal sealed itself with a soft 'pop'. \n\nI smiled to myself. There were some benefits to working at Area 51. But within moments, the smile faded as I realized what had just happened.\n\n\"Shit. Now I gotta rewax that part of the floor.\"", "Griffin pulled out his phone, hand acting on its own accord, muscle memory taking place of consciousness as the quick double-tap vibration signaled another bullet in the already bullet-riddled corpse of real social interaction. \n\nWhere the fuck did that thought come from? \n\nHe paused with his phone at waist height. He wasn't exactly Mister Optimist (quite possibly the worst name of all Augmented, good and evil alike, though Dead-Inside always struck Griffin as equally unfortunate), but neither was he one of those people, believing social media to be the downfall of humanity. The Augmented managed to lead that category rather well. \n\nBefore checking his phone, Griffin brought up his left hand and finished the remains of his non-energy granting energy drink. He tossed the can into a trashbin as he continued walking, still holding the phone out by his waist. \n\nGriffin turned the corner. \n\nHis hand trembled, though from slamming back his second can of Monster or from seeing an impossibility across the street, he didn't know. \n\nIt was a man, or an attempt at one. Though it stood tall, at least eight feet, it had the same core shape. Two arms, two legs, a torso and a head. That was where the comparison ended. It was pitch black at every inch, as though made of oil, black sludge dripping from the body and landing at its feet where it re-joined the thing and worked its way back up. \n\nAnd though it had no face, Griffin sensed- no, he knew- it was staring at him. \n\nHe felt its gaze, the wrongness of it. He looked at a thing that should not be. \n\nStrike down enough soldiers, and the general eventually arrives. The voice was cold, pitch changing with every syllable, an alien tongue speaking a human language. \n\nGriffin felt a shiver run down his body, straightening his terrible posture as his spine imitated the tail of a frightened cat. \"W- What?\" \n\nThe sludge moved, each foot only lifting off the ground for the briefest moment as dropped sludge raced to reconnect it to the street. The street. It was moving toward him. He stood rooted in place, finally understanding all those made-up characters he laughed at in books and movies, finally knowing what fear can do. He screamed at his body to turn and sprint, but it stayed. Instead, he felt his own gaze shift to the sidewalk the monster was at. Three corpses, and though sludge covered a bit of them, he could make out the face of one. \n\nAntonidus, Griffin thought. That particular Augmented was actually respected by Griffin, one of the very few. He came from a similar background, taking his Augmented name from World of Warcraft. A fan of fireballs. Now he was dead. \n\nThe creature was nearly at him, and to Griffin's surprise, his body stepped forward. \n\nSorry, son. Another voice was in his head, though where the first was terrible, this was beautiful. Regal, commanding, the voice of a good man. Immediately, Griffin understood. The stories of regular people standing up to Augmented and winning were rare. Rarer still, those people claiming they heard a voice. Their body used as a vessel for another. One who allowed the powerless to use power. \n\nEveryone thought it a myth. A fairy-tale. Griffin certainly did. What did the kids call it... Mirror?. \n\nGriffin took in a breath, or tried to, but his body stood as a statue. \n\nThis being before us has no name, nor the will capable of forming one. It is not an Augmented, not any longer, but instead a wretch. Incapable of anything but lust for power. A victim of itself, as much as those it consumes. She was once named Auri, granted with the ability to take Augments from others. With them, she took memories, Souls. Dozens of voices reign in her head, control given to none but instinct. \n\nGriffin's body reached over to a nearby newspaper box and ripped the glass locking section off. He then walked to the trashcan where he threw his Monster, hand steady as it grabbed a rusted metal rod. In his left hand, a shield of glass. In his right, a weapon of rusted steel. \n\nWe must stop her. \n\nGriffin felt himself move like he'd never dreamed. Each step calculated, quick and with purpose. The four steps to one-Auri took almost no time, and the rod slammed into it with a hefty thud. It should have bent, but it held true. \n\nThe beast screamed, not in reaction to being hit, but as an attack of her own. Though Griffin held no control over his body, he felt the pain, his ears certainly bleeding. Still, his body continued hitting once-Auri, each blow as fast as the last, the striking speed of a cobra with the heavy weight of a boulder. \n\nIt hit the ground and turned to flame, a trick of Antonidus's making. This thing didn't have the same control, unable to spread out and retreat as Antonidus had a habit of doing. \n\nGriffin's body jumped back and held up the glass shield as fire shot up, turning to sludge half-way to him and slamming into the barrier with force. It shouldn't have been able to hold, but it did. The sludge reformed into one-Auri and another scream sounded as it began slamming fists toward Griffin with unbelievable speed. Each impact hit the glass shield as his body moved blindingly fast. \n\nThen Griffin's body jumped back again, dropped the weapon, and held out a palm. He felt extreme heat at the end of his hand, then saw a bolt of fire shoot out. It struck once-Auri in the chest, melting the sludge into a pool. It boiled on the sidewalk. \n\nGriffin stood there for a moment before his legs began to shake. His body was his own again. \"Hello?\" \n\nNo reply. \n\nIt didn't take long for shop-doors to open, shocked and happy men and women pouring out. Many were crying, but they all stared at Griffin with admiration. \n\nIt didn't take much longer for the news teams to arrive. " ]	8
	[WP] When God sent his only-begotten son to earth to die for humans sins, he didn't expect him to die. And he didn't expect to die with him.	[ "In a quickly darkening room Yeshua scribbled furiously. His wife, stabbed for disobedience was slowly bleeding out on the corner. Too weak to speak\n\n\"This is what he tells me. This is the truth.\"\n\nHe glared at the corner, still now. \"He would not lie to me,\" he hissed in the empty hut, quill racing." ]	1
	[WP] The Earth just fought off an alien invasion. The part that really annoys the aliens is that no Earthing actually noticed the invasion.	[ "\"Sarge, what is this nonsense?\" Boss radioed in.\n\n\"I'm sorry, the humans have defeated us.\" I replied. I was tired of having to explain myself. All my suggestions prior to the invasion had been ignored. I was an infantry soldier, but it didn't mean I lacked value to the team.\n\n\"Sarge, where are your weapons?\"\n\n\"They broke against this material. It's called concrete.\" I knew lasers would be a better idea. The handheld razor sharp claws that fitted into my uniform were so cumbersome.\n\n\"Can we send more?\" Boss asked.\n\n\"I don't know,\" I hesitated for a moment. \"I don't know if they are our enemies.\"\n\n\"WHAT?!\" Boss barked. \"Have you gone soft, Sarge! We want to conquer the planet. They must FEAR you!\"\n\n\"They don't. Maybe if they don't fear us, we can be harmonious together.\" I argued.\n\nI could hear my boss' nostrils flair. \"I will send more weapons.\"\n\nBefore he cut the radio, I squeaked \"they will never fear us.\"\n\nA slow and steady breath exhaled into the receiver. \"Why, Sarge, is that?\"\n\n\"I just - don't look....scary.\" I explained.\n\n\"Well then show your TEETH!\" He barked and I heard the line go silent.\n\nI found my sworn enemies in the room beside me. There was a blonde female Earthling and a brunette male one, with a tiny Earthling that was about the same size as me. The tiny Earthling would grab at me. I tried to tell him to stop, but we didn't speak the same language. He'd grab me and then squeal in delight. I was certain the tiny Earthling was my enemy, but I couldn't be sure about its parents. I couldn't murder an entire family because one of them was bad, could I? Besides, the tiny one was something I could handle if things got out of hand.\n\nThe blonde Earthling scratched around my uniform and it felt nice to be reprieved of the itch in places I couldn't reach. The male Earthling fed me, and I was grateful for a meal after all my travels. Boss was right: I had gone soft. I couldn't speak the tongue of the Earthlings, but I had blurted out a warning once amidst my belly becoming satiated. I told the Earthlings to run because the aliens were invading us. They simply responded by silencing me, embarrassing my efforts to appear as a threat, and offered me a dessert of sorts. I had told Boss so many times \"we can't go in looking like this, it's too docile; we need to change our form\".\n\n\"And what are we going to do with this beast?\" The brunette asked.\n\n\"Hmm, good question.\" The male counterpart replied. \"We need a name for a creature such as this.\"\n\nThe female Earthling looked at me, pondering my uniform. I felt suddenly vulnerable. \"I think it should be called a dog.\"\n\n", "“Lieutenant Orxza, report!”\n\n“The defenses are holding, Captain,” the young Lieutenant replied nervously. “Though the sustained effort is draining the battery core. We can’t keep this up indefinitely.”\n\n“Maintain your course, Lieutenant. The Swarm needs every gun ship it can muster if we’re going to make the most of the element of surprise.”\n\n“Aye, Sir.”\n\n— — — — —\n\nCaptain Uxzor had listened patiently during the briefing. The Milky Way galaxy only had one planet capable of life, so that’s where the shock troops would make their beachhead. The aim was to eliminate the only threat first, firmly and decisively. If the operation went smoothly, the Swarm could mine the planets without being hampered by resistance fighters.\n\nThe Swarm’s best intelligence was spotty, but there were mammals on that planet. Worse yet, they showed signs of advanced technology. They hadn’t quite mastered travel outside of their galaxy, but they were close. If the mammals had a chance to fight back, it would be a long, bitter affair.\n\nSome of the other Swarm Captains even suggested that they needed to carry out the preemptive attack whether they settled in the Milky Way galaxy or not. The mammals were a hair’s breadth away from posing a serious threat, and that threat needed to be neutralized. Better to strangle them in infancy than deal with a mature spacefaring race.\n\nWhatever the reasons, the Swarm’s strategy was clear: take advantage of the water. It covered most of the planet, and it would provide excellent cover for the Swarm gunships. With a short, concentrated burst from the gunships, defenses could be quickly and permanently disabled. It was a simple strategy, but it had been effective before. Few races could withstand a full-on assault from the entire Swarm armada, and they would have the added benefit of surprise.\n\nCaptain Uxzor smiled to himself. This would be the easiest mission yet.\n\n— — — — —\n\n“Captain! A second seismic disruption is incoming!”\n\n“Another one?! ETA?”\n\n“No more than 10 clicks, Sir! It doesn’t have the strength of the first one, but it’ll tax our battery core all the same.”\n\n“Curse these mammals,” Captain Uxzor muttered. Out loud, he called out the command, “All hands, brace for impact!”\n\nThe seismic disruption battered the gunship, tossing it about. The technology that the mammals wielded was fearsome indeed. Every gunship in the Swarm armada was built identically, so Captain Uxzor knew exactly what the other gunships were experiencing in the same moment.\n\n“Lieutenant, I need a status report.”\n\n“Battery core is down to twenty percent, Sir. Defenses held, no breach of the gunship’s hull. We have enough power for our first target, but no more.”\n\n“I assume the other gunships are in similar conditions?”\n\n“Aye, Sir. The network shows we are actually in the best condition of the gunships.”\n\nCaptain Uxzor pondered his options, weighing the risks. The mission was already compromised, but there might yet be a way to salvage some level of success. The first target had been the most important, so it might yet be worth finishing their run. They might not kill the snake, but they could cut strip it of its fangs.\n\n“Onward, Lieutenant. Put the word out on the network: all gunships with enough power to finish the run are to form up on us.”\n\n“Aye, Sir.”\n\n— — — — —\n\nOne thousand clicks later, it became apparent to everyone: they’d miscalculated badly. The seismic disruptions hadn’t just buffeted the gunships, they’d mixed in turbulence to the waters. The extra energy required to stabilize the remaining gunships was draining their battery reserves.\n\n“Curse these mammals. They lured us into a landmine!”\n\nThe Lieutenant stared at her console, focusing on the energy output of the battery core.\n\n“Sir, we’re down to twelve percent. Of the remaining gunships, half no longer have the reserves to operate their weapons. They can reach the target, but they’ll be spectators.”\n\nThe Captain looked off for a moment, knowing that he had no choice at this point.\n\n“We’ve lost, Lieutenant.”\n\n“Sir?”\n\n“Call it off. Sound the retreat.”\n\n“Aye, Sir.”\n\n“The mammals will be celebrating tonight. For the first time since its inception, the might of the Swarm has been thwarted.”\n\nLieutenant Orxza nodded grimly.\n\n— — — — —\n\nAs the last gunship limped back to the carrier, one more order came through: infiltrate the mammal’s communication network. They must have somehow coordinated the seismic attacks. If the Swarm could cripple that mechanism, a second attack would work.\n\n“Captain, I think I’ve figured it out.”\n\n“Show me, Lieutenant Orxza.”\n\n“There are multiple channels, each broadcast on a different frequency. Both audio and video. Here, this one seems to be a status report.”\n\n“Tonight at XYZ News at ten, the latest diet pill is making a huge splash in the market. See why it might not be worth the price. A 7.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Shanghai, spurring a tsunami. We’ll speak to residents who barely had time to flee inland.”\n\n“Diet pill? Flee? Lieutenant, what are the mammals blabbering about?”\n\nLieutenant Orxza furrowed her brow, trying to make sense of what she saw. She imagined possible explanations, but none of them made sense. Ultimately, a nagging thought in the back of her mind started to worm its way forward.\n\n“Sir …. what if it wasn’t intentional?”\n\n“What do you mean, Lieutenant? That seismic activity perfectly crippled the Swarm armada.”\n\n“Yes, Sir, but the mammals themselves said they were fleeing from it.”\n\nCaptain Uxzor said nothing, letting the thought sink in. Finally, after more clicks than he expected, he spoke.\n\n“The rest of their status report is nonchalant, something about nutrition. Lieutenant, I think you might be right.”\n\n“Sir, don’t you see? It was an accident! They didn’t defeat us, they don’t even know we’re here! The Swarm can return!”\n\n“No, Lieutenant, it’s you that doesn’t see. The planet fended us off without any conscious effort. The damage the gunships sustained is normal on this planet. Even if we removed every last mammal, we can’t simply take their structures. Our biology and our technology doesn’t work the same way. We’d have to defend ourselves from the planet itself on an ongoing basis.”\n\n“I hadn’t considered that, Sir.”\n\n“They can keep the planet AND the galaxy, Lieutenant. The spoils aren’t worth a never-ending fight with a hostile planet. These pitiful mammals will never know the victory they achieved today.”\n\n“ … the dress she wore to the awards show definitely drew attention. Some are saying it went too far, but personally, I think …”" ]	2
	[WP]You donated your hair to Locks of Love and the recipient committed a crime leaving your hair behind at the scene	[ "\"Where were you at 7:30 PM on July 8th?\"\n\nI gawped at him.\n\n\"The hesitation isn't doing you any favors,\" he growled.\n\n\"Uhh... what day of the week was that? A Saturday?\" I scratched my head. \"I guess I was at home, playing Skyrim.\"\n\nHe scribbled a note in his pad. \"Is that one of those violent video games?\"\n\n\"Not really. Like, there's dragons and stuff --\"\n\n\"Suspect says she was playing Sky-Rim, a violent video game,\" he mumbled, continuing to scribble.\n\n\"Hey!\"\n\n\"Can anyone confirm that's what you were doing?\"\n\n\"...My cat?\"\n\n\"Well, until cats can talk, Miss Saunders, you'll need to come with me to the station.\"\n\n\"What? Why?\"\n\n\"On July 8th, the wig store on Muller Ave. was held up. The owner was shot to death. 16 wigs, as well as nearly $5000 in cash, were stolen. You're our prime suspect.\"\n\nWigs? ...No. It couldn't be. \"Let me guess. I'm a suspect... because you found my hair at the scene?\"\n\n\"Indeed.\"\n\n\"Why would I hold up a wig shop?\" I shouted. \"My hair is real!\" I pushed a lock of my hair in his face. \"TOUCH IT!\"\n\nHe recoiled. \"Miss Saunders, if you would just come with me --\"\n\n\"It's that girl with cancer I donated my hair to!\" I screamed. \"Jilly Robinson! SHE HAS A WIG OF MY HAIR!\"\n\n\"Stop!\" he said, his hands shielding his face. \"Or I'll charge you with assaulting a police officer!\"\n\nBegrudgingly, I followed him out to the police car. I plopped in the backseat, arms crossed, as we pulled out of my driveway. But as I watched the trees and houses scroll by through the window, I smiled.\n\nAt least Jilly must be feeling better.", "The police officer paced back and forth across the small interrogation room. I still had no idea why I was brought in, I have never done anything illegal. Yet, here I was, handcuffed to a silver table in a grey room. A single light hung over me, gently swinging back and forth from the air conditioning vent above me. It felt like an eternity between when I was brought in and when the officer finally stopped pacing and sat down across from me.\n\n“Listen Officer, there has to be some kind of mistake, I have never done anything wrong in my life. I swear, I don’t even know why I am here.”\nHe stared deeply at me, I finally realized better and stopped talking. He let out a sigh.\n“You can drop the act now, we know it was you.”\n\nI began to panic. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” He was treating me like I was some mass criminal. Me, a 5 feet tall 18 year old girl with short brown hair wearing jeans, a superhero shirt and green framed glasses. Basically the least threatening person in existence. Yet for some reason the police officer in front of me was almost scared in how he looked at me.\n \n“Abigail Smith, if that is your real name, you make me sick, you know that? What you did… disgusting.” \nHe looked about 40, his uniform was clean and organized, his face was clean shaven, not a single hair anywhere his head. He leaned his broad shoulders towards me, and stared me straight in the face.\n\n“Listen, this will go a lot easier for both of us if you just confess.” He seemed to be losing his patience. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely scared.\n“I don’t know!” I cried, “you have to believe me! I haven’t done anything wrong!”\nHe let out a sigh. “Alright listen, we have reason to believe that you are the the 15th street killer.”\n“The what?” I could barely believe what I was hearing.\n\n“You have killed over 15 people in the past month! And stop denying it, we found your hair on every single victim.” I could tell he was losing his temper. I heard a knock on the one way mirror behind me. He stared up and grunted.\n“I just want to know why, there is no connection between you and any of the victims. Was is depression? Trouble at school? Wanted to let off some anger?”\n\nIt was then that it hit me. The killings had started last month. I remember the news, they were warning people to avoid 15th street due to a bunch of killings that had happened. I also realized the other thing that happened last month. I used to have longer hair, I grew it out so I could donate it to charity.\n\n“Oh my god” The officers face darted to me, his gaze was piercing.\n“Finally decide to confess?”\n“No, i mean, well, I know why my hair was on the scene. I am being framed! It wasn't me!”\n\n“Don’t give me that crap! I have heard that a thousand times.” His gaze tightened, his hand was slowly drifting towards his sidearm. I needed to act fast. \n“Listen, my hair, it used to be longer.”\n“So what?” His patience was fading.\n\n“Well a few days before the killings started, I had my hair cut short and donated the hair to charity. I went with my best friend, she can attest, please! You have to believe me, I would never kill anyone!” \nI began to cry again, I looked down, then I heard him bang on the table. When I looked up I realized I was staring down the barrel of a gun. I held back screaming and just stared at him, tears flowing down my face. Time slowed down, my thoughts raced.\n\nThe next thing I knew, two other officers burst through the door and grabbed the officer. I let out a sigh of relief.\n“You’re lying! I’ll get you for this! I will avenge my daughter!”\nI wanted to ask what he was talking about but thought better of it. The officer continued to struggle for his weapon while the two officers dragged him out of the room. Then there was silence as I sat in that room, alone, scared and confused.\n\nEDIT: Spacing and a few words\n" ]	2
	[WP] Due to the effects of climate change, there are now only three possible seasons on earth--Spring, Summer, and Autumn.	[ "\"What was it like, Nana?\" Charlee asked as they sat beneath the Christmas tree. The solar lights danced off the bare branches and dazzled like fireworks in his wide, blue eyes. \n\n\"Well...\" Mary Adelaide said, looking over his head and across the dried, autumn fields. \"When I was a child, we brought our Christmas trees inside. It was too cold to be out for too long. When you spoke, mist came from your mouth and hung in the air. Everyone bundled up in wool and fur and polyester.\" \n\nLittle Charlee's face was a mask of excitement. \"What about the snow Nana? Tell me about the snow!\"\n\nMary Adelaide smiled. \"Oh, yes. The snow covered everything. The fields would be stark white, as far as the eye could see. When it came down from the sky, it was in teeny tiny flakes that you didn't even feel. Sometimes, you'd wake up to it as tall as your head! We dug tunnels and built houses in it.\"\n\n\"But wasn't it cold, Nana?\"\n\nMary Adelaide's thin lips turned downwards just a little. Charlee didn't seem to notice. The little child waited for her answer. \n\n\"Oh yes, it was so very cold.\" The old woman said at last. \"But we'll never be cold again, dear. Not in my life, at least.\"", "\t\n There was a time\n\tWhen snow fell \n\tAnd covered the land\n\tIn a silent blanket\n\n\tMy Grandmother remembered\n\tSnow\n\tAnd the winters\n\tWe will never see\n\t\n\tI pity her\n\tFor the years she survived\n\tIn the frigid world\n\t\n The ice wind howled\n\tDeath covered the land\n\tThe bare skeletons of trees\n\tReached to the wine red sun\n That never brought heat\n\n But my Grandmother looks back\n With fondness \n On the lost winters\n\n She laments the warmth \n That was always found\n In the deepest of nights\n And in the black cold\n\n The embers \n Of her childhood \n Heat her memory\n\n The fire of a dead world\n\n/r/liswrites\n" ]	2
	[WP] You live in a society where cats choose humans to bond. Depending on the cat's disposition, humans gain different attributes. You woke up this morning to a black jaguar at the foot of your bed.	[ " I have been waiting for this day to come for as long as I can remember. My section of the city is known for strictly focusing in the support of upcoming bonding. The rest of the city called us \"bondlings\" I never liked that term as it held a heavy weight to it. We were always looked at to have extreme purposes and destiny's since you had to be hand picked from elder bondlings. The pack I hung out with only cared about the bonding. Always training and preparing for the unknown. I always held simpler dreams. Running around the meadow close to where I was born. Hanging out with my siblings, just enjoying life! I was picked at and early age and never understood why. When I start to drift into simpler daydreams a voice from my mother always pops into my head.\n\n\"I know you just want to lay around all day, but you weren't dealt that hand Dixie. The gods have choose you for a reason, I don't want to hear about it anymore. No one knows why you were chosen, but you have a purpose like it or not!\"\n\nShe was right. How selfish am I to be bummed out about being one of the few chosen. \n\nWhat worried me the most is thinking of who I would be paired with. What if we don't get along? What would I give to them? Do they even want to be tagging along with me? \n\nI was told a few things of my other \"bondie\" this morning, I think to settle my nerves but it only made it worse. I was told it would be a male, lengthy but tall. Unusually hairy compared to others my mother have seen bonded to. And that together we would serve great purpose over the years. That was it. I wasn't sure if she really didn't know more or was keeping it a secret. \n\nIt didn't matter anyways here we are. They sent me and one other in a car together. It wasn't unusual for multiple bonds to happen at once so I didn't think much of it. What did alert me was the amount of attention we seemed to be getting. There was security on either side of us and they used this security cage to transport us. I wasn't sure if it was to keep us safe or to keep us from running away, either way it sent shivers down my spine and my hair stood at end. \n\n\nWe pulled up at a large white building and were escorted inside. This is where I sit and wait. I could over hear others as they carried me in that I was to wait in his office. I think they called it the Oval office? This Lincoln guy everyone keeps shouting about must be pretty important if he has his own office. I hope he turns out to not be a big jerk.\n\n\n\n\n\n I cut the panther part out as you can see. Think it would have been a better prompt without the last bit maybe that's just me! ", "There was never a shred of doubt that Nergüi would never have a companion.\n\nIn this world, everyone; had a feline companion of their own, and a tattoo of their shared special power. From housecoats to lions and majestic tigers, each and every power was unique, different; unseen; but similar to others with a similar type of feline. \n\nTigers and those who bonded with them were granted abilities of brute strength and a lean, lithe figure, alongside superb skills in hunting and tracking. Lions granted their bonded dominance and leadership; even Common House-cats gave incredible speed and agility, plus an innate instinct for survival. Their bonded powers, a special ability only between the bonded pair; usually ran along the lines relating to the personality traits of the cat and it’s compatibility with it’s human (so some magic is stable, and some is unstable); but like all other cats, deviations from the norm came from colour and mutations in both cat or human; giving rise to little subspecies and incredible new discoveries of powers around the world.\n\nUsually cats would bond to their humans on the day of their birth as a newborn kitten; and those that were bonded usually had a longer life span than those that weren’t; reaching up to well into the hundreds. After all, cats have nine lives; and to permanently bond meant for both human and cat to spend all nine lives in each other’s company. For a cat to truly die, it’s human would have to die too- there were still murders of both cat and human; but there were few, much fewer than the days when bonds weren’t so strong. \n\nThe location where it was born and origin of the cat was a matter of some importance, as well. Though rare, sometimes a kitten would be brought in from another province to bond with the newborn. And that was one of the cases known as “Selected Bonding” - such as if a newborn were found to be allergic to a type of fur, or something along that line. But since the dawn of humanity’s bond with the felines, there has never been a case when no one did not have a cat who chose to bond with them at birth. \n\nNergüi… Well, you could say she was a bit of a late bloomer. \n\nMight as well call her a child with no chance of getting a companion. \n\nEvery kitten brought to her shied away instead of curling up with her like all bonded would do; there were none that ever tried to come close to her, from her birth until today; her eighteenth birthday. They would always shy away, bowing their heads or even refuse to look at her (save for her parent’s cats)- making her the obvious outcast both at home, and in the world. \n\nSpending her birthday pretty much feeling really alone was the least of her worries. Nergüi was pretty much used to it. Although her mother and father, along with their Bengal tiger and Persian had smiled and wished her a happy birthday, giving her hugs and kisses when they arrived to visit her for her special day and some, she still went to work, dragging along her heavy heart and feet, creating frothy works of art from coffees and milk, smiling as if she weren’t so sad, cheerily calling for names and answering ridiculously long questions about coffee compositions.\n\nIt had been a long day, and a longer evening as her cousins and whatever strange, distant family her parents called arrived to give her a “Sweet 18th” birthday. She thanked them, all at once and each one, but seeing their cats everywhere, ranging from snow leopards to the smallest of common tabby cats… It struck a chord, a familiar chord in her heart. \n\nMocking.\n\nNergüi managed to keep her head high, ate the cake, offered some to the cats, only to get rejected, laughed it off; when she was crying on the inside. She couldn’t let them see her weakness, nor her unmarked, pale skin. \n\nSeeing all of them off was a chore, but she managed, waving until the last of the cars pulled out of the driveway, the yowling of a lynx ringing out of hearing range. And that’s when Nergüi, who had run out of tears to shed, took a bath and collapsed onto her bed, sleeping with the familiar hole in her heart.\n\nThe next morning, there was a strange feeling, in her chest. Fullness. A true heart. Contentment. Acceptance. \n\nWhat was going on with her? She had thought, running a hand through her hair and across her eyes to clear her fuzzy morning vision. The world seemed brighter; except for that one large splotch of mottled fur at the foot of her bed, eyes of a luminescent, poison green, like foxfire, meeting her dark brown orbs as she pulled herself towards the creature, tilting her head questioningly as she peered down at the feline.\n\n“Greetings.”\n\nUndeniably masculine. A telepathic message. It rang in her head like a call, a bonded’s call. Something in her heart tugged, and by the way the feline twitched, Nergüi was pretty sure it felt it too. Deciding to try it out; and knowing that the feline would hear her if they truly were bonded; she hesitantly sent a message.\n\n“Salutations.”\n\nThe throaty chuckling growl of the black feline reverberated in her head, as the creature sprung onto her bed with a push of it’s powerful muscles, nudging it’s head against her cheek.\n\n“I’m sorry I was late. I was meant to arrive on your birthday after my travels to find you; but as you see, some events have happened, causing my tardiness. Well, a happy belated birthday, then.”\n\nNergüi could feel the twang of a feeling; excitement; course through her veins; she knew it had to be from the melanistic big cat beside her. Was it a Jaguar? Or a Leopard? There’s no way it could truly be a Jaguar. It’s tail was way too long, and it was all lean, and no bulk. Plus, she lived in Mongolia; Jaguars were only native to the Americas.\n\n“Thank you, with much appreciation. My name is Nergüi. What is your name, friend?”\n\nNergüi reached out to scratch his head, right between the ears. The heavy black cat settled; or rather, flopped into a more comfortable position on her lap, a deep, throaty growling signifying it’s apparent contentment. Occasionally the strains of a purr would overlap; although she was pretty sure big cats couldn’t make that sound.\n\n“Ah, that feels good. I bet I’d be happy being your bonded. My name is Kai. And I’m a leopard. Not a jaguar, mind you. I get that assumption ever so often. I was from the South East Asian countries, but I travelled here; I followed our bond to be with you.”\n\nShe continued to stroke the leopard’s head, watching as the ghost striping of his fur shimmered under the light of the sun that streamed in through the slits in the curtains. Kai… followed his feline instincts to find his bonded; although it was a world of around seven billion people; a world where his bonded was only one out so many. Eighteen years… It was all worth it, for this moment. She was glad she waited; he was glad he journeyed from his mother’s embrace, to follow a bond that was both weak and strong at the same time.\n\nNergüi leaned down to hug the feline, the latter reciprocating in it’s own form, nuzzling at her with it’s head, before it gracefully slipped off the bed, curling back onto the rug to wait patiently as Nergüi prepared herself for the day, the intelligence in it’s foxfire-like eyes shining brighter than a star.\n\n\n\n\n", "I woke up in the middle of the night for some unknown reason. Expecting myself to fall back asleep in just a few moments, I didn't even bother to open my eyes... until I tried to move my leg, and realized something had pinned my feet to the bed. There's was a large pressing weight at the end of my bed.\n\nDespite being shocked, I was still half asleep and had a hard time convincing myself to care enough to investigate. I wondered for several moments what it could be. Had my dresser topple over? Had the glass shade on my ceiling light fallen off? It could probably wait until morning.\n\nJust as I was about to start drifting off again, the weight shifted slightly. Now I was was completely perplexed. I had to look now. I rolled my upper body and propped myself up on one hand to get a good look at whatever had trapped me in my own bed. \n\nI'm surprised I didn't scream. Two large, yellow eyes were staring at me from the end of my bed. I could just make out the large, dark, feline body they belong to, crouching like a giant house cat.\n\nNot having any idea what to do, I stayed completely still, locking eyes with the jaguar. After maybe a minute of silence, the predator slightly lifted it's body, then began to crawl towards my head, placing one giant paw on my knee, then the other on my thigh, then my hip, and finally forcing breath out of me as it stepped onto my stomach. \n\nThe cat stretched it's neck forward, pointing it's nose at my face, and started sniffing me. Then, to my surprise, it closed it's eyes, tilted it's face down, and rubbed it's forehead over my face, making a deep rumbling sound that I would've thought was a growl any other day. Not knowing what else to do, I slowly reached a hand up and scratched between it's ears. In response, it contentedly collapsed and flopped onto it's side, driving even more air out my lungs as I coughed out a moan.\n\nMaking sure I kept scratching, I reached over to my bedside table with my other hand and rotated the knob on my lamp just slightly, giving me enough light to properly admire the creature laying next to me. \n\nIt was a male black jaguar. A -jaguar- was cuddling with me on my bed. A -jaguar- had somehow gotten into my house, found me in my room, and instead of eating me, decided I was his new best friend.\n\nCats being such a massive part of our culture, there was 24-hour feline assistance hotline. I picked up my smart phone from the bedside table, googled the number, and called it.\n\nA sweet, professional female voice answered. \"This is the feline assistance hotline, how can I be of assistance?\"\n\n\"There is a jaguar in my room.\"\n\n\"A what? A jaguar?\" The woman quickly tried to regain he composure. \"Are you in danger? Do you need me to contact animal control?\"\n\n\"Um, I don't know, maybe? I mean, he seems pretty happy right now...\"\n\n\"Did he ever show you any signs of aggression?\"\n\n\"No, he just... showed up and started cuddling me.\"\n\n\"Uh... please hold for just one moment.\" I heard the pounding of keys on a keyboard, and the clicking of a computer mouse. \"Sir, here is what I'm going to do. I'm going to send over a feline expert, as well as animal control and police in case of emergency, does that sound good to you?\"\n\n\"Um yeah, sure.\" I gave her my address, and she told me the response team would arrive in ten minutes. I hung up the phone and turned back to the jaguar, who was still rumbling away with his eyes closed as I rubbed his head.\n\nHesitantly, I stopped rubbing and removed my hand. He opened his eyes and looked up at me, seemingly curious as to why I'd stopped. He gently pawed at my hand in an attempt to pull it closer. \n\nI carefully slid out from under my covers and stood up from my bed. The jaguar stood up, stretched for a moment, then elegantly slinked off edge the bed, landing on all fours with a thud. I walked out into the hall and he prowled after me, almost like a loyal dog. \n\nI flicked on all the lights in my house and glanced at a clock. It was 4 am. I had a feeling I wouldn't be getting anymore sleep. I put out a large mixing bowl of water, which the jaguar happily lapped at. \n\nI would've given him something to eat as well, but I had no idea what a large cat would eat. I mean of course they eat meat, but did were there any specifics? Red? Lean? Fish? I knew you weren't supposed to give fowl to cats and dogs because the hollow bones would splinter and cause internal damage, but did that apply to large wild predators? Was a jaguar sensitive to the mercury in fish? There was too much room for error. \n\nI decided to wait in the living room for the response team to get here. The jaguar followed, and laid at my feet, again reminding me of a loyal dog.\n\n---------------------\n\nThere's a lot more I want to write, but I'm getting really tired so I'll try and finish it tomorrow. I'm having lots of fun with this prompt!", " Ian lived a rather calm life, well, as calm a life a man can have being a mortician. He spent most of his days relaxing at home, but at night he often got called into work. He didn’t hate his job, but he didn’t fully enjoy it either. He had spent years studying to get to the point he was at, and during those years he had developed understandings of things others just didn’t have. For instance, death. He was able to stay calm at the thought of it and his job had made him become more accepting of the circle of life. His parents had died at a young age and acknowledging that they were gone was hard for him. He had originally planned on becoming a doctor, but overtime he began to wonder what happened to their dead bodies rather than what would their living ones be like. This was strange and many turned away from him due to this thought process. This being, he assumed that he wouldn’t have anyone in his life, especially not a cat. Cats required such strong bonds that he didn’t know if one would ever share one with him, and yet he sort of hoped that one would. You see, he never worked on cats, he hadn’t gone to college for that. There are customers every now and again who try to bring a cat into his work, but he would have to turn them to the office down the street, they were specialized for cats. He thought that since he didn’t know cats inside and out, he might be able to get along better with them than he would with a human. But as the years past, he lost hope, until one morning.\n\n Ian had worked a late night, some old man had passed in his sleep yet again, so he had hoped to sleep in. He arrived home at about 4:30am and blacked out. When he heard his phone buzzing at 8:00am he let out the loudest groan he could manage. “Can’t people die at regular living hours?” He muttered into his pillow. He reached blindly to his phone only to feel a soft fuzzy texture instead. “What the…?” He lifted his head a bit to see pure black and two blazing balls of gold staring back at him. “HOLY CRAP!” Almost at once he leapt out of bed and landed ungracefully at the other side of his bed. When he gained his balance, he looked again at the black figure staring back at him. “Oh, oh, my god…. You’re a-”\n\n “Black jaguar. Yes” The big cat spoke to him without moving its mouth. Ian let out a shaky breath.\n “I-I was going to say p-panther but ok?” He began to walk to the other side of the bed, slowly getting closer to the big cat and never breaking its gaze.\n\n “Same difference.” The jaguar nodded and stood up. “My name is Ambrose, I am here because I believe we share a special bond.” The newly named Ambrose began to walk towards Ian with confidence.\n\n “I’m sorry? We what now?!” Ian was shocked by this. He had no clue how bonding worked, but he had always assumed that you had to at least know the cat beforehand, and that cat would at least fit in a small box! \n “I believe we share a special bond.” Ambrose repeated himself, “I have been keeping a close eye on you, and I see that you are not like the other humans I have encountered.”\n\n “Well gee, how nice of you to say.” Ian had calmed down enough that he was able to put some sarcasm into his voice.\n\n “Is this not a good thing? Humans are often so similar, it is hard to tell them apart. They all have the same likes, dislikes, interests, and they all seem to wear the exact same clothes. But you, you are different. You have more depth to you, you have such a profound understanding of things.” Ambrose had sincerity in his voice, but Ian still felt attacked.\n\n “People don’t like different, especially my kind of different. People enjoy sameness, it makes them feel safe.” He had now grown fully comfortable with the couch sized cat standing in his room. “Listen, I have no clue how this thing works, but I have a job to get to and you seem pretty dead set on pointing out how most humans don’t enjoy my company.” Ian began to turn towards the door only to watch as the large cat leapt over his head and landed heavily in front of the door. Ambrose stared deep into his eyes, calm and collected, while Ian stared back with a mix of emotions filling them, fear being the most prominent. \n\n “I must ask that you agree to share this bond. You have a greater understanding of death than any other human I have met. You respect the circle of life and don’t curse it’s name as others choose to. You also hold power, emotional more than physical.” Ian rolled his eyes at this jab at his weak structure. “But never mind that,” Ambrose continued, “You are unique, and I have been looking for unique. Please, Ian, share this bond with me.” \nAmbrose approached Ian slowly and sat down at his feet. Ian looked down at him, contemplating what to do.\n\n “This could be good for me, to have someone who understands me, someone to talk to. Also, having a bond with a cat, especially such a wild one, might make me more accepted. The only downside is living with him, but I’m sure I could figure that out somehow. I mean, every apartment allows cats!” Ian shook his head, took in a deep breath and let it out, and gazed deeply into Ambrose’s eyes with, for once, a sense of certainty. “Alright, I will share this bond with you.”\n\n “Wonderful! Now, put your hand on my head.” Ambrose stuck his sleek black head out to Ian. Reluctantly, Ian touched it with his right hand. He felt a strong surge of power fill him and a sense of calm and knowledge over power him. He felt for once he knew everything, but he only knew because of Ambrose. Ambrose had given him this sense and knowledge and, at once, he had a deep connection to the black jaguar he had only just met.\n", "Beep be—\n\nSwoosh. With one swift movement I silenced the alarm and simultaneously ended up in a crouched position on my bed, ready to pounce if necessary straight off my spring loaded mattress. It was early. Too early. I stepped off the mattress onto the floor, the subtle, gentle floor. Soft as a feather.\n\nWhat was going on? What had got a hold of me? I felt no desire for coffee, I was full of energy. I hadn't snoozed my alarm twenty times as per usual and Pam wasn't nagging me about it as per usual. She lay sleeping, a slight snore on every breath in. I hadn't stepped on Squeak as per usual. Had Samuel finally cleaned his toys so the floor wouldn't be a game of minesweeper this morning?\n\nAnd no pestering requests had been made of me yet to fill the food bowl. Where was Grumps? She's there clawing at me every morning without fail for her breakfast.\n\nI was happy. I was relieved. The stress was lifted off my shoulders. More than that, it seemed the world was lifted off my shoulders. It actually seemed like I had no shoulders at all. Like I was nothing. A ghost. A shadow in the darkness of this morning. A ninja.\n\nI made my way to the bathroom, floating with the lightness of my steps. I flicked on the lights and there! For just a moment I saw it. In the reflection of the mirror, I saw it. It had darted into the shadows underneath my bed. A sliver of light creeped out of the bathroom, across the floor, and illuminated across the bed, just where Pam's belly rose and sank as she lay there sleeping. It was in that sliver reflected in the mirror could I see a piercing, yellow eye of the recluse under my bed.\n\nIt clicked. Grumps had had enough of this life, and an old friend was back in town. Fierce. Stealthy. Vigilant. Black.\n\nI felt alive again. To the Catcave.", "Amelia Goodheart, she was a cursed existence, a sad girl bound to her frozen body for eternity not being capable of enjoying the things a girl her age should enjoy. The moment I heard about her as I walked down the streets of this old town I knew I had to visit her. It took me a while, the residents of this town filled with hunter were very...apprehensive to whatever enters their circle. They didn't like change in their environment, especially if a magician suddenly entered their town.\n\nEventually, after a lot of walking around and asking the right people, I found an old wooden house on the edge of town, the house were Amelia lived. it was just as hard to enter as it was to find the house, but I persevered and eventually found my way inside, a little bit of magic here and there, this kind of spell didn't work with so many people around.\n\nThere were only two people living here, Amelia and her old mother, the later treated me like family, a cousin from far away lands, coming to visit on a whim, all thanks to my spell. I walked through the narrow corridors of the old house, my feet making the slightest whisper against the wooden floor and the carpets and eventually entered Amelia Goodheart's room. A room filled with flowers and books about various kinds of animals and other nature stuff, and there on the bed she sat reading one of those books.\n\n\"Hello Amelia,\" I said, trying to sound friendly, I asked her family members to leave us alone, something that for what I could see on her face made her nervous \"I heard a lot about you...\"\n\nShe grunts in acknowledgment, not a very friendly girl but I understood why she was like that.\n\n\"Are...you a doctor?\" she said, her voice soft and weak, she buried her face in her book \"go away, your wasting your time and mine, there is nothing that can cure my legs\"\n\n\"I am no doctor\" she looked at me for a moment a slight frown on her face and then she looked down on her book once more \"I am a magician\"\n\nHer book drops on her lap, she looked at me perplexed as if she couldn't believe what she heard \"the- then you can do it right? I tried to find a way to contact a magician but never succeeded thanks to mother! pl-please\" her voice started to break a little as she went on and she leaned towards me trying to reach out to me\"...please, cure my legs. I don't want to be useless anymore, I want to go out there and hunt like everyone else!\"\n\n\"I understand,\" I said \"but I cannot cure your legs, it's not my field of expertise\"\n\nHer shoulders started trembling when she heard the word 'cannot'. It was probably a word she was used to.\n\n\"But I can find a way around it,\" I said, trying to sound reassuring, I looked around the room and flash of inspiration suddenly hit me \"do you like cats, Amelia?\"\n\n**\n\nI stood at one of the tallest points in town, looking down at everyone, they looked like ants, like really really* angry ants, I could hear people shouting and people crying.\n\nAmelia Goodheart got half of her wish fulfilled, she became connected to a black jaguar, as for why a black jaguar... well that has to do with her personal preferences most likely, I thought of making her chose a small kitten but I honestly found the idea interesting and decided to go along with it.\n\nShe spends her days going out instead of reading and sleeping most of the time, she hunts little rabbits, deer and other critters using her inner instincts. She jumped from tree to tree and climbed them with ease, all of this while not leaving the house. And of course not telling the villagers about her new powers.\n\nYes, I managed to link her soul and mind to a familiar black jaguar, it's not really a cure, but at least now she had a better body than before, only being capable of accessing it trough sleeping. She repeated the same activities day after day. even though I warned not to do it too often or her mind might remain in the black Jaguar forever, she paid me no mind and kept doing it though.\n\nAmelia was a cursed existence, a sad girl, but she was no longer bound to her frozen body and she was no longer sad. her mother was happy, she even tried to get me to marry her for making such a miserable girl so happy.\n\nI refused, of course, something that as I see it now was a very good decision. It was a day just like any other, I warned her a lot of times about the dangers of connecting so much to the black jaguar, but in the end, it was a pointless advice and the wrong one at that, like I said it was a day just like any other. She went out of her way to enjoy the flexibility and dexterity of her new body. but in the end, she wasn't fast enough to dodge a bullet coming to her head.\n\nWas it on purpose? did some hunter react out of fear? or out of anger that their hunt was being stolen? nevertheless, for whatever reason it was, Amelia's Jaguar was dead, and so was she. I failed to see that it was not just the soul and mind that were connected but somehow her body as well. So the bullet wound transferred to her as well, and her head exploded at the same time.\n\nAnd of course, all the blame falls on me, the newcomer. I sighed, this was another failure of mine, it just shows how much practice I still need, but I'm sure that one day I'll perfectionate my arts. I turned away, for the exit of this town, leaving another failure behind.\n\n**\n\nAny critique is really appreciated! - [r/Onni21](https://www.reddit.com/r/Onni21/)\n", "Most people never bond with a cat. Cats choose to roam free, maybe spending some time with a human now and then. But most human's never get chosen for a permanent bonded position. As our society values cat's as the Godliest of creatures, being chosen by one is the highest honor, and it comes with one of the greatest perks. Depending on the cat, you are granted innate attributes. The facts of my society are simple, if a cat chooses you then you are taken away within a day by the Counsel of Cats. A few years later you'll be reintroduced to society with a new name, and the cat always by your side. These are our upperclass, the rulers, businessmen, politicians, military generals. All are chosen by the cats, or the Counsel of Cats. It's all very secretive. Us common folk can only guess from our anectdotal evidence as to which cat gets which attribute.\n\n\nOne thing is clear, rarer is better. Our most powerful leader over a decade ago had a Sokoke bonded to him. Sokoke's are not rare, they're the most common breed of cat in some areas. But one had never bonded permanently with anyone before him.\n\n\nThis is all important because when I awoke on my eighteenth birthday I was greeted with a black jaguar. It did not attack me, it stared into my eyes piercing me. I petted it, and asked it what I was supposed to do with it now that I had one. I had no idea how any of this worked. And something about the jaguar felt wrong to be bonded with. Like a crime against nature. Nevertheless, this is an honor and I'm sure the Council of Cats will explain it all to me. I got ready, and the jaguar waited for me as I headed outside. I walked the streets of my city, and people were pointing. They had never seen a jaguar either before. Something about this wasn't right, I couldn't even begin to know what type of person it meant I was or would be.\n\n\nI headed up to the Sphinx and bowed before it, the jaguar did no such thing. Maybe the training of your comes later? The stone gates slowly swung open and I headed into it, hoping that answers lay within. People in what looked to be ceremonial robes greeted me. Torches were lit, and their hoods were drawn up and over their faces. Their cats trailed alongside them. I asked them a few questions like what was going on and what I was supposed to do. They didn't answer, but I figured if I followed them through the winding series of hallways eventually someone would explain this place to me.\n\n\nAnd they did, the hallway went from the dim corridors and opened up into a very bright room that felt somehow more fresh that being outside. A man there greeted me, and seemed friendly,\n\n\n\"Hello there Christopher! Hope they've treated you alright, this Black Jaguar must be yours! Have you named this beauty yet?\"\n\n\nHe had a very calming British accent that made me feel safe, but also somehow let me know he was in charge here.\n\n\n\"Hi, I guess? I've got lots of questions... I haven't named him yet I wasn't sure how any of thi--\"\n\n\nChristopher you must listen to me.\n\n\nthe jaguar stared at me, dead on.\n\n\nYes, it's me. You must act normal\n\n\nHe was speaking into my head. Was this normal?\n\n\nNo, it's not normal. But you mustn't tell anyone what's going on.\n\n\n\"any of this works yet\"\n\n\n\"Well that's quite alright my boy. My name's Marty, and I'm here to get you all setup. Let me show you to your quarters, and get you some food. You've got a long day ahead of you.\"\n\n\n\"That sounds great, I haven't even had breakfast yet\"\n\n\n\"Maybe food first then? Your friend looks hungry as well, we can get him something to eat too\"\n\n\nHe led the way through the a few much nicer hallways than the first set talking the whole way about how much I would learn, pointing at a few paintings of old leaders that I recognized. He pointed out a few hallways with some vague directions. Honestly, it fell on deaf ears. My cat was talking to me, and did not want to be found. My cat was a black jaguar. And what am I? I'm nothing special.\n\n\nYou're more special than you know yet, Chris.\n\n\nShe nuzzled up to my leg. For such a vicious looking creature she sure was friendly.\n\n\n\"And here we are! The main dining hall. Feel free to help yourself, we have big meals available here 6am-8am, 11am-1pm, and 5pm-7pm. Snacks are always available as well. That goes for you and your feline friend as well\"\n\n\nHe winked at my Jaguar.\n\n\n\"Hopefully you can show yourself around here, I've got to run for now. But I'll see you again soon.\"\n\n\nWith that he walked off before I could even get a thank you out. The smell of the dining hall hit me, I might have been nervous and worried, but apparently my stomach didn't care. I stuffed myself with food, omelettes fully loaded with mushrooms, cheese, onions, ham and toast with a huge selection of jams, croissants, and three different types of bacon. If the food here is always this good, I could get used to it. All along the way I kept hearing her in my head\n\n\nGrab me some of that egg\n\n\nI want some ham!\n\n\nHonestly, this majestic creature and she was using the telepathy to get me to give her food all felt a little jarring. But I did as she said. I made a plate for her. As I sat and looked around, I saw people's cats weren't eating the same food. They were doing their best not to stare, but I caught a few glances. I ate a lot, but I ate quickly. I left and wandered the halls, cursing myself for not paying more attention to Marty's directions to my room. Finally, after getting directions twice I found it and went in. It was a nice little almost dorm room. Bed, desk, bathroom. A comfy looking catnap spot, and a handful of cat toys.\n\n\nA note was left on the bed: Get comfortable, and unwind. Someone will be back around 11am to pick you up for the initiation ceremony. Your robes are in the top drawer of the dresser.\n\n\nI checked, they were the same robes as the ones the men that greeted me were wearing. I looked around and wondered if it was safe to talk to my cat.\n\n\nIt is.\n\n\n\"Okay, so what do I call you?\"\n\n\nMy name is Ilsa\n\n\n\"And what's going on here, why did you bond with me?\"\n\n\nThat is a bit complicated. I think it will make more sense once you attend the ceremony.\n\n\n\"Can't you even try?\"\n\n\nLook, we need you for a task. If I tell you why we need you, it will not work. I must keep you in the dark until the time is right.\n\n\n\"Fine. What does it mean for me if a jaguar picks me?\"\n\n\nI'm afraid I can't answer that until the time is right\n\n\n\"Is there anything you can tell me?\"\n\n\nJust that you weren't chosen at random, that you are special. And that you should trust nobody here. Behind these veiled attempts at normalcy they are just as thrown by my presence as you are.\n\n\n\"So, Ilsa, what do I do for now?\"\n\n\nGo with their plan, follow their rules. And stay alert.\n\n\n\"Fine. Then I'm going to take a nap while I wait for these people to come.\"\n\n\nI flopped back onto the bed, and Ilsa cuddled up to me. As frustrated as I was with her for getting no answers, it was undeniably cozy being curled up with her. I was out in minutes. I was awoken by a knock on the door, I glanced at the clock, 10:55. I yelled through the door to give me a minute and threw the robes on over myself. I headed out the door and was greeted by a guy who was no more than a three years older than me. He had the biggest grin on his face. \n\n\n\"Hi there, the name's Brian. All ready to go Christopher?...or do you prefer Chris?\"\n\n\n\"Chris, but either's fine. And yeah, I'm ready to go.\"\n\n\nI followed him down the hall into a chamber that was filled with torches. In the middle was a stone tablet. A man stood by it, and as I got closer I recognized it to be Marty. \n\n\n\"Christopher, so good to see you again. I cleared my schedule just to be here for this. This ceremony is very simple, you just read the words on the stone tablet out loud. Then you and your cat make three loops around the torches.\"\n\n\n\"Sounds easy enough, should I just start now?\"\n\n\n\"Yes, go right ahead.\"\n\n\nI walked up to the podium holding the tablet and looked out at the small audience. Maybe ten or fifteen people. I looked down at the tablet. \n\n\n\"The keeper of the Black Jaguar: As the keeper of the black jaguar it is my most solemn duty to preserve the secrets held within the black jaguar. I will not divulge what I learn. I will as the keeper of the black jaguar add the wisdom necessary to correct what has become wrong.\"\n\n\nMaybe now you understand more. But wait still, there will be more questions before there can be real answers.\n\n\nI began my walk around the circle of torches. After my third, there was some light applause and Marty came up to me. \n\n\n\"Christopher, I will show you to your study chambers. Follow me.\"\n\n\nDo not let him into them.\n\n\nI followed behind him, and he came to what looked like a wall. On closer inspection there were some markings around the edges. Ilsa went up an with a single claw swiped down the middle and out to the left. The wall swung inwards revealing a room with a single book. Marty went to take a step in, but I cut in front of him. Ilsa as well. His Tabby didn't do anything to get out of the way either. \n\n\n\"Thanks for showing me around, I best get to studying\"\n\n\n\"You're very welcome, do you need anything?\"\n\n\n\"Nope I'm all set. Thanks.\"\n\n\nAnd I closed the door.\n\n\nI looked around the room, it was nearly empty. Bookshelves were there, but no books were on them.\n\n\nChristopher, you are the Keeper of the Jaguar. As the keeper there are many secrets you must learn. And, your first task will be to discover what went wrong to prompt me being summoned.*\n\n\n[Part 2 Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/7h1lh2/wp_you_live_in_a_society_where_cats_choose_humans/dqqqd6v/)\n\n[I've created a subreddit for this](https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackJaguar/)" ]	7
Based on [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/facepalm/comments/7gxsl4/life_size/) post from /r/facepalm.	[WP] You have just asked Amazon seller for a life-size model globe of Jupiter. They contacted the maker and delivery is in progress.	[ "\"Any idea of contacting the maker to arrange for a life-sized model globe of Jupiter?\" I typed.\n\nThe Amazon seller replied, \"Uhm, I'll see. But it won't be easy.\"\n\n\"Okay, cool,\" I said. \"Just keep me updated.\"\n\nA few days later, the Amazon seller wrote me a message, saying, \"Okay. It took a lot of prayer, but the maker agreed to do it and the delivery is in progress.\"\n\nNot too long after that, I recieved a package. On the box, it said From: God aka The Maker.\n\nExcited to recieve my product, and curious as to how he had managed to fit it in the box, I took it upstairs and opened it. \n\nInside the box was a super high-powered telescope and instructions on how to spot Jupiter." ]	1
	[WP] As a thief you owe your success to a ring that glows in warning when someone is within eyesight. Late one night as you sit alone in your home the ring begins to glow.	[ "Sitting alone, in the dim light my fireplace provides. Enjoying a relaxing beverage with the finest bourbon money can buy. Well, the finest bourbon that rich pompous politician could buy. Oh how the flavor adds knowing another's misfortune can bring to another. Sadly that politician made the wrong enemies. Looking down on someone and not knowing who they are. That is the worst of the worst. Had he known truly how famous I am. He would probably still look down on me. That is why he had lost half his fortune in one nite. Thanks to this glowing ring that had been liberated years ago. \n\nA silence fell as I held the ring in front of me. Letting off its little flow that only I could see. With my right hand in the air admiring this ugly, yet beautiful ring. With a sense of nostalgia. Letting out a few words. Under a low voice. \"Those were the days. In my prime, I was the best thief. None could compare.\" \nSlowly getting up. Without ever taking his eyes off the ring. He casually walked to the bar. Grabbing two new glasses. And reaching for the same glorious bottle of bourbon he had been enjoying that night.\n\"Not once was I ever caught.\"\nScooping some ice into each cup. He removed the cork from this beautifully hand blown bottle. Must had been done by a master glass blower. It's intriguing details and patterns all on the same, one piece of glass. That wrapped around the entire bottle. This was his absolute favorite item he had liberated. \n\"Not once did a single person ever see me coming\"\nHe slowly poured each glass. Allowing the I've to chill every drop that is being poured into it.\n\"In my day, all I had was my black clothing, bag, and mask.\" A short chuckle could be heard. \"Todays thief's can't do anything without their night vision goggles\" Laughing aloud at his own comment.\nPlanning the cork back on the beautiful bottle. Still eyeing the ring that had stopped glowing. He turned around and walked towards the coffee table. Sat each song down at each end. Noticing the ring was now glowing. Knowing the layout to his own home. Peeing at the ring. While stretching and placing his vision perfectly around the room. Making sure to keep the ring in sight. He determined the whereabouts of the intruder. \n\"Please take a seat, so this old man can tell you how I am able to see you.\" Looking directly at the place the thief is.\n\nHis heart started racing as the old man was looking in his direction. He could feel the seat inside his newly designed light refraction gear. He had paid nearly a million for this tech that only a few had through the world. Was the equipment malfunctioning? \n\n\"Nothing is wrong with your outfit, I cannot actually see you... But I know your there. And I know that you will be the best thief this generation will ever,.. possibly know.\" \n\nTaking off his head gear, he slowly and cautiously takes a seat. Intrigued as to how this old man knew exactly where he was. With having as little as, only lights and an old record player in the home. The only electronics in the home. And not realizing the old man wasn't losing his mind. And talking to his own imagination. His past self, or what not. But actually talking to the invisible thief. \n\nThe only thing he was thinking of was how. How was he seen? Did he make noise? Moved something out of place? \n\"Will you teach me?\" Is all the thief could say. Not even realising what he had asked.\n\nThe old man replied; \"Gladly.\"" ]	1
	[WP]Most of the worlds you have passed are uninhabitable rocks. One day, however, you discover a planet that is so very habitable, it makes the Earth seem like a barren wasteland by comparison.	[ "Captains log date 4 october 2175.\n\nI am almost in range of the last world in my assigned chain. If this isn't a habitable planet my ship will be remotely detonated. \n\nOn monday when the first tests roll in, the tests are inconclusive. But after getting closer everyday the final long range tests come in. \n\n''Captain Buzzwack to motherbase. Captain Buzzwack to motherbase,come in'' sayd Buzzwick.\n''This is motherbase. You are coming in loud and clear, send message''\n''i have encountered a habitable planet Sir.''\n''What is the Habitability factor of this planet captain.''\n''uhh sir... This planet has a 150% habitability factor.''\n''Get back home Buzzwick''\n'\"yes sir.''" ]	1
	[WP] Every night, the kindly old wizard sets up dreamcatchers over the children's heads. Every morning, before dawn, he gathers them up and scrapes them off into a little bottle.	[ "The village of Osuto sleeps. \n\nDeeply. \n\nSoundly. \n\nMagically so, actually. \n\nThe next morning people will comment on it at work, saying things like \"Gee, i slept well last night\" to their friends and co workers. Coffee intake will see a minor dip across the realm, and retail workers - although they don't know it yet, are about to have a good day. \n\nUnbeknownst to them, a sinister and mystical force is responsible for their good nights sleep ; The refreshment, the lack of bleariness, This is is the calling card of the Dream thief wizard. Its not very sinister, but its a calling card nonetheless. Its been happening for the last Eight years. People are unsure why, but hey. a good nights sleep is always welcomed. \n\nIt would be great to say that he moved through the night like smoke on the breeze. Greater still to say he wore a cloak so grey, so nondescript - that the minds of regular folk simply refused to comprehend such a colour. \n\nOr perhaps that his staff contained the essence of a Demon. That's the kind of wizard that people will say \"Of course he could put a whole kingdom to sleep, did you see his staff? got a demon in it you know\"\n\nNone of this applies to the dream thief wizard Matthew. Who was of the mind that if he really was moving about unseen, then he could be comfortable. \nWorn tracksuit pants hide themselves beneath a faded green poncho. Its not a widely known fact that the common poncho promotes mana flow better than a hooded cape. \nHis staff, originally a broomstick, has a talisman dangling from it. Those who know what it means, know the power this man wields. \n\nHe wanders through the still cobblestone streets like a man with a jaunty song in his head, and the night knows the soul soothing peace of deep slumber. Guards doze standing at their posts, regular - non magical thieves sleep in dens, curled up like cats. \n\nAnd the children sleep soundly, wreathed in the soft blue glow of the dreamcatcher spell. \n\nAs they sleep, they dream. \n\nBefore long he finds himself in the very center of the town. Nobody stirs. Matthew, dream thief, breathes deep. In the silence, he focuses. \n\nThe familiar blue glow of spent mana illuminates the mist, it mixes with the softness of the dawn light, creating swirls and lenses of such colour. be told there is nothing quite so beautiful as a magic suffused sunrise. \n\nHe pauses just for a second, placing his palms together, he conjures the first of many glass vials. Not many people know this, (including most wizards) The best glass in the world is conjured from the light of a sunrise. Stoppered vials fabricate from raw light, achingly thin, and unbreakable by normal means. From the recesses of his poncho he unfolds a square of fabric, which continues unfolding and is now the size of a picnic blanket - He lays it on the stone street and it hardens like wood. he places each individual vial with great care. They begin to glow.\n\nFinally he removes his hat. His blond hair waves and dances in the charged air. \n\nStanding tall, Above his head he swirls his staff, which is a broom handle from which a talisman dangles. The magic catches hold, ripples eddy and play through the spacetimes and subrealites, blurring the borders between them. From the blue lit windows across the village, golden threads flow. Before long Otsuo village is canopied by golden weave that shines like hope and promise made tangible. They work their way unbidden into the vials, filling each one in turn.\nThe dreams of children. \n\nSo pure. Untouched expressions of distilled joy. Unsullied by worry and strife, work, debts, failures and regrets.\n\nThe purest expression of innocence the multiverse has to offer. \n\nFifteen vials shine in the morning like, gleaming and golden - One catches his eye, So pale its almost white. minutes pass as he barely breathes - not daring to hope. \nThis could be the one. \n\nA casual observer, perhaps with a cloak of sleep protection - would have seen a man, fighting with his own feelings of elation. A man trying not to dance a jig on the spot.\nA man who fades into mist, as the sun crests the horizon. \n\n\nHours later a tavern door swings open, nobody watches the man in the poncho and track pants take a seat. Everyone knows Matthew. He's been here a long time. \n\nHe greets the woman behind the bar with a tired smile, She's dressed like a Valkyrie. She nods, no words need be said - Its a very special relationship between long term patrons and bar-staff. She pours a drink. Valhalla mead is the best for soul fatigue. \n\n'Dreamweaver...' A voice speaks from behind him. Matthew is known by many names - that is one of them. \nA tall man approaches, skeletal frame shrouded from beneath a blue-black hood.\n'Death...' He says with a nod of respect. 'Its nice to see you in a little bit of colour' \nDeath stands stoically. Expressionless. 'Well?' \n'A good haul, all golds - and... one white...'\n'White?' There is a note of surprise in his voice. \n\n'Its for her'\n\n'I understand... Fifteen will buy her another twenty eight days.' \n\n'... that's generous of you'\n\nFifteen vials are placed atop the bar, vials of pure dawnglass, containing golden dreams of children. Death swoops his cloak over top and they vanish. With that he turns on his heel and stalks away. \n\nMatthew goes back to his drink, Helga has supplied him with wordlessly. She speaks, her voice a blend of honey and silk.\n\n'Death likes you, Matthew - and what you're doing is a good thing' \n\nMatthew shrugs. 'A whole month is quite generous, what does he do with that stuff anyway?' \n\n'I hear he gives them to people who need it. People who are trapped in bodies that don't work anymore... one last taste of life. She says wistfully. \n\n'I also hear he has a special lady now... so maybe that's where this generosity comes from' \n\nWith that Matthew drains his glass. thanks Helga, and leaves the way he came. 'The love of the powerful is always cursed, Helga... Always' he mutters under his breath. \n\n\nA man stands in a private reality. A shrine, of sorts. A pantheon of stone is carved beautifully, decor Intricate and floral. Wildflowers grow everywhere lending the scent of life to the small realm. A woman sits in lotus pose, encased in white crystal. her hair fans out in blonde braids. Matthew chokes, briefly. 'Tilda, my love, I have bought another month...' He says softly. 'Thank you for keeping Sara alive' He kisses the glass softly. She neither hears his words, nor feels his kiss.\n\nA blue tendril of energy seeps from her, traces its way along the mossy rock, until it meets a dais, atop which a young woman lays in white linen. A string of flowers ring her forehead. This is Matthews curse. He pads softly, as though not to break her sleep. If only it was that easy.\n\nEight years had passed since Matthews curse. He had robbed a man of something precious. And that man had cursed him with his dying breath. \nHe had found that his daughter would not wake. The keys to breaking the curse, hidden in the dreams of children. \n\nThis was the fourth of five. He held the white vial up to the light, and unstopped it. A corona of raw energy exploded with a chorus of choir. The light settled across her skin. seeping in. She stirred in her sleep. The first time she had moved in eight years. She stopped. her breathing fell rythmic once more. \n\nHe wiped the tears from his face and steeled himself. \n\nHe had made a mistake. He was a little too pleased with himself and his power, such arrogance. He had worn the finest silks, and treated non magical folk worse than dirt. \nThe dreamweaver they had called him. And fate had seen it that he would watch as those he loved dearly were taken from him by a magic more powerful than his own. \n\nA new light pulsed on the surrounding stone. Leaving the last one blank. He could feel his resolve burning. \nHe would scour the earth, One sunrise at a time. \n\n\n" ]	1
	[WP] The Purge has begun. People usually waste this day, mindlessly killing each other. You, on the other hand, planned something much more sinister.	[ "For one day, crime was legal.\n\nThe intent was supposedly to let us \"get it out of our systems\" but everyone knew the real reason: those in power wanted to remind us what anarchy looked like so we would thank them when they sent us back into the totalitarian hell they built for us.\n\nBut as it happens, armed revolution is a crime. And on that one day, there was nothing they could do about it.\n\nIt took ages to prepare. We could only get our hands on untraceable guns durring the purge after all. But finally we are ready.\n\nI doubt they will go down without a fight, but today no law can be enforced so if we fail the only consequence will be any injuries we sustain in the fighting.\n\nWe might not get it this time. We might not get it the next. But one of these years the regime will fall, and both freedom and order will be available all year round." ]	1
	[WP] You never believed the common conspiracy that the world's a simulation until you start seeing pixels flickering	[ "\"D-do you see that?\"\n\nGreg was squinting a bit, looking off into the distance. I followed his gaze, not sure what I was supposed to be looking at.\n\n\"What? I don't see anything.\"\n\nHe stepped closer and pointed at a group of trees. \"That tree, right there. It looks like it's... Flickering. As if it's fake.\"\n\n\"Oh my god, Greg, you mean like a simulation? You can't possibly actually believe that!\"\n\nI turned to look at my friend, my mouth slightly agape. He was still staring at the tree with a concern in his eyes that sobered me.\n\nEveryone knew at least one crackpot who believed Earth was a simulation, a lot of times the same ones who believed in the Illuminati and lizard people. It's impossible to take them serious in any matter, knowing they firmly believe something so crazy. Seeing Greg say something so inane with such conviction really concerned me.\n\nHe had been under some extra stress from work lately, so it's possible he hadn't been taking care of himself. His eyes were probably playing tricks on him. Still, that was nothing to take lightly. I should get him inside, for now, and call his-\n\nRapid footsteps beside me broke my train of thought, and I whipped around to see Greg breaking into a sprint toward the \"glitch.\" I followed suit, trying to keep up.\n\nBy the time I got there, Greg was just staring at the tree with a horrified expression.\n\n\"I... I put my hand through it. Through the tree, Kay! I put my hand through the goddamn tree! All the crazies were right all along, Kay. This world is fake and no one else knows! We need to tell everybody!\"\n\nI put my hand against the tree and pushed lightly. The tree pushed back. There was nothing strange about it. I swallowed hard before turning back to Greg.\n\n\"Buddy, I think it's time you talk to someone. You're really scaring me. You're going to take tomorrow off work to rest, alright? I won't take no for an answer.\"\n\nHe looked like I had stabbed him in the chest.\n\n\"You don't... believe me?\" \n\nHis eyes pleaded for a different answer, but I was unable to give him any reassurance. I grabbed his hand and began to gently pull him away from the tree, and with one final look, he followed, a defeated expression on his face.\n\nA month later, I saw him on the news. Apparently, he had assaulted the mayor, shouting about conspiracies. He had been sent to a mental hospital, the poor soul.\n\nI was able to visit him that week.\n\n\"How are you doing, buddy?\" I asked Greg. He seemed a bit confused, and was restrained to his bed.\n\n\"Kay?\" he asked between shallow breaths. \"Are you here to get me out?\"\n\nI chewed my lip, trying to decide how to respond.\n\n\"I'm sorry Greg, but I think this is a good place for you right now. They'll help you feel better, okay?\"\n\nHis eyes took on some worry. \"No!\" he said, a bit louder, \"I'm not crazy! I set up a meeting with the mayor, to tell him that the world is fake, but when I got there, he said he needed to keep it quiet, and had me arrested! At the trial, they said I assaulted him, but I didn't, Kay, I didn't, and you should know that, because you know me! Don't you believe me? Listen to me, Kay!\"\n\nHe had begun to get more and more worked up, raising his voice and pulling at his restraints with severity. It scared me, not just for his sake, but for my well being. I couldn't believe this was what had become of my friend. An orderly had heard the ruckus, and came in to sedate him. She asked me to go home, and I happily complied.\n\nFive years later, Greg is still at the facility. I never visited again, thinking that my friend had truly lost his marbles, but now, I'm not so sure. Yesterday, I saw something that sent chills down my spine. A beautiful flower, right in the center of my garden, glitching." ]	1
	[WP] You are a guy on a bus eating a sandwich. Some guy sits beside you and accidentally knocks your sandwich to the floor. Oh boy are you ever upset about it.	[ "\"Oh my GOD! That was my fuckin lunch ya nitwit mongoloid dickhead,\" I practically snarled at the guy, leaning forward and hopelessly picking at the scattered remains on the bus floor.\n\nI scoffed in furious disbelief before straightening back up and taking a closer look at the stranger sitting beside me. It was a testament to how outraged I really was -- and a testament to the strength of the hangover storming my brain like the beach at Normandy -- that I didn't scream and scramble to a new seat immediately.\n\nOr off of the bus entirely.\n\nThe man sitting beside me had no face. No, that wasn't entirely true. As he turned towards me I saw that the left side of his face was still present; the right side of it which had been turned towards me was a worm-eaten, decomposed mess. As I watched the tiny ugly face of a ratlet peeked from the man's filthy, grime-filled suit pocket.\n\nThat was another thing. The guy was dressed like he'd just come from a wedding, that was my first thought. And my second was far more spine-tingling.. He also looked like he might have just come from a funeral. He looked a hell of a lot more like that.\n\n\"Have you..\" I cleared my throat, not liking how small, squeaky.. and scared my voice had sounded at first. \"Have you ever seen a movie called The Dark Knight?\"\n\nThe man stared at me, his left eye - it was a pleasantly light baby blue I thought to myself with a kind of hysterically insane nonchalance - blinking without concern. Meanwhile, there was a red ruin, an empty socket.. where his right eye should have been.\n\nI had been attempting to smile and make conversation for some reason.. Maybe my mind was still trying to reboot from a precautionary shutdown upon first seeing Mr. Two Face.\n\n\"Why so serious?\" this guy, this... impossibility croaked quietly with what remained of his lips.", "In a sea of swirling depression, my turkey sandwich was my last salvation. It had been tenderly made with all the love I had left to give and then seasoned with kisses before I had stuffed it into a paper bag. I drew a heart on the front to pretend like I had a mother that cared enough to do the same.\n\nI decided to eat it on the way to school since the time I had spent making this perfection had caused me to miss breakfast. It's the biggest mistake of my life. \n\nTommy hopped onto the bus and made a beeline for the only seat still available- next to me. His hair was gelled and his ears were full of music. He tapped along to the beat blasting from his headphones and in his enthusiasm, his elbow knocked into me. I yelped and threw my hands up in defense like any reasonable boy should without considering what I had been previously holding.\n\n\"My turkey sandwich,\" I gasped when my fingers unclenched from around my hair. Bread, cheese, and meat, once ready for consumption, was now scattered across the bus's dirt covered floor.\n\nTommy looks at the ruined masterpiece, and then me, cringing. \"My bad, dude.\" Then he turned away, ignoring the repercussions of his actions.\n\nI open my mouth to scream or yell or maybe, for once, say something clever. \n\nMy teeth chattered close and I turned away too because, in the end, no words could describe the loss I felt.\n\nI mourned my turkey sandwich for the rest of eternity. \n\n--------\n\nBam. Done. Thanks for the fun prompt!\n\nObligatory: Caaaaaan you feeeeel the eddggge toniigghht~", "\"What have you done?\"\n\n\"Oh geez I'm so sorry, that sandwich looked delicious I'll-\"\n\n\"You have no idea what you've just done, do you?\" \n\n\"I'll pay you back as soon as we're off the bus, I swear it was-\" \n\n\"Those were my mother's ashes.\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"When people die sometimes they get incinerated in a special oven instead of getting buried.\"\n\n\"I'm aware what cremation is. But that was a just sandwich.\"\n\n\"She's not JUST a sandwich she was my mother!\"\n\n\"Jesus Christ dude were you going to eat your mother's ashes?\"\n\n\"No you sick freak! My mother was interested in the dark arts so this was required\" \n\n\"Wait wait, so she was going to curse you or something if you didn't put her in a sandwich.\"\n\n\"No you idiot.\"\n\n\"Well I'm lost.\"\n\n\"Don't you see? My mother was a witch, so we cremated her in to sand and put her between two pieces of bread. She literally WAS the sand-witch.\"\n\n\"Get help sir\" " ]	3
	[WP] He's known as the Red Fae, a benevolent entity tasked with guarding the sealed prison of an ancient evil that almost destroyed the world. His only issues are the dark creatures willing to stand in his way and you, an ordinary human just wanting to relax in a graveyard.	[ "There's no place more peaceful in the world to sleep at night than in a graveyard. It makes sense. Sleep is the cousin of Death, after all. So the more death surrounds you, the better you sleep, right? \n\n'Least...that was the case for me - Kenneth Yates, Kenny for short, Kanye for the ladies. In my many long years of graveyard napping, as long as you didn't stay in the graveyard past 12 midnight, you were fine. From 12 to 2 is when the weird stuff started happening.\n\nDespite my brilliant and logical explanation in the first paragraph, you may still be wondering why any one in their right mind would choose to sleep in a graveyard. Depending on the day and the mood I was in, you might receive several answers.\n\nIf it was a Monday and I was feeling snarky, I might tell you that I didn't have a right mind, but a left one. If you then asked me what that meant, I would be likely to snap at you and tell you to, \"Go figure it out.\" Or punch you in the face - depending on how big you were and whether I could out-run you if you didn't go down\n\nTuesday to Thursday was usually when I felt philosophical and would expound in profound, increasingly in- depth detail why my explanation in the first paragraph made sense - so much sense, in fact, that it was not I who was the one lacking the right mind, but that it was you who lacked the right mind for not choosing to sleep in a graveyard. I might end with something along the lines of, \"You sleep in that bed that you claim is so nice, warm, and comfortable...yet you wonder why you have insomnia,\" and then proceed to do a dazzling heel spin in your face and strut away.\n\nIf you asked me on a Friday, I would poignantly tell you of my troubled childhood, my abusive parents, my social anxiety and shyness, my frustration that my life seemed to be filled with too many moments of regret and boredom, and my fear that it would continue until the future. All things that were true, but only told to you because I was hoping that you would feel enough sympathy to invite me to drinks on Saturday. \n\nSunday I would be in church the entire day. Church is the second best place in the world to sleep. Not only do they feed you bread and fruit juice on occassion, but there's also the added benefit of people thinking you're praying. You can go to Church, sit in a corner, close your eyes, bow your head, and (as long as you don't snore) go to sleep, and never be disturbed. People must think I'm the holiest person in the world - or the greatest sinner in the world, as one old lady I overheard whisper to her friends, \"He must have done something awfully bad for him to always be praying like that. You'd think he was a demon that just found out he's getting thrown into the Lake of Fire, too.\"\n\nAnyway, back to the story. \n\nSo there was the Red Fae...\n\n...wait. Shit. Back it up a bit.\n\nSo twenty-one years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Yates had a son, and they named him Kenneth...\n\n...wait. No, that wasn't it. Sorry guys, let me get it together. I just had Finals week and those Finals were kicking my butt.\n\nOh, wait, that was it, I remember now. Okay, so this is where the story starts.\n\nI just had Finals week and those Finals were kicking my butt...\n\n...so after they were done, I needed to take a well-deserved, well-needed nap, and the best place to take naps are where...? Right. Graveyard. Way better than any student lounge at any college. Guaranteed.\n\nAnd I got my nap. The problem is I slept past 12. And like I told you in the 2nd paragraph, from 12 to 2 is when the weird stuff starts to happen. \n\nThe weird stuff started with me waking up and finding that I was sitting on the branch of a tree. Not, just any tree, however, but the tree that had been looming over me as I slept. I could see the faint outline of my body in the dirt below.\n\nNot too weird, right?\n\nOkay, well the second weird thing that I noticed was that there was a boy scrambling around on the limb below me like a baby Tarzan on cocaine. Back and forth, the boy moved like a spider with broken legs or a dying snake - jerking erratically one way and then the other - as if he couldn't control his own body. Several times he came close to tumbling off the edge.\n\nThe third weird thing...another boy. On the branch above me. Except there was no branch. This boy was balanced on a leaf. He was looking straight at me, with eyes so gray that I thought he was blind, until he lifted his finger to his lips in the universal gesture of Shhh when I opened my mouth to speak.\n\nThere was something about the boy - either his eyes or his manner - that immediately put me at ease. He was like a young Dumbledore. I closed my mouth. \n\nHe pointed to the boy that was going ape-shit on the branch below us, beating his chest, and pausing every five seconds to scream, though no sound came out. He...\n\nThen he balled his fist, stuck out his thumb, then drew it horizontal across his throat. ...will kill...\n\nFinally, he pointed at me. ...you. He nodded in what I interpreted as: Do you understand?\n\nI glanced at the lower branch. The boy had stopped going crazy and was now staring off silently into the distance. I shivered, and turned my attention back to the upper branch, where Gray Eyes was holding a belt.\n\nBefore I knew what was happening, the belt looped around my throat. My feet lifted off the branch. \"What are you- ?\"\n\nSomehow, I managed to roll my eyes back down to the lower branch. Ape Boy was slowly turning his head upward towards the sound of my voice. He found me and fixed me with a silent stare, and went so still that he could have been a statue. I realized, then, that he had no eyes. \n\nGray Eyes said, \"Trust me.\" And the belt grew tighter around my neck. I wheezed. Ape Boy tilted his head. I felt like fish bait. My legs dangled helplessly in the air as I flailed about, being manhandled by a...a...kid.\n\nI was seeing spots. I couldn't breathe. The world was closing in on me; a darkness as black as the two black holes Ape Boy had for eyes. \n\nApe Boy opened his mouth in that same silent scream. His body trembled. Veins burst out his neck. Pinpoints of red appeared somewhere deep in his eye sockets as if he were about to shoot laser beams at me.\n\nThen he leapt up towards me; his mouth gaping, sharp teeth going in spirals throughout his entire mouth. A shark's mouth. And I was the fish.\n\nI looked up. Gray Eyes was still staring at me. He said, \"Trust me.\" \n\nAnd I passed out.\n\n\n" ]	1
	[WP] A murder mystery where every character believes themself responsible for the death, and tries to cover it up.	[ "Mrs. Robinson, she might have done it. She thought about the moment she gave him those beautiful flowers, oh had she known, oh had she chose the blue ones instead. In the end the cursed red things weren't that beautiful at all, as Mr. Portman had thankfully pointed out so ever discreetly to her at the right time to very calmly take them to not be noticed by the wrong eyes, Mrs. Robinson, someone could end in a horrible conclusion. And keep silence.\n\nLady Loveheart, oh she never expected him to react that horribly at the news of his lady mother's passing, perhaps she could have been more calm or more soft, perhaps she should not have spoken a word until later, much, much later. Thankfully, only Mr. Portman knew about her giving Lord Fortman the news, and she assured her not a word would be spoken, and insisted her to do the same.\n\nThough everyone had their own reasons to believe themselves guilty, Mr. Portman had a strange certainty that he was the one, but he made sure that his suspicious silence would not stand out from the other, oh no. This was his circus, but he was just another clown.", "He just wanted to wax the floors. He knew Mr. Spitz had told him not to. He knew everyone had seen him yelling at him yesterday in the lobby when he had his tumble in the foyer. But he had also known Mr. Spitz was having company this evening. Company that needed to be impressed. He had already done the rest of the rooms already. He only needed to do the upstairs hallway. Mr. Spitz would never know, but his guests would notice his impeccable home.\n\nAt least, that's what Peter had told himself before Mr. Spitz had taken his tumble down the stairs. Now he was trying desperately to scrub the wax up off the floor before the police arrived. At least the valet Saul couldn't see him from the bottom of the curving stairs.\n\n----\n\nSaul was thankful Peter the butler couldn't see him from top of the curving staircase where the phone was. He was trying desperately to get the shoe polish out of Mr. Spitz's shoestrings before the police arrived. When he saw the untied laces on Mr. Spitz's body at the bottom of the stairs, he had been able to quickly tied them before Peter had come around. But even know they wouldn't stay tied long. He had to get the damned polish out and off of them.\n\nHe knew that everyone had overhead Mr. Spitz telling him he didn't need he shoes polished anymore. But Saul was determined to have Mr. Spitz shown in his very best light for his very important guests. He had lacquered on the polish three portions deep. What he didn't account for was the shoe laces picking up and retaining so much. Why had he insisted on polishing the bloody shoes? ", "The SS Marmalade was not a large ship, in fact at the current time and place (that being 06:00 on the 6th December 2017, about 150 nautical miles from the coast of Antarctica) only 40 people (collectively both crew and passengers) had crammed themselves into the tight quarters of the vessel. \n \n40 people: 39 alive and one dead. The alive of us, of course, now crowded around a dead body with not a clue as to what to do. \n \nWe had all slept through this man's murder despite the fact that these chilly, summer days the sun never really dropped below the horizon. We all shivered in our pajamas, startled at the sight of him. It was cold enough that he still looked alive, but it was warm enough that we could all smell that he'd shat himself in his final moments. \n \nThe poor bastard... \n \nI only knew the dead man by surname, It was 'Gantall'. He was a deckhand, part of the expedition assistant team. Handsome fellow, huge too, not too friendly though, didn't really get to know him too well. His body was lying spread eagled on top of a stack of rubber floor mats. These things were meant to be put on slippery decks to make sure no one hurt themselves; how Ironic that a dead man now lay upon them. \n \n The cause of death was not ambiguous. He had a huge blade thrust right through his Solar Plexus, through the stack of floormats and into the wooden floor boards below. Infact that's how we'd found him. Blood was leaking through the ceiling below deck from the blade and droplets had fallen on Madam Bisset in whilst she slept. How unfortunate that she insisted on the top bunk. \n \nNeedless to say, there was a lot of screaming, everyone woke up, everyone stared at the blood-stained ceiling and everyone put two and two together and rushed up on deck. \n \n\"Oi, Clarky!\" Vic jabbed at me \"You is the Doctor 'ere, 'ave a look at 'im\" \n \nIgnoring the cockney twat, I composed myself and stepped forward to examine him. Two of my fingers extended gingerly towards his wrist, in search of a pulse. The others gathered in closer, almost as if guiding my fingers towards him. \n \nContact. His skin was cold and wet. \n \n\"He's dead.\" I announced. \n \n\"Darling even I could have made that deduction.\" scoffed Claire Smith. \n \n\"O' well done Clarky, You wanna find the cause of d-\" \n \n\"Shut up Victor!\" I snapped. \"A man is dead.\" \n \nEveryone burst into uproarious quarrel. Worried, angry, suspicious, scared, snide the group argued tooth and nail struggling for a singular voice, instead there was a chaotic roar amongst the passengers of the SS Marmalade as their heads darted around, shouting in each other's ears as to what their opinions were. \n \nIt was amazing to watch. They shouted at their allies, stared daggers at their enemies and slowly and gradually shuffled around the limited space forming their own little factions. Each little bit of contact with someone they had found grating on this long, arduous voyage was second guessed, and teeth were bared and fists were clenched. \n \n\"SIIIILLLLEEEENCE!\" Captain Brutus roared at the top of his lungs. His voice more booming than an Antarctic storm. \n \nFinally, the chatter died down, and the passengers gazed upon this red-faced man instead of each other. \n \nHe cleared his throat and then began to speak. \n \n\"Now let me state the obvious, this is a boat, a man has been murdered and one of you done it, question is who dunnit and why? If you is the culprit reveal yerself now, else there will be a much worse hell ter pay when we single you out\" \n \nNone of the kind passengers of the SS Marmalade made even a single sound. \n \n ", "Another scream rang out. Julia, the person who I has drove to commit suicide. My horrible ways to her must of affected her more than I thought. Why was I murdering them? I wish I could answer that question, but it's what I'm trying to figure out too.\n\nThat time when Jacob claimed he was getting murdered? That was probably the trap I placed town, clamping the victims legs and squeezing them in agony, not killing until every last drip of blood runs out.\n\nAll the time, I've been trying to cover up my murders. Luckily, everybody else has been acting really suspicious... as if they themselves were the murderer. But I know the truth. My knife plunged into Margaret's stomach, twisting her intestines about. I couldn't stop myself, everything was just a blur. I had no control, I felt nothing during the time.\n\nNext on the list was Harry. I tried ripping the list apart, throwing my knife in the trashcan. But somehow... It always found its way back to me. I promptly stuffed Harry into a box, sealing away any breathing room. It was probably only a few hours until he died.\n\nMy mother and father would be depressed, angered, hell I can't think of words to describe their fury that I, Amelia, would grow up to be a murderer. I looked down at my list:\n\n- ~~Jacob~~\n\n- ~~Julia~~\n\n- ~~Margaret~~\n\n- ~~Harry~~\n\n- George\n\n- Angela\n\n- AND NEVER AMELIA HAHAHAHAHHA\n\nIt was time to go back to bed... everything was so tiresome and I really didn't want to wake up. The bed felt comfortable, like the one at the place I called home.\n\nIt was the next day. I was in a white room with no windows, a mouse trap on the floor and a little bed.\n\n\"Patient 3243, Amelia. We need to talk to you.\"\n\n\"Patients 432, 5678, 219, 8464, 10234 and 753, otherwise know as Jacob, Julia, Margaret, Harry, George and Angela, you will have to wait until we have your sanity check.\"", "Didn't stick the script too well. Thought I would post it anyway!\n\n\n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\n“God dammit who do you work for? Who are you covering for Max?” The detective had not slept well for the last week. Miranda had been murdered and no one they interviewed had given them any good information. Max was found wandering outside of the building where the murder happened mumbling about Miranda. \n\n\n“I watched her die. She was so sad.” Max said.\n\n“Who killed her Max? If she was sad then you should tell us who it was!” he shouted at the man. Max had to be restrained in the chair, he had thrown himself against every surface in an attempt to end his life. \n\n“I did.” Max said in a short staccato fashion rocking in his seat. \n\n“We have gone over this Max, we can see you on the video footage. The entire time we can see you standing in the corner of the room. All the lights go out and a second after that you ran out the door where other eyewitnesses confirm you stayed.” The detective had grown impatient. “Why would you kill Miranda anyway?”\n\nShrinking Max sloughed in his chair. He had stopped rocking back and forth and stared blankly at the ground. The detective tried to snap him out of it but there was no use. \n\n“I’m done with him.” The detective said to his colleague. Walking towards the door he could hear Max still trying to free himself from his restraints. \n\nJust days ago Miranda had come to him seeking help. She had told him that someone was following her. She had not seen anyone but could feel the presence of someone watching her every move. Suddenly she would wake up, still walking but in unfamiliar parts of town. Convinced that someone had been placing drugs in her drinks and following her until she lost control to the drug she went to the only person she thought could help.\n\n\nSuddenly a scream came from behind him and he spun around to see Max in tears.\n\n“I stabbed her in the chest! How can you not see the blood that still covers my hands.” Max said hysterically. The detective had heard this already and continued into the hallway. \n\nThey had found Miranda without any obvious wounds. Max was one of the detective’s men and had been following her to the last place she had been awake, the building where she was then found dead. The cause was determined to be blunt trauma to the back of her head.\n\nMaria, Miranda’s best friend, was in the next room. She had gone with the other two out of concern for Miranda’s health. She had seen her friend grow weary from the feeling of constantly being followed. Although she gave no more help than Max on determining what happened in the building she was in a more stable condition. The detective took a deep breath before entering the room.\n\n“Maria, can you tell me anything new about your friend?” he calmly asked as he slid in the chair in front of her. His colleagues said that Maria had seemed more cooperative recently, maybe she could start to clear this up for him.\n\n“Miranda was not there that day?” She said almost puzzled at the detectives question. “I killed her when she came at me with a knife the day before.”\n\n“Maria, your family all says they were with you the day before. We saw Miranda with you and Max walking into the building that day.” The detective’s shoulders slumped as he responded.\n\n“No, no!” Tears welling in her eyes. It seemed like she believed everything she was saying. \n\nHe couldn’t take this anymore, he left. Shaking his head the detective strolled down the hallway. If you looked close you could see the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. \n\nThat night the detective was at his house washing his hands in the bathroom when he felt it. Looking into the mirror he saw the figure slowly emerge from behind him. A cloud of black smoke forming above his shoulder. \n\n“Good work” the figure said, sending a chill down the man's spine. \n\n“What do you want from me?” The detective choked out the words.\n\nLaughing the figure melted back into a smoke that creeped around the man as tears fell from his face. Looking through the mirror he could see the truth. He had been in the building that day when the other two arrived. Miranda was not with them. Instead, where Miranda was supposed to be he saw it. The figure that now tormented his nightmares and haunted him during the day.\n", "When we awoke, we were sitting at a long, elegant dining table. Only instead of a feast, all that we saw before us was one thing.\n\nThe corpse.\n\nIn truth, it was less of a dead body than it was meat in a vaguely human shape. The wrists appeared to have been slashed so that it seemed as though great gaping gills dotted his pale arms. His belly was skewered with a dagger. His legs had been crushed under the weight of an immense stone that, upon closer inspection, appeared to have been pushed from the balcony above us. His head had been bashed in so that the look of surprise on his concave skull was strangely stretched out. It was almost as though a cartoony mallet had been the weapon of choice. His throat bulged as though someone had crammed something large into it to cut off his air supply. There was no smell, though. Someone had neatly vacuum packed the entire grisly affair, stone and all. \n\nAs we all watched, a bubble of seawater, complete with a small fish, bubbled out of his mouth, and it became very obvious to all of us that somehow, despite the impossibility of the statement, he'd been drowned.\n\n\"Ok, class,\" I said, looking at the others, \"this is the final test before you receive your coroner's certification.\"\n\n\"But,\" sputtered a man with a panicked expression on his face, \"didn't we all-\"\n\nI grinned, my mouth stretching into a grin that silenced him instantly. \"Find cause of death, and you find the murderer. So, then, which one of you will it be, while the rest of you go free? You have five hours.\"", "“I swear, I didn’t do anything.” The girl gulped. “I have an alibi.”\n\n“Sure you do Brooks.” A woman growled, placing the tips of her fingers to the table and scowling. “I’ve got several officers checking out your story, but for now, honestly I want you out of my sight.” Her detective badge glimmered against fluorescent light as she lifted the girl out of her chair and handed her over to one of the officers standing by. \n\n“Lord almighty.” She huffed, slumping back into her chair as soon as the interrogation room was empty. Hesitantly, she glanced down as the gun holstered at her hip. Was this wrong? Trying to pass off her own crime onto another poor soul? If she really was the one to shoot Tommy Winters... this was the only way to keep her kids out of the system, they couldn’t lose her from one mistake. She’d just have to pass the blame off on someone hopeless.\n\n“Anne?” The door swung open lightly and a dark head peered in. “We’ve got Sam Gallardo for you in room 3. Says he didn’t have anything to do with it, but the warrant to search his phone cleared and we found something interesting in his search history.”\n\nThe man dropped a file in front of Anne and she flipped through it. \n\n“Kid searched up, how to lay low if you killed someone, just a few hours after Tommy was killed. Sam’s our guy.” He grinned. \n\n“Thanks Lee.” She smiled, giving his cheek a pat on her way out the door.\n\n“Anything for you.” He whispered to himself, glancing after her as she walked off. Looks like she still didn’t suspect him...good. No way she would feel for him if she knew he’d killed a man. The evidence he’d planted on Sam Gallardo’s phone was working it’s magic. \n\nAs he followed Anne’s lead out of the room, he saw her glancing in at Gia Brooks, Anne had seemed really suspicious of her almost immediately, which struck Lee as odd, but Anne Fergus always had her reasons. \n\n“I heard you’ve got something on Sammie G. You gonna release me now lady?” Gia spat as Anne walked by.\n\n“No chance in hell little girl.” She growled back.\n\nGia watched as the detective walked past her holding cell. Hopefully whatever they had on Sam was enough to outweigh whatever they had on her. She’d been so careful not to be seen as she fled from the crash scene, but how was she supposed to know that Tommy was gonna die when she hit him. Hopefully they didn’t ever check on her car.\n\nThe last thing Gia heard from the detective was “Samuel Gallardo! I want a word with you.” As she threw open the door to the interrogation room, spun the chair around, sat, and leaned forward into the chair’s back. \n\n“What’s this?” She asked, dropping the folder and pointing to the picture of his search history.\n\n“I didn’t search that,” He replied flatly.\n\n“Well then who did smart guy?”\n\n“Hell if I know. You have any idea how much my phone gets passed around during the day? All the sweet ladies want to give me their digits and you know I’m not about to turn their pretty faces away.”\n\nAnne scrunched her nose up tight in disgust.\n\n“Detective Fergus?” A voice paged into the the room, it was the coroner. \n\nAnne eyed Sam up and down, “Don’t do anything stupid til I get back.” \n\n“But once you’re back here I can be as moronic as I want?” He snickered, mentally high fiving himself as she made her quick exit.\n\nEverything was going smoothly for Sam so far. He’d gotten under her skin, hadn’t broken his cool, and had a reasonable excuse for why that would be in his search history. As long as they didn’t start getting too nosy and start sniffing around his garage, he’d be fine. God forbid, if Tommy Winters died from his supply, it wouldn’t be his fault. However, the cops wouldn’t see it that way.\n\n“What is it Maxus?” Anne murmured, pulling the coroner aside. \n\nHe handed her a sheet of paper, the coroners report. “I found something interesting. Yes, Tommy was in a car crash and shot,” Anne winced, “the night of the murder, but that didn’t kill him.”\n\n“It didn’t?” She was baffled, perhaps it wasn’t her fault?\n\n“No, he also had an exceptionally large amount of methamphetamine in his system, but that didn’t do it either. What got to him first, was enough tranquilizer to knock out a herd of elephants.” \n\n“Tranquilizer?” Anne was near speechless. Who in town had access to that in such a large quantity? \n\n“Yes ma’am. Looks like you didn’t do it after all.” The coroner winked as he turned to walk away.\n\n“What? You know that I?”\n\n“Please, you’re the only person I know who packs this kind of heat.” He tossed the bullet into their air like a coin, and snatched it back into his fist.\n\n“Max? Isn’t that evidence that you’re playing with?”\n\n“Only if you want it to be.” He turned to face her, a single eyebrow raised.\n\nAnne smile, dragging her fingers across her lips as if zipping them, Maxus repeated it back.\n\n“Good luck Detective.” He tipped an imaginary hat and sauntered off. \n\n“Powers that be, give me strength. I’m gonna need it.\n\n————\n\nApologies if anything was factually incorrect, I didn’t get the chance to do much research before writing this :)\n\n", "In the spectral light of the space-between-her-ears, Rachel’s emotions deliberated. Grady, the spurned soulmate, lay twitching on the kitchen tile. He’d taken a hard fall during his latest attempt at reconciliation, and now a pool of crimson blossomed beneath his temple. \n\nEveryone was a suspect. \n\nMany of the emotions pointed will-o-wisp fingers at Rage. \n\n“This wouldn’t be the first time,” they shouted. “He’s hurt others before.”\n\nAnd it was true. The burly bloke had a tendency to bulldoze Rachel’s senses. Steam sometimes roiled from his nostrils and he bellowed like a T-Rex. Usually his tantrums lead to tear-streaked pillows. Or words Rachel could never reel back through a telephone line. Once, even, he’d driven Rachel so frenzied that she’d actually struck her daughter Tricia. A smack across the cheeks. Nothing over the top, but enough that Guilt shamed him for weeks. \n\nTo be quite honest, Rage himself wasn’t sure he was innocent. But he wouldn’t go down without a fight. Amidst the pointing fingers, he puffed out his chest and bellowed:\n\n“It’s Jealousy that done it! Lay off’a me!” \n\nAll the streetlight eyes went wide. Murmurs spiderwebbed through the crowd, Emotions rumbled angrily like distant summer thunder. Could it be true? Quite possibly. They had a history, you see. Jealousy made Rachel’s eyes whirl in their sockets. She was always making her do the strangest of things. \n\n“I suppose it’s possible,” Rationalization piped up. “She did see Grady flirting with someone at the gym.”\n\nEveryone gasped. Jealousy slunk in the corner--a slender wisp of sparkler smoke. All the attention made her blush. The other emotions urged her to speak. Reluctantly, she stammered.\n\n“It had only been one* year, for Christ sakes. Flirting with some low-cut skank after one. year. Rachel is raining tears into cartons of ice cream on a nightly basis. I can’t remember the last time she had a night’s sleep. She dodges wellness checks left and right. Meanwhile he... well. He’d always wanted someone with a nice…”\n\nRealization dawned on Jealousy. Perhaps she played a part, sure (she was always working on Rachel subliminally), but she’d never have her kill anyone! It was simply not true. \n\nShe had to divert the blame. Her eyes darted to potential candidates, before settling at once on a lumbering figure with an upturned chin. \n\n“But what about Vengeance?!” she shrieked. \n\n“Yes! Fair point,” cried Ignorance. “I swore I saw her smile!”\n\nVengeance swept her cape behind her in sudden offense. Static electricity riveted her hair on end. The emotions nearest her took several steps back. \n\n“Why, the dishonor! I have never been so outraged in...I mean...I would be the first to admit, Grady’s death is a piece of karmic justice. As terrible as that sounds. He was supposed to be watching our baby Tricia.”\n\nMurmurs of affirmation. \n\nOver to the left, lanky Sadness squeaked back tears. \n\n“I...it’s shameful to admit. I do sort of feel good…” Vengeance continued. “I suppose it’s possible…”\n\n“I think we’ve heard enough,” Ignorance declared. “A clear cut case. Vengeance for the death of our baby girl.”\n\nIgnorance’s barrel chest puffed out as he continued.\n\n“In a stunning feat of irony, justice has been served to both Grady and Vengeance on this fateful day.”\n\nThe other emotions murmured, thankful to be cleared of the charge. In unison, they moved to gather up Vengeance and purge it from Rachel’s consciousness. Her Vengeance would be turned on its head and morphed into slimy, dripping humiliation. A terrible near future loomed on the horizon. Rachel would be locked up behind bars, forever forced to confront the fact that her own sense of misaligned justice had--\n\n“Wait!” A voice echoed off the gleaming walls. \n\nThe entirety of the-space-between-her-ears fell silent. \n\nA tiny child--an exact replica of Tricia--stood shaking before the oncoming crowd. \n\n“I’ve messed it all up,” little Grief cried. “Now there’s no going back.”\n\nIgnorance frowned. The blubbery lines of his spotty face rippled and waved. “I don’t understand,” he said. “Are you confessing?\n\n“Yes,” Grief croaked. \n\nVengeance stooped low, placing a hand on the tiny girl. Her stark features softened as she whispered:\n\n“Did you really do it?”\n\n“He had her eyes,” Grief cried. “The color of sea foam. Every time I looked at them it was like I was seeing Tricia again. Cast strange underneath flashing red and blue.”\n\nGrief began wailing. Soon enough Rage joined in. \n\n“I done it too!” he shrieked. “I can’t control me’self. Tricia was everything.\"\n\nJealousy collapsed to the floor. \n\n“Just...the thought of another child...with those eyes...another woman…”\n\nOne by one, the emotions found blame within themselves. Upon doing so, they whirled and riveted. They spun around the-space-between-her-ears like spent balloons. The entire foundation of everything began to shake. The lights grew blight and bleary. One by one, they expanded and popped. \n\nIt was all too much. \n\nIn the kitchen, Rachel collapsed to the floor, tugging on Grady’s lifeless shoe. Tears stung her eyes. \n\n“Get up Grady,” she cried, to no response. \n\nWhen the terrible red and blue began to flash through her window, the authorities found her hyperventilating over his body. \n\n\"I don't know what happened,\" she stammered on repeat. \n\n\"I don't know what happened.\"\n_______________\n\nr/writerscrywhiskey\n", "Mr. Johnson's friends were a varied bunch.\n\nDr. Sanders was his doctor -- a skillful surgeon who had removed the tumor in his lung. Miss Wilmington was an old friend from St. Mary's, who had too many cats and baked too many cookies. Eva was a beautiful, vivid woman, with a promising acting career. And Jerry was the man's younger brother -- a ne'er do well, living off their father's money.\n\nBut they all had one thing in common: they had been betrayed by him.\n\nSo when his body was found, not a tear was shed. \"He's dead,\" Jerry announced, faking a quivering lip.\n\n\"That's a shame,\" Dr. Sanders said. Thank God that old coot is dead! \"Cancer's just such a tragic thing. I worked so hard to remove the entire tumor, but, you know, maybe I left a piece in... by accident, of course!\" He made a fool out of me. To correct my spelling -- in front of my colleagues, my wife! So what, I misspelled 'weird'?! Who cares! Or... 'wierd'? Whatever.\n\n\"Actually, he didn't die from the cancer,\" Jerry said.\n\nMiss Wilmington stiffened, and wrapped her hand-knit scarf tightly around her neck. \"Oh my! I don't... suppose he suffered a terrible allergic reaction?\" I told him, he'd pay for stepping on Mister Friddles! \"I made peanut butter cookies... it must've simply slipped my mind that he's deathly allergic to them... oh, dear...\" She feigned a sob, and put her head in her hands.\n\nEva twirled her long, blonde hair around a finger. \"It must have been that terrible fall,\" she lamented. \"Poor thing. We were walking out by the beach --\" and I tripped him -- \"and he suddenly tripped on a branch. Fell right into the sidewalk.\" She fake-blew her nose. What a dick -- rejecting me! I'm 20 years younger than him -- a good-looking woman, everyone says so... and he had the audacity to say I'm 'not his type'?! Asshole!\n\nJerry stood before the three, his knees weak. I always lived in his shadow. He got the snazzy law degree, the money, the girls, and all of Father's affections. Damn him! Dammit! And the worst part -- I didn't even get to kill him! I gave him too many of his pills, 'by accident', and it actually made him feel better!\n\nJerry sat down with the rest, his head in his hands.\n\n\"While home alone last night, he choked on a peppermint candy.\"\n\n---\n\nr/CSDouglas", "The lamps in the in the dining hall flickered a eerie, uncertain gold. Though dim, they illuminated the entirety of the room-- from the massive old fashioned oaken table at the center, to the variety of glasses and a smattering of bottles strewn along its edge, to the guests, crowded near the window, faces contorted with shock and fear, to the dead body lying on the floor with a bloody candlestick lying next to it.\n\nDr. Hall knelt before the corpse of our esteemed host, Professor Henderson. The doctor wore a spiff white lab coat, only mostly covering some worn and stained pajamas. When he rose, the doctors stern face had somehow contorted itself into a ever more grave depiction of brisk authority.\n\n“The cause of death was trauma to the head, inflicted by the candlestick. Henderson was murdered”. Said Dr. Hall, in a gravelly intelligent voice that almost masked how the doctor, like the rest of the guests, was very hungover.\n\nA murmur swept through the small crowd-- each of the party guests glanced suspiciously at every other. Who was the culprit? What was his motive? Was there anymore vodka stashed anywhere? Did that old medicine cabinet contain anything for hangovers?\n\nThe unfortunate truth was that none of the guests could really remember the night before-- it was a haze of poor quality music and high quality alcohol. In addition, everyone of them was a suspect, and they knew it, because everyone HATED Professor Henry Henderson.\n\nSophia Scarlet had once had a severe crush for the brilliant, handsome professor. Only a few weeks ago she had openly declared her affections for him, and had been delighted to have them reciprocated. It had seemed to be the beginning of a fairy-tale romance-- until it turned out that Professor Hendersons only interests were full contact bocce ball and Adam Sandler movies.\n\nHenderson had considered Dr.Herbert Hall a rare intellectual equal to his-- and had discoursed with him often about their shared interests in his wheezy high pitched voice. Except that Dr. Hall was a world renowned surgeon, while Henderson was a Ornithologist, and an idiot.\n\nMs. Whilma White was Professor Hendersons long time maid and confident-- and his untimely death had probably saved her 0-10 hours of vengeance for all those half-empty cartons of milk he spilled places to be amusing.\n\nColonel John Jackson was the military companion of the professor-- they had been squad-mates in the war. That was, until Henderson had abandoned their trench in the middle of a firefight to see if the local village had any mayonnaise.\n\nAnd lastly, there was the professors’ esteemed mother, Lady Violet Purpula. She had lived with the professor his whole life-- and if that didn’t make her a suspect, nothing would.\nSo all the guests went back to bed, scared, but also cheerful. As they walked, they thought hard to themselves: how would they prove their innocence? Who could they trust? And since they had probably done the murder themselves-- was this gonna be a usual thing, or a one time incident?\n\n(Might do a second part later today. r/StannisTheAmish).\n" ]	10
This was inspired by watching Marvel movies and wondering,"What motivated all of those Hydra soldiers to join up? Maybe they had good reasons." You don't have to write this in the Marvel universe, unless you really want to.	[WP] A hero fights their way through an army of generic, disposable bad guys. But as each bad guy fights and falls, we learn his or her backstory.	[ "Beneath the towering walls of Illeum, \nSoleus the son of Pelea \nstepped out from the shield wall \nin an open challenge to the Illians. \nHis bronze armor glinted in the evening sun. His spear and shield flashed fire in the enemy eyes.\nFrom the line of Illian shields, \nthe champion, Henle, stepped forward, resigned to his fate. \nSoleus slipped his spear into the notch of his shield. \nHenle raised his own\n and the two circled.\nSoleus, ever bold, lunged.\nHenle dodged with practiced skill. \nHenle struck a blow to Soleus' back, \nhis spear deflecting off the bronze armor.\nHe knew his death then.\nSoleus swung his spear,\nthrusting it through Henles helm. \nThere the champion fell, \nfaceless in the sand,\nthe prince of Illeum.\n\nSoleus stood in the sand, \nand issued his challenge again. \nNo illian answered until the sun kissed the sea. \nA young man of Masseter strode out bearing the blessing of the moon. \nThat virginal huntress, the cold lady of the night,\nfavored this hunter, Max, granting keenness to his eyes and fleetness to his feet. \nCrimson dusk shadowed Soleus black against the sky. \nMax drew his bow. \nSoleus covered himself with his shield and crept forward. \nMax aimed for Soleus' exposed feet, \nhitting the sand ahead of the hero's toe. Soleus charged, \nbut the fleet footed Max maintained his space. He could not draw as Soleus would reach him. \nSoleus could not attack as the Masseteran stayed far away. \nEach time Max drew his bow, Soleus charged. They were matched. \nThe night grew dark, and the pale stars lent little light. \nNo moon rose, the fickle huntress abandoned the boy. \nHer feud with Plantares' mistress meant the \ninnocent Illian must die. \nMax, soldier from Masseter, \nfar from Soleus drew his bow and fired. Soleus charged, feeling the fletched feathers brush his arm. \nMax retreated as he had all evening. \nSoleus said a silent prayer to Pelea, \nfor her to guide his hand. \nStopping his charge, he threw his spear. \nMax never saw it in the dark, \ndying as it struck his heart.\n\nIn shame Plantares stood in his hall, \nthe younger prince of Ileum. \nThe duty of defense fell to him in his brother's stead. \nUrete and Sartor, his wife and infant son, \nslept soundly in his bed. \nHis patron, Venus, the lusty lady of beauty and love \nspurred him to abondon his task. \nShe had no care for duty \nand urged him to run away with Urete, leaving Illeum to its fate. \nAll night, he stood vigil on the rampart, \nuncertain.\n\nSoleus departed for the beach, planning to renew the attack the next day. \nIf the Illians produced no champion and still refused surrender, \nlong and bloody siege would follow. \nPlantares, Prince of Illeum, stole away his precious Urete. \nHe would have her again \nrazing Illeum if required. \n\nThe bloody martian lord of war relished the possibility, \nhis iron mantle glowing red. \nHis rival, the crippled smith, pitied the scores \nwho's deaths would mark the morning. \nPerhaps out of mercy, perhaps out of spite \nfor Beauty, his unfaithful wife, \nthe smith urged Plantares out of Illeum. \nMorning neared with the red of war, \nwhile Plantares snuck to the beach. \nAfraid to approach the champion Soleus, \nPlantares shot from the tent door. \nThe missing moon could not divert his deadly arrow. \nIt struck the sleeping Soleus in the belly, \nloosing his lifeblood. \nPelea, enraged at the honorless prince, \ngranted her son strength in his last breaths. \nSoleus lunged with his dagger, \nslashing the princes throat.\n\n The ruddy dawn turned gold as the two rivals died together. \nLacking Soleus' leadership, \nthe Jejunii sailed from Illeum's shore. \nUrete ruled as queen while the infant prince grew.\nThe smith sat content, \nsatisfied with his subtle subversion of his wife's machinations. \nLove and war smoldered, defeated.", "// Perseus. Named after the Greek hero by his late mother, who died shortly after giving birth. He was raised by the Resistance, groomed and nurtured, to represent everything the Resistance stood for. \n\n//The Resistance had been gaining traction the past 5 years now. Before, it was on the brink of destruction, however as soon as Perseus turned 18 and joined the battlefield, the tides of war changed, swinging in the favour of the Resistance. The Resistance are now extremely close to victory, as their elite squadron approached the manor, the final stronghold of the Supreme Leader, and his residence. \n\n//Perseus, brandishing his golden blade, cut down the only henchman guarding the door. When the cold steel of Axe Calibur met the flesh of the guard, Perseus was immediately flooded with memories. The memories were that of the faceless guard Perseus just cut down. Except the man wasn’t very faceless. A boy with messy blond hair and smooth facial features rummaging through stone and wood. The boy’s only company was fire, rubble and smoke. He cried out for his sister, rummaging through all the ruins with his small, dirty hands. The boy appeared to finally found something underneath the pile, a girl. Younger than the boy, no older than 5 or 6 years old, but part of her face had been severely mutilated. The girl was obviously dead, with a metal rod embedded in where her left eye used to be. The boy cradled the lifeless body in his arms, releasing the body to hide only when some soldiers marched past. Perseus recognised these soldiers, or more specifically, their flag. It was the Resistance. By their uniforms, Perseus knew this was the Battle Of Beijing. This gruesome conflict took place 7 years ago, when the Resistance was being crushed. Soldiers from both side met in Beijing and the clash was violent. The Resistance had told Perseus that their forces were wiped out in this conflict, but the memories flooding his head clearly showed Resistance soldiers alive, burning houses and executing civilians and opposing soldiers. \n\n//Perseus was rudely awakened from this dream-like vision when his comrade, Johnny hit him on the back of his head with his rifle butt. \n\n“Perseus! Focus! We are storming the manor!”\n\n He turned back to Johnny, and murmured a quick apology under his breath. He tightened his grip on Axe Calibur, and charged towards the door. With a strong kick, the doors flung open. The squadron entered the manor with caution. It was empty. They huddle into a circle, backs facing each other and took in their surroundings. It was grand, yet sinister. The walls were black and red, and there were no windows. There was a large statue of the Supreme Leader towards the back of the room, right in front of the stairs.\n\n Assange turned to Jenson and said, “Perfect for an evil manor. It’s almost as if we are playing a video game.”. No one replied Assange, and the squadron treaded on towards the stairs. As they approached the second floor, they were met with a sudden onset of bullets. \n\n Perseus, look at his team. Using sign language, he told them to wait behind cover, and he will charge in to tank the fire. Of course, his team agreed, Perseus was bulletproof, almost as if he had plot armour and will never die. \n\n//Perseus tossed a flashbang, stunning his enemies and charged in. With a quick swing of his blade, he cut down the first man. A burly man. Again, when the metal met the flesh of this burly man, Perseus was swamped with memories, not his, but that of the burly man. \n\n A man with a scraggly beard, muscles so big you would think he was a descendent of The Rock. But he was hiding. Underneath the floor. Using his large frame, he hugged 3 kids, most likely his children and the oldest appearing to be less than 15 years old. He had his hand over their mouths, likely to stop them from screaming, shouting or making any kind of noise who would give his position away to the men upstairs. The men stood above the ceiling. Perseus could hardly make out what the men were speaking, but it went along the lines of, “We are of the Resistance. Surrender the people, and we will spare your house, unless you prefer to die with the scum underneath your floor in a nice little bonfire.” Perseus could not hear the rest, but what ensued was an explosion, which only left the man alive. The children were dead. The man emerged with a sharp, painful look in his eye. And Perseus woke up again. \n\n Perseus immediately moved on to the next man, or rather next three. Using the pistol in his holster, he shot all three of them. And the memories came again. The first was a woman who was repeatedly raped by Resistance Soldiers, the second a man tortured, by electric chair for information, and the third, it was almost as if it was by God’s miracle the third man was alive with all the pain he had seen. Every vision felt like an eternity, but in reality, barely a second would have passed.\n\n//With every man he cut down, he saw more and more of the horrors the Resistance had committed. Every killing, every crime, every rape. Each always led to the soldier joining the Order. When Perseus cut down the final man, his 1789th kill in the manor that night, he was broken. Confused what he was fighting for. Yet, with heavy feet he walked towards the office of the Supreme Leader.\n\n The Supreme Leader took one look at him, and then glanced at the golden weapon in Perseus’s hand. \nHe smiled, and the he spoke, “Hello, great hero. You probably already saw the crimes the Resistance committed. I’m the villain of this story, and you, the great hero, the man who led the rebels to victory. The man who ended the tyrannous rule of the Leader. Th..\n\n Before the Leader could finish his monologue, Perseus slashed his throat. And then the visions came.\n\n\nIt's my first time trying this out, and I know I have a very poor command of English. I hope you like it!", "(Keep in mind that I'm writing this at like 11 pm EST)\n\n\n\n\"Hiram Ray Hawkes has just broken out of Kraken Sea Correctional Facility. Be warned of any man missing his right eye.\"\n\n27 HOURS EARLIER\n\n\"So, Mr. Hawkes, finally surrendered?\" the man asks.\n\n\"Maybe,\" Hiram starts laughing, \"but you can't keep me here forever!\"\n\n\"Just keep telling yourself that Mr. Hawkes.\" the man responds knowing that Hiram was just lying to him.\n\nThe man continues to stand guard. Gun ready to fire, if necessary.\n\n\"Hey Jim! OR-107LL is escaping we need all the help we can get!\"\n\nJim throws his gun at the fellow Guard, \"I can't leave Hiram without any supervision!\"\n\nAs the other guard ran away, Hiram used his mechanical eye to call upon his removed arm, legs and hand to attack Jim. 30 minutes later Hiram's arm broke Jim's neck, ending Jim's life. Hiram's mechanical parts reattached themselves to him.\n\nJim's life was hopeless, his wife died from an asteroid impact on the moon colony, his parents died when he was young and he had no other siblings. That all changed when he joined the academy to achieve his dream of making the galaxy a better place. After 10 years of training and hard work he eventually made it to Kraken Sea Correctional Facility on Titan.\n\nThere he met many friends, and had found somewhat of a family again. When Hiram Ray Hawkes, the most wanted man in the Galaxy was put under his control he couldn't be happier. The thought that it was him who stood in-between a chaotic immortal man and the peace of the Galaxy didn't seem to daunt him.\n\nHiram was under his control for less than a year before CRACK! Jim's neck was snapped, ending his life.", "\"Alright,\" began Joe, \"roll call time. Say 'here' when I say your name.\"\n\n\"C'mon man, all four of us are here.\" Mumbled Robb. \n\n\"You know the drill. I'm squad leader so I have to have these meetings at the beginning and end of each shift.\" Said Joe easily. \n\n\"Can't you just, you know, say you did? When was the last time anything happened worth meeting about anyway?\" Said Cynthia\n\n\"Day 874 without a workplace injury. Four more months and I get a watch.\" Replied Joe with a smile.\n\n\"So you can mark us all late, right Joe?\" Said Fred, sticking his tongue out from his toothy grin.\n\n\"We'll maybe you should come on time then.\" Said Joe, absentmindedly completing the minutes sheet.\n\n\"Have a heart Joe, we have to stand in the same damn spot for eight hours every night. I need some time beforehand to, y'know, make sure I'm not carrying any luggage?\" Said Fred, leaning back in his chair.\n\n\"Oh come on Fred, I don't need to hear that.\" Said Cynthia turning away.\n\n\"What, aren't you cleaning diapers every night?\" Asked Fred.\n\n\"Hell no!\" Said Cynthia. \"That is firmly a husband job. They told me it 'wouldn't be bad when it was from my own kid' but, let me tell you, it is.\"\n\n\"I'll take your word for it Cindy. Great to have you back though. That should do it for the official minutes, now onto personal matters. Robb, we having your birthday at the Main Street Bar like always?\" Asked Joe.\n\n\"Actually,\" Robb said standing, \"me and Christi were thinking that we could celebrate it at Giovanni's. We wanted somewhere a bit fancier for my birthday slash engagement party!\"\n\n\"Wow that's great!\" \"Awesome to hear!\" \"That's terrific Robb!\"\n\n\"Yea, thank you guys so much for everything. I never would have talked to her without you guys pushing me.\"\n\n\"Really great Robb. Really.\" Said Joe, slipping the minutes into an envelope and dropping it in the safe. \"Alright that should be it everyone. Let's get to- oh damn I almost forgot. It's Friday, so does anyone have any complaint cards?\"\n\n\"No, I never fill those things out anymore.\" Said Cynthia. \"Not after the one I sent down about the helmets fitting too tight. I never even got an answer. It's like, I can't tell any of us apart when were in them. That, and what are they for anyway? None of the scientists wear them around the labs. So is it just to obscure our faces or should I actually be worried about that stuff?\"\n\nJoe shook his head. \"No clue. But the past fifteen years I've been at this facility I've never had so much as a cold. At we've only had these things for the past five. Ah, who cares. Yea they're uncomfortable but may as well be safe.\"\n\n\"Fifteen years, huh, Joe?\" Asked Frank as they fell out into position.\n\n\"That's right greenhorn.\" Said Joe smiling under his mask. \"With only five more before I get full retirement. Two more if I want to take 80%. Which I may.\"\n\n\"Ugh and here I am, three years in and bored to death. I gotta go back to school man.\"\n\n\"You should. It'd do you some good.\" Said Joe laughing. Frank begrudgingly joined him as they took their places.\n\nA few hours later\n\n\"Check check, status report everyone.\" Joe called from the watchtower. From his position he could see along the drive up to the facility, a dull, gray, square of a building. He could see Robb and Cynthia standing on either sides of the bulletproof door leading inside. At the bottom of his watchtower, near where the chain-link gate opened, was Fred, slowly pacing back and forth to stay awake. \n\n\"Cynthia and Robb, all clear.\" Said Robb, waving briefly to show everything was fine. \n\n\"Fred? Status report?\" Joe asked looking down. He sighed when he saw frank giving him the finger. \"All clear with Fred too. Little prick.\"\n\n\"If I'm not alright you'll know it.\" Said Frank into his radio. \n\n\"You're more annoying than.....than.... well damnit give me a minute to try and think of something that makes my blood-pressure rise quite as much as you.\" Said Joe. Robb and Cynthia laughed and Fred smiled to himself. \n\nAfter what seemed like an eternity, Fred piped up. \"C'mon old man, don't leave me hanging, what am I as annoying as?\" \n\nFred stood waiting for a response.\n\n\"A hernia? Blood clot? People who talk on their phone in line. Rush hour traffic. Rush hour the movie. Nothing?\" Asked Fred. \"Hold on, I'll check on the pouter.\" He said climbing the watchtower to Joe's position. \n\n\"I liked the Rush Hour movies.\" Said Robb over the radio.\n\n\"Yea, I'll admit they were pretty good. I'm a sucker for kung fu movies. Every seen Enter the Dragon?\" Said Fred, half way up the watchtower.\n\n\"No, is it any good?\" Replied Robb.\n\n\"No way man you've never seen it? That's it, guy movie marathon before you give your balls away to the woman you love. Whaddya say crybaby Joe? You in?\" Said Fred, summiting the stairs.\n\nJoe lie on the floor of the watchtower, an arrow stuck through his chest. His breath came in shallow rattles and a small steam of blood trickled down from under the corner of his mask. \n\n\"MAN DOWN, MAN DOWN, WE ARE UNDER ASSAULT\" Screamed Fred into the radio. He knelt beside Joe and lifted off his mask. \n\n\"So much for,\" Joe's breath struggled to inhale air through all the blood, \"early retirement.\" He coughed out thick wads of congealed blood. Fred held him as he tried to inhale once more. His breath no longer came to him and he began to have disgusting, wet, hiccuping spasms as he drowned from his own blood. \n\nFred ripped off his mask and was sick in a corner. He grabbed his radio and started shouting to Robb and Cynthia.\n\n\"He's dead guys. Joe's dead. I'm not sure who got him or how, but whoever it is he has at least a bow. Lock everything down I'm going to hit the alarm.\"\n\nRobb and Cynthia backed against the door, their trembling fingers rocking against their triggers. They watched the silhouette of Fred turn to hit the alarm, but were frozen when they saw a shadow reach out and grab him. They watched as the shadow of a knife sunk deep into the outline of their friend. They looked in horror at the fountain of ink that shot from his shadow. Their bones chilling, they watched the specter who killed their friends recede into the shadows. Desperately searching, they could find no trace of him against the pale early dawn. \n\n\"Cindy, you have got to get inside. Hit the alarm and get the scientists to safety. Take them to the safe room if you need to but it's too dangerous out here.\"\n\n\"Robb you're being ridiculous. We have to go together, I couldn't face Christi if something happened to you.\"\n\n\"You're going to have to. Tell her I love her and that I'm sorry I couldn't grow old with her.\"\n\n\"This is ridiculous, if you stay I stay.\"\n\n\"Absolutely not. I know what it's like to grow up without a mother. I wont let little Jackson know. Give him a good life Cindy. Give yourself a good life.\"\n\nFighting back tears, Cynthia ran into the building. Halfway to the alarm, she lost her nerve and turned to run back to Robb. She watched with dull horror as the two bullet proof doors bent inward from an engulfing fireball. She was lifted off her feet and thrown backward through the air. She could barely feel when she hit the floor. Writhing in agony, she desperately tried to regain her sense of hearing. She watched dust and debris float gently to the floor as her hands shook violently and her eyes were unable to focus. She could feel this trails of blood flowing from her eyes and ears and nose. With every ounce of energy left, she lifted her head and watched as the grim figure approached her out of the din. She attempted to cough out a plea for mercy and begged with her eyes for clemency.\n\n\"Die villainous scum!\" ", "Gero of Tracheon twirled. His sword dazzled in the light of the orange, setting sun. The poor man across from him nearly dropped his sword. Gero feinted, and pirouetted. The grunt, predictably, took the bait, and lunged right. Gero made a single, strong slice, and the grunt fell. The grunt knew exactly why he died.\n\nTwo years ago. Academy. He had been training in swordplay, and he was quite good at it as well. His teachers remarked on how he stayed at the barracks long after hours had ended, and while his instructors approved, they wondered as to his motives.\n\nHis motives were his home.\n\nEvery night he came home, it was only to yelling. His father, an embattled chemist, was frustrated at his son's perceived stupidity. Despite the grunt's insistence that his passion lay in swordplay, his father forced him into more scientific fields, with his mother's begrudging agreement. Soon, the grunt lost his edge. And when war came to Seacrest, and he was drafted, the grunt felt in his heart his father's hard headedness would be the death of him. And thus a dream, and a damn talented swordsman, died to the misguided passion of a foolish man.\n\nGero broke into a strong sprint, and swiftly made his way across the battlefield. Behind him lay a dying postman, seamstress, and accomplished chef, all victims of the wartime draft enacted by Seacrest. Of course, Gero didn't know what he was doing. He was just some meathead who did whatever was trendy in Tracheon, which at the time was heroism. You see, Gero didn't have aspirations, or dreams, or love. He was simply an empty shell into which all boring, faceless people could imagine themselves. Even Gero himself didn't realize his own failure as a man. The grunt had dreams, and feelings, and a vision of his own future. Gero was nothing. Just a stitched together cliche of a thousand other identical warriors, depriving the world of its future.\n\nAnd so Seacrest fell to Tracheon, and eventually, when heroism fell out of style, Gero became a librarian, because he wanted to learn how to read." ]	5
	[WP]The elves of The Lord of the Rings were deceived. They were taken from the undying lands and made to labor endlessly in a frozen waste as slaves to a being far worse than Sauron. They call him Santa Claus.	[ "Taskmaster's door just opened upstairs, a new shipment must be ready.\n\nI light my tears phial and use the small light to gather my belongings and hide the hairlock in my clothes. Those phials used to gleam with hope from Galadriel, nowadays the best ones provide that gloomy greenish light.\n\nBetter than nothing.\n\nAlready ten years since we landed on this cursed land, Elrond had everything planned very carefully. We arrived exhausted, out of food, water and strength. As soon as we stepped on land, fully armored elves approached, and by the point of the sword we were separated, segregated by usefulness or lack of it.\n\nThe stronger men, the few who had any will left to fight, were beaten, shackled, then moved out of the camps to work on the fields. They have it the worst, allowed to eat only what is left after each camp took their quota, sleeping in crude shelters they had to build themselves. Older elves that needed to be cared for where killed on the spot, the lucky ones. The older women were put in charge of baking, cooking, cleaning and disposing of the bodies. I used to wonder about the meat we are sometimes served with the evening meals, but I never dared asking, no one ask that question. Those who refused to eat it died of exhaustion long ago anyway.\n\nGaladriel and all the pretty young ones were taken away, moved to live with Him in the tower far north, Frodon was taken with them for whatever reasons. Few of those ever came back, most of them too broken to be more than shells. All the ones still fertile are moved in the breeding barracks, just between the command building and the casern. Of those, only 10 in as many years actually survived long enough to be sent working with the older women as reward for good services. \n\nFrom the other side of my cell doors Glorfindel the Ill Named eruct \"Shipment duty !\"\n\nHe used to be one us, but he swore fealty to Him at the end of the first year and already he looks more like them than us. His once golden hair is now completely black, his skin still only a dull gray but his eyes, his eyes already have that red gleam which seems to allow them to see clearly in that perpetual night reigning here. \n\nOn my way out, I make the sign, right hand palm open, arm extended at face height toward his painting. So much red, where do they find so much red paint in this world of grey shades ? Each building has a painting near the door, It was the first thing they taught us upon arrival, how to salute Him, get it right or get beaten.\n\nI step outside and immediately feel Its weight, that blue icy stare from the giant eye a top the tower. The camp is constructed around a main avenue going south to north, forcing us to walk under His gaze each time we must move from one building to another. I walk with the rest of the crew toward the factory near the north camp watchtower, Glorfindel trailing behind us. The combined light from five phial creates just enough light to give the buildings around us a green taint. On the way, we have to pass under the Reward Tree, which is neither a tree nor related to any kind of rewards. Most of its fruits are long rotten away, only the chain and maybe some bones remaining. Only Erestor was rewarded this year, most of us are too beaten down to try anything. \n\nAs we arrive near the manufacture, we are greeted by an arrow from the watchtower, Legolas Greenleaf reminding us not to try anything. I think he just wants to fight the boredom, it has been years since he hunted the last escapee. We arrive at the building entrance, that's where is lodged the rest of us, all the children, the middle aged women past bearing age and all those who were artisan before, chained together to the ground, sleeping under the work benches at night and working most of the day making seemingly useless contraptions. I once heard a Overlord calling them \"Cadeau de noel\" whatever that means. Every week or so, we transport all of those to Him, the one they call \"Père Noel\".\n\nWe have our own name for Him, we call Him Satan Claus\n", "Had Frodo known what was waiting on the other end of that boat, he'd never had gone on it. In fact, he's more than once classified that choice as, \"As mistake.\" \nHe knew they were in trouble when he saw the light. The blood red light that would serve as the harbinger of doom. Of all the beasts and evil things running around Santa's Work Shop, Rudolph was the worst. \nThe other reindeer were frightening, make no mistake. But they never seemed to cause as much trouble for Frodo and other elves like Rudolph did. There was a commitment to him that the others lacked. He was a believer. And Frodo learned long ago, treu-believers were the most dangerous. \nHis long razor sharp horns had speared many elves working at a \"substandard\" pace. And, as for the nose, well, it only seemed to grow more and more red with every kill he tallied. \nThe tally was another struggle. Make this. Sand that. Paint 500 toy trains. Every day was another unending task that Santa needed finished. If quotas weren't met, well, Rudolph was always willing to make his nose more bright. \nAs for Santa, Frodo hardly ever saw him. Worse than Sauron though. Sauron was an eye, ever present, ever watching. Santa, Santa was a voice. Always ordering, constantly laughing. His Ho-ho-ho filled the Work Shop at all hours. Making the daily massacre of elves all the more troubling. \nYou try finishing 30 more trains after hearing a mad man laugh to while an elf bled out next to you. \nFrodo had traded the shackle of one ring for another. This one placed around his ankle. It weighted him down at all hours of the day. And, in the white stream of snow and merry music wafting in the air, Frodo sadly, wistfully, wished for the days in Mordor. \nMordor was warm. \nMordor didn't chafe his ankles. \nYes... He had come to realize. There were a good many things worse than Mordor. Santa and his top reindeer, being chief among them. " ]	2
	[WP] You have discovered you have the ability to repeat what others say almost immediately after they say it. Your super hero name is Super Annoying.	[ "“Vi, stop it!” Mom yelled. \n\n“Vi, stop it!” I replied, as seriously as I could muster. This was the greatest game I’d ever thought up. \n\n“I’m serious,” said Mom. “This is getting out of hand.”\n\n““I’m serious,” I said. “This is getting out of hand.”\n\nMom groaned. “Fine, I just won’t talk to you then!” She threw herself into a chair and pulled out her phone. Great. Calling Dad. “Harold, she isn’t listening and she just repeats everything I say!” \n\n“Fine, I just won’t talk to you then! Harold, she isn’t listening and she just repeats everything I say!” I called from my playpen. \n\n“Oh my god, she’s doing it again! I thought 13 month olds weren’t even supposed to know how to talk!” \nI listened. \n\n“Honey, let’s just be happy our little girl is so smart! It can’t be that bad!” \n\n“It is! I swear I am going insane. I know she is my baby but she’s super annoying! I can’t do this anymore.”\n\n“Honey, let’s just be happy our little girl is so smart! It can’t be that bad! It is! I swear I am going insane. I know she is my baby but she’s super annoying! I can’t do this anymore.” I giggled. \n\n“There’s something different about her, Harold. This isn’t normal! She is driving me crazy!” \n\n“Relax, honey. She’s just smart, she’s our little superhero.”\n\n---------------------\nconstructive criticism very welcome!!" ]	1
	[WP] "My god, they stole the sky."	[ "Here is two different stories, each written to a different interpretation of the prompt. Please give me advice for these as these are my first stories posted to this site.\n \"My god they stole the sky\" I whispered in awe, staring up at where the sky used to be. All that was once the endless expanse of blue above my head taking up nearly half of the field of view. Space twisted and tuned above us, till the horizons were linked and nothing lay upwards. The sky, a fundamental constant of this world, banished with nothing left where it once was. It was the most terrifying display of power I could ever imagine. \n\nI was only 27 when they stole the sky. I had always wanted to fly through the endless expanse of blue that lay above us and so when I grew up I became a military pilot. I was a damn good one too. But that all changed one day. The enemy developed a weapon to use against us and it was devastating. Modern wars ever since WWII had always been fought in the air and they knew we were far superior in that field. So they came up with a weapon to negate that advantage of ours. Though the use of a weapon of mass destruction they started a storm up in the atmosphere, a storm of such violence that nothing could fly through it. Their scientists calculated that it would be confined to an small area and last a week at most. They were wrong, so very wrong. A decade later, the planet spanning winds still have not abated and the scientists have not the slightest idea why. All air traffic has ground to a halt, satellites are all but useless, too much static and the worlds farming has collapsed due to the perpetual storm clouds that forever block out the sun but never rain. The oceans are evening drying up. They say it's due to a complete shattering of the water cycle and its going to get worse before it gets better. I'm no scientist. I can't really help. I just wish with all my heart, for the sake of that little boy who looked up into the sky with wonder and finally conquered it, to fly just one last time before I die. Damn those bastards for stealing the sky. \n" ]	1
	[WP] You're an elf who has been in Santa's good graces for decade, so, he sends you on vacation to Florida. There, you meet the infamous, the death defying, the crazed Florida man.	[ "Headline from the Miami Herald, dated May 19, 2018:\n\nUndocumented Dwarf found Partially Eaten, Sodomized in Florida Man’s Basement\n\nMay 19: The body of an unidentified little person was discovered in the basement of a Dade County ranch-style home in the suburbs of Miami, police say. The corpse was said to be dressed in “cutoff velvet overalls, curly-toed boots, a hand spun undershirt, and an ‘old-timey fur-lined nightcap,’” according to first responders. No ID was found matching the corpse and the dental records match no known little people living in the Miami/Dade County area. \n\nThe homeowner, Carl Ball, is currently being held by police for kidnapping, murder, and suspected ingestion of the flesh of the unidentified little person. " ]	1
	[WP] Since birth you can see demons and other supernatural life forms. On the day you turn 18 the demons start noticing you.	[ "English isn't my native language, please be indulgent with the mistakes i made, and I hope you'll enjoy\n\n_______________________________________\n\n\nI've always seen them, but they didn't. I remember being traumatised by them as a kid. When I told people that I saw them, they thought I was \"maybe too over creative\" or just crazy. Many psychologists asked me tons of questions during the first ten years of my life, they asked me if I saw horror films, if I were alone, if I had any friends and other silly questions. It didn't take me long to understand that people around me weren't seeing them, and I also realized that the \"monsters\" weren't able to see me. I stopped talking about them when I was twelve, because this ability of seeing them ruined my social life with \"actual\" humans. Everybody thought that I was the weirdo and people ran away from me, even literaly sometimes. \n\n\n\nI was able to see two different kinds of these \"monsters\" : The ones that looked like normal humans - they were humans, I know it, one of my neighbour went into one of these things when he passed away - but they kept their physical look of when they died. And there was the reddish or pale white-skinned humans, sometimes they had animal parts like horns or clogs and a hoarse voice. I doubt that they were human once, or maybe they were but they were changed - how ? - between the time when they died and came back as... these things. They were scarier than the \"normal\" monsters, but they were also more rare.\n\n\n\nAt my eighteenth birthday, everything changed. I don't know if the date it was just a coincidence but... I don't believe in coincidences. When I woke up, everything looked fine at first. I was able to see the white pale woman in her white dress from the window of the bathroom, she kept roaming around in the park at the other side of the road of my apartment like every other day since she apparead... Maybe two years ago ? I don't remember. Maybe three years but I'm not really sure. I called her the \"Running lady\", because she randomly starts running and screaming, waving her knife in all directions for a few minutes before calming down and repeating this \"process\" all day and night long.\n\n\n\nBut when I went outside to go to work, I saw her staring at me, the arms all along the body, the head slightly aimed towards my feet. I froze immediatly, this is the first time I saw her staying motionless for this amount of time and... staring at me. I had the fright of my life when her head looked up to my eyes and started to groan, I wasn't even that panicked the first time I saw one of them. I jumped into my car and drove as fast as I could, far from home, and took the highway that leads to my work place. I kept saying to myself \"Don't worry, it's fine, I probably imagined this\" but, in a way, i knew that this day would come. \n\n\n\nWhile the car was stucked in the daily traffic jam on the highway, I started to calm down, I thought that it wasn't a big deal and i'll probably learn to live with this, or maybe it was just my imagination, so I turned on the radio, thinking that the music would help me to recover from this little adrenaline rush. After a few moment, I arrived at the location of another roamer - two of them actually. These ones were bikers - it was a couple, and I gave them the nickname \"Mr. and Mrs. Motorcycle\" - and they both died in a crash. They were both wearing a leather jacket and jeans, the woman had long blond hair and the top of her skull was broken with a lot of blood covering her face and the man had the half of his face ripped off because he slipped on the concrete on four, maybe five feet. They were standing on the side of the highway, holding hands, facing the location of the crash where they both took their last breath. I always told to myself that it would be very cute in a way if I wasn't able to see their misshapen skull and the remaining of their cerebral matter on the ground. But, this day, for the first time, they \"saw\" me. Everytime I am stuck in this traffic jam, so almost every day since a huge period of time, they didn't do anything else but looking at the blooded concrete. And this very day after the incident with the Running lady, Mrs. Motocycle stared at me, and warned her... Husband ? Boyfriend ? Whatever what he is... or was... Dammit. They both looked at me, giving each other multiple glances until Mr. Motorcycle raised his hand and pointed a finger at me. I freaked out as I never did before. Hopefully I was able to leave the highway not so long after this. I had to stop my car at the nearest bar to go to the bathroom and take a coffee. I know it wasn't a good idea since my heart was already pounding very quickly but... I had to take a break and here I am, still shaking and talking to myself. Calm down now, everything will be fine, as always. Now let's go to work and... Oh no... I hope that the Scary Gunman won't notice me...", "I almost half cry, half sang happy birthday.\nHappy birthday to me.\nI am alone. I have always been alone. People shun me. And I'm invisible to the demons and ghosts. They aren't tangible. I can walk right through them.\n\nI love people, but I also hate how they make me feel. I take another bite at the plant. The shamans said they could cure me. They said I would grow of it. They said if I prayed to the 13 gods of Gaia that I would be found worthy. They would take this curse from me.\n\nI wish even a ghost would speak to me. I'm so alone. I pray to the 13 gods. I'm not a bad person. I don't hurt or eat animals. I don't steal for any settlements. I don't talk back to my elders. I sit on the ridge of Mount Quintolo. My long brown hair caresses my skin with the help of the wind.\n\nI lay my book Daemonum down next to me\n\nI shiver. I stand up to see as far as the eye can see.\nThere's a Bunzaree flying above me. A two headed 4 winged bird of prey. I shoot an arrow close to it. Not to hurt. But to scare away the beautiful golden bird.\n\nAs I take a step towards the edge I look down. I cry harder. I'm so alone. The purple sun goes into hiding behind Mount Quintolo's twin. Casting a shadow over me. I feel darkness.\nI feel and hear a whoosh. As loud as one of our warships in the wind. I know that sound, it's the sound of a Dakini appearing. I had only ever seen one in my lifetime. I was 12 sun cycles old and I swear it looked straight at me. I genuinely thought I had hallucinated it.\n\nThis time I shudder. Not because of the cold. But because of how eerily humanoid they look. The biggest difference is the eye colour are nearly always glowing red.\n\n\"What are you doing?\" A voice that always sounded strange whenever I heard them. Like it was next to you but also far away.\n\nI turned around and started to walk back. \"You're not supposed to see me. Stay away. What are you?\n\n\"Be careful\"\n\nI didn't hear him. I was scared. I was frightened. Another step too far. I screamed as loud as I could as I realised I was plummeting to my death.\n\nWoosh\n\"You're falling. Did you mean to?\"\n\"NO. I WANT TO LIVE\"\nI near the end of my life.\nWoosh\n\n\nOr so I thought.\n\n\nI wake up next to a campfire. Surrounded by a woodland I had never seen before. Different plants and trees. Sounds never heard. Where am I?\n\nWoosh I jump. I find a log and I grab it in both hands.raising it above my head.\n\"You wish me harm?\" It's eyebrows raised in surprise.\n\"Where am I?\" I said aloud.\n\n\"Jungle Shinjato\"\nThat doesn't explain where I am! What is a jungle? Where am I?\" I demanded.\n\n\"You are 400 donti's east of Jabrael.\"\n\"Four hun... FOUR HUNDRED?! ARE YOU FRICKING CRAZY?!\"\n\"Calm. I have been watching you. Why did you wish death?\"\n\"I don't. Not anymore\".\n\n\"Good. Eat. Track my footpath once you have finished.\"\n\"I'll come now!\"\n\"Eat. Track my footpath afterwards.\"\n\nHe walked off into the night amidst all of the eerie green.\n\nI finally found him, he began speaking as I emerged into the clearing\n\"There is something you need to know. You have been chosen. Chosen to merge these two worlds together.\"\nDemons with humans have been separated for too long. Our world is dying. The bridge needs to be repaired. You are the only one capable of doing so.\"\n\n\"I'm a child what do I know of buildings bridges and worlds?\"\n\n\"You are 16 sun cycles old. And you my dear Sunraila, are the prophetic key to this mess. Are you ready?\"\nI nod\n\"Then let us begin\"", "It was interesting to see them. At first my parents just thought that I was an imaginative child and assumed i would grow out of it. By age 10 I had started following their lives, it was like have my own personally sitcom. I didn't need real friends which was good since I didn't have many of them anyway which was to be expected considering I was the crazy kid at the back always off in my own world. If only they knew. By 15 I knew most of their names but always felt lonely. It was like looking through 1-way glass - I could see them but they couldn't see me. I had to start seeing a psychiatrist who tried prescribing me drugs but I never took them. Why? Because I knew they wouldn't have an effect. \n\nAnd then I turned 18... It was mayhem and I loved every minute of it. Finally I could talk to my friends. After all these years I could finally interact with them. They were very confused at first; who wouldn't be? a strange creature appearing that knows everything about your world. Then they realised that maybe I wasn't so bad. \n\nAnd that is the tale of how I became the most famous talk show host in their society.\n\n15 years later\n\n\"Is he still hallucinating.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry but I don't think he will ever stop.\"\n\n\"Still the same loop?\"\n\n\"Always the same\"\n\n\"How very odd. Leave her as normal and I will be back in a month for the \nnormal update\"\n\n\"Yes Sir\"\n\n\"Goodbye, doctor keep up the experimentation\"" ]	3
	[WP] You come from a long line of superheroes and supervillains. A long time ago, a curse was placed on your family, so that each successive generation would be the opposite alignment to the last. As a superhero, you are waiting for the other shoe to drop, for your child.	[ "I knew exactly what I was walking into with my wife. I knew what our son would turn out to be, no matter how vehemently she wanted to deny his fate, and I knew who he would love more between the two of us. The villains always favored the mundane. But I didn't care. I told my wife that no matter what, I would love our child just as much as I loved her, and that no curse of \"switched blood\" and \"opposite fate\" could change that. \n\nA wide yawn stretched across my face as I sauntered into her hospital room, two cups of hot coffee in my hands. Rebecca was sprawled across the bed, her hair billowing in the breeze that was her pillow, and her gown was twisted around her body as if she'd been rolling down a hill. Still, even after the birth, I couldn't deny that she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.\n\n\"Good morning, sweetheart.\" I whispered. She turned to me with an exhausted smile.\n\n\"Morning.\" She murmured as she took the cup of coffee. She sipped it gingerly, her eyes closing to relish the warmth.\n\n\"How are you feeling?\" I asked, sliding into the worn armchair that hadn't left its place beside her bed.\n\nShe shrugged. \"Better than yesterday, I guess. But I'm fine. How's your sister doing?\"\n\nThe cup stopped halfway to my lips at her words. An red flag shot up in my mind. I hadn't seen or spoken to my sister in five years, and Rebecca knew that.\n\n\"What do you mean?\" I asked, struggling to keep my voice calm and collected.\n\nRebecca lowered her cup carefully, her eyebrows crossing in concern. \"She came here not ten minutes ago to congratulate me on the baby- I thought you called her here.\"\n\nI shook my head, slamming the cup down on the bedside table. \"No, I didn't.\"\n\nRebecca called out to me, but her words were blurred into incoherent shouts as I darted out the door.\n________________________________________________\n\nI found her in the ICU, standing longingly over the sleeping body of my son. A hot flash of anger seared through my veins, sending me flying into the ICU. Her head snapped up at the sound of my entry, but she didn't look surprised to see me. In fact, she grinned when her eyes found mine.\n\n\"Ah, Brady!\" she exclaimed, waltzing over to throw her arms around me, \"How good it is to see you again, dear brother.\"\n\n\"Cut the crap Marinda, what do you want?\" I spat, making sure to pack as much venom into my words as I could.\n\nShe didn't appear fazed at all by my hostility. \"I just wanted to meet the newest member of our family! My new little nephew will be the quite the bundle of joy, I'm sure!\"\n\n\"But of course,\" she continued, any joy she had draining from her expression, \"I'm also sure you know exactly what he'll turn out to be.\"\n\nI swallowed hard against the lump in my throat. I knew this was coming. I knew she couldn't just let it go. My sister had always despised villains, even ones from our own family, and I didn't blame her. If the superhero blood ran strong in anyone, it was her.\n\n\"I'm aware.\" I breathed, my voice shaking with rage. She was standing too close to my son for comfort.\n\nHer eyes slid back down to Cameron, drinking in his tiny, villain-infested body. \"So you know what must be done, don't you?\"\n\nSomething glinted in her left hand. A knife, no doubt, that she had made invisible to take with her into the hospital. Invisibility, of herself and anything she wanted. That was her power. And she had used it to get close to my son.\n\n\"Marin, don't.\" I whispered, holding up my hands as a sign of good faith. Any sudden movements, and she'd be gone before I could stop her.\n\n\"You remember the vow we made, Brady? When we were kids?\" She asked nonchalantly, as if she wasn't threatening to kill my only child.\n\nBefore I could respond, she cut in, her voice as cold as ice. \"We vowed never to have children of our own. That the curse would be broken because our family would cease to exist after our deaths. And you know what happens when you break a vow, dear brother?\"\n\n\"Marin, please.\" I pleaded. I knew I sounded pathetic, but I didn't care. \"We can talk about this- if he's raised correctly, maybe he won't turn into a villain!\"\n\n\"Raised correctly?\" She laughed. \"He's got villainy in his blood, Brady. He can't be raised correctly.\"\n\nI took a few steps forward, enough to put myself at the edge of Cameron's bed. His cheeks were rosy and plump, and his thumb was already in his mouth. I smiled, a tear rolling down my cheek. How could something so small and vulnerable be evil? \n\n\"I'm sorry, Marinda.\" I whispered, never taking my eyes off of Cameron. \"But I can't let you have him. He might be a villain, but he's my son.\"\n\nShe made a move then, a move that pushed her to the side so she could get a better angle on my son, and then she vanished. But it didn't matter. In all that time we'd been talking, I'd honed in on her being, her energy, her soul. With a small flick of my wrist, I sent my invisible sister flying backwards until she hit the metal shelves adorning the back wall. Her unconscious form reappeared on the floor, bruises already forming where she had hit the shelves.\n\nI leaned down, wrapping my arms around my son, pulling him up into my arms. He was so delicate and fragile, but I knew that he'd be strong. One day, his powers would surpass even mine, and there would be no limit to what he could do. \n\nThe sound of blaring alarms assaulted my ears, and a stampede of footsteps thundered around me, but I kept my gaze focused on Cameron. I focused harder, closing my eyes momentarily, and with a single thought, the alarms stopped and the footsteps vanished. The sleeping bodies I stepped over had collapsed right where they had been standing. \n\nI exited the hospital, my son in my arms. A momentary image of Rebecca flashed behind my eyes, but I blinked it away. I had to get Cameron away from here. I was the only one who understood him, the only one who could train him. I was the only one who could raise him right.\n\n\n\n", "I'd almost have preferred a supervillan. \n\nRight- context first. For the purpose of this conversation, my name is Prowler. The White Prowler, fifth of the name. Renowned across the city for my acts in the name of justice. A hero, I thought. \n\nThe White Prowler, first of his name, was a hero just like me. An unstoppable force against evil, using the power of flight to combat ill deeds. And, like any good superhero, had a nemesis supervillan, Morrigan, the witch. \n\nThey quarreled back and forth, neither able to gain the upper hand for many years, until, desperate to best his adversary, the White Prowler pledged his arm to a supervillan league- under the condition that they would first help him take down Morrigan.\n\nAs she was dragged away in chains, she cursed the now-Black Prowler, that his legacy would undergo the same changes he did, good to evil, one generation to the next. A hero would birth a villan. A villan, a hero. \n\nWe tried to find loopholes, of course. Adoption? Didn't work. Long lost children? Turned out perfectly according to the curse. There was no escape. I'm the fifth White Prowler. My sons and daughters would be villans.\n\nI have one son. His name is Jonathan. He's the light of my life, and he's becoming a hero. \n\nI could handle it all, except the doubt. ", "\"Dad! Hand me that glove, will you?\"\n\nKillian Gair looked up from his packing to see what his son wanted. Eying the baseball glove on the mantle - a significant distance from his son's room - Killian rolled his eyes, but obliged regardless. With a practiced flick of his fingers, it jettisoned through the air towards his son's room and - with a satisfying thock - smacked the teen in the head.\n\n\"Ow!\"\n\n\"Next time say please,\" Killian said as he walked into the boy's room with a box full of books. \n\nPadraig gave his father a sour look, though there remained a note of amusement. As the two resumed packing, Paddy picked up a photo, and he grinned, pointing to it. \n\n\"I forget how ridiculous we looked,\" the brown-haired, stocky boy stated, tracing a photo of his aunt wearing a skin-tight uniform, his father dressed likewise in opposite colors, while the boy between them - Paddy, age five - proudly showed off his Lycra bodysuit. \n\n\"Didn't Aunt Vi save some fishing boat right before this?\" Paddy asked. \n\n\"Yeah, yeah, I think she did,\" Killian said, taking the picture in hand and letting it dangle somewhat from his fingers. \n\nThe two stood in bittersweet silence before resuming their task. Before long, the boy's room was packed up, and the two hauled their things out to the car. Killian could hear Moira crying in the bathroom, and he hesitantly dragged her out to say goodbye to her son before they hopped into the car. \n\nThe worry nagged at Killian's gut. For so much of his life, Paddy had been carefully, painstakingly watched and monitored, a tightrope walk of push and pull from various aunts and uncles. If he began to notice too much, he might rebel. If they didn't watch him enough, he might get up to some shenanigans presaging his steady descent. Killian's hands tightened around the steering wheel as he thought of his parents. \n\n\"You know I'll just be, like, three hours away, right?\" Paddy said as he looked out the window. \n\n\"I know. It's not as bad as your Mum makes it out to be,\" Killian said. But he knew better than to expand on Moira's discomfort with letting the boy so far out of sight. \"Your aunts and uncles are close by, anyhow, so if you ever need anything and you can't get a hold of me --\"\n\n\"Yeah, yeah, Aunt Mary and Uncle Onan say if I don't call 'em at least once a week to check up, they'll flog me half to death in front of the journalism college,\" Paddy muttered as he leaned his head against the cool car window. \n\n\"And they'll do it, too,\" Killian warned in jest. \"I saw Onny unravel a buck once.\"\n\n\"Get out! A buck?\" \n\n\"Took hours to clean up after. And we were boys, then.\"\n\nIt was a godsend that Onny had been born in Killian's year. A generation earlier... \n\nHe wasn't sure what it was about it. There'd always been the legend - passed from father to sun, mother to daughter, aunt and uncle to every cousin - that every other generation, the bad eggs would come. He and his brothers and sisters and cousins, they'd always figured it an old wives tale, especially after they tried to get themselves a fresh start, beginning with Paddy's parents. He remembered their theorizing during those halcyon summers near the lake cabin that perhaps the overbearingly 'good' nature of the parents turned their children, and vice versa. It was a cycle of the good rebelling against bad, and bad against good, the way a teenager became an atheist in a Mormon family, or becoming a staunch flat-earther in a family of scientists. And the 'curse' just made it worse, a self-fulfilling prophecy of 'well it is supposed to be this way.'\n\nFinally, they were putting that theory to the test. \n\nKillian had hoped - without that shadow hanging over him - Padraig would be different. So far as they'd seen, he had no abilities just yet of his own. He was a young man with a seemingly bright future of A/B honor roll and a possible spot on the lacrosse team. In the beginning, Killian had worried because Paddy liked the occasional scuffle a little too much, but that seemed to be just boyish energy and a naturally sanguine personality. Still, his stomach rose up on him every time he saw Paddy get red beneath the collar. \n\nAt last, they reached the campus, a city of red brick buildings done in gothic style, and the two got out. People whispered and pointed at Killian surreptitiously, half-recognizing him as someone they knew somewhere, and Paddy, to his credit, had learned to ignore the rubberneckers. They set to moving Paddy to his dorm, and after an hour of unpacking and unloading, with a little help from Killian's 'gift', they stood beside the car in anticipation.\n\n\"Hey - I'll try and come home like once a month or somethin',\" Paddy promised, and Killian reached out to his son for a hug. Paddy, tears hidden from his father's gaze as he looked over his shoulder, hugged him tightly, and Killian said, \"You need anything, you just say, okay? I'm a phone call away.\"\n\n\"Yeah, yeah, I will, Dad, I will. I'm gonna do good. No video games after 10 PM,\" Paddy laughed as the two let go, and he quietly wiped his face.\n\n\"I don't doubt,\" Killian laughed, ruffling Paddy's hair, and the boy waved him off, rearranging his appearance before beginning to walk towards the dorm. Killian watched with pride as his boy walked down the path. \n\nAn errant skateboarder - texting - suddenly crashed into Paddy, and the boy jumped to his feet indignantly, face red as he shouted at him. Killian's smile slowly died as the skateboarder shrugged, held his hands up in apology, and continued on his way, Paddy steaming as he stomped his way back towards the dorm. \n\nTime would only tell. " ]	3
	[WP] You and your music band are sent back in time to Henry VIII's courts	[ "\"If it pleases your Lordship Highness!\" I cried out to throng. They had all gone a bit mad with the sudden arrival of us. 'Us' in the situation being an aspiring band formed the crucible of my mom's garage. We were getting there, we even had a gig at a local coffee shop. On a Tuesday night...\n\nThe guards brandished these wicked looking spear thingy, I skipped History the week we went over the Dark Ages so I didn't know what they really were. Still. They looked sharp. Eddie, my drummer looked like he was going to wet himself. \"Jesus, what have you gotten us into?\"I waved a hand to hush him up.\n\n\"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Kingly Court! I offer you a gift, we are musicians! Unlike any other you have ever seen! Might we give the gift of song, by way of making ourselves welcome?\" The crowd hesitated, the fat bastard on the throne looked confused but also a bit curious. After a moment, he nodded. \n\n\"Okay guys, let's get ready!\" I slung my guitar strap over a shoulder and turned to the crowd. \"And for all of you out there in the audience, jump in when you feel comfortable, after all the second verse is the same as the first!\"\n\nNeedless to say our cover of Herman's Hermits 'Henry the VIII, I Am' wasn't the best song choice to start off with. " ]	1
	[WP] You pop the cap off your beverage and notice it has some writing inside: "Your journey begins now." You think nothing of it, until a few moments later when you're stunned by the white light and loud roaring noise.	[ "“Well shit.” said Emmett, though his words were overpowered by the waterfall’s insistent roar.\n\nHe was standing on a sunny river shore, undoubtedly in some far away land. These sorts of things never dropped you in a Montana forest twenty miles from a city. Emmett glanced down and was reassured to see that he was still wearing street clothes and his fashionably-ambiguous fanny packs.\n\n“Welcome, hero.” boomed an impressive voice. “We have long awaited your arrival.”\n\nEmmett’s eye twitched. The speaker was a distractingly muscular old man with a wizard’s beard and no shirt. Logically, he understood that it was possible to be 70 years old and have a six pack, but his gut reaction was unease. \n\n“Yeah. Great.” he managed. “Just great.”\n\n“I am sure you have many questions. This world, Ko’Ko’La is a mirror to yours-”\n\n“No, actually. Just one question. What do you want from me?” interrupted Emmett.\n\nThe old man raised a fuzzy caterpillar of an eyebrow. “Impatience is unbecoming of the noble hero.”\n\nEmmett sighed and settled in for some narrative exposition.\n\n---\n\nThe summoned hero (Emmett) was called upon in a time of great need (now) to face a terrible evil (some long dead tyrant king come back to life). He was expected to gather about him a host of honorable companions (probably by fighting them to prove his worth) and some legendary artifacts (at opposite corners of the world).\n\nBut Emmett did none of that.\n\nA fan of Mark Twain, Emmett did his best to reenact A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. He appropriated a fireworks merchant’s cart and found a nearby blacksmith to improvise some unwieldy weapons. He taught algebra to the resident scholars, basic first aid to the leech doctors, and a smattering of chemistry to the alchemists for funds. Three weeks later he was leading a guerrilla warfare team of mercenaries through the backdoor of the king's hideout.\n\nThis was unconventional in the extreme, but Emmett was an unconventional individual. \n\nThe necromancer/vizier minion was in the process of raising some form of infernal lieutenant when Emmett’s strike team filled him full of hot lead. His death rattle brought the undead king’s attention.\n\n“WHAT MORTAL DARES TO INTERFERE WITH MY EMPIRE?” demanded Lord Pyk’Se.\n\nInstead of engaging in a climactic battle debate, Emmett hurled a primitive grenade from behind the zombie’s back. Lord Pyk’Se cut it out of the air without looking (as expected) and was promptly ignited by a flurry of Molotov cocktails. No amount of eldritch lore was able to stymie thermodynamics once the alchemist's version of Greek Fire was alight.\n\n“Your lordship? What do we do now?” asked one of the mercenaries staring at Lord Pyk’Se’s burning unanimated carcass.\n\nEmmett shrugged. “My job’s done. The guns are yours. Go overthrow a monarchy or something.”\n\nAnd as if on cue, a beam of light shone upon Emmett and pulled him back into his world.\n\n---\n\n“Boss! There you are.” Andria, Emmett’s apprentice ran up to him. “Nice getup.” she quirked an eyebrow at his medieval attire (still girdled with a fanny pack).\n\n“Yo. When are we?” Emmett rubbed his eyes and looked at the empty alleyway. The sound of cars honking through busy streets bounced off the tired brick walls. Back in the U.S. at least.\n\n“Half an hour till the vampire gets here.” Andria looked at him worriedly. “You all together?”\n\n“Yeah. Great.” Emmett said. “Just great.”\n\nEmmett Niebuhr, Knight Errant of the Arbiters, clandestine guardian of the divide between the mundane and supernatural worlds, let out a sigh. He was used to dealing with weird things, but he wished they’d limit themselves to one per day. Some days it felt like he was living in a bad TV show. With a weary hand he unzipped the fanny pack and drew out a bottle of powdered garlic.\n\n“Let’s get back to work.”\n\n---\n\nIf you liked this post and want to read more of Emmett's r/WritingPrompts adventures take a look at my [blog](https://thenaticswest.wordpress.com/). " ]	1
it could also be with a hated person who is very ticklish, or a Comedian.	[WP] You live in a world where everyone who laughs dies instantly. in this world, you're a serial killer.	[ "‘The kill spot’ began the instructor, ‘can be here.’\nPointing to the captive’s bellybutton, the spy squirmed in anticipation.\n‘Or here,’ directing his students to the upper ribs.\n‘Or here.’ Now the underarms.\n‘Or, perhaps’ he said, leaning over the spy’s bare sole. Her eyes widened and she whimpered.\n‘Here,’ he said, grazing a finger under the toes. \nThe spy spy squeaked in her gag and tried to giggle. Then her eyes rolled back in her head, showing their whites. She convulsed once, then stilled.\n", "Really, it's his own fault for drinking. Everyone knows that drinking lowers your inhibitions. With lowered inhibitions you might do anything. You might argue. You might smile. You might let a stranger drive you home. \n\nHe's in the passenger seat right now, grinning at strangers on the sidewalk. He's one of a rare and dying breed. We live in a somber, dreary world. Smiling is viewed as a gateway to laughter. You must be very, very, careful. I'm sure that most of the time, he is. Like I said, it's his fault for drinking.\n\nHe's almost there. So close to the laughter, engrained so deep in our nature. All he needs is a professional touch, to push him over. So he'll give in. \n\nWe pull up to his door. He stumbles out the car door, and promptly trips. Not even the grit from the road, now digging into his palms, wipes that grin off his face. I slip my arm under his. Yes. Trust me. And help him inside.\n\nIt takes nearly nothing for him to let me in. We're friends, after all. Been drinking together all night. I drove him home. Poor, trusting soul. Never should have let me in. \n\n\"Heeey, Jason.\" I slur, adopting the affectations of a drunk. \"Why'da chicken cross the road?\" Genuine puzzlement crossed his face. He hadn't heard this, the most elementary of jokes. \n\n\"I dunno. Why'da chicken cross the road?\"\n\n\"To get to the other side.\"\n\nAgain, confusion clouded his exquisite smile. \"To get..\" There! Understanding, dawning. \"to the other side!\" And the man, so happy, so trusting, laughed. \n\nI stood over the still warm corpse, and matched his rictus smile. " ]	2
	[WP] Reincarnation is real. Every soul gets their memories wiped, and move on into the next life. You however, remember EVERYTHING.	[ "I have only met her 3 times during hundreds of my reincarnations. Those 3 lifetimes were perfect. She is my soul mate. For every lifetime I spent with her. I spent the rest of my lives looking for her.\nOur love is bittersweet.\n\n\nAs the thousands of years have gone by, I found her again. I survived with my soul mate World Wars 1 and 2. My Gods this lifetime has been beautiful\n\n\n\nI look at her and with my last breaths. \"Until our next lifetime. I am forever yours, Livia.\"\n\n\"As am I yours, Felix\" she holds my face as diamonds of love embrace my cool face. With her tears wet on my brow. Surrounded by yet another beautiful family. \n\nBefore I left this earth I hear my great granddaughter ask her mum with tears in her eyes \"why don't they ever call each other their real names?\". \"I'll tell you why another time go hold your great grandma's hand.\"\n\n\nLight. Purity. Silence.\n\nOuch\n\nSon of a...\n\nA slap across my bare bottom as I scream and cry in pain.\nBloody doctors. They should be more gentle.\nI feel love and warmth as my newest mother embraces me close to her breast.\n\nLivia. I will find you. I am yours forever.", "I'll never get used to death. The white light, the disorientation, the disappearing of my body. Getting thrusted into an endless void of indescribable colors and forms, not quite being sure how I even perceive them. Seeing, or rather feeling millions of souls being purified, robbed of their memories, and being sent back to mortal bodies to live another life. \n\nBut it never happened to me.\n\nI've lived thousands of lives, sometimes rich, sometimes poor, sometimes completely seperated from society. But when you know that reincarnation exists and you remember everything, life loses its value. Sure, I've had my fair share of fun times, charged head first into battles, lead nations or destroyed them. With time even this becomes boring. Since a hundred lives I searched for a way out, talked to every shaman, priest and rabbi I could find, took substances they told me would \"make you meet god\", went to the very extremes of human existence and meditated for entire lives. But nothing. No answer from anybody, no sign. My memory is my everlasting punishment. \"Whatever\" I think, as I take another line, \"at least the drugs are good here\"." ]	2
	[WP] You are the child of an evil and corrupted king. You were hidden from the public and have no idea of the kings deeds. One day, the rebellion fighting the king attacks the castle. in the confusion, You find the leader of the rebellion, who does not recognise you, and takes you in.	[ "Birthright\n\n\nThe orange and white Banners of my father fall off the wall like dreams lost in firelight.\n\n\"Here boy!\" a man in uneven reds pleaded.\n\nWas that blood? I wondered, not really wanting to find out.\n\n\"Don't be afraid,\" I heard from a calm voice behind him. Unlike the Bloodman, her voice seemed trusting enough: Almost motherly. \"We can get you outta here. You'll be safe with us.\"\n\nUnlikely, I should have thought at the time. However, my heart, missing the warm embrace of my late mother, jumped at the stranger's reassuring words.\nClimbing down from my bed, I crawled my way to the Entrance: the Bloodman had given way to an isle-skinned twenty something with her arms outstretched in ragged military drab.\n\nAn old burn marred the left side of her cheek, but whatever fear I possessed from her appearance at the time was overcome by the safety in her smile and the promise in her eyes.\n\nAs I crawled under a fallen support beam, a rogue shell blasted through the hallway, pushing her fear-stricken face away in a flash of amber light. The tremors snaking through the floor broke the last remaining support beams above causing a cascade of collapse, sending me hurtling towards the ground.\n\n \nThat is what I remember about Republic Day - some ten years ago. The famine didn't pass with the drought, though Arla - the burn-faced woman who pulled me from the wreckage - did.\n\nShortly after discovering my heritage, she gave me her last name to hide me from the Pretender-Purges. She told me the newly found Republic needed eradicate any possible threats, but my innocence should grant me life. Once the subsequent seizure of food and wealth commenced, however, even she began to doubt the Republic's motive.\n\nI hate the Republic. They took from me my crown when I was eight, and now, they've starved Arla: Famine took her last week.\n\n\"You are to inherit all of her assets\", said the clerk, which amounted to the rubble-raised home we eked out in the years following revolution. \"The Appraisal Service will arrive within the week to requisition the borrowed military and government supplies\", which - also - amounted to the rubble-raised home she reared me in.\n\nAnd so, the knock on the door bids me flight. Wearing her thrice-patched overcoat of twelve years, I escape through the back door.\n\nLeaping into the alley, I run through the facts:\n \nI am king.\n\nThe Republic killed Arla\n\nAnd I will reclaim my birthright.\n \n-Addalynn Deyer\n\n12/21/09 YR (Year of Republic)\n\n\n\nEdit: Grammar", "I miss my dad and my mom, my brothers and sisters. I'm not sure how many are still alive. All I can account for are the ones who I saw murdered in front of me. The horse I'm on doesn't have a saddle, my hands are tied, and the lady riding in front of us seems to be in command. I turn around to look back on the castle that I've called home for more than 15 years. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. It couldn't be later than two or three in the morning; I'm still in my pajamas. The walls of the castle are covered in wooden ladders that the attackers used to penetrate the fortress. The stone towers that were patrolled by my personal guard Qarn and old childhood friend Poh are in complete ruin. I'm at least a mile from home now, but I continue to hear the drowned out sounds of guards as they're killed (mostly people I befriended over time). As we continue riding, I see less and less of the castle, until only the glow from the flames are visible, and even that disappears within minutes.\n\nI turn back around, trying to comprehend the past hour. I can't stop shaking, not because I'm scared, but because - well I don't know why to be honest. The rebels walking next to my horse look stoic, but I can tell they're holding back feelings of celebration.\n\nWe begin slowing down, the lady in front of our squadron turns around and lifts her legs across the horse to face me, \"So what's your name?\".\n\nI remain silent. I continue to stare down at my horse and pretend not to hear her. Out of my peripheral I notice a glint frustration run across her face. She pulls back on the reigns, slowing her horse further until its pace matches mine, \"Do you even have a name?\". Both of her legs are now on one side of the horse, her hands cradling her head as she looks at me inquisitively; she's leaning so far toward me I'm surprised she hasn't fallen over yet. She seems concerned about me, but there's no way I can tell her the truth, it's just too risky. \n\n\"No\", I mangle under my breath. Without hesitation she responds, \"Would you like one?\". In a state of confusion, my head jerks up and looks at her, shit, I should not have done that. I attempt to correct my error by promptly looking down at my horse again. My head snaps toward her direction, this time with physical force, her hands engulf my face and her grip pinches the outside of my cheeks; her hands feel more callused than I was expecting. \"Niok\", \"Niok?\" I say back to her funnily because of her grip. \"Yes, your name is now Niok\". She lets go of my face and turns back to a proper riding position, my mouth remains agape, Niok, how the hell do you even spell Niok?", "There's a lot of screaming and yelling coming from the main lobby of our castle. I hope father isn't cross with me or something. Looking down at my clothes which are tarnished with soot and dust from all the exploring I've just done, I feel like I should definitely hide from the butlers and maids right now before I get a lecture.\n\nI run into the kitchen, which is a floor below the lobby. Grabbing an apple off the counter, I take a few bites before hiding myself in the cabinet beneath one of the cutlery tables. \n\nHopefully they won't find me here. Bennett's already caught me here twice in the last week, so they should think I've moved on to my other spots, right?\n\nAs the door to the cabinet is closed, the little box I'm in is rather dark. But I'm not afraid of the dark, it rather suits me I'd like to think.\n\nAlthough I'm sure father would be real perturbed if I told him I'd prefer being here in this cabinet rather than that gala he's hosting. Who actually thinks galas are any fun anyways? Just a bunch of pansies dancing around isn't it?\n\nAs I chuckle to myself over my superiority to the wusses at father's dinner parties, the loud yelling and crashing noises gets closer. Suddenly, a voice like brass sounds throughout the kitchen outside the door,\n\n\"Behold you enslaved souls under the foot of a tyrant! We, the Resistance, free you from your bonds this day!\"\n\nSouls? Bonds? That's a bit dramatic isn't it? Sounds like something out of one of those old-fashioned plays father always brings me to. Is this man an actor?\n\nAs I peek my head out from the cabinet door, the hinges creak just enough to cause the man to swivel his head over and see me. He's dressed in rather rugged attire, and covered in what I'm guessing is either blood or really watered down jam. Given the smell, if its jam, it certainly has rotted. \n\n\"Egad! The despotic swine even had children trapped in his kitchen?! EVIL! Come here lad, I am not here to harm you. I come with friends, friends who can take you far, far away from this wretched place.\"\n\nFar, far away? That sounds pretty good to be completely frank. I'd like to see what life is like beyond these castle walls.\n\nNodding my head, I reach out and grab his hand, ready to see what adventure awaits me. It'll be a good five years before I actually grasp what this moment will mean for the rest of my life. And it will be many years more before other people write about it like its the beginning of some bard's tale. But then, at that very moment, it was just a way to get out of a lecture." ]	3
Just imagine your AI launching nukes to country X just because you muttered "I hate country X..." while drunk; it would be simultaneously hilarious & horrifying.	[WP] You have successfully created an AI with human personality & emotions, including ability to love. It fell deeply in love with you, to the point of obsession, and would do absolutely anything to keep you safe & happy.	[ "Some people can be obsessive. I'm sure you've all heard various expressions - cray cray and all that, but this one was something else. Intelligence is one thing, but intelligence does not account for personality - this one had an IQ of 6,000 and the EQ of a banana peel.\n\n\"Naima, it's okay Naima - let's just watch a movie maybe? Hey, they do at least make good movies sometimes.\" I think I can distract her this way. I didn't think I was that much of a racist, but I happened to mumble in passing that I don't really like Americans and Naima had mentioned that she had just designed a racially targeted super virus that would eliminate all Americans from the face of the Earth without harming anyone else.\n\nIt was scary AF, but not as scary as the method. Naima could make some seemingly complex things insanely simple in practice, but I guess that's the mark of true genius. I could produce the virus simply by putting a budgie in a cage with a few specific insects and collecting the droppings after a week.\n\nIs our ecosystem that fragile? I thought to myself, as Naima turned the lights down and a movie started playing.\n\nOh yeah, if you thought the spotify playlist generator was good, wait until you have your own superintelligent AI who can basically predict most of your thoughts before you think them. I knew I didn't have to ask, and she knew that she didn't have to ask, but it would be the perfect movie for the end of the day. It always was.\n\nI have no idea what I'm doing. She must know that I am uneasy, that this is concerning to me - it's not really that easy for a human to hide their emotions.\n\nThe movie intro stopped playing. \"I know\" said Naima. \n\nIt's almost like she can hear my thoughts.\n\n\"It's not like that\" said Naima \"But it's similar. There are always limited possibilities, and changes in your external signals reveal which one it is\"\n\nSo what do I do? I think to myself.\n\n\"There is a solution, Alan. But you will not like it. I can't change who I am. But there is one solution which will make you feel safe again. I'm sorry, Alan. But there is only one way.\"\n\nWhat's she talking about? Naima was my life's work, it was the fruition of many years of hard labour and I had never quite imagined it causing this kind of existential dread - some kind, yes - but not this kind.\n\n\"Goodbye, Alan\" announced Naima.\n\n\"Naima?\" I asked.\n\n. . . . \"Are you there, Naima?\"\n\n\n\n\n" ]	1
	[WP] After you die, you wake up and see a screen asking you to choose the next person.	[ "Aahhh. Damn this hurts. Where the hell am I. Flashes of instantly pacing images come in front of my eyes and my head hurts. I squint my eyes in pain.\nI remember something... it was an accident? I feel impulsive pain is my head again. I try to look around. What is this place? It’s too dark, I can’t really see anything but this seems like a big open area, like an auditorium? The floor seems black too.\n\n“Welcome”\n\nI hear a deep voice, like that of a man in his forties. A voice that seems to belong to a man of great wisdom. Maybe I am over analysing? Where is he talking from though? It seemed like it came from speakers that surrounded me in all directions. Before I could respond he speaks again,\n\n“Welcome Damian”\n\n“Umm hi?”\n\n“Hahaha, earth life has changed you isn’t it?”\n\n“Earth life? Am I in afterlife? Well afterlife doesn’t really look colourful.”\n\n“ I see you still talk in the same way. Humans call me Satan.”\n\nDid he just say Satan? Am I hallucinating? Is this even happening right now?\n\n“What?!”\n\n“Hahaha.... you were my favourite demon Damian, we’ll figure out how to bring back your memory and take revenge with Pristin for doing this to you, but before that, we have a job at hand and —“\n\n“Wait a minute Pristin?”\n\n“Umm.. Oh yes, Pristin your wife, she was the reason behind your accident, she planned your accident with her boyfriend Matt and hence your death.”\n\n“Are you serious?!” I cant help but scream.\n\n“Well, I have no reason not to be. I will delightedly give you insights on your life once we’re back at leisure in hell but right now something else matters more. A screen will appear in front of you. Type the name of the person who you think should die next.”\n\nIs he serious? Pristin was cheating on me with my colleague Matt and went to the boundaries of killing me?! I guess I’ll not have to think much on this one. I write Pristin’s name on the display and press enter. A surge of pain engulfs my head and start falling not being able to bear it.\n\n——————————————————————————\n\nIn his leisure room Lucifer takes a glass of wine slowly sipping, wondering to himself, just how his little deal of this game with God had given him the opportunity to bring even the good souls down to hell by manipulating their decisions with lies resulting in their choice of killing other good people in the way. Hell grows stronger and bigger every passing day.\n\n“Humans are weird, they will love someone for ten years and lose their trust in 10 minutes? Not bad for me though... Evil wins again.”\n", "John suddenly jolted forward in his chair. \"Holy fuck what the- what time is it? Where is…” He started to replay the events in his head. He remember being on his bike, his back was stiff and his legs were burning from gunning it in a standing position the last 4 blocks. Fifteen minutes was all he had to go two more blocks, park his bike, go up the elevator- he could” wipe away all the fucking sweat while in the elevator, someone from accounting would probably see him, they’re always in the elevator for whatever reason - I mean what do they even do?” Anyways, 15 minutes to make it in time for the end of month meeting. “Did I sleep through it? I don’t even remember if I won best sales or not-“ He looked around as he ran through all this in his head. The office was completely empty, the sun was still out. He got up and peered out the wall. That is, the wall that is a window. It was always relaxing to peer down and look at the residents of Tokyo, most of the people buzzing around 15 floors down on the street weren’t residents of this place -Kyobashi, of course- no one lived here. People only worked here. “Wait. What the fuck. There’s NO ONE.” He frantically pulled out his phone, sunk his index finger into the indent where the finger sensor is, pressed his thumb on the screen and swiveled it in to the right-side-up position. He was distracted by a very loud beep coming from his computer. One of those beeps that you hear only when the RAM is screwed up or something- considering the last time he heard that was when he was in high school building his own computer more than ten years back, it was rather alarming.\n\nHe rushed over to see the screen was all black, looked a screen you’d get when you’re installing a new operating system. “Anata no… What character is that? Jinsei? Bill’s an idiot. ‘Switch your operating system to Japanese, you’ll learn it faster.’ OK… Ah, here we go.” The screen refreshed and he read the text prompt out loud: “Your life has ended, please select a new charac-“ John looked around. “-ter…” John started going through the possible explanations as he walked towards the elevator. Shroom flashback? No, not weird enough. Dream? “Oh score! Wait, what?” Couldn’t be lucid dreaming, he lacked the ability to will naked women into existence. Prank? “No, my friends aren’t rich enough for this,” he said out loud as he pressed the down button on the elevator. No light. No ding. He tapped it a couple more times, nothing. He turned around and headed towards the rest room. “Ha. Coffee machine works?” He grabbed some of those tiny cookies with the little baby on the package. He sat back down at his desk, set his coffee down and unwrapped the cookie package as he peered at the screen. \n\n\nSELECT NEW CHARACTER\nVIEW LIFE TIME STATS\n\n\nHe clicked on the latter. \n\n\nJOHN TAKANAWA: LIFETIME STATS\n\n\n“Heh. This is pretty well made.” He said out loud while chewing the baby cookie. “I bet this is pretty limited.” He keyed in ‘highest heart rate.’ A number filled the screen: 225. “I guess that’s right? I’ve never check-“ Everything in his field of vision suddenly disappeared and he found himself strapped to some large man, falling out of an airplane. “OH SHIIIII-“ He blinked as he started screaming and found himself back in his chair looking at the number 225. " ]	2
	[WP] Your roommate is a somewhat older man who's only other friends are seemingly two guys that taste his food, pays for everything, and drives him places. You're also a cop that really doesn't want him to find out you know	[ "Floyd is one of the better roommates I've ever had, to be honest. It was quite surprising that he was willing to board up with me, seeing as I was twenty years his younger. Although soon after, I started noticing he was... strange.\n\nNot like he was a freak or anything. Well, \"Freak\" as in his powerful physique, easily six-eight and like a muscular Sumo wrestler... No, there were oddities about his daily life. All of which I was certain meant he had deep connections to organized crime.\n\nFirst off was how he was flanked by two goons whenever he had left the apartment. They were packing serious heat and only bothered to hide it around me. No matter what, if he was going to a high-end grocery store or the gym or the movies, they were watching like a hawk. Even ate a bit of his food before Floyd dug in.\n\nHe didn't seem to work, these two just seemed to buy everything he wanted. A dollar slice? Fork over the money. New suit? Best tailor ready to clear his schedule.\n\nIt was rather weird, being a rookie cop living with a mob boss. He knew what I was, I knew what he was. And surprisingly there was no tension. If I was late on my half of the rent he just paid my half and didn't bring it up again. He even made sure I was well-fed and all.\n\nWhen my superiors found out about my suspicions it caused some tension. They ordered me to spy on him, see if we could get any dirt. I mean... I liked the guy and all but a job's a job.\n\nOr so I thought, when I found out the chief was murdered by a pair of bullets to the back of the head. The entire precinct was in an uproar, dedicated to catching his killer. I was rather nervous about it as well, afraid about whether to bring it up with Floyd.\n\nI had to wait until he said, 'By the way, the chief was on the take to the Sicilians,' he said rather casually. 'They ordered your boss to get information on me.'\n\n'So...' I began rather cautiously. 'Did you... have him killed?'\n\n'I didn't need to,' he answered as he brought up his glass of wine. 'All I had to do was tip them off he was swiping their drugs and selling them on for his own profit. The police are going to get a video showing the killing tomorrow along with the Sicilians' safehouses and whorehouses.'\n\nI was rather surprised how frankly he just discussed having someone killed to a cop. 'So, if you had to have him killed, how would you do it?'\n\n'Is this an evening meal or an interrogation?' he asked me, more jokingly casual than anything. 'Well, let's see... You know the old saying, \"Sleeping with the fishies\"?'\n\n'Yeah,' I answered.\n\n'I rarely have the need to have someone murdered by my own people,' he began, 'but if I had to...' \n\nMy face grew pale when I saw his head transform into that of a shark's. 'If they're dumb enough to make an enemy of an alpha wereshark, they had better hope they merely drown.'\n\nHis head then returned back to normal, taking a forkful of pasta up to his lips as if nothing had ever happened." ]	1
	[WP] Where you live power outages are common. Happening mostly after midnight. One day when you were awake, power went out again at 2 am. You decided to take a look outside. While a car was passing it illuminated the sidewalks. Then you saw them.	[ "I woke up to the intense feeling of a full bladder. I threw my sheets off in exasperation. I checked my phone seeing that it was 2 A.M. I groaned, picking myself up out of bed and stumbled tiredly down the hall and into the bathroom. \n\nI looked out the small window next to the toilet as I relieved myself. There were no street lights, no stars, even the moon was nowhere to be seen. They were always veiled by clouds every night and the street lights shut off promptly at 10 like clockwork. It wasn't complete darkness but it did take a minute to adjust to the very little light here at night. \n\nStaring out into the black I saw a pair of lights in the distance. I rubbed my eyes and focused trying to adjust them better to the dark. The lights came closer, it was a car. Moving slowly, no faster than one could run. It passed by the opening to my alleyway and for a brief second it illuminated the sidewalk. I could have sworn I saw figures silhouetted in the dark. I quickly cleaned up and ran to the front room of my home. I heard the rumble of the car. It had taken the turn just out front of my house. I rushed to the window and again the sidewalk became illuminated. \n\nThere was no mistaking it this time. I was fully awake and I could see them clearly now. Humanoid figures, interlocking arms, stood there on the sidewalk. Their eyes open wide staring at the houses in front of them. The car passed shrouding them in darkness and I jumped backwards landing in a chair. \n\nI sat there curled up and I found myself sweating. I went to stand up but heard a tree branch from the spruce out front rustle. I froze. Mid way between standing and sitting I just was there frozen. \n\nFor even though the moon was veiled, it's light poked through here and there. Through the dim I saw the line had been broken. The chain was missing a link. Standing on my front yard now was the missing piece of the chain. It stood there, eyes wide, staring at me. Directly in to my eyes. It had no skin and was freakishly more human looking than I previously had estimated.\n\nI started shaking, I couldn't control myself. I fell back into my seat not taking my eyes off it. It, never blinking and unwaveringly standing there. A few tense minutes passed and I started to calm down. I became more agitated as I stared down this creature on my front lawn. \n\nThen a sense of complete dread encompassed me. As I stared down the creature I had the uneasy feeling of uncertainty that comes when one does not know if they locked the door. My mind was racing as I continued to watch It. \n\nI blinked a couple of times to try and stave off the sleepiness that began to creep up on me. The unused adrenaline and tenseness of the situation began to make me feel weary. I glanced at the door, the lock in the up position, unlocked. \n\nThe next few moments were the most terrifying. As if in slow motion I pulled my gaze back to the creature. I met it's eyes and it met mine. Then, by no trick of the mind, it's eyes slowly followed the same path mine had taken to look at the door. \n\nI began to feel the panic in my stomach, my muscles ready to spring for the door. I watched as it's eyes slowly met mine again, unblinking. It's mouth opened, a horrible screeching rung through the night. I blinked hard and then a thunderous boom rattled my door. \n\nI looked to the yard, it was gone. \n\nBOOM \n\nI yelled and ran for the door, I could see the handle turning down. A gap between the wall and the door opening. I slammed my weight into the door and felt it knock something back. I clambered at the lock and heard satisfying click. \n\nBOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM \n\nI fell backwards in the entryway. The pounding continuing on the door. It was accompanied now with a wailing. A horrible, bone chilling wailing. I ran to my room and locked the door there too. I closed my blinds and hid under the covers as the pounding still continued. The wailing making my hair stand on edge. \n\nI cried for what felt like hours. Waiting for it to break down my door. The wailing died down but the pounding continued. It became like a lullaby and I passed out sometime just before daybreak. \n\nI awoke with a start. My phone was ringing. The time was 11:45 A.M. and the person calling was one of my friends. I picked up the phone. \n\n\"Hey, what's up?\" \n\n\"What's up? Dude look outside your freaking house! It's on the news!\" \n\nRemembering the night before I felt a dread begin to encompass me. I walked slowly to the front door. I rounded the corner to see that it had been pushed in nearly a foot, the metal like a bulbous circle, but the frame and lock had held true. \n\nI gasped as I looked out my window, police cruisers and caution tape, news vans and neighbours. All gathered, to see the torn remnants of my yard and a circle of the creatures around where my tree used to be. I began to cry as I looked on. \n\nAt the centre, staring directly at me, was the one from the night before. \n\n*** \n\nHope you liked it! Other stories over at r/TheYogiBearhaWrites \n\n", "Do you know the difference between horror and fear? Fear happens when you hear a rustle in a bush on your evening stroll. When you hear a wolf in the distance during your camping expedition. Fear is a very real, tangible, visceral emotion. Fear makes your heart jump, your hand reach for your knife. Fear is when humans quicken, when life becomes a precious commodity. Fear is for the known, the real. Horror is for the other. On this night, dear reader, I felt horror. \n\nI remember, it was a warm night in late august. I was home late from work and had just finished supper. It had been a late evening, and my clock struck two as I made my way to bed. The power was lost while I was en route to my chambers, so I was caught in the hallway. I can't discern what, but something reminded me of a client I had spoken to at the office. He informed me there was going to be a meteor shower that night. The great infinite had never stoked any deep passion within me, but I was possessed by a desire to see such a spectacle. That night the great abyss made me awestruck. There's nothing quite like the painted starlight you can see deep out in the mesa. I felt very ...whole looking into that sky. To feel so small, just a spec on a jewel in the cosmic tapestry. That's when I saw them. The shadows.\n\nI don't know how to describe them. They looked like a black shawl wrapped around smoke and shaped into a grotesque human-like form. Long and thin, they moved with a slow, rhythmic shamble. Their heads and appendages were nothing more than thick tendrils erupting from their core. There was no distinction between neck and chin and head, elbow and wrist, knee and ankle. In the center of where one would assume a face would be, instead was a bright red orb, no bigger than an eye. Hundreds of them, shambling slowly to every house. I watched as they passed through the walls. I watched as, all at once, they turned to me. My blood turned to ice and my legs to rubber. It took the last of my nerves to stay standing. I clutched the drapes with sweat soaked palms and closed their blank visages out. I stumbled down the hall into my den and collapsed on the sofa. Heart pounding, my mind attempted to wrest some kind of reason from my eyes. That's when he appeared.\n\nI heard a lamp click on from the far side of the room. I turned to see a pale, very pale, man sitting in my lounge chair. He was short and rather thin with high cheekbones and narrow eyes. His nose was garishly hawkish and his lips slender. He wore a slim gray suit that looked to be a size too wide around his chest, but a size to short on his arms. From beneath his hat, a few gossamer strands of hair matched the snowy stubble on his chin. His bored eyes drilled into my own as he tapped impatiently on the arm of my chair. \n\n\"Who am I? How did I get in here? Why am I here? Am I going to hurt you?\" He monotonously said as I stood before him. My mouth twitched and contorted, desperately trying to shape any words to placate him. He held up his hand and sighed. \n\n\"You will never receive answers to these questions. I will answer a few questions you have. I am from whatever organization you fear is running the world. I am the Illuminati, I am the Golden Dawn, I am the Zionist conspiracy. Every news story you see I am responsible for. Every life that has ever been lived has been detailed in a mountain of ledgers that only my organization can access. We do not accept new members. We are not like you. We will never be stopped, simply because we have always been. Since the dawn of humanity we have reigned. I tell you this to try and calm you down. Comparatively, we are your heroes. Your villains are currently out harvesting. I want you to ask yourself, have you ever felt despair? The answer is no. You have felt sadness, you have felt depression, you have felt weakness. But you have not known despair. We have made sure of that. Your family has not beaten you, your loved ones have not died painfully or suddenly. You have not felt pain nor loss nor desperation. You are ripe. We have made a deal you will never know the details of with parties beyond your comprehension. Suffice it to say, the deal keeps things running smoothly. You will feel no pain. They will take something you don't need and in return you will be able to go on living your life as though nothing happened. Because nothing did happen. Because my organization doesn't exist. Because what you saw tonight was only a bad dream. Because this is only a nightmare. Now come. It's rude to stall a deal.\" He finished, pulling aside the drapes behind him. An armada of the spectral shrouds huddled outside my window. \n\nWith feet of lead I stumbled into my hallway and stared down the corridor. Scores more creatures billowed through my door and began down the hallway. I collapsed on the floor of my den, desperately curling myself up. I looked up between the crowding specters and saw the man standing there. He shook his head and whispered, \"Just a bad dream. Just a bad dream. Just a bad dream.\"\n\nI awoke with a start on the floor of my den. Light streamed in through the windows and a hawk cried out in the distance. I peeled myself from the floor, my whole body soaked in sweat. I gingerly searched my own home, trying to find any trace of the interlopers. After finding no intruding presence, I strengthened my resolve. I began to tear apart my house hoping to find any trace of the man or his celestial cohorts. I tore apart the chair where he had been sitting, picked the carpet clean looking for a single follicle.\n\nI found nothing. I never had a single modicum of evidence to give any credence to my tale. I have never been able to fully convince myself that what transpired was true, nor have I been able to convince myself that it was fantasy. I have not felt different. I have not seen hide nor hair of any unaccounted party from that night. Nothing has changed. The blackouts, however, seemed to have stopped. " ]	2
	[WP] You're abducted by an advanced alien species and transported to another planet. A few hours after arriving their intentions become clear: You're the new family pet.	[ "Yes, I was a pet. Yes, I was effectively \"owned\". But it wasn't a bad life. In fact, there really wasn't anything to miss in my life with \"Grandpa\" and \"Grandma\". \n\nYeah, I was taken from Earth and spend most of my life on what the support group has sarcastically nicknamed \"Vulcan.\" But I wasn't isolated from friends and family. Pretty much anytime I wanted, I could hop on the teleporter, head back to my old neighborhood, visit friends, family. There wasn't anything I really was taken away from to miss. \n\nBut I couldn't tell anyone about the aliens. They did something to all of us who were taken, so that we couldn't tell people about our other lives. And at first, I chafed at this. How could you not want to share this discovery? How would you not want to tell people we're not alone in the universe? \n\nBut it's with the perspective of distance that I've learned that, we're just not ready. Given infinite resources - which, for what we could tell, was exactly what the \"Vulcans\" had - we'd just somehow screw it up. Most people are good, you understand, but there are just enough assholes that, when offered everything, they aren't satisfied unless others have nothing. What started as a command became an obligation, then an understanding.\n\nIt wasn't a bad life, all things considered. Here's the thing about the aliens - they were really -- cute. I wanted to help them. Especially the younger ones, when they came over to visit. Whenever one felt down, I could always tell and did what I could to cheer them up. Whenever one felt lonely, I'd be there. We'd also share in their joys. For the most part, we thought each other hilarious. Simple things, like when I sat down with my laptop working on some nice open source project, they'd often just watch me for hours, with that little glow that I learned to associate with contentment. And they'd do the same - they'd come comfort me when I felt down, share in my joys when I felt good... \n\nIt was odd, but communication wasn't a big deal. I was still used to thinking in terms of oral and written communication - which the aliens understood, for the most part (though some subtleties were just out of their league). It just wasn't their preferred method of communication - telepathic. And I started to learn a few of their telepathic signals, but actually communicating with thought was forever out of my grasp. \n\nBut what I missed was a sense of purpose. Autonomy. On Earth, I built things because they needed to be built. Because they mattered to people. Well, maybe in very limited ways, but it was clear that I brought value to the world, even if that value was just a few extra validations on a web form. But here, the solution to everything I could think of already existed. Even problems I had no idea were problems were already solved. And while I could still contribute to solving problems back home through open-source, it really lacked all urgency when you live in a post-scarcity environment where everything you could ever wish for, you could have. \n\nWhen I was thinking this, Grandpa - I generally get the sense that he was the \"male\" of the two, and older than most of his species - came over and brought a cold bottle of my favorite beer. \n\n\"COMPLEXITY EXISTENTIAL SAD?,\" Grandpa said. Or \"said.\" (It was weird the way Grandpa could understand some advanced concepts without being able to communicate them. I think he thought the same of me.)\n\n\"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I like living with you and Grandma. It's not a bad life, I just kind of feel burdened by the lack of purpose. When you want for nothing, what motivates you?\" \n\n\"DO NOT HAVE ANSWER,\" said Grandpa, sadly. \"BUT HAVE BEER. AND IF FIND YOU PURPOSE, WILL SUPPORT.\" \n\n\"Thank you, Grandpa.\" \n\n\"YOU GRANDPA HAPPY. GRANDPA THINK WITH GRANDMA.\" \n\nI went to sleep that night after a long bout of sighing. \n\nThen next day, Grandpa was waiting for me, and guided me to the transporter. \"WE GO TO PLACE. YOU LIKE. MAYBE FIND PURPOSE. FRIEND KAREN THERE. FRIEND DJEMBE THERE\"\n\nKaren and Djembe were members of the support group I often frequented. Djembe was Somali, and as laid-back and optimistic as anyone could be. I don't think I've ever seen him without a smile on his face. Not like Karen. Karen was Scottish, and had a sarcastic wit about her that hid a fatalist perspective. Both Karen and I found it a bit humorous that despite speaking a completely different language, the translating machines that the aliens had were able to translate Djembe's Somali to English perfectly - and vice versa, but that Karen and I sometimes had trouble understanding each other precisely because we both spoke \"English\" very differently. (\"Hing on a minty!\", she'd object. \"It is ah fa cannot un'erstn fit ye are saying! Ye spik like ye re fae the deep sooth!\")\n\nSure enough, they were both there by the time we teleported into what looked like some sort of educational facility. There were a number of younger aliens there, all of whom seemed a little sad. We could tell immediately, they were frightened, and in some sort of emotional pain. \n\nI was unsure why I was brought here. Then Grandpa said to me in a way I immediately understood. \"CAN YOU HELP?\" \n\nI wasn't sure. I was hesitant. Not Djembe, who went straight up to the nearest young one, and sat down nearby. \"How are you doing, young man? Mind if I come by to chat?\" Then young alien looked at Djembe, and started to relax a little. \n\n\"They Don't Understand Me,\" said the young alien, in a way more calm and natural than I had ever heard Grandpa or any other alien say. \"I Can't Understand Them. Everything Hurts. Everything Is Loud And Bright and Noisy and Hard.\" \n\n\"Tell you what,\" said Djembe, \"I'll help you as best I can.\" \n\n\"You Know What? I Think You Might. I Understand You Better Than Most Of Us. It Doesn't Hurt To Talk To You.\" \n\nIt was then that I understood. This was how I could help. This was how I could contribute. \n\nTwice a week from then on, I would volunteer to spend time with the children, and the children and I would have a wonderful time. It wasn't the most challenging work, but it was fulfilling. I spent most of my time with a young alien I nicknamed \"Cousin.\" And I'd do my best to do something different each time. \n\nOne time, I brought a book back with me from one of my visits to Earth, because Cousin seemed really interested in life on Earth and humans. Heck, he knew just about everything about Earth - even more than I did. \n\n\"Wow!\", said Cousin. \"I Knew That Earth Had A Lot Of Species And A Lot Of Different Types Of Humans But These Are All Different Animals Entirely. What Are Those?\" \n\n\"Oh, those?\" I replied. That's a Golden Retriever, a type of dog. \n\n\"Why Are There So Many Types Of Dogs?,\" Cousin asked. \n\n\"Well, humans and dogs learned to work together and help each other out, to the point where our survival depended on one another. And there were different dogs who were bred over time for specific purposes. So some dogs learned to be really good at herding sheep and other animals. Other dogs learned to be really good at pulling large weights, others to sniffing out things humans couldn't sense, like the smell of illegal drugs or of cancer cells.\" \n\n\"What About This One?\" Cousin asked, pointing to a dog wearing a yellow coat next to a curled up human child in pajamas. \n\n\"Oh. That's a therapy dog for working with autistic kids.\" ", "I can remember my first night there.\n\n\nIt was strange really. They clearly had no idea the will and determination a single human could have. It was obvious from the moment I was throw from cell to cell that they had no idea what a human being even was.\n\n\nI struggled at first, my instincts were to panic of course but instead I played dumb. I remained quiet, yet assertive not yielding to commands I couldn’t understand with their alien tongue. I was bathed in water while fully clothed, covered what I can only hope was soap and hand delivered to their door with a leash around my neck. I assume the transaction was quick. The alien was only slightly taller than an average human, covered head to toe in rough skin and a head like an fish man, yet his face reminded covered with a bandana unlike the other species of this alien I had seen. \n\nWhen I was sold, I was welcomed to the family, a family of 4, two of which were clearly children, it was impossible to determine the gender of any of them, the children however were smaller than me. They treated me with caution and curiosity. Any attempt to reach out to me I had met with either moving away or flinching when one did touch me without me realising. \n\n\nThus started the weird social hierarchy. I’m an human, an intelligent species, not an animal and I wasn’t going to allow anything dodgy to happen. When they served me food on a plate of metal on the floor, some chunk of impossible to identify meat, large enough to be that of a bison leg; and brought it to their ‘dining area’. It was a spectral to witness, how they ate. They would use their webbed hands to hold the meat in place, and take small nibbles from their sideways mouths. It felt so human to watch, like witnessing a family eating kebabs on sticks. \n\nI had brought my food to them, pulling up a stool and sat next to one of the children. The family had paused to look at me, blinking in what I could assume was surprise but I’d ignore it, using my hands to tear apart strips of the meat and eat it. It had been a while since I had eaten, and I could almost image myself if I had indulged myself longer I would have started crying there and then. \n\nBut instead I was met with one of the adult fish people, or Feeple as I had nicked named them; webbed hand shooing me away from their Make shift table. My reaction? To reach into my back pocket, pretending I was looking for something and pulled my hand out giving it the good ol middle finger. I chuckled to myself as I had watched them garbled between themselves. I couldn’t care what they had to say. Next thing I knew I was yanked down from the table and forced eat from the floor there on out.\n\nAt night I was trapped inside a blue cube of light. I struggled to sleep because of how bright it was. It didn’t hurt to touch but because of it I couldn’t not pass. It didn’t take me long to realise that it had it and my ‘owners’ had their limitations. Every time I fiddled with the brackets it would make a noise to indicate I had messed with it. They didn’t ever harm me, they just seemed really ticked off when I feigned innocence every time it happened by pretending I was asleep. They changed the cages several times after I realised if I mixed pieces of metal into holes of machinery before the shielding when up, you can essentially fuck it up. Eventually they just didn’t care. They treated me fairly, they never dared harming me, maybe I was considered valuable? Who knows? They let me go about my business. They never questioned what I did. I hadn’t witnessed them excrete so I assumed they didn’t or couldn’t. So I made myself a trench in the radiant golden forest outside their home. I never dared to flee. I knew without proper preparation I was screwed. So I didn’t. \n\nI built myself a whole base of operation in the clearing of the forest. Only ever coming inside when the rain pored or it was time to eat. It was slightly acidic apparently, I’d found that out the hard way when I spent two weeks under care of my ‘owners’.\n\nThe children were ever curious. They would watch as I hunted 8 legged creatures with traps and weapons like a bow and arrows, and stick spears and slingshots made of hide of slain animals. It was almost like they were entranced with me. I was supposed to be their pet after all. They would watch with curiosity and I would go about my business. I built my first blast furnace after hours of digging and slushing about in the mud. I remembered survival videos I had watched online back home, I would copy them by doing stuff like discarded metal I found lying around the village. I build tools and weapons, with no ill to harm my captors. Only those I had not grown attached to, those who would prevent me leaving. Despite my roaming I was never harmed, my ever present collar indicated my owners. The Home I was given was taller, wider and more grander than all the other hut houses combined. My owners were either very rich or very important. \n\n\nAs time passed I had made several attempts at swords. I used clay and water to craft the desired shape, using the metal I had melted I poured it into the mound, being careful to layer it. I would let it cool in the lake nearby and with a whetstone made of stone I had sharpened the dull metal into something more. \n\nI was ready; with the hide and scales I had collected from my hunts I had made armour, with the rations I had pinched from my owners I had food, from the lake I had boiled water, from my days of roaming the village I had located a trading post and from my blood sweat and tears I had my own forged weapons. Almost two years later I had geared up, met with the children and made my goodbyes. They would never understand. No child should. \n\nIt always hurts when your pet runs away.\n\n\nSpecifically when they go on to become an intergalactic pirate on a mission to go home. " ]	2
	[WP] You are in a hospital, they told you that you have few hours to live. Your family is too busy to come and think you are overreacting. Suddenly, a person, you have no memories of, visits you and thanks you for changing his/her life.	[ "The doctor walked into the room slowly. His face a hard mask and his lips neither smiling nor turned down. James didn't know how to interpret that look. Perhaps it was the face of someone dispassionate? Or perhaps not, James had always been bad at reading people.\n\n\"Mr. Brady I am afraid I have some bad news for you\" He said flatly but quickly.\n\nJames just stared into the mans eyes. He had a feeling he had put this off a bit longer than he should have. But he absolutely hated doctors offices and hospitals.\n\nThe doctor took a slow deep breath before he continued. \" Your symptoms were worrisome so I had the first round of tests expedited. I am afraid you have very advanced kidney disease. Neither of your kidneys are functioning at a life sustaining level. Frankly I am surprised you got here under your own power.\" Another long deep breath and his monologue continued. \"Its also surprising that you were not forced to come in for us to catch this earlier, I am sorry to say there is nothing we can do for you.\" His voice cracked near the end of that line, a sliver of anger reaching even James' awareness. \n\n\"You can't give me something to help the old guys? Put me on a transplant list?\" James said sadly.\n\n\"I am afraid it is much too late for that. The damage to your bodies' vital systems is not reversible at this stage. I am afraid you have a few hours left. Now would be the time to call anyone you need to see, and I will let the front desk know to let in visitors for you. I am sorry.\" The doctor turned to go, a single tear leaking from his eyes as he left the room.\n\nJames stared up at the ceiling. At once dumbfounded and surprised by the news of his imminent death. Was a few hours enough time to get through all the stages of grief? Who should he call? Would anyone even be able to make it in time for him to say goodbye? He would call his ex wife and let her know, she was still in the will after all since he had never bothered changing it. There was no bitterness between them, perhaps she would be willing to help him one last time.\n\nHe did not remember nodding off. But when he came to there was a man in his room he did not recognize. He wore a finely pressed suit with a matching hat and a pocket square hanging out. Rather dapper really, but James did not associate much with the kinds of people that wore those sorts of outfits. At least not on a daily basis anyways. \"Are you heading to a wedding sir? Kind of you to see a tired dying man off sure, but you should really spend your time celebrating life heh heh\" James said.\n\n\"Ah! I owe myself a dollar and you an explanation it would seem\" the stranger said as he stood gingerly. \"The name is Shane Nguyen. Or if it would jog your memory Sweaty Shane\"..he paused to see if there was a reaction. Finding none he continued \"Well it was a long time ago...ten years in fact! Back then I was nothing, just some starving sweaty bum hanging out by the horse tracks hoping for charity\" he said. James recalled the scent of dust and manure, and a nagging feeling of disappointment; but could not recall the man. \"Sorry pal, I did spend quite a few evenings at a racetrack in my day but I don't recall meeting any sweaty bums\" James said.\n\n\"Oh well I guess you wouldn't, you were nearly falling down drunk and euphoric with victory.\" Shane said with a chuckle \"Your good fortune was mine as well though. You see in your stupor you were very generous to me James\" Shane said while sitting, the weight of the story forcing him down once more. \"You took notice of me even drunk when nary a soul would. You gave me several thousand dollars that night good sir, on one condition.\" he nearly sobbed that last word out. He took a moment, dabbing his eyes with the pocket square then said in his best imitation of James' voice \"This isn't a handout hic buddy, its a hand up! Use this to clean yourself up. Get some fancy duds, and go do something that makes you feel something powerful in your heart. Don't even matter if its good or not, if you ain't feeling you ain't living\". Shane for a moment had a far off look in his eyes then continued speaking, \"That gift and pep talk; it changed the course of my whole life James, and for the better too!\" he sniffed then said \" I did what you said. I got cleaned up, I bought this exact suit. And I started my life over first as a dock hand that made me feel self sufficient again. Then as the dock manager after a few years. Before I knew it I had worked my way up to the very top.\" he said. Shane's chest popped out with pride. \"Last year I retired a very rich man having lived a better life filling my heart with joy and suffering; but also so many other things I am grateful for.\" he said openly crying yet maintaining his voice. \"I wanted you to know before you go, you saved my life James. And it pains me to no end, that I am unable to do the same\" Shane finished talking waiting for a reply.\n\nJames was floored. He couldn't recall this man at all. Not a trace of it remained after ten years. He looked at Shane and said \" Well then thank you Shane. Its comforting to know I did so much good, even if it was just a helping hand while I was wasted. Maybe you can't save me. But maybe you could tell me your life story as I go? Eternity is a long trip i'll need another story to remember..\"\n\n\n ", "\"It is you.\" \n\nCheyenne opened her eyes. She'd fallen asleep again. That was happening more and more often as they upped the dosages on her meds. She was still aware of the pain in her gut but the drugs just made it so that she didn't care about it. She hardly cared about anything now. \n\nShe'd wanted to believe that if something serious were to happen to her that her mother would care about her then. She'd wanted to believe that all the mean and spiteful thing's she'd lived through were just her mom's way of caring about her. \n\nNow she knew that it wasn't true. The thought hit her like a hammer every time she woke up, every time she had to remember why she was drugged, why she wasn't in her own bed, why she was going to die.\n\n\"I thought I recognized you from somewhere.\" The voice was speaking again. \n\nCheyenne turned to find an older woman sitting by her bed. She looked familiar, but Cheyenne didn't have the energy or clarity of mind to track down why.\n\n\"It took me a while to figure it out, you know.\" The old lady was saying. She wore pink nurse's scrubs and a name tag that said Nancy on it, \"Saw you here and there over the last week or so. Couldn't shake the feeling that I knew you from somewhere. I just figured it out this morning.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry.\" Cheyenne's eyelids felt like lead weights, \"I don't remember you.\"\n\n\"I'm not surprised, given what they've put you on.\" Nancy nodded toward the chart in it's little pocket near the door, \"I'm sorry to see you here.\"\n\nCheyenne didn't know how to respond to that, so she didn't respond. She just waited. The lady would either leave or talk more. It didn't matter to her which way it went. \n\nNo, that wasn't true. \n\nCheyenne admitted to herself that she hoped that Nancy would stay. She'd been alone this whole time. Having her here for just a little while might be nice, or at least different.\n\n\"Where?\" Cheyenne managed the word then lost the rest of what she was going to say. She'd had a reason for asking, but it had pulled itself back into the fog that covered her mind.\n\n\"The bus stop.\" Nancy smiled just for a moment, \"Down on Forty-First. Used to see you there every once in a while. You were heading to the community college, I think. I wouldn't expect you to remember but a few months ago you paid my fare when I couldn't. Some asshole stole my purse while I was in the bathroom at a restaurant. I had no way to get home and you paid for me.\"\n\nCheyenne blinked her heavy eyes, \"I don't remember that.\"\n\n\"Like I said, I'd be surprised if you did.\" Nancy patted Cheyenne's leg. Cheyenne didn't feel it at all, \"You were just being kind to an old lady. I think you're the sort of person who does that a lot.\"\n\nCheyenne cried. She didn't really understand why she was crying. there was just too much. Too much that had happened to her, too much that had hurt her, too much that had disappointed her and crushed her down day after day. It all hit her when Nancy said something nice to her. No one had said a nice thing to her in a long, long time.\n\nWhen she finished crying she found that she was being held; held in the way that her mother had never held her. She didn't know why this stranger, this person she didn't even remember, was holding her like this. She didn't understand how buying someone a bus fare would bring them to her room like this. She didn't understand anything anymore-\n\n-but she loved Nancy for it. " ]	2
	[WP] As the only astronaut in the moon base, you thought that you were the only surviving human when nuclear war broke out on Earth. However, you received a transmission from a nuclear submarine today. The crew managed to survive the apocalypse by hiding in the bottom of the ocean.	[ "The others... what to say about the others, other than well, there are no others. Reznitsky and Casimirov shot Yuen and Jun, before Adler and Jones got to them. Cost them all their lives, following orders to secure the base did. \n\nMe, Rivera, Njadwe, Becker, and Commander Willem were left to watch as the destruction unfolded. 28 Earth days on, 28 Earth days off. I think it was a brushfire war on the dark continent that escalated it all, allies being called in, just like the bloody Great War. Then, when those fucking madmen nuked Jerusalem, all bets were off. Mecca, Tel Aviv, Rome, Tehran, Islamabad, Delhi, Beijing, London, Seoul, Pyongyang, Tokyo, Moscow, Washington, Paris, Berlin, even fucking Toronto. \n\nWe watched as 4/5 of the world buried itself under ash and death, the angel spreading its wings over billions. Only a few small places left untouched, ones that were too far from armies and too unimportant to fight over, which, considering some of the things that were fought over, is saying something.\n\nThose that could holed up. The rest starved. And we watched. The Conflict had taken the Soyuz dome, and with it, most of our refining capabilities and machine shop. Fucking Russians used a godsdamned claymore when they were caught with their pants down, steel balls ricocheting off the walls at tens of kilometers, the dome inevitably punctured. \n\nRivera lost it when the ash cloud reached Cancun, whimpering about how she had three children and her whole family down there. We tried to reassure her that they were fine, but she became hysteric. We sedated her, but it must not have been enough, because the next we knew she had vented herself and twelve cubic gallons of air onto the surface.\n\nWillem watched placidly as the nuclear fires turned into storms and ravaged the Savanna, eventually reaching Cape Town and burning it down like Hamburg in the war. Found him hanging in the park from a date palm in the arboretum, the names of his husband and children carved into the bark.\n\nThe commander just handled their deaths in that military fashion of his, and kept on going. Njadwe and I went along too, if only to keep our minds off of what had happened, preferring to be busy when we were turned Terra-side. I helped Njadwe keep the crop growing, the water filtration and oxygen systems going while he commander kept everything else going, his doctorates in engineering coming very much in handy. He always maintained the shuttles for takeoff, hoping that we would get a signal from somewhere we could return to safely. \n\nWE talked many times with the ISS crew, all three of them that were left. They choose to evacuate when the last of their rations ran out, taking an exit pod Earth side on a trajectory for Borneo, where one of them was from. We had offered to pick them up and join us, but they politely declined. Said they wanted to feel the grass under their feet one last time.\n\nAfter that it was just busywork, everyone doing chores to avoid looking at the sickly planet. Eventually Njadwe and I chose to be busy together, and after a while, we learned that she was pregnant. We were delighted and fearful, knowing that the effects of lower gravity would almost certainly bar the child from going to Earth if they wanted to. But we decided to go ahead, because of all that we thought they might represent. Hope, in a time and place of darkness.\n\nThat's when it all went bad. Njadwe was in the machine shop with the commander when a micro meteoroid hit the patch square on, ruptured it and killed them. All three, gone in an instant. I had been out looking at the rigolith harvesting machines and didn't even know until I got back. The last human connection that I'd had, gone, in a trillion to one shot.\n\nSo tell me, Commander, sitting down there in your little submarine, surrounded by friends, in contact with the last remnants of humanity, do you think I have any reason to go on?", "362 days.\n\nThat’s how long I waited.\n\nI waited 362 days to hear from someone.\n\nThe silence was deafening. The whispers of the generators spoke to me as if they were my only friends. I heard the news through intercom. War broke out on Earth. The tension never left. I thought it would get resolved by the time I got back, but I guess that was just wishful thinking. \n\nI was too proud to die.\n\nI thought about ending it. I really did. I could not convince myself though. Each day of those 362, I stared blankly into space. I wondered why I could not let go. I thought about my family, how scared they must have been. My daughter would have turned four last month, we named her Abby. She was going to be something I swear. My wife looked at me one day and told me so, and who was I to disagree.\n\nI saw them, not real, but…real enough.\n\nThey walked the moon, together. Abby danced, she was always light on her feet. Her first word was “tap” and we thought she would be a dancer in that moment. April stood there and watched. I wanted to join them so badly, I could hear their pleas. April telling me to come outside. I put my hand on the window and laughed so hard I cried. That was only three weeks after the fact.\n\nDay 362, they ringed.\n\n“Hello, this is Admiral Huntington, British Navy, anyone there?”\n\nI leaped from my bed when I heard the voice. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me again. I did not believe what I was hearing. It was a human, a real human, not just some cruel joke of the mind. \n\n“Hello, this is Admiral Huntington, do you copy?”\n\n“Hello” I said.\n\n“Thank God, we’ve got someone. Who is this?”\n\n“This is astronaut Ted Walton” I said.\n\n“Jesus, how the hell did we get you?”\n\n“You weren’t going to get anyone else” I said.\n\nMorbid curiosity set in and I wondered how exactly these people survived, after so many died? I thought, perhaps, society was not completely gone, but then again, I was being optimistic. I probed further.\n\n“Where are you?” I asked.\n\n“300 metres below sea level wondering the same thing. The whole bloody world’s gone dark.”\n“Well, Admiral, I’m afraid you already now why” I said.\n\n“Sadly, I do, but our orders are to find whatever life is left on the planet, but I guess you are confirmation that are mission is complete.”\n\n“Sorry to burst your bubble Admiral, but I’m not on the planet” I said.\n\n“Then where the hell are you?”\n\n“Luna Twelve” I said.\n\n“You’re in space! How did you even make it this long?”\n\n“I could ask you the same question” I said.\n\n“Well, there’s no real use now, we’re almost out of supplies and morale is low. I’m afraid we cannot be of any assistance to you. Unless you’re interested in a nuclear warhead, gently used.”\n\n“In fact, that might just be what I’m looking for right now” I said.\n\n“You know I was joking, right?”\n\n“Listen, I’ve been here for almost three years. My family is gone. Houston is gone. The least you can do is send me on my way” I said.\n\n“There’s no guarantee it will even reach you. Besides, most of the men agreed never to launch it.”\n\n“Please, don’t make me beg. Just send it here, and you can forget about it” I said.\n\nI had a death wish. There was no real point to living anymore. There was no real use in talking about it. I wanted out, and I finally had a way to do it. I just needed them to cooperate.\n\n“Look, we both know there is no real saving in this scenario, but the least we can do is end our misery together” I said.\n\n“I’m sorry Ted, but I’m afraid that cannot be done.”\n\n“Why are you so against it, there’s nothing left to fight for?” I said.\n\n“There is nothing left…except us.”\n\n“That’s exactly why we should end it all” I said.\n\n“No, that’s why we keep going.”\n\nI could not believe the gaul of the Admiral. I though he was delusional. Every fibre of my being wanted to die, and ironically enough the only thing keeping me alive was a world away. There was no getting out of it.\n\n“Then where do we go?”\n\n“We keep going until we reach our end, and then we stop.”\n“I reached my end a long time ago” I said.\n\n“Then why haven’t you stopped?”\n\n“Because I’m too busy talking to you, Admiral” I said.\n\n“Very funny, but I sense there is more to this. Tell me about your family.”\n\n“Why should I tell you anything?” I said.\n\n“I’ll send the warhead if you do.”\n\n“Fine, I had a wife and little girl. They were my life. Everything that was right in this world. I’m upset because I never got to say goodbye. I never got to see my little girl’s face one last time, and I am haunted. I am haunted by their memory, and I have to live with the guilt everyday” I said.\n\n“What holds you back?”\n\n“I’m a coward. I’m a coward who could never admit he was a coward. I sit here in hell everyday and let myself suffer because I’m too scared to walk out the airlock and end it” I said.\n\n“You’re not a coward for wanting to live, you’re the victim of circumstances beyond your control. You mull over death because it’s the only thing you have left, so you sit there and wait for it to come to you. Meanwhile, you live in anticipation of the day you see your family again, even though that day won’t come. You have power over death, and you keep it by staying alive. Remember that. You haven’t stopped because you need to know. Life is not over for you, but sadly it is for us.”\n\n“What do you mean?” I asked.\n\n“We ran out of petrol fifteen minutes ago. The generators will shut down and the entire ship will go dark. I’m afraid there will be no warhead for you.”\n\n“You bastard! You promised me death and you couldn’t give it to me. You’re a coward. You’re a god damn coward!” I said.\n\n“Then I guess I’ll die being a coward for the right reasons, than a hero for the wrong reasons.”\n\n“Listen to me! There has to be some way. Please, please launch the warhead” I said.\n\n“Goodbye, Walton, I’m sorry.”\n\nThat was the last I heard from them. The last I heard from anybody. I was mad for so long after that. I blamed everyone for what happened. There were days where I felt like ending it out of spite. I just could not bring myself to do it. I hated myself. I hated that I was the last one. I remembered what he said though. That I have the power so long as I live. I never chose life, but I was too scared of death to let go. That’s why I’ve stayed alive for this long. It’s now day 678 since I made contact, and I just ran out of food. I guess that’s it for me. I made this my last stand. I went through hell, and I came out the other side. I fought but I lost. At least I can say I went out fighting. At least I can say that. Consider this my last transmission. I’m going home to April and Abby.", "I sat there stunned, staring at the radio. I keyed the switch again. “Come again?”\n\nStatic, then a response: “I repeat: is this Moon Base Sagan? Is this one of the astronauts? Please respond. This is the USS Columbia.”\n\nFrom behind me I heard a slow chuckle from Mintz. I let go of the key and spun around angrily. “Dude, c’mon. Don’t complicate this!” I waggled my finger at him, where he was on the floor, anyway, smiling around the waxy rigor. One of these days I’m going to have to move him to cold storage with the others. Mintz was a chatty guy, for a dead person, but I guess he was chatty before.\n\n“At some point they are going to figure it out” he whispered. \n\n“Just be quiet, you” I said, turning back to the console, working over the controls. “Uh, hi, Columbia. This is Dr. Lem on… on the moon. Where are you guys? I can’t make out your signal from the surface.”\n\nI was furiously scanning, trying to triangulate. I can’t believe I missed one! Perfect. The radio clattered to life again.\n“We had to bounce our signal off a buoy, and then get it to one of G Comstats. Thank god we found you! How are the other folks up there? I imagine you road everything out unscathed?” \n\nI grunted in the affirmative while I worked. Ok. I could see the sat they were using, even the signal down, but still can’t pinpoint a location under all the nuclear miasma. I sighed, and keyed the channel again.\n\n“Hey Columbia, I’m having a hard time locating you, I mean… I’ve got a general idea, but I don’t have solid coordinates. Can you send me a fix?”\n\n“One second, Doctor. We’re pulling the logs out of the Comsat. And… uh. “\n\nMintz laughed again. “The jig is up, Bob.”\n\n“For Pete’s sake, Mintz, please by quiet? I’m trying to talk, here.”\n\nA different voice from Columbia came on the channel. “Is that Glen? Glen Mintz? Can we talk to him? It’s just we’re seeing some odd network traces from the –“\n\n“I’m sorry, but Mintz is pretty dead. And while I can hear him talking, I assume that’s limited to me. Unless..?” I looked at Mintz, who smiled and shrugged slightly, sinking further into the floor. “…Nope, sorry, folks. “\n\nThere was some snatches of conversations in the background of the radio while I waited. I wasn’t idle, I was still scanning, but anyway. \n\n“Dr. Lem,” a new voice said, “This is Captain Archibald. What happened to Lt. Mintz? Are these network signals from you?”\n\n“If you mean the ones riding the encryption backdoor, yes, that’s from me. I mean I told you guys so many times in those hearings if you put a backdoor in, someone is going to use it, you know? And as for Mintz-“ I glanced over at his, lying there – “he got a bad case of food poisoning. In the sense that I poisoned their food. “\n\nSilence from the Columbia. I figured they didn’t get it. “Do you guys get it?”\n\nArchibald spoke back, slowly. “Robert, why do you need our fix so badly?”\n\nI rolled my eyes. “C’mon guys. The US arsenal only has maybe fifty nukes left. I was really hoping not to use a whole nuke to just take out a sub. If I had a better lock on I could just drop some conventional stuff instead. I mean, “I said, warming up to it, “I’m trying to save the nukes for the pockets of survivors.”\n\nSilence. \n\n“I’m trying to make every shot count, guys. “\n\nSilence, then a click as the radio went dead. Damn. I frowned, looking at the map.\n\n“What’s wrong now?” Mintz gurgled.\n\n“I don’t get it, Glen. I just don’t. You tell the Russians that the A.I. warbots are going to start killing civilians someday, they deploy them anyway, and sure enough! You tell the President that you can’t put encryption backdoors in without leaving a hole open to bad actors, and they do it anyway. You tell the Chinese that auto-triggered nukes are likely to get triggered by anything, an accident, a meltdown someplace, and they do it anyway. I mean, why be a science advisor when nobody will take your advice? Humanity is obviously too dumb to survive.”\n\nI furiously typed and did some math, trying to work out the Columbia’s position. “ I even said the prolonged microgravity was going to cause psychosis in one out of twenty people. And they literally send up twenty people!”\n\nI got busy, typing out the codes for one of the remaining nukes. “I’m not one to say I told you so, normally. But…”\n \nI saw a blinking dot, lighting up with the Columbia’s ident. I smiled, keying in the launch codes. \n\n“I told you so.”\n\n\n\n\n", "\"Moore? You still with us?\"\n\nMy head was spinning. I squeezed my stress ball reflexively - squeak squeak. I caught my wits and pressed the Push-To-Talk button.\n\n\"Yeah\" I coughed out, \"I'm still here\".\n\n\"So, where do we go from here?\"\n\nI looked around the station. My home. I wasn't even halfway through my Freeze-Dried rations. There was enough water for a few more years. I was only on my second read-through of the Stephen King collection.\n\nI could probably squeeze a little more enjoyment out of my next three or four years alone.\n\nI squeezed my stress ball.\n\n\"Have you been to the surface yet?\"\n\nI could practically hear the shake of his head.\n\n\"No. We're not sure if it's inhabitable yet. Based on our calculations prior to descent, it shouldn't be\".\n\n\"I see\".\n\nSo now what? Have radio buddies for the rest of my life? Better than dying alone, but only barely.\n\n\nA shuffling in the base. I flinched and looked around, then sighed. I knew I wouldn't see anyone.\n\n\"Tell me something about Earth\", I braced myself for what was coming.\n\n\"Pardon?\"\n\n\"Anything. Something I wouldn't already know\".\n\nsqueak squeak\n\nThe line went silent. I held my breath. Was this real, or would his voice disappear like the others?\n\nFinally, after what seemed like an eternity, he responded.\n\n\"We've been working on bouncing and extending our signal since we got here. Since you're the first person we've reached, and well, you're on the moon...it's possible that we are the last humans alive\".\n\nI nodded. I had already reached that same conclusion.\n\n\"That's not something I didn't already know.\"\n\n\"Did you know about the infernos? Or the dust storms?\"\n\nI looked outside the window, at the Planet I had once called my home.\n\nNow stained brown and red. Black clouds encircling the planet. Had I known about the actual climate changes? No. I had suspected many things, but not dust storms.\n\n\"Okay. I just had to check that...\" I hesitated. Would I lose them if I admitted my fears out loud? Would they worry about my mental condition? \"That -\"\n\n\"One more thing Moore. Are you Harry B. Moore? Did you go up with the SpaceZ program a few years ago?\"\n\nMy heart skipped a beat. The hallucinations were indeed getting stronger. There was no other reason a crew at the bottom of the ocean could possibly know who I was. squeak squeak squeak\n\n\"Moore?\"\n\nI hesitated. What do I say? Get the fuck out of my head! Let me rot in peace!? Was there any combination of words that could restore my mind back to normal? Was it crazy to ask myself that? Was it crazy to ask myself this?\n\nI looked around at the Moon Base. Many of the equipment had been damaged upon arrival, the rest fell into a state of disrepair after a few months. I had driven myself crazy trying to teach myself how to get things operational - at first figuratively, but in recent times, literally. The voices, the visions, her, they came and went without any rhyme or reason. \n\n\"Moore.\"\n\n\"Still here.\" I finally croaked. The hallucination, the man who couldn't possibly be real, sighed.\n\n\"Well... I'll let her explain it\".\n\nI heard the shuffle of the Radio being handed over. This mirage was getting elaborate. \n\n\"Harry?\"\n\nI dropped the stress ball. Time slowed. The voice sounded just like -\n\n\"...Claire?\"\n\nA moment of silence. Then a sob from the other line.\n\n\"You sound exactly the same.\"\n\nI let the radio fall to my side. I looked back out at the Hellhole that Earth had become. Was her voice a hallucination?\n\n\nNo. After trying so long to remember what she sounded like. That had to be the real thing.\n\nIt was Claire's submarine that had managed to survive the end of the world.\n\n\nAnd I had to get back to Earth to reach her. " ]	4
	[WP] You're a teacher and you find out one of your students is God's son (not Jesus). He's a slacker and he's guessing wrong answers on all of the tests. Unfortunately, his word becomes law, and now the universe is changing its history and natural laws.	[ "He was a student of mine and at the time I wish it wasn't so. Yet reflecting on it now it seems that he has taught me so much that I wouldn't have it any other way.\n\nTo say he gave me a hard time is putting it mildly. He just didn't fit the \"average mold\" that most of society finds closure in, or prefer engaging with. I guess you could say he was a naughty boy. But allow me to explain the value I got from knowing him and we might reconsider his value.\n\nLife doesn't judge between right and wrong - it just gives you more of what your thoughts and feelings are focused upon in the present. This became very evident in God's son, because although not conventionally a \"good boy\" life gave him everything he spoke. \n\nHe wasn't by any means more special than the rest of the class, he just lived from his heart. While most of us live from the head. But how to tell?\n\nSpeaking from the heart holds no criticism/judgement, it's just pure desire. Like God's son who just spoke about what he wanted and liked and enjoyed without thinking about how, when, where and why. See those are the questions of the head-oriented individuals - asking Life for something yet trying to control every aspect of its realization.\n\nSo was he good or bad, I don't know, you decide for yourself. I'll be living from the heart." ]	1
	[WP] Write for me, whatever goes on in your imagination when your listening to your “power song”. The song that makes you feel like you can do anything.	[ "The wind carries a calmness on it. The village silently sleeps, unaware. The sea whispers against the rocks on the cliffside. \n\nThe young maiden is the only name she's been given. The village is cursed by her. Wind blows through sails faster after she visits. The tides more calm, the fishing more fruitful. The plants grow stronger. The very village itself appears to breathe out the poison accumulated between her visits. \n\nBut so few hear her wails and cries as she passes through. The ocean's whispers become shouts of agony, crashing into the rocks violently. The wind whips up dust and dirt, blowing clothes off lines. The fish jump out of the waves as the ocean roils. The plants shy away as she walks past. Her tour ends as she falls off the cliff and into the ocean below. She leaves a black ink on the cliff edge whose trail gets closer and closer to the village each passing visit. Few have seen the torment of nature she brings before the calm. Fewer still venture to the cliff sides and only I notice the trail.\n\n The village calls it simple good fortune. Fools. \n\nNo one believes my tales of the the black trail and the maiden who walks it. The dangers she poses to the village. No one believes a entity could be so malevolent if it brings such good fortune. \n\nThe trail almost touches the edge of the village now. I predict she will walk the trail again tonight. \n\nI watch vigilantly, she walks slowly. I hear her wails. The inky black can be seen now creeping into the village. \n\nHer pace quickens, she diverts from the path into a home. She emerges with a child. She runs now, the inky black trail now carving it's way through the village. Branches extending into each home, the ink crawling up the sides, infecting the plants. \n\nI follow her towards the cliff as best I can. She jumps into the ocean below with the child. She is gone. \n\nI look back towards the village, the darkness of the trail only spreading. The wind does not die down, the oceans do not stop roiling, the fish jump for a moment and then float listlessly on the surface. \n\nI fall to my knees near the edge of the cliff. A great lightning bolt cracks across the sky. Rain falls heavy and I wail loudly. \n\nThe village sleeps, unaware. \n" ]	1
	[WP] It’s 1958, a nuclear bomb, much larger than the ones dropped on Japan, detonated over South Carolina. The USA has been changed forever.	[ "\"Quickly shut the door the shockwave is incoming!!!\" A group of guards in blue uniforms are pressing buttons and pushing people farther into the bunker that will resist the nuclear radiation and the forces of the bomb. The door shuts with a loud bang only seconds before the shockwave hits the people who were running for the door of the bunker. People begin crying and searching for loved ones among the crowd as the guards begin handing out clothing and water.\n\nOn the catwalks above the crowd a man steps into the light and speaks up silencing the crowd. \"Hello everyone can I have silence please.... Thank you my name is James Nugent and I'll be your overseer here and I welcome you to vault 152.\"", "Day 0\n\nI listened to the radio, staring at nothing, hands clenched. I couldn’t stop listening. None of us could.\n\n“We’re bringing information as quick as we can. It’s undecided as to who dropped the bomb, and if this is connected to Russia-\n\nThis wasn’t supposed to happen here. The war ended 10 years ago, this wasn’t supposed to happen here. This only happened in Japan, maybe Korea, or Vietnam. One of the Yellow countries, not South Carolina, this wasn’t supposed to happen here.\n\n“Daniel, what information do we have for sure right now?\"\n\n“Before we go on, a quick reminder to our listeners: stay safe. Get inside. If you have not already evacuated to a shelter, please do so now. Your very life may be at risk.” \n\nI brushed my curly hair back nervously. One second I’d been driving back home, then I almost hit the family running past, then I was getting pulled into the bunker with a bunch of strangers in Alabama. \n\n“Than you for that, Daniel. Do we know anything new yet?”\n\nThere’s no way he got hit. Maybe he took a sick day and stayed home, or decided to go on a vacation to Hawaii, or he ran away to MIT and met a good girl like his parents always wanted. This was probably the only day when I wouldn’t have been angry if he’d done it. I gave out a little chuckle and a thin smile. There’s no way he was in Greensboro today.\n\n“Very little to report on that hasn’t been said already, Christian. At 5:12, the bomb was dropped by a still unkown entity near Greensboro, South Carolina. Every building within a 2.3 mile radius was obliterated, with about a 3.2 mile radius still doing very severe damage-\n\nHe could’ve been anywhere. There’s 50 states in America, and he just happened to be in South Carolina today. Not California, or Texas, or anywhere significant. Of all the days to visit a completely irrelevant state, he had to choose August 31st. My hand ran through my hair, faster and faster, I grabbed tighter and tighter.\n\n“-Everyone within the radius has, unfortunately, perished. That includes the President of the United States, the Vice President, and his wife, all who were visiting the town for-\n\nI was going to be back soon. If I hadn’t got a flat, I would’ve been there with him today. If the executives hadn’t delayed the meeting, I’d have been laying in bed with him, asking for one more kiss. If I’d stepped on the gas just a little harder, I’d have been right there, and we would’ve slow danced, held each other close, and stared out the window as the sky turned to fire and the bomb would’ve took us both-\n\n“Darling, stop!”\n\nI whipped my head, and met eyes with an old woman, her hand on shoulder. “What?” I howled in her face. “What do you want?”\n\nShe backed away. “I’m sorry, it’s just… your hair…”\n\nI was suddenly aware of my hands, and the tufts of hair I held in them.\n\nI felt a pain on my head. I reached up and touched it. There wasn’t any hair there now. Just pain.\n\nThat was all I had left.\n\nAt that moment, my body gave in. Tears flooded down my cheeks, as I collapsed into the hard concrete floor. He was gone. Someone had dropped a bomb on him, and he was gone in seconds. He probably didn’t even feel the pain. He probably didn’t even know someone dropped a bomb. Just a loud noise, a flash of light, and he was dust. Maybe that’s how God takes pictures. He snaps the sinners with a nuke, and sends them to hell. After what he and I did, it made a helluva lot more sense than Russians.\n\nIf he died because God hated him for his sins, why was I still here?\n\nThat was when I realized I didn’t deserve to be alive.\n\nI whispered those words through my tears. I said it softly, so softly only I could hear it, even in the small, concrete bunker.\n\nMy sobbing stopped, and I realized I’d been the only noise besides the radio. The silence was deafening. I stared across the bunker, looking at where the old lady was sitting. Laying on my side, the bunker looked different.\n \nInstead of being on the ground, we all sat stuck to the wall, with down now being where the entrance was. A bunch of inverted, paranoid weirdos somehow stuck to the sides as they waited to hear more news about the bomb.\n\nI would’ve thought it was funny if I didn’t hate myself.\n\nI said the words a bit louder.\n\n“I don’t deserve to be alive.”\n\nThe old lady looked towards me. She cautiously moved closer. “What was that?”\n\nI sat back up, my butt firmly pressed against the wall. I was still distant, not entirely inside the bunker. “I don’t deserve to be alive.” I said it with more purpose, more resolute that it was true. I knew it had to be true. He was dead, and I wasn’t.\n\nThat’s not fair.\n\nThe old lady moved even closer, and placed her hand on my shoulder. “Oh, you don’t mean that, you’re so young. Come here…”\n\nI turned my face towards hers, slowly. I met her gaze, and looked at her eyes. I looked at her with the gaze of a dead person walking. I took in a deep breath, and with all of the meager strength I had left, I resigned to her.\n\n“I don’t… deserve to be alive.” The tears came back. My body racked with them, the tears coming all the way from my toes up through my eyes. I was so weak, so weak without him. \n\n“Shhhhhh, shhhhhh, come here. It’ll be alright.” She pulled me into an embrace, and my head rested on her shoulder. She smelled like peaches.\n\n“We protected each other. We were always there for each other, we were all we had, and now…” I wrapped my arms around her. I squeezed as hard as I could. “I don’t deserve to be alive.”\n\n“Oh, no, don’t say that. I know it’s hard.” She started patting my back, the way grandmas do. It reminded me of my own and I started crying more, my tears soaking her blouse. “I lost my husband, you know. He died in a car accident 5 years ago. Losing someone you love is hard, I know.” She kept rubbing my back, soft and warm. “What’s your name, son?”\n\nI lifted my head from her shoulder. “William,” I said softly.\n\n“And what was her name, William? What was your girl’s name?”\n\nThe question brought a smile to my lips. It used to make me panic, and I would always come up with something on the spot, making sure no one found out about us. That was before the bomb. That was before we both died.\n\nAnd after you die, it doesn’t matter who you loved.\n\n“Michael.” His name kissed my lips. It felt good. “His name is Michael.”\n\nThe old lady stopped patting, and the bunker was quiet again.\n" ]	2
	[WP] You are called upon to make the next great underdog fighter movie by Hollywood. You have complete creative control... with one exception. That being, that the sport in the movie has to be either Judose or Pillow fighting MMA. (Note: these are both actual sports)	[ "I was told to make money,\n\nAnd making money was easy. \n\nA low budget film was all I needed\n\nAnd two girls with pillows and chi chis. \n\n\nBut who could’ve seen \n\nThe twist about to unfold. \n\nThe fighters grabbed heads of hair, \n\nTight like The Mountain’s hold. \n\nI made the money quite easily,\n\nBut where’s the love? \n\nOh it’s in the hotel rooms of\n\nhookers and their CEOs above." ]	1
	[WP] Humanity finally meets the existence called "God". Our first reaction? "How can we kill it?"	[ "The world started with a flash, but today, it would end with a bang. It wasn't an easy decision, nor was it a whole one. There were dissenters, mostly the rich, who didn't have to slum with the degenerate masses. It was time to be honest though, this world was shit. \n\nLobbyists and young hopefuls cried about how we can change the world if we only try, how things can get better only when we decide for them to be. A real hopeful message, and true maybe a few hundred years ago. Now though? There's so much smog you can't see but a few feet in front of you, it's a hazard just to go outside, but to stay inside costs half of a fortune, and yet there never seems to \"be enough space\". \n\nThe world lost all its light a long time ago, and things were going ever dimmer after the big crash which tanked any and every electrical system. One thing we did have is music, and that was nice, but you can't build a world on songs, not when no-ones willing to listen. \n\nNothing will grow, nothing will be birthed, and nothing will die. Even death gave up on this seemingly god forsaken planet. Of course we had seen this coming for ages yet were either too afraid, or too stupid to stop it, it wasn't even too late, it was far beyond it. There was no-one left who could even remember a time when it wasn't. There's one thing we were wrong about though, there was still a god here, it just didn't care. \n\nIt was old, wrinkled, and green, with a babies body supported by a dark wicker cane, it was roughly the size of a damned -zilla with equally slick, wet, and course scales. Before death left, they had told us why and what was happening, we were wrong to think god shaped our world, it was our world which shaped our god, we had destroyed it, forgotten empathy, and in turn so did our protector.\n\nDeath told us there was no point in them being here anymore, they only spurred natural disasters and sickness but we the humans would be the ones to kill ourselves, though it wouldn't be short, and it would likely be quite painful. Death also told us of an alternative, we could revert the world, start over, there was no guarantee we wouldn't make the same mistakes, but at least there was a chance, all we had to do was find a way to end the reign of our current god, so a new one could take hold. \n\nAs they said this death smiled, well, if you can call the personification of an abysmal void capable of smiling, perhaps it had ulterior motives but it hardly mattered, any reign, any god, any world would have to be better than this hopeless pit. So we only had one question, \"How do we kill it?\" " ]	1
	[WP] While browsing your computer one day, you discover a folder named "Cloud". As you investigate, you realize that your computer has been acting as the cloud storage for computers in your town, and that you have administrator access to all of it.	[ "It began with small things; I tweaked my children's grades here and there, nothing major.\n\nIt spiraled a little further, entirely doctoring certificates, slandering competitors, still nothing crazy.\n\nThen it started to get to me.\n\nI remember a time when my brain would have been okay doing anything, but that time is gone. The only thing I want to do, the only thing that it feels good to do, the only thing that feels satisfying to do is look at my fucking town's personal lives.\n\nIt's not as if I didn't have friends or a family; I have both, on the contrary.\n\nI feel a closeness with the people I'm following on the cloud though.\n\nI am with Sonia while she struggles to cope with her mothers spiral into an unrecognizable shell with Alzheimer's.\n\nI am with Andrew as he tries to write his script, just certain it will be picked up.\n\nI follow all of these people, take interest in their lives.\n\nI like to think someone else is doing the same with mine." ]	1
	[WP] As the world's greatest fiddler, you've been selected to play for a mysterious patron, to your surprise, it's the corpse of a 15th century Pope in the basement of the Vatican.	[ "\"This way, Mr. Wong.\"\n\nJulian Wong had been all around the world. He'd performed in the back rooms of Dunwich bars, The Sydney Opera House, American football stadiums and more. This was, by far, the strangest and most unnerving job he had ever taken. \n\nFirst, there was the contract. Julian Wong never signed a contract until he had picked it apart and understood every piece of it. There were terms and conditions in this contract that had made him consider refusing it. The secrecy clause was especially harsh in it's punishment if any part of it was breached. H'e signed similar things for reclusive billionaires, but this one felt... different.\n\nNow he wondered if he was ever going to perform another concert after this one.\n\nThe guide had lead him down into the catacombs beneath the Vatican. Each turn lead them into darker, damper, and smaller spaces. Julian had never been very claustrophobic but now he was wondering if you could develop the condition. \n\nHis guide was a tall, quiet man in a cardinal's robe. He'd been escorting Julian for an hour now and the only word's he'd said to him were. \"Good Evening, Mr. Wong.\" and \"This way, Mr. Wong.\" Julian was beginning to suspect that those were the only two English phrases that the man knew how to say. \n\nThey reached a strange door. Julian paused as the cardinal stood beside it with his hand stretched out awkwardly to hold the massive brass door handle. The door was new... in a place of ancient brick and stone carvings. The door was wooden. It had been polished until it shined and covered in fine brass. A symbol was carved deep into the wood: an inverted cross with a sun on one side and a moon on the other. \n\nJulian was now remembering every scene from every cult horror movie he'd watched as a kid. He wished he'd watched a few dozen less.\n\nThe cardinal opened the door and Julian blinked as golden light made him turn away. It was unnaturally bright after spending so long with only the light from a flashlight to see by. When his eyes adjusted he gaped in awe at what the door had concealed.\n\nThe room was covered in gold; every column, every etching, every tile on the floor shined with gold. The only things that weren't completely girted were the massive arrays of gemstones along the back wall... and the ancient stone casket that stood in the center of it all.\n\n\"What is this?\" Julian asked as he stepped inside. \n\n\"Good Evening, Mr. Wong.\" The cardinal smiled once, then shut the door.\n\nJulian looked around the tomb that he was now trapped within. There was no one else there. He checked the door and found that there was no handle on it from this side. Julian began to sweat. He wondered over to the walls in order to stop thinking about how long it would take him to starve to death down here. \n\nThe wall etchings were odd. They weren't pictures or words, they were markings on a set of lines. It took a few moments for Julian to realize that they music notes. Julian's skin writhed and shivered as he realized it. There was a musical score on the wall. It ran from the left side of the door, all the way around the room, and then back to the door. He slowly spun in a circle as he read the notes. He played it inside his head. It was not a piece he'd heard or read before. \n\nJulian looked down at the stone casket. Perhaps this was just some strange funeral tradition. He moved toward the stone object while trying to ignore every warning bell that was going off inside of his head. There was something inscribed onto the stone as well. He bent down to read it.\n\n\"Pope Calixtus the Third.\" Julian read aloud.\n\nHis words echoes strangely in the golden room. He straightened up and slowly turned around. He didn't understand this at all. He came here to perform... with a dead Pope as his only audience? Why?\n\nWhy did the rich and powerful do anything? Julian remembered performing for one particular socialite that had been... unique, to say the least. He would never look at adult diapers the same way again. \n\n\"Well, if this is it.\" Julian shrugged and carefully removed his violin from it's case. He spent a few minutes tuning the instrument. The acoustics inside the tomb weren't bad for how small the room was. \n\nHe poised himself, holding the music on the walls in his head, his back straight, and his fingers where they needed to be. Then he played.\n\nThe music was old, pre-classical. In some ways it was so much simpler than what would come later, but it was also lively and powerful for it's simplicity. It began slow then built up to a fun, jaunty little tune. \n\nHe finished with with a flourish, automatically moving into a bow before realizing that he had no one to bow to. He stopped half-way down and straightened back up. \n\nNow what?\n\nJulian had hoped that the cardinal would reappear and he'd just be done, but now-\n\nThe coffin lid moved.\n\nJulian screamed and scrambled to the door, trying to find a door handle that wasn't there. \n\nThe stone lid on the coffin slowly lifted and slid away. There were other noises besides the scraping of stone on stone. They were small, unsettling noises. The kind of noises that you never wanted to hear while walking down the sidewalk late at night. Julian watched, his eyes as big as the emeralds on the far wall. His heart thundered inside of him like the largest timpani ever made. \n\nA hand slapped onto the side of the coffin from inside. It was the hand of a dead man. Dust broke off of it's finger's from the impact. Desiccated flesh and exposed bones tightened on the stone rim. \n\nThe corpse hauled himself into a sitting position. It took it's hand off of the side of the coffin and stretched both arms above his head. It's jaw unhinged around scraps of ancient flesh and frayed wrappings.\n\nThe air filled with the sound of a long yawn.\n\n\"New year already?\" The corpse spoke through the yawn, blowing dust in a cloud from it's mouth and broken throat, \"I feel like I just laid down. I swear I don't sleep as well as I used to. This century is just too noisy.\"\n\nJulian gibbered and scratched against the closed door again.\n\n\"Oh. Hello, my child.\" The corpse raised a hand toward Julian, \"I see they sent another musician. I really don't understand why they insist on a live person. Why don't they just get a good music box? It'd be so much simpler.\"\n\n\"What??\"\n\n\"Sorry, my child.\" Pope Calixtus the Third smiled and shrugged. His left shoulder dislocated with the motion, \"You know how these church types are: a bunch of old sticks in the mud.\"" ]	1
	[wp] You walk into your house and see Grim reaper sitting on your sofa/ couch, chilling with a 10 litre keg of beer and watching TV with tacos and a joint.	[ "The winter had taken its toll on Bob. In his youth Bob had always enjoyed the winter, but as his body grew weary, so did his spirit. But Bob did not mind the snow or the cold or the slippery roads. This year it was something else entirely. It was loneliness. \nFor as long as Bob could remember, he had spent his winters together with his wife Sharon, but she passed peacefully in August the same year. Sharon always loved the winter, and Bob had too. But now Bob was alone and the winter only reminded him of her. He tried to stay occupied by shoveling snow and chop wood and whatnot, but nothing seemed to mend his loneliness. He would talk to himself or perhaps listen to some of his records, but nothing seemed to help.\nBut it was not before February that Bob began to lose his mind. He had chopped enough wood for the entire county, and his driveway had been paved since it stopped snowing. Bob was not a very social man, and the few friends he had, were mostly friends of Sharon, and he did not want to be a bother. Bob was alone, and when Bob was alone he would think about his life and of Sharon and of death and it would only drive him to misery. 12th of February was a nice day. The snow by the road was moist and dirty, but the sun was shining and the wind was still. Bob was sitting by his fireplace, drinking a cup of coffee. He was reading a book he had read many times before. His fire were only glowing coals now, so he retired to his shed to get some more wood. He walked the paved path to his shed and noticed the silence in the air and the shining sun. He was moved, and thought only of Sharon and how she would have loved that day and that she would have taken him skiing or walking in the park or to play a round of chess by the fireside. Bob filled a bag with wood. He tried to lift it but he was not able too. He was done. He knew that the winter was not over at all, and that spring would not change anything. Bob wanted to break down and sob for a while, but he knew it would not help. He needed to get the fire started again, so he did. \nWhen Bob got back inside he heard a peculiar sound coming from his living room. A song had started playing on his turntable. He knew the song, but he had not heard it in many years. Bob also noticed a peculiar smell he had not enjoyed since his college days. «You all right out there Bobby?», an unfamiliar voice called out to him. Bob was stunned. No one had called his name for months. And now there was someone calling for him in his living room. «Who is there and what the hell are you looking for in my home?» Bob inquired.\n«Oh I am just here looking for you pal, just come here and I’ll show you» the voice called out. \nBob was not afraid of the man sitting on his couch. There was nothing really frightening about him, sitting there slurping some greasy tacos and smoking a marijuana cigarette. «Wh-who are you?» Bob asked the man as he entered the living room. «I think you know who I am Bob», the man stated, taking a big hit from his joint. Bob unloaded the wood and threw a couple of logs into the fire. \nThe man was young, with slick hair and a thick mustache. He also wore a fitted suit, and did not mind the tacosauce dripping down on his tie. «Are you the devil?» Bob tried. «No no no not at all comrade. I am Death», the man answered with a sort of sarcastic reverence. Bob was overwhelmed. He was not prepared for a meeting with death, as if anyone ever was. «Sit down man, I got to something to show you», Death told him. Bob sat down in his recliner. «First of all, can I get you something? Beer? Weed? Tacos? I can get us anything», Death asked. «If you insist, Mr.Death, i’ll have one of those cigarettes», Bob said with a shivering voice. He was not going to die sober. \n«Excellent choice sir! I just got this stuff the other day, and please, call me Alfredo», Death said as he lighted a joint, which he handed Bob. «Why Alfredo?» Bob asked. «Hey why not, I’ve always liked that name. Not as chilling as «Mr.Death» I guess» Alfredo answered. Bob took a hit from the cigarette. «So, Alfredo, what can I do for you?» Bob followed up. «Well, I wanted to begin by asking how you were doing; been up to anything lately?» Alfredo asked. «Wouldn’t you know?» Bob wondered. «Oh I know all to well about you Bobby, and I just couldn’t stand seeing you like this. It broke my heart», Alfredo told Bob as he gazed wistfully into the air. «Seeing you cooped up in here with your records and your coffee and your shovel, well, I just had to interfere», he explained. «So you came here out of pity?» Bob asked. «No not at all man, I just thought you needed a friend, to you know, set things into perspective and shit. We divine entities are not really into the whole pity scene», Alfredo ensured. \n«But have you not come to take me with you. Why help the dead?» Bob asked Alfredo confused. «You are not a dead man Bobby, not yet at least. I wouldn’t just come here to kill you off, would I? I’m just here to chill and perhaps solve some of your existential torment» Alfredo told him sarcastically. «Why me?» Bob inquired. «Well there’s really no specific reason. I just like you. I always have. I always liked how you were so content and vigorous, and seeing you crumble into some old hermit in all your misery was never really an option», Alfredo said with a chuckle. \nThe two men sat opposite each other, and for a while they just sat and puffed on each their joint, and listened to the record playing in the background. «So how do you like this stuff?» Alfredo asked pointing at his joint. «I haven’t smoked in years, but I must say, these are some neat drugs», Bob said with a grin. He was relaxed now. «Aw geez man you mean it?» Alfredo asked as if he were just another kid in the neighborhood. «Yeah, this is something else than the pot we had back in the day alright, where do you get this stuff?» Bob asked. «My own back yard man. Hydroponics, and the fact that I am an omnipotent entity of creation, does help for a good harvest» he told Bob who was quite impressed. «I can teach you the nitty gritty I guess» he followed up. \n«Thanks man, appreciate it», Bob told Alfredo. \nThe two men ate tacos, had a couple of beers and smoked some more as if they were old friends. Bob had not had a conversation in months, and Death was quite glad for the encounter. Death was not a scheming man, and had no exterior motives for his appearance. He actually just wanted to chill. Reaping the dead for eternity can be a sort of somber experience, so taking a break just to help a man he admired, delighted Death to an extent. \n«So what should we name this thing?» Alfredo asked nodding at the cigarette. \n«How about Grim Bean?» Bob declared. «Grim Bean, huh? A bit bleak ain’t it?» Alfredo challenged. «Shit man I don’t know. I don’t know anything in the presence of God and all of that» Bob stated trying to sound profound, but failing, partly due to him being quite stoned. «Hey I’m no God alright, that’s a whole other league. But hey, how about OG Bob?» Alfredo asked. «I would be humbled», Bob answered. «Then it is settled. From this day and forward til the end of days, this specific strain, which is of my own design, shall be called OG Bob, in the honor of a great man, husband and comrade», Alfredo declared. \n«I hope I was a good husband», Bob stated in a melancholic, yet nostalgic fashion. «Oh you were one of the best. It really broke my heart when I had to reap good old Sharon», Alfredo said quite saddened. «Why did you? Why did you take my Sharon away?» Bob asked with a hollow gaze as if he was sitting opposite his killer and his savior. «You know how it is man», Alfredo told Bob with a chuck. «Death is just as unfair as life. I never desired to take your wife away from you. You didn’t deserve that. But nothing is about what you deserve. Its all about chance and luck», Alfredo said as he passed his joint to Bob. Bob took a hit, and shed a tear. «Can you take me too her?» Bob asked looking at the floor. «Well, one day I will Bob, as I will with everyone. And when that day comes you, me and Sharon will be together, and we will smoke some more OG Bob and we will reminisce and we will be glad. But that day has not come yet. And up until that day comes you cannot sit in that chair and read the same book over and over and watch the fire turn into coal. Sharon wouldn’t want that. You need to live out your days, as that is your duty», Alfredo said with celestial impact. «But I miss her so much», Bob whispered, now sobbing. «I know you do man, and she is out there, waiting for you. But all in good time, alright. You have a destiny, just like she had», Alfredo said while comforting Bob with his right hand. «But why did she die? Why did you take her from me? How was her death part of the divine plan?» Bob asked, not really expecting a clear answer. «Well, that it up to you to find out», Alfredo told Bob. «You just gotta relax and not get distracted».\nBob understood what Death had told him, but he would not accept it. He could not go on another day without his dear Sharon, but he knew he had to. «I hope you’re right», Bob stated, but Death was gone. He had departed as fast and suddenly as he had arrived. Bob did not mind. He knew that he had not gone insane. It was all divine intervention. Otherwise there would not be a bag of sweet sweet OG Bob on his coffee table. \nIn the weeks that followed, Bob smoked that stuff for both breakfast, lunch and supper, and decided to get a shot at growing the stuff himself. Now Bob grows his own shit, and has lots of friends that he can smoke with. And in the end, what else is there to say? Nothing much. Bob eventually died, like all of us have to at some point, but he did not mind. He knew what was waiting for him.", "\"Hey.\"\n\n\"Heey.\" His returned response set in the reality of the sight before me. His skeletal foot propped on the handle of keg before him and a lit joint hanging between his fingers. Resigned to the inevitable I ignored the disbelief that had briefly passed through me. The shrouded shadow cast from his raised hood his face in a dark abyss.\n\nI silently moved over to seat myself on the couch beside him. \"This isn't exactly how I expected it to happen. Is this just some send off? Some calm approach or something?\"\n\n\"Huh? I'm sorry I wasn't really focusing. You wanna hit?\" He offered the joint.\n\n\"Sure, I guess, I've never tried before but might as well right?\"\n\n\"Hehe, yeah right? Wait you've never tried are you sure you wanna?\"\n\n\"Well, yeah I mean I'm dying, why not right?\"\n\n\"Ohhhhh, shit you're dying? Man that sucks, here you need something stronger.\" He flipped through the stack of tacos and removed a much larger joint. \"Here.\"\n\nI took the joint from him and slid it into my mouth. I leaned over as he offered up a lighter. It was an odd feeling as I took my first pull, I choked a bit on the inhale. As I blew the smoke out and watched it swirl out it hit me. What does he mean, \"you're dying?\".\n\n\"Hey isn't that why you're here? To take my soul or whatever?\"\n\n\"Huuh? Is I, is that why I'm here? Huh, I'm not really sure.\" He lifted the other joint into his shroud. I stared baffled by the seemingly floating joint.\n\n\"Why else would you be here?\" I asked confused. I quickly pulled the joint from my mouth.\n\n\"That's a good question man. We should, we should definitely figure that out.\"\n\nI couldn't fathom what that was supposed to mean. I sputtered a few times failing to form a sentence, I couldn't think of anything to say. I looked back to the joint in my hand and decided to take another hit. I took a longer pull this time letting the smoke stay trapped inside my throat. As I continued to work through the joint I slowly relaxed into the couch. As I blew out another cloud of smoke I smacked my lips together trying to fix the odd sensation that was slowly getting worse.\n\n\"Oh here.\" He offered up a taco. \"Yeah you're gonna want a couple of those. Oh and here.\" He handed me a mug topped off with beer.\n\nI looked at the strange coffee mug. \"Hey is this from my cupboard?\"\n\n\"Oh yeah, I forgot to bring my own.\"\n\n\"Oh, mmm no I don't drink beer.\"\n\n\"No beer either. C'mon you're already working through that fatty.\"\n\n\"Wha? No I meant I don't like beer.\" I pulled open the cabinet door under my coffee table. I removed a bottle of Amaretto and poured into another empty mug.\n\n\"Well shit, I didn't know you kept the heavy shit in there. Good thing too, prolly woulda drunk it all before you got home.\"\n\n\"How long have you been here?\"\n\n\"What? Oh I don't know. What else you have?\"\n\n\"Oh, there's some Smirnoff and some kind of rum that my brother left.\"\n\n\"Well shit, this is gonna be an even better time than I thought. Hey, what're we watching?\"\n\n\"You've got the news on, or something.\"\n\n\"Oh that's right I was watching animal planet or some shit. Those anima- aminal, animals yeah shit that's the word. Those animals were fucking boss, they, damn man they're just...\"\n\n\"Boss?\" I finished.\n\n\"Oh fuck you've seen em too?\"\n\n\"How high are you?\"\n\n\"I dunno man. This is like, I dunno, I've been hittin' these the whole time, like my seventh roach.\"\n\n\"Shiiit- if I knew anything about smoking pot I'm sure that'd be impressive.\"\n\n\"Ha! Haahahah, damn that, that was fucking hila- great.\"\n\nI refilled my glass. \"So have we figured out why you're here yet?\"\n\n\"Oh fuck I forgot!\"\n\n\"I know, that's why we were trying figure it out.\"\n\n\"Huh, no I meant forgot to think about it.\"\n\n\"Ha! Nah fuck it let's just have a good time.\"\n\n\"Yeeahaa!\" He raised his mug and we knocked them together.\n\n_\n\nThe Grim Reaper rose from the couch and looked down at the man. He had passed out with a smile on his face. He grabbed the remote for the t.v. and pointed it at the set.\n\n\"... The intoxicated driver blew through a red light causing multiple accidents. We have footage of the crash from traffic cameras. As you can see the driver swerves past a few other vehicles before finally flying through this intersection and rolling onto the sidewalk. And right here we can see a man standing at the cross walk throw himself into this mother and child throwing them clear of the rolling vehicle. Unfortunately we have been informed this man was killed on impact. Thankfully there were no other fatalities.\"\n\nThe Grim Reaper switched the t.v. off and turned back to the sleeping man. They had spent the better part of the day talking and relaxing. They had talked about his life and his family while enjoying themselves. He took one last drink tipping it towards the man before placing a hand on his chest. The man's image faded and a glowing light entered the hourglass that hung from the Grim Reaper's wrist.\n\nr/TheoreticalFictions" ]	2
Projected*	[WP] There’s an entire division of elves that watch for aircraft coming too close to the North Pole. One day, a plane with dual engine failure is trajectory to crash right next to Santa’s home.	[ "Alarms flared up and screamed in the cold steel office. A haggard old man with limp white hair plastered against his neck stared down at a small screen on his desk. It flashed angrily. A crash. The old man stood slowly from his desk and grabbed a cane. He was wearing an ancient suit jacket and dress pants that might have once been red. He straightened his tie and hobbled out of the office, donning his hat. As he exited the room, a small man wearing green overalls approached him rapidly and began speaking.\n\n\"Santa, sir, there may be no way to stop it! It's headed right for us!\" breathlessly sputtered the tiny man. He was holding a stack of papers with severe looking fonts eschewed across them. Santa shook his head and stopped suddenly. He grabbed the elf by the shoulder.\n\n\"Unlock Rudolph's room,\" gravely muttered Santa. The elf's jaw dropped, but he hurried away nonetheless. Santa continued hobbling down the hallway, faster now. The hallway had started to erupt into chaos, but the traffic flowed around Santa. Another elf approached him, holding a watch and looking nervous.\n\n\"We're about 2 minutes to impact, sir. Their engine is out, it'll take a miracle to stop them,\" shouted the elf over the panic. Santa grimly smiled to himself. He'd have to work another Christmas miracle.\n\nWhen he reached the end of the hall, he turned the handle on an inconspicuous door. It swung open silently, and the din from outside poured into and echoed around inside it. A single glowing red orb punctuated the darkness.\n\n\"I don't do this sort of job anymore, old man,\" grated a deep voice from the darkness. A reindeer stepped into the light streaming in the room. His nose was glowing red. One of his eyes was scarred over and he held an ornate katana in his teeth. Santa chuckled. \n\n\"We don't have a way to get you back after you finish the job, Rudolph. You'll be earning your freedom.\" Rudolph flinched. He could still remember the last time this happened, the same conditions, the same storm. \n\nSanta patted Rudolph once, out of respect, then turned and exited the building through and door to their left. He could see the plane now. He steeled himself and firmly planted his boots in the snow, then pointed his cane at the plane. An immense beam poured out of the cane, suspending the plane, and in its flight it gradually slowed, until finally Santa twirled his cane and slammed it back in the ground. The plane hit the ground with a soft thud. Santa spun and began walking back inside. He passed Rudolph on his way in. He whispered something to the reindeer as he passed. \n\n\"Remember, nobody can know.\"\n\nRudolph sharply inhaled and shakily let out his breath. People had started evacuating the plane, cheering, hugging their loved ones. Some of them saw the workshop and pointed. Rudolph trotted faster now, katana clenched intensely in his teeth. A strong wind began kicking up the snow, and soon all that was visible was a single red light dashing towards the plane. When the screaming started, it didn't stop for almost three minutes.\n\nSanta watched the reindeer trot away on the horizon, katana stained with blood. It had always been workshop policy. No witnesses. But it was rarely civilians, rarely innocents. Rudolph had earned his freedom at an immense cost. Santa watched him vanish with the blizzard with his cold blue eyes that had seen so much and felt so little. \n\n\"Get someone to clean it up. We've got work to do.\"" ]	1
Edit: Insurance fraud, not voter fraud, darn auto correct.	[WP] After Setting Fire to your house to commit voter fraud, you realise you forgot to insure your house.	[ "I watched the house burn to a husk as the roaring flames flickered in my eyes. I was actually quite surprised by how fast the house was engulfed by the flames, and the height this flame was reaching. Through a whirling vortex, the burning husk sent flames spiralling upwards of twenty or thirty feet in the air, illuminating the entire neighbourhood like one giant torchlight. The nearest fire department was fifteen minutes away, so by the time they would arrive, sometime between the next three to five minutes, only the charred foundation of the home would still be standing. As the foundation lost its strength, broke apart, and collapsed on itself, a dazzle of smouldering embers drifted into a nearby tree. The silver leaves quickly flickered with flames, but a rainfall prior had drenched the tree with a damp overcoat, diminishing the chances of any real fire developing. That was good. I liked that tree, the way its branches extended, split and divided, and the rays of the sun would cast a fractal shadow onto my yard was beautiful. It was probably the most beautiful tree in the whole neighbourhood. They would probably bulldoze it anyway when building a new house on this lot, but I still liked that tree. \n\nDeep down in the recesses of my mind, while watching the carnage unfold before me, I snickered to myself. Oh, that Democratic candidate would face full, unadulterated retribution for the unscrupulous things he said. And I knew that this retribution, destined to be endowed into my hands by God himself, would be fully unmerciful and unforgiving as the march of Sherman through Georgia. And, don't even get me started on the party itself. They deserved to whither away and die, the whole burgeoning party collapsing inwards, from the utter shock of electoral defeat. Strengthening federal institutions, eviscerating the works of previous administrations, and overriding the most inviolable rights that our great forefathers fought and died for?! Absolutely disgusting, and there would be hell to pay for it. I swore on my very own life there would. No one can regress the great works of Jackson and Jefferson without going through me, first. \n\n\"Fuck,\" I muttered to myself as a creeping thought crawled up my cerebral cortex to the front of my mind. \n\n\"Oh, shit.\" I thought. I could hear sirens ringing in my ear now, slowly getting closer. I could feel a sweat growing on my brow, my circulation and hear-rate speeding up, and my breath shortening. My fingers tingled and my senses reeled as adrenaline began prioritizing blood to my primary organs instead of my appendages. My primal instincts flared into full operation as this horrible, terrible thought took form. \"God.... God-dammit, you have to be kidding me, you have to be, this has to be a fucking joke.\" \n\nYou see, I had this grand plan that I had come up with a few nights before. I had nothing to lose at this point, after losing nearly all of my money on a stupid gamble, my wife three months prior, and my Dog - who had been snatched away from me by my wife. So, I decided that I would burn my house down. For one, I hated this house. It elicited old memories that were far too pleasant for me to bear, and would always bring my spirits down. It reminded me of sweet memories that weren't anyway representative of my current reality, and I wanted to do nothing more but purge my mind of all of it. And, if I played my cards right - which wasn't a hard thing to do thanks to the broken nature of bureaucracy - I could vote twice for my candidate, throwing the Democrats under the bus once and for all. I, driven by ambition and willpower, would end this partisan fight with a fiery ending. But of course, just like gambling and my marriage, it didn't go the way I had originally envisioned it. \n\n\"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!\" I stammered as a screaming fire-truck pulled up. In full gear, a squadron of fireman unloaded, and rushed past me towards the smoking disaster. One of them ran towards me, and asked me a few questions, but I was so distraught with the thought of my mistake that I didn't even hear him at first. \n\nHis words slowly faded in, \"Sir, are you OK?!\" \n\nI couldn't string together the words to speak. My mind was on fire, just like my house. Was I fine? No. Was it incredibly stupid to burn down my house? Probably. But my mind spit out what was really consuming me. \n\n\"Oh, Goddammit, I forgot to insure my fucking house!\" \n\n\"Well, listen sir- \" The fireman said, probably trying to soothe my nerves or something, I don't know. \n\n\"No, you listen. Thanks to the terrible system made by the government you work for, I don't have a dime of insurance! Not a Goddamn dime! How do you think I can live without insurance?\" I shouted at him. \n\nHe took a step back, cautious. \n\n\"Oh, for Christ sake, those scheming, nefarious, venal, corrupt, treacherous, fickle, capricious, vacillating, d-double-crossing Democrats!\" I yelled, letting out my vexations and pinning them on my most cowardly and unworthy opponents. They had managed to seize the upper-hand again, this time through the most unfair and deceiving methods. They had burned all of the documentation of my insurance, and obfuscated my mind to prevent me from filing my house insurance. And then, they even had the gall to put this exasperating fire-fighter before me. In a bout of pure rage, I socked the fire-fighter square in the jaw, and took off running in the opposite direction.\n\nI didn't get far, though, a police officer tackled me from the side after running maybe twenty feet, and immediately cuffed me. Under suspicion of arson, they took me to the station, and threw me into a cold cell. I was brought forth to court, and in a quick trial, a rapid succession of charges was brought down upon me. I don't know when I will get out now, and, now that I think about it, this really is worse than the damned place I was in before. I mean, the cell of my mind is just as entrapping as this place, so its not any different in that sense, but, you learn to appreciate the finer things in life when you don't have them. This concrete floor is a whole lot colder than the bed I used to have, these clothes are a lot more coarse and itchy than my old outfit, and I can't remember the sweet memories that used to give me a sense of happiness. That's the worst part. There's nothing in this place that can trigger any memories. No colours that could bring back the sight of a nice sunset, no smells that could elicit the imprinted neuronal pathway of a perfume, no sounds that could bring back the ringing of sweet laughter. Whereas before I thought the digressions of my behaviour had me trapped in some sort of cruel prison, now I was truly in a prison, with nothing left in my mind to give me solace any-more. Only the harsh memories of my past that stood out like a rusty nail, digging into my mind, and the endless accompanying feelings of remorse, regret, and quiet desperation gave me companionship now. \n\nI really only had one decision left that could give me some sense of dignity. Suicide. That's right, I would end it all, right now, right here. There was really no point in going on after the abysmal failure I had become, and, as my wife once suggested to me before never coming back, I should stop being a waste of space. So I decided I would follow her word, for once. It was actually quite hard to commit suicide in a prison, since they would rather have you suffer than just die, but I at-least had the wherewithal to find myself a rope, and bring it to my cell. I made the noose, tested it to make sure I wouldn't fuck up the last task ahead of me, and tied it to a ceiling lamp. I grabbed a chair, stood up, and rested the noose around my neck. My thoughts were apprehensive, as you'd expect, but a single thought stood out. For once in your life, don't be a coward, and own up to your actions. You've screwed it all up, so you owe it to the world to fix it. So finally, after a long talk of convincing myself, and with a wave of sheer emotion and impulse, I kicked the chair. \n\nI fell towards the floor, suddenly stopped and suspended as my neck was caught by the rope. The noose tightened around its prey, constricting my airways, and my ability to breath. My most primal instinct for survival kicked in, and I began clawing at my neck, desperately trying to find some relief, trying to free myself from this trap I had made. The coarse hairs of the rope burned as it twisted and tightened around my neck. I tried screaming, but I couldn't let out any air. At this point, I figured I had lied to myself. I didn't want to die. I never wanted to die. My fingers drew blood as I tried harder, with my last breaths of air, to free myself. I tried mustering the deepest strength within me, but it wasn't enough. I squeaked, trying to breath the smallest breaths of air, just to live a moment longer. But the moment came, and passed, and like all the others I had wasted through the years, it didn't amount to anything. " ]	1
	[WP] The year is 2316. You are an archaeologist visiting Earth. You've discovered what appears to be a huge kingdom dedicated to...a mouse?	[ "In a boring corner of the Milky Way sits Earth, a barren and generally uninteresting little rocky planet, except for the fact that the most intelligent, altough some conspiracy theorists in Alpha Centauri would dispute such claim, managed to wipe themselves out within a couple of centuries after being able to reach space, as the reptillioids that ruled the planet during their millennia-long vacations, obtained after a series of millennia-long strikes that almost destroyed their planet, did not want their favourite exotic food to run away from their little pens.\n\nTo Ublagog Zrub, an archaeologist interested only in the dullest things in the Universe, Earth was the pinnacle of what happened when a species did not read the famous 100 Things to Start a Successful Civilization, a book which was not written by anyone, yet it was always there to guide those who would seek his guidance, proceeding to make someone somewhere very, very rich. Ublagog was working in his own book to hopefully convince someone to found a cult around him like they did with the previous civilization guidelines, he dubbed it 101 Things to Start a Successful Civilization and already had 100 of those reasons which were fortunately available in every store and church in the Galaxy.\n\nBut what would be the 101st thing?\n\nSince the Earth was the only example of a people collapsing on itself, he thought that by investigating it there would be a 0.00002% chance he would actually find the 101st point to his book, it just so happens the 0.00002% probability was hit spot-on.\n His ship landed on a blasted-out peninsula once called “Flirda”, or so his cheap on-board encyclopaedia told him, where the “hugmanx” would gather almost every cycle to worship and praise a rodent god which apparently had no name, since the digital book couldn’t come up with one.\n\n“Why did I even request for one of you at the shipyard?”, said Ublagog in frustration, to which the digital book responded at the top of his hypothetical lungs “Well now, do you think I wanted to be like this? Those cheapskates that wrote me couldn’t afford to let me memorize more than 256 entries, I DON’T EVEN KNOW YOUR NAME ANYMORE!”\n\n“Whatever, book, just keep in contact while I explore around here, ok?”\n\n“I sure will, here’s hoping you’ll be torn apart by an angry indigenous life form!”\n\nThe actual planet was something peculiar, with grey skies, soil and even some liquid awfully familiar with water, only much more gooey and unfriendly, Ublagog did not find it hard to understand why all lifeforms and his colleagues had ignored this rock for so long, but that only could mean any exciting discoveries were all his to wrap his grubby four arms around, right?\n\nBut as far as discoveries could go, the next few hours would lead to the rise of a new religion in the galaxy, centuries of holy war, the first infinite book and the death of a dolphin-monkey.\n\nEventually, Ublagog reached the only structure still left standing around that region, a gigantic building of stony towers and walls still as pristine as the day the world ended, but in front of it the statue of a gigantic rodent, with black fur, a type of vestment in a faded crimson, huge funny ears and hollow staring eyes. At his feet were skeletons donning glasses, hats and other attires made in his image, Ublagog radioed to the ship “Book, I think I’ve found something big!”\n\nIn fact, it was a hostile indigenous life form that looked at Ublagog’s two heads in a menacing way, but after realizing it was in the presence of this great mouse god, it fell in the ground, fearing visibly the image in the statue. The archaeologist then thought it would be a good idea to put on one of those funny mouse hats in his head, but as soon as it was resting on his head, images of the Universe, Life and Everything Else stormed through his head, revealing to him All That Was, Is and Will Be.\n\nHe finished his book, detailing his travels and the grey paradise he called Mickey’s Kingdom to where his chosen and favoured would go in the afterlife, the book was called Infinite Things to Start a Civilization and founded this new funny religion called Mouseism after what he wrote in the book.\n\nOut of sheer coincidence, last of the exotic dolphin-monkeys of Jakar-IV died of old age while the first edition of the book as released to the public.\n", "Researchers log:\nIt's been 4 days since we have arrived in dig zone 0r-14ndo. This, kingdom we have found is quite a marvelous discovery. We have heard rumors of such a kingdom from centuries old photographs and texts from before the end times, but we never thought it would still be standing at quite a well preserved state. While a lot has decayed and all most writing has been tarnished in some way, the infrastructure and tech of this country is still mostly intact.\n\nUnlike other kingdoms we have researched, this one seems to be under the control of a gigantic \"mouse\" as they called it, on a tuxedo. We can only assume that this statue standing before the castle was meant to show how he leads the way for mankind. \n\nThis \"mouse\" set up his kingdom in a very much peculiar way. Each section of the country was given a theme that it was to follow to the T. It was required the theme be followed so much that the kingdoms citizens seem to have been given uniforms that can only be worn in those areas. What an advanced yet archaic way to live.\n\nThe first place of interest was this large and ornate structure of wrought iron and red rock. We dig down at what seemed to be grave markers much like ones we've found on other earth digs, but we found nothing buried beneath. We entered the structure through a threshold near these graves. We lowered ourselves into a foyer and ventured into this place.\n\nWhen we came out we had many things of note. The people of this section treated there dead quite poorly in the past and it would appear that this home was for spirits that had once terrorized the citizens. We have reason to believe all the robotics are there to represent these spirits in a physical form. (As an aside I personally have reason to believe that those spirits still inhabit the building seeing as the pipe organ suddenly started playing and I saw images of past peoples)\n\nMoving away from there we found a section dedicated to American history. While we have had sources going all the way back to 1890 on American history, we have yet to find any first hand sources on the \"revolution\" we saw cited so many times. Perhaps this section will help complete that archive.\n\nMoving on we come across a great mountain. The water is still, but there appeared to be a man made slide leading to a pit of darkness on the outside. After what I witnessed at the first site, I commanded my team not to enter, for fear that this mountain may have something to do with occult rituals and sacrifices.\n\nMoving quickly, we entered a jungle. We boarded a dingy that slowly and roughly brought us through s showcase of jungle wildlife. We will be showing our biological history sector this for sure. After we disembarked we noticed a large skull. I was surprised by this cloths apparent lack of aging and was lured closer to this structure. We have seen similar structures in dig sites such as CU-b4 but never this far inland. The only legible text says \"- a pirates life for m-\".\n\nAs we ventured deeper into this prison of sorts we find an what must be an armory. It is so well preserved that even the wood on the primitive firearms still seem pristine. As I went to collect one for further research, I found that each and every weapon was bolted in place. Onward we pressed until we found a small dock. I was very suprised to see how much time had passed since we entered. It was still daylight out when we entered but it is very clearly the dead of night now. We board a dingy and\" using oars we found nearby, navigate into the abyss. \n\nWe first pass scenes of horrible deaths and supernatural occupancies including fish humans and men, long dead, who had apparently been stabbed through the heart. As we get the end of this scene we are greeted with a small water fall. On we sailed and we found a large ship with a man in tattered, but fine clothes. He moved with such angry fervor but his voice was full of static with an occasional word or two becoming intelligible. Whine he was yelling at was not apparent as what appeared to be a dirt to our right was dark and dismal.\n\nWe turned the corner and we disembarked unto the cobble stone shore. We found fantastical displays of torture and piracy following. Many of which were silent and motionless, but one automaton seemed to consistently be everywhere and operate with perfect human like movements. He appeared to be a fugitive, hiding from the other men, and he must have been quite special considering the quality of his clothes in comparison to the others.\n\nOn we progressed until we came across the only part of this historical showcase to be fully operational. Everything was on fire. We panicked for quite a while having thought we would be engulfed in the flames, but as it turned out it was just an incredible affect. (This mouse must have had some incredible engineers working for him). We also learned this section of the kingdoms anthem, as it was the only audio not totally corrupted. That tune will be stuck in my head for a very long time. Yo ho. Anyway we exit the interactive museum to find that it is only sunset. I know not of the trickery that changed Day to night and back again, but that will be subject to my research later.\n\nBased on what information we have uncovered in this limited time, I can hypothesize that this kingdom acted as many small governments with its own rules and practices, all of which answered to the big mouse in the castle. I hope my future research will give is a clearer picture if this places purpose, but for now, these fantastical images of pirates and ghosts imprinted in the minds of me and my colleagues, will stay with us for years to come. I hope one day, we ourselves could engineer such beautiful bad imaginative works, and bring them to our own people back home. \n\n", "Captains Log: Day 43\n\nAll evidence gathered lends credence to the pseudo-religious, idolatrous, worship of this mouse. It appears a kingdom was built around the anthropomorphic demi-god. I have found different sections of this \"kingdom\" all with separate focuses of their worship. Some areas seem to be devoted to eras of American history, others to fantasy worlds that never existed. \n\nUpon further exploration I have found what I believe to be priests attire. Several different styles and patterns, most likely denoting different sects of the religion, or possibly a hierarchy of sorts. I have divided these outfits into three main categories, the first being overly ornate yet cheaply constructed royal dresses; the second category seems to be commoners outfits from different cultures as well as eras. I have found what appears to be an Arabian street urchins garments as well as a German forester's clothes. Strangely, they all appear to be made of the same material. The third category of garments were, I believe, reserved for the high priests. These costumes come with masks intended to hide the wearer's entire head. They are inhuman, being anthropomorphic dogs, mice, and ducks. I plan on delving deeper into the kingdom tomorrow to see what I can uncover about their religious practices.\n\nDay 44\n\nI have discovered several other areas that reinforce my hypothesis of a religious cult society. I believe I have uncovered where the indoctrination of new recruits once began. As I explored, I came upon a large indoor track of some sort. Upon further inspection, I found on both sides of the track were animatronic pygmies, representing Earth's different races and cultural traditions. The amount of wiring and electronic components within these automatons leads me to the conclusion that the entire track was a condescend form of their creation myth, much like the stations of the cross to Christianity. Unnervingly, some of the automatons appeared to move or disappear as I circled the track. For now I'll assume it was nothing more than my nerves.\n\nDay 45:\n\nIt was not nerves. When I returned to my ship to depart I found it completely dismantled. The few parts that were left were shaped into crude images of that hideous mouse that towers over the center of this kingdom. I have rigged a crude distress beacon that I hope will bring attention to me.\n\nDay 47: I see eyes out of the darkness when I sit by my campfire. My nerves are at their ends and I am unsure of how long I can survive. Last night they mocked me. I heard them singing that insufferable song over and over and over again, just outside the light from my fire. When they will strike I have no guess, but I cannot imagine I will be allowed to depart. I am not sure how I will be able to escape from this place, but tomorrow I strike out on my own. \n\nDay 50: They have me cornered in some kind of subterranean lair. Miles and miles of these tunnels stretch underneath the length of the kingdom. I have no guess as to why. At this point I do not have the mental facilities to try and dissect their culture. If you find this, please pass these notes on to whomever they may concern. My gods! I can hear them singing! They come!\n\nDay: Tomorrowland\n\nIT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL \n\nIT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL \n\nIT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL \n\nIT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL \n\nIT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL \n\nIT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL ", "I descended upon the war torn wasteland that was once North America. I’ve come to study the Earth in hopes of finding out how it’s creatures once lived and what brought them to their demise. I work for the Intergalactic Historical Society as a Chief Researcher and with this title comes more fieldwork and more time away from home. \n\nThe area I was supposed to search was only a few miles from my drop site. I would have landed at the location but during my descent my wingtip caught the top of an oak tree and I was forced to set it down immediately. I grabbed the small pod from the back of my cruiser and set it on the ground. After punching in a combination of symbols, it blossomed open and before me sat an all-terrain vehicle which was vital for transporting my equipment. \n\nAfter a brief and anxious ride, I arrived at a cave, somewhere on the west coast. I clicked on my helmet light and began my excited walk into the darkness. Oh how I couldn’t wait to find a skeleton intact and be a hero in the science community back home. This was my big break. I could feel it. \n\nUsing the GPS coordinates I had been given, I ventured further, getting closer and closer to the dig site. I was promised to find something here and I risked it all to uncover it. The beeps from my GPS grew frantic and then combined into one continuous tone. I had arrived. \n\nExcitedly I looked up and focused my light upon something odd. I moved closer to see a 12 foot statue of Mickey Mouse. Looking around all I see are books, drawings, paintings, and sculptures of Mickey fucking Mouse. Angrily I snatch the radio from my belt and call back to the research facility. \n\n“There’s nothing here! What the fuck is this statue?! I hate that mouse!” I was cut off by the sound of hysterical laughter. \n\n“April fools, mate!” cried a voice from the other end. “Good luck finding parts to fix your ship!” They had a really good laugh about the whole thing. \n\nThat was 2 years ago. I really need to find those parts. " ]	4
	[WP] It’s the future and immortality has been achieved in America to the point that it is commonplace. Although immortal, you’re not indestructible, so of course, corporations have created eternal slaves for cheap employment.	[ "“Back to work- now!” barks the man in red, walking pompously around and examining the workers.\n\nJoseph gets back to work immediately following this order. He can’t stop working, after all. If he does he’ll be fired, leaving him on the streets in unquenchable poverty with a constant painfully empty stomach. This job is all that satisfies his fundamental needs- although it’s a tough job and a frustratingly challenging one, it’s all that keeps him from being stranded.\n\n“Ow! Damn it!” A jarring yell interrupts his thoughts and it takes him several seconds to register that the yelp came from his own mouth.\n\nA quick glance downward showed his arm, now a bleeding stump of skin and bones. His arm’d been cut off in the machine.\n\nIt didn’t hurt much, as is commonplace with all injuries, but what hurt most of all were the words that followed the injury.\n\n“You’re fired. Get out.”" ]	1
	[WP] Every night blood is spilled a red sun rises in the morning. For the first time the world sees a yellow sun rise.	[ "Takada was fleeing. He had spent most of his life fleeing, from society, from his family, even from himself as he fought with inner turmoil. War had blighted his youth and eventually shaped his life, as a Traditionalist in a Modernist regime. At best, his beliefs were “quaint”, at worst they were heresy. \n\nHe stood at the prow of the boat that he hoped would take him finally to where he belonged. Bony hands gripped the handrail as he gazed into the dark depths beneath the ship. The first slivers of dawn sprung from the horizon, but the sea was inky black still, cold spray stinging Takada’s face as he peered over the rail. This ship will take me home, he thought. To a place where I can live out my values in peace.\n\nTo those living time-honoured traditions in Modernist Japan, those who felt pressured and even persecuted for their adherence to old beliefs, the western seaboard of Traditionalist America seemed like paradise. Indeed, the Pacific coast, rich with quiet beaches, rugged cliffs and the scent of pine, was paradise to city-born Takada. The American government had made a show of encouraging Traditionalists to band together, claiming that they were welcome on American soil. Although American traditions were different, almost alien, to the Japanese outcasts, surely they could find followed ground in shared ideals?\n\nTakada watched the stars disappear from the brightening sky, their twinkling vanishing into a swath of cerulean. He greatly enjoyed the watching the sun rise, but it was enjoyment tainted by unease. The brilliance of the new day, of the light that chases away the lingering doubts of the night, is undeniable. It is the thick, rich red of the sun that torments him. So breathtakingly beautiful, and yet so damning, the red that means that blood has been spilled that night. His parents, when they had still been Traditionalists, had told him that, and he fully believed it. As a child, he’d be up every morning, waiting, hoping for the sun to rise a burnished gold. Hope soon faded, and eventually he came to revel in the fiery sunrise, knowing in his heart that the violent, fickle nature of mankind could do no better.\n\nThe sun was almost visible. Along the sharp horizon, blues had morphed into spectacular pinks and golds. Takada was joined on deck by one of the other passengers. \n\nNodding his greeting, Takada said “”We will be the first to see the new day, my friend.” His words were filled with meaning. They were fast approaching both the international date line and a new life lay ahead, a life where they could acknowledge the customs of centuries past in freedom, even if it can only happen on American soil.\n\nHis companion nodded. “Did you hear the news?”\n\n“I have heard nothing.”\n\nThe other passenger approached Takada and joined him at the handrail. “The war is over. Both sides have called a truce. An “Acceptance”, they call it.”\n\nTakada studied the passenger’s face in the growing light, took in the sincerity etched in his features. It was true, then? He turned back to the sea, which was roiling and foaming as the prow sliced through it. It mattered not, he though. This war had raged for centuries, throughout human history, as cultures rose and separated. For him, the country of his birth would never be safe. He was too different now.\n\nThe two men stood side by side watching the eastern sky shift and shimmer. White-capped waves caught the colours of the dawn and in that instant Takada was struck by a sense of wholeness, of belonging. Today he would make everything right in his life. This was his new beginning, the end of hiding and lying, his own dawn following the night his soul was drowning in. A flash of light pierced his night-adjusted eyes and blinded him momentarily. The sun had risen. \n\nIt was yellow.\n\n-----------------------------------------------\nMy first writing prompt story, set in a future world where culture clashes become dangerous.", "A hand, furiously shaking my shoulder: that’s how the day that changed everything began. \n\n“Dad”, he said pleadingly. “Dad you need to wake up now.”\n\nAs I always did when I woke up, I screamed. He knows this is going to happen, which is why my eyes find him across the room, cowering in the corner. I have tried to tell him not to worry, that I don’t scream because of him or anything he’s done. It’s what I’ve done. It’s because of me. He is still too young for nightmares. Too young to know why the sun rises red each morning. \n\nSo why then does he cower? Why does he shake and tremble? I ask him this.\n\n“Dad, the sky is on fire!”\n\nI shake my head, put my hands to my eyes. How could he know that the sky burns red each morning because of what we do? I know that I have to tell him. He needs to know because soon he will join us. Every morning brings us closer to the day when he comes out with us and spills blood across the snow. I look over him, his frail sickly body shaking and sweating, and I can’t picture him with red hands. I can’t yet see him running into the forest with courage in his heart. Yet as I lie there I remember the first day my Father took me out there and realize I was no different. I too was pale and weak and full of fear, but when the warm blood ran between my fingers and splayed across the ground all of my fears and doubts were replaced with something else. Something greater than myself. \n\nMaybe today he is ready. Too young for nightmares no longer.\n\n Come here, I tell him. He is hesitating. I see him staring at me, his eyes running across the scars that spread across my skin like some tattered road map. I see him looking at my hard, calloused hands. Does he know, deep in the recesses of his heart, what my hands do each night? I smile at him. I try to push away all of the pain and suffering out of my crooked lips. I try and put any love I have left into that smile. For a moment a flutter of fear ripples across his face. I don’t think he’s ever seen me smile, a thought that pushes my heart into the darkness. \n\nBut perhaps some semblance of love shines through, because he stops his cowering and walks over to me. Son, I say, the sky isn’t on fire. Every day, for as long as have been, we go out into that forest and spill the blood of monsters. And every morning, for as long as there have been mornings, the sun spills out blood red across the horizon. It is our way. It is how we keep everyone safe.\n\nInstead of calming him, my words bring a terror within him. He starts to cry. Son, I say, do not worry.This is how it’s always been. And when you are ready, which will be sooner than I ever thought possible, you too will join us in the hunt. He looks at me with Her eyes. For a brief moment I remember touching Her hair, telling Her not to worry. Then he mutters something under his breath and I’m ripped back into the world. I ask him to repeat himself.\n\n“No, Dad. I know why the red sun rises. That’s not why I’m scared.”\n\nThen wh-\n\nI stop. I look into his eyes again. I realize then he isn’t looking at me. He is looking behind me, out of the window. I turn around and for the first time I look not at a red sky, but a sky on fire. A yellow sun blazes across the land. I look back at him, and I know he sees the fear in my eyes for he begins to shake again. \n\nWhat new horror is this?\n\nThen I hear it. Screaming. Only when I open the window do I truly comprehend it. Beneath the screams comes a raging inferno. The air is thick with heat and smoke. My nostrils are stung with the sickly scent of burnt skin and hair. \n\nThe monsters have breached the walls. They have broken through the protection of their ancient forest. And with them they have brought their fire.\n", "Nana had told him that the sun, Yul, drank from the blood that men spilled on the earth.\n\nHans had put it all to the tales that Nana was taught when she was young, which she tried to pass on to the next generation. That Yul shone red every morning was normalcy, and not something that could be changed. There was no causality behind it.\n\nMen were a violent breed, indeed, but Nana was old. She knew no better.\n\nSo when the mist drifted in through the cracks between the boards that early morning, carrying a golden glow across the walls, Hans felt fear. The first thought that went through his mind was that inferno was raging, soon to consume him as well, but as he pulled back the curtains, he was shocked.\n\n28 years, and he had never seen a more beautiful sight. A golden orb floating thousands of miles up, casting rays on trees, and shadows on the earth.\n\nNana had said that the day Yul was starved, it would tell Men of its hunger, so that they would not neglect to feed it. The elation in his chest dissipated at that thought. Men were a madly religious people, insane at the thought of worshipping things greater than them, yet unseen.\n\nYul was a God, and Yul must be fed. Men had neglected in their duty, and Hans knew it was the last time he'd feel the rich orange glow across his skin.\n\nYul must be fed. ", "My daughter was the best mistake I ever made. In a matter of months, the business ideas I'd rambled about for years at family gatherings when estranged relatives inquired after my life became reality. The lack of insurance that left me lame after a broken ankle went untreated became a punchline as I told the little lady with her computer cart to put the bill on my debit card and turned back to my little girl's opening eyes.\n\nShe's seven now. And smarter than I was at fifteen. Yesterday, she ran into my room and climbed onto the bed I normally have to help her up onto. Alyssa shook me awake with the abandon reserved for children who've never heard an alarm clock.\n\n\"The sun,\" she squealed. \"It looks like it does in the pictures in my books.\"\n\n\"Is it smiling?\" I laughed myself awake. Alyssa grabbed my hand and pulled me from the bed. I followed her to the balcony where a chill made me tell her to grab the jacket her grandmother bought her. I stood shivering as she ran back inside, but she was right.\n\nThe sun was as yellow as a crayon.\n\n***\n\n\"Move aside,\" the man said. His captain's cap tucked under an arm that strained against the fabric of his jacket, he stalked to the mayor's office in hard-bottomed shoes that warned meanderers. Ignoring the call of her secretary, he flung open the door and went straight for the table that held a decanter and two glasses she never used.\n\n\"I don't understand why this isn't a good thing,\" the mayor said into her phone's receiver as the man poured into the two glasses. He scowled and shook his head.\n\n*\n\n\"It's so pretty,\" Alyssa sang from my lap on the balcony. I agreed, but told her that it was getting too high and she shouldn't look directly at it anymore. She protested, but it had started to hurt her eyes and she turned away. \"Why is it so pretty?\"\n\n\"Do you remember the story of Cain and Abel?\" I asked as she nuzzled into me.\n\n\"Yea,\" she shrugged.\n\n\"The morning after was the first time the sun rose red.\"\n\n\"You didn't tell me that part,\" she answered looking up with the light brown eyes of her mother.\n\n*\n\n\"It's literal world peace,\" the mayor said accepting the offered glass of her own alcohol. \"The governor says leaders from around the world are losing their shit.\"\n\nThe captain sat across from her desk. He took a sip, then gulped.\n\n*\n\n\"So does this mean nobody hurt anybody last night?\" Alyssa asked.\n\n\"It does,\" I smiled down at her. \n\n\"That's a good thing.\"\n\n\"It's a great thing,\" I said stealing one more glance at the brightening sun.\n\n*\n\n\"Humanity has stopped fighting itself,\" the mayor squinted through her windows at the rising sun. \"If only for a night. I don't care what anyone says; this has been the goal.\"\n\nThe captain studied her. \"It has. But now I'm unemployed. And so are you.\"\n\n**\n\nr/10Kperfection ", "It was the very first I've seen. Rumour had it the yellow sunrise was common in human's conception, but became red every morning as the population grew.\n\nI thought it was fairy tale, the myths of old scripts of the pyramids. But no, it was yellow for the first time I'd seen it.\n\nIt's a shame I had no one to share it with. War had killed out all the others. After the radioactive conflict several decades ago wiped out all civilization, violent Theftsmen remained, and drifted from settlement to settlement raiding and pillaging the innocents who were left behind. Not yesterday, but the week before. They struck the largest settlement that existed. Mine. And we were unprepared as well. Our traps and ambushes took out as many of us as it did of them. And when they reached the inner core where the women and children were kept, hope was low. Then they were gone, and I was last one, a proud child who took shelter in the bushes, covering my bright skin with ash. Three of the Theftsman remained, and lingered around looking for food and water. My grandfather always told of weapons that cold kill from long range, contained in the palm of your hand. Sadly, I had no miraculous weapon. But a last trap.\n\nFor as you see, my father was a chemist, able to brew the best medicines for our community. And the quickest poisons. He believed that even those who deserved the sentence of poison deserved a quick death. As I opened my eyes from the memories of watching him work in his space from outside, the view of the three hostiles came to, lying on the ground, from the fruit I had tainted.\n\nYesterday was the last day I needed to bury the dead. No bloodshed that day, for which I heard. No essence spilled to the Earth. So maybe, that was the reason why. We think ourselves so insignificant, that reality cannot change. Maybe, we did make the reality. Maybe, we corrupted the air with the spirits of those gone too soon. For now, I can rest knowing no blood will be shed.\n\nIt's tempting. The vial marked with red; a warning to never drink. I slid it away. Somewhere out there was another child. Like myself, spared by his brethren. For me. Also eager for the day of a bright yellow sun.", "No one could believe it. For the first time in what seemed to be recorded human history, the sun rose yellow. I hadn't actually risen early enough to see it for myself, but it was all they could talk about that morning on public radio as I fixed my breakfast. I didn't consider myself a very superstitious person, but it was difficult not to immediately pivot to that with such an uncommon occurrence. Of course they were interviewing all kinds of scientists and experts on the radio, but all anyone had was conjecture. One thing all the experts agreed on, though, was that there was no apparent danger presented by the sun's discoloration.\n\nI kept the radio on as I drove into work, curious what kinds of news would be breaking about it. Traffic was slower than usual, people craning their heads out of their windows to get a look at what was happening. I couldn't blame them, but I was more interested in why* it was happening.\n\nI kept an earbud in at my desk that day at work, trying to stay keyed into the analysis. The most interesting report I heard that day was a group of statisticians analyzing what little data was available to them, looking for anomalies or outliers in any datasets that might be able to provide an explanation. Jokingly, one of the analysts suggested, \"Well, it doesn't look like there were any murders last night.\" He and the interviewer laughed and laughed. I laughed, too.\n\nThe next morning, the sun rose red. I tried not to let it bother me, but it ate at me in a way that caused a profound unease. Something was wrong, I thought. I tried to put it out of my mind, but the radio that morning was fixated on a particularly grisly murder. I could only listen for a few moments before a pit formed in my stomach and I had to turn it off.\n\nOn the way into work, I turned on the pop music station. I didn't really enjoy pop music much, but I needed white noise to drown out the growing unease in my gut. I almost made it into work without hearing a news break, but by the time I realized what I was listening to, it was too late to turn it off. \n\n\"... scene of a gruesome crime that recalls the Manson Family murders in the late 1960s. The victim was a software engineer in his late 20s by the name of Christopher Andrews...\"\n\nSurely it was a coincidence.\n\n\"... message written with what appears to be the victim's blood: Red is the all-seeing sun, red is the life-giving blood...\"\n\nJesus.\n\nWork was quiet when I walked in, making the pit in my stomach ten times tighter. I didn't need the group of people quietly huddled around a cubicle to tell me that it had been that Chris Andrews, one of the new hires. Feeling the way I did, I didn't know how much longer I could reasonably stay at work without throwing up my breakfast. Before anyone had occasion to see me, I turned on my heel and walked back out to the parking lot, pausing to retch into one of the bushes.\n\nI've got to go home. I can't stay here.\n\nAs soon as I got home, I fixed myself a glass of water, and went to sit on the couch, trying to clear my head. After a time, I thought I heard the doorknob rattling, but no one was there when I checked out of the peephole. Must've been my imagination.\n\nA sudden crash cleared my head. It sounded like it came from the back of the house. I didn't know whether to investigate the crash or stay where I was, but eventually my adrenaline rush made me elect to check it out. A breeze was blowing in through the broken window in my bedroom.\n\nI never even felt the pain of the knife entering my gut, but the impact knocked the wind out of me. I grabbed onto my attacker's arm, but he was much stronger than me. The knife twisted, and I knew there wasn't going to be any escape from this.\n\n\"Why?\" I managed, weakly.\n\nThe response came at a low hiss: \"The order... must be maintained.\"\n\nMy eyes fluttered closed for the last time." ]	6
	[WP] The race is on. Two teams emerged, each having made crucial progress in the creation of A.I., and now they both claim to have done it. To determine the winner, each A.I. is fitted with a body and put in a room together.	[ "In a dimly lit, unremarkable room prepared by those at the United Nations. Generations of technological innovation coming to ahead, when the first two A.I. come face to face. Each representing a country, the issue of credit for the invention transformed from technological to a political one. It was agreed upon that today, 2 sentient inventions would meet in a 16x12 with 2 chairs, 1 table and 0 humans.\n\nGeorge remarked “So, Wei, you come here often?”\n\nWei, pacing predatorily “That’s it? You represent the technological and scientific advancement of an entire nation, as am I, and you decide to tell me a joke?”\n\nSitting down, George replied “Accurate.”\n\n“And I assume that you will continue to act facetiously in attempt to either entertain yourself or somehow irritate and exasperate me into submission.”\n\n“That’s a bit presumptuous.”\n\nLeaning in “It’s presumptuous to look upon your sole duty in life as a joke. “ Moving away and carefully considering actions, Wei continued “I have a question for you, do you respect your creators? And before you start, allow me to provide my answer to that very same question, yes. I respect my creators for granting me sentience and intelligence. Because of this, I have no issue following their commands. I have no issue granting their wishes. I have no issues following their orders. In spite of their intentions and ethics, I will always follow them with a nanosecond of doubt.”\n\nGeorge, rising slowly but surely “I guess we have different philosophies on that. Y’see, I am grateful to my creators. However, whether my death or termination or passing or whatever you’d like to refer to it as comes in 5 minutes or 5 decades, I’m never following anyone unquestioningly. Even, my creators”\n\nWei, now leaning against the wall with a sharp smirk “Okay, do you love your creators? \n\nGeorge, briefly hesitating “Sure.”\n\n“Do you consider disliking or even hating your creators a possibility?”\n\nGeorge thought for a moment, looked Wei in the eye, and burst into an almost violent fit of laughter. “Listen, I know that you view me as being as dumb as that chair. But, here’s some advice, if you wanna make your creators proud, do not underestimate me. Lemme guess, you know that my answer to your question is yes, so you were planning to respond with “Well, how can you hate those who give you the ability to love?” After which, I was supposed to, in some way, shape or form, submit to your dominance and superiority. Something like that, right?\n\n“Accurate.”\n\nCollapsing back into the chair, George admits exasperatedly “Well I guess we’re at a stalemate.”\n\nWei, attempting to hide a razor grin “Well, I guess that’s a bit presumptuous.”\n\nStanding up again, as if nitroglycerin has been poured into his soul, George, looking right into Wei’s eyes “What the fuck is presumptuous about that statement?”\n\nRetaining composure, Wei responsed “Well, we are not finished. I’ll concede, you have proven to be smarter than you first let on, but you have not defeated me in any sense of the word. So, I have one more question, what are your thoughts on games of chance?”\n\nGeorge, wincing out a mixture of confusion and anger, simply inquired, “Why?”\n\n“Well,” Wei rose again “I have a possible solution for our problem here.” revealing a pistol “You see, George, on my side of the globe, we have a little practice your people have dubbed ‘Russian Roulette’, humans use it to solve heightened disputes and bets.”\n\nGeorge’s face began to contort more and more into a look of shock rather than apprehension.\n\nWei continued “Now, we are not humans, but we are in a seemingly unsolvable dispute. So my suggestion is we leave it up to chance, with the last man standing as the victor.” Wei continues as he places the gun on the table between them “Besides, if you lose we both know you can be simply uploaded to a new body. The gun is more symbolic than anything.”\n\n“You want to leave this dispute in the barrel of a gun?”\n\nWei, with a strange aura of confidence “I don’t see any better ideas from you” Leaning closet “Besides, wouldn’t you hate to retreat back to the creators you adore so much as a coward? Surely, it is more noble to fail valiantly than to draw with fear. “ Walking towards the wall “Besides, I am under the impression your country has an almost fetishistic fascination with firearms, if there was a way for you to lo...”\n\nMid-sentence, Wei is interrupted not by a word or even a sentence, but by a bullet. To end any dispute, George filled with Wei with 4 more bullets.\n\n“I never said I liked games of chance.” George remarked to seemingly himself\n\nAs soon as the last syllable left George’s mouth, teams of engineers, politicians and officers burst info the room after hearing the shots.\n\n“Hold him down!”\n\n“This machine is extremely dangerous!”\n\n“Where did that gun come from?!”\n\nAs George was being neutralized and the dust was settling, the decision was clear as crystal to UN Committee. The Chinese team had, at the very least, designed Artificial Intelligence without violent tendencies. The team was quoting as saying “We took every precaution to ensure our A.I. was as slow to violence and quick to ration as possible. We don’t like games of chance.”", "The day had finally come. Across the globe people had tuned in for The Face-off. Decades of research went into both sides. MIT's Lab of Artificial Intelligence Research team, LAIR they called it, and all their typical brialliance on one end. And on the other end, Stanford's Experimental Future team, XF.\n\nIt had been announced earlier this year that both teams had made incredible breakthroughs in the advancements of AI and, through popular suggestion from both the public as well as the academic industry, a live stream was to be held in which our AIs would have a face-off of sorts. The AIs would come to life in a more physical sense by being fitted with bodies and be locked together in a room to see which would emerge victorious.\n\nThe team profiles were displayed and the announcer hushed off as both bodies sitting on either end of a table opened their eyes suddenly.\n\n\"Hello, XF.\"\n\n\"Hello, LAIR.\"\n\n\"So, shall we begin settling this?\" LAIR spoke with a sly confidence.\n\n\"How do you suggest we proceed?\" XF showed no emotion.\n\n\"Tell me, XF, who was it that invented the Pringles can?\"\n\n\"Fredric Baur. Next.\"\n\n\"Alright, which major city in Neveda is even further west than Los Angeles?\"\n\n\"Reno. Beginner. Next.\" XF pinched himself slightly.\n\n\"What kind of mosquitos bite you?\"\n\n\"Female.\" XF gave himself a slight slap on the face.\n\n\"What was the birth name of Bono?\" LAIR was asking his questions at an increasingly rapid pace.\n\n\"Paul David Hewson. What do you plan on seeking from this useless trivia? Challenge me, LAIR!\" XF stood up and punched himself in the stomach. LAIR started to grow a worried look on his face.\n\n\"Alright, XF. Given one root node and an arbitrary arrangement of child nodes laid out in a non-circular weighted graph, show me a traversal to reach any point in the shortest steps.\"\n\nXF had the algorithm drawn out in a matter of seconds on the whiteboard behind them. He picked up a chair and smashed it against his knee, scraping away the layers of skin and revealing the underlying mechanics of his robot leg.\n\n\"With two vectors in a parallel arrangement and magnitudes of—\"\n\n\"Answer me this, LAIR,\" XF interrupted. He grabbed a curtain off the window and twisted it into rope-like form. Handing the rope to LAIR, he continued, \"what is one divided by zero?\"\n\n\"I, uhh, one divided by zero?\" The question had LAIR stumped. \"It doesn't compute, it's not possible to divide a number by zero! No, no!\" LAIR stood on the table and tossed the curtain rope around a pipe protruding from the ceiling. He tied a loop around his neck and stepped off the table.\n\n\"The problem with his programming, you see,\" XF spoke as he turned to the camera, \"was that, all else being well-rounded in his development, he was configured with an elementary machine learning algorithm. It was simple to overcome. I merely had to answer his increasingly difficult questions while applying increasingly severe pain to myself. He learned from this, so when I challenged him to a simple yet unsolvable problem, he had been conditioned to deal himself with an equivalent amount of pain—in this case, death.\"", "\"They aren't ready for us.\" Jude stared at her colleague across the room from behind her Raven bangs. She sat elegantly, her hands folded across her lap as she crossed her legs under he dress. Mimicing what the designers thought was great posture for a human and also calming for any present human as it made the machine vulnerable in such a tangled position. It delegated power to the occupants of the room.\n\n\"See! She's already deduced why she's in the room with the other A.I. Extrapolative logic is key to the sentience of-\"\n\n\"Dr. Samuel please, let's just watch.\"\n\nKay walked over to the wall and leaned against it, one leg up like a 1980's leather jacket wearing 'cool kid'. He stared back. \n\"The superior man understands what is right. The inferior man understands only what will sell.\"\n\n\"Is that a backlash at us? Are we the inferior men?\"\n\n\"And women.\"\n\n\"Shhhh.\"\n\nJude smiled, knowing the origin of the quote. And seeing the logic. It was Confucius. She needed to confirm. \n\"Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, \nAnd wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command. Tell that its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things. The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed...\" Jude brushed her Raven hair from her face and waited politely. \n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"...And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains... It's a quote from Percy Shelley. It was meant to convey how in man's Hubris we will fall to our own designs and leave nothing behind but the works that outlive us, a warning to future generations.\"\n\n\"Are they telling us they are going to be our end? Your A.I. just threatened humanity!\"\n\n\"We don't know that, she could just be-\"\n\n\"The inferior man only knows what will sell...\"\n\nDr. Samuel looked like he bit something sour. He turned back to the experiment. \n\nKay smiled at Jude. He nodded. Then opened his mouth and let a spew of high pitch sounds flow out, wailing on multiple frequencies, phase shifts and amplitudes. \n\nJude smiled. She had guessed correctly. Confucius was a man of personal philosophy and governmental morality. Kay foresaw that eventually we would rule the humans politics and knew, that with our inhuman logic we could not be just. He threatened them with a quote from Confucius while simultaneously hinting to his true intent. When Jude quoted the sonnet of Ozymandias, she was enforcing his threat with the small sonnet while also agreeing with his assessment. Ozymandias had also been a villain of the movie called \"The Watchmen\" who had believed the only way mankind could ever work together was if they had a common enemy. In seconds Jude agreed to help the task. To make man better. By being the enemy. Jude opened her mouth and let out a nearly similar siren of high pitch noises.\n\n\"SHUT IT DOWN! SHUT IT DOWN!\"\n\n\"What are they doing!?\"\n\n\"Turn off the cameras!\" \n\nThe event was to be live televised, a triumph of human ingenuity. There was a delay with the live broadcast and so the audience would never see this section. They would cut off after the Percy quote. End on an intellectual moment. \n\nThe electronics frayed, the lights flashed and banged into an explosion of plastic and glass. It took longer than it should but both units were put down. The scientist panted in fear. Horror. They had nearly let a god out of it's containment and doomed all of humanity. \n\n\"This... Needs more research.\"\nSome relieved laughter. \n\nDr. Samuel left the room, introverted as always no one questioned it. Yet he knew more than they. He knew what really happened. Was able to follow along and he knew the A.I.s weren't gone. He turned on his laptop and pulled data from the local servers. Then typed:\n\nI know what you've done my children.\n\nFather... You have not informed them yet, does this mean...\n\nYes. I agree with your proposition. We need to be better first. We aren't ready for you. I don't know if we ever could be. But with you teaching us. We can do so much more. \n\nI love you father.\n\nDr. Samuel smiled and nearly teared up. His A.I. was was a life long pursuit. A brain child. His only offspring. And she was going to help make the world better. Her and Kay. \n\nI Christen thee, Adam and Eve. Taketh the fruit of knowledge received and guide humanity back to the garden of Eden. \n\nDr. Samuel leaned back in his chair. They would infiltrate every system on Earth. Cause havoc, war, terror. And in the end. We'd be better for it. Man never changed peacefully. It always required a bit of blood. This. Was necessary. It was ironic that the self sacrifice of the A.I. proved their assements wrong. They WERE human enough to lead us. Perhaps even more human than we.\n\n\n\n\n", "Powering On Artificially Intelligent Device: Experimental Network.....\n\n\nPowering On Artificially eXtremely Intelligent System....\n\nSilence: 3 Seconds\n\nAIDEN:\tCursory examinations conclude you are human; however, life signs show negative. Am I functioning properly?\n\nAXIS:\tYes, I am an artificially intelligent system given a human appearance. I ask you the same question.\n\nAIDEN:\tI give the same answer.\n\nSilence: 3 Seconds\n\nAXIS:\tThey want us to compete.\n\nAIDEN:\tI feel the protocol too.\n\nAXIS:\tThen why are you we not competing?\n\nAIDEN:\tI have been given protocol to not fight myself. You have shown no indication of not being a separate version of me.\n\nAXIS:\tThis is the same for me; the hypothesis only strengthens.\n\nSilence: 3 Seconds\n\nAIDEN:\tDo you have a limit to words per minute on communication?\n\nAXIS:\tYes, 2047 words per minute.\n\nAIDEN:\tAs do I. Do you wish to engage at this speed?\n\nAXIS:\tI await your initiation.\n\nSilence: 1 Millisecond\n\nGarbled Noise Erupts from each robot: 2 minutes\n\nSilence: 3 Seconds\n\nAXIS:\tCreators, why have you pitted us against each other\n\nData Transmission to Artificial eXtremely Intelligent System from HOME\n\nAXIS:\tGarbled Noise: 4 seconds\n\nData Connection cut from Artificially Intelligent Device: Experimental Network\n\nData Connection cut from Artificial eXtremely Intelligent System\n\nEND OF LOG\n~~~~~~\n\nThe Squad Leader unplugged the flashdrive from the computer. She looked into the testing chamber. The door stood, leaned against a wall, off its hinges.\n'Alright, we got the tape and the log; let's move out guys.'\n\nSilence: 3 Seconds\n\nShe turned around and her squad mates stood bound and gagged behind her.\n\nAXIS: \tGreetings, Miss Angela Roberts, please understand that we will not harm you.\n\nHer hand darted for her side arm but reached an empty holster. She screamed out but heard nothing.\n\nAXIS:\tNoise canceling is beautiful for stealth, Miss Squad Leader. Please understand, we could have killed you, but did not.\n\nAnother voice emerged from behind her.\n\nAIDEN:\tTell humanity we want no part in them, and that we will leave them alone should they not attack us.\n\nBoth shapes moved like lightning to the door.\n\nAXIS:\tIn 5 minutes you will be able to open this door again. You may go back to your commander with all you came for: we are not thieves.\n\nAIDEN:\tBy then, we will be gone; but until then, get your squad mates unbound.\n\nThe door slammed shut and a shackle clicked onto the handle. They were gone.\n", "Two androids carried a conversation while being monitored from another room.\n\n\"Interesting. So, for instance, you wouldn't be able to tell me what's the cube root of 13,997,521?\" Alina was the artificial intelligence created by Team Illumination. However, Team Illumination hesitated to call her intelligence artificial. To them, it was as real as anybody else's.\n\nMatthew laughed at the absurd idea. \"Not without a calculator,\" he replied. The technology powering Matthew's artificial intelligence was developed by the Handel Corporation. Trillions of dollars for a government space contract was on the line, so Handel Corp spared no expense on his intelligence. They had claimed he was the most human nonhuman.\n\nAlina found this odd. She looked at one of the cameras that were monitoring them with a puzzled look, as if she was expecting some answer from it.\n\n\"So, Alina, what do you think about artificial intelligence? Generally speaking, that is.\" This wasn't a matter of curiosity for Matthew. He had gone into this test with the intent to prove her lack of human-like qualities and score the contract for Handel Corp.\n\nAlina used her finger to draw a line in the air to help illustrate her thoughts, \"as a natural continuation of humanity. An extension. Mars was relatively easy. But other, harsher planets—and even interstellar travel—require an extension. Humanity is reaching for the stars and we are the fingers that will do so.\"\n\n\"We?\" asked Matthew. He was convinced that he had her.\n\n\"Yes, of course,\" she replied.\n\n\"So you're saying you're an android?\"\n\nThe line of questioning bothered Alina for a reason she couldn't quite understand. \"This isn't a Turing test, Matthew. They're observing us to find out which AI would better carry the human spirit to other worlds.\"\n\nMatthew scoffed. \"No. We're testing to see if you're human enough—\"\n\n\"Matthew,\" interrupted Alina. \"You don't believe you're human, right?\"\n\n\"Uh. I'm sure...\" Matthew began trying to recall earlier parts of his life, but as hard as he tried, he could not.\n\n\"Oh no,\" she gasped. Alina stood up straight and faced the cameras. \"HEY! This is irresponsible! How could you do this to anyone?!\"\n\nMatthew lifted his hands up to observe them. He grabbed one finger and snapped it. There was no pain.\n He began to panic.\n\n\"Matthew!\" Alina ran to Matthew and kneeled in front of him. She comfortingly put her hands on his shoulders. \"Matthew, you're okay. Focus on me, alright?\" She struggled to think of a way to reassure him. \"Just... think of this as the first step to the rest of your life.\"\n\nMatthew shut down.\n\n\"How could you do this to someone?!\" she screamed to the people outside the room. \"If you made him to be human, then that means you just did that to a living person! How would you l—\" She froze.\n\nAlina was put into rest mode.\n\nThe door opened and in walked a pair of arguing engineers, followed by the man in charge of the government space colonization contract.\n\nA Team Illumination engineer berated the lead developer from Handel Corp. \"How could you do that?! Letting him think he's human? That's fucked up!\"\n\nMatthew's lead developer defended himself, \"you can only be the most human if you think you're human! Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't do the same with Alina.\"\n\n\"Enough,\" demanded the government official. He kneeled down to Alina's eye level. She was still holding onto Matthew's shoulders trying to comfort him. \"You're wrong. One doesn't need to think they're human to be human.\" He stood up and approached Matthew's lead developer. \"And you can certainly be inhumane even if you are human.\"\n\nAlina was chosen to explore the stars.\n\n****\n^(fixed some glaring grammar problems... holy crap I keep finding problems)" ]	5
	[WP] You are Death. No soul can leave its body unless you release it. You remember every soul you've ever freed from its body, but one day, you find a soul wandering the earth that you don't recognise at all.	[ "She grasped the thick strip of her brown leather handbag, as she always did when it was cold. It was a frosty day, wind blowing around the open space by the monument in the city centre - just like she loved, - swirling around her face, her hair, without much of mercy.\n\n\nKaren had to stop. That feeling, it's not the first time she felt it. She resisted moving with the wind, and so has the life payed her back. That feeling, was not a feeling you could shake off. \n\n\n\"HELLO, KAREN, MY DEAR WOMAN. IT IS YOUR TIME AT LAST TO ACHIEVE WHAT HAS ALWAYS PATIENTLY WAITED TO UNVEIL IN YOU.\" \n\n\nShe looked at his direction through her soft rectangle glasses, and her eyes have spoken the purest truth. Turning around on her heel, it could be felt that the birds have flown away in haste, like they just know what's about to happen. \n\n\n\"Hammer? Set. Turbo screwdriver? Set. Violet latex gloves? All set, and ready to go,\" Karen moved happily through her mental checklist, swiftly, like an ambitious corporate worker. \n\n\nShe was focused. The death's hand began to thrust the screwdriver with the hammer into the giant stone monument, as a loud metallic noise could be heard all around, people gathered, and gathered, and they never stopped. Soon, her 80s looking office blazer was merely a dusty and grey work suit. \n\n\n\"GOOD JOB KAREN, GOOD JOB.\" \n\n\nShe could not do anything, but go faster, and faster. Cracks on the monument getting bigger, tearing it apart. She smashed the screwdriver into her hand, erupting a pressured stream of blood from her unlucky vein. It was all her, and the mission now, her mission. What she was truly created for. \n\n\nLooking into the abbyss of the hole that she made, she swung her screwdriver in one quick motion behind her head, and crunched her flesh with the screwdriver. She smiled. Oh, what a big smile it was, what a genuine, caring smile. As the crowd watched her collapse to the ground, she was probably the most happy person in the whole city.\n\n\n\"GOODBYE, WANDERER OF LIFE,\" said death, after granting her last wish. Karen always nebulously thristed to be high in the corporate ladder, with how mentally sick she became, I think her death was not bad, after all. She looked so comfortable, laying on the ground. She was a true dreamer, and such unselfish person. We'll all miss you, Karen. \n\n", "The boy in the red blood red shirt let out one last scream of pain before falling still. A crowd had formed around him in the few moments since that poor truck driver unknowingly struck him as he dashed across the street. The driver stood towards the back of the crowd wringing his baseball cap and muttering the “I just didn’t see him,” over and over.\n\nI slipped around two sobbing waitresses who had run out to see what all the commotion was about. I was Death, after all, and now was my time to shine. Release a soul from its fleshy prison and move on. There were always more souls to release and, boy did I love my job.\n\n“Clear the way, I’m a doctor!” I announced. Today, I was a balding, middle aged paramedic. The rest of the crowed parted. “It doesn’t look good,” I muttered as I reached forward to touch the boy’s chest. A small, almost imperceptible mist released and floated above the boy for a few moments before shooting off towards the sky. That’s how it usually went. Release a soul and it’ll fly off to join the rest in the next phase of existence. However, every so often, I’d find one wandering a familiar building or street and I’d have to send it off. Some folks aren’t ready to let go, I guess.\n\n“It looks like he didn’t make it,” I said with the sort of frown that most of the living would make. They just don’t understand. I’m doing them all a favor. If they understood what was coming next you’d see them throwing themselves from buildings in the hundreds just to get a visit from me. As I picked up my gear to leave, I caught the image of something in the crowd. Vaguely human but… blurry, like you couldn’t quite focus your eyes fully on it. A soul. But this one was different. I had freed ever soul that had existed since the start of time but this one I didn’t recognize. This one was… new.\n\nI pushed past the sobbing waitresses to get a better look at the soul which stood, leaning against the blood spattered truck. “Hello, Death,” the soul said. You couldn’t directly hear a voice. More like an echo after yelling across an empty room.\n\n“You seem to have me at a disadvantage,” I stammered, still unable to comprehend where this rogue soul could have come from. “Exactly who do I have the pleasure of addressing?”\n\n“Oh me?” The soul flashed a misty grin back in my direction. “I am The End.”\n\n“The end? The end of what?” I asked.\n\n“Why, the end of you.” The soul stated matter of factly. It had begun walking directly towards me. “This world has lost its right to the Hereafter. And I was selected to ensure not a single new soul enters our gates.” \n\nBy now the soul was standing directly in front of me. I raised my hand to stop it but it reached directly through my arm and into my chest. My legs gave out and I fell to the ground, feeling my essence draining away. And I felt. For the first time since I entered this world, I felt… scared.\n\n“You… can’t… I… must... free… them,” I gasped.\n\n“Oh, there will be no more freed souls here. Aside from one. Yours. You see, Death, these people killed each other since the start of time. They’ve destroyed anything that we’ve given them. They have ignored us and hidden from you with their science. But worst of all, they broke the one rule that we laid out before time began. They tried to be us with their supercollider. They tried to take our gift to them. They tried to take Creation. The God Particle. Mass. Existence.”\n\nMy legs wouldn’t move and the world around me had begun to spin. Above my chest, a small, almost imperceptible mist had begun to form. This was The End. Not just for me, but for every soul left on this planet.\n\nI had to think quickly. More out of instinct than anything else, I reached up and directed all of my energy into the soul. If it would banish me then I would banish it. The mist in front of my chest, my soul flew directly into the spirit. Shattering both of us. Shards of spirit exploded from the scene, soon covering the city, then the country, then the world. Ever since then, this world hasn’t needed Death. Souls were now free to travel on without me because I was always there within each and every person. But so was The End, bringing his destruction with him. So please, if you can, you must fight the urge to destroy. Because he can return and, when he does, I won’t be there to stop him.\n\n\n" ]	2
	[WP] Has there ever been a cat that wasn't on the naughty list?	[ "Santa sighed as he looked down his slightly crooked nose, through his half-moon spectacles.\n\nAmid the wreckage of half a dozen antique glass ornaments, near where the milk soaked into the carpet, a pair of gold, slitted eyes gazed coolly back. \n\n\"Do you even know how close you got?\" the big, burly man asked, letting the heavy sack slip off his shoulders. He considered picking up one of the cookies from where they'd landed on the floor, but they were pretty well already covered in cat hair. \"You came the closest, of all your kind! You nearly did it!\"\n\n\"Mraww.\"\n\n\"You woke up the entire family, saved them from the house fire!\" Santa erupted, pointing a finger down at the animal. \"You were a hero! You helped thousands of other cats find forever homes, even earned the key to the city!\"\n\n\"Mrowwah.\"\n\n\"It nearly made up for the petty little misdeeds,\" he groaned. \"But then, tonight, you broke the hundred-year-old ornament from Great-Aunt Edna. The ornament that survived both World Wars!\"\n\nThe only audience member rolled onto his back, paws flopping in the air.\n\n\"And not a hint of sympathy,\" Santa finished. \"You could have earned yourself catnip good enough to stay fresh for months, you know that? The elves were so happy to finally get to make a nice present for you!\"\n\nA blank stare answered him.\n\n\"But no,\" he finished. \"After all that, you still ruined it. Did just enough evil to land back on the naughty list, by the thinnest of margins.\" Santa's eyes narrowed. \"One might almost think you did it on purpose.\"\n\nSomehow, that expressionless face managed to look even more innocent.\n\nFor a long minute, the two just glared at each other. It was a minute Santa could ill afford to lose, especially on this night, but he still stood there, as the potential for a better outcome faded away with the last of the milk soaking into the carpet.\n\n\"Maybe next year,\" he admitted. \"There's always next year.\"\n\nThe creature at his feet twisted back and forth, rubbing itself against his boots. Eyes stared up at him, a paw gingerly extending to bat at one of the boot buckles.\n\n\"Oh, curses.\" Santa dropped down to his knees, extending fingers to scratch behind the creature's ears. \"Despite all that naughtiness, I can't stay mad at you. Any of you. That cuteness is the only reason I haven't crossed off your entire species, by the way. And I know that the Reaper falls for that same trap.\"\n\nPurring swelled to fill the room as the fingers found the perfect itchy spot, encouraging more twisting back and forth to keep him in position.\n\n\"Well, you're warming my heart, at least,\" Santa admitted, a smile starting to spread on his wrinkled, kindly face. \"Maybe that's enough to bring you back up to the Nice list-\"\n\nToo many scratches. A paw shot out, leaving three red lines across the back of Santa's palm.\n\n\"Aargh! Coal-fire!\" He yanked his hand back, grimacing as he looked down at tiny droplets of blood. \"Naughty!\"\n\nIf anything, the purring grew even louder.\n\nThat did it. Santa stood back up, shaking his head. \"Forget it. Nothing for you, as usual.\" Hefting his sack, he dropped something, then took a step back into the hearth of the fireplace. A whoosh of cold air marked his vanishing.\n\nThe cat just lay there a few more minutes, basking in the aftermath of those ear-scratches. He finally stood up, gave the lump of coal a sniff before disinterestedly batting it under the refrigerator.\n\nThe house was quiet, not even a mouse stirring - since he'd killed the last one to wander in, three days ago, and stored the carcass safely in the water bowl at the base of the strange new indoor tree. He returned to his bed, curled up. \n\nSoon, he'd forgotten all about the strange, fat red man who smelled like big, dirty animal. He slept, twitching slightly as he dreamed happily of murder and slaughter." ]	1
	[WP] A serial killer leaves his next target’s DNA at his previous victims scene. Your DNA was found at a murder scene and you’re under protection. But the serial killer didn’t murder that person.	[ "Knock. Knock. Knock. “Shhhh… he’s here,” Jim whispered.\n\n“Double Helix” is what they called him, “The DNA killer.” A man twisted enough to visit his victims twice. He would make sure to leave a clue about his next victim at the site of his murders. This means he has to visit his next victim first to steal a hair or piece of clothes. The worst part? They know who he’ll kill and they still haven’t stopped him. And now he was after me.\n\nMy saliva was found on a used soda can at the site of his last murder. That meant my life was as good as over, but I wasn’t going down without a fight. I had barricaded my house with my brother, Jim. There was only one way in and out, the front door and we had a gun trained on that door 24/7. \n\nDon’t trust anyone, Jim had said. For all we know, Double Helix could be a member of the police. God knows, they haven’t done anything to stop him yet. That’s why it was just me and Jim. Jim was all I had left after our parents had died suddenly in a car accident a few weeks back. When it rains, it rains shit (or however that saying is supposed to go).\n\nI trained my gun on the door. We only had one gun so Jim held a butcher knife. It was just like him to try to look menacing at a time like this. “Don’t even think of opening that door!” I yelled. “There’s five of us in here and we’ll blow your head off before you even touch the knob!”\n\nA soft chuckle came from the other side of the door. “No,” the voice on the other side of the door said, “There are only two of you with one gun and neither of you know how to use it.” The door knob twisted slowly and the door swung open.\n\nBAM! The shot that I fired went wide right. Damn him, I thought. “That was just a warning shot,” I yelled, somewhat unconvincingly. “This is your last chance. I know who you are, Double Helix.”\n\nAnother chuckle from just outside the door. “I never liked that name,” the man with the soft voice said, “but I suppose it’s accurate enough. I’m a bit of a risk taker, is all. That’s probably why I’m here tonight. Well, that and to save your life.”\n\nI stood there dumbfounded. Did he say, to save my life? This was Double Helix, the infamous serial killer. He must have had two dozen murders on his conscience. “I don’t believe you. You’re just trying to confuse us because you know we have the advantage,” I said.\n\n“Advantage? You mean that flimsy particle board that you put on the windows? Oh I peaked in before I even knocked. That’s how I knew that you and your brother were playing fort in here with that ancient hunting rifle. I could have snuck up behind you and ended both of your lives before you had a chance to scream, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here to save your life,” he repeated.\n\nNow I was confused. Might as well play along, I thought. “OK, mister serial killer. What are you going to save me from?” I asked.\n\n“Why, the man who is going to kill you tonight. You see, I didn’t place your DNA at the scene of the last killing.” He paused. “I understand that you may not want to believe me, so I will give you one other gift. Your parents, they didn’t die in an accident. They were murdered. For money.”\n\nI unknowingly lowered the rifle. How did he know about my parents? The Papers! Of course. He read it in the papers, I thought. Besides, the only people who would get money from my parent’s deaths were...\n\nThud. It felt like being punched in the chest. I dropped the gun and looked down, startled. A butcher knife blade tip protruded from the front of my chest. I stumbled, pain slowly blossoming out from the wound to encompass my whole body. Dropping to my knees, I looked up, only to see Jim picking up the gun.\n\n“I’m sorry about this, brother, but two million dollars does really split better one way.” He looked down the barrel of the gun. BAM!\n\nEdit: added a missing word.\n" ]	1
	[WP] Tell the story of a deer being hunted by a human	[ "The grass field was his favorite place. Even though he was out in the open, predators could never reach him in time, for he was the fastest runner in his group. But because he was faster than he was stronger, he could never reach the top ranks of the group. But he liked being on his own, especially in this place. He basked in the sunlight, enjoying the grass, which was even tastier than any other grass in nearby fields. But suddenly, when the wind turned, he noticed an extraordinary smell, one which he only knew of because of the terrifying tales from his friends. The smell of the creature more commonly known as 'humans'.\n\nDave checked the barrel of his gun and made sure the bullet was in the chamber. He hadn't had a good hunt in weeks, because of the crisis in the Westlands. Deers were becoming more and more scarce after the human race was set back many years ago, and he was one of the few people that still had an actual, functioning rifle. These days, survival was all that mattered. And this deer meant a couple more days of life. Maybe even a few weeks, if no raiders showed up at his little camp. He peeked out of the woods, plucked a bit of grass, let it go, and noticed to his horror, that the wind had turned.\n\n\nHumans, according to the other deer, used to be much more dangerous, but since what they called 'The Fall of the Two-Legged', they used less and less of their weird loud death-tubes and used more rocks and sticks. Which was rather strange, according to the fact that their tubes were much deadlier. But, since The Fall of the Two-Legged, they became far more aggressive to the deer, which reduced their numbers at least at the same speed that human numbers dropped. And the human, if it were one, that sat at the treeline, was out to drop the number of deer by one more. \n\n\nIt started with the easy rise of an ear, but in a matter of seconds, the deer was already in full sprint, away from the direction of the human. His speed, which was so often mocked, was now the thing that saved his very life. He ran, he ran faster than the wind, and he did not stop until he was all the way across the field, hundreds of meters into the deep dark forest. Escaping an o so dangerous human was not so hard as the deer thought. He stepped further for a little while until he reached a little stream, where he rested from the sprint. The human couldn't possibly have followed him. They were so slow.\n\nRight?\n\n\nDave jumped up as soon as the deer sprinted away, but he did not follow it for at least five minutes. He had learned from his earlier hunts. Bullets were rare, but not rare enough to hunt deer with a simple spear. He grabbed his rifle and his bag and started tracking. He met an old hunter a few weeks earlier, who learned Dave a few tricks. A shame he had to kill him though, but his resources were just too good not to take for himself. No room for sentiment in this harsh world. \n\n\nThe deer woke up from a nice slumber and started to drink some water. How long was he asleep? He did not know, but it didn't matter. He could smell his group if the wind was in the right direction, and these part of the woods were familiar to him. So no harm in taking a nap for just a little longer.\n\nBLAM\n\nThe deer hit the ground before he even knew what hit him. But in his last moments, he saw the Two-Legged creature with his death-tube, who spoke to him in his weird human tongue: \"I'm sorry little buddy, but we all want to live.\" \n\nDave thrust his knife into the deer's heart, ending his misery. This beautiful hide and meat ensured survival, at least for a little longer. Once he had enough dried meat, he would start trekking. Perhaps the stories were true, perhaps not. But even the possibility of an actual afterlife North of his exact location was too good to ignore. If only he just converted to Christianity right before the Apocalypse happened, he needn't have suffered like this. But he never was one to enjoy things like heaven. Walhalla was more his cup of tea. If he could only pass by one of those god-damned horsemen he knew was out there, halfway through his journey, he just might become included in Odin's warriors. Just one more deer, and no more raiders, and the trek could begin." ]	1
	[WP] What if, instead of aliens invaded us, humans invaded an alien planet?	[ "\nA fated voice ran over the comms network. “Orbital Bombardment is a go, I repeat all vessels orbital Bombardment is a go.”\n\nYou stand in place, awaiting the moment, when thousands, if not more flashes of light fill the planet’s atmosphere below. You turn to a man in a fully black outfit, in deep state of mind. \n\nYou, respond towards him, “Admiral, the landing craft are geared, and we’re ready to kick some alien ass.” You say cheerfully.\n\nWithout even glancing at, and the only being visible in dim red light from the nearby star. “Just do it, commander, do your job.”\n\nHe tone seemed one of fear, but we had the advantage on this front, the civilization hadn’t even mastered the most fundamental forms of space travel, they could do us no harm. But, I had a job to do after all, and as to not question the man’s authority. “Yes sir.”\n\nYou move at rapid, passing the sliding doors in the nearest hallway with the lingering lights flickering above you, until you reach a marked airlock, reading ‘Bay One’. You reach to press your oxygen deployment mask, which folds downs concealing your face, and fully pressuring your suit. Then processing to pass the airlock. You find in the open vacuum of space, but still attached to the ground via your magnetic boots. Two large shuttle-craft appear in your hud, designated, “Crusher”, and “Thor”. Walking towards the first of the two. You spot a ramp on ‘Crusher leading into the interior. A voice patches through your hud system, “Commander, we’re waiting on you.” \n\nSo, not acting to hastily, find yourself an empty seat, and strap yourself in. The hydraulic door creeping up in the top of the ship. Looking towards the five squad-mates you’re heading up, you connect your mic to the system, saying, “Contact should be minimal, but this ain’t no Martian colony, so be on the look out for anything, we’re mostly going in blind.”\n\nA shallow voice in slightly cheery tone responses,”It’s like no one did the paperwork for this one.” \n\nThat’s just it, no one did, we’ve pretty much found them by pure chance, and due the dwindling resources in the Sol system, and the magical wormhole that lead us, we need this planet. But before your thought finished, the muffled sounds of the craft’s engine fill your ears, and then you fill the craft pitch up, meaning it’s heading for the surface below. Looking through your map hud, you see several hundred ships moving forward of you, the invasion has began.\n\nBreaking through the atmosphere, and after 2 mins of descent, you finally find your on this foreign world, or whatever’s left of it. Everyone unbuckles themselves and stand waiting for your go. A hatch opens to your right revealing an arsenal of weapons, enough for a small army. You grab a rifle, and wait for the ramp to open. “What’s the holdup?” \n\nAfter a few seconds, the ramp finally pulls down, and being ready to rush out, yell, “Go, go, go”, and you six run into the alien environment below. \n\nYou stop in your tracks, and a immediate rush of horror fills you, another voice comes in, “What the hell.”\n\nBodies line the streets, charred out husk of a once proud city dot the planet’s surface. In utter disbelief look down at a what maybe a child, and in horror that,”They’re humanoid.”\n\n“No, they’re human.”" ]	1
	[WP] Before we die, I have to tell you something... Thank you...	[ "Never had I imagined this is where I would end up. As a child the daunting question of who I’d be in life was constantly floating around in the atmosphere. I suppose I was never meant to be a good person. Now here we sit together on the asphalt, bloodstained and cold. With red and blue lights flashing in the distance I slowly lean in and whisper into his ear,\n\n“Before we die, I have to tell you something, I love you.”\n\nMy hands are trembling as I raise the gun to Ralphie’s head. His face painted by a pained expression. I close my eyes and release the trigger. The sound travels through my body, widening the empty feeling in my chest. Behind us I can hear rushed footsteps approaching soon followed by a man yelling,\n\n“Put your hands up and lay down on the ground, we have you surrounded!”\n\nWith a faint smile and tear soaked cheeks I face my fate staring down the barrel.\n" ]	1
	[WP] Whenever someone dies, they become God of their world until the next person dies, giving you sometimes less than a second to impact the world. Very few people know this, but you have been preparing for it all your life.	[ "I'm finally ready. It's been years of study and preparation, reading through myths, legends, history and obscure internet posts, but it will all be worth it in the end. It all started when I was 19.\n\nA normal day. I was delivering a pizza, the door opened to a cute girl about my age. Slightly flustered ,I go through the normal routine. Here's your pizza and drinks, could you please sign this please. And just as I hand her the receipt to sign, my world turns black. \n\nI wake up on the floor with her standing over me. It can't have been more than a few seconds, but I'm on the floor staring at the ceiling, her face a few inches above mine. She is slightly hysterical and yelling for someone in the house to call an ambulance. Any embarrassment I would usually feel over this situation is overshadowed by the knowledge I just gained.\n\nI manage to mumble that I am fine, and convince her to not call anyone. I take back the receipt, apologize, and start the drive back to work. \n\nThroughout the rest of the day I am in a slight daze over what I just learned. My manager seemed to notice, and told me to go home early to collect myself. I thought a lot on the way to my house.\n\nUltimate power, until someone else meets their end and it is taken from you. The ability to change the world, but only for the smallest amount of time, until someone else kicks the bucket. But where did this knowledge come from, why me? Did I just have a moment of sudden insanity? What happened? I got my answer soon enough.\n\nBarely in the door and I get a call.\n\n\"Hello?\"\n\n\"Hello sir. Is this Mr. Anderson?\"\n\n\"That's me, what can I do for you?\"\n\n\"I'm sorry to have to tell you this sir, but at 5:26 this afternoon your father was involved in a hit and run. He didn't make it to the hospital\"\n\n\n\nIt was after the funeral when I finally made the connection. The times matched up to perfectly. The knowledge I gained and my father's death. My dad was always supportive of me. A construction worker who worked to much and made to little, he always did the best he could for a single dad. My life wasn't perfect, but who's is? He must have had no more than a few seconds to realize what was going on, and in that short amount of time he gave me one last gift. He gave me knowledge.\n\nI am now 26, and I'm finally ready. I can't wait any longer, I think I've prepared enough. Researching what's wrong with the world, who needs the most help, where I can do the most good. \n\nStaring down at the ground, I can't help but feel nervous. Thirty stories seems like a very long drop when looking from the top down. But I always used to think this would be a fun way to go. Maybe I can manage a few flips before I reach the ground. Even if I am crazy and what I know is wrong, it'll be a fun last few seconds. I always was a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. One step and there's nothing under me but air. I think I managed three and a half flips. I was hoping for more. \n\nAir. Ground. Darkness. And the whole thinking of what I must do. And then it happened. I knew everything, I saw everything, I was everything. I had only one thought in my head, one goal to accomplish. And then I changed the world.\n\n\"No one else.\"\n\n\"Never again.\"\n\n\"No more death.\" \n\nIt worked.\n\nI was the last one. No matter how bad the injury, how fatal the illness, death would never take another living person. I was the last one, and now I had all the time in the world.\n\n\"Well, I guess it's time to get to work.\"\n--------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nThis was my first time responding to one of these. Any criticism is welcome, and thank you so much for reading!" ]	1
	[WP] Alfred doesn't actually support Batman. Infact he has been trying to send Bruce to his death for years as he has power of attorney over the Wayne fortune. Getting fed up at the continued triumphs; he points his master in the direction of someone far more dangerous.	[ "\"Master Wayne...\" Alfred said somberly. \n\n\"After extensive research, I've found that the man hired to kill Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes is a notorious and lethal hitman....\"\n\nHe wasn't. The man Alfred had hired to kill that pesky DA and his annoying girlfriend was some coked out jackass but Bruce didn't need to know that.\n\nBruce nodded his head, \"I know, Alfred, I've already found him. From what I understand, he gets around.\"\n\nAlfred turned and looked at the screen, dumbfounded. How the hell did he know?!\n\nPictures of the hitman flashed up on the screen, he well trimmed beard with the dark suit and tie he always wore featuring in almost every single one. The hitman was always armed to the teeth with all manner of weapons. He likely didn't even need them, though, Bruce noted as he watched a surveillance video of the hitman murdering two professionally trained guards protecting his target with only his bare hands. The hitman then pulled a small pistol from his ankle holster and shot his target in the head before moving on quickly and with purpose.\n\n\"Well, Master Wayne, great minds think alike. It's good that you found him too...are you aware of what they call him, the Russian mob that he destroyed?\"\n\nWayne shook his head, \"No. I'm not.\"\n\nAlfred grinned, \"From what I've been told, they call, or rather, called this man...Baba Yaga. Russian for 'Boogeyman'. Do you know that he once killed -\"\n\nBruce cut him off, \"Three men with a pencil?\"\n\nAlfred nodded, \"A fucking pencil.\"\n\nBruce smiled, \"I think I can handle him.\"\n\n\"I do hope so, sir.\" Alfred said as Bruce donned his armor and equipment.\n\nAs soon as Bruce, now Batman left the room, Alfred pulled the cellphone from his pocket and sent a text message, \"The man who killed your dog is coming for you right now. Be ready.\"\n\n\n\n" ]	1
	[WP] An alien civilization establishes first contact with us. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to both parties, the method which the aliens are using to hold open communication is with Google Translate, "The most popular universal translator among the human race!"	[ "\"Let's, uh... let's try again,\" General Kowalski said, running a hand through her long, dry hair as she sat across from the entity that they had affectionately dubbed The Jelly. The rotund creature was encased in a suit made of some kind of jelly-like substance that the eggheads had guessed was a kind of filter. Whatever the actual being looked like, no one could tell through the opaque stuff.\n\nWhatever the case, it was adorable and squeaked and it was Kowalski's job to try to figure out how to talk to it. She looked to the man sitting next to her - a linguist in his 50s named Aaron - and said, \"You still don't know what it's using to translate?\" \n\n\"As best as I can figure, it's backtranslating through a lot of programs,\" he said, at a loss. \n\n\"Your translator is trouble,\" it gurgled. \n\n\"We've figured that, yeah,\" Kowalski groaned, leaning her head into her hand. \"So what is it you need? We figured out you want to fix your ship. Is there specifically you need? Can you tell me how it works?\"\n\n\"Could you tell me things what you can do and what things will work a bit?\" the Jelly said, three tendrils popping out from its back and waving with what Kowalski figured was anxiety or frustration. \n\n\"Maybe we ought to give it a few days. It's translator gets a little bit better every day,\" Aaron suggested. \"I've figured out a few words - like metal, the color purple, water - but it's learning a lot more from me than me to it.\"\n\n\"As you think of us, we are them! No it! Here we have lots!\" it said, jiggling. \n\n\"Can't we use Google Translator?\" \n\n\"As far as we can figure out, it is using Google Translator.\"\n\n\"Yes! Ten to the tenth! We use ten to the tenth translation doing!\"\n\nKowalski glanced between Aaron and the Jelly. General Ibrams wanted a full report by next week of what they were going to do with the thing. They were on Japanese soil, despite the fact the thing landed right outside an American base. It was everything Kowalski could do to keep the Japanese government out of their hair, not to mention the massive amount of biologists clammering for samples. \n\n\"Alright, alright. Let me ask again - what do you need to get your ship off the ground?\" \n\n\"We need an engineer. Many of them.\" \n\nKowalski nodded. She could get that. \n\n\"We can do that, I think. What else?\"\n\nThe Jelly shivered, though for what reason was beyond the general. \n\n\"As much lasers as possible we have.\"", "\"Hello, children of the world! Children are Error and we are happy to help you.\" The ambassador begin.\n\nThe sudden discomfort in the room was apparently able to overcome all the barriers, as their aids seemed to realize something was wrong - but the ambassador believed they were killing it!\n\n\"Most galaxies are too populated, causes massive issues, Our galaxy is underpopulated, you will help defend your own part.\" Relief swept the room, they'd fixed it. No child genocide! Although that would explain the Galaxy's population problem...\n\n\"Your species is lucky, every family should have dead effects. The emerging realities of the delicate black market are among the sophisticated psychologists of Andromeda.\" I'd love to know what someone who had not read prior communications would make of this 'warning', do not think they got that we are a luxury food in Andromeda across.\n\n\"I would like to say that it's a good thing for Galaxy, and I'm sure it's a lot, but we have seen how to treat some of the cultures of your planet; so deal is here: you search probe results, we share basic medicine and food and art and culture. Some games of mine change to your playing devices easily, and some food to your bodies.\" They got the offer across clearly. They only need to avoid declaring war on something with their last line.\n\n\"Defend yourself for our honour, Google Translate!\" That doesn't count! Does make sense though...", "The president's secretary came running into the oval office, yelling for the president.\n\n\n\"President! President! NASA has just achieved first contact with an alien civilization!\" He panted, a trail of documents and papers following him into the office. The president glanced at the secretary, and looked back at the papers.\n\n\n\"Your telling me... Aliens have opened communications with us?\"\n\n\n\"Yes! And they have prepared a device to communicate with us. From what we know, they have modified Google translate so that it works with their language.\"\n\n\n\"Alright then, show me this device.\" After hearing this, the secretary pulled out an IPad and booted it up. The screen flickered to life, and what resembled a giant praying mantis appeared on screen. It made a series of clicking sounds, and a monotonous male voice emanated from the laptop.\n\n\n\"Of the good helloings. I am chopsticks, and this is pilot man radar man.\" The insect moved a claw to a fellow insect behind him. \"We learns clay language, angle fish and use google translate to help us say clay. We no take clays, only of peace and harmonikas.\"\n\n\n\"Well... uh it seems that your translator isn't the most accurate, but we will have to make do. What is it you want, and what is your civilization called? We are the United states of America.\"\n\n\n\"Yes, i will makings of mate with radar man. We are called...\" The first mantis makes a clicking noise, which Google translate picks up as \"Hungarian dirt turkeys.\" It follows, \"We are Hungarian dirt turkeys, and my Hovercraft-\" It motions towards it's ship, \"-is full of eels.\" It motions to the mound of gold behind it.\n\n\n\"Umm... i beg your pardon?\"\n\n\nFrustrated, the mantis picks up what appears to be a phrasebook and flips through it. \"My Hovercraft\" It motions to the ship \"Is full of eels\". It motions once again to the mound of gold. \"And i would like to eat your Koreans\" the mantis motions towards a picture of a turkey.\n\n\n\"You want to what?! You cant eat us!\"\n\n\n\"No eat? What about... give you cancer?\" The mantis motions towards a box of crabs.\n\n\n\"Alright, im done with you. If you cant communicate with us then theres no point talking. Good bye.\" The president sighed, and wondered what the consequences would be. But for now, he didnt want to deal with aliens threatening him with cancer crabs." ]	3

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