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[WP] You’ve just moved into a new neighborhood, at first, everything seems well. The neighbors seem amazing, that is until you realize they’re doing the same thing every single day. Same routine, never changing, same facial expressions, ask you the same questions, everything is the EXACT same...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“So, how’s the area? I heard it was a old people place.” Cal said laughing\n“Haha very funny.” I said rolling my eyes.\n“Okay but seriously, how is it? It seems like the type of neighborhood that people like us couldn’t move in to.” \n“ People like us?”\n“Yeah, broke people.” \n“Ouch dude, that hurt.”\n“Sorry I’m just say-“\n“It’s alright I get it. Well it’s actually quite nice. The house adjacent to mine has lovely residents. Mr and Mrs. Gray. They invited me to their cookout as soon as I finished unpacking.”\n“That’s cool, how about your other neighbors?” \n“ Oh, well I haven’t been introduced to everyone yet. But most just give me a friendly wave.” \n\nCal’s phone began to ring. \n“ Hello. Yes speaking. No ma’am. Yes actually. Alrighty I’ll be on my way.”\n“ Sorry bro, my boss is on my tail. I got to get going. I’ll see you.” He exclaimed while jogging to his red sedan \n\n...\n\n“Hey there Marla! It’s quite the day to go fishing! With these cloudy skies, all the fishes are going to bite.” Said Mr. Gray with a wide grin\n“Hello Mr. Gray! Good morning, and yes it is the perfect weather for fishing. I would love to go sometime. “\n“ There’s a lake down forest drive. It’s a beautiful lake, crystal clear water. I always catch large bass. Oh and don’t forget to use worms!” \n“ Thanks, Mr. Gray. I will definitely check it out this weekend. Have a good day!” I smiled and waved making my way to my car. \n\n...\n\n“Hey there Marla! It’s quite the day to go fishing! With these cloudy skies, all the fishes are going to bite.” \n“ Oh hey. “ I said half awake gathering the newspaper from my porch. Wait? Didn’t he already say this to me? And it’s sunny out now. \n“ I don’t know about that Mr. Gray. The sun is burning down on me right now.” I said with a slight chuckle.\n“ There’s a lake down forest drive. It’s a beautiful lake, crystal clear water. I always catch large bass. Oh and don’t forget to use worms!” \n“ Yes I remember what you said yesterday. I will go down to the lake tomorrow.” \nMr. Gray walked back into his home with the same wide grin as yesterday.\n\n...\n\nI opened my heavy front door to fix up my lawn. I needed to plant some flowers. I wanted my front lawn to look absolutely stunning. Perfectly mowed lawn, with bright stunning flowers peaking out of every step of my porch. Ahh. I could almost picture it. After all my house needed to fit into the picturesque neighborhood I was living in. I fell into a deep daze with the green shrubs bordering my lawn until I heard,\n\n“ Hey there Marla! It’s quite the day to go fishing! With these cloudy skies, all the fishes are going to bite.” \n\nI turned to see Mr Gray, wearing the same outfit he wore yesterday. Wait wasn’t he also wearing that the day before yesterday? And why did he keep saying the same exact thing to me? \n\n“ Hey Mr. Gray. I’ve heard. You’ve told me. “ \nHe stood there with the same smile. A smile that was once deemed kind now seemed sinister to me. He then walked back into his home. \n\n... \n\nI was awoken from my deep sleep to a large knocking on my window. What the hell was that? I got up and walked over to my large oval shaped window near my dresser. Mr. Gray’s hands were pressed up against my windowsill. \n\n“ Hey there Marla! It’s quite the day to go fishing! With these cloudy skies, all the fishes are going to bite.”"
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[WP]Humans are assigned a number at birth, that shows our value in the world. You are a letter, X, and it turns out, just like in math, things get a lot harder once the alphabet is added to the equation.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Now, remember guys, a variable can be any number, and it’s always a letter. I’ll be walking around the room in case anyone needs me.” There she went, clicking her heels upon the tiled floor while she paraded around the room with that stupid pointer of hers.\n\nWith reluctance, I took a stab at the math problems presented before me. I thought back to how Mrs. Kayan explained it. Identify the variable, isolate, then solve. If only it were that easy. The first problem sat there on my page, eagerly waiting to be solved. The variable was easy enough to spot. Chatter from nearby classmates attempted to throw me off track. I blocked them out. Now onto actually solving it. “Let’s see,” I muttered, “X multiplied by three should equal three. What number makes this statement true? Oh! It’s-” my thought process cut off by the searing pain from my left hand.\n\nThe usual ‘x’ written upon my hand was a glowing red. Pain began to shoot up my palm. Wincing, I made my best go at soothing it when the shouts of a nearby kid caught my attention.\n\nIt was Abdoul, messing about as always. Only this time he let out a cry of fear. He had been leaning out of the desk when one of the desk legs lifted a little too high into the air. On instinct, I reached over and slammed the top of the desk back towards the ground. A loud thud rang through the room as his desk settled back upon the ground. Just as that had passed, the pain in my hand shot up once more. Casting a look at it, all air had left my lungs. The ‘x’ upon my hand had vanished. In its place sat the number one. But, just as I registered this change, the number had disappeared, leaving an ‘x’.\n\nAbdoul’s voice snapped back to my surroundings, “Hey, thanks for I guess saving me.”\n\n“Yea,” I paused, still flustered from my latest discovery. “No problem.” What was that? Never had the letter upon my hand changed. The shriek of a bell forced me to push aside those thoughts.\n\nOut in the halls, Lucia questioned me about math. Although the numbers upon our hands are only visible to ourselves, she had told me hers long ago. Hers was somewhere in the hundred millions. My mind occupied with my changing number, I barely had time to register her question. “So, did you finish the algebra worksheet? It’s for homework.” The sheet! I’d been so absorbed in my number that now I have homework.\n\nOblivious to the people around us, I continued our conversation, “Would you mind helping me with my homework?”\n\n“Oh, I’ll help you with your homework.” came a different voice.\n\n“That would be- wait!” A hand wrapped around my throat. A single ring glistened upon the fist inching ever closer to my face.\n\n“How’s my favorite punching bag doing?” Shazad bellowed.\n\n“Fuck off.”\n\nHis grip tightened around my neck.\n\n“I said fuck off, already!” Throwing my head back, I managed a small headbutt into his chin. Shazad, more startled than hurt, stood there. Seizing the window of opportunity, my right leg kicked back, right into his crotch. Doubling over, his grip loosened as he collapsed onto the floor, a shambling mess of curse words and empty threats.\n\nGlory was short-lived. The pain in my left hand flared up once more. Clenching my teeth, I turned to see the ‘x’ had once again vanished. A rather large number sat there. Just as before, it vanished just as I noticed the change. Unfortunately, the pain still lingered.\n\nI’m a variable, aren’t I?\n\nAll went down the drain when a sharp voice cut sent the hallway into silence. “No! No more fighting! Shazad, stay there! Meghan, my office immediately!” Shit, the principal arrived. I was on the verge of fleeing when his hand got a firm hold of my shoulder.\n\nHe began to lead me away. I thought back on Mrs. Kayan’s words. *A variable can be any number, and it’s always a letter.*\n\nTurning back, Lucia gave me a dismayed look with the shake of her head. Principal Lamb’s grip tightened around my shoulder as fellow students gawked at the sight. “I’m very disappointed in you, Meaghan.” He guided me to the hellhole no of us wanted to end up in. His office was a few feet away now. The door creaked open as he gestured towards a seat before his desk.\n\nAll of this I have to sort through and I still have algebra [to do.](https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualScribblings/)"
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[WP] You are one of two people with the power to freeze everyone within a mile of you in time. Your one mission? To catch the other.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I counted the seconds under my breath, my eyes fixed on the elevator doors in front of me. The floors number above it was descending quickly. *One Mississippi* 4th floor *Two Mississippi* 3rd floor *Three Mississippi* 2nd floor *Four Mississippi* Ground Floor.\n\nA sharp ding sounded out, as the doors slid apart. One man emerged, and then another, and then another, slowly filling out, each man taking his place outside the elevator, so as to guard the final person. *My target* \n\nTiming was paramount to any man in my trade. To me it was everything. I slide the small blade from its sheath at my side, snapping the fingers of my other hand as I did so. Time rippled out from me, sluggishly at first, but rapidly spilling forth as it picked up momentum. People froze in mid sentence, the rattle of noise in the hotel lobby coming to an ubrupt silence. My target had stepped out of the elevator, his circle of guards not yet a tight, un-penetrable formation. *A chink in the armour*\n\nI sauntered forward, whistling a song my dad used to sing, about a serial killer and a silver hammer. I always loved that little diddy. Normally I took no great pleasure in my line of work, but this one was of a more personal variety. In my line of work, every advantage gave you a leg up, and a unique gift like mine made me better than the best. Except for one small problem. For all my talk of unique gifts, that wasn't quite true. One other person could do what I did. And what did he use it for? Fixing horse races. Making big bets on under-dog horses, then crippling the other horses just as the race started. Small league stuff, in truth. But still a problem for my credibility And that problem was currently surrounded by guards, stuck mid-sentence, about to be no problem at all, in no time at all.\n\nHe was the one guy preventing me having a monopoly on the power that had, for whatever reason, been given to me at birth. I had hunted him for years, always getting close, but not before he'd get spooked and vanish. But he'd got lazy. And now he was dead.\n\nI sidled past two of the guards, coming face to face with man I'd hunted for so long. A plain, unoriginal, down-right boring face. His face told no story, betrayed no dark past. Just some old man, with a gift he was to naive to use. Not that it would matter soon enough. I pressed the tip of the blade against his throat, softly singing the final words of the song I'd been whistling *Bang! Bang! Maxwell's Silver Hammer*, I pushed the blade forward gently. *Made sure that he was dead*"
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[WP] Your life has ended. Before your eyes are 2 stairways, one leading up, the other going down. You see a lot of people going up,seeking heaven. You decide to go down.
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[
"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Noah. Noah. Noah.\" Her word echoed in my mind. I have no clue how long it's been, since I died in her arms, but all I can think of is the last word I heard before it ended. Jess gasping my name. It feels more like a last word than whatever it is I said last - I don't even know what that would be, to be honest. By the end I didn't have the energy to find the right words.\n\nSoon enough, it stops echoing. And I look around. I may be dead, but unlike my guess, there is still something beyond. Not all that exciting though. Just grey fog. Part of me is calmed by it, but I also feel there has to be more. Even if I'm not sure what.\n\nI stand up. Are there footsteps I hear in the distance somewhere? Some faint whisper of another person? I follow. As the footsteps get louder I realize it's far more than just one person. This must be where everyone goes in death. But it's still too foggy; I can't see.\n\nI breathe in, and blow the fog away.\n\nIn front of me are two staircases, much like standard ones in any school or office building, yet wider. Well, the one on the right is wider, at least. It goes up, shining in a sort of pastel rainbow. People race to it in large amounts. Why? Why do they all think they must go up? To me, it's the other staircase that's more compelling. The thinner, darker one. It's wooden. It looks so much more real and dirty than anything else around. I need it. It grounds me. Before I realize it I'm already at the top of the staircase, looking down to where it fades into darkness - not like some ethereal cloud, but a normal shadow.\n\nI stand for a moment, teetering on the edge.\n\nI descend.\n\nThe further down I go, my body feels real again. I can feel the banister underneath my fingertips, feel gravity pulling my eager legs forward. Though dark, it is warm, like the air itself a blanket wrapped around my shoulders. I know I died, but for some reason I feel more alive than ever.\n\nA voice calls out from the bottom somewhere. I can no longer see, but I feel my way forward anyhow. I will find the voice. I will find life. This is my choice.\n\nIt's not my first time.",
"I had been there a long time. Probably too long, but no one stayed around long enough to notice. People streamed through the door and paused only for a few minutes before heading up the marble stairway leading up. Wherever up was, I still didn’t know. \n\nSome would wonder towards the rickety wooden stairs heading down. They would peer over the edge, curious about what might be down there, but they all turned back. No one ever took that path. \n\nI was in death, just as I was in life, unable to make a final decision. How do I truly know what’s right. Fear gripped me, because I knew, whatever choice I made, it would be forever. That was just too much pressure. How could I go into something not knowing? \n\nBut that was a lie, one that I knew I was telling to myself. I knew where each lead, but I couldn’t make that choice based on my fear on what would happen when I got to those places. \n\nYeah, I could go up, to the place everyone wants to be. To be at peace and not feel pain or fear or worry. \n\n‘But what if they reject me?’ I thought, over and over again. It’s not like I lived a life worth being up there. They would probably scoff at the sight of me, and throw me down an elevator shaft. \n\nI didn’t WANT to go down, no one wants to go down. I knew there would be pain there. \n\n‘I’ve caused so much pain to others though…maybe that’s where I deserve to be.’ And so I went, making circles in my mind and always coming back to the same place. \n\nFinally I stood, using every ounce of my strength to will myself towards the staircases. It was obvious to me, and I was just fighting against what I knew was right. \n\nI turned and took the first step down those wooden stairs, them creaking under my weight. Slowly, one step at a time for fear that they might snap. As I got lower though, they became wider, stronger. Soon I could see a glimmer below. Not the bright light I walked away from, but a low glow. \n\nAs I got closer, it was light coming from under a door. It was a large, dark, wooden door, with carvings I could barely make out with the small glow from below. \n\n‘I don’t exactly have a choice anymore, do I?’ I asked myself. I pushed against it, expecting it to be heavy, but it wasn’t. It opened easily, and I stepped out of it, and onto…grass? Just grass, as far as I could see. I turned, and saw the door was closed now, and there was nothing behind it. Just a lone door, in an empty countryside. \n\nI didn’t expect there to be sunlight. It was warm, but not too bright. The sky was so blue it hurt to look at it, adjusting after so long in the blackness of the stairwell. \n\nI picked a direction and walked. The flat field turned to rolling hills. I took my shoes off, just to feel the soft grass beneath my feet. I had not expected this place to be this pleasant. Not fire and brimstone, but warm earth and the smell of a spring breeze. \n\nAs I finally got to the top a tall hill, I saw her, sitting on a lone boulder, staring into the distance. She was beautiful, but not in an angelic way. No blonde hair or halos. When she noticed me, she stood and held out her hand, waiting for me to take it. \n\n“I don’t understand” I said. “I thought…”\n\nShe smiled, but had a sad look in her eyes. “You thought you deserved something worse, didn’t you? That you didn’t deserve eternal peace?”\n\nI couldn’t stop my eyes from welling up with tears as I nodded my head. I did. \n\n“Honey…we knew you would think of yourself as unworthy.” she said, pulling me into a hug. I let her, and she was warm and soft. She smelled of fresh linen and some sort of spice. “You’ve always thought that about yourself. I’ve never understood why.”\n\nShe pet my head gently, and I broke into tears. This was wrong. It was all so wrong. It was too much, waves of emotions crashing over me. It just felt….wrong. \n\n“Hey,” she said, pulling away and hold my head in her hands. “You deserve to be here. You deserve to be happy and at peace. You brought happiness and joy to those around you, even when you didn’t think you did. They loved you, even when you couldn’t love yourself.”\n\n​\n\n“You are enough, ok?”",
"My eyes open. It’s not a question of whether I’m alive; I know immediately I am not. The knowledge settles into my brain and heart quite easily. \n\nI expect to be in a white room, empty and sterile and fluorescent and unnatural. It certainly is bright here - the light is overpowering. As I squint, I hear a familiar sound, but one I can’t immediately place. It’s a sound I’ve heard dozens... hundreds of times. I sit up and realize. It’s an *escalator.* The only sound is the mechanical hum of the largest escalator I’ve ever seen. All around me people are rising from the floor, looking around, hopping on the escalator, and rising towards an unknown expanse. This place has no ceiling - the escalator simply disappears into a soft, warm light high above. \n\nI try to speak and realize quickly I can’t. I open my mouth and move my tongue but no sound comes out. It doesn’t hurt - my body is strong and healthy, free of any aches or pains. At first glance the room appears to be empty, except for this giant escalator and the light above. There seems to be no choice but to step onto this escalator and drift up to... heaven? Heaven. It must be Heaven. The warm light makes me feel like a child tucked into bed: safe and warm and able to drift off peacefully into nothingness.\n\nI rise. My legs move towards the escalator almost of their own accord. But I won’t stop them. And then - something in the corner of my vision. Something... shadowy. I turn to look. It’s a door, just ajar enough for me to see that beyond it is a different place. And something inside me leaps at the sight. I think back to a poem I was forced to read in school decades ago. I hadn’t thought about it in years, but now my mind is sharp and my memory clear. *Tis not too late to seek a newer world.* My mind is screaming to head towards the escalator and the light, but something stirs in my heart, and I head towards the door.\n\nIt leads to a winding staircase, narrow and cramped. I walk and walk and walk. My legs never tire. As I walk, I feel as though I’ve woken from hypnosis. I don’t understand why I had been so willing to blindly head into the light. You can’t go back down an escalator. At least this way, I am in control. I can always turn around and climb back up these stairs, if I choose to do so.\n\nSuddenly, the stairs end. I stand on the last step and look at the room before me. It’s a simple room, bare and small. An old woman sits in the middle. “Hello, John.” Her voice sounds like home. She knows my name. “Please, sit.”\n\n“Where am I?” I ask cautiously, sitting on the ground across from her. She smiles and look behind her. A door suddenly appears in the wall.\n \n“So few people make it here, John. Most of them would say they didn’t have a choice in getting on that escalator. It was the only thing to do. Of course, they chose. They chose the simple way.”\n\n“Where does it lead?” I ask, though I suspect I know the answer. She smiles sadly at me. \n\n“John, you can go back up the stairs if you want. Go see what is beyond the ceiling of light. Or you can see what’s through the door behind me. It was always your choice. It was always everyone’s choice.”\n\n“But... shouldn’t it be...” I hesitate. “Shouldn’t it matter how I lived?” I think back. I wasn’t a good person. I wasn’t bad either. Like most, I lived most of life somewhere in the gray.\n\n“It has always mattered. How you lived prepared you for this. You lived in a way that led you to walk through an unknown door. What is it? Curiosity? Stubbornness? Independence? Selfishness, to believe you could have it all? Call it whatever you want. You paid enough attention to see there was a choice and you chose the harder of the paths. Now, you choose again. Which door will you walk through?”\n\nWe both stand. The choice is easy. Maybe for me it always was. I walk behind the woman and open the door, stepping forward into the unknown.\n\nEdit: fixed a couple typos"
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[WP] While on a trade route to a newly discovered star system, your ship picks up a distress beacon. When you run the ship's ID through the database, however, you find that it's listed as lost over 300 years ago.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"It’s been three-hundred years. Three-hundred years since the distress beacon was first sent out. Three-hundred years since the ship disappeared into the abyss.\n\nThree-hundred years ago, this crew had families and friends praying for a return that would never happen. They had lives, and hopes, and dreams cut short in the cold and unforgiving expanse of space.\n\nLooking over the ancient ship, it’s easy to spot what caused all the trouble; a severed fuel line. Such a small, simple problem. It should’ve been an easy fix, instead it was a death sentence.\n\nThree-hundred years ago, they built ships to last. By pulling energy from the dark matter in space, the electrical components of the ship could run indefinitely. Three-hundred years ago, a distress signal started and fell on deaf ears. The crew wasted away, watching their supplies dwindle, waiting for a rescue that wasn’t coming.\n\nThree-hundred years ago, a crew boarded a spaceship and set off into the stars. Three-hundred years later that same ship serves as a metal casket, cradling the dusty skeletons in the void.\n\nThere’s nothing more I can do. Three-hundred years ago, it would have been easy to repair the line. I could’ve saved them. I could have returned them to their families, their homes. But here I am, three-hundred years later, and there’s nothing more I can do than offer up a simple prayer and reseal their crypt. Turning off the distress signal, three-hundred years after it first started, I lay the crew to rest among the stars and pray that they find peace."
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[WP] Scientists at CERN have discovered, with far reaching social consequences, a morality particle. The lead scientist just received the Nobel Peace Prize.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"(On mobile, sorry. Never written before, just found the prompt interesting. Also, I changed the implied timing a bit from the prompt.)\n\nFunding was easy to come by after the discovery. It seemed to be the only topic, other than authoritarianism, that all the world powers agreed on. They wanted more. They wanted detectors and measuring instruments around the world. They wanted to know the origin of these particles that weren't supposed to exist.\n\nResearch continued in earnest in whatever way the researchers saw fit. Factions were formed in the original team with focuses in different areas. Control, measurement, detector design, all had strong funding with little oversight. It was entirely unheard of. It was generally agreed upon that technical progress like this hadn't been seen in the two or three hundred years since the dawn of digital communication. Some wanted to go even farther back to find a good comparison.\n\nEventually, these particles were found to be a core building block of life. Imagine it! A whole new field of science born out of a neutrino sensor miscallibration at high altitude orbit. The study of life had finally gotten the funding and structure it had deserved in a hard science rather than being mired in funding hell with social sciences.\n\nDetectors became federal, then state, then local, and even occasional household devices. This forced progress on major issues that had been ignored. Inequality, bigotry, climate responsibility. In short time, the very funders of the project were left holding a bag of popular hatred. They had played a game of macroeconomic manipulation and had lost.\n\nOnce the emotions around the civilized world wore off, \"particle sports\" arose. Good natured and fun. The general idea was to get higher or lower readings when you were alone or in groups with a detector. As is the way of things, eventually these became popular and regulated. Even crowds could get in on the action through positive thoughts.\n\nJust as during the dawn of digital technology, surveillance states started appearing. In some parts of the world, you weren't allowed outside if you couldn't get above a certain reading. In many, the higher the morality score, the more popular an individual became. After all, it was a measure of morality.\n\nAverage readings around the world remained constant but the median began dropping. Plummetting in fact. It was as if a new equality gap had been born. Scientists raced to find a solution and explained that it was becoming a self fullfillling construct. Funding suddenly disappeared.\n\nThe world was already deaf. Souls withered and turned into husks. Eyes were blank. Mouths hung open. Only the greatest surprises could bring flickers of light. Surely the greatest catastrophe to have ever hit life on earth as inequality continued to grow. Plants and animals other than humans were the most vulnerable. Only life that could continuously elicit positive responses from the hoards of dying were exempt.\n\nIt was always said currencies would be meaningless if civilizations collapsed. What happens to morality? There is no morality left but personal morality. No thoughts to give. No emotions to leverage. Just a pile of waste and no life to use it. Even the greatest manipulators suffered the same fate as their followers. Did morality become useless? No. It became useless as a tool.\n\nLife has finally begun to recover. Just as matter can neither be created nor destroyed, it would seem morality is the same. Nothing is left of humanity but stragglers who seemed to have been uninvolved. Corners of the world without communication or pockets of deliberate emotional distance seemed to have a higher chance of sparing life.\n\nOur ancient texts mentioned a Forbidden Fruit. First believed to be an apple or fig relative, but eventually accepted broadly as a metaphor. Morality, one of the building blocks of life, was our Forbidden Fruit. Who would have known?\n\nTo the unfortunate soul finding this, I genuinely hope you never find your Forbidden Fruit as we have ours."
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[WP] You decided to participate in a dangerous experiment . You are presented with two pills. You are told that one pill will make you relive your most realistic dream and the other will make you relive your most painful memory, you choose blindly and realize that you have made a grave mistake
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The doctors never told me what pill I had taken that day. Deep down I know I could have known the truth, in the end I'm just a coward.\n\nIt was 40 years ago, I was desesperate for money, it was just after Aliena took my kids for me. Back then I learned to cope with loneliness, dispair and that never ending hunger. A clinic was desenvolving some kind of medicament to threat patients with mental disease; the payment was enough for me to become a guinea pig.\n\nWhen I learned that I would revive my most traumatic experience, or my most vivid nightmare, I wasn't sure what pill to pick. In these years all my memories seemed like like a dream. I take the pill.\n\nIt's not easy to tell what the pills bring me back.\n\nThe room was never the same, sometimes was the old apartament we had before the economic crash- I'm sure you modern readers must be tires of reading elders like me talking about america's golden age- or that shithole we were forced to endure after that. Aliena kept screaming at me, sometimes she was a devil, pointing out every wrong choices I made in my life; my ambitious as a writer that alienated me from our wealthy social circle; my insisitence of not aborting that kid; my failure as a provider to hold any job. She laughed at my faith, at my pretentious nature, and my failure as man. Other times she cried at me. I was stuck in a corner, unable to move from there, she just won't shut up.... Those rats keep crying, my cheap whisky can't save me now. Last thing i remember is my bottled shattered, and the red whisky painting the floor.... I'm sorry, I know that i had promissed to tell you a story.\n\nAliena left me with the kids, I've never saw her again. The trailer was quiet at least, well, at least I could endure solitude's presence. After a while I abandoned that place, I just ran away like always. I have heard that we can't run away from ourselves, ours sins. True, at least i always had my whisky as an escape companion.",
"\nI woke up, groggy achy, like I’d been hit in the head with a bat. The room I was in looked familiar. No way to tell if I was in a memory or a dream yet. Hard to tell which one I’d prefer at this point. I got out of bed. Fully dressed. That wasn’t unusual. Walked into the kitchen. \n\n“Hello my lady.” The three rats sitting at my kitchen table greeted me cheerfully. One poured a new bowl of Cheerios and pushed it toward me. \n\n“Oh heck no. I take it back! I want the other pill!” I shouted. \n\n“The Danes are waiting my lady. Eat up.” The rat started pouring orange juice into the bowl. \n\nI started looking for a way out of the room. But as usual there was none. Why the heck would my mind decide that this stupid dream was the most realistic dream to give me? I’d rather the nightmare! Oh heck, if this was a dream, why couldn’t it be the naked and late for a test dream?\n\nSomeone outside started honking. \n\n“Oh my lady! You didn’t finish! And the Danes are here!” The rats jumped off of the table. \n\nOne ran toward the front window, the other started tidying the kitchen. The third looked at me critically. \n\n“Oh my lady Dane will never stand for that outfit.” The rat told me. “It’s a disgrace.”\n\nI looked down, jeans and a t shirt. That was never enough for this stupid dream and these stupid rats. I heaved a big sigh. I’d just have to wait the dream out. Then wake up. Get my money, and go on with my life. I sat down at the table, grasping my head in my hands as the rat opened the front door. \n\n“Honey! I’m home!” A fourth rat walked through the door, three times as large as the other rats and white as a sheet. Wearing a fancy evening hat and opera glasses. “Come say hello to Auntie!”\n\n“And don’t forget your big Uncle Joe!” A slightly darker rat entered the door behind her. \n\nI looked at them, then the ceiling. Why my inner self thought my family was a pack of rats, I’ll never know. More and more family members piled through the door, overwhelming the room. Piling on top of me for hugs and kisses. This was it. The crushing weight of their love, suffocating me. Soon I would wake. \n\nDarkness crept into my vision. I smiled, it would be over soon. \n\nThe headache was still there when I opened my eyes. But at least it was over. Real as the dream apparently was to me, at least it was short. I sat up, looked down. I was dressed, that wasn’t unusual. I walked out of the room. \n\n“Hello my lady.” The three rats at the table greeted me. \n\n“No. No. No. One dream. That was it! That was the end!” The rats continued their script. I sat at the table, shoving one of the rats out of the way. \n\nI had known the risks. I had known the risks..."
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[WP] While on your way home from a seemingly normal work day, the radio is interrupted by breaking news, all your personal details are read out as you listen in horror of someone matching your exact description has been involved in a fatal car accident a few minutes prior.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I’m sitting here in a sea of tail lights thinking to myself, “bumper to bumper traffic only seems to happen when I’m in a rush”. This was the perfect way to end this cluster-fuck of a week. At least tonight I’ll be camping on turtle island with my wife. I just have to make a quick stop at home to pick her up and our bags and we’ll head over to the island. I always loved going there as a kid, the days of fishing and swimming with my siblings were the best. Those precious days before I was employed for the most soul-sucking bastard of a boss I’d ever met. “I need that report TONIGHT David! There’s no excuse! If we don’t have those numbers ASAP you better not bother showing up on Monday!”\n\nFor the sake of my income I spent the 3 extra hours at work finishing off every detail of the report, I never knew some numbers on a page could be worth 3 hours of overtime, but “he’s the boss”. When I finish up and head over to his office is there a thank you? A “good job David”? No. The fucker isn’t even in his office. I call asking if he still needed the report and his reply, “Of course! But why would I spend all night at the office waiting on you? Just email it to me!” With my last nerve wearing thin I find myself muttering, “Turtle beach, Turtle beach, Turtle beach” in a desperate attempt to keep my composure. “Turtle what? Just EMAIL the FILE.” And \\*click\\*, he hangs up.\n\nAnd now I find myself in the most extended rush hour traffic to date. I text my wife, letting her know the predicament, it’s 8:30 now and she says she will meet me at the 9:15 ferry to save me the trip home. She seems almost as frustrated as I am, but bless her heart she consoles me anyway, telling me that everything will be fine once we get the tent pitched and bottle of wine opened in the moonlight.\n\nI check the map on my phone for the ETA to the ferry, 9:30, which will not do at all. My anxiety is now through the roof, blood pounding in my ears and tears brimming in my eyes. Pounding on the wheel I’m screaming in my car “WHY THE FUCK CAN’T ANYTHING GO RIGHT FOR ONCE!” Pounding and pounding on my car I accidentally hit the horn. I look around embarrassed and notice that there’s a gap to an exit. I flip my blinker, and amazingly I’m let through. Then another gap appears and I’m let through again! I stomp the gas and fly down the exit, checking my phone for a new ETA, 9:20, so close! Whizzing down the streets and swerving between cars I keep checking desperately to see if the time is reduce, 9:19, 9:18, 9:17….. maybe the ferry will be running late? Maybe I can still make it?\n\nAll of a sudden horns blare. Tires screech. I heard a loud thump and a crack yet feel nothing myself. Rushing through the intersection I realize I ran a red and the guy who stopped himself from hitting me must have gotten rear ended by the car behind him. I immediately slow down, I would rather be late than kill someone, especially if that someone ended up being myself. To cool my nerves a little I turn on the radio, hoping whatever music pops up will help me ignore the guilt of the damage I just caused.\n\n“We hate to interrupt our normally broadcast music selection, but there is a traffic report for Gessner Drive and McDermott Road. A fatal accident has occurred between a silver Ford F-150 and a Blue Kia Sportage” A shiver ran down my spine, that F-150 is the one that got hit stopping for me. Weird though, the car that hit him from behind is the same as mine. “We have news that the driver killed is a white male, 6 feet tall, approximately 210 pounds. He has been identified by his license as David Chambers, a local analyst for a software development firm”. WHAT. THE. FUCK. I’m not dead! There’s no way! I have to call Jessica now and let her know it’s a fake report.\n\nI shut off the radio and call Jessica, three rings to voicemail. I call again, three rings to voicemail again. Damn it there must be no cell service on the ferry. At least there also isn’t a radio on the ferry so I can avoid scaring her to death. I can clear all this up after this weekend. I just need some peace, some rest, only God knows if one weekend away will be enough anyway.\n\nIt’s 9:20 when I get to the docks. The ferry is long gone as I wander through the misty night, hoping against hope that I can find some way to get over to the island. Hell, I can’t even see the island any more, just some light through the haze from where people are having some parties on the beach. Towards the edge of the dock I see a lone sailor working on his boat. It’s small, maybe 10 feet long, but I really don’t need much to make it across. I walk over and ask, “Hey bud, is there any way you could take me across tonight? My wife is waiting for me over there and I really need to get out of this place tonight” He looks me over with a grin and holds out his hand, I should have known, no good deed is ever done for free is it? I hand him 20 bucks and he looks down at it then back up to me. “I want it all son.” Are you fucking kidding me? I hang my head, rummage through my wallet again and pull out the last of my cash, a whole 10 dollars more. I ask him with a sneer “are you happy now?” The boatman nods his head and motions for me to climb in. Still feeling slighted by the boatman’s greed I ask, “how much more would you have asked if I had any bags?” Upon his reply my face went white, “The boatman ferries only souls, your bags you have to leave behind.”"
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[WP] Litle did they know that you, a mere slave, would be the one to burn their world to the ground.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"My eyes fluttered open in the holding room of my owners. At first, I believed I was in a palace, having been taken to their homeland. However, there are no windows. No views of the horizon, no art, no brick, no wood at all. Everything is made out of plastic type material. My head rolled around on the cold floor, examining the undecorated room. White walls. I'm still wearing the same clothes as when they abducted me. My jeans now had holes in them. They had become hard and crusty under the relentless torrent of sweat exerted from manual labor. Fortunately, the plaid shirt I wore has held up well, it's weaving tougher than my atrophied muscles.\n\nAmong the blank white room of plastic were the others. They laid around me in very states of undress, some without shirts or with ripped dresses. Everyone had lost weight, the remaining clothes hung off us. In this room where maybe 100 humans, along with myself. Muscles atrophied and mental health deteriorated I stood. Around my neck was a thin metal band. It suddenly reverberated, shocking my body with an electrical impulse. Pain coursed through my system. I breathed as deeply as I could calming myself, stealing myself for the day ahead. The humans around me shivered and shook in consciousness, the shock awakening them from dreams of Earth, dreams of nature, dreams of family and most of all, dreams of freedom.\n\nThe humans staggered into a line, a few of the strongest supporting their weaker friends. We knew what happened to those who missed the line. The singular door to the holding opened from the floor up just like a sci-fi movie. There stood one of them. Nearly seven foot tall and covered head to toe in hard green armor, scale-like in appearance. The bi-ped, had a long head- snout like, with eyes recceeded in the skull, protected from attack. Behind it a long thick tail extended another 3 feet behind the monster. An unconscious shiver traveled down my spine, I looked away from the atrocity.\n\nThe white floor became the permanent resting point for my eyes. The feet in front of me shuffled, and I shuffled in accordance, following the human in front. Another day of work was assured, some of us would not return.\n\nAfter a few minutes of walking myself as well as the leading humans were directed by the lizard to the left whereas before we had gone right. We traveled upwards as well, normally we traveled down. I was cautiously optimistic, in human infrastructure heading up was associated with physically less demanding work.\n\nThe lizard opened a white door into a massive hexagonal cavern covered in the same white walls. In the center was a reinforced glass? or at least transparent container holding what looked like water. I nearly convulsed for the fourth time today. Memories of the ships overhead Earth, with large drills boring into the crust, piping water up into the ship. The oceans drained, and the Earth overheated within hours. As hard as being abducted was many left us sooner. They were left to perish on Earth, fulfilled with memories devoid of lizard rulers.\n\nThe train of humans followed the lizard circularly around the water container. I saw out of the corner of my eye what could be none other than a water pipe. Since abduction I had waited for a moment to let go. Every human found that moment at some point on this journey but I had waited, foolish in the belief that even if humans could not become free again, I could at least bring a lizard with me.\n\nAs the water pipe approached I stole myself. A few meters away I broke into a full sprint throwing my shoulder directly into the water pipe which duly gave way. The lizard turned and its arm and claw extended from its body in one fluid motion extending its razor sharp claw through my torso ripping me in half.\n\nThe water spilled from the floor pouring onto the floor where it spread to touch my dying face. The cold water a nice relief from the burning pain. The shock collar reverberated again and I smiled, the shock collar touching the water, sending an electrical current through it. The water touched some wire in the room and a spark puffed up.\n\nA mere moment later. BOOOOOOOOOM! A catastrophic failure had occurred, an explosion engulfed the lizard ship splitting it in half, allowing the vacuum of space to tear the delicate creations of life to pieces.\n\nAll that remained was debris, spread out over an infinite distance, infinite space. A mere slave, burned the world of the lizard overlords to pieces. An eye for an eye afterall.\n\nAnd all was quiet in the universe once again.\n\n/r/intentionallife Trying to get to five members!"
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[WP] Every time you die, you go back in the past a random amount of time, to the same spot you died. The first time, you went a week back in time. The second, a few hours only. This time, all you see around you are trees.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Hello?” \n\nErnest looked around. Nothing but trees. Trees, trees, trees. He was standing under a vast canopy of old-growth forest, sunlight dimly scraping through the edges scattered throughout the sea of green.\n\nHe tried looking down. Nope, more trees. The forest floor was just dead tree trunks as far as he could tell. Moss-overgrown, weedy, but other than the occasional black space between tree trunks-\n\nOn impulse Ernest got down on his hands and knees and tried peering between the nest of trunks he was standing on, looking for the actual ground somewhere below.\n\nThere wasn’t any. There were just more trees, collapsed in on one another. They cascaded endlessly off into the darkness for as far as he could see. \n\nThe air even felt a little thin, coming to think of it. Ernest wondered vaguely how high up he even was on this seemingly endless tree-pile. \n\n“Helllooooo?” Ernest tried, again. Nothing responded. \n\nOh well. \n\nIt took him some doing, but after some false starts, Ernest found a long sloping ramp made mostly out of a shockingly colossal dead tree, its mouldering bark long carpeted over with green. He had to climb the last dozen meters onto the canopy, but other than that, it made for an easy little hike.\n\nHe found a nice spot to sit down and took a long and careful look round. Nothing but trees stretched on, in every direction. \n\n“Well,” said Ernest to himself, after a while. “Weeelll. This is going to make some swell coal deposits innit?”\n\nAfter another minute he absentmindedly fished a tuna sandwich out of his pack. He’d been planning to eat it on the job site, before the car crash on his way to work, but best laid plans and so on. A dragonfly the size of a bicycle flew by while he ate."
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[WP] You are a graduate of a school for metahumans. Your classmates went on to become prominent superheroes and notorious supervillains. You, however, became something else, something in between - an antihero. It's your ten year reunion event. Everyone's going to be there.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"*I don't know why I am here. I should have just skipped this.* I took a deep swig from my bottle of vodka. High school reunions are the worst. I should probably go inside and get this over with.\n\n\"Jesus!\" I nearly spilled the vodka as I noticed a face peering in my car window. Blue Comet clearly didn't realize I was sitting in the vehicle. The windows were darkly tinted and he was inspecting his teeth in his reflection.\n\nI let out a snicker and rolled down the window. \"Hey, Good Looking.\"\n\n\"Mayhem!\" He gasped out as he stumbled back. \"...you have a Porsche?! Are you a super villain?!\"\n\n\"When the pay is right...\" I shrugged. I took another swig of my vodka and offered it to him.\n\n\"Superheroes in the Liberty League don't drink.\" He replied. He had graduated from Ravencrest Prep Academy to become one of the lead heroes for the Liberty League. He even had his own reality series that followed him around. I spotted a camera man conspicuously crouched behind a Jeep a few parking spots over.\n\n\"You coming inside?\"\n\n\"I haven't decided yet...\" I sighed.\n\n\"May, come on, it will be fun. How often do we have this chance to see everyone?\" Comet persuaded. \"Neutral truces don't happen often. Hell, you and I haven't seen each other since graduation. Don't you want to see how everyone is doing?\" He held his hand out to me. I rolled my eyes but I smoothed out my purple lace dress as I allowed him to help me out of my car.\n\nRavencrest Prep Academy was just how I remembered it; cold, brick and reeking of Axe body spray. Portraits of successful heroes and villains lined the hallway. Ravencrest prided themselves on training the most powerful metahumans in North America. It didn't matter to the school board which side of the law they ended up on. Power was power as far as they were concerned.\n\n\"YOU!\"\n\nLady Nightmare, emerged from the decorated gymnasium hosting the reunion. She was wearing a tight black leather dress and her sharp heels clicked against the tiles. A martini was clutched in her long talon manicured hand.\n\nBlue Comet turned away from his portrait that he had stopped to admire. \"Lady Nightmare, this is neutral ground. Let's put our differences aside.\"\n\n\"Whatever, Comet.\" She huffed and focused her dark glare on me. \"You have some nerve, Mayhem...\" She growled.\n\nBlue Comet raised an eyebrow at me. \"I thought you were a villain?\"\n\n\"Villain?\" She scoffed. \"Really? That's what you think? She's worse. She's a sell out. Even more of a sell out than you are.\"\n\n\"So you're a hero?\" He asked me. His pretty face frowned with confusion.\n\n\"When it's convenient.\" I shrugged.\n\n\"Sooo... vigilante?'\n\n\"Oh my god, just tell him what you do for a living before he hurts himself. His brain isn't used to this kind of stimulation.\" Lady Nightmare sneered.\n\n\"Mayhem, my favorite harvester of chaos, i thought that was your whip up front.\" Bloodquake punched me in the shoulder as he joined us. The villain had traded out his battle armor for a Calvin Klein suit for the event. \"Find me before you leave tonight, I have a proposition for you.\" He winked.\n\n\"I bet you do...\" Lady Nightmare muttered.\n\n\"Hey, Liberty Girl! Looking good!\" Bloodquake called out to a hero he spotted in the gym and headed in. He made horse noises at Lady Nightmare as he passed her.\n\n\"I will burn your lair down...\" She threatened back. The two villains had an occasionally romantic, but mostly violent rivalry.\n\n\"I give up. What do you do? Are you an arms dealer?\" Blue Comet wanted to know.\n\n\"Occasionally.\" I admitted. \"I like to think of myself as 'Anti-hero'.\"\n\n\"Anti-hero?! You are a mercenary!\" Nightmare accused. \"She runs The Agency.\"\n\n\"The Agency... I have heard of that...\" Blue Comet frowned at me. \"You hire out metahumans for odd jobs. Sometimes minions. Sometimes security. Sometimes heroes. You're playing both sides. No wonder you're driving a Porsche...\"\n\n\"What can I say? Business is good.\" I shrugged.",
"The reminder comes just as I am finish up, by finishing off Leon Scarpetti.\n\nI frown for a moment at the notification icon on my HUD. There are a *lot* of notification icon types - different icons for different kinds of notifications. It's taken me time to learn how to operate the holographic display. Like much of my equipment, the headset isn't mine. Well, it's mine, *now,* but last week it belonged to the Crimson Crusader. I 'requisitioned' it from her, for a lifetime duration, while 'resisting arrest' when she tried to bring me in. I figure it's fair compensation for the perfectly good battle van that she wrecked. She can always make another one.\n\nI tap the notification icon, and a crisp British voice fills the headset, *\"Master Renegade, it's almost time to leave for your event. You best hurry if you don't want to be late.\"*\n\nAh yes, the event. My ten year class reunion. I had forgotten about it.\n\nNo, I hadn't. But I was hoping Alfred had. No such luck. I should have known better. For someone who doesn't actually have a brain in that empty skull of his, he's annoyingly good at remembering things.\n\nHis real name isn't Alfred, of course. His real name is beyond a human being's ability to pronounce. I just renamed him Alfred for convenience. He doesn't get the reference.\n\nThe post operation to do list is almost perfunctory. Leave the guns. My customized weapons are superior. But take the ammo. I can always use that. Leave the merchandise, but take the cash. Leave the wallets with the cards but take the cellphones. You never know what useful intel you can get from them. I have done this often enough that I can basically do it on autopilot now. Which gives me time to think.\n\nOf course, I don't *have* to go to the reunion. It's probably best if I didn't. I mean, it's not like I've got any friends who'll be glad to see me. Hell, it's not like I've got any friends, *period.* Not anymore. I was always a loner, even during my academy days. Never really fit in with the right crowd or the wrong one. Too morally dubious for the sunshine squad, too attached to the code for the wannabe world dominators.\n\nI had maybe two friends in my entire time there, and I doubt they wanted to see me now. The sight of me would probably ruin their night. And everyone elses there.\n\nOn second thought...maybe I *should* go. Put in an appearance. Chat with a few not-friends. I am an alumnus after all. I have a right to be there as much as anyone else.\n\nI get cleaned up and change on the jet. Jet's not designed with a luxurious living quarters, but it does have a cabinet where I can switch out my blood spattered gear for a clean costume. There's no shower, but the Crystal of Purification that I keep forgetting to return works both on the outside as well as the inside of the body.\n\nJet's a recent acquisition. I got an excellent deal on it from the Chameleon. He gave me the jet, and his tech, and in exchange I gave him one of my custom crafted bullets. I thought it was a fair trade. He probably thought so too. He carried that bullet very close to his heart, in his aorta in fact, for the rest of his, very short, life.\n\nLike it erstwhile owner, the jet also has cloaking abilities. Highly useful to me, since the closer I get to the academy, the more likely I'd be to end up on the radar, literally, of someone heading the same way. Almost everyone I could possibly meet, on both sides, would like nothing more than to take me down or take me out. The Code of Neutrality of the Academy only applies within the grounds and six nautical miles out. If someone catches wind of me before I pass the threshold, I am fair game.\n\nBut then again, so are they.\n\nNothing happens, however. I pass the threshold without hassle. As I close in on the academy, all sorts of vehiches show up on the long range scanner. Yachts, planes, submersibles, and is that...a flying carpet?\n\nYes it is. Which means that the Ansari brothers are here. Oh joy.\n\nI get the plane to drop me off a short distance away from the gates. The jet's cloaking system really is phenomenol. As far as I can tell, none of them know I'm here.\n\nThis is going to be epic.\n\nI make my way to the front entrance as unobtrusively as I can. There's no need. Everyone's already inside. I flash my Academy ID card at the checkpoint security system. It lets me in.\n\nAnd then I am in the main hall. There's a bored looking security troll in front of me staring at a clipboard, and past him, into the main hall proper, there's everyone else.\n\n\"Name?\" the troll grunts as I draw closer.\n\nI take a deep breath and give it to him, \"Renegade.\" My voice carries throughout the main hall.\n\nAnd just like that the whole party comes to a screeching stop.",
" My mind had been busy all day long. Today was the 10 year reunion. I'd see my old colleagues again and have to answer those awkward questions about life and my carrier. Just thinking about that sent shivers down my spine. I felt hopeless all day long, merely dragged myself to the sidewalk to go back to the old college building. I was so absorbed in myself and the awkward situation that presented itself to me that I didn't even notice how quickly I arrived at the entrance gate.\n\n Everything was still dusty and as bland as can be. The bricks were eroded and the hallways seemes way too melancholic. On a wall, a frame was hung in an assimetric way. It was a picture of my classmates and I showing off our abilities. A girl in the back had plants growing on her hair and another teen was using his telekinesis. In a corner was a nerd boy holding a Gameboy with the logo of the Metahuman University of Stavanger. \n\n That nerd was me. My ability is the one to control and hack into any devices in a certain area aroun me. Was pretty useless back then, but now I don't even care. Most of the time I just use it to change the channels on my TV, and even then I get a mild headache. While I was still satring at that nostalgic photograph, a sweet female voice called my name.\n\n \"Josh! It's been so long, honey! Wow, you're so old now... ah, not old like *that* old, I meant gentleman old, you know?\"\n\n \"It's alright. I'm very old now. You, however, look younger than ever, Lovecraft\"\n\n Chistina was short, with wide eyes and a childish face. Her dress resembled something along the lines of a victorian night gown, but in shades of pink and blue. She smiled and looked at me a little embarrassed. \n\n \"Lovecraft, huh. At leats you guys gave me a cool villain nickname. See, I still use it to this day! Makes me look quirkier for the audience and a bit more cultured\"\n\n \"You quite literally transform your limbs into tentacles. It's quite an appropriate name, dare I say\"\n\n \"The media loves it! I'm always the center of attention when it comes to being a heinously cute villain... Anyways, and you, Josh? I can't quite recall having seen you anywhere since our graduation\"\n\n \"I... uh.. y'know-\"\n\nJust as I was about to answer awkardly, another voice achoed in my ears. This time, it was more corpulent, more serious and seducing. But the tone suggested an attempt at commedy.\n\n \"TechnoBoy and Tentacle Girl together. Now that's twist. Oh, you must be a lucky guy, Josh\"\n\n As I turned around, I came face to face with Scarlet, her real name being Camila, but she considered it too anticlimatic. Her face was gorgeously shaped by the make up, and she wore a bloody red long dress and new black scarpins. Seeing her was just like being lured by a siren. She had an aura capable of making me and any other normie want the touch of her face and her skin and everything.\n\n But that's how she attacked. The make up served the simple purposed of making her attractive, but also to cover the bruises. Her own body produced a concentrated type of gastric juice that was secreted through the pores of her skin. Having fisical contact with Scarlet meant death or at least some painful burns. Unfortunately, her own skin was not prepared and suffered greately from this ability, just as did its carrier.\n\n The three of us walked together to the reunion room, and there we talked and remembered the good old days. I asked some questions about life, but I myself also gave only vague answers, and didn't talk about my job.\n\n The truth was, my job was just a normal day job as an IT guy in a quite unknown place. That sure was normal, but metahumand like us were anything *but* normal. We were expected to pick a side, either a perfect villaind or a perfect hero. Unsurprisingly, the great majority and up becoming villains, but I never felt well into any of the categories. I never did well in our acting classes, because I just couldnt keep up with the manufactured personalities. So I decided to become a normal guy, with flaws and qualities.\n\nAfter some more talking and remembering, I saw Rob approaching our table. He was handsome and athletic, and every single inch of him screamed \"superhero\". Looking back at my old high school friend, it looked nothing like him. He finally got to where we were and, smiling gracefully, sat on a vacant chair. His long blond hair was fluid and perfect. The moment he started talking, though, was the moment I finally saw my friend back.\n\n \"Well, well, well... if it isn't Mr. Loser Josh accompanied by acid and tentacles! Hey, Christina, don't you care about the fan art? It's kinda creepy, ain't it?\" \n\n \"Shut up, drunkard!\" - Scarlet was having noe of it, while still using a commedic tone. It was well known that Rob, most of the time adderessed as \"Bacchus\", had the ability to raise the levels of ethanol in people's bodies, causing coma or death in mere minutes. However, he himself would also lose his mind when using it, and seem wasted for a couple of days. I lost the count of how many times he was useful at parties. But he had grown used to it, and now it had barely any effect on his body.\n\n Ignoring his gross comment, Lovecraft looked interested in talking to a hero. After all, this was a rare situation, where both sides of the coin could coexist for a moment.\n\n \"Bacchus, where did you get this costume? Last time we saw each other you completely trashed one of my favourite dresses, you know? I was pretty upset\"\n\n \"My mom sew it for me. She wants her boy to look good for the camera. Why don't you ask Josh? Sure he's got a cheap store where you can buy something... oh, yeah, where the hell were you all this time, Loser?\"\n\n This was it. The moment I feared the most. This was such a direct question and Rob wanted a satifactory answer. I took a deep breath and finally started speaking, with my mouth drying quickly:\n\n \"I, y'know, I'm an antihero. Sometimes I bust a hacker and get a reward, some other times I go to the government servers and read classified documents. But mostly I have a job as an IT guy and I'm cool with it\"\n\n Silence fell over the room, or at leats I felt it. I was shivering and sweating nervously. Breathing was hard and I felt everyone's eyes on me. After what I felt to be some two or three minutes, it was Lovecraft who broke the silence.\n\n \"Honey, you are sooo lucky. Like, really lucky. This hero-villain thing sucks. It does give you money, though. I just wanted some space and a series to bing-watch\"\n\n \"It's weird at leats, for sure. Your personality onscreen has to be so meticulously crafted that at this point I don't even know anymore. And there's the sponsorship, the deals and the real bad guys who hire me that are a pain in the ass. If I had known my life would be this crappy, I'd have chosen to be like you... I want to spend my day on Reddit or something, just to get out\" - Scarlet almost forced a simle, but her eyes were full of melancholy and maybe sadness.\n\n When Rob's turn to talk arrived, he was very objective: \"I just want to get some booze and feel it\".\n\n We sat there, depressed and weirded out about how life had leaded us all in these different ways. I decides to finally take action and speak.\n\n \"Let's go. Let's have our moment, man. We all just wanna run away, so why don't we just go to some ally and do what we want? Maybe Christina can watch Netflix, and Camila goes to Reddit to leugh at memes and-\"\n\n\"And I get my booze?\"\n\n \"We all get booze\"\n\n\\---------------------------------------------------\n\n*This turned out to be much longer than expected, and I even lostg the first version. Thank you so much and please don't take the spelling and grammar and whatever errors bc English is not my first language. Thank you again!*"
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[WP] You live in a world where magic and advanced technology coexist. The two factions had been at war for a long time. Now you attend a school with both factions, an attempt at peace.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"UC Berkeley, 1968. I remember it like it was yesterday. There was talk of the campus calling in the heat, maybe even the National Guard, if the Free Speech protests got out of hand. Two competing groups of protesters. There were the Technos, with the short hair and the cybernetic implants, the ones who supported continuing the Pan-Asian War, ostensibly in some abstract hope that it would turn the tide of the Dominoes in their tracks, but everyone knew they just supported trade access to the energy mines. Then there were the Wizards, barefoot longhairs carrying books on crystal healing and the focusing power of pyramids, the ones who used all the hip slang like \"groovy\" and \"this is my bag\", flashing peace signs while surrounded by the haze of burning sage.\n\n\"It's really all a bunch of nonsense,\" guffawed Professor Landry, to whom I had been assigned as a Teaching Assistant that semester, looking skeptically out of her office window at the two factions of protesters on the quad, campus PD officers forming a line between them. Although Professor Landry was somewhat conservative in her politics, she viewed the ideology and pursuits of the Technos as a crime against God and nature. Being staunchly conservative as she was, however, she could not bring herself to sympathize with the pacifist views of the Wizards. That is, pacifist when it came to broader, global political issues. The Wizards could and would throw down when they needed to. Landry also vocally hated the Wizards' dalliance with witchcraft and judged them based on their reputations for improper behavior and drug abuse.\n\n\"The reason,\" Landry commented, \"that we're seeing all this is entitlement. Entitlement, pure and simple. None of these youth factions want to become politically engaged in a proper, normal way. Wouldn't be surprised if there's violence today, knowing how some of these people act.\"\n\nOf course Landry would say that. Her published work was on the concept of Christendom, with titles like \"The Great Christian Kings of Europe\", and it was easy to get the impression she identified more with the feudal system and its theocratic underpinnings than with 20th-century American democracy. I had never told her that the reason I myself had chosen to study History and become a Medievalist was out of a desire to write fantasy novels, similar to my idol J.R.R. Tolkien - but with the emergence of the Technos and the Wizards in recent years, an amplification of youth culture by magic and technology, it felt like there was no need for that style of storytelling anymore. That kind of thing was all around us, but the heroes and villains weren't so obvious as all that and in many ways it was better to just stay out of the fight.\n\nI looked out the window again. The Technos were attempting to bum rush the Wizards, who began attempting to cast spells, shaping lightning from the Earth and forming the air into blasts of water. One of the campus police officers began to push both a Techno and a Wizard to the side before being trampled underfoot. It was happening. The protest was becoming violent.",
"As I was opening my locker, one girl slammed it shut and a group of girls surrounded me.\n\n\"What are you?\" the head girl asked. \"A techie, or a witch?\"\n\n\"Neither!\" I blurted. \"I just got transferred here because of my grades. Honestly.\"\n\n\"Shut up,\" the girl said, sneering at me. She turned to the girl on her left and ordered, \"Check her.\"\n\nThe girl on the left had green eyes and they began to glow.\n\nI squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip.\n\nThen all of a sudden I heard a, \"That's weird.\"\n\nI opened my eyes. The girl's eye was still glowing, but she was frowning. \n\n\"You're definitely not a techie,\" she said. \"And you're not a witch, either. But there's a magical aura around you that's...it's...honestly, I've never seen someone with power levels so high.\"\n\nThe head girl obviously didn't like that. She turned to me and smirked. \"Oh yeah?\" Blue fire emerged from her hands and eyes. \"Well, let's see how powerful she really is.\"\n\nShe raised her hand and aimed the ball of blue fire at me. I couldn't even close my eyes.\n\nThere was a flash and the head girl screamed and flew backwards into an opposite locker.\n\nEveryone gasped as we looked and saw a tall woman with wings pinning the head girl to the locker with one hand around her neck, and the other hand raised high with a sword ready to strike.\n\nThe angel woman looked over her shoulder at us. She spoke, \"I am her guardian angel, and no one may harm the child of God. Any attempts to do so will fail and will result in your death.\" Her eyes sharpened and fixed on me. \"Give the word, your majesty, and I will strike down this girl where she stands.\"\n\nI looked around. \"Are you talking to me?\"\n\n\"Your word is mine to obey,\" the angel said.\n\nThe head girl was turning blue. Her hands scrambled weakly at the angel's grip, and she turned her eyes on me and whispered, \"P-p-please...\"\n\n\"You're going to kill her!\" I screamed.\n\n\"That is the intention,\" the woman said, not relenting.\n\n\"Let her go!\" I shouted.\n\nShe bowed. \"As you wish, your majesty.\"\n\nThe head girl dropped to her knees and began to vomit. \n\nI blinked and the angel was gone.\n\nI looked at the other girls and they backed away from me, fearfully.\n\n\"I'm sorry..\" I said. \"I didn't know.\"\n\n\"Just stay away from us!\" one of the girls yelled.\n\nJust then, one of the teachers turned into the hallway and saw the head girl on her hands and knees still vomiting, and the big dent in the locker where the angel had slammed her.\n\nHis eyes narrowed. \"Who did this?\"\n\nThe other girls looked at me.\n\n\"I didn't!\" I protested. \"It was-...\"\n\n\"Was who?\" he asked.\n\nI stopped speaking and just hung my head because I didn't want to snitch on my guardian angel who had just saved me from getting burnt.\n\nBut one of the other girls raised her voice and said, \"It was her angel!\"\n\nThe teacher scoffed. \"Oh, please. Everyone knows angels are only assigned to protect the children of a god or goddess. Which you\" he looked me up and down \"most certainly are not.\"\n\nI felt my cheeks burning with shame and anger. \n\n\"Please follow me to the principal's office,\" he said, turning on his heels. \"And girls\" he addressed to the others \"take your friend to the nurses' office and please keep in mind that incidents of this kind will absolutely not be tolerated. There's already enough tension as it, and we are trying to keep the peace.\"\n\nIf only I had known how *non* peaceful my school year was about to be. \n\nThis was just the beginning."
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[WP] You live in a society where there is a death sentence, but also, the option for people to fight their loved ones murderer, in an arena specially built for this purpose, with an array of weapons specially made for this. You meet, for the first time, the person who killed your daughter.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
" The first thing you notice about Cole Burke, is that he is a big fucking deal. Six-foot-three, Olympic physique, a face you just can’t say no to…it’s no wonder his college pays him to go there. Of course, when the business school is named after your family, having a full-ride scholarship is kind of overkill. But hey, what else were they going to do with all that cash? Give it to someone else? Hell naw, bro.\n\nThe next thing you notice about Cole is that he is standing on the dirt floor of an arena, holding a sword and shield.\n\n“Uhh, what the fuck?” he says, suddenly aware of the leather armor strapped to his torso. Hadn’t he just been laying face-down on a padded table, exotic incense flowing into him, wearing nothing but a tiny towel across his butt? I mean, he’s all about those “off menu” massage options, but this is not what he had in mind when he passed “Cindy” that roll of 20s. \n\nHe’s dreaming, obviously. Got too relaxed and passed out on the table while his masseuse got her A game shit together. That makes loads more sense than him being magically teleported into gladiator times, which is totally not an explanation that he was seriously entertaining just now. Totally not. But still, the sword in his right hand has a convincing heft to it, and the crowd encircling him definitely sounds ready for some medieval MMA action. Cole is impressed with his own subconscious, and wonders what kind of Inception stuff he can get up to before “Cindy’s” hands bring him back to the real world. \n\nIt’s then that he notices the other figure, standing at the opposite end of the arena floor. It’s a figure he doesn’t recognize: a middle-aged man with pencil-thin arms and an awkwardly large head. If he could stand up straight, he might rise to Cole’s shoulder, but the weight of his armor – a little thicker and sturdier-looking than Cole’s - has him doubled over. His sword looks sharper and glints proudly in the sunlight, but the dude is struggling to keep its point up and out of the dirt. The look on his face, though, is a real war face. His eyes blaze with fury behind thin-framed glasses; veins bulge at his temples and in his neck. Cole definitely recognizes that look: from his dad, from various coaches, maybe a judge or two. Other places. But what it’s doing on this nerdy, accountant-looking motherfucker’s face, he hasn’t the faintest…\n\nThe man’s name is Mark. Mark Stephenson. The name snaps neatly into a blank space in his recollection, as if he already knew it and had just momentarily forgot. Other details bubble up alongside it. Mark is some kind of therapist - not an accountant – and he has a daughter named Abigail. She’s a junior at Fulston, just like Cole, and he loves her more than anything in the blah blah blah that’s nice. “Who is this guy and how…why do I know him?” Cole muses out loud. Did he boof his daughter or something? That explains the death glare, but it doesn’t exactly narrow it down. “Abigail…Abigaaaail…” He groans her name as he swipes through a gallery of half-remembered faces in his mind.\n\nSomehow, the pencil-neck hears him over the roaring crowd. He responds in low, rumbling tones that also inexplicably cut through the arena’s ambient buzz, as if he were standing right next to him.\n\n“That’s right, say her name,” Mark growls. “Say her name and admit what you did!”\n\n“What I did…bro, you don’t know me!” The denial flies out of Cole’s mouth reflexively, but his grip tightens on his shield handle.\n\n“Oh, yes I do,” Mark says in an uncomfortably close voice. “You’re Cole Elias Burke, son of Jonas Burke, star running back at Fulston College, and the evil piece of shit who murdered my daughter!” \n\n\n*(Continued below)*",
"Trial by steel. A concept long accepted, and a concept long cherished by those who have ever felt wronged. For the most heinous of crimes, a duel to the death. Retribution for the aggrieved. A chance at salvation for the damned.\n\nKevin stood at his edge of the arena. He gripped the tall, concrete columns that supported the stands above him. A year ago, Kevin had made light of thise who fought in places like these. \"They fight for the amusement of the masses. Idiots,\" he had said. Perhaps now, he was the idiot.\n\nThat didn't matter. Fury welled in his chest, threatening to overflow as he thought of the man that killed his daughter. He didn't know much about the monster: only his name. Jason Turner. Kevin had been informed of his capture only hours ago, and the decision to fight had come soon after. Samantha's revenge was at hand.\n\nImages of his daughter wearing her favorite yellow dress came flitting through his mind. Her radiant smile had warmed his heart, her yellow dress giving her the likeness of the sun. It had pained him greatly to send her off to fourth grade a year ago. To separate from the only family he really had. Ever since her mother died...\n\nThat fateful morning, a sense of unease had clawed at his heart. Something simulatenously tangible and nebulous. Figuring that it was his own loneliness, Kevin had repressed it. For his daughter's sake. It wouldn't do for her to see him worried about something as silly as the fourth grade. Later that afternoon, he got the call that she had been found dead.\n\nOh the sleepness nights he had spent waiting for this moment. To release the fury and sorrow that had claimed his soul. To personally end the monster that had cut his daughter's life short.\n\nThe gates at the other end of the arena rumbled, the great iron doors slowly opening. Kevin approached the center of the arena, gripping his gun until his knuckles were white. From the blackness that the great gates revealed came a figure.\n\nThe small shadow walked forward, trembling as it did so. The gun in its small hands seemed so disproportionately large. Then it stepped into the light. \n\nJason Turner: a sixth grader. Kevin's heart turned cold, the rage withering and transforming into something akin to disbelief, shock, and the last vestiges of his anger.\n\nThe gun dropped from his grip. Though a murderer, Jason was but a child. The kid seemed genuine in his fear and terror. Perhaps a chance existed for him to change. Maybe even atone for the atrocity he committed. Kevin would not be the one to extinguish a life that young. \n\nAnd yet, it was a duel to the death. A chance at salvation for the damned, and a reunion for the aggrieved.",
"Standing in the narrow tunnel that led to the Judgement's Gambit Arena, I could feel a slight breeze wafting across the massive floor. I could hear the roar of the crowd, ebbing and flowing, their excitement rising to a fevered pitch before descending to near silence.\n\nIn those silent moments, I would focus on the small picture in my shaking hand. Sure, I was nervous. I was finally going to face the monster that took my daughter's life, that took Anna's life.\n\nWhen I was contacted by the state's Alternative Punishment Board, I thought it was a joke. This man, a prisoner, was asking for a chance at a full pardon AND the chance to kill someone else in my family.\n\nThe APB explained that many times families feel this form of punishment gives closure should the family's champion be the victor.\n\nI could choose any number of rules and regulations from their guidelines and put sanctioned handicaps on him, though they discouraged handicaps unless necessary.\n\nThe roaring of the crowd broke my reverie and I was once again standing in a dark hallway.\n\nA digital board blinked to life on my right displaying the rules and choices I made with the APB several months ago and a small groove in the wall opened containing my armor and daggers.\n\n​\n\n**Rules and Restrictions: Aggrieved Party**\n\n1. Weapon Choice: Dual daggers with cross-guard. (Both Parties)\n2. Personal Protective Equipment: Light leather bracers, gloves, and neck covering. (Aggrieved Party Only)\n3. Aggrieved Party Handicaps: None.\n4. Adversarial Party Handicaps: None.\n5. Contest Completion Condition: Death of either or both the aggrieved and adversarial party.\n6. Arena Condition: No alteration. Flat and even ground with fair footing.\n\n**Resolution Begins:** 180 Seconds\n\nWith every tick of the counter, the crowd slowly began to quiet. I quickly and carefully donned my armor and familiarized myself with the feel of the daggers. The weight in my hands felt right. The cold steel a stark contrast to the warmth of the air around me would have almost been pleasant.\n\nFinally, the quiet of the crowd broke as I distantly heard \"10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1!\" A small door at the end of the hallway opened and at once I could hear the roaring crowd outside.\n\nI admit that I was emboldened by their excitement. I imagined that their cheers were in support of me and my family.\n\nA smile played upon my lips until I locked eyes with... Him. My face fell, suddenly stoic. If hatred were a look, that is what he saw.\n\nHe was thinner than I expected, more gaunt. This man had not fared well in prison, that much was easy to see. He stalked to the center of the arena, his face a mask of an indecipherable emotion. Once there, he waited for me to slowly make my way toward him.\n\nHe did not stand it a defensive stance. As I approached, he tossed his daggers to his side and held his hands out, seemingly in surrender.\n\nMy anger addled mind saw it as a challenge rather than the plea of a tired man for his life to be ended quickly.\n\nWell, as the story often goes, a taste of blood is often too sweet to ignore.\n\nI murdered him, the feeling of vengeance not nearly as empowering as the taking of a life. How could I only take one after tasting of death's sweet nectar?\n\nNow I sit here, another board ticking to my side:\n\n**Rules and Restrictions: Adversarial Party**",
"Guilty. To death. That’s all I remember from the trial. 3 long months of testimonies, expert opinions, eye-witness accounts, but the only moment I remember is when the jury returned the verdict my family waited almost 2 years to hear. Ryan Jeffer, guilty of murdering Julie Singer. Sentenced to death by chair or combat. I felt the weight of my wife collapse against me as all the old feelings bubbled up to meet the fresh realization that our fight was over, and Ryan’s guilt was a bitter victory. Suddenly, I felt the mood in the room shift. All the eyes that once fell on Jeffers now turned to me, the father. The avenger. \n\nA bailiff appeared next to me and laid a hand gently on my stooped shoulder. “Sir, would you please come with me?” He asked as he simultaneously led me from my seat in the courtroom. My wife staggered to her feet and tugged my hand hard. “Where are you taking him?” She asked without taking her eyes off mine.\n\n“Ma’am, we need your husband to come with us. The sentence is death by chair or combat, your husband has a choice to make.” My wife opened her mouth to speak, but there was really nothing more to say. She reluctantly released my hand, and I was rushed from the bustling courtroom to the judge’s chambers. \n\nIt was smaller than I expected thanks to a large oak desk that took up almost the entire width of the rooms. A couple bookshelves were overflowing with law books and nick-nacks that could be found in any generic souvenir gift shop. Probably picked up on generic family vacations. A miniature figurine of the Washington Monument caught my eye and broke my heart. It was one of Julie’s favorites. \n\nI didn’t even notice the bailiff had left the room, and I was more taken aback when I turned around to find myself staring into the eyes of Ryan Jeffers. \n\n“Gentlemen, please sit.” The judge stepped from behind Jeffers and took his seat behind the desk. Jeffers and I sat across from him, next to each other. “This next phase in the sentencing is completely up to you Mr. Singer. Mr. Jeffers has been found guilty in the death of your daughter and sentenced to death. We have an electric chair available, but we can also offer you the opportunity to fight Mr. Jeffers in the Arena. The choice is yours, but it is not an easy choice, and we would like to give you the opportunity to speak with Mr. Jeffers before making your decision. We will give you privacy, please take all the time you need.” Before anything else could be said, the judge scurried from the room. And there we were. A man and a murderer. Alone at last. \n\nThere was an awkwardness to the silence, I didn’t expect that. I assumed it would be easy to face my daughter’s killer, to tell him exactly what I thought of him, how he ruined our lives and ring his neck with my bare hands. I could almost feel his pulse in my palm when he relented and spoke first.\n\n“I don’t want to die.” He stated. I was shocked. I turned to face him and saw him staring off. Out the window. The Arena in the distance. The audacity.\n\nRage tore through my veins, and I leapt from my seat to stand over him. I had a million things I wanted to say to him, a million questions I wanted to ask, but my mind was blank. This man extinguished the life of my daughter. My only child. The light of my life. Left her to die in the street, and we deserved answers as much as he deserved to die. But at that moment, I only had the energy for one question.\n\n“Why her?” I stammered and slumped back in my chair.\n\nRyan Jeffers looked over at me. I knew he was young, just 18 at the time of the murder and barely 20 now, but he seemed so much younger in person. His face was small and boyish. He had wide blue eyes hidden behind stringy blond hair. His mouth was a thin fixed line under a thin pencil mustache. The damn kid could barely grow a mustache. \n\n“She was there and it felt right.” He said. Simple. I expected more but was almost relieved there wasn’t anything else. She was there. A crime of opportunity. It couldn’t be stopped, there was nothing I could have done.\n\nWe both turned to face the windows. From the judge’s chambers, we had a great view of the Arena, a 70,000 seat battlefield where justice could be served with blood and broken bones. One word and I could gut this boy with a hunting knife, or crack his skull with a sledgehammer. We could fight like men. He could die feeling the pain my daughter felt.\n\nFor more than an hour we sat quietly and gazed at the Arena. A possible future and end to our story together. I looked over at the boy again, the pencil thin mustache, and wide eyes. I rose from my seat for the door, and I saw fear flash across his face. I turned back, placed my hands gently on his shoulders, and leaned in close.\n\n“Don’t fool yourself. You deserve to die.” I whispered as my hands crept around his neck. I felt his pulse quicken under my palms. He pulled at my fingers and kicked the desk wildly trying to escape. Ryan Jeffers gasped and choked, is face turning shades of purple and blue under my tightening gasp. I heard the satisfying snap of the hyoid bone and his body fell limp in the chair.\n\nWiping the sweat from my brow, I gazed up to see the sun setting behind the Arena and smiled. All felt right.",
"I took a deep, resigned breath. I reach out, and stroke the cat on my lap. My oldest companion in terms of time. He looks up at me as he closes his eyes, and purrs in approval. I feel a half smile come across my lips. If only life were as simple for all of us as it is for my cat. As i glance around at the room of government officials, media, and family members, i think about the series of events that brought me to this moment. \n\nI couldn't conceive due to medical reasons, so i chose to give a home to a child that didn't have one. It took a few years, and a lot of money, but i had finally succeeded in becoming a mother to a wonderful 3 year old girl. I gave everything i had to my daughter. It was like she was always meant to be with me. And I'm sure she had felt the same once she was old enough to understand these types of things. We went on picnics, vacations, zoos, everything. I tried to make sure she knew she was loved, and that her life was filled with enrichment and joy.\n\nOf course, there were hard times as well. The death of my parents left her without grandparents. The broken arm from slipping on the curb when she was 8. The loss of her best friend when his family moved due to being stationed somewhere else. But i was always there to wipe her tears away and assure her that everything was going to turn out alright.\n\n\"We're on a time restriction, miss; media and all that. Not to mention the audience we have here and the people watching at home on t.v. Are you ready to start?\"\n\nI scratch my cat under his chin as i look up at the judge. He looks conflicted, as I'm sure i do.\n\n\"Yes, your honour. Please make sure my cat is comfortable. I don't want an earful from him when i come back.\"\n\nThe judge chuckles a bit and looks at me. I thought i saw some tears forming but it was possibly a trick of the light.\n\n\"Remember, this is for the best. It's the way things are done now. Even if you aren't a woman of violence, someone will always have to wind up paying for a life with a life. If not this, it'll happen by execution. There's no way to avoid a life being taken today. One way or another.\"\n\nI start tying my long, curly, orange hair into a bun on top of my head. I glance up at the judge as i finish.\n\n\"I understand. It just feels so....barbaric. But, i suppose times inevitably change, don't they? Let's get this over with.\"\n\nI hand my cat to an official and stand up. I shake the judges hand, turn left, and approach the tunnel. I have to admit, being the nerd i am, i for the briefest of moments feel as if I'm about to go out to the ring and have a tussle on pay-per-view with someone while we both wear spandex. I don't smile though. I actually get angry with myself for even having a stray thought about something as inconsequential as that while i walk towards one of the biggest moments in my life. I barely notice as i bump into a table by the entrance. Ah yes, those. I pick up a hammer with my left hand as my right hand picks up the gun. I stand there a few moments staring at them both, almost unable to believe this is happening. The crowd roars as i step through the curtain, into the arena. The bright lights of the building blind me as i step up to the microphone.\n\n\"Hello everyone. You're here for the same reason i am; to face the murderer of my child. Justice will be served today. Life for a life. I just want to say don't take being a parent for granted. Don't take your children for granted. You never know when that's going to be ripped away from you. I hope none of you ever have to resort to this like me.\"\n\nThe crowd is divided. Equally booing and cheering. I can't believe this passes as entertainment to some people.\n\n\"Let's not drag this out.\"\n\nI step away from the mic and see my target in the middle of the arena. It's time. I start walking slowly, anticipating the moment i can carry out my vengeance. Which in itself is funny, considering I've never been a violent person. Violent....Violet....my daughter... \n\nTears start to cascade down my face. At this point, i don't know if it's out of anger or sorrow. I don't even bother to wipe them away as i approach the center. I tuck the gun into my bra strap; then reach out and with one hand, pull away the blanket covering my destination. \n\nI stare. I stare for what seems like an eternity into the eyes of my childs murderer. As those eyes stare back, emotions flood over me. I feel as if I'm about to drown at sea, with only my instruments of death as a life preserver. This seems so difficult and easy at the same time. A glimpse goes through my mind of cradling my sweet Violets lifeless body in my arms. Sobbing hysterically that we will never share time together again. My eyes narrow with fury as i raise the hammer in my left hand and bring it down with all the force i can.\n\nThe mirror shatters as shards fly in all directions. \n\nA few pieces hit me, lodging in my bicep, shoulder, and even one in my cheek. I wince. Opening my eyes, gazing down at the gun that's once again in my right hand, i am overcome with grief. Not over the end of my life, but over the loss...my loss....no, the worlds loss of my daughters life. Her loss was accidental, but no less a tragedy. She would have done so much good in this world. I just know it. This is the only thing i can do. A life, for a life. I feel the coolness of the gun barrel as it presses against my temple. My hands grip tight in resolve to see this through. My fingers dance around the trigger. My eyes close for the final time.\n\n\"Violet, sweetie....mommy loves you\"",
"She was the love of my life. I knew from the first moment I held her tiny hand in mine and counted her itty bitty fingers that I would do anything for her.\n\nMy wife died giving me this little girl, and I would treasure that gift and care for it as best as I could. \n\nI cried the first time a nurse handed her to me, mourning for the woman I loved with all of my heart. The heart she gave back so that I could give it to this life we created together.\n\nSometimes I could swear she was watching over us somehow, giving me advice I could not hear to take. I did the best I could.\n\nMy daughter grew into a beautiful, strong, intelligent young lady who knew to her very bones that *both* of her parents loved her.\n\nAnd this man... this ***monster***... her took her from me. \n\nI remembered the day the police showed up on my doorstep, and before they said a word I *knew.* My girl, my sweet Lilah was gone and I would never hear her laugh, see her smile, dry her tears again. \n\nShe was only 20. She'd been so proud on the day she received her college acceptance letter.\n\nThose happy days feel so long ago now.\n\nThis man may be a killer, but he's going to feel a father's *rage*.\n\nAs I walked out into the coliseum, the crowds around me roared their approval. They wanted to see this man's blood almost as much as I did.\n\nThe man, I'd been told his name was Aaron Gribber, stumbled from his side, and the tide of the cheers turned into an echoing \"Boo!\"\n\nOn my left side, as I requested, where the same tools he had used against my baby girl. This retched human had tortured her to death using these exact instruments, and I hadn't heard her screams.\n\nHad Lilah called for me? Screaming for help, had this man heard my daughter beg for her 'daddy'?\n\nWas she watching now with her mother? Were her cheers mixed and lost among the throbbing voices of the spectators?\n\nI would make him scream as he had her. And no one would save him. Just as I hadn't saved my Lilah.\n\nFor my own failure, this man would *suffer*.",
"A single drop of sweat traced its way down Regi's spine. \n\nA walkie-talkie beeped somewhere in the distance. \"All clear?\" a voice asked. \"Clear\" another responded. \n\nRegi took a deep breath. \"Here we go,\" we whispered. All the lights in the room shut off. A circle on the floor illuminated around him, and he began to rise up. Into the arena. \n\nHe could picture her perfectly in the darkness of the lift. Maria. Her dark hair sat loosely on top of her shoulders. Her lips were pressed together in that face she always made when she was thinking. Her dark eyes looked around, confused. \"Where are we going, dad?\" Regi felt a lump form in his throat. \"You need to eat more, sweetie. You're too thin,\" he said. She threw her head back and laughed. \"You're always saying that.\" \n\n*Was. I was.* \n\nA loud hiss finally snapped Regi back to reality. He looked up. The ceiling was opening up, flooding the lift with light and noise. Then, just like that, he was on the surface. The arena was bigger than he had ever imagined it to be. It was one massive, circular, metal chamber illuminated by blue LEDs in the floor. Surrounding him on all sides was the biggest crowd he had ever seen. Their roar was deafening. \n\nOn the other side of the circle, directly across from him, rose his opponent. The man who had been convicted of murdering his daughter. He was tall and thin with shoulder-length blonde hair and glasses that rested on the tip of his nose. Regi still wasn't sure what Maria had seen in him. \n\nA table rose up in front of each of them, covered in weapons. It had all of the standard things Regi had expected such as rope, cord, axes, knives, hammers, netting, a spear, and even a sword. However, it also contained head-scratching items like a guitar, a bull-horn, handcuffs, and even pen and paper. \n\nRegi instantly grabbed the cord, some knives, and an axe. The table disappeared into the floor. He looked up at his opponent and almost laughed. The kid had rope, a net, and a bullhorn. *This will be easy*. \n\nRegi charged, hoping to close the distance before his opponent had time to get prepared. He held the axe in his right hand and a knife in his left. \n\nThe kid didn't react. Instead, he started tying a knot in his rope. Regi slowed his charge about halfway there. \"Are you not going to fight, Dan?\" Regi yelled. \"Surely Maria deserves better than this.\" \n\nDan looked up and smiled. \"Ah yes, she did deserve better. Poor girl.\" \n\nRegi felt his blood boil. *How can he be so nonchalant?* *Screw it.* He charged again. Dan finished tying his knot, revealing a lasso. He started spinning it over his head. \n\nRegi was ten feet away and closing the distance. Fast. He knew it was reckless, but he was charging into an unarmed boy. *Let's just get this over with.* \n\nRegi raised up his axe and let out a yell. He swung. Dan wasn't there. Regi stumbled forward a few steps. Then, his feet came out from under him. He hit the ground, hard. A splitting pain shot through his head. He groaned, and somehow managed to roll himself over onto his back. \n\nHe looked around. Dan had somehow managed to get the lasso around Regi's feet and jump out of the way of his axe in a matter of seconds. *How?* Regi knew he was big, but he wasn't slow. There was no way Dan was that much faster than him. \n\nRegi tried to sit up to cut the lasso off of his feet, but as he did the world started to spin. The splitting pain grew stronger. \n\nDan stood up, kicked the axe out of Regi's reach, and threw a net over him. The weight of the net caused Regi to fall back onto his back. The world spun again. \n\nRegi started flailing his left arm, trying to cut the netting with his knife, but nothing happened.\n\nDan sat down on the ground next to Regi. He set the bull-horn off to the side. \"Do you want to know what actually happened to Maria?\" \n\nRegi said nothing. \n\n\"One day, we got into a little argument,\" Dan said as he brushed his hair out of his eyes. \"Nothing serious, mind you. She accused me of trying to cut her off from her friends.\" Dan let out a short laugh. \"Me? Why would I do that?\" \n\nRegi stared up at the dark ceiling. He refused to look at Dan. \n\n\"So that's what I said to her,\" Dan continued. \"Then she started crying, and you and I both know how much it sucks when she cries.\" Dan laughed again. \"'Your friends are your support system' I told her. Why would I want to cut her off from them?\" Dan leaned forward. \"You see, Regi, Maria spiraled into a deep, deep depression while we dated.\" He started nodding furiously. \n\nRegi turned his head to look at Dan. Dan's eyes were totally blank, icy blue pits. \n\n\"She had lots of problems,\" Dan said. \"Self-esteem problems. Friendship problems.\" He hesitated. \"Daddy problems.\" \n\nRegi grunted and struggled against the netting again. Dan picked up the axe and cut the netting around Regi's left arm. Regi seized his moment and swung the knife. He felt steel connect to flesh, but only ended up grazing Dan's face. Dan simply moved his hair out of the cut, leaned back, and continued talking. \n\n\"You see, Regi, I didn't kill your daughter. You did. You and your Varsity basketball expectations. You and your 4.0 gpa expectations. You and your 'only date smart, athletic, mature men' expectations.\" \n\nRegi felt a lump form in his throat. *It couldn't be. Could it?* \n\n\"You see, Regi, Maria killed herself. With *your* favorite steak knife. And I had to watch from the window outside the kitchen.\" Dan took a breath. \" I didn't break through the kitchen door to get *out.* I broke through the kitchen door to get *in*.\" \n\n\"You're lying\" Regi said. \"I saw you run away.\" \n\n\"Oh yeah I ran!\" Dan said, nodding furiously again. \"I knew you'd blame me. What else was I supposed to do but run away?\" Dan leaned forward again. Regi gripped the knife harder. \"What did the medical examiner say her cause of death was?\" \n\nThe lump grew bigger in Regi's throat. \n\n\"Well?\" \n\n\"Suicide,\" Regi replied, loosening his grip on the knife again. \n\nDan threw his hands up. \"And *you* didn't believe them. So *you* went running to your brother to get my case put in *his* court so *you* don't have to admit to yourself what you did\" Dan leaned forward. \"You killed Maria, Reginald. And you pretty much ended my life, too.\" \n\nRegi stared at the knife in his hand. \n\nDan leaned forward. \"I think it's only right you feel what she felt,\" he whispered. \"You have no one any more. No wife. No kid. No future. Just end it.\" \n\nThe lump grew bigger. Regi turned the knife over in his hand, examining it. He took a shaky breath in, and struck.",
"\"Finally i have been waiting for this day to come.\" I said as i walk the arena halls. Lost in deep thought i failed to notice that the time is passing. I arrived in front of a man, he is composed and does not show any emotions. \n\n\"This way sir, may God bless you in your battle. May his grace guide you to the right path of vengeance against her Killer.\" he said. I am not an entirely religious fellow but his words is almost reassuring that everything is gonna be fine. \n\nThe gate slowly opened and there he stands. Even a sliver of his shadow is enough to make my blood boil and my mind blank. I thought he was someone i thought that i could trust. He was my brother. \n\n\"Who knew that our reunion would be so extreme?\" I shouted to him. \n\n\"Well Riana certainly didn't.\" He said with a small chuckle. I nearly lost all humane thoughts that i have after he said that. I almost pity him, he lost all of his humanity after what happened.\n\n\"Now then, shall we go my dear brother?\" He said. I swiftly grabbed the handgun that is in my holster. \n\n\"Lets make this quick, i still have work by 9.\" I said as i point the gun at him. \n\n\"Thats exactly why she died by my hands, all you think about it wo-\" He tried to finish his sentence but the bullet has already reached him before then. I did not expect this to be so quick. \n\nI walked back to the man standing by the gate \n\n\"God will surely forgive your sins today, but the law wont. Be ready to face more of your relatives or rot in a cell and wait for your death to come. God will certainly welcome you to his home\"",
"Terry stood in the empty room, eyes closed, taking slow, measured breaths. He stood, focused, unmoving, concentrating on his memories, remembering what brought him here. He saw that day, as clear now as when it happened. He remembered the pain. The pain he felt then. He couldn’t wait to share it.\n\nHe saw his house, his old house, remembered the smells of the warm spring day. He remembered walking the path to the front door, opening it, expecting his beautiful daughter to come flying from another room, arms wide, smiling wide to show the teeth she’d lost, squealing with joy. He could still hear her yell, “*Daddy!*” He could almost feel her tight hugs as she whispered, “I love you.”\n\nThat day, his expectations had been crushed. There was no joy in opening his front door. No happy squeal. No, “I love you.” He could see it clearly, as if it was happening right now. He reached forward, opening the door. Silence. He slipped on the wet floor. His world collapsed when he looked down that day. Red. Blood.\n\nHe watched himself helplessly as he followed the trail to her room. His sweet Jesse. His sunshine, his happiness, his daughter. She laid there, broken, twisted, lifeless. She was his reason for being, his purpose. Her mother hadn’t survived childbirth. Now Jesse was gone too. He remembered that moment all too well. The day his life fell apart, ended.\n\n“I miss you Jesse.” He whispered to himself. Today he would get his revenge. Today he might even smile again. If he remembered how. He couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled. His reason had been taken. Taken by the man, the monster, waiting for him. \n\nTerry remembered the police catching the man, the jury convicting him. He could still hear the wails of, “I’m innocent,” and, “I was framed.” Lies, he told himself. The evidence had been clear. The man, the monster, killed Jesse. He took Terry’s life, his reason, that day, without touching him. Today, Terry would touch the man, take his life. Today, vengeance belonged to Terry.\n\n“You ready?” Someone asked. Terry didn’t bother to see who it was. He knew.\n\n“Yes,” he responded curtly. \n\nThe judge for Jesse’s killer’s trial stood behind him. All of this was possible because of him, his offer. “The jury has found him guilty on all counts, he will get the death penalty.” The judge had told him that day, years ago. “I have an idea… If you’re interested.” Terry had been interested, he listened to the judge’s idea. \n\nHe stood, moments away from meeting Jesse’s killer again. This time, it would be the last time. “We can execute him via lethal injection, or… there’s another way, a more fulfilling way.” The judge had told him. That way came today.\n\nTerry reached down, grabbing his blue and white ice axe. He held it firmly with both hands. His right hand squeezed and twisted the grip. Eager with anticipation, his nerves felt electrified. A slight breeze from somewhere in the bland white waiting room crawled across his skin, sending a shiver down his spine as it cooled his sweat soaked body.\n\n“Let’s go,” he sneered.\n\n“Have fun,” the judge laughed sharply.\n\nA thin line appeared in the white wall in front of Terry. Quickly the outline of a door took shape. It slowly opened with a vile hissing sound. Terry stepped into the arena.\n\nAn announcer introduced him to cheering crowds. Photos of the murder scene, clips of the trial, interviews with Terry and the man, Jesse’s killer played on a giant screen. The fans cheered, bood, jeered, and screamed. Terry heard it, he saw it, but none of it registered. Ahead of him stood a monster. \n\nEach step in the dirty, sandy arena took him closer. Closer to the man who killed Jesse. Closer to the man who killed his daughter. The man, the monster, stood there, terrified. Chains attached to a cuff on his... its left ankles kept it from fleeing, limited its movement. \n\nJesse’s killer’s arms were still free. They waved back and forth as it pleaded. Terry didn’t care. Terry could see the fear in its eyes. He could feel it from here. Taste it. He stopped for a moment to revel in it. Taking a slow, deep breath, Terry could certainly smell Jesse’s murderer’s fear. It smelled… delicious, euphoric.\n\nHe began to tremble as his body grew hot with adrenaline. Terry looked into the bastard’s eyes one last time before launching himself forward in rage. He heard himself screaming, felt his throat tearing apart from the sheer force, and release, of his hatred.\n\nHis right arm lifted the ice axe high, coming down swiftly and powerfully into Jesse’s killer’s shoulder. Terry ripped it out, swinging for the hip this time. “*Murderer!*” He heard himself yell.\n\nIt screamed in pain. A horrific wail of a helpless creature being ripped apart. Terry hoped each swing hurt it to its very soul. \n\n“I didn’t…” It pleaded, blood pouring from mouth even though Terry hadn't gotten there yet. “I didn’t kill here.” It cried. “I didn’t know...” Terry interrupted it by stepping quickly around and sinking the ice axe into its back, next to its right shoulder blade and ripping down.\n\nThe ear piercing scream stunned Terry. The rage, the hatred subsided momentarily. As if opening his eyes for the first time since he could remember, Terry saw himself. He saw the man in front of him, bloody, broken, and crying. \n\nGuilt, uncertainty, fear ran through him. The man fell to his knees. Reaching up, he grabbed Terry’s hands with his own slippery, blood soaked hands. Terry didn’t see a monster, he saw a scared, dying man. His stomach twisted violently. Who was he? He wondered. He’d been so lost. He still was.\n\n“Please…” The man begged. “Kill me quickly.” He coughed the words out, spraying blood as he spoke. “I didn’t… I didn’t do it…” Terry looked down, into fading brown eyes. Eyes filled with fear and regret. Human eyes. “I know who did…”\n\nSlowly, the man’s grip grew weak, then nonexistent. His body slowly slumped over before falling to the sandy ground with a soft, sad thud. The announcer screamed, the crowd cheered, the giant screen replayed the quick event.\n\nTerry felt something in his hand, something the man had given him as he died. He looked at the object, a photo. His legs lost their strength, the sandy ground rushed up to meet him as he threw his hands out to stop his fall. \n\nOn his hands and knees in a sandy arena, surrounded by thousands of bloodthirsty onlookers, Terry wept. He did not smile. He may never smile again. \n\nLaying on the sand in front of him, the photo stared back, taunting, teasing him. Jesse stared back up at him, her face twisted with fear, her eyes filled with tears. Behind her stood a man, holding her by the hair with one hand, a knife to her neck with the other. The man was not the man he just killed.\n\nTerry had seen that man, that smile before. He heard the man’s, Jesse’s real killer’s voice. The last words Jesse’s killer spoke to him replayed over and over, beating against his skull harder and harder. “Have fun.”\n\nTerry vomited and fell over. Slipping the photo into his pocket, he laid in the sand, finally relaxing. He knew the truth. He knew what he had to do. Terry laid on his back staring up, through the giant screen, though the crowd, through the roof. “I’m sorry.” He whispered. \n\nSlowly, he stood up and took a few breaths. Terry knew what he had to do. He reached down and ripped the ice axe free. He turned around, toward the exit. The judge was coming, walking towards him with a huge smile. Terry tightened his grip on the slick, blood covered, red ice axe and smiled. “Have fun,” he whispered as he took his first step towards the judge…",
"Hot summer sun turned the coliseum's sand floor to magma; it nearly burned Kaleo's feet through his sandals, but even then, it was nothing compared to the anger that burned in his heart.\n\n*I finally have the chance*, he thought, watching a gate on the opposite side rise, *to make right what is so utterly wrong. This is for you, Antonia, my love.*\n\nWhen the court had first offered the choice between death sentence and trial by combat, Kaleo's wife had staunchly objected his decision. She said that she'd already lost a child, and to lose a lover as well might kill her. Kaleo ignored her, and promised that he would not die and leave her alone in the world.\n\nLittke did he know, he had already abandoned her for his anger. She disappeared not long after his decision was made official.\n\nA ragged man, not much of a fighter, lumbered in through the opposite gate, dragging a sword too big for him. Armor wobbled on his body, his helmet shifting. It was clear he had never been much of a fighter--which makes sense. No soldier could bring himself low enough to kill a child.\n\nKaleo burned hotter and hotter watching him. *The man who killed my daughter, and cost me my wife as a result.*\n\n*Augustus Pelitus--he who stole everything from me in a single moment. I will now steal back what little you have to offer.*\n\nThe crowd around them cheered; they loved these kinds of revenge-driven fights. Something about how personal it was made them intensely enjoyable, regardless of the outcome. The battle started with a horn blare, and Kaleo walked forward. Augustus did not move, either out of fear, acceptance, or inability, so Kaleo shifted into a run. The crowd grew louder.\n\n\"Mur-der-er!\" they chanted, calling for blood. Only a life would be an offering worthy enough to quell the stadium of death's desires.\n\nAugustus weakly raised his cheap, rusted broadsword in a way that would not protect him. It was clear that his equipment was cheap and old, an intentional decision; meanwhile, his sword was sharp and light, perfectly balanced. There had been more brutal options available, but he opted for simplicity. Kaleo was not experienced, but the man he was fighting looked as though he had never held a sword before. Only a bow . . . a fitting weapon for a coward. The weapon that had slaughtered his daughter.\n\nHe would not make it quick.\n\nKaleo aimed for the man's sword, knocking it out of his hands, which twisted his wrists violently. He cried out, and the sound was beautiful to the hungry crowd. They relished in it, demanding more. Kaleo gave it to them, hitting Augustus in the face with the flat side of his sword, casting him to the ground. It must've burnt his palms, the way he yelped.\n\n\"Kill me,\" he croaked. That only made Kaleo angrier. \n\n\"Why don't you fight?\" he asked, looming over the pathetic man. \"You would kill a little girl, but not fight her father for your own life? Even a beaten dog would growl.\"\n\n\"What is the point? I have no training with swordplay. Besides--\" \n\n\"Of course. Much easier to murder children with a bow, isn't it?\"\n\nAugustus wanted to be defiant, but was barely able to cough out a response. It was pathetic, and quiet. Kaleo almost didn't hear him over the crowd, which was getting anxious waiting for the killing blow. \"I didn't want to do that. Not a day goes by that I don't face regret bigger than even Mount Olympus itself.\"\n\nThe sword came down, piercing the edge of his calf, and he screamed. The crowd had wanted death, but if it was slow--well, the more pain, the better.\n\n\"Do not pretend to have a heart now that you face death.\"\n\n\"Believe what you will. I never meant to kill that girl.\"\n\nKaleo shifted the sword around, and the man cried out once more. \"Then why shoot her, you mongrel? Why pierce her with an arrow taller than her, then pretend to be sorrowful?\" \n\nPanting, Augustus replied, \"The arrow was meant for you.\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"I was a new guard for the eatery you were at. The owner warned me that conflict was brewing outside with an inebriated customer, so I approached, and you were screaming and fighting with the waitstaff. I didn't even know why. You hit one of them, and the owner screamed at me to do something. I panicked . . . I wanted to aim for your legs, but . . . I didn't see the little girl behind you, and . . . .\" He trailed off into a sob.\n\n\"Liar! I did no such thing, quit your desperate mind games!\" He raised the sword high, and the crowd was ready.\n\nAs Kaleo stood above the injured man, blood dripping into hot sand and turning brown, all he could see was his daughter's smile. Would she think less of him, if she saw the raw anger, the ravaging violence? Would she be scared? It was then that he remembered something; his daughter's voice, cutting through the clamor. Something from that night, which had previously been a blur to him.\n\n*Please calm down, Papa.*\n\nAugustus remained crumpled, heaving breaths. \"Kill me already! Be done with it. I deserve death--no, I long for it.\"\n\nBut he couldn't--if his little girl was watching over him, she wouldn't be proud of what he was doing, of him making the same mistakes he always did. Just once, he wanted to do right by her. Just once.\n\nHe dropped the sword into the sand and turned away. \"No.\"\n\nThe crowd booed, and Augustus screamed. \"Where is your honor? How can I live now? The whole city will hate me for surviving this bout, and you for not killing me!\"\n\n\"I don't know,\" Kaleo said, his voice hoarse. \"But I don't fucking care. Your honor, my honor--it's all worthless. Live with your shame as I will with mine.\"\n\nHe exited the stadium, covered with sweat and sand that chafed, and crumpled once he was back in the preparation area. No wounded heart was ever mended with vengeance . . . but as Kaleo sat, shattered in the dark corner of an armaments room, he wondered if it would ever mend, or remain a gaping hole for the rest of his life.\n\n---\n\n/r/resonatingfury"
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[WP]The Evil Sorceress turned the princess into a swan. She thought the princess would fly away and Sulk at a pond. But she’s about to find out why swans are demon cobra chickens!
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Ilithiel snickered quietly to herself. It would've been a cackle, but she had too much self-respect. At last ... at long, *long* last, she would be able to claim her true birthright from its usurper. Oh, sure, Celora was the eldest daughter of King Rannas and Queen Polassa, but *she* was the daughter of Rannas and the serving maid he'd bedded a month before the wedding to Polassa, and so she was older than Celora and *deserved* it more!\n\nHer mother had thought as much, and brought Ilithiel to the palace once she was born, in an attempt to have the king accept her as his child and heir. In all fairness, Ilithiel figured her mother had her eye on the Queen Mother spot. But they had been thrown out of the palace (gently, for the sake of the infant) and told never to return.\n\nIlithiel had grown up hearing the stories of the palace and how she'd been cheated out of her birthright; by the time she was sixteen, she fully believed that it was her right and her duty to replace the 'real' princess with the genuine article. But presenting herself to Rannas and Polassa was likely to go badly, so subterfuge it would have to be.\n\nFortunately, there was a witch living in the woods with whom Ilithiel had spoken on occasion. Now, she went to the woman and asked to be taken on as her apprentice. The witch had been hesitant, until Ilithiel had brought up her royal heritage and promised that she would be made the palace wise-woman once she was installed as the princess royal and heir to the throne. \n\nAnd so Ilithiel had learned the ways of magic; the Way and the Art and the Craft, as the witch had called them. Some lessons she did not learn so well, but others she took to heart. Unlike wizards and sorcerers, she did not learn how to raise mountains or fire great blasts of energy from her hands. But she did learn the workings of the body, and the subtle ways of nature ... and how to turn something from one form to another.\n\nShe did not have much in the way of money, so she paid for her lessons by keeping the witch's cottage clean and scrubbed. It was hard and demanding work, but she had learned from her mother and so it was not beyond her. She also knew how to cook, so the witch was well satisfied with her side of the bargain. \n\nBut the day finally came when she had to act, or forever lose her chance. The very next day was Princess Celora's eighteenth birthday and her coronation, after which every aspect of her life would be scrutinised from morning to night. Ilithiel had just one chance to put her plan into action, so off to the palace she went.\n\nIt was getting on to late afternoon when she slipped through a side-gate into the princess' private garden. Taking a deep breath, she cast the first of the spells she had memorised, putting a seeming over herself that changed her outward appearance to Celora's, even down to the gown she wore. Moving forward, she approached her sister, her nemesis.\n\nWhen she stepped out of the shadow of a fruit tree, Celora was quite taken aback. \"Why,\" she said in wonder. \"You look just like me! Who *are* you?\" Her tone was innocent and sweet. In that moment, Ilithiel knew what she was like. Celora was the *nice* type, which meant weak. *They need a strong heir to the throne. I'm doing them a favour.*\n\nShe had made up a whole speech to declaim at this point, but she decided to stick to the point. \"I am your older sister, and the rightful heir to the throne.\" Her tone was cold and imperious. \"I hope you've enjoyed the luxuries you've had heaped on you over the last eighteen years, because from now on they belong to me.\"\n\nCelora tilted her head, an uncertain smile on her face. \"Is this a jest? This is a jest, isn't it? Are you an actor, made up to look akin to me? You're very good. Except for the voice. I could never sound that cruel.\"\n\n\"Enough!\" snapped Ilithel. \"Thou simpering simpleton, princess no more!\" With a flick of her hand, she tossed a handful of powder over Celora's head. Made of various unclean substances carefully powdered and stored away, it was the conduit for her power as she spoke the words of the curse.\n\nCelora barely had time to scream before her legs shrank, her neck lengthened, and her soft white gown became gleaming white feathers. Crouching before Ilithiel, head turning from one side to the other in confusion, was a large white swan. From its beak came soft honks of puzzlement.\n\n\"And now, I have won.\" Ilithiel bared her teeth in triumph. \"Tomorrow, I will turn eighteen in your place. I will be crowned princess royal, and named the heir to the throne. And do you know, I think I shall order swan for the banquet ...\"\n\nShe turned away from the newly-created waterfowl to head for the door into the castle. Let Celora do what she would; the spell could only be lifted by the one who had placed it, and she was never going to lift it. Though the mind within the bird was still that of her sister, the body was still that of a swan. And who paid attention to what swans did?\n\nCelora could have told her: everyone. Swans were notoriously bad-tempered, but as someone who had never actually spent any time near them, Ilithiel did not know this. She also did not know that they were quite strong.\n\nThe first she learned of this was when she heard a hissing sound, as though of air escaping a giant inflated bladder. Then, a blow struck her in the back of the leg, bruising her all the way through the gown and sending her tumbling to the ground. Caught utterly unawares, she rolled over and sat up to see the swan waddling menacingly toward her, neck outstretched and wings spread wide. The beak was open, letting out another menacing hiss.\n\n\"What?\" she demanded, scrambling to her feet. \"You *dare* attack me? You are a *fowl*! You supply feathers for my pillow and meat for my table! You do not--\"\n\nIn the middle of her rant, while she was still trying to determine the best spell to subdue an angry swan, it leaped forward, darting its beak at her face. She recoiled with an involuntary yelp, only to feel the powerful wings beating at her like pillows with rocks in them. Bringing up her arm to protect herself, she felt the bones in the forearm snap like a twig as one wing caught her cleanly.\n\n\"Agh!\" she shrieked, stumbling backward. The beak, darting forward, struck her on the forehead, just an inch above her eye. She felt the blood start from the wound as she reeled dizzily. Another blow struck her on the knee, and she lost her footing altogether. Falling backward, she landed heavily, driving the breath from her lungs.\n\nWhen she recovered, the swan was standing on her stomach, glaring down at her from its beady little swan eyes. The wings were stretched wide, partly for balance and partly (she presumed) for threat. As an intimidation tactic, it worked wonderfully. Suddenly, the beak darted at her neck and she let out another shriek, sure her throat was about to be crushed or torn out. But neither one happened.\n\nQuaking with terror, she stared up as the swan pulled its head back once more. It swayed gently from side to side, clacking its beak loudly at her. She didn't have to cast the enchantment of Nature's Ear to know what it wanted.\n\n*Change me back or I kill you.*\n\n\"Very well, I'll do it,\" she whimpered. With her one good hand, she gestured, then spoke the words that broke the transformation. Within seconds, the swan was gone, and instead there was Celora, kneeling with one knee on Ilithiel's solar plexus. It wasn't much of an improvement, in Ilithiel's opinion.\n\n\"Well, that was very interesting,\" Celora mused as she got up. Tellingly, she did not offer Ilithiel a hand up. She dusted her hands off with satisfaction as she watched Ilithiel struggle to her feet. \"Now I know who you are and what you can do.\"\n\n\"What are you going to do with me now?\" Ilithiel was beaten, and she knew it.\n\nCelora shook her head. \"Nothing. The kingdom never needs to know I have a sister. Go now, and travel far. If I ever see your face again, or hear of you, I will have you arrested and imprisoned.\"\n\nAs Ilithiel stumbled out through the same gate she'd come in by, she knew that she'd made one huge miscalculation.\n\nJust because Celora was nice didn't mean she was weak."
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[WP] rich uncle frank distributed all his assets to his nieces and nephews when he died, and all you got was a big trunk. You opened it and find out where he got all his money.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Three months ago Jamie called me. She's my cousin. I grew up with her. She wasn't calling for sympathy. She was going to gloat. She wouldn't call it that. But that's what it was. \n\n'I thought he really cared about you Ty,' she said. 'I don't understand. Did he leave you a note or anything?'\n\n'No, just that ratty old trunk.' With Jamie the best way to prolong the call was to make her think she wasn't getting to you. She'll just work harder. \n\n'You want me to loan you something. Do you need help?'\n\n'No, I'm good. I graduate next month then I can start work. I'll be all right.'\n\n'Well you let me know cus. I gotta go'\n\n'Okay, love you.'\n\nI went back to the trunk. It wasn't really all that ratty. Leather straps binding a box board and leather job. It was definitely not new. Just not the inheritance you'd expect to see given to your 'favorite nephew'. I tipped back the lid. I had put a case of beer in the box along with the two duplicate copies of his letter. That night I was just looking to drown my sadness and disappointment. That faded as I realized what this thing really was.\n\n There, along with my purchase, was another case of beer. And. Four. Notes.\n\nThat was three months ago. \n\nPro Tip: money is useless. Having two ten dollar bills with the same serial number is bad. Making enough coins to get rich is just a fools errand.\n\n Jewelry works better for cash if you have some. But I didn't. What I did have was research ability. I had websites, I had online retailers. Three months ago I had a box. Today, unlike my cousins, who got a few hundred thousand each. I have a little over a million in the bank."
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[WP] Time travel stories always focus on how tiny changes to the past can dramatically change the present, but nobody believes tiny changes in the present can dramatically change the future.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Meet Joe Morris. \n\nJoe is twenty-seven years old, Caucasian and lives at five hundred and sixteen Old Sawyer Road in Los Angeles. Joe is overall, a decidedly average man. That isn’t to say he’s boring - or that he isn’t talented in some areas. Joe isn’t a great person but he’s not a bad person either. He has his friends and family that he loves. He marches in the occasional protest but he doesn’t volunteer in soup kitchens and averts his eyes when he sees a person with a Green Peace jacket and a clipboard. \n\nMeet Rachel Hamilton.\n\nRachel is twenty-five years old, African-American and lives at six hundred and seventy-eight Connington Road in Los Angeles. Rachel is also a decidedly average woman. Again, Rachel isn’t boring and her peaks and lows are certainly more varied than Joe’s. She’s a chemist - the second in her family to graduate from college after her older brother. She loves old Regency dramas even though she knows that nobody that looks like her would have been welcome in those elegant balls and dinners. She has two cats and they are currently the center of her whole world. \n\nMeet Mikail Petrikov. \n\nMikail is fifty-six years old, a Russian immigrant and lives at one thousand and eight Chase Street in Los Angeles. Mikail is also an average man though you wouldn’t know it from the stories he can tell you about his childhood. Mikail has four kids and five grandchildren and drives for Uber. He’s growing a bit of a gut nowadays and his wrinkles are showing but he’s happy with where he is. \n\nMeet Robert Morris. \n\nRobert hasn’t been born yet. He won’t be born for another eight years. He will live at a variety of addresses throughout his life but his childhood home will be at twenty-eight Oak lane in Los Angeles. His parents will be one Joe Morris and Rachel Hamilton (he will be named after Rachel’s brother). Robert is NOT an average man. Robert will go on a camping trip one day with his father and look up to the stars that he has never seen in the Los Angeles city skyline and he will spend the rest of his life chasing them. \n\nHe will be the first man to step foot on Mars and he will be there to stay. He will help usher in the beginning of a new age for humanity - one where we are no longer confined to our cradle and generations later, a ship bearing his name will lead the way out of the solar system for humanity. It is a grand future. \n\nMeet Robert Morris\n\nBut you can’t. Not anymore. Nobody ever will. Why? \n\nWitness Joe Morris. \n\nHe has a date tonight - a set-up by a good friend of his with a co-worker. He’s late. He doesn’t know it, but she would have been the One. He would have died by her side, a life well-spent and full of laughter and tears and pride. He calls an Uber. Then he cancels. Then he calls another Uber. \n\nWitness Rachel Hamilton. \n\nShe has a date tonight - she’s already at the restaurant all-dolled up. She’s early and waiting anxiously. She doesn’t know it, but the man who would have shown up would have been the One. They would have a house together and he would have become the only person in the world that her cats liked more than her. He’s five minutes late. No big deal. These things happen. \n\nWitness Mikail Petrikov. \n\nHe’s just picked up Joe Morris. Mikail is a good driver and a careful one but everybody makes a mistake once in a while. He’s making a left turn too soon when another driver hits the car. Everybody’s unharmed - thank God and he even thinks both cars can be salvaged. But it will turn into an entire mess with the cops and his poor passenger has to stay to witness everything. \n\nSay Goodbye to Rachel Hamilton. \n\nHer dick of a date never shows up and without any text or explanation. Screw this, she’s out. She texts him to lose her number. Shortly afterwards, she wonders if she was too rash. But then decides it’s fine - there are plenty of fish in the sea after all. \n\nSay Goodbye to Joe Morris \n\nWith the chaos of the crash, he totally forgot about his date tonight - not even to text her an apology. The next time he remembers her is when he receives a profanity-filled message from her. He’s had a long night. Perhaps if he had been in a better mood, he would have been more charitable and explain what had happened. But he isn’t and decides she sounds exhausting and deletes her number. There’ll be another girl along soon after all. \n\nSay Goodbye to Mikail Petrikov. \n\nLuckily, at the end of the day, the pain from the insurance isn’t as bad as he thought it would be. Both cars took some work but they both were fixed and his payments only went up a tiny bit - he had accident forgiveness after all and this was his first crash for the better part of two decades. He doesn’t know what he’s done, what one momentary slip of concentration has cost. \n\nSay Goodbye to Robert Morris. \n\nHe would have been fantastic. He would have been amazing. Nothing has happened to his parents - they will both go on to live full lives. Joe Morris will hit it big as a television actor and have a series of short-lived affairs before finally burning out and settling down with a woman of his age. Rachel Hamilton will eventually meet a nice Indian-American man and they will have two daughters together - both will also go on to be chemists and live accomplished if not extraordinary lives. Even Mikail Petrikov will die at ninety surrounded by loved ones. Humanity will even eventually reach and settle Mars - though it will take another one hundred and fifty years. \n\nSo you see, nothing has been lost. Nobody had something and lose that something except for an opportunity. And everybody loses those sometimes. And yet…and yet…"
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[WP] A ghost town lies amidst the frigid, forested frontier. The only signs of prior life are an old posting to head to the church, and a decrepit chapel with a bound book on the floor within. You open the book.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Any feedback would be much appreciated!\n\n\\------------------------------\n\nThe book had been laying on the floor next to one of the pews. It was covered with a fine layer of dust, and as Paul approached the book, he became keenly aware of just how silent the chapel was. Everywhere, there were signs of the villagers boarding up the windows, but now, some of the wood slats had begun to fall off due to neglect. A large, ornamental bronze cross laid discarded on the floor. Whatever happened here, happened quickly.\n\nThe caravan's leader had claimed earlier that they were likely raided by natives, even though this part of the world was uninhabited. Some journeyman (Paul never remembered his name) said that the way Brighthope looked, it seemed more likely it was a plague. No one was certain enough to claim either way. There were no bodies, and while they had found similar barricades in a few homes, the largest and most elaborate one was the one at the chapel.\n\nWhat confused everyone was how the barricade seemed to have worked. The doors and windows were locked from the inside, and it was only through a great effort by several volunteers of the caravan that they were able to force the large oak double doors open, held by what it seemed to be anything the townsfolk could pile in front of the doors.\n\nPaul looked at the little brown book, left discarded next to one of the few remaining pews that wasn't barred against the door of the church. It seemed fairly simple, something that a local clerk or the town preacher would have. Seeing that for the moment, there was not much else to explore, Paul sat himself in the pew, unraveling the leather strand that held the book shut. He flipped through a few pages and only found general entries of a log made by one of the local altar boys, talking about a day in the life. Mateus, as the author claimed to be, seemed to be a very young man. Nothing struck Paul as odd as he clipped through the pages, until he arrived at the end of the book's entries. The journal daily writings became shorter. He found an entry and began reading.\n\n​\n\n***September 17th*** (this would've been nearly 8 months ago Paul surmised)\n\n*Jerome, the town smithy came to the chapel today. He asked to speak with Father Hapscomb but I explained he's visiting the Wilson farm, helping Nora Wilson with her pregnancy. A lot of people still don't realize but Father Hapscomb is still the only one with any doctor training and since Carthage is over 700 miles away, he's generally the only one ever available to help. Hopefully with the caravan that's coming in the spring, we'll have some new settlers with some medical training.*\n\n*I offered to take a message but Jerome wasn't really forthcoming. He said he'd been hearing a few noises out in the woods, like a high-pitched whistling sound and was hoping he'd be able to have the local priest bless his forge and household. I asked him if he spoke with the hunters over at the lodge for any suggestions but he said they still haven't returned from their last outing. Either way, I told him that charms were uselessly in this part of the world but if he really wanted a blessing, Father Hapscomb would most likely be back this evening.*\n\n​\n\n***September 18th***\n\n*Father Hapscomb's finally returned. I'm not sure what happened but he's just spoken with the local constable and told me when he arrived at the Wilson farm, he found it abandoned. He found it highly unusual, given how far along Nora is with her pregnancy. He looked in the buildings but couldn't find anything, beyond doors that have been barred shut. The constable told him he'd check it out but for now, he was waiting for Wayne, his deputy as he hadn't returned from the hunting expedition they set out the week before.*\n\n​\n\n***September 20th***\n\n*Something's wrong. The hunters haven't returned and last night, I thought I heard some distant whistling, as if someone was out for a stroll. It's weird because, it's in the middle of the night. I figured it was probably one of the Millers getting heavy with the drink again. But this morning, no one could find the Millers at their home. The locals have been getting concerned with these disappearances, some of the attributing them to folks who couldn't hack the country life, but who abandons their homes without any of their belongings or notifying anyone? I spoke with the Father, and he was as confused as I was. He suggested with Constable Jennings to perhaps set a night watchmen and probably enforce the town curfew for seven pm. He's agreed to this and hopefully this will calm people down.*\n\n​\n\n***September 21st***\n\n*Jerome's missing.*\n\n*Not just him, but his whole family. Constable Jennings set a night watchman to patrol the town and used the Davies boy to help him with that duty. They said they passed the smithy several times and saw the lights on. They confirmed everyone was home at the start of the night, but by dawn, when Jerome is usually up and pounding the anvil, there was nobody there. No one is sure what's happening but something is wrong. We can all feel it. Constable Jennings also mentioned he heard someone whistling in the night, but this time, no one in the town claimed to have heard it. Folks mentioned they've heard it a few times in the past week or so, but last night was quiet.*\n\n​\n\n\\---------\n\ncontinued in the following reply below"
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[WP] When you're a mad scientist, the saying "The real treasure is the friends you made along the way!" is quite a bit more literal than anyone nearby is comfortable with.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Andrew Lionel grew up poor.\n\nIt’s a lot like growing up between two soggy pieces of bread. It’s wet, cold, and definitely moldy. Comfortable is the last word he would use. \n\nMold though, is one of the most interesting things he’s ever examined. The fungus has as many mysteries as it does facts. It’s replication process that most likely drew him in. \n\nAndrew Lionel had friends.\n\nThis is something the man once knew. He knew it like he knew the lines on the backs of his hands. Each line a mark of age or mistake. Either made him uncomfortable. Itchy even. More lines meant less time to accomplish his goals, which wouldn’t do. \n\nGoals. The same wants have propelled him since the beginning. Stability. It’s something he’s wanted since the beginning. \n\nAndrew Lionel sees life as an equation. \n\nThis is the idea that keeps him up at night. If life is an equation, then there is a possibility for him to balance it. Can he end up at the pinch point in his universe? What is missing in his equation? \n\nAndrew Lionel wants equilibrium. \n\nWhat is balancing Andrew Lionel away from equilibrium? \n\nFunds. The perpetual drive of Andrew Lionel’s life.\n\nAndrew Lionel had friends. \n\nHe didn’t expect them to be the number to trade with the mold. But as he balanced his equation, Andrew applied more and more mold to them. Andrew applied mold to their foods, personal effects, and their own funds. \n\nAndrew Lionel grinned as the mold transformed his friends.\n\nIt grew inside them and boiled their insides. Their mouths heated and tongues baked inside the cauldrons of their heads. Andrew promised his friends solutions. His hands only solved his own.\n\nAnd Andrew Lionel worked diligently at such.\n\nTheir nails curled, and their lungs failed them slowly. Leaving time for Andrew to become their only lifeline to existence. Andrew played the role of their equilibrium maker well.\n\nAndrew Lionel turned his friends into [gold.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ashleybakerwrites/)",
"“Fuck me” David exclaims, after finally seeking out the prize many other have failed to find. He looks over the looming out of darkness, with a small sense of dread, his heart racing. “Was this really all I sought for? A small lockbox with whatever this guy needed? All my friends, dying in front of me, knowing I could do nothing to save them without seeing them a few minutes afterwards?”\n“Hey dipshit, why are you saying everything your thinking right now out loud” I say, with a half assed laugh. My lungs get like they have been ruptured from all the Limestone falling onto my head. Little did we know, it wasn’t jus the exterior that had that beautiful rock. “James, come on over here. We should probably give the professor a ring.” “No, I think not. We just ran a mile and a half with some dude following us, and that dude didn’t even exist. I’m going crazy Dave, I just can’t do this right now” I knew he hated being called Dave, but it always made my body a little warmer seeing people upset. “I understand, with what happened to Kenz-“ \n“Don’t even think of mentioning that name to me right now, unless you want me to look like you on prom night.” My eyes burnt, not only from the large amount of dust on the surface, but that everything that would wash it away has been used up. “Two days for this shit. Look at this, if I knew all this would have happened I never would have done it.” \n“David, don’t worry man. Yeah, it was a bitch trying to get out here, and knowing that all that was done could have been solved if we had just listened to the old bastard.” After all I had said to coheres his brain, I noticed the desperation in his eyes drip down, leaving his body. He’s finally cracked, and the scene would play in my mind for the few minutes I had left. “Well man, lets open this bitch up and see why it sent us this way.” He gripped the small box, lifting up the smal iron clasps. The box opened up easily, and I started to get nervous he had noticed that it was a lot easier then I said it would be. “Deep breathe buddy, this will be exciting” as David opened the box, the crisp smile turned to nothing, as if someone had cut the wires to his brain. “What’s wrong?” I ask gleefully, realizing that my tone had destroyed me. “What the fuck is this?” He grasps around the box, and just like the lifeless bodies of my “friends”, it was empty. He turned around, fast enough to give anyone a heavy case of vertigo. In my last few moments, I had finally learnt why I took on a career as a “scientist” and not a gambler. I took everything in consideration, leaving nothing to fate, but when push came to shove, and when the act started cracking, I may have just been named Elmer. My poker face had began to crumble, with a thin smile creeping across my face. “This is horrible, I’m calling the old man.” I felt as if my boots became lead, as right when he said it I knew it was over. Suddenly, a small buzzing noise could be heard, as if the thousands of emotion could be transformed into one small phone. “David, I understand this may look bad on me, as why do I have the scientists phone, and I would explain it if I had time.” I instantly went for the throat, bringing out the dagger that had the blood stain of his girlfriend (of course, he didn’t know that at this time I had to put his girlfriend out of misery, as when she sprained her leg, I fixed it by severing the arteries. Hoping to do the same to my friend, it almost worked, but almost never cuts it. I dropped the blade when he suddenly was a junkie off good ol adrenaline. As I said earlier, when push comes to shove, I crack, literally. When he gripped me up, I could tell his intentions. “If your such a genius, you must have been too mad to realize to turn off your phone. As my back lifted away from the floor, I met my true date with darkness. \n\n\n——————————————————————\nI enjoy writing a lot, and this was pretty fun. Problem was, I created too much of a idea to spread upon. If I had more of a longer thing to write, it would have been more clear on the narrators intentions.",
"“Well guys, it’s over, we did, the One is finally done,” says a tan, average height man. \n\nSilence returns his statement.\n\n“Uhh, guys?” he asks again, expecting his friends to say something, since that’s, well... polite.\n\nSilence again. \n\nHe take a look around him, left, right, nothing, just trees with the occasional bright bird. The man is confused, because having your friend disappear is quite odd. He decides to walk to some other place in the forest, as to find his friends; but before that, he glances downward since he needs to tie his shoe, as having untied shoes is generally not a good idea. As he’s reaching down, he see something in his peripheral vision, golden chests. \n\nHe thinks something along the lines of, man, I care about my friends, but random treasure chests in the forests is a more pressing matter. Clearly this is not a trap. He walks toward the chests, and see that one has brass handle, John likes brass, so he goes toward that chest. He then grabs the golden chest’s handle, a very logical response to seeing a handle. He then pulls the handle, again, a very logical thing to do, however the handle did not move. He decides to have a moment of grunting, not pulling mind you, just grunting. After his moment of grunting, he pulls the handle again, harder this time, the handle falls out of the chest. \n\n“Man, that hurt, really bad, not cool John” A deep voice emits from the chest. \n\n“Uhh, what, did you just talk,” says the now named John, decidedly confused. \n\n“Yeah I did,” says the chest, like that is a perfectly normal thing, it isn’t. \n\nJohn recoils back, predictably surprised.\n\n“You did what now,” shouts John. \n\n“Dude, chill, it’s me, George, I just fought with you against the One,” replies the chest.\n\n“Oh hey, George,” the ever adaptable John accepts the outrageous fact that his friend has turned into a golden chest. “Soo... where is everyone else?”\n\n“They’re probably also chests, you see the two other chests, that’s them.” \n\n“So why aren’t Sarge and Julia responding?” \n\n“I dunno, I’d guess they’re asleep.”\n\n“Ok then, I guess I’ll wake them up.”\n\nJohn realizes something, he’s quite lucky, his friends turned into chests, and he’s glad he didn’t turn into a chest, as most people would be.\n\nJohn the pulls out a chest’s handle, as that worked for George.\n\n“Huh, what happened?” A semi-high pitched voice comes out for the chest.\n\n“You’re a chest now... Julia?” John says in deadpan voice, a truly normal thing to tell someone.\n\nA loud cough, and a quiet sound of choking is heard, but John ignores, because he’s lazy. The other chests, who don’t hear the noise, since one is presumably sleeping, and the other has just been woken up.\n\n“Yes it’s Julia, also... I’m a chest now?! She exclaims, she hyperventilates a little, however that works. \n\nJohn could go to comfort Julia about her situation, but he’s lazy, so he doesn’t.\n\nJohn then runs over to Sarge felling especially not lazy, unlike right before. However the universe decided that she didn’t like John not being lazy, so John tripped on his shoelaces. He lands hard on the green grass, a soft crunching of the grass is heard.\n\n“Ow, I gotta tie my shoes now,” so John spends a couple minutes tying his shoes, he takes extra long because he got distracted by a bird. \n\nHe finally arrives at Sarge, who is a golden, rectangular, angular chest, with a emerald at the top of his golden body. He places his hand on the chest’s handle, and pulls it out. \n\n“Ok,” says Sarge.\n\n“You’re a chest now,”\n\n“Ok,” Sarge is a man of few words. \n\nAnother sound near John is heard, a loud gasp, and then silence.\n\nJohn, deciding not to be lazy, yells, “Julia, George, what was that silence. \n\nHe walks toward Julia and George, ignoring Sarge, since he wasn’t going to say anything useful. \n\nHe finds the two chests, and says, “guys, you there?” \n\nSilence, then he hears a breathy “ok” from sarge.\n\nHe walks over, and sees that Sarge’s chest... mouth? Is open. He see’s a crisp, white note, picks it up, and reads it. It says, hey sorry about this, my spell went wonky, and accidentally turned a few people into chests, I think it’s only three people though. The spell only lasts for about three minutes after them waking up, and then they die. Once again sorry for the inconvenience. Wait, crap, I accidentally wrote this with my poison pen, and I already set the teleporter, whoops, so if you’re reading this, you’re dead in 5...4...3 ...2...1, and just about now, sorry!\n\nDarkness envolps John’s vision, the porter of the party that defeated The One.\n\nThere is one part of the letter John missed, it said: oh wait, nevermind, it’s all good, I just misread the label, so you’ll live.\n\nHowever John still gave his last breath. Cause of death: not breathing. \n\nTried my hand at a comedy, not 100% sure at how it came out, but hopefully decent. \n\nr/CascadeCorner",
"Samar swung his sword over Alin’s head and struck the lunging gargoyle in its side. It shattered under his mighty blow and exploded into a cloud of dust. \n\nAlin rolled out of the way of another gargoyle and turned to face the enemies that climbed out of the ceiling behind him. He breathed deeply, feeling the swelling power within him. It fought to escape his control, a raging fire that refused to be tamed. But Alin had come a long way since he had first awakened his gift just two years earlier. Throwing both palms forward, a torrent of flames swallowed the wave of gargoyles. \n\nTheir stone bodies refused to burn but they began to steam and bubble. To harden and crack. When it died to a smoldering heat, their enemies lay as pools of molten rock or piles of rubble.\n\n“Are you alright, Alin? I’m sorry, I almost didn’t make it in time,” Samar asked. The concern in his eyes was intense and genuine but Alin couldn’t help but laugh.\n\n“Sorry? You’ve done all but carry me all this way on your back. I am the one who is sorry Samar. This was my journey, my people to save. I’m the one who almost got you killed,” Alin said, shaking his head.\n\nSamar rolled his eyes at Alin’s words. They’d had this discussion countless times before.\n\nThe people called him a hero but they were blind. If ever the legends of heroes had been true, they had been of men and women like Samar, not him. \n\nAlin’s village had been cursed by the Rat King, sickness had infected everyone in his village. Everyone but him. When the rodents’ miasma had entered him, it had triggered his awakening. His internal flame had burned away the disease and his childhood home with it. With his gift, he had sworn himself to a quest to save his people. A somewhat noble goal, though ultimately a selfish, personal one.\n\nSamar? He had had no real motivation, no reason to face the White King and his madness, his cruel creations. Men turned to stone golems, mindlessly following their king’s orders. Children sacrificed to host imps and bring their hellfire to the realm of man. No, Samar was simply the best comrade Alin had ever found. A man who had devoted himself to taking the Holy Chalice that could save Alin’s village from the White King’s vaults simply because his friend needed it.\n\nHe had almost died from it. Samar and Alin had been here before, fighting through the White King’s castle to reach their goal. The White King had stepped in and separated them when his attack had rended the castle in two. The White King had cornered Samar while Alin had been blown away by the destruction. Samar had fought within an inch of his life to avoid capture by the mad king. There was no happy ending to such a fate.\n\nThat experience, that defeat had made it personal for Samar. He had only gotten stronger from it. It had taken them over a year to storm the castle the last time. But this time it took them just over a month to progress through it. All thanks to Samar pushing them forwards, through the king’s formations, through his forces, through his traps. In the end, Samar would be the true savior of Alin’s village, just as he had saved Alin’s life countless times over the course of their journey.\n\nAs they approached the White King’s throne room, Alin could only think about how he had no way to repay his friend.\n\nThe White King sat on his throne, his skeletal frame draped in a snowy robe, the illusion of winter wrapping the room in a stabbing chill. He rested his skull on his right arm and watched them approach. If a skull could look bored, the White King accomplished it.\n\n“Welcome back, intruders. I see you have not learned your lesson.” His voice whispered from every corner of the room, causing drifts of snow to blow with every word. “Oh?” He lifted his head from his arm and leaned closer to them and his jaw began to rattle.\n\nAlin exhaled a long breath from his nose, carrying with it the heat of his fire. It surrounded the two of them, protecting them from the king’s cold domain and hopefully from his oncoming attack.\n\nBut the White King did not attack. His jaw continued to rattle. Was he laughing?\n\n“You! Swordsman, you’ve gotten stronger haven’t you?” he asked.\n\n“Yes, he has. We both have. You won’t be keeping us from your vault this time. The chalice will be mine,” Alin told him. Sparks of flame flickered in the air around Alin, ready to erupt into fireballs at a moment’s notice.\n\nThe White King’s rattling only intensified.\n\n“The chalice? That is your goal? This can only be fate, kindled one. There’s no need to continue your pointless struggle against me. You’ve achieved it! The treasure has been beside you this whole time.” He raised his bony finger and pointed it at Samar.\n\n“What nonsense is this, corpse? I have not hidden the chalice from Alin. Your petty attempts to turn us against one another are futile. You’ve only revealed your desperation to avoid this fight,” he said, anger at the accusation clear on his face.\n\n“It isn’t hidden at all. It is clear as day. Haven’t you enjoyed the benefits of my gift? You struggled so dearly against my minor invasions of your corporeal frame. But it was a success, as my experiments usually are. The chalice has strengthened you just as I expected. Drastic changes in ability do not happen overnight. The kindled one and the candlelight he still likes to threaten me with is plenty evidence of that. But, you. The chalice’s metal has reinforced your bones. Its blessed waters flow with your blood. Your very existence has become exalted, empowering you beyond what you once were.”\n\nAlin stared at Samar and Samar looked at his own body in horror. Had he not escaped the White King as they had thought? But, if Samar held the chalice, perhaps this was a good thing. They could flee now, without risking their lives any further and return to the village. Samar could heal Alin’s family!\n\n“Do I have all the abilities of the chalice?” Samar asked, voice as cold as the rest of the room.\n\nThe White King tilted his head back and forth.\n\n“Well, you think you’d be grateful enough with all that you have gotten already gotten. No, a human is not a chalice. I had to warp it to your being, shape it for your uses. What does a swordsman need with the ability to heal others? Your kind inflicts death, not life. What, was that your aim?” the skeletal king asked, turning his head between the two intruders to his castle. “You wanted the chalice for its healing, not for the rumors of immortality? Well, I suppose you could still have it. If you were to cut open the swordsman, take his bones, and spill his blood. I am sure a skilled enough artificer could shape something of the original back together, though I’d like to see them try to put it into another human without killing them.”\n\nAlin and Samar just stared at one another, unable to process the White King’s words.\n\nThe king’s jaw rattled again and he stepped back down into his throne.\n\n“Well? Make your decision. I had thought this would be yet another tired encounter to take the souls of some intruders, but you two have relieved me of my boredom. Will you kill yourself, kill your friend? Or abandon your quest? Either way I will allow you to leave. I’d like for you to live with that choice.”\n***\nIf you enjoyed my writing, subscribe to r/Inder for more stories like this!"
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[WP] “Old foxes are hard to trap.” "What do foxes have to do with this?" "It's a proverb."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*"
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[WP] This looks like the end. The Demon has you cornered. It says in an unearthly voice, "The Angels are not your friends, they will...". In a flash of brilliant light it is struct down, your trusted companion Angel standing there.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"A brilliant flash, followed by a splash of fluids with the smell of brimstone.\n\nSasha's Spear came swinging down just in time. She stands breathing heavily, light injuries bleeding silvery white glowing blood. She stands there, leaning on her spear, she's saved you, the splashes of demon blood evaporating off of her body. She has always had a gallant look to her, a warrior defending people from the demons from the Underworld, just like her name. Sasha, defender of mankind.\n\nSomehow. The Defender of Mankind was assigned to protect you. An average person by all means. She appeared suddenly, and along with her sudden appearance, demons of all sorts appeared to attack you... but were they really attacking you? They appeared left and right, a new big strong one every week. They kidnapped you on occasion, but you weren't outright harmed. It was usually collateral damage between the two sides fighting that actually hurt anyone. ...What did he say?\n\nBefore you were saved, the grotesque villain of the week had you cornered. His slimy writhing body repulsed you as you were backed into a literal corner. His head(?) turned toward you, so... his back(?) should have been facing you... the demon said, \"The Angels are not your friends, they will - \" His unearthly tentacle-sounding voice seemed to plead to you before he was struck down and you were saved.\n\nYou stare at Sasha as she spreads her wings, an echo of light wiping away the damage like it wasn't there. A few human casualties being burnt away as if they never existed. The light, once comforting, seemed... cruel... unfeeling now. Your eyes narrow as Sasha turns to help you to your feet, the blinding halo still shining behind her.\n\n[Remember, Demons Lie.] The sound of her voice echoes as her hand touches yours. You steady on your feet and see her face as she turns away to look at the former battlefield. Her confident smile seems... not so warm.\n\nShe's always said that phrase at the end of every battle. Like. She was trying to enforce the thought from the very beginning. She's never said Angels don't lie."
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[WP] You are a famous musician who is about to perform for the last time. Minutes before the curtain goes up, your instrument starts talking to you.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"He could hear the orchestra tuning their instruments. He used to detest the sounds before. So discordant, so untamed, uncivilized. He always thought that they were meaningless to him, that his music gave them meaning and purpose. Whether or not they were in tune meant nothing to him. No matter how they played, his performance was all that mattered. People only arrived to listen to him.\n\nHe chuckled sadly. How very wrong he was, but he only knew it now. He wished he could have realized it back then, when he was younger and had time. With the benefit of age and experience he knew now, almost too late. He buried that nugget of regret deep into his chest, next to all the other pebbles of pain he had accumulated in his life. Another pebble to join the pile. Another potential cause for the avalanche of emotion.\n\n*Do not think of them like that.* \n\nHis hands froze, stiff on the pale ivory keys. His fingers curled slightly, half from age and half from shock. \"H-hello?\" he spoke into the darkness of the stage. \"Is someone there?\"\n\n*Someone? No. Something? Yes.* The voice was musical, familiar yet foreign. It held a tone of amusement within. \n\n\"Well, that is certainly comforting, I think.\" He blushed when the voice chuckled. \"I am terribly sorry, I do not have much time for a conversation. I am about to play my last show.\"\n\n*I know. I have been with you for every one of your performances. I will be with you for your last one.*\n\nA smile grew on his lips. His hand slid across the top of the piano and he felt a warmth beneath his fingertips. \"Oh I see now. Why hello my dear friend. You and I have conversed many times, but I do believe this is the first time you have spoken to me.\"\n\n*Indeed. This is also the first time you are ready to listen.*\n\n\"You...are not wrong.\" He sighed. \"And too late I imagine.\"\n\n*It is never too late to listen.*\n\n\"No? Never?\" His voice shuddered and his eyes grew wet. \"No my friend, there are times when the moment has passed and can never return. His tears fell, splashing onto the polished wood.\n\n*Moments pass. That does not mean moments will not come.*\n\n\"Yes, they will. However I will not receive very many.\" His hands trembled and they did so independent of his emotion. \"My time too will soon run out. I am afraid I will be leaving you my oldest friend. Somewhere you cannot follow.\"\n\n*Do not be so sure.*\n\nThe voice was so sure of itself, so confident. It gave him pause. It gave him hope. \"Truly? You mean that?\"\n\n*Have I ever lied to you? At your earliest flailings I was completely honest. My screeches told truthfully of your clumsiness.* He laughed with the voice. *At your shows as your skill grew, have I not sang under your guidance? Have I not proclaimed your ability? You trusted me all these years. Trust me now. Where you go, I will follow. I will allow none other to be played by you.*\n\nThe tears fell more but they tasted sweet instead of bitter. \"Thank you. Thank you so much my friend. I was afraid. I still am. However I rest easy knowing I will not be alone.\"\n\n*Alone? Never. And I do not speak of just me. Another has been waiting.*\n\nHis heart froze. \"T-truly?\"\n\nThe wood glowed under his hand and he felt a touch on his shoulder, something he had not felt in years. *Truly. Who do you think has kept my voice sweet all these years? Who do you think has kept my voice in tune ever since?*\n\nHe felt warmer than he had in years. His spine straightened and though tears still hung from his eyes, they sparkled brighter than ever. \"I should have known. Very well! Come my friend. One last show for everyone. Then we can rest easy.\"\n\n*Together.*\n\n\"Together.\""
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[WP] You pass out on your 21st birthday. You wake up in the hospital to a doctor telling you it is an incurable brain tumor. Quickly you understand that when the tumor spreads, you access early memories you didn't remember. You find out your dad died of a brain tumor and your mom lied to you.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“What do you mean?” I tried to sit up, but Jess was there. “Lie back down, now.” My head hit the pillow. “Ah fuck. What am I supposed to do?” The Doctor looked down at his clipboard and back up at me. “Well. Nothing for the time being. You’re lucky your friends here saved you in time from getting a concussion.” I looked in the corner to see my other best friend, Connor. The doctor walked out. “Hey, I’m sorry we made you go to the club and drink all that alcohol. Maybe wasn’t the best idea for your 21st birthday.” Jess looked sympathetic. “We has no idea you had a brain tumor, why didn’t you tell us?” I looked down at the IV in my arm. \n“Don’t be sorry,” I said. “This was a good thing.” Connor laughed. “What do you mean?” \n“I remember something I never did before. My dad, you know how I told you he died in a car crash?” \n“Well of course.” Jess said. “Why are we discussing this, exactly?”\n“Yeah, Blair. You never talk about him.”\n“No no. He didn’t die from the car crash.” They both stared at me in disbelief. “You lied to us?” \nConnor shook his head. “She’s out of it, she doesn’t know what is real or not at this point.” \n\n“No, I’m still fucking conscious. And I’ll show you what’s real and not in a hot minute, Connor. My mother is the one who lied. He died from a brain tumor like this.” \n“How did you know that?” A voice said. Jess turned to see my mother standing behind us in a nurse outfit. “We didn’t know you worked here, Ms. Sterling.” She nodded. “I guess that’s another thing I’ve been hiding.” \n“You need to leave, Blair’s mom.” Jess said. “We don’t like bitches in here.” \n“Hey! That’s still my mom, even if it’s true.” \nMy mother looked me in the eyes. “Blair, I’m so sorry. I never knew when you were a kid that you were to die so young.” \n\n“FUCK OFF!” Jess pushed my mom out of the hospital room and locked her out. “Uhm, I need to get in. I’m her caretaker.” \n“Apparently not good enough!” Connor said. \nMe and Jess were shocked. Connor has never spoken up like that before. I noticed him starting to tear up. “Aw, it’s okay. I’m not going to die... I’m not. Right?” \nJess looked out the window and back at me. “I’m not too sure. Aw shit, I shouldn’t have made you drink so much!” \n“It’s not anybody’s fault. Probably just genetics. And history repeats itself......” there was a long pause. I know what I said. I was going to die and there was nothing we could do about it. \n\nSuddenly something flashed in my head. I was in a different hospital room. I felt different. I look down at my arms, they were bigger and I felt heavy. “Michael, your operation is complete.” My mother was in her nurse uniform. Suddenly, she pulled out a knife and cut the IV out of my wrist. I realized, my dad didn’t die from the tumor. I felt the metal against my neck as I heard her say “Goodnight.” \n \n*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* I heard the heart monitor. Suddenly, I saw myself in the hospital bed. Jess was crying violently, slamming her fist on the bed. “This can’t be happening! WAKE UP!!” She spammed the *Nurse Assistance* button. The door was still locked. The doctor bust through the door to see my friends crying over my body. I heard a low raspy voice in my ear, “Hey, Kiddo.”"
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[WP] "She died as she lived-a true lady. Always possessing poise, grace and a truly devastating amount of fire power."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"It rained in the wake of her death.\n\nThe clouds loomed overhead, and water flowed out of them like tears dripping from the sky. The flowers wilted, drooping even as the rain tried to spring them back to life. The animals hid out in their burrows, huddling close to one another, as if together they could warm their bleeding hearts. The world was in a state of grey – dull and bitter and aching. She had long since passed, but still mother nature mourned.\n\nAnd so, the tears of rain poured out freely, as if the sky could water her back to life.\n\n--\n\nThe birds were singing a sorrowful tune the day she was buried.\n\nThere were hundreds and hundreds of people littering the ground – some foe, some friends, and some who have heard no more than the tales of a woman who gave fire life – but none that were family. It’s rumored that she buried them here, on this very land, and so it was only fitting that this is where she came to rest. She did not die here – this was never her home; she did not have a home – but she had made a promise to the universe long ago, and it was one she took to her grave.\n\nAnd as the people – *her people, the wind echoed silently* – lined up to pay their respects (because even in death, she commanded respect), she laid there, beneath the wet dirt, as if she were claiming the earth as her own.\n\nAnd maybe in some way, she was.\n\nBut even as she lay beneath the deep earth, even as the wind whispered through the air, and even as the rain seeped through the cracks of the cist, the fire did not speak. It remained as silent as the woman who bore its life. For she and fire were made to be one; they were two sides of the same coin. And when she died, the fire died with her. \n\nBut if you listen closely enough – beyond the air, beyond the water, beyond the earth – you could hear the faint hum of flames cackling beneath. \n\nAnd through its grief, the birds never once stopped their solemn song. Instead, their croons got louder and louder with each passing moment, until their singing turned into shattering wails – it was something loud and tragic, as if this were going to be their final song. \n\nThe crooning is picking up now – so very desperate – until the birdsong is culminating and the world is burning.\n\nIt's almost as if everything stops. The wind becomes mute and the rain dwindles away – until all that’s left is a body licked in flames.\n\nFire erupts from the centre of her chest and encompasses her like a shield; as if to protect her from all the evils that may peril, as if it were reminding her that she was safe; that she was *home*.\n\n(The final breath of life and the last verse of their song.)\n\nShe may have lived and died. But she died as she lived – a true lady. Always possessing poise, grace, and a truly devastating amount of fire power.\n\nNow, she rises.\n\nThere is black surrounding the world. It’s in the way the birds die with each of their passing croons, it’s in the way the air warps around the planet, so desperate to scream the loudest, it’s in the way the rain echoes grief, slowly and surely and so painfully endless, and it’s in the way the people look on silently, watching as a body steadily rises into the wind and its ashes become one with the universe. \n\n--\n\nAnd when her flames are reawakened – when they soar into the air and claim their next victim – it is said that you can hear the distant sound of a tinkling laugh, so carefree and so, incredibly full of life."
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[WP] One day superheroes and villains started popping up out of nowhere. Society was more than happy to accept their new saviors and even enjoyed some of the lesser evil villains. That was until they saw what happened to the individuals who had a power for more than ten years.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Society has never been the same ever since Day 0. I wasn't even born yet. I was told that, on that very day, people started waking up different. Some blew a hole through their wall as they brushed their teeth, some flew 20 feet into the air as they walked down the street, some found themselves unable to open their eyes without seeing through walls.\n\nIt was sudden, and people started panicking, but once they mastered their powers, everyone wanted to see more. Every now and then, somebody would pop out of nowhere, rising in popularity, as they showcased their unique powers to the world. That is when the Superheroes are born, at least that is what we call them.\n\nAfter decades of humanity crafting stories about heroes who'd save our lives and fend off evil, the lucky few inevitably took on this role. My father can attest that, as he wouldn't be around if it weren't for a fire breathing girl scaring off a thug that held him at gunpoint. Not everyone agreed with their actions, and those with powers would go against them, threatening the helpless, thus the role of the Villains. It has been years, and their battles never ended, but society couldn't ask for more. We finally have our saviours and were willing to accept them.\n\n\"Mummy, what happened to her?\" I asked quietly.\n\nShe frowned as she looked at who I was pointing at. \"That's none of your business,\" she said, pulling me away from the hospital room. I took one final glance before we headed out. All I saw was a woman frantically slamming the sides of the bed, screaming as she spat fire at anything that caught her attention.\n\nThat memory never left my mind. I take a sip of coffee as I work through my files. Over a thousand cases of The Fallen. People who possessed powers for more than 10 years will only live the rest of their lives in agony, succumbing to a constant state of hallucination revolving around their worst fears. Their power levels skyrocket, and they become incredible threats to society. I pass the files over to Mandy.\n\n\"How many new Superheroes are there this week?\" I ask, my voice is hoarse.\n\n\"20 have been confirmed, sir,\" she replies.\n\nAt this rate, we will be doomed in 10 years. There has been a massive wave of Superheroes and Villains over the past two years, and no prison in the world can hold that many people with powers like that. The numbers are increasing exponentially, and there is no way to reverse the possession. The Superheroes and Villains are panicking, they are angry, some are in denial, and their battles are more frequent and dangerous than ever before.\n\n\"Scientists refer to this as the next extinction event.\" I pause to let out a sigh. \"I just hope my parents live a good life before that happens, I don't think they have much time left to spend with me.\" Before I can reach for my coffee, the deafening sound of the emergency alarm fills up the office.\n\nThere is a Villain nearby.\n\n\"Everybody hide! Go!\" I shout, urging Mandy to follow the rest. As I step out the building, I see a figure in the distance ravaging the streets, shielding himself from gunfire with stone walls. Boulders are sent flying and spikes shoot out from the ground. The pedestrians flee the scene as cracks in the ground appear out of nowhere, trapping their feet. People were pleading for help, waiting for a Superhero to save the day. I walk over and prepare for my first battle."
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[WP] A boring story where nothing happens. Yup, absolutely nothing, nothing interesting going on here.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"You sit, you wait, as always. White walls, white floor, white ceiling.\n\nYou're not marching towards your death, valiant against the world, you're meandering to it, fizzling out like a firework in the rain. A flare that reaches no eyes. A scream, no, a whisper for mercy, unheard.\n\nYou sit, you wait, you slowly decay.\n\nThis is your life now, you acknowledge. This will always be your life, and it will never change. You are to face this cold, harsh reality forever. There will be no parole for the murderer. \n\nYou sit, you wait, you slowly slip away.\n\nYou haven't heard a voice in... years? It's not like the voices in your head don't keep you company, but you only could listen to them for so long before snuffing them out as you have to so, so many others.\n\nYou smile, you weep, you slowly fade.\n\nYou left your mark in the world, a jagged cut down the side, bleeding and agonizing. The knife you twisted in will not be forgotten quickly, but it will be forgotten someday.\n\nYou laugh, you sing, you lose your voice.\n\nWhere is everyone? Are they all dead? Is everyone dead? Did you kill them all? Perhaps you killed them all. You have killed them all.\n\nYou dance, you fall, you ache.\n\nThe food arrives. It's not food as much as concentrated nutrients. Not that you've minded. Today is the best day of the two thousand days you've been here. Why? No reason in particular.\n\nYou eat, you sleep, you sigh.\n\nYou were shown mercy when you were caught, your victim took the high road, chose to let you live. You would not die for this yet.\n\nYou were shown an utter lack of mercy when you were caught, your victim took the high road, chose to let you live. You would live for a long, long time in this.\n\nYou live, you breathe, you fear.\n\nEvery day the walls get a little darker to you, every day the time goes by a little slower.\n\nThis will go on forever, won't it. You know it. You've killed enough to become immortal, perhaps, you live and live and live and never die, you can't die. Surely you can't die. You would have by now.\n\nOr maybe you're just crazy.\n\nYou live, you grin, you kill. What else have you known? Nothing. No one ever cared for you, no one ever loved. You're just the scum of the earth, and the moment you embraced that, you've never been so free. Ironic, really, given your current position.\n\nYou just want to see the sun again. You just want to feel the wind again. You just want to live.\n\nYou just want to see the life leave someone's eyes again, slowly, hauntingly. You just want to feel blood on your hands again. You just want to kill.\n\nAnyone, anyone, anyone at all, you'd do anything, anything, anything at all.\n\nYou'd do anything.. you'd do....\n\n​\n\n...\n\n​\n\nAh.\n\nOf course.\n\nThe final note of a ballad of pain: you.\n\nYou want to go out with a legacy, yes? You don't want to face this anymore.\n\nYou want to be remembered? Very well. You know what you will do. You've made up your mind already.\n\nYou splinter the wood off of your cold bed. You prepare.\n\n​\n\nYou brace.\n\nYou breathe.\n\nAnd then you don't.\n\n\\------------------------------------------------------------------",
"John took a sip from his coffee. It was cold, but not cold enough to be considered disgusting. He placed the mug back on the table, right next to a word search he hadn't finished yet. A pencil was laying on it. John crossed his legs, picked up both the pencil and the puzzle, and resumed his journey of spotting words on a flat piece of wood. \n\n\nAfter a while, John found the word 'lobotomy'. He felt slightly happy about this little achievement, but he didn't feel like celebrating it. Instead, he continued searching, as usual. There was no need for a party. John didn't even like parties all that much. The only things he did, were trying to complete a word search and drinking coffee. Although he didn't really understand why he did these things, he liked doing them. \n\n\nJohns pencil traveled a few inches across the paper, completing the word search. Now what would he do? He looked in his mug again, but there wasn't really any coffee left, just a small brown ring, transparant enough to see the bottom underneath it. John didn't really feel like drinking coffee anymore. \n\n\nAnd with that, he vanished. The story is now finished, so there is no reason for John to exist anymore.",
"This is a boring story, where nothing is happening. There is no character, no arc and no plot to speak of. Everything is happening somewhere else, not in this story. All this story is are words, which form sentences which talk about the nothingness and the boredom that is this story. \"Why?\" You might ask in an attempt to make sense of what is going on, but there is no answer, there never will be an answer and the longer you wait, the more you might wonder whether there has been a question at all. Empty, boring, bland all words to describe this text and they capture its essence. Is there a deeper meaning to this text? No, there is not.",
"You tell yourself it's nothing. Houses creak, boards shift, wind rustles a few things outside, that's all there is. Yet, as you're going to sleep, your body urges you to open your eyes to ensure you're safe. Check the door, make sure no one opened it. Look outside, make sure no one's out there. If your eyes are closed, you can't see the man you're imagining standing at the foot of your bed.\n\nForcing your eyes shut, you try again. It's more frustration than anything now, looking at the clock and seeing 2:14 lighting up your room in small red numbers from your dresser. It's a counting-up count-down to the next day when the inevitable bags under your eyes and heavy yawns tell the story of this night you ever could. You *will* close your eyes, you *will* fall asleep, you promise yourself for the good of tomorrow. \n\n*Thump*. \n\nEyes wide as dinner plates. It's amazing how fast your heart will pick up the pace when danger, real or imagined, is around. In your head you tell yourself that's the sound it makes when the heat comes on, and not a burglar, home invader, serial killer... You know your reasoning is perfectly logical. That sound happens when it's a cold night. Of course, your heart is still doing its greatest impression of a jackhammer. \n\n*Thump*. \n\nOkay, it usually doesn't happen twice. That's odd. Not a big deal, but that's odd. It's something that can be checked out in the morning, as your bed is warm and comfortable and the idea of getting out of it is not in the cards tonight. You reassess where you're at. The red lights flare their warning of 2:27. *Five hours is fine if you fall asleep right now, just take a nap when you're back from work*, you tell yourself. So, you close your eyes again. You're an adult, for goodness sake. This isn't something you should be dealing with. It's just like being a child again, except you've replaced monsters under the bed with someone breaking in.\n\nOf course, people *do* break in...\n\nThat's it. The only way you're falling back asleep is accepting that you're going to have to go downstairs and check it out. Not to see anything, but to confirm that you see nothing. That there's nothing there, and that everything's all in your head. Convincing yourself you're a brave, levelheaded adult, you rip the sheets off your bed, throw on your housecoat, and march out of your room to suddenly realise that the stairs are dark and every step you make on them seems to be loud enough to wake the dead. Have they always creaked?\n\nWhy is your heart beating? This is ridiculous. You turn on the light and your home feels warm and familiar, even if the light stings your eyes. You check each room, still walking around on tip-toes as for some reason anything that breaks the silence is oddly disconcerting. Your eyes take special care to look around inside, but not outside, as you saw that horror movie when you were a kid where there was someone out there, and you just don't want to deal with that right now.\n\nAfter a few minutes the scouting mission is complete. There's no one there. There's never anyone there. You're just falling asleep, the same as you always have, and in the morning you'll feel awfully foolish. It's 2:41 when you're back up in your room, and that same frustration from before sets in. *Less than five hours. That'll be a lot of coffee tomorrow morning.*\n\nHaving gotten out of bed makes the sheets and pillow seem more comfortable again. Also, as much as you hate to admit it to yourself, you feel far more comfortable knowing you checked outside. Your heartbeat has since settled down to a gentle pattering. It's your chance. You're almost there. \n\n*Thump.*\n\n\\-----\n\nThanks for reading! If you enjoyed that, please feel free to check out some of my other stuff over at [r/JohnBordenWriting](https://www.reddit.com/r/JohnBordenWriting/)!"
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[WP] "Uh, oh hi, this Satan with your teenage son. I'm calling from Hell, can you come pick him up?"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“I damn it, Jesus, what did you do?”\n\n“I swear, it was an accident! Daniel just said your name in vain and I-“\n\n“-Flipped out? I get that you’re a human just as much as you are God, but did you have to go and hurt him, AND yourself in the process? Now I need to go to Hell, where LUCIFER is keeping you. Jesus, your-“\n\n“-Hour has not yet come, I know. I’m sorry I did that.”\n\n“It’s ok, kid. Just, ah, don’t tell your friends in the future you did this.”\n\n...\n\n“Oh heyyyyy, big G. How’s it poppin in your side of town?”\n\n“Ugh, Lucifer, 10 minutes with you is more hell for Jesus than an eternity in your 7th circle for the worst sinner. But thanks for taking in the kid, I guess...”\n\n“I’m sorry, what did you say about moi? I didn’t quite catch that.”\n\n“I said thank you, not praise be to you. You need to watch your tone; the war has been over for eons, and I don’t want to have to revive it.”\n\n“GOD, you can’t take a joke! I’m leaving him with a little present from me~ <3”\n\n“Oh no, I know that voice! Lucifer, if you lay a hand on that boy, I swear—“\n\n“Relax, big G, it’s just a rainbow pin. I know how you love your rainbows...~”\n\n“Fine, he can have it. I’ll be there in 15.”"
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[WP] Everytime you wake up from a dream you carry with you a little unimportant object (comb, pin, etc.) but this time after the nightmare you have waken up with a bloody knife.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I jolted awake, sitting up as something clattered to the ground. My heart pounded my rib cage like a prizefighter and I could feel damp sweat on my brow. Turning on the room's overhead lamp, I could see that I'd brought a knife with me this time. It had blood on it...*my blood*. \n\nPoking around the minds of the recently deceased tended to lead to some weird stuff, but I'd never had one turn violent. The best ones gave me something to give to their loved ones still alive, the worst tended to just give me something pointless to function as an anchor so I would leave them alone. Sentimental items I'd give to their intended, I kept a collection of the rest.\n\nYou'd be surprised at how detailed people keep their dream realms. They always presented themselves as their ideal; the athletes were stronger and faster, the musicians had amazing technical proficiency, and the businessmen had perfect suits and hair (for some reason, men whose dream realm originated in their workplace hate being bald).\n\nMy visits always originated where they felt most at home. Unsurprisingly, this wasn't always actually at \"home\" for these people. Those with the money to pay for my services tended to be the benefactors of large estates or institutions looking for something specific, be it the finished copy of an author's last book, a missing championship ring, or the contents of a posthumous album release. Selling the dream version of a person on giving you their best version of something they hold dear to take away can be difficult, meaning there was a good chance I would be unsuccessful. If this happened, I'd refund part of the cost as per the contract, apologize, and put whatever trinket they'd given me in my gallery of failures. Once I'd been sent to retrieve a will as part of a legal battle. That one was hard to explain to the target.\n\nSomehow this one had gone very wrong. Gathering my bearings in this dream realm, I realized that the client didn't know the target very well. I was told I'd be visiting the mind of a transportation company CEO and dedicated patron of the arts, but as I came to I found myself far removed from anything resembling a home, office, art museum, or concert hall. \n\nInstead, I was in a room with no windows. On one wall was something that resembled a cross between a gun safe and a museum display case, filled with all kinds of exotic guns, rocket launchers, and some scary looking things I didn't recognize. The other wall was covered in a giant map of the world with arrows all over it. \n\n\"You like my collection?\" Sure enough, the target was sitting at a desk far too big and ornate to be in a room like this one. \"Please, sit\" he pointed at a very basic chair in the center of the room. \n\n\"....where is this?\" I asked. \n\nThe target looked at me quizzically \"I thought you were here to negotiate some new territories?\"\n\nThe hard part of this job was next. People tended not to enjoy finding out they were dead. \"I'm actually visiting a dream. You have died, and your family has asked me to retrieve this.\" I pulled a piece of paper out of my pocket. In reality, I always canned in the client's request form, but I had it set to project the request onto paper in the dream realm, which I could then provide to the target with the client's own handwriting to bolster my case. In this job, you take every possible advantage you can.\n\nWhat happened next was unexpected to say the least. \"Dead, you say? You sayin' those cartel boys got me?\" The target stood up to an intimidating height, glowering at me from a head sticking out of a wide suit that implied massive shoulders underneath. \"I don't believe you.\"\n\n\"Sir, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you should read this.\" I pulled out another piece of paper, an obituary. Nearly everyone bought my story when I handed them their own obituary.\n\n\"Jefferson Smith, former CEO of Sharon Logistics, died at the age of 89 yesterday.\" He read the obituary aloud. \"Jefferson founded Sharon and built it into the third largest logistics company in the world, but he considered the art world his true passion. Donating large amounts of money to art museums, orchestras, and theaters, many of us who enjoy the arts owe our opportunity to do so to Mr. Smith. Blah blah blah...\" he trailed off and looked up at me. \"89? I guess they never found out about the drugs?\"\n\n\"Sir, I'm not aware of what you are talking about,\" I managed to squeeze out as calmly and professionally as I could.\n\n\"How do you think Sharon Logistics became such a big company? It sure wasn't delivering postcards, I'll tell you that much. People in the illegal drug trade will pay massive amounts to move products from one place to another discreetly. I assumed the risk, paid drivers off to make sure they 'acted alone', and made massive amounts of money. I figured it would catch up to me in the end. But.....\" and he grabbed a knife from a drawer in the desk and stood up \"I guess it never did. And, based on this obituary, nobody connected me to anything. If I made it this far, then I'll be damned if I let you change that\". \n\nHe jumped over the desk and stabbed the knife deep into my chest. Grabbing the handle with my hand, I managed to trigger the anchor before I died in the man's dream state. \n\nI jolted awake, sitting up as something clattered to the ground. My heart pounded my rib cage like a prizefighter and I could feel damp sweat on my brow. Turning on the room's overhead lamp, I could see that I'd brought a knife with me this time. It had blood on it...*my blood*. \n\nI had a lingering feeling in my chest, like my lungs didn't want to inflate all the way. Still trembling a bit from the shock, I made my way to the computer where I pulled up the \"unsuccessful visit\" form. \n\n*I am sorry to inform you that I was unsuccessful in convincing me to retrieve your specified item.* it began. Scanning through the boilerplate, I went down to the line labelled *cause of failure*. I thought about revealing this guy's drug empire, but I ultimately decided that he was either so good his family wouldn't believe me, or they intentionally ignored it. Either way, I decided it was too much work to challenge them on it. So, to his family, Jefferson Smith would always be the man they thought he was. To me, he would be something else entirely: the only person to kill me in a dream."
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[WP] Satan knows how to make deal for souls. Before running Hell, he was running a pawn shop
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“You see, the reality is that humans don’t know what their soul is really worth. So I have a one up in every transaction.” Lucifer said as he stamped out a cigarette in a skull shaped ashtray. \n\n“Plus I’ve been negotiating for used goods for a long long time. See, Ive been running this pawn shop since, we’ll forever I guess. It’s where I done most my deals.” He said and slapped the top of the glass counter top. Under the glass there is cameras, cell phones, all sorts of gadgets. \n\n“It’s not too different than any other pawn shops you’ve been too. See, the pawns come in, I make them an offer they can’t refuse. Then when they’re on their death bed I send one of my minions to collect the goods. Simple.” Lucifer said. \n\n“Before I opened this shop I used to have to chase down people to trade with. It was a tough gig. Now I got people lining up to sell me their soul. Like I said, they don’t know what they got. It’s too easy. I almost feel bad for them sometimes.” He said and lit another cigarette. \n\n“Like just a minute ago. A lovely young lady came in. She was down in her luck. She’d been dealt a bad hand. She brought in her parents wedding rings to pawn. You hate to see it. But life ain’t easy for everyone. I like to think I can help ya know?”\n\n“So I tell her, how about you keep the rings and I’ll do you one extra. Whatever you want I say. Whatever your heart desires is yours. In exchange for your soul.”\n\n“She laughed and thought I was crazy of course. They all do.” He said with a small snicker. \n\n“What have you got to lose? I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you a small free-be. Ask for something small I say. A way to prove I’m not messing with her. Gain her trust ya know.”\n\n“What does she do? She asks for a thousand dollars. Easy peasy. I tell her to check her purse. Sometimes I like to do a little David Blaine showmanship. Just to mess with them. She checks her purse and gasps. See, that’s all it takes sometimes.” Lucifer said and took a long drag. \n\n“So now she knows I’m the real deal right. I got her right where I want her. But wait. It gets better. So’s I ask her. What do you want to most? In exchange for her soul. She stands their thinking with her little human brain then I see her face light up. She wants her parents back. Turns out they died recently in a terrible car accident. Real tragic like. \n\n“No problem I say. And I pull out the paper work. It’s already filled out with all the pertinent information. All she had to do is sign and the bottom and her lovely parents will be back at home, cooking a quaint dinner by the time she gets there.” \n\n“She signs it and runs out the door. Happy as can be. See, I’m like to think I make the world a better place.”\n\n“Wanna know what the kicker is? See, I know people. I know this young woman is going to tell her parents what happened. How she got them back. Saved them from death. How she sold her soul to me. And I know her parents are going to come here and want to get her soul back. First they’ll be begging me. Then that’ll get angry and throw fiery words at me. But a contract is a contract. You know.” He said \n\n“Look, I’m not a bad guy, I’ll do what they ask. No problem! I got kids too ya know. I know that protective instinct. So I’ll give this young lady her soul back. In a little exchange. For both the parents souls. They won’t even hesitate I tell ya. They’ll have the pens in hand before I can have the paper work on the table. Now I got two for the price of one. Some times it’s too easy.” Lucifer said with excitement. \n\n“I’ve been doing this for a long long time. If you humans had any idea what your souls are actually worth I’d be outta business tomorrow.” \n\n“So what brought you in today? I see you brought a guitar with you. Are you looking to pawn or sell? I have what ever you heart desires. Just say the word.” Lucifer says with a smile."
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[WP] You’re a Mage apprentice specializing in White Magics. Your natural talent has earned you many jealous enemies. You are not allowed to pronounce curses, as doing so is grounds for expulsion. Fortunately, you are very skilled with your word choices.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I had never hated a person more in my life. Lauded as I was, bound within the constraints of my power, my belief, my faith. Yet here at the end of it all that blackguard had still taken the city. \n\n\"So Illerion,\" the Scourge of the Firemounts said, \"Now that your academy, your home, and your pupils are no more. Will you still remain unsullied? Still refuse to give into the the true nature of power and embrace the unbridled fury of curses.\"\n\nI was taught that magic was derived from life, from joy, and from light. I was taught that when faced with an enemy you should seek resolution compromise. \n\n\"What do you want from me Thomas?\" The Scourge hesitated, looking fiercely at his men for any trace of laughter at the use of his original name. \n\n\"Thomas, why is it that you are so enamored with pain? Curses do nothing but make the caster and focus worse. \" he scoffed at my question \"Please Illerion, how could you not love the ability to enforce your will upon reality. To place your wants and needs above that of others simply by choice. I would have thought that now, with all that you've built smoldering around you would be able to look around and appreciate the ability to simply make someone's reality worse.\"\n\nI smiled, the same sad old smile from when we were boys. \"Thomas, if I were to curse you, I would wish that you never felt satisfied with anything you did and that all you loved died in agony before your end.\"\n\n\"Yes, Illerion! Lean into that hatred, that anger!\" \n\nYet with a sigh I simply laugh \"I don't want to but I would never need to anyway.\"\n\n\"Why?\" Thomas asked, real concern showing through his visage for the first time. \"Illerion, this is the final act and I had hoped you would at least be sane enough for real discourse before the end.\"\n\nI smiled, coughed blood, magic, life, and joy leaving my body. I expected anger, some kind of hot, fierce, emotion, but instead I only feel cold. \n\n\"Thomas there isn't much time now, do you remember Brigitte?\" Thomas sneered \"Yes I hope to visit her next as a reward for choosing that sniveling wretch.\"\n\n\"She's dead Thomas.\" Stunned silence followed. For all of the armor and gore that hung upon him, Thomas looked just as stunned and confused as the when he was told I would be the head of the order. \n\n\"She was captured and tortured when your generals captured Ryeth. Her last words did not curse you but just beseeched you stop.\"\n\nThomas has rarely been at a loss for words. But now once again the silence stole over his armies. While for most armies this would mean the awkward, near silent shuffle of human legions, for Thomas just the absolute silence and stillness of his summoned demons. It is hard to imagine any other kind of life within thousands of miles. \n\nI hacked, turning grey and spat. Bright red blood between me and Thomas as he stared with dawning horror at the wound in my chest. \n\n\"Thomas, I hope you live a very long and happy life with the fruits of your labors.\"\n\nThen. Just silence."
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[WP]As a villain, you rarely get the time to do the thing you enjoy, such as going to your favourite cafe; so when some heroes decide to try arresting you when you've not even ordered your drink yet, you know that you need to make them an example of why people shouldn't mess with you on your day off
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"A cup of coffee broke, splashing hot liquid on the face of Incredible. His wife, Mothra, dodged the second one.\n - Good attempt, my dear, - said Faceless with a deep voice.\nAngel chuckled. Usually not that talkative Faceless continued.\n - Why you two and your kid should appear when i'm just about!..\nThe villain stopped short.\n - What were you about?\n - That doesn't matter, - shouted Angel. - But you must notice one thing. Only two people wear smart costumes. And the second one is me.\nOut of a thin layer on arm emerged quite big laser. Faceless summoned two swords of electricity. The couple switched styles. The radio in the cafe shut down. Angelic music began to play and a second after that Faceless punched Incredible.\n - We! Had! A date!\n\nAfter two minutes Facrless calmed down and returned to the exit. Musical theme turned off.\n - I wanted just to scare them, but thanks.\nFaceless looked up, then got out of somewhere a box.\n - We live together for eight months. But... Will you marry me?\nAngel got out another box with another ring.\n - Well... I think, that goes for \"yes\".\nThey went on the street, covered with pieces of metal, brick and wood. No lampposts were left on the once quiet street, some houses were severely damaged, and the viligant family became alive again only after the couple left the area.",
"I stood in line, with my usual order already being made, thanks to the cute barista. She knew me already, and we have some small talk when there is not much going on.\n\nThis time I am going to ask for date. She doesn't really care who I am when I am ... let's call it working. We have separate identities for a reason.\n\nShe kinda reprimanded me already for a few things I made. We are good friends already.\n\n\nBut this time was different, as I and the barista had a little discussion about a plan for the next week, I felt something coming.\nAs we turned to the entrance a hero landed ... a new-ish one. Definitely done with the Hero Academy, but not a fully licensed hero ... yet.\n\nAs he came closer he shouted: \"There you are, I am here to end your reign for once, you villainy scum.\"\n\nAll eyes on us I respond: \"First of all: Rude. Secondly ... Is it already Friday? I thought it's Thursday.\"\n\nAs the barista answers: \"No it's Thursday, your day off right?\"\n\n\"Ah good. So please leave then, it's my day off.\"\n\nThe hero got angry at that remark: \"Pah, I fart on 'YoUr DaY oFf'\"\n\n\"Dude, like leave me alone, we are trying to find a good spot for a date ok? I really don't want to deal with work today.\"\n\n\"Mimimimi\" as he made a crying emotion: \"Cime with me now, I am going to arrest you here a-\"\n\n\"If you won't leave me and him alone, I will personally use all my stored up costumer service rage to beat you into a miserable pulp.\" the soft spoken and polite barista definitely had enough and pulled him closer to her face: \"So, you are going to leave and come back TOMORROW got it?\"\n\nThe silence was infinite, nobody moved or even thought normally, nobody expected her to explode like that. The girl I liked definitely got even better.\n\nAfter a few seconds the hero unhinged and got free: \"And what are you going to do about it? You're just a woman without anything.\" As his head turned to me \"And this is what you want to date? Dude I-\"\n\nI responded: \"Oh I would not have such balls to speak to her like that now, I would be careful.\" I turned to her and said: \"You definitely need a bit of energy here\"\n\nWith black smoke filling the room she gets access to my armor. As it's constructing around her, trying to fit her properly I say to the now bleaker than bleach hero and my date: \"Have fun, my dear.\"\n\n---After a few minutes of fighting outside the hero leaves but with a hugely bruised ego, the barista come in again and armour leaves with the same black smoke---\n\n\"And?\" I ask \"How was it?\"\n\n\"It's soo freeing just to let all this rage and frustration out, and then on this huge douche bag. Oh I can't thank you enough for that. He was actually one of the worst costumer I regularly have. He is whiny, borderline abusive to my colleges and overall just bad. I loved every punch ai delivered.\n\nBut I have to ask you? What if he turned onto you? Without your armour?\"\n\n\"Oh, I gave you an older model, I could have gotten my newest stable one and would have been save, but thank you for considering it.\"\n\nShe then turns a bit away, thinking, and quickly returning to me: \"So ... About our date ...\" as she leaned forward: \"Your place ... tonight?\"\n\n\"As in application for a job, or a tour or what?\"\n\nShe laughed: \"Oh you dense fucker, you will see...\"",
"So when people learn that you're a villain, or worse, a supervillain, there are a million things that go through their head. And for good reason; most of us are heinous criminals with oversized egos with a carnal desire for power, destruction, or both. That's why there are heroes, and superheroes. They came on the scene as the balance, the yang to our yin if you follow such philosophies. Most of the time their battles would ravage the city, leaving blocks of devastation and destruction in their paths that amazingly would be repaired before breakfast the next morning, courtesy of the City Repair Team. CRT is responsible for the clean-up, the rebuild of whatever holes either side left in their wake, and they are damn efficient at their work.\n\nHow do I know this? Because I used to work for them before I started on my own path to hatred and villainy. Well, that's not entirely fair. I don't actually hate the heroes I fight. If anything I squeal with delight whenever they land a satisfying punch or devastating kick that sends me through several unfortunately placed obstacles of the landscape, usually stop signs and telephone poles. I love it when they turn and deliver their heroic speech to whatever crowd has gathered, as my supposedly broken and bruised body is peeled from the concrete to be delivered to the latest fad in escape-proof prison technology. I'm probably the heroes biggest fan, because they bring hope and optisim to a city that would otherwise be overrun by pessisim and hatred. Even if it just distracts the poor citizeny from their lot in life, that's good enough for me.\n\nI saw plenty of it when I was cleaning up. Yes, we had access to Timestop's reversal wave machinery which repaired any structure back to it's original condition prior to the fight, but that was as far as it would work. I lost count how many times I saw poor people standing outside patiently waiting for their rat's nest to be rebirthed just so they could lay down for the night instead of on the concrete outside. So many ruined lives, and when the heroes no longer played by their own rules, caught in the web of lies, deceipt and hatred themselves, I knew I could not longer idly play along just to ease the minds of the populace. Real change had to start with me.\n\nI know you've heard about it a billion times in the news by now. 'Madman delivers nuclear-level attack on Chicago'. It's a bit over-sensationalized which I probably could have done without, but it certainly underscored my reasoning. You see, as a part time supervillain, my only goal was to goad heroes on, to help them become the best hero they could be. I'd entered into a secret contract with CRT to play the villain to help lift the spirits and talents of the new hero batch, and I was absolutely thrilled to actually be taking part in the mess instead of just cleaning up after. To be able to enjoy both destruction and creation is truly a wonder that not many will ever have the opportunity to explore.\n\nTo be fair, I had no intention of leveling a midwestern city. I love Chicago-style pizza. I loved going inside the Sears T- wait, no, that's changed hands so many times I lost track of who owns it anymore, but that massive building was always fun to scale before gazing over the cityscape below. The Chicago Bears were my favorite sports team, although now they'll have to find someplace else to play. At least I had the foresight to make sure my power protected all the living beings, shocked as they were as things dismantled and dissolved around them effortlessly. Despite my now Zeus-classified powers supposedly going on a wild rampage, no one was hurt, and that confused the hell out of everyone.\n\nExcept the hero that caused it.\n\nI was minding my own business on a Saturday afternoon, chilling at a Starbucks while pondering whether I'd spend the day playing video games, drawing, or writing a short story for the fun of it, when this young punk decided that he'd had enough of my shenanigans. It was an unspoken law of honor that neither side would attack the other on a day off; not everyone adhered to this, strictly, but it had always been harsh words at most. So you can imagine my surprise when he walked up to me, picked me up out of my seat, and threw me through the large glass window overlooking the street.\n\n\"YOU! You've disrupted the daily lives of our citizens far too long!\"\n\nI groaned. I recognized that voice, that was Heatstar, an up and coming young hero who had the shortest fuse I'd ever seen. How he'd found me was a bit of a mystery, especially since I wasn't in my trademarked costume with facemask. I stumbled to my feet, but was back on the ground again when I dropped to barely miss a second fiery punch that singed the top of my hair. \n\n\"Hey, WOAH, stop that!\" I held up both hands, the universal sign of surrender. \"What's the matter with you?!\"\n\n\"ME?! You're the one that blew up that hospital! All those kids...!\"\n\nI rolled my eyes. The hospital had been evacuated long before I even got there, thanks to a few well placed calls and tips to the local PD. They knew better than to get into the middle of these fights until they were done, and they were very grateful for the head's up. \n\n\"What kids? Did you see any corpses?\"\n\n\"I don't need to see!\"\n\nYes you do. \n\nHeatstar suddenly whirled around, sending a blast wave several meters wide right towards me. I'd had enough of this already, though, and with a flick of the wrist the fiery wall evaporated straight into the palm of my hand. \"Listen Heatstar, you're really barking up the wrong alley here. You've got to learn to control that temper before someone else controls it for you.\"\n\n\"SHUT... UP!\"\n\nI could see it. He'd already lost himself to his own internal tantrum. That meant there was really only one logical choice. I sighed as my power reached out to every corner of the city simultaneously, encapsulating every living thing I could. Trees and grass would be unfortunate collateral damage, but I needed the other half of my power to truly make a point. Heatstar's was glowing white, a sign of his uopcoming signature move. He called it, 'Blastpoint', but I called it a perfect demonstration of why one should never lose ones self during any confrontation.\n\n\"Last chance, hothead. If you don't chill, I'm going to show you regret first hand.\"\n\nHis scream of rage was the only answer I needed. Blastpoint was an interesting technique, as it would create a small explosion within 15 feet of Heatstar. I should know; I helped write up the specs one day while during a CRT work cleaning up his mess. I'd given my idea to his mentor as a way to help him refine his power, keep it under control. That also meant I'd already figured out its weakness.\n\nWith another wrist twitch, I flipped open the floodgate. Heatstar's roar became a bloodcurdling scream as his power went wildly out of control. I continued to feed him, sending wave after wave of amplified force directly into the center of his Vortex, the source of his power, until I knew it had hit critical mass. He started to float off the ground while I turned my back, closing my eyes as I focused on protecting everyone else.\n\nWell, you saw the news, you know what happened next. The damage was so extensive and so complete that not even CRT could fix what I'd broken. Chicago was declared a national disaster area. The military came, quickly handcuffing the now exhausted and power-burnt Heatstar, who would never have access to his power again. I made sure of that. The Vortex had collapsed, which also meant that he wouldn't even get the satisfaction of changing sides. I reported to CRT what had happened, of course. Just because I'm a supervillain doesn't mean I don't take at least partial responsibility.\n\nAfter all, CRT just landed the contract of a lifetime to build a new Chicago, a futurstic city impervious to the constant struggles between good and evil. A multi-trillion dollar contract that made everyone who worked for CRT insanely rich almost overnight. And with a job that secure, my secret identity labeled as 'The Savior of Chicago' for my part in preventing mass death, I was free to continue in my villainy even as I cleaned up the mess after.\n\nI never saw Heatstar again. His mentor took me under his wing, and I learned so many more unique and interesting ways of using my power. Did you know that with a quantum-level forcefield, you can actually manipulate the building blocks of life itself? The finite control is simply the inverse of the mass control I'd exhibited earlier, and while it was drastically more complex, it was also so much more satifying.\n\nBecause I'd love to see what happens the next time some moron tries to attack me on my day off."
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[WP] You own a legendary book that is rumored to have 2 copies. Whatever is written in one, is written in the other. But you soon find out that it doesnt have 2 copies, but its a single book, where the future can talk to the present, and the present can talk to the past.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
" My fingers tentatively skimmed the front cover of the simple leather-bound book in front of me as I closed it with a sigh. I had found it among the last box of odds and ends that had once belonged to my grandfather. My uncle had managed to secure the box yesterday after Grandpa’s funeral, and those things wound up being the only things of his I had. They were nothing of monetary value, to be certain: an old pair of reading glasses, a matching set of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, a glencairn glass, and what I presumed, based on a quick skim of the contents, to be a journal of sorts. I found it a bit eccentrically written, almost as though he were writing and then responding to himself, but he’d always been an off-the-wall man. Very intelligent, composed, and well-spoken, but somewhat Dali-esque. Uncle Paul had told me the book was some legendary tome with a second copy somewhere in the world, and that anything written in one would show up in the other, but I wrote it off as another one of his fanciful concoctions. I mean, come on—a magic book that writes itself? \n\nI left the book out and closed the box back up. I thought maybe I’d take it to my writing desk and peer into my granddad’s thoughts over a bit of Balvenie. Twenty minutes later, that’s exactly what I found myself doing. As I leafed through the pages, somberly studying abstract dialogue, poetic stanzas, and a few odd sketches, I absentmindedly swirled the caramel-colored liquid around in the glass that had been in the box. I chose my usual – Doublewood. Granddad was always an Ardbeg man, but I couldn’t learn to love the ship-rope finish the way he did. I chuckled as I could almost hear him scoffing at the sweetness as I put the glass to my nose and inhaled deeply before taking a sip. It was hard to imagine that the man behind this massive book full of thoughts and feelings was suddenly no longer around after being a central figure in my life for the entire 35 years I’d been living. \n\nBy the time I finished the glass, I’d also reached the end of the book entries. There was an easy inch left of blank pages in the journal, and I hated the idea of them going to waste. Maybe I could pick up where Granddad left off. I felt almost like I could talk to him again that way. I picked up an inkpen from the cup on the corner of the desk, and hesitated a moment to consider where to begin.\n\n“Dear Journal –” No, I thought as I crossed through the intro. That feels too cliché. \n\n“Dear Arius. Do you mind if I call you Arius? I feel like as long as you’ve been around you deserve a name more imaginative and apropos than “journal” or “diary.” Arius, the man that has been with you has … passed on, and will not be continuing. I’m his granddaughter, and I hope you don’t mind if I keep you company for a little while. I feel lost, and I could use someone to talk to that can’t talk back.”\n\nI continued for quite some time, my grief pouring onto the yellowed pages alongside the black ink. I couldn’t tell how long I spent writing, laying my soul bare onto the pages. All I knew was I suddenly found myself waking up to the sound of birds chirping outside the window on the far wall, sunlight streaming in between the gap in the green velour curtains. I lifted my head with a groan, babying a fresh crick in my neck. I sat up and the journal, now closed, crossed my field of vision. As distant and dreamlike as it felt, it was a stark reminder that none of this was a dream, and my loss was painfully real. I leaned back in my office chair and opened the book to the page I’d started writing on. Where I’d ended was pretty hazy, and I was interested to see if I’d at least been able to end my entry coherently given how tired I obviously was. At the end of my entry there was a bit of an ink smear where I’d seemingly drifted off, but what caught my eye was underneath it. In contrast to my shaky, half-asleep, off-the-lines writing were two short paragraphs in perfectly neat cursive writing. Paragraphs I had no memory of writing, in two different scripts which I didn’t recognize from anywhere.\n\n“Hello Rose. \n\nYou never gave me your name, so I shall call you Rose. My most heartfelt sympathy at the loss of your grandfather. Losing someone that has become a cornerstone of your life can often feel like a part of you left with them. …Believe me, I know that darkness. As for Arius, I find the name quite suitable. You have my gratitude. Your continued confidence would bring me great pleasure, Rose, and I look forward to hearing more of your memories of your grandfather.\n\nArius”\n\n“You must be Ilsa. Nice to make your acquaintance. \n\nAs lovely as the name Arius is, mine is Emrys. \n\nI’m so sorry to hear about your grandfather, Ilsa. My condolences, truly. I can assure you, things may get dark, but you will come into your own very soon. Hold on through this storm of grief, and you’ll find life will become much more interesting than you’d ever anticipated. In the meantime, you’re always welcome to share with me. It gets lonely out here, waiting for everyone else. \n\nYours,\n\nEmrys”\n\nMy breath caught in my throat as my heart began to race. My name is Ilsa.",
"It was an odd addition within my collection. Rumors surrounded its origin. It bore no title and appeared to have been crafted with care as the cover had managed to last until this very day. The story goes that what is written with my copy will appear in the other copy, almost as though it was a new way of communicating between two parties.\n\nThe legend strayed quite far from what it truly was. As I propped open the book, dismay fell over me as I noted the bareness of the pages. My first instinct was to shut it, but words began to materialize upon the pages.\n\n*I’m awake. I’m alive.*\n\n*Obviously, you’re awake.*\n\n*Of course, you know I’m awake. You saw it coming.*\n\n*I will always see things coming.*\n\nWere my eyes deceiving me?\n\nMore text appeared.\n\n*A mortal is here.*\n\n*Yes, I know, I saw it coming.*\n\nSaw it coming?\n\n*You always say that. It’s because you can see it all coming, I can only see things as they appear. You’re lucky, the other one can’t do that.*\n\nAt this point, it was clear that two entities existed here. The urge to slam this book grew. I ignored it. Observing the text, I presumed one was a present voice, while the other was a voice from the future.\n\n*I will always know what is to come.*\n\n*You say that with everything.*\n\n*I will always continue to say those things, you know that.*\n\n*It’s quite bothersome.*\n\nThe two of them carried on with their bickering. The quarrel between the dimensions had gone rather stale. My interest was waning. My hand reached for the ballpoint pen. I gave it a single click, to bring out the tip. The entities noted my presence once more.\n\n*The mortal is still here.*\n\n*The mortal will remain here.* *Its existence will cease. Its purpose has been served.*\n\nI pressed the tip onto the page.\n\n*No, don’t do that, human.*\n\nA flurry of motion. My vision was obscured by the shifting of my surroundings. Pages of parchment flew about but soon stopped. Stomach churning, it took a moment to regain my composure. Yet, as my surroundings settled into place, nothing appeared different. I was still in my room. Shifting about, I reached for my bookshelf but failed to touch it. My hand instead collided with a barrier. I tried it again. My hand was once more blocked off by this barrier.\n\nI was about to make a third attempt when the sound of scribbles echoed from behind. Spinning around, I was greeted by a wall of parchment rapidly being filled by text. The future was the one communicating to me.\n\n*You are to be the past. We have been looking for someone to fill the role of the past. It suits you well honestly. The past is naive to the future, you will be naive to your future as you showed that through your attempt to write in this book.*\n\nA pen landed before me.\n\nI presumed it was the present talking to me as it wrote: *Welcome, Past.*\n\nr/CasualScribblings"
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[WP] God just hired you as his marketing manager, he needs your help making him seem cool for young people
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“I’m flattered you chose me of all people to be your marketing manager, but I don’t approve of your method of hiring me. Couldn’t you have just killed me in my sleep? Did you really have to swerve a truck off the road, causing it to collide with another car, sending that car hurtling through my window, causing me to peek out the window and get stabbed by some random soccer hooligan? It just felt rather convoluted. Why not just get the truck to hit me? Or get the car to hit me? Do you know how much it hurts getting stabbed? Probably not as much as being hit by a truck or car, but still it hurts a lot.”\n\nMichael had been in heaven for only three minutes and in that short period had already been quick to air out his grievances to his new boss. Not happy about the recruitment process. The powerful god merely gave his beard a nervous scratch at the grievances, taking his time to answer him.\n\n“Usually I wouldn’t kill someone, but things have been a little tense lately, so I didn’t have time to wait for death to return from his vacation. Killing someone is difficult, you have to make it seem like an accident and I just couldn’t get it to look accidental enough so I just settled on someone stabbing you.” \n\n“Oh great, thanks for that. I appreciate it.” He didn’t bother hiding the disdain in his voice, not pleased about being stolen away from his life for this job. \n\n“I’m sorry. It’s just I forgot about Earth for a few thousand years and now everyone’s mad at me. I don’t know how to fix it, I was just going to send another meteor towards Earth, but I thought it might be best to consult you first.”\n\n“Well, a meteor won’t earn you any fans. Still, how can one undo centuries worth of damage? Is such a thing even possible? People have died because of your negligence. Even if they forgive you, will things ever be truly the same?”\n\nMichael bit his lip. This was a lot harder than his previous clients. This made even the biggest oil spill seem like child’s play. He might have lost the older generation, but perhaps he could influence the younger generation?\n\n“Maybe we could change your target market? Who needs adults, the children are the future, as they say. So I’m thinking, we rebrand you. You aren’t God anymore, you are the Big G-O-D. You ever done any streaming?”\n\n“Streaming? What’s that?”\n\n“Oh, its great, we will get you playing Minecraft, really topical and meme worthy. You play as a god who creates a world from scratch. You will love it!”\n\n“I was thinking more... A new holy book? Maybe even a modern adaption with updated rules? I feel a lot of things need updating.”\n\n“No, streaming is the way of the future. Now are you more a cat-eared headphone person? Or a sponsored brand type? Oh, sponsorships. We will need to get a few on board. This is going to be great.” \n\n“Maybe I made a mistake hiring you. Are you sure this will work?”\n\n“As sure as I am dead.”\n\nWith a sigh, the all powerful being accepted his fate and in a week was lounging back on his computer chair, adjusting the flaps on his cat like headphones.\n\n“What’s up guys, today It’s Big G-O-D bringing you another Minecraft let’s play. Speaking of playing, when the game gets hard, you need to get better. Sportsjunkee is the drink made by athletes for athletes, use the code- Holy intervention, for ten percent off.”\n\n&nbsp;\n&nbsp;\n&nbsp;\n\n(If you enjoyed this feel free to check out my subreddit /r/Sadnesslaughs where I'll be posting more of my writing.)"
] | 2
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[WP] All dragons hoard something. Most pick gold. Others who fancy themselves more refined choose art or remains of past civilizations. You hoard friends.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The girl wept. Her tears flowed down her cheeks, tracks of water cut into marble pale cheeks. Sapphire blue eyes gleamed as her shoulders shook. She tried to hold back some of her despair, hiccuping fitfully to hold back stomach clenching sobs. She buried her face in her hands, as if to hold back the tides of pain. \n\nA handkerchief came up, dabbing at the tears that seeped between her fingers. It was well made, a perfect square of soft cotton and embroidered with roses of crimson thread. What made the handkerchief unique was not its design or material, but the fact it hung off the tip of a scale tail. \n\n*Cease your weeping,* an immensely deep voice rumbled. *I cannot bear to see you so upset.*\n\nThe girl tried to stop, taking the handkerchief gratefully. “I’m s-s-sorry,” she gasped. “I just, I don’t know what to do.”\n\n*Do not apologize for being upset. I am not wanting you to stop feeling. I want to help you feel better.*\n\nA slight smile broke through like a small ray of sunlight through a thick cloud of misery. She looked up at the giant dragon that towered over her. Normally one would wear an expression of terror or dread at seeing a gargantuan creature like a dragon. However the girl only looked relieved as she looked up at the long maw full of razor sharp teeth, at the eyes that were taller than her. Yet the snout was creased in a worried frown and the eyes narrowed with concern. \n\n“Th-thank you Emmie,” the girl sniffles. “I knew you would help me feel better.”\n\nEsmeralda, the Jade Queen, Emerald Scaled Dragon of Forest Loch, (Emmie to her friends and woe to any who called her that without her permission), cooed softly as she mantled her wings around the girl. *Of course my little one. I will always look after you and your kin, as I promised your grand mother. However I will do more than help you feel better. I will help you fix things. Tell me what is going on.*\n\nThe words spilled from Leona’s lips. The tale she told was long and due to Esmeralda’s long life, one she had heard before. Yet each time she did it made the fire in her belly burn hotter. The fire crept up her throat and into her eyes, the amber hue of her irises turning literal red for long moments. \n\n“So if I don’t marry his son he said they’ll ruin our business. And it’s the business grandma started. And his son is such an ugly brute and I heard he hurt the last woman he was with, hurt her badly.” The girl trembled. “But if I don’t marry him, well, we can’t lose the store.”\n\n*You will not marry the boy nor lose the store. I will not allow it.* Esmerlada made a happy noise as Leona hugged her tail tightly. *They know not what they have done. How dare they threaten mine.*\n\nThe girl giggled with relief. “What will you do? Burn their place? Pay them off?”\n\nA deeper giggle was her reply. *So bloodthirsty! Much like your grandmother. Nothing so base dear one. No. I have learned subtler means since my youth. Not only are they subtle,* the dragon’s maw opened in a purely predatory smile, *they are somehow more amusing. Come along dear.*\n\nThe girl followed the dragon obediently. “Where are we going Emmie?”\n\n*To see a friend of mine. One who will assist you, happily.*\n\nDays later the girl returned to Esmeralda’s lair. However she was a girl transformed. Her smile lit the caves and her voice rang from the stone. “And the lawyer told them that if they even tried to do anything he would drag every false claim and missed tax to light. He said he found enough irregularities to bury them in chains for generations! In fact they have to have a permanent Merchant Guild representative watching them forever!”\n\nEsmeralda snickered, her voice was like rocks falling down a mountainside. *Excellent. That will teach them to try and extort my friends.*\n\nLeona hugged a large leg, sitting on the dragon’s paw. “Thank you so much Emmie. How can I ever thank you?”\n\n*You know those little sweets your family bakes? I have a friend who is celebrating the life day of their daughter. I know they would love some. Would you be so kind to prepare a supply?*\n\n“Of course!” Leona smile turned sly. “And an extra large one for a certain greedy dragon I assume?”\n\n*Greedy?! How dare you!* Esmeralda gasped with mock affront before she burst into laughter loud enough to shake the cave. *I am not greedy. I just like having a lot of friends.*"
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[WP] You’re a career magician pulling off another stunt in public, using a hidden harness to stand sideways on the side of a moving bus. One of the pedestrians becomes overjoyed at ‘finding someone else Iike him’ and steps up to join you, wowing the crowd. He’s not using a harness.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"First time doing one of these, feedback hugely appreciated!\n\n\\---\n\nUtterly flabbergasted, the magician all but signaled his driver to take a turn into the incoming alley and halt the bus. Instead, he could manage to maintain his smile and continue the stunt. He struggled for a second to keep his red scarf out of his face. Meanwhile, his unexpected travelling companion couldn’t keep his composure. While the cheeks on his round face turned even redder than they already were, he jumped up and down out of excitement. Technically, for everyone else, he was jumping sideways and back on the side of the bus. It was a sight to behold.\n\n“I never thought I’d meet someone who would know how I feel”, he shouted to make himself heard above the passing wind. “It’s weird but I almost feel like I know you already!”\n\n*“How could you not?”*, the magician thought. *\"I’ve been doing stunts in this town for over 10 years.\"* Instead, while waving at the crowd, he asked: “Maybe you’ve seen me before, eh?”\n\n“Don’t think I have”, the companion replied. “I think I’d remember.”\n\n*“You’d think you would.”* The magician spoke softly, unheard in all the noise. He was overwhelmed and felt beaten. His trick just went to waste. The talk of the town would be the surprise pedestrian. It was his companion’s name that would be displayed underneath the news anchor’s head tonight, not his own. He started to feel jealous, which made him think. *“How’s he doing this? This can’t be real. That’s it! It’s a trick! Of course it’s a trick!”*.\n\nWhile buildings, traffic signs and roaring crowds on their side passed, he started studying the odd character beside him. “Magnets”, he whispered. “Magnets and one hell of a core exercise schedule. That must be it.” He concocted a scheme.\n\n“Hey, guy!”, the magician shouted. “Let’s give these folks a show, shall we?”\n\nHis companion nodded in excitement. “What do you need?”\n\n“Take a few steps back, will you?”, the magician requested.\n\nWith ease, his companion walked backwards.\n\n*“A few more steps and he’ll be standing on the sliding glass doors”*, he told himself. “Just a few more, pal!”\n\nHis companion took a few more steps. Just as the bus took a corner, he set foot on the glass doors and seemed to start falling. He waved his arms around and found his balance. “Okay! Now what?”\n\n*“What?! What in the..”.* The magician didn’t know how to finish that thought. *“How does he-”*\n\n“Look out!”\n\nA road construction sign showed up as out of nowhere and threw his companion towards him. The magician’s invisible harness pressed in his lower back as he bent over backwards to dodge the flailing body. *“Ah, hell”*, was all he could think.\n\nYears later and half a country away, a magician wearing a red scarf opened his eyes. Another crowd sat on the benches of an outdoor swimming pool. He was standing on the left of two metal trapdoors above a tank filled to the brim with freshwater and piranhas. A nanofiber film over his skin should keep him safe from the bites. He closed his eyes again, only to open them abruptly when he heard heavy boots clanking up the iron stairs behind the tank. While turning around, he saw a red-cheeked man with a round face jump on the other trapdoor beside him, smiling ecstatically.\n\n\\---\n\nEdit: typo and lay-out correction."
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[WP] Turns out that the reason why demons use possession instead of manifesting as deadly beasts and just killing people like the old days is because humanity's only supernatural ability is to integrate the abilities of any supernatural creature when we eat any part of their body, in any amount.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Luke glanced down at the watch, wondering if their information was incorrect. Most of their tips were, but he hadn't lived this long by getting careless. Demons were smart, but inherent blood thirst and a desire for domination were instincts hard to suppress. \n\nPossessions helped get some of those instincts out, but it was a poor substitute for the real feeling of flesh and blood giving way under talons and teeth. Of course, the risk of making a nearly immortal superhuman warrior was enough to discourage most attempts at full manifestation, but every once in a while, some idiotic young beast would try. \n\nAs if reading his mind, a green-yellow glow emanated from the ground a few thousand feet away. Out in a suburban forest, there would be few people nearby, likely what the demon hoped. It could go on a short rampage, maybe kill a few families before returning home. Considering his information was off by nearly a mile, it might even succeed. \n\nMoving in a blur, Luke leapt through trees and undergrowth, careful to gather his strength as he moved. Briefly, he debated calling in backup before discarding the thought. There was no point, and no one could reach the creature in time even if he did warn them. \n\nA horrified scream pierced the air, and Luke pulled on his powers, jumping thirty feet through the air, clearing the last of the thinning trees and landing on top of a nearby home. \n\nThe beast stood nearby holding a car aloft, massive claws crumpling metal like cardboard. Luke could see three people inside, teenagers by the looks of them. Tilting the car to one side, it dug its teeth into the roof, tearing off a chunk and throwing it clear. \n\nThrowing his hand out, Luke sent out a small beam of light, slicing into muscle and flesh, leaving a cauterized furrow along its back. Immediately, the creature dropped the car, whirling to one side and roaring a challenge. \n\nFalling from the roof, Luke held out one hand, gathering another beam of energy in his grip. The beast was massive, powerful and dangerous but it was far below his skill level. Two strikes, maybe three, and it would be dead. \n\nSuddenly, it tensed up, turning again and swiping its arm wide, throwing away the human who stood behind it. Luke noticed an object fly through the air, a knife of some kind. The idiot had stabbed a lesser demon with a pocket knife. \n\nThe beast pounced, rearing up above the boy and preparing to tear into it with its massive teeth, ready to kill him. Luke had no choice, and pushing hard on his powers, sent out a stream of light powerful enough to slice it into pieces. \n\nChunks of beast fell to the ground, covering the boy below in flesh and blood. He looked shell shocked, but luckily he appeared unharmed. Still, Luke noted that he took a nervous gulp, swallowing some of the demon's blood. His fate was sealed. \n\nRetrieving a phone from his pocket, Luke pressed the first and only contact, the other end answering immediately. \n\n\"I need a cleanup on 147 West Chestnut Lane. And an immediate pickup for two. We have a new recruit.\""
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[WP] You're a necromancer. But not the ghoulish type that robs graves and torments the souls of the damned. You're one of the good ones.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I was an outcast from birth in my tiny village in County Dalarna. My skin and hair were as pale as snow, my eyes grey and constantly bloodshot, and my face and chest were spattered with blotchy, ugly red birthmarks. To make matters worse, my mother was dead in childbirth, and my father soon after in an accident, and to make them worse still, I seemed not to age into adulthood as I reached my seventeenth year, and to make matters worst of all, I heard the voices all throughout my young life, voices of people who had died, telling me things I could not otherwise know. All this taken together convinced many I had the talent for witchcraft in my blood, that devils whispered to me and the blotchy birthmarks were where I nursed my familiars. Naturally I was not welcome in most company. I made as good a living as I could begging, stealing, or hunting, until I found the Warlock. I knew right away he was like me; he had the same unnatural paleness and the same blotchy marks, the same wild eyes, and learning under him I almost began to feel there was someplace in the world where I belonged. \n\n\\*\\*\\* \n\n\"You have the book?\" he snapped. I showed him; it had not been easy to steal, but the book was in my possession. He snatched it from my grasp with his skeletal arms and flipped through it to the page he wanted. Then the Warlock grabbed my hand and pricked a finger with his dagger; the drop of blood he let spill onto a yellowing page already thoroughly flecked with browned, dried blood. The whispers in my head, the ones I had heard since birth, grew louder and more frantic. \n\n\"Concentrate,\" the Warlock snapped in his harsh tone. I was growing sick of that tone. He was the closest thing I had to friend or family, but sometimes I thought to myself that even he was not very close to either. Still, I did as he said, and channeled the power with such concentration I thought my head would split apart. A fog too thick for normal fog coalesced over the graves around me, and within it I could see the faces of the dead. Then the fog billowed down into the Earth, and from it sprang rotting skeletons who knelt before me. \n\n\"Wonderful,\" the Warlock breathed. \"Your talent is greater than I ever imagined. And now we have the beginning of an army. One which needs not food, or rest, and which cannot die.\" \n\nI was confused; we had only discussed the practicing of the art, not anything of any armies. I said so. \n\n\"Come now!\" the Warlock said with contempt. \"We are clearly above the human sheep who fill this world. Under them, we live as outcasts. With this power, he could rule over them as the new kings of this world, unassailable, with the armies of the dead keeping them in thrall to us.\" \n\nI knew not what to say, so I conceded. I looked to the skeletal vanguard of our new army, and somehow I realized that this state troubled them; tortured them. Being roused from their rest was a nuisance, I think; but being rebound to their own rotting shells was an unbearable agony. I did not share this thought with the Warlock. Instead that night I slit his throat with his own dagger, and then bade our soldiers return to their rest again, feeling their sigh of almighty relief. I began to burn the book, thinking to put the whole sordid thing behind me, but something made me snatch a few bloodstained pages from the embers. After that, I did my best to disappear from the world, for a very long time...\n\n\\*\\*\\* \n\nJack Rogers flipped the sheet off the body. Detectives Danova and Blount, two of Baltimore's alleged finest, took the grisly sight in. Covered in intricate scarification, drained of all blood, head missing and fingertips made almost indistinguishable with acid burns. \n\n\"Third one this month.\" Danova sighed. \"I think at this point we can definitely say serial killer.\" \n\n\"And almost no distinguishing features left to even identify the body,\" Blount put in. \n\n\"A few,\" Rogers put in. \"Not as easy to burn away fingerprints as you think. It'll just take some time. Give us a little credit.\" He inclined his head to the deputy ME. Danova tried not to shudder. The deputy had a reputation as a bit of a freak; not quite young and not quite old, pale as an albino but covered in weird red birthmarks, hardly said anything to anyone but when they did, it was with a weird unplaceable accent. Still, he and Blount finished their conversation with Rogers and in time all three left the room. \n\nIn the quiet of the room, the deputy wandered over to the body. From their pocket, they pulled an ancient bit of parchment and a pin. A finger was pricked. Blood was shed. In moments a spectral image hovered above the corpse. \n\n\"Wha? Where... where am I?\"\n\n\"Relax. You can go back to sleep in just a moment. Just answer some questions for me, and you can help me solve your own murder.\"",
"\"You realize it’s not actually her, right?\"\n\n\"I don’t care. I just need to see her, be around her, one last time.\"\n\nI sighed. \"I get that, really I do. And I can’t imagine what you’re going through. Losing someone so... unexpectedly. I know it’s hard.\"\n\nMy prospective client choked back a sob. \"It was just a ball. I tell her every day to be careful crossing the street.\" \n\nThey rubbed at their eyes with the heel of their hand. \"She was gonna be five next week. We had a party planned.\"\n\n\"I’m not sure if this is the best use of your time.\" \n\n\"What do you mean?\"\n\nTime to try my hand at amateur therapy. \n\n\"Maybe instead of clinging to a spiritual echo of someone you loved, remember the good times you had together? Appreciate that you got to have in your life someone that loved you unconditionally. And maybe because you only had her for a short time, recognize it was all the more rare and beautiful because it was brief?\"\n\n\"*Please*...\"\n\nI don’t think it’s healthy, using my abilities this way. Death is a part of life, and clinging to a shade of what was only prevents us from moving on. A loved one is complete and complex, full of idiosyncrasies and contradictions. The revenants that show up are made of the imprint left by a soul on this earth, mixed with the memories of the bereaved. They are not who they loved, but a boardwalk caricature with a mishmash of remembered traits. The high fructose corn syrup to a living, breathing soul’s cane sugar. \n\n\"Grieving sucks, but it’s part of the human experience. We need it to mourn, so we can move on. And I think that’s what Molly would want for you. To move on.\"\n\n\"I don’t....I can’t...\" They were so lost, so broken. I usually caved at that point, and today was no different.\n\n\"Alright. I’ll do it.\" I said it with a shake of my head, hoping that this one time would be enough, and I didn’t create another addict. One more poor soul left behind, craving. Doing *anything* for \"one more time.\"\n\nThey looked up from The ratty stuffed rabbit in their hands. \"Really? Thank you! Thank you so much!\" The tears of pain were mixed up with tears of joy and anticipation now, as they clutched the stuffed rabbit to their chest.\n\nI held my hand out to them. \"I’ll need that,\" indicating the rabbit. \"It has traces of her imprinted on it. It was her favorite, right?\"\n\nHands shaking, they hand me the rabbit. \"Her absolute favorite. She couldn’t sleep without it.\" A sniff. \"It was right next to her in the room when she.. at the end.\"\n\nSuch an object deserved reverence, not just for the wisps of soul deposited into it, but also for the special place it held for those left behind. We often love what our loved ones loved. \n\nSome Latin was mumbled, a drop of blood was placed carefully on the stuffed rabbit, and a green flame was lit. The revenant of Molly stood in the corner of the room. A slightly puzzled expression on her face. \n\n\"You did it.\" They whispered. \"Thank you.\"\n\n\"Take all the time you need,\" I said as I stood to walk out the door. Before I walked out, I turned to look at my client. \n\n\"Just... remember she’s gone, okay?\"\n\nBut my advice was ignored, as they had already forgotten me. \n\n\"Molly! Here girl! Who’s a good girl? Who’s a good girl!\"\n\nThe responding bark was off, like it was a recording played on mediocre speakers. For my client though? It was exactly what they wanted to hear."
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[WP] You were born with a birthmark that looks much more like an intricate tattoo than a birth mark. For your whole life its just been a good conversation starter until today when your life was in danger and it started to glow.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Jessa hid under the stairs. She had been there for close to an hour. She liked the darkness under there. It was a quiet, contemplative state, not like the danger in the rest of the orphanage.\n\nJessa Stone never knew her parents, she had been abandoned in the great dwarven city of underforge. This alone was bad enough, but being the only human child in a city of the deep folk made things worse.\n\nShe had made few friends in her 7 years there. The cook, Dara Thunder-Shield treated her well, but the matron of the orphanage, Ms Shatteraxe, could largely be seen as 'indiffernt' towards her.\n\nBut then there was the boys.\n\nVarhac, Lungrig, and Hadok. The three oldest boys in Honorstone, all had it out for the poor girl. Though they were still only in their 40s, still a child in dwarf years, they all had large majestic beards, and this gave them a sense of authority over the other children.\n\nSuddenly there was light, and Jessa could see the face of Matron Shatteraxe. \n\n\"Out!\" She demanded of the child. \"No more slacking off and ignoring your chores!\" Jessa crawled out of the cubby without another word. She didn't want the Matron to drag her out. It was always worse when she did.\n\nThe matron was a stubborn, stern old woman, and while she didn't care for Jessa she didn't wish to see her hurt, unless she was forced to lay a hand upon Jessa's markings. All her life, Jessa had strange runes and lines tracing up her arms, and while no one who saw them knew what they were, or what script the lettering was, she has been told she was found with them when she was a baby. She was brought to the orphanage with the markings upon her arms. The blue lines and blue script, forever a mystery.\n\nShe hoped to avoid the boys, as they had been the cause of some trouble earlier for her. Her one toy doll now in ruins. She had been able to hide in her cubby for some time and mourn it's loss.\n\nFor a while, keeping her head down and working quietly worked. She mopped the floors, keeping an ear out for the boys, hiding if she heard them in a nearby room. However hiding and being cautious can only last so long in Honorstone Hall.\n\n\"There's the marked wench! Scrubbing the floors like a proper maid!\" Varhac called when he spotted her. His cronies coming running. \"Need fresh water girl? I can tear the head off another of your dolls?\" He said with a chuckle.\n\nLungrig corrected his friend \"she only had the one, you'll have to find some other way of getting her to cry buckets!\"\n\nHadok appeared next 'tsk' ing her as he did. \" you call this a scrubbing? You're gonna have to do better than this!\" He turned to the other two \"say, didn't the cook mention something about a pet of hers?\"\n\nJessa's ears perked up at this, she hadn't heard the boys mention the cook before. They wouldn't dare attack an adult, would they?\n\n\"Yes, her pet rabit, though if you ask me it would make a better dinner than a pet, don't you agree Jessa?\" Jessa's stomach turned, they couldn't! Not Mr floof! Dara would be devastated!\n\n\"Why don't we add some flavor to tonights stew?\"\n\nJessa could feel herself growing hot with rage, the mop in her hands trembling.\n\n\"STOP IT!\" she yelled, \"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!\"\n\nThe outburst only caused them to laugh, their laughter only made her angrier.\n\n\"I think that did it Hadok, she's gonna cry...\" Lungrig said, to which Hadok replied \"Good, then she won't need this anymore!\" Before kicking the bucket of water at her.\n\nTime seemed to slow for Jessa, so consumed she was with rage. The matron was not going to be happy about the mess, and she would bet the blame, but that didn't matter right now.\n\nShe swung the broom in a frenzy like a club at Lungrig's face, causing his beard to catch fire suddenly.\n\nThis suprised every one of the children, none the least of which was Lungrig who screamed as the flames scorched his face. 'Where had the fire come from?' Jessa wondered. She felt herself being picked up and slammed against the wall. \"WHAT ARE YOU?\" Varhac shouted. She struggled against him, causing him to scream.\n\nWhen he pulled away she saw what had happened, her arms were shrouded in fire. At first she paniced, but she soon realized, it wasn't *burning* her.\n\nWas it... protecting her?\n\nShe forced her way passed the boys, to confused and frightened to think. She ran, ran as far as she could. Ran into the streets of Underforge with arms aflame.\n\nIt wasn't until she was far from the orphanage that the flames died out, but she kept running. Paniced, comfused, and to tired to notice her markings had turned a deep red as she lost herself in the city streets."
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[WP] A woman buys a cursed handbag, not knowing of the evil spirit inside it. But after seeing how she is treated at work and by her so called friends, the evil spirit starts to fight for her and protect her instead.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I once heard a story about the woman who lived in the gaps of one's room.\n\nThey could be anywhere, from hiding between the tiny millimetre gap of two bookshelves or even underneath your bed. \n\nAt best, they are said to stare at you with bloodshot eyes until you go insane, at worst, they drag you into their dimension between the gaps.\n\nSo when I opened my handbag and got greeted by a face of a girl peering out from the darkness of my bag. I thought I had gone insane after working till midnight.\n\n\"Yo.\" The girl within the bag said nonchalantly.\n\n\"Gaahhhhh!!!!!\"\n\nI grabbed the handles of my handbag and slammed it at the wall repeatedly at mach speed.\n\n\"Wait! Stop! You're gonna kill me! AHHHHHHHH!\"\n\nAfter a few moments of stress relieving bag slamming, a shadow squirmed out of the bag, slowly coalescing into a figure of a girl soaked in blood lying on the ground in defeat.\n\n\"Ah.\"\n\n\"Is this the thanks I get for helping you?\" The girl said as she vomited out a puddle of blood.\n\n\"...What do you mean?\"\n\n\"When your so called friend tried to pass all of her work to you so she could go back home early, who do you think it was that broke her laptop so she was forced to stay at the office?\"\n\n\"That was you? You did that to Shirley?\"\n\n\"That's right.\" The girl said as she brushed the dust off her shoulders and levitated in the air.\"\n\nLooking at her up close, her clothes seemed to be some sort of navy blue-colored school uniform that didn't match the time period. \n\n\"Not only that, you seem like a person who gets easily taken advantage of, grow some backbone, will ya? You really remind me of someone I knew back when I was still alive.\"\n\n\"Well it can't be helped, I've been like that all my life.\"\n\n\"Then how about this, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. I'll teach you how to stand up for yourself and in return, you'll help me.\"\n\n\"Help you?\"\n\n\"I love books, stories of old and new. So I want you to give me some books, preferably fantasy.\"\n\n\"Really? Is that all you want?\"\n\n\"Yeah.\"\n\n\"Not my soul or my body or my lifespan?\"\n\n\"Oh come on, that's such an old stereotype. Spirits don't go for that kind of thing anymore.\"\n\n\"I see, if you're fine with me, then let's help each other.\"\n\n\"Good. Now that the contract is formed, I'll be seeing you around.\" \n\n\"Contract...?\"\n\nThe girl smirked and jumped back into the bag, the darkness within swallowing her entire body whole.\n\n\"That smile...Why does it feel like I've just been tricked.\"",
"Just a quick one on how come a spirit is residing in a handbag. Had fun coming up with it!\n\n-----\n\nI reside in a handbag.\n\nA handbag, you say? The story behind it is simple enough. A handbag produced by a famous fashion house in the 1970s, it had been found at the site of a grisly murder of one lady at the hands of her former lover. The victim had clutched on to the handbag as she had breathed her last, swearing vengeance.\n\nHer soul had since left the earth, but the handbag remained. The police had disposed of it after the crime had been solved and the murderer imprisoned, but a cleaner had recognised the brand and sold it to a thrift shop for a couple of extra pounds, never revealing the origins.\n\nI'd been at the thrift shop too, inhabiting a doll at the time. Belle Anne's face was creepy as fuck, with her open-and-shut eyes out of alignment and a crack in her porcelain cheek, and had served me well. But a dying grudge is powerful stuff, you know, and the handbag radiated pure energy. And so that was why I had chosen to reside there instead.\n\nPlus, there's nothing posher than vintage leather.",
"The bartender polishes a glas, inspects it, then places it with the others. Rain pelts against the windows, almost drowning out the jukebox. It clicks and whirs, changing to another song.\n\n*I see the bad moon rising.*\n\nThe doorbell rings. A new patron walks to the bar and sits down. “Quite the downpour outside,” the bartender says.\n\nStroking the bridge of his nose, the patron nods. “Fitting.”\n\n“Had a rough day, huh? The usual, then?”\n\nThe patron opens his mouth, then closes it again. A defiant expression lights up his face. “Know what, Marv? Think I’ll treat myself today. Appletini.”\n\n“Oh là là. Appletini, comin’ right up.” Marv swings the dish towel across his shoulder and pours all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker. “Come on, Yurei, you can tell ol’ Marv about it. New job not shapin’ up as you hoped?”\n\n“More confusing than anything, really. You know that woman who bought my bag, Julia? Anxious bundle of neurotic ticks and anti-social behaviour. I thought she’d be an easy hit. Something fun to relax, you know? A small haunting or poltergeist sting, nothing big.” Yurei takes a sip from his appletini. “Good one, Marv. So, Julia. Appears everyone else around her has come to the same conclusion. Wherever she goes, she’s the butt of the joke. All friendly and whatnot with her friends, but her colleagues? They take out all their insecurities and misery on her. Kids kept you up all night? Ask her why she hasn’t gotten any kids of her own yet for the umpteenth time. Hair falling out? Make a nasty comment about her skin or something.” Yurei sighs, shakes his head, and takes another sip.\n\n“Sound like real pieces of work.” Marv waves goodbye to another patron leaving the bar. The doorbell rings.\n\n“That they do, and that they are. You’d think people in academia weren’t as petty or childish.” Turning his head towards the jukebox, Yurei continues, “Always heard that as, ‘There’s a bathroom on the right’. Funny that, because I put laxative in the coffee of one of Julia’s colleagues. Shat all over her chair and then left footprints from her desk all the way to the toilet. The janitor was real happy that day.”\n\n“I can imagine,” Marv chuckles. “So you’ve taken up the mantle of righteous protector.”\n\n“Maybe. I’ve considered going into the vengeful spirit business before, but all that negative interpersonal energy just pulls you down sooner or later. Julia doesn’t want any of that to happen, though. No lust for revenge, no violent fantasies. She even offered to drive Miss Poopypants home. No idea why she’d do that.”\n\n“Humans are odd creatures with peculiar tastes. At least their shape is handy.” Marv examines his arms and hands, closing and opening his fists.\n\n“I try not to build a connection as I frighten my subjects.” With one final swig, Yurei finishes his drink. He keeps the glass in his hand, strokes it with his thumb, then carefully puts it back on the counter. “No malice, no remorse. Free of any emotions. They just complicate things. But this feels different. Julia doesn’t deserve any of what she’s going through.”\n\n“Do any of your other subjects deserve to live in fear?”\n\n“The way I see it, scaring humans is our nature. It’s what we do. No debate about right or wrong. Besides, it’s all harmless fun. We cause a little chaos, a little mysterious mischief, but at the end of the day, that’s it. What humans are capable of inflicting upon each other, that’s on a different level. Julia is a wreck, Marv.”\n\n“And by shifting your sight from her to her colleagues, you stay true to your calling while puttin’ a lil’ good back out there.”\n\nYurei thinks for a second while the jukebox switches songs again. “Yes, I like that. Thanks, Marv. Put it on my tab, I’ve got to go and see what mean comments those grouches post in their private chat groups. They’re a real treasure trove of creativity for me. Got a little something planned already involving microscopes and spiders.” Walking outside, Yurei smiles devilishly. The doorbell rings as he phases through the door.\n\nMarv polishes his glass. On a list above the counter, he puts a little mark next to Yurei’s name. Someone increases the jukebox’s volume.\n\n*Let the midnight special shine a light on me.*",
"Dear mental diary: \n\nIt is day 363,252,097 of my imprisonment. Or is it 095? Bother, I seem to have lost track again. Those pesky leap years are so hard to remember.\n\nI was picked up by another victim today. I must say that Old Chinos is earning his keep in the partial souls I pay him to keep me in circulation. The only thing doing better for him is that Lament Configuration.\n\nI read through her cellphone when she packed me full. Her name is Jane. Her phone has very few of these “text messages” people talk about. Not much to go on there to plot my torture, but the old ways are the best ways. I’ll just have to wait.\n\nDear diary: day 098, I think.\n\nHer husband is an ogre. Jane appears to be a meek thing. Her husband roared and raged at her for bringing me home. He punched her in the kidneys quite hard, and would not listen when she tried to explain that she got me for free. She cried herself to sleep while holding me. Her tears were delicious. Perhaps I will hold off on the torture for a bit.\n\nDear diary: day 100?\n\nShe took me into work today. I heard a few jealous voices. And they should be jealous! My iridescent sheen is genuine human skin stained and treated with the pearly tears of thousands of women. Their blood has kept me supple and soft. My gold clasps have never faded or worn out with use.\n\nThat fat bitch Elayne is plotting something. Her blubbery hands kept reaching for me, but Jane wisely pulled me away. While Jane was in the bathroom, I heard Elayne, Bev, and Sally talking about “teaching that uppity bitch a lesson.” They gossip harshly around here.\n\nDear Diary: day 101\n\nI hate Elayne already. The snide comments, the body shaming, the work she dumps on Jane, all leave me thinking of my own mother. I burn with anger at they way she is treated, so like my own life. Well, for once something good is going to happen to Jane. I’ll take her soul later. \n\nDear Diary: day 102\n\nToday is the day. Jane’s brutish husband broke one of her ribs last night. I heard it. She is distracted today, too distracted to lock me in her desk. When she ran to the bathroom, she left me in the desk alone in her office. Now was the time.\n\nDear diary: day 103\n\nThat was a fatty meal, it took me a while to digest.\n\nWhen Elayne passed by, I unlatched myself, just enough to show Jane’s wallet and phone. Naturally the curious strumpet couldn’t resist and stuck her fingers inside. That is when I snapped closed, and began to inhale her. It was so exquisite. Her scream was music to my soul, but by the time anyone could see what was happening I had her inside me. It is amazing how much someone screams when they are being sucked into an extra dimensional portal the size of a 1 liter bottle.\n\nHer rich supply of fat will keep me warm and supple for years, and her soul will go to the shopkeeper.\n\nNow should I take the husband next, or Bev?"
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[WP] You’ve spent the last 15 years as the lead engineer of a company that is trying to perfect time travel. You are fed up as thus far not managed to make any breakthroughs. You arrive at work visibly fed up one morning until a colleague says to you “You seemed much happier an hour ago”.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I stood frozen, as 12 sets of eyes scanned my face desperately searching for a answer. \n\n“Um.” I said flustered \n\n“I don’t... know.” I gulped\n\nThe empty faces looking back at me reinforced the feeling of failure I had felt for the last 7 years.\n\n“You know what? I’m sick of you! All you do is give us false hope!” \n\nLindsey screamed pointing her manicured finger at me. \n\n“I hate you so -“ \n\nHer angry voice faded away into a soft whimper as a pool of mascara ran down her pale face. \n\n“Yeah, I’m done too!” Jack yelled furiously \n\nNo not Jack. He’s my best employee. I thought to myself.\n\n“We are all done! Aren’t we guys?!” \n\nScreamed Madison, with a pen tangled in her hair. She looked ridiculous. \n\n“Yeah we are all tired!” \n\nScreamed the 11 voices. All but Mark. \n\n“We are all tired! We are all tired! We are all tired! We are all tired! We are all tired!” \n\nMy eyes stayed on Mark, as he leaned back in his chair looking confused. \n\nThey chanted repeatedly, as my heart raced. \n\n“ENOUGH!” I exclaimed\n\nI punched the whiteboard, leaving my fist covered in blood. I sprinted out of the room, dashing to my office door, and sobbed like a baby. \n\n...\n\n“Good morning sir! I’ve brought you some coffee. I know yesterday was a rough day, and I want to apologize on the behalf of everyone including myself for our wild behavior and this morning you didn’t seem so happy . “\n\nThere stood Michael standing across me with his head down, as his arm extended towards me with the warm coffee.\n\n“Oh thank you so much! I just had coffee like an hour ago, but I wouldn’t mind a energy booster.” \n\nI purposely avoided responding to his apology, and his observation of my sour face. I giggled, as I took the white paper cup.\n\n“Oh I thought you said you didn’t have any coffee this morning, when we met in the parking lot a hour ago. Never-mind, I must be imagining things.” \n\n“What? A hour ago. Yeah you’re definitely imagining things.” \n\nI said sarcastically as I pat him on the shoulder.\n\nI started walking down the long corridor to my office. Maybe I won’t be a failure forever? I thought. \n\n“ Hey! Right here!”\n\nAnn was holding a thick stack of files in her right hand as she waved them in the air.\n\n“ Good morning Ann, everything okay?”\n\n“Yes, here you go. I printed out all of the files you requested an hour ago. Here you go.”\n\nShe said sweetly, walking away as her short curly hair bounced off her shoulder.\n\n“What the-?” I mumbled\n\nI looked up to see Mark winking at me as he held the metal remains of my attempted time machine."
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[WP] A mermaid transforms herself into a human to be with the man she loves... only to find out too late that the man had transformed himself into a merman
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"My heart ached every time I saw Roman, But like every love story, We couldn't be together, since I was a mermaid and he was a prince, So I found a way to turn myself into a human. I got out of the water, tripping while adjusting to my new legs, It felt very strange, and twice in a row I fell and face planted in the ground, But that didn't matter, I'd finally be with him. I was walking to the palace, only to find Alberto, Romans butler. He seemed to be looking around for something.... Or someone, I came up to him and said \"Hello, Alberto, Do you know where\n\nRoman is?\" You see Alberto already knew about me and Roman, He actually helped me get the stuff to be a human. He then said, \"You see, I can't find him, I've been looking for him, but he doesn't seem to be anywhere,\" He sounded a little worried, But I said \"Don't worry, He's probably in the restroom or something, I can wait then surprise hi-\" \"I already looked in the bathrooms! And he wasn't there\" He said, Now I was starting to get worried, \"How about we\n\nlook around the beach, What if he's looking for me?\" Alberto then looked at me, and said \"Of course, Let's get going!\" He grabbed my hand, and we rushed to the beach. We had both looked around for a few hours, Until we both started to give up, Alberto then said in a sad voice \"He's nowhere, We lost him!\" I looked at the beach, then said \"Do you think... He might have left?\" Alberto looked at me and said, \"No! He would never!\" I kept staring at the beach and then said, \"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to turn into a huma-\" Before I could finish\n\ntalking, Romans head popped out of the water, and he said, \"Gavina! I've been looking all over for yo-, WAIT, YOU HAVE LEGS?\" The last part he did scream, But I didn't care, I ran into the water and hugged him, My legs hit his... \"wait, WHAT, ROMAN! YOU HAVE A TAIL! A MERMAID TAIL\" I shouted, Probably from shock, \"Well... You see, I turned in a merman so we could be together... But I see you already turned in a human...\" Roman said, I looked at him and said, \"Roman, Let's go to the shore\" We both swam to the shore, I got out of the water soaked, Roman stayed in the water. Alberto's jaw looked like it would fall off. Roman then said, \"So what are we gonna do?\" I looked at him and said \"Either I turn\n\ninto a mermaid, or you turn into a human.\" Alberto, who had collected himself, said \"Both will take a long time, It was already hard enough to find Gavina the right stuff to turn her into a human, But besides that, How did you turn yourself into a merman!?\" Roman, who turned his attention to Alberto, Said \"I- Benson Helped me...\" Alberto sighed and said, \"Well we have to do something.\" I started to question where Alberto got the stuff to turn me into a human, \"Alberto, Where did you get the stuff to turn me into a human?\" I asked curiously, Alberto went still and fell silent, Roman then said, \"Yeah Alberto, Where did you get the stuff?\" Alberto then turned and faced me, and said, \"You see Gavina, I took it from some pretty infamous people...\" \"What?\" I said, Alberto looked away, but continued, \"I took it from the Winston family...\" \"Okay, I guess we're in debt to\n\nthe Winst-\" Alberto said in one breath, \"I didn't borrow it, I stole it and used it for Gavina.\" \"WHAT!?\" Me and Roman said in a unison, \"I know you are mad at me, But-\" \"THE WINSTONS ARE OUR BIGGEST ENEMY!\" Roman shouted, \"AND NOW THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE AT OUR THROATS!\" \"Roman! Calm down,\" I said, \"You're talking like they're gonna wage war or something.\" Roman looked at me like I was a genius or something, and said, \"You know, they just might.\" \"Just might what?\" I asked, I was very confused, \"Wage war,\" He said, \"If they find out Alberto took what ever he took, They just might, They'll see the opportunity, and do it.\" \"What opportunity?\" I said, Roman looked right at me, and said \"My dad's sick, I'm a merman, Who's gonna take over the castle?\" \"Only if they find out...\" Said Alberto, But I could tell he was worried to, But I just stayed silent."
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[WP] They sigh as the coffee cup bites them when they touched it. This mimic infestation is really getting out of hand.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"It was a silly trend among children at first. Like sea monkeys, shoes with neon lights on the soles or colourful elastic bands. Something a company had created to entice children and make reluctant parents spend way too much money on their products.\n\n\n\r\nThey advertised it as the best pet ever for any kid. And at first it was. I mean, you had a little creature that could transform into a cat, a bird, a lizard, whatever weird pet your kid desired, whenever they wanted. No need for food, no need to clean the litter box, heck, they didn’t even drink water! They were resilient as oxes, and vanished without trace in about a week. Just long enough for the kid to have fun with them, but disappearing soon enough to ensure a constant market. The only problem was that these pets were very expensive. Not many parents could spend 15 bucks a week on their children’s whims. And as always, the market has a solution for this.\n\n\n\r\nCheap off brand pets started to appear in every neighbourhood. Okay, they were a bit more delicate, maybe. Some of them needed to eat special pellets made for them. Others lasted for weeks. But the important thing was that they were cheap. And cutting corners is always paid dearly in the end.\n\n\n\r\nSome of the cheap alternatives started to behave strangely. They were all in tune with the desires of the kids in order to transform into the pet they wished for, but some of them started to mimic objects instead. Be it a chair to sit down after a long walk or the cool smartphone Jenny-from-my-class has that fueled their little hearts with envy, it didn’t matter. After all, desires and yearning come in many ways, and apparently those 5 buck knock offs had trouble discerning between objects and pets. Some other brands started to manifest the whims of every person on its vicinity. And others discovered that the art of multiplication wasn’t limited to organic, natural animals.\n\n\n\r\nFor a short while, it was common to reach for a cup of coffee and earn a bloody moon shape on your palm for your troubles. The little fuckers took off running and you found it amusing at best, and mildly annoying at worst. It was getting out of hand, but who cares for some childish trend?\n\n\n\r\nBut now… It’s different. What is love if not the desire to be with your friend? The yearning of seeing that very special person, filling you with the need to spend every minute you can with them? The wish to talk with your parents, to bask in their presence and affection? The need to see your kid, safe and happy?\n\n\n\r\nThe door is knocking again. She has been gone for a long, long time and my soul aches for her something mad. I want to see her again. I need to touch her again. To smell her again. I am hearing her, again.",
" \\[Chomp of the Litter\\]\n\n\"Why are you out?\" Rook sighed as the coffee cup nibbled and growled on her fingers. Her translucent yellow eyes glanced around the rest of the common room and settled on a large brown leather recliner. It was one of two in the room. The other one was empty; but, the one Rook eyed had an open metal box sitting on top. \"Because someone didn't put the lid back,\" she grumbled. Rook gripped the mimic gnawing on her fingers, it instantly changed its form from a coffee mug to a red squeeze ball.\n\n\"No, I'm not playing with you,\" she said as she carried the ball over to the box. She looked in and was relieved to see a hairbrush, a wooden block, and three toothbrushes. \"At least your siblings are accounted for,\" Rook said. She lifted her hand and dropped the ball on the three toothbrushes. Each of the toothbrushes changed into a colored ball the instant the red one touched them. In moments four colored balls were chasing each other around the box with playful yelps and growls. Rook paid close attention to the four balls because there should have been six.\n\n\"Five,\" Rook giggled. She noticed the wooden block changed itself to metal; it wanted to stay asleep not roll around and play. The hairbrush had not changed at all. She grabbed the brush and shook it wildly. Nothing happened. \"Damnit,\" She tossed the brush back into the box and scanned the room again.\n\nShe spotted a hairbrush sitting on a bookshelf against the wall. It was the exact same aqua-green hairbrush with white bristles that was in the box.\n\n\"Gotcha,\" Rook walked across the room and grabbed the brush. It immediately growled in her hand and started gnawing on her. \"Yeah, this isn't old yet,\" Rook rolled her eyes and chuckled.\n\n\"And I'll make sure there's a...,\" Rook stopped walking once she reached the box and looked down. The metal box now had a metal lid sealing the baby mimics in. \"...lid. Where'd you come from?\" she asked. She reached out and touched the lid; it immediately growled and clamped on to her fingers. Its form transitioned to a small metal block biting her pinky.\n\n\"You sneaky little jerks,\" Rook laughed. \"That's how you got out.\" The four balls were still rolling around, she held the growling brush in one hand and biting block in the other. \"Alright, you're all here.\"\n\nRook dropped the brush and pushed the block off her finger into the box.\n\n\"Where the hell's that lid?\" Rood did not see it anywhere in the room.\n\n\\[Guild: Anyone seen the lid? -Rook\\] She sent a Whisper to ask the rest of the guild.\n\n\\[Guild: What lid? -Grace\\]\n\n\\[Guild: Lid for [Chomper](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/ac6fee/wp_after_returning_from_a_quest_an_adventuring/)'s kids. -Rook\\] She carried on the conversation with the guild while standing over the box; she didn't want to take her eyes off them.\n\n\\[No, but there's a spare. -Grace\\] She responded to Rook directly.\n\n\\[Check the kitchen. -Grace\\] Rook sighed.\n\n\"Spare?\" She decided to take the box with her instead of leaving it unattended.\n\n\\[Why does a box have a spare lid? -Rook\\] She asked while she walked from the common room to the kitchen.\n\n\\[Don't know. -Grace\\]\n\n\\[I saw two lids. Put one away. -Grace\\] Rook laughed.\n\n\\[LOL. One of these is a genius. -Rook\\]\n\n\\[It can turn itself into a lid. -Rook\\] She reached the galley style kitchen and headed straight for the lid drawer. Since Grace put it away she knew exactly where it'd be. As she opened the drawer, Rook felt Grace's laughter run through her body.\n\n\\[LOL. We'll have to be careful. -Grace\\] she replied.\n\n \\*\\*\\*\n\nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is year three, story #250. You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog. If you're curious about my universe (the Hugoverse) you can visit the Guidebook to see what's what and who's who, or the Timeline to find the stories in order.",
"\"Argh!\"\n\nA high-pitched yelp echoed at a distance. Then a muffled bump on the hardwood floor followed suit.\n\nMy first instinct was to grab the rolling-pin from the countertop and ran in the direction of the sounds.\n\n\"Justin?\" I poked my head into the study and saw my husband battling his cup on the floor.\n\n\"Can... ye harp me?! Pleee–\"\n\nI sighed and assumed my position in front of him. He braced himself for the inevitable as I swung the rolling pin with both of my hands.\n\nNothing.\n\nSo I wound up my arms once more and gave it another firm whack. This time, the cup budged a bit. My husband held the cup away from him, stretching his swollen lips for quite a bit. With that, I swung the rolling pin like I would a baseball bat and hit a line drive straight to the wall.\n\n\"That's it!\" I yelled out in celebration.\n\n\"Hun... Gip er anodur whack!\" Justin flailed his arms around, still in immense pain.\n\nI glanced at the cup and approached it carefully. It looked just like a normal coffee mug with some coffee stain around the rim. But as I took my time inspecting it, the cup shook fiercely. The stiff handle suddenly turned all wonky like a tentacle and somehow it let out a small growl.\n\nI immediately attempted to whack it again with my trusty rolling pin only to miss the damn thing. All of a sudden it turned into a weird little game of whack-a-mole with me losing badly. Before I could make the killing blow, I felt a strong breeze gone past me.\n\nThen, I saw the little cup explode right before my eyes.\n\n\"Whoa!\" I let out in astonishment.\n\nWhen I turned to look at Justin, he had assumed a position of a pitcher who's thrown his ultimate fastball for a strikeout. Indeed, he had struck the fuck outta that damn cup.\n\n\"Good job, Jus!\"\n\n\"Thanks, hun... Now, can ye helf me?\" he said as I weakly high-fived him.\n\n\"We should call those exterminators again, huh? I bet they still remembered us from last time.\"\n\n\"Yea....? But seriously I need some paracetamol.\"\n\n\"Ah right,\" I began to dig out the drawers randomly looking for something for my husband's lips, \"where did you keep the exterminator's numbers again? Cos I remembered you were the one who called–\"\n\n\"Damnit! Find me the meds, *then* I'd get on the damn phone woman!\""
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[WP] Write a traditional legend to explain why our dreams are so bizzare.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"In the beginning, there was only the First. When they slept they dreamt of nothing, not even the faintest of shapes or sounds. Each was a vessel for nothingness as designed so that come morning, they would be a blank slate for their assigned thoughts and emotions. \n\nThen, as abruptly as one could blink, the Child was born in a village between the twin rivers. Unlike the others, he could not hear or feel the radiance of the Voice. Many assumed this was a curse and soon enough, factions began to develop.\n\nThese factions fought with each other, either side shifting blame for the failure of crops on the Child or on each other. The village was tearing itself apart. \n\nThe Child could no longer stand to see such violence and at the age of ten, he packed his satchel and wandered off into the forest of his ancestors. Deep within that ancient grove after days of travel, he lamented over the pain of his people. He anguished over his difference and how it had brought ruin where there was once peace. \n\nThen a spirit emerged from the brush and spoke to him, \n\n“You are not the reason for this violence but the bearer of a brighter future, chosen to bear the burden of pain but also the blessing of empathy.” \n\nThe young Child answered,\n\n“But I want to be like the others!” \n\nThe spirit shifted its appearance to match that of the Child, \n\n“As many do, but you have already shown far greater resolve than they have. Instead of bearing arms against your fellows, you have attempted to save them. For thousands of generations I have watched and waited for one of you to come and make this journey.” \n\nThe Child did not understand at first but as he hung onto the words as a fruit would a vine, he began to grasp that this was the Voice. \n\n“I am growing weak and old, but I must impart one last gift upon you and your people before I depart. I want to give you the power to dream, to wander, to become lost again and again and to find yourselves when you awake. I only wish I could have given you this power in my own youth, but doing so requires all of my remaining essence.” \n\nThe Voice looked like an old woman now, her face aged but impossibly beautiful still. \n\n“Now rest my child, and take solace in the fact that I choose you and your descendants to be my last gifts.” \n\nThe Voice began to fade away as the Child faded into a blissful sleep. \n\nHe dreamed of an infinite array of shapes, sounds and places. \n\nFor every night afterwards the First also dreamed and they soon forgot of the time before such things. The factions melted away and paid tribute to each other for forgiveness. \n\nEventually The Child grew old, just like The Voice had so many centuries ago. When he too passed, he did so with a smile. \n\nAnd with that he had one last dream, of the plains and the village, of the mountains and the sea. Of so many scores of people who will also dream of things and feel companionship and independence in their hearts. \n\nSo it goes."
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[WP] You found out you were sent to a distant planet after Earth was destroyed when you were a baby. Which explains why you are the only one without superpowers.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"*Freak, mutant, runt, loser, halfwit, cretin, imbecile*. Just some of the names that the other students called Ginger Alfrance. And she agreed with them. She *was* stunted, untalented, powerless…an *actual* freak. No matter how hard she tried, she could not display even the simplest powers equivalent in force to a youngling barely out of diapers.\n\nThere was something wrong with her. Her father, an arch-counselor, traveled almost constantly and was rarely home. What better way to not have to face her failure? And her mother, an architect, eyes always refusing to meet Ginger’s, seemed to have a series of endless project deadlines to put off any serious discussion of what had become a glaringly obvious problem. Her mother’s claim that Ginger was simply “a late bloomer” didn’t stand scrutiny. Even “late blooming” adepts display *some* power at an early age. \n\nBut Ginger knew, she just *knew* that something was off. As sure at the suns set every evening on Hera, there was something that her parents weren’t telling her.\n\nBoth were gone for the entire weekend. And her designated Keeper, Alyss, had been sent on a false errand, to locate a batch of rare plants for her mother’s collection. It will take her hours to figure out that there were none to be had, anywhere, as such a plant did not exist. Ginger had the house to herself. She was going to search every square inch of their adobe home until she found out the truth.\n\nShe was adopted. Or created in lab somewhere. A failed experiment. She just needed proof. She looked absolutely nothing like either of her parents. Her father was a handsome man, with a rather dark complexion, and neat and compact in stature. And her mother was olive skinned and slender, of no more than middling height. Ginger was tall, very tall, and rather prone to plumpness, with pale almost translucent skin that had a tendency to freckle in the suns, and the bright red hair that justified her namesake. There was no one in either side of her parent’s family that looked even a little bit like her. \n\nTwo hours later and she was none the wiser. Could her parents really be this tame? This boring? This normal? No. There had to be a hidden compartment somewhere. She spent the next hour running her hands along walls and crevices, tapping and pushing, looking for any indication of a false wall or a hollow space. She had about given up, when she found it. Under the bed in the master bedroom. She had to pull up the expensive hand woven Perkishian rug. But there is was. A hollow sound. And when she pushed down on it, a half a meter square opened. Inside was a box. And inside the box, were papers. She had to hurry, as Alyss would return home soon, angry that she had been sent on a fool’s errand (Ginger had the excuse that it was a misspelling all along). She retrieved the box, put the rug back and hid it in her room. She would look at it after Alyss went to bed.\n\n“*Application for Emergency Refugee Status*”, the document said. And there were more: “*Certificate of Alien Permanent Residency”, “Grant of Naturalization Citizenship for Alien Refugee*”. Ginger could not believe what she was reading. \n\n*The Petitioner, requests a grant for emergency status for refugee, Ginger Aileen Byrne, born Earth year 2185, County Cork, Ireland.* *Refugee is an infant, and believed to be the sole survivor of the planet Earth, decimated by catastrophic asteroid strikes. The belief is that no human life remains on planet Earth.* *And alien should be granted permanent residency in the custody of approved caretakers.*\n\nSo now she knew. But at what price? She did not have powers; and she never will, because she wasn’t even Heran. She was the last of her kind. Although they derived from the same ancestry, she had been taught that Earthlings spawned a race of humans who were, all too often, prone to violence and barbarism and had demonstrated a serious lack of fitness to steward a planet that they almost destroyed. And in the end, fate intervened, and wiped them all out.\n\nExcept for one."
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[WP] You have fire powers. Congratulations! Except... you have no idea how to control your abilities and you're currently living during the Salem Witch Trials.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"*What is happening?*\n\nI spin around to get a look at my surroundings. I had *just* been standing in the open field next to my house, trying to figure out these new powers. Then, all of a sudden, I was here. Wherever *here* is. The women are all in long, poofy dresses. The men have large hats, buttoned coats, and canes. This looks like...\n\n*Oh, no. No, no, no. Please tell me this is just some sort of, like, Renaissance Festival. Surely my powers don't include time travel.*\n\nNone of the other men in this bustling town square are dressed like me. Soon, people are starting to stare and point at me. They're noticing my unique appearance, too. Jeans and sneakers weren't exactly a thing in the late 1600s.\n\n*Oh, no, no, no, no. Please, no.*\n\nNervousness or stress make these new powers even harder to control. And, well, I am definitely feeling nervous and stressed right now. I can feel the magical energy start to build. I'm not sure how to stop the magic, so I turn and focus on a nearby tree. I can't stop what's coming, but maybe I can at least direct it where to go so no one gets hurt.\n\nFinally, the power overflows. The invisible force shoots outward and wraps itself around the tree. Suddenly, the entire tree is engulfed in a pillar of flames. I slump forward as the magical tension -- at least momentarily -- abates.\n\nMeanwhile, the crowd around me begins to panic. Several screams and shouts echo around the area. Dozens of people run, trying to get away from the burning tree. One woman faints. Soon though, everything goes quiet, except for the crackling flames of the tree. Every eye in the place is fixed on those flames. \n\n*While everyone's distracted, I better sneak out of here and try to find a way h--*\n\nA woman in the crowd screeches, \"Witch!\"\n\n*Oh, no. This is very bad. I'll never be able to make it away with all these people around.*\n\n\"'Tis true! She bears the devil's brand!\" A man points at someone that I can't see. \"Look upon her face!\"\n\n*Oh. No... Wait. She? Bunch of sexists.*\n\nFor a moment, relief washes over me. But then I realize I may have just doomed someone else. I push my way to the front of the crowd to see what's going on. They've cornered a woman who has a large mole on her face. Tears run down her cheeks and her eyes are wide with fear.\n\nSomeone else shouts out, \"She must burn!\"\n\nThe crowd is starting to converge on the poor woman. She cowers and starts to beg.\n\n*What do I do? I can't confess or they'll burn me. That is, if they even believe me. They may even just burn us both, just in case. Crap, crap, crap! WHAT DO I DO?*\n\n\"No, wait! Don't burn her!\" All eyes turn toward me. \"She didn't do it!\"\n\n\"Nay!\" A tall, slender man steps forward. \"I have seen whence the magic was cast! 'Twas from the marked woman!\"\n\nSeveral bystanders nod their agreement. Of course they all claim to have seen the invisible spell that didn't even come from that direction.\n\n\"No, um... There *was* a witch over there, but... Um... She was standing next to that woman when she cast her spell. She, uh...\" *Crap. She what?* \"She... turned into a cat! Didn't you see? She cast her spell, then turned into a cat to run away. The *real* witch tried to make you *think* it was this woman instead.\"\n\nI hold my breath, waiting and hoping they'll believe me. Finally, heads start to nod. \n\nFrom a bit farther back in the crowd, someone shouts, \"There stands the wicked creature!\" A dozen people suddenly stampede after a nearby cat as it sprints away. \n\nI feel the magic start to build up again. I focus on a bush that stands close between the cat and the mob. With a \"whoosh,\" it bursts into flames. The cat runs faster. The posse, though, are shocked into stopping. It doesn't take long before they resume their chase, but at least it gives the cat more time to get away. And adds some credence to the story I gave them.\n\n\"Come with me.\" I hold my hand out to the \"witch.\" She's frozen with fear. \"It's not safe here. We need to go while they're distracted. Come on!\" I grab her hand and pull her upright. Then, I start to run. She obediently follows.\n\nA few minutes later, we make it into a wooded area and stop to catch our breath between the trees.\n\nShe stares at me for a moment, gathering courage to speak. \"I thank thee. Thou art not of this place. Thine speech is...\"\n\n\"You're right, I don't belong here. I have to get home.\"\n\n\"I haven't family, nor home. They will come for me again. I cannot stay here.\"\n\nHer unasked question hangs in the air. I watch her for a moment, thinking about what I should do. \"Do you want to come with me? The place I'm from is... Well, it's a lot different than what you're used to here.\"\n\nHer face breaks into a huge smile and she nods.\n\n\"It... Requires magic to get there. Are you sure?\"\n\nHer smile falters a bit, but the returns. She nods again.\n\n*Please, please let this work.*\n\nI grab her by the hand and walk forward. The magic starts to build. Closing my eyes, I concentrate on my house. The smell of the freshly cut grass, the color of the paint on the walls, the sound of cars driving past on the gravel road.\n\nWhen I open my eyes again, we're standing in my driveway. I nearly collapse with relief. When I turn toward the woman, her jaw is on the ground. Her eyes are transfixed on a car that's slowly moving past.\n\n\"Miss? Are you OK?\"\n\nFinally, the trance breaks and she looks at me. The smile returns, bigger than ever before. \n\n\"Teach me of this place. These are magics of which I have never dreamed.\"\n\nI smile back at her, ready to help her find her place in the modern world. \"OK. First though, we need to make sure you fit in. So we're gonna work on the way you talk.\"\n\n\\--------------\n\nr/WannaWriteSometimes"
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[WP] You and your 4th grade class got the rare opportunity to visit a quantum lab on a field trip because of the rich kids dad. As a prank, you got pushed into a tube that tested unstable portals. It turned on and you were gone. 15 years later you re-emerge as a powerful quantum manipulator
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Sigh. It’s boring. I have nothing to do. I can’t blame her as it wasn’t done with the intent to send me to this accursed dimension. But shit happens. Nothing new ever happens here. \n\nUntil something did happen. I felt it immediately. It was a way home. I made my way over as fast as I possibly could and dived right into the rear in reality. I was home. \n\nThe scientists in the lab all looked at me shocked before calling the guards. I mean, who wouldn’t be shocked if a random 20 some odd year old who was as pale as a ghost and as skinny as a stick appeared in the middle of your work place.\n\n\nSoon, the guards arrived and pointed what I assume to be guns at me. I raise my hand and their guns fall apart. The guards jump back in shock as I quickly walk towards the door. The biggest guard stepped in front of me.\n\n“Who are you?!” He shouts at me.\n\nI don’t answer as I pick him up and move him to the other side of the room without touching him. I push the door open and cover my eyes from the blinding light. \n\n“What did I miss?”"
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[WP] An app came with your new phone, and you always assumed it was just a better google maps. One day, your best friend dared you to search up something random. What came up was a list of directions, seemingly random. Today, you decide to see if it works.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"A strange series of clicking sounds came out of my phone as soon as I pressed enter. The directions slowly printed onto my phone, as if typed with a typewriter. When I first saw the directions, I knew something wasn’t right. They looked awfully inconspicuous, except for a left turn in the middle of nowhere, with no road marked on the map there. Although I was sure nothing good could come of this, my curiosity got the better of me. I started my Jeep, and took a right turn out of the parking lot . As I followed the directions, the roads got less and less travelled. I went from busy city streets, to the freeway, and I eventually ended up on a pothole-covered gravel road surrounded by cornfields.\n\nI notice something stranger with the directions: the previously completed ones started to shift. Small shifts at first, but they became illegible blobs within a few minutes. As time passed, the only direction remaining was the left turn in the middle of nowhere. I start to panick, as I don’t remember how I got here. Completely lost in a maze of backroads, unable to find my way back, the flickering of the one remaining direction piques my attention I decide to do what every part of me is screaming at me not to do: make the left turn into the middle of nowhere. \n\nAs I approach the turn, I see no signs, no tire tracks, no indication that there even is a road through the cornfields. Confused, I slowly draw nearer to where the turn should be. Suddenly, a strong wind blows over a uniform strip in the rows of cornfields immediately to my left.\n\n“How on earth could that kind of wind gust happen, and occur in such a precise area as to clear a road?” I think to myself. “Maybe a combine just went through this row without me seeing it”. I realize that that’s not exactly possible, as I definitely would notice a combine, and the combine would harvest more than just one row and return.\n\nJust to ensure that there is no good explanation for this, I wait for what should be a combine to come back. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes pass with no sign of the combine. \n\n“Ok so there wasn’t a combine. What else could have caused this?”\n\nThrowing all reason out the window, it dawns on me. The directions did something. Something unnatural. They made the road, Despite my better judgement, I follow it for a mile or two. It dead ends. Disheartened, I try to turn my Jeep around, when I notice the directions: they’ve all changed. I hit “go” on the app. All around me, paths appear through the cornfields. A warning flashes on my screen: follow the directions. Any mistakes would be devastating to our mission.\n\n“Wait what mission?” I ask myself. “There’s a mission???”\n\nBewildered, but terrified, I press on. Take a left in 200 feet? Ok. Turn right in 2 miles? Sure, why not. For over an hour, an onslaught of directions leads me through the ever-expanding maze of corn. Then, a realization hits me: I’m going to run out of gas. As my heart rate climbs, with no hope of getting back, I continue through the maze. A clearing appears right in front of me, and the directions stop. \n\nIn the centre of the clearing, there lies a hatch. Desperate, and curious, I try to open it. A message appears on a led screen at the top: follow the directions. I run back to my Jeep, and try the door. Locked. Unfortunately, my phone is in there. I frantically check my pockets for my keys. Unable to find them, I reach a level of panicked I didn’t even know was possible. A glint of light hits my peripheral, coming from the fallen corn plants. I see my keys wedged between two stalks. Relieved, I go to grab them, when they get sucked into the ground.\n\nI remember what the screen said: follow the directions. I look through the window of my Jeep at my phone screen. Spin in circles, the directions say. Extremely confused, I look back at the directions to make sure I didn’t misread. They say the same thing: spin in circles. With no other options, I begin spinning. Glints of light appear, flashing momentarily in my field of view. I stop spinning, and try to grab at one of the glints. It disappears. I keep spinning, and trying my best to follow the glints. As I spin, I eventually step back onto the hatch in the ground. The glints all focus into one spot right in front of me, right on the hatch. I bend down, pick up what I think are my keys, and run back to my Jeep.\n\n*click*. My doors unlock with the press of a button on the key fob. I snatch my phone off the console, and run to the led screen on that hatch. Placing my phone screen down on it, I see both my phone and the led screen grow brighter. Access: granted, a mechanical voice states. The hatch swings open, jets of compressed air making a distinct sound. A room surrounded by screens lays below the hatch.\n\n“Congratulations,” the screens read. “You have completed the simulation.\n\nI wake up in a comfortable bed, strapped to all sorts of sensors and electronic equipment. A lab tech comes over, and disconnects me.\n\nHe gives me some directions: \n“To exit, go twenty feet forwards, then make a left down that unmarked hallway”"
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[WP] The most popular gifts for superheroes (and villains) are body sprays and deodorants.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Dastard Lee's name showed up on Jane \"Lightning\" Miller's text alerts. She opened the message & read it:\n\n\\-Happy Christmas to my favourite nemesis. There's a new antiperspirant out & I got it as a present. Care to test it out?-\n\nJane's sister had given her the female version of what she called \"the hottest new antiperspirant around,\" which claimed it was \"Guaranteed to last a full 48 hours.\" Jane had sighed at reading the print. Unlike Lee, she knew better than to trust what the labels said. These stupid cans of spray weren't even likely to last Jane 48 minutes in a brawl with Lee or a tense situation rescuing children from broken fairground rides. Still, a good chance to clear the air after her frustrating in-laws was a great idea, so she texted back:\n\n\\-Sure, what time tomorrow?-\n\nThe Boxing Day Brawl was world famous for the likes of Jane & Lee getting together to vent the frustrations of the festive season out on each other, with plenty of drinks to follow afterwards. Heroes & villains alike booked their slots, & all of them tried out the latest antiperspirant to see how long it would last them. Jane only hoped for a true, strong, unscented, superhero-compatible spray to be made, but she severely doubted it. Unless...\n\nShe did have another nemesis. Her hero name wasn't Lightning just for her speed; she was also a high-voltage character, in more ways than one. She recalled when she'd been trapped by a mad scientist who'd wanted her to power his experiments, which ranged from the benign to the downright terrifying...\n\n\"You done cooking the corn yet?\" Jane's mother-in-law asked her. Jeez. Her parents understood she was a hero, her husband got it, even her kids, & one was only three! But her parents-in-law wanted her to be just a good wifey-figure, tied to the apron-strings & feeding & raising everybody. They drove her mad at the best of times. Jane sighed heavily.\n\n\"Yes, Mrs Miller.\" She thanked whatever fates had given her the charge she used to sear the corn just the way her mother-in-law liked it, while also possessed of the speed to quickly add the butter to the top of each cob. Then, grabbing the corn-cob dish with one hand & her phone with the other, she walked through to the dining room, when her phone bleeped again.\n\n\\-Just booked a slot for 12:30 if that's ok-\n\nPlacing the dish on the table, Jane replied that it was perfect. Enough time to get there & catch that mad scientist to ask if he could possibly make a super-strength antiperspirant. Sweat stains on both hero & villain costumes were a huge no-no, so having an antiperspirant which actually worked would be a Godsend.\n\n\"For Chrissakes, switch your phone off!\" Jane's mother-in-law moaned. \"It's Christmas & you're setting a bad example to my grandkids.\"\n\nThat woman! Jane rolled her eyes as she sat down, sparks dancing over her head as her temper began to flare..."
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[WP] You read a book and find that the details are identical to your life. Your parents' names, identical occupation, same geographical location, same date. You are looking at. 9 September. And you are almost at the end of the book. And your paragraph indicates a turning point in your (?) life.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"(unedited, with no sleep, so I hope it makes sense?) \nFridays were my night alone. Teddy went to stay with my folks, so I could, in their minds, find a new husband. I had no intention of finding anyone but myself on Friday nights. Glass of wine, some slightly trippy but mostly chill french pop from the 60s, and a book. I didn’t care what book, I usually picked up a big stack once a month from the dollar rack at the nearest used bookstore. Most of the time it was books I read in college that I had very little memory of reading, so it was like visiting friends I’d lost touch with.\n\nTonight, my wine was red and the music was a more sleepy variety. I snuggled into my big fuzzy blanket I bought for myself after the divorce. I had a novel called “A Bargain” which I had thought so aptly named. The back had said it was about a newly single gay man in his 30s that had the adventure of his lifetime without leaving his house. It seemed a little cheesy, but it was so rare to find books that we’re about straight couples, especially in the dollar section, that I admit I really just went for it for some gay solidarity. The authors name was scratched out of the cover and I thought it odd that the title pages were missing. \n\nChapter 1: Madison is not a girls name.\n\nI choked on my wine. I couldn’t count how many times I had to tell people my name meant “son of Matthew” (I was son of Frank, but that didn’t matter). Eventually I just went by Mads, and it seemed masculine enough for strangers not to start poking at my fragile sense of self when I was still figuring out my sexuality and all that. \n\nThe book started: In a small Connecticut town, Frank and Abigail Burke gave birth to a boy they named Madison, for no other reason than Abigail passed by Madison Street when she was pregnant and thought, well that’s my sons name. Everyone they told associated the name with the historical figure, who was a man, and so not until little Madison Eugene Burke went to school did he discover he was, in fact, misnamed. \n\nI threw the book across the room. I stared at it as I drained my glass. The itch to call my mother and ask when she sold my life story and could I split the profits, like there’d be any, came and went. It was around 9pm and I doubted that I’d be able to get many words in before hearing about their night with Teddy in full detail. \n\nWell it was weird, but I decided, why not see what fictional Madison was like. Maybe it was just a wild, very accurate, coincidence. \n\nI got up, refilled my glass, and grabbed the book. I set aside the chills I got as I started to read the words: \nThe name Madison slowly became Mads, and with the exception of some Harry Potter fans in his class called him Mad Eye Moody, Mads stuck to him as he ran his way through high school with gritted teeth. \n\nAfter reading about my high school experience in detail I didn’t want to read, but couldn’t stop reading, I was relieved to find out that my first few awkward hetero relationships were glossed over. Unfornutely, meeting my now ex-husband the first day of college orientation was very well detailed. Joshua was an attractive gingery yadda yadda. Finally came out as gay, married Joshua after college, mutual best friend Diane agreed to give birth to Teddy, but then suddenly Joshua didn’t want anything to do with being a father and moved to Oregon to live on a farm, yadda yadda. \nI was surprised to feel tears on my cheeks, and grabbed a tissue from the box that sat on my coffee table. I blotted my eyes and continued reading, curious as the marriage fell apart, and the details about raising Teddy by myself came to light. It even mentioned my Friday nights, calling them my “self-dates” which I hadn’t ever said allowed, to anyone.\n\nThe horror I felt was outweighed by the curiosity bubbling up within me. The last chapter was titled September 9th, which was the day I was reading it. I grabbed my glass to take a sip, but it was empty. Too curious to get up, I set the glass back down and began to read:\n\nAn average self-date, Mads found himself lost in a book that made him feel the things he’d been avoiding for fear they would swallow him whole. He gulped down his wine absent mindedly, as the worries he wasn’t a good enough father came to the surface. He even began to realize his fear of never finding love, as if all the men in the world would be as selfish and as cruel as Joshua had been to him. He hadn’t admitted it to himself, but he was lonely, and if he didn’t face that part of himself, and learned to be truly okay with being himself and alone with himself, if he never faced that truth, he would always be lonely no matter who he laid with. \n\nThe end."
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[WP] the grim reaper, fed up with all the hate he gets from humans goes on strike. You are self proclaimed exorcist known world wide. ergo you are chosen as the new grim reaper
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Guiding people into the afterlife is not an easy endevour. Often it's troublesome to guide them into their final restingplace. But it's a important task to keep the living and the dead separated from eachother. Otherwise anarchy would spread rapidly and distrubt the balance between life and death. \nWhen this Balance is disturbt everything will slowly move to it's doom and and all life will die. To stop this catastrophic event from occouring is the objective of this cumbersome task. I am not the harbringer of death and destruction but I am the the protector of life and the guide into the final slumber."
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[WP] You wake up and get ready for work, just like any other day. When you look down at your keyboard, however, the number pad is on the left. Same for all of your coworkers. At the store. At home. All numpads are on the left.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“OW!” Okay, I am not dreaming. \n\nThe red welt on the left hand throbbed slightly. This is the fifth time I’ve tried to wake myself up this morning. Might not be the last. Curiously, nothing much seems out of the ordinary. The keyboard is mirrored, but I still finish my reports with the same expedient speed as before. I can’t even read the letters without intense concentration but my fingers figure out just what to press. “OW!” Sixth time today.\n\n“No, you are not dreaming.” The slightly falsetto voice of my co-worker flits from the other end of the wall. Rolling their office chair around the cubicle, he leans back with a wide grin. Carlos was a balding and heavy set man. The weight threatening with a consistent creak to break the supporting chair.\n\n“Hey Jer, you started late today right? Not the first one that tried to wake themselves up.” At this he rotated his chair and leaned to the side, giving me a view of his slightly reddened cheek. “What is going on?” I asked him, to which he merely shrugged.\n\nCarlos sat there twiddling his thumbs, looking at me with that grin still plastered on his face. I was getting unnerved by his silence. He wasn’t the type that liked silence. Carlos liked rumbling a string of nonsense just to break the silence.\n\nAs I was remembering the first of such outbursts that made me think him a madman, it struck me. “Say something again” I demanded. His smile spread even wider, “You’ve noticed that too? Even our voice is different.” Putting a palm against his throat. “I sound like a woman. You sound like a child. Lizzy over there sounds like.... well.” He gestured towards the cubicle opposite me.\n\nElizabeth had straight blond hair that was covering her face. She was leaning down to read over a report. At Carlos’ gesture, she quickly glanced towards us, then tightened her lips in a scowl before going back to reading her report. With that new falsetto guffaw, Carlos slipped back into their cubicle, to continue on their work. I could still see him smiling as he chuckled back into relative silence, for him anyway.\n\nI stood and watched over everyone in their cubicles, everybody was going normally about their day. It began to dawn on me the lack of urgency. I did not have anything I could point to that was worrying beyond the initial panic. There was still my work to do, and this didn’t hinder me. I and everyone else seemed otherwise fine. As my mind slowly unknotted itself from this mostly inconsequential dilemma, I relaxed.\n\nTurning towards my desk, I glimpsed Matthew arriving at his desk. He had apparently arrived later than I did. A small grin began to creep into my face as I noticed he had begun to puzzle over his keyboard. He had apparently not been observant enough to see the mirrored keypads to enter the building. Carlos’ amusement began to make more sense to me. I started going around to have some fun with Matthew.\n\nAs I was walking over to him, I began thinking over a quip I could use depending on what his voice might be like, or what his reaction would be. Just as expected, Matthew pinched himself on the cheek. However, there was no cry of pain. He simply stood upright with wide clear eyes. Suddenly, he saw me and then with downcast eyes merely muttered, “Sorry”. Then everything faded.",
"Jeff looked at his keyboard and noticed something was off,the number pad. When he put his hand to the right to input a digit,he found his hand hitting the ghost of the number pad and he looked to see. Jeff looked at the left and saw the number pad there,interesting. But before Jeff could investigate further,he received spreadsheets that had to be typed out.\n\n\\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nMeanwhile,thousands of miles away. A massive ship stood still in the vast expanse of space. Alien leader K and his general SIC were looking at the perplexed expressions of the lowly humans as they struggled to operate their keyboards. \"Supreme leader K,we could have used our biological scanner to identify and eliminate the intelligents. But why did you opt for our molecular manipulator?\",\"Because dear general,we can be more discreet.\"\n\n\\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nAsif was happy,the number pad which had always been on his weaker half was finally on his right hand. As he pressed the number one key,a pulse went through his hand and struck his brain. Asif fell backwards and flopped around on the floor like a fish as his body died.\n\n\\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nThe aliens invaded 5 months later,by then all lefties had been eradicated thus the threat of the leftie had been reduced.\n\n\\---------------------------------\n\nWell thanks for reading,bye."
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[WP] You're a Roman noble, one day you woke up in a coffin, after waiting what seemed like an eternity, some archaeologists dug you up.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Sigh... How long have I been here? Feels like it's been at least a few days, but strangely I feel no significant thirst or hunger.\", thought the Roman man who has been stuck in a coffin for two millenia.\n\nCRACK, RUMBLING\n\n\"Hm-? What is that gods awful noise? I don't have the strength to do anything about it, so I might as well go back to sleep for now.\", he decided\n\n*Later in the lab of famed archeologist and philanthropist Edgar Humming*\n\n\"Is this the heavy coffin we found in those Roman ruins last week?\", Professor Humming asked.\n\n\"Yes, sir. We've cleaned it and left its opening to you, as per your request. But forgive me for asking, Doctor Humming, but are you sure you don't need any more help with it?\", inquired the professor's assistant Andrew.\n\n\"I'm sure, Andrew. Thank you for the help. You may take tomorrow off.\", the professor responded.\n\n\"Oh, thank you, sir.\", Andrew exclaimed and left.\n\n...\n\n\"Now that Andrew's gone, I have you all to my self once more, old friend. Let's crack this box open!\", the curiously young looking professor said with excitement.\n\nAnd it was then that the Roman opened his eyes and met the gaze of the professor, the familiar face of one the Roman had once called friend.\n\n\"Captain Humonus? Is that you?\", the Roman asked when he saw Edgar Humming.\n\n\"Yes, my lord. It is I, though I actually go by Edgar in this day and age.\", the ancient man referred to as Humonus responded.\n\n\"This day and age, you say? Where- Uh, when are we? And what's going on here?\", the Roman lord asked with sheer curiosity.\n\n\"You, my lord, have been missing for 2064 years. We turned you into one of us, but the damned daywalkers caught you, attempted to slay you and stuck you in this coffin, though luckily the slaying didn't take and you've merely had a long nap.\", the immortal professor Edgar Humming or Roman Captain Humonus explained.\n\n\"One of you? What are you again?\", the Roman General inquired.\n\n\"A vampire, Caesar.\""
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[WP] Your SO is from the middle ages and you have decided to take them to modern Earth for a quick tour.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"We didn't meet under the most auspicious circumstances. \n\nI was fleeing backwards in time from those shortsighted fools who unthinkingly spurn my work, the human sheep who undeservedly presuppose themselves my peers by sitting above me in judgment... ahem. My point is that I'd suffered some setbacks in my research and was taking some time to regain composure in the early days of Imperial Rome. I'd set up shop in some remote, well-fortified town and had nearly managed to convince the local prefect I was a god (using a simple pocket fusion generator) when she and the tribe blundered in. \n\nAt the time I took Andraste to be just another savage, all woad dragon tattoos and long red plaits and scythe-wheeled chariot. Her interference was an annoyance, though I admit even then I admired her pillaging technique. Lots of Roman guards lying in pools of blood, very nice. I remember the prefect was white as a sheet and clutching at my clothes, begging for help, so I was obliged to vaporize one or two raiders. \n\nSo began our little feud. I'm not sure when my seething hatred of Andraste gave way to a kind of respect. I'd never thought much of military types- plenty of lesser intellects in my own time had misused my painstaking creations like a caveman with a rock- but her skill as a commander was exceptional. Celts of that time period don't... er, didn't, I mean... normally allow women to lead them. \n\nI suppose that was the key. Complementary roles and all. I couldn't hope to beat her forces in direct combat, but I could spook them off pretty easily with a harmless plasma cutter, and apparently my simulacra had them all worried I was replacing real men with iron ones. Her brutal iron fist, my cunning cloak and dagger. Her brawn, my brain. We seemed to complete each other. Before long our altercations ended with our forces tag-teaming interloping Romans. And not long after that we wound up meeting in private. \n\nI suppose I had some worries about the integrity of the timeline, but I put those aside. I'd never been one to bow to higher authority, hang the consequences. So when I learned she'd been betrayed by a vassal chieftain and was about to be executed very publicly, I pulled out a few stops. Historians were going to have a difficult time not mentioning the hovertank blasting legionaries left and right; and Jenkins said I wouldn't need it. We spent that beautiful night together as the city outside the villa writhed in flames and helpless wails. Then we tracked down the faithless vassal and had another. \n\nEventually I managed to convince Andraste to come with me to my own time. The world, I assured her, was incomprehensibly more vast then, and there was plenty of looting and sacking to carry on with. I imagine we'll be quite the power couple, the finest minds of tomorrow and the boundless savagery of the past working in tandem. What a honeymoon it'll be."
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[WP] For most people when someone says “ I have been waiting for you for ages” they consider it as a hyperbole but you’re an immortal who meets the love of your life again after hundreds of years.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Note before reading: This is my first story on this subreddit. Actually, its the first one I ever publish in public. Hope you enjoy it <3\n\nI ate a piece of steak that day, something I never did since ages. I couldn't tell for how long I haven't eaten, I stopped caring after about a hundred years. But the last I met her was four hundred sixty nine years ago at night. \n\nWhen I saw her I thought it was a mirage or something, surely it is. But when I saw the mole under her ear, the one thing I forgot about her, I knew she was real. I didn't know how, but I knew. And no, I did not let her see me, I couldn't handle the shock of hearing her voice, one was well enough. \n\nAt first, I would get hungry and eat just to fill the crave, but after that last time I stopped eating, then I got extremely hungry but didn't care, then I stopped feeling hungry; I forgot the very sense. Seeing her struck it inside me like an adrenaline shot. I had to eat, and the taste of the burger collected all the remaining memories that were stuck at the side of the pot. Eating that burger now reminded me of that time when I was eating just the same one years ago in front of her. I was staring at her, lost in the way she moves her mouth and jaws to eats, her look at the food. Tomorrow I am going to find her. I am going to find her and ask her how.",
"The setting sun cast a rosy glow on a lake surrounded by a tranquil forest. A cool breeze rustled in the trees and formed small ripples in the lake. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted softly. But the immortal who prowled the banks noticed none of that beauty. His son had told him that this was the place his beloved sometimes wandered in the evenings. But in the weeks since he had first visited this spot, not once had he seen his wife. \n\nIf he was honest with himself, he did not know what to expect when she did finally appear, if she did. The last time he had seen her, she was riding out with a group of warriors to assist a village that had been plundered by goblins. Neither she nor her company returned. He later learned from an enemy prisoner that she had died in great agony alone somewhere underground. Would she be a mere shadow of what she had once been, however unlikely that may be? \n\nOut of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure drop down from the boughs of an oak. His heart leapt with joy, and a wicked smile grew on his face as the person darted into the shadows of the woods. ‘You have always enjoyed a good chase, haven’t you my love?’ the immortal thought with amusement. He heard rippling laughter as he took off after the figure. \n\nThe mischievous woman led him through thick brush and high treetops, finally stopping at the top of a hill. “Oh no you don’t!” the immortal said, playfully tackling her before she had the chance to run away again. “Well done, my dear hunter! I was starting to fear that you had lost your skills,” his wife laughed through her panting. \n\nThey lay there for a few minutes to catch their breath, enjoying each other’s company as they had not had for over a millennium. The immortal sighed as his wife kissed his cheek. “I have missed you so much. How I wished to hear your voice and sound counsel during the years of war,” he said, emotion filling his voice. “I have missed you as well, even though I was surrounded by my friends and our son. Why did you wait so long before coming here?” she asked. “You know how it is. I had to finish ridding our land of darkness and ensure that those of our people who wished to remain are well looked after when I am gone. Forgive me. It took longer than I expected,” he answered. “Oh, there's no need to apologize. You are here now, and I am glad that we are finally together. We have no need to worry about being parted again,” his wife said dreamily."
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[WP] They say that beyond these shores there is only sea. Surely there must be something more.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"They say that beyond these shores there is only sea. Surely there must be something else.\"\n\nCharles: \"Wow, what a broad statement. What do you expect? The end of the world? You know, the world is round\" \n\n\"Imagine an exotic land, grown all over with gigantic trees, populated with ferocious wild beasts, protected by tall mountains, never seen by humans before.\" \n\nCharles: \"Okay, I am imagining it. Unseen, tall but uncultivated trees with violent habits and giant animals - haha, fat round squirrels - they would roll down the mountains. Why would that exist?\" \n\n\"It's the idea that counts. Hope for adventure and discovery. The exploration fueled by human curiosity\"\n\nCharles: \"Speaking of that curiosity, wouldn't you say the same humans would destroy your precious exotic land? Shouldn't we leave it alone?\" \n\n\"I would rather destroy something beautiful after experiencing it, than to never experience it\"\n\nCharles: \"I wouldn't agree with that. What gives you the authority to destroy something for personal gain? Do you consider yourself worth more than nature is?\" \n\n\"Shut up Charles\""
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[WP] 20 years ago the Earth was finally united, but under the banner of a single ruler. That dictator now lies in hospice care, with you as their caretaker. You have a job to do, and you will carry it out.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The worlds a simple place nowadays. And I’m a simple man. Good soldiers follow orders, and good hit men have no morals. But damn, I didn’t expect things to turn out this way. \n\nIt took years to get this close. The lies I told and the bodies I laid out, it was all part of the job. You stay in power a bit too long and you eventually make enemies. Sometimes the very people you look after. Not like I cared, they paid a pretty penny and I was just the man for the job. Nothing was ever too much, too difficult. \n\nBut the damn old man just had to talk to me. Treat me like an equal. Show me his plans going forward, his passion for what he’s accomplished, no, gifted to the world. Genuine love for fellow man. A desire to take care of the meek, the poor, the weak. I didn’t think it existed nowadays. But hey, he was a simple man too.\n\nAnd here he was. Set out like a wax doll. Nearly lifeless. If I wanted to carry out my job, all I had to do was sit here and watch.\n\nSo why, why?\nWhy were my hands working harder than ever before?\n\nI stopped for only a moment, thinking it all over. When did I become such a complicated guy?\n\nDid he rub off on me? Or was I just scared of the consequences? Is money really worth the end of an era? \n\nShaking my head, and regaining my focus, I relax my body, exhale, and make my decision."
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[WP] When Earth joined the intergalactic government, an organization that is sort of like a "reverse Men in Black" was formed. They hide the existence of magic users, ghosts, demons, vampires, etc. from alien visitors. If the universe knew of the horrors that inhabit Earth, society would collapse.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Sit down, the man in garbs told the two others.\n\nThe room was small, but not crowded, with very plain accents and an overall eggshell color to it. Multiple chairs were littered around a small circular table. The fluorescent bulbs were humming overhead.\n\n\"There wasn't much time after you sent out that email...\" \"Sssshhhhh,\" the garbed man hissed. \"They must not know of our communications. All three of the figures suddenly paused, put their hands to their right temple and quickly moved their eyes to a very faint humming sound coming from their ears. They stop as quickly as they start.\n\n\"Well, they don't seem to be able to comprehend our technology yet. Some said it would be the greatest downfall, but ever since we joined the Granitas it seems to have been a boon.\" the man seemingly made half of metal, something moving and evolving around half his body, said.\n\n\"They do not know because our language, our technology, and our magic has stayed foreign to them...\" the man in the garbs said, a cat revealing itself suddenly on his very shoulder. It was oddly still. It flicked it's ear forward and back again.\n\n\"They simply cannot comprehend how we use our medias.\" A man covered from head to toe in gaudy silver and gold pieces, hanging from his body in all aspects. He was just absolutely covered by sparkling objects that formed a few solid words: \"Twitter, Google, Instagram, Facebook.\" He rested back into his chair sighing loudly. \"When will they ever study human psychology and communications?\"\n\nThe three men finally settled into their seats. There was a long pause, the vents connected to the air conditioning started humming\n\n\"Sruffy Vasemaker.\" The half metal man proclaimed, \"You brought about this meeting for a reason, you needed my artificial intelligence to mask your charade.\" His brow furrowed and his electrical units began to show under his metal coat.\n\n\"Nonsense,\" The man covered in golden accessories insinuated, \"He came for my mastery of communication. If we were to move as a unit in any way he would need my connectivity.\"\n\nScruffy Vasemaker sighed. \" I did not call you 'TGIF' for your connectivity, nor you, 'Sky' for your network of machinery and technology. I call you both to plan out the next ten years of our alliance with the Intergalactic Government. Granitas.\"\n\nBoth members of Scruffy's audience looked disgusted and bored all at once. The felt no fear. They felt no remorse for their actions. They all knew what must be done. Simply from one electronic mail.\n\nThe Granitas\n\n28 Granitan days later.\n\n\"Did you hear they are making a ruling today?!\" One Granitan said to another. clearly excited at the prospect of a change of life. Likening the idea to a new era almost.\n\nThe streets were busy, and the markets along the roads were busy. Tentacles moved from one stand to the next, drawing items closer and the away from, denizens' faces while they scoured for an evening's morsel. Large metal boxes strolled by, very loudly, very clumsily for Earthlings' taste, and halted with a loud \"bang\" at every shop, every stand, every gathering.\n\nThe closest family to the Granitas Headquarters were enjoying a nice meal, floating above their family pads in perfect precision. A few children use their tendrils to pull fruit, seemingly, from thin air out of their hovering state. A blue light encompassed their food and drinks. \"The Counselors are making a decision today father!\" the youngest Granitan exclaimed while grappling a fruit from the family pad. \"Eshos, don't hang on the food like that, seriously, we've asked you repeatedly, honey he is 3 years old, right? He should be entering gravitational theory soon and he can't grasp the apple's anti-gravitational effects? \" A small noise in the distance turns two of the Granitans' heads. They gaze towards the building of the Councilmen.\n\n\"You will be allowed to enter when you are called.\" The guard at the portal said to the human. Earth men. Terrans. Men, they were called. The guard was composed of a curious mass of muscle and metal. Sharp legs were positioned all around his body with many \"eye\" looking mechanics scanning the area around his footing constantly, stand just above 8 feet tall.\n\nTGIF stood in his direct sight, and told him to move. \"Leave your post, my dude.\" TGIF said with a confidence. The door's guard gurgled and responded, \"You must prove...\" TGIF waited in anticipation... \"That you...\" They both hesitated. \"Are not a...\" Sweat dripping from TGIF's forehead. \"...bot...\" gurgled the door guard.\n\n\"OOOohhhhhhkay, anything for you Beyonce\" TGIF exclaimed while exhaling deeply, relieved, walking up to a console to the left of both him and the guard, and tapping a few short presses.\n\n\\*SSSSsssskkkkkkkssssssshhhhhhhh\\* the door behind the hulking monstrosity of a door guard opened and revealed a light. TGIF instantly opened his social media accounts, as his finger pressed his temple while his eyes jolted back and forth with a small humming sound. He would not be alone for long.\n\nScruffy stood atop a high reprieve and raised his arms. The cat on his shoulders soon spoke with a gentle, caressing character to her voice. \"Move them all. Listen to my command Vasemaker.\" The earth soon began to rumble, the shaking ever slight. Hardly noticeable to a regular person. Magical words were spoken, \"Hemlaodra, Tychohdrius, Nemiganar.\" A light seemed to envelop Scruffy on that mountain, but he remained calm. The earth stopped rumbling, and the light grew dim and Scruffy halted his magical advance.\n\nThe doors opened to reveal Sky has been invited to the Intergalactic Government's negotiations tables. \"They are not aware.\" The being, seemingly held up by a machine with many arms, twisting and folding the creature's body together, as if it were trying to rip itself apart with the very air of the room. \"That we exist, or what danger they present us.\" The headmaster stated.\n\nSky smirked, \"We humans, we have accepted the mantle of that responsibility.\"\n\nThe entire room stopped, there was no reason for this outburst, nor was it called for in any way by the other members in the room. They all turned perplexed because it was completely inappropriate.\n\n\"Uh, sorry.\" Sky said. He actually walked up into the light so the members could see him. He was not a politician in any way and felt horribly embarrassed. He waved his hands and laughed a little to move things forward, but the looks on the counsel's face was nothing short of pure horror.\n\nThey had seen a beast.\n\nAn animal that had waved dangerous talons and roared with a ferocity that shook them all. They sat stunned as the roar from this Terran beast had paralyzed them. They looked up at the towering hulking wilds as a deity.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"It's just, we human beings have completely solved your problem. The invaders of Granitas will be gone by the time your sun sets on this very spot.\n\nThe members looked panicked. That was only moments from now. How could those giant beasts possibly have solved the invasion of the Yelchor Conglomerate so easily and so confidently?\n\nSky pushed a small glowing button on his mechanical wrist. Scruffy's earpiece lit up and hummed with a prerecorded message. TGIF's eyes lit up with requests and followers waiting to subscribe to his commands. He was in the base of the largest electromagnetic radio telescope, with superluminal capabilities. Every human was coming to fight. Every last one in the sector. They all instantly started moving out of the sky towards a common destination.\n\n\"What have you done?\"asked the headmaster, quivering in fear, lights and signals going off on screens all around the room.\n\n\"Solving your problem.\" Sky said.\n\n\"The plague awakens once more...\" One of the counselors says while reading a report, quicker than her eyes can register, and quicker than her tentacles can take her.\n\nSoon, every light turns on and the room falls red. Sky smiles.",
"When the Milky Way joined the Virgo Republic, we in the Orion Arm were one of the few disent. Over the past millenia, Earthlings, Trappites, Bernardishmen, Proximans, Eradanisians, Tau Cetinasians, Inhabitants of Wolf 1061, Palomaris, etc. all mingled together and gradually, coalesced into one country, and further on. Of course, back then we didn't have to hide magic. In fact, earth had the least of it. It was probably the planet in the arm with the least magic, but now, we had to hide our magic, the stuff that had kept Betelgeuse from exploding, that had powered us to travel faster than light, and all of that, was apparently unsettling to the rest of the supercluster. \n\nWe had to take our magic and hide all of our people who happened to be demons, ghosts, and similar and erase the memories of any outsiders who came across them. We in the Orion Arm used magic to create warp drives, prevented Betelgeuse from going supernova, and then built a capital around it thanks to its central location. We convened an emergency session after the galaxy voted to join, and decided we would have none of it. All of our worlds had Elves, Vampires, and whatnot, and were okay with that. We had done a great job of their integration into society, and weren't gonna let ourselves be pushed around by some old bureaucrats in Messier 84 push us around, nor Sagittarius tell us what to do, sure, we formed the thing, but us here in Orion do what we like. It only took a year when Orion declared independence. All the systems delegations to Betelgeuse were there, and the vote was unanimous. Us Orionese pride ourselves on our magic. It's the one thing we have that nobody else has.\n\nThe next day, warships were conjured, and wreathed in magical flame, some were given a large bow of fusing hydrogen. We took our symbol, the bow of Orion, and as we sent ships to patrol our borders, we gave each of them a magical bow of pure light so all knew the magic of the Orion Arm was back in business. We didn't care if it meant that some Virgocrats pop their monacles or whatever, since we had magic, and they didn't.",
"I knew that it wasn't a normal bat. Its eyes glowed in the dark. I loosened my black tie and pointed the gun at him.\n\n\"You can't hide from me Count Dracula,\" I said.\n\nThe bat hissed. It flapped its wings angrily and swooped in. I hit it with my gun and it collapsed in the alley. Slowly the bat turned into a lavishly dressed, tall human being.\n\n\"Why do you have to do this you insolent brat,\" said Dracula.\n\n\"It's my job,\" I said.\n\nHis face hardened. He charged at me. He was strong. I fell. He sat on top of me and started punching. Somehow I protected my face but he dug his claws into my chest. Out of options, I worked the emergency bomb, fitted in my tooth, onto the front of my mouth and spat.\n\nThe bomb hit him right on the forehead. He stumbled backwards. I gave him a straight right and he fell flat on his ass. A car flew by, they didn't see anything. I called the support team and told them to get the bastard out of there.\n\nAn old tchordoryte stared at the scene. I'd have to do it again. I called him over. Put my sunglasses on and said, \"Please focus on the red dot.\"",
"\"*A* Glorpian is smart. *Glorpians* are stupid, panicky, dangerous gelatinous cubes, and you know it! Their universe runs on immutable physical laws and rational mathematical discipline. Can you imagine what would happen if they discovered that a Reality Divergence existed and that it was located right here on our home planet? \n\nDo you know whether Gluon Chromatic Displacers work on undead spirits or Elder Gods? Because I sure don't. And I don't want to find out, either, because I know exactly how Gluon Chromatic Displacers would work on my house, my dog and me.\n\nSo our job is make sure that the Glorpians and everyone else in the old Milky Way remain blissfully unaware of our planet's intricacies.\n\nFortunately, we've got distance on our side. The father you get from the Divergence, the less powerful is its effect. Those aforementioned undead sprits can't manifest much farther away than Betelgeuse. Witches and warlocks can barely use a cantrip beyond Rigel. And you can thank the Elder Gods themselves for not being interested in anyone but us puny humans.\n\nSo we really only have to worry about what's happening right here in our own backyard, but it is a *big* backyard. We can't afford to let a single paranormal get off world without us knowing about it.\n\nSo stay vigilant, double check your no-fly lists against each passenger, and remember: If you see something, say something. \n\nThis concludes your training. We're happy to have you all as the newest employees here at Virgin Galactic!\"",
"Crowds assembled in front of the UN Building listened with a mix of excitement and rapt attention. Reporters, knowing this was the most significant moment of their careers, quivered with anticipation as they struggled not to burst into frantic questioning. Behind the podium, the lanky thing covered in curved, jeweled scales clicked its black gleaming beak-mouth, and the speakers let a rich, resonant voice boom out.\n\n\"This humble Chalnosinian delegation is honored to announce that which you call diplomatic negotiations to commence between our peoples. Let this momentousness mark a new age of peace and prosperity between us and our kinds.\"\n\nCheers rang out and wild applause. Cameras snapped like mad. Next there were similar speeches from the weird dolphin-looking lady and the wheezy furry thing with the ossicones. By all rights, it was the most important day in human history. We were not alone in the universe, and now humanity was taking its place in a much bigger world. The promise of advanced technology and bold new worlds was beckoning. The future looked bright. Yes, by all rights most people counted themselves lucky to be alive to experience this glorious day.\n\nBut for Special Agent James Oswald MacBride, it was a day of misery and gloom. Few would notice him, standing off to the side of the podium in a nondescript black suit and sunglasses, much less detect the angst and depression radiating off him, but nonetheless, he was there, on the worst day of his life. The day his job became obsolete.\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nShortly after graduating from Princeton with honors, MacBride had been approached by operatives from the Extraterrestrial Life-form Defensive Research and Investigation Jurisdiction, or ELDRIJ. MacBride had been stunned- but not really *that* stunned- to learn that the US government had been covering up evidence of advanced alien life since the Grant Administration. Keeping it all under wraps had been the best job MacBride had ever had by a huge margin. Whipping sheets off of things, disssections, reverse engineering, roughing up the occasional nosy UFO fam. In exchange for all that, you got to wear really nice suits, the benefits were fantastic and... well. Nothing beat that sense of being privy to the ultimate state secrets.\n\nAll that was gone now. The secret base under the Lincoln Memorial was going to be discretely filled with cement. Most of the alien bodies floating in tubes of green goop had to be cremated (it wasn't clear if any of them were friends of Earth's newest diplomatic partners, but it wasn't worth the risk of pissing them off). The company store was shutting down. Hell, he didn't even get to keep the suit. James Oswald MacBride was Special Agent MacBride no more. Might as well go back to being an accountant. And so while the rest of the Earth celebrated Federation Day, MacBride got off duty as soon as he could and went to drown his sorrows.\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\n\"Damn near twenty years. And then... poof. Done. Not even a golden watch. Barely any severance. Damn aliens.\"\n\nThe man in the seat next to him at the bar nodded sympathetically.\n\n\"Twenty years and that doesn't mean a damn thing. So now what?\"\n\nA raucous trio burst into the bar with vuvuzaleas and \"ALIENS WELCOME\" banners. The bartender took no notice, transfixed by TV footage of Ambassador Kha'gantre'el waving to crowds. MacBride ground his teeth. This was life now. He realized the lush sitting next to him had fallen asleep. So he was ranting to nobody. How fitting. Nobody cared, anyway.\n\nSuddenly a hand planted itself on his shoulder.\n\n\"Agent MacBride.\"\n\nMacBride looked up and saw a nondescript man in an unassuming black suit and shaded glasses.\n\n\"Uh... that's me.\"\n\n\"Couldn't help but overhear. I'd like you to come with me.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry- who are you?\"\n\n\"You can just call me Mr. Clock.\"\n\n\"Huh. Cool codename.\"\n\nMr. Clock's brow wrinkled in confusion behind his shades. \"Codename?\"\n\n\"Oh. Uh. Sorry. I just... guess I misheard you.\"\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nThe facility was dark and dingy, the walls lined with plexiglass cells. It felt very homey to MacBride. Clock lectured on as they walked.\n\n\"Only people with above Level 26 Security Clearance are aware of this. Your gang, ELDRIJ, originally started as Division 6 of the investigative team set up under the Barkdahl Special Commission on Special Covert Intelligence.\"\n\nMacBride's head swam. \"Six?\"\n\n\"That's right. What you're about to see here is Division Five.\"\n\nClock gestured for MacBride to inspect some of the cells. Nervous but fascinated, MacBride did so. In the first one he saw a pasty, lanky Goth teenager. Upon being noticed, the inmate glared at him, then opened his mouth and snarled. His ears became batlike and his teeth elongated into fangs. The next cell held a family in antiquated clothes, seemingly made of mist. Next to that was a nest of human-shaped green creatures flittering on little dragonfly wings. Next to that, a cranky-looking goat creature with one long ivory spiral horn on its forehead. Then a blindfolded green woman whose hair was all writhing snakes and scorpion tails. Then a lion with an eagle's head.\n\nMacBride looked at Clock in astonishment. \"They're all...\"\n\n\"Division Six handled the unusual from off Earth. Five? Our business was the weirdness still native to this big blue rock. We make sure the Fair Folk stay on the rez, that mermaid poachers don't live to tell the tale, and the original D&D player guides- the ones that summon demons- are kept off the market. We work pretty closely with Three and Four, too. That's psychic phenomena and all the nasty stuff that happens when lab coat boys try playing god.\"\n\n\"You mean...\"\n\n\"Stranger things on both heaven *and* Earth, MacBride. Funny thing, word from the top is that we're still up and running. The feeling is that Earth's new partners on the galactic scene don't necessarily need to know about all this stuff. They might get the wrong idea; maybe that they cut a deal with the wrong intelligent species, or that this old world’s too much trouble to let stay in one piece. The upshot is, some secrets are still protecting the world. And secrets need people to keep them. So I'm asking, Agent MacBride... any chance you'd be interested in a lateral transfer?\"\n\nMacBride smiled. Back in business.",
"\"You seriously don't get a bad vibe from that place?\"\n\nJenk called from the bathroom before joining Brynt on the deck. Brynt watched him pant as he sat down, taking care not to knock any of the ship's buttons with his colossal belly.The hanger doors slowly opened to reveal the vast expense of space before them. \n\n\"Everyone's nervous when they join TITAN at first, they'll get over it.\" Brynt shrugged and flipped the red switch. \n\nThe grey ship floated in the air for a moment before zipping out to the door in the blink of an eye. Jenk continued to argue that he felt disturbed by the new planet, but Brynt ignored him. Eventually, Jenk fell asleep and his greasy blonde air draped over his eyes. Brynt allowed his eyes to wander around the monitors to make sure everything was stable. No sudden asteroid fields, or unregistered ships. He thought about the new planet, Earth. A blue marble that had just one lonely moon orbiting it. Jenk was right, there was something off about them. Every time they visited, the leaders' smiles looked oddly pained, they looked they were hiding something. Last month they came back a day later than expected, but couldn't account for it. Jenk swore they must have done something and had a shouting match with the manager demanding to be re-assigned. It was concluded that Brynt must have gone through a wormhole of some sort, taking them forward a day. He was unsure of that, but there wasn't any other explanation. \n\nBrynt kicked Jenk awake and he grunted in his sleep before finally opening his eyes. The ship slowed to a crawl. Earth was waiting for us, a blue jewel in the middle of a black ocean. \n\n\"I was having a great dream where I was going to a different planet\" Jenk grumbled and stretched his stumpy arms.\n\n\"It'll be fine\" Replied Brynt, but his mind was beginning to play tricks on him. \n\n The ship moved closer to Earth and they received an okay on their radio device. \n\n\"I'm telling you, this place is messed up.\"\n\nThey landed in the Charles De Galle airport and was greeted by the normal entourage. The world leader of France, America, Russia, China, Japan, United Kingdom, Canada and India all extended their hands as was the custom on this planet. In their screaming match, Brynt recalled Jenk calling this practice \"that filthy hand-greeting they do.\" The American leader, a broad-shouldered woman with a severe frown spoke up frequently.\n\n\"I hope your journey was good. Sorry about the weather, I insisted we do it in California but was overruled by Monseior Blanque. \n\nThe French leader's grey moustache twitched with a smile, and the rest of them laughed awkwardly.\n\n\"Not at all, the weather here is wonderful,\" Brynt replied and Jenk gave a snort which he hastily tried to cover up as a cough. All of them marched together towards the limousines waiting for them. Brynt and Jenk travelled with the Japanese, French, Canadian, American and British leaders. The other leaders tried not too sure their disappointment at this decision. \n\nThe British Leader sat in between the two of them and kept trying to get them to visit his capital city.\n\n\"The thing is, London is lovely. Packed with history, enormous great skyscrapers, the financial centre of the world.\" He licked his lips as he talked, and the back of his pink shirt was darkened by sweat. \n\n\"For today we'll just have the meeting and go. We're not here for a holiday\" Jenk said. Brynt sometimes wished he could be a little more polite. \n\nThe British man's face fell, but he put on another awkward smile. \n\n\n\"Oh yes, jolly good then.\" \n\n\"Besides, Jimstone. They'd be much better off going to New York, or California, or Washington or-\n\n\"Or even Toronto\" Piped in the Canadian Leader hopefully. The American leader rolled her eyes at the young man. Throughout this posturing, the Japanese leader sat with his back straight and a stern look in his eye. Jenk was right, this planet was very strange. As the French started to explain about the history of the monuments they were passing, a beeping sound came from each of the leaders' pockets. All of them went silent. The Japanese leader raised his right eyebrow. \n\n\"I think your communication devices are going off, gotta be something important?\" Jenk said. The leaders smiled awkwardly. \n\n\"It's probably nothing\" Laughed the British leader. Brynt watched the American leader lock eyes with the driver. He nodded and the limo turned down an alley.\n\n\"This isn't the normal way guys,\" Jenk said.\n\nStreams of people started running the down the alley, some of them were being pushed into the limo. One person even jumped on the roof and ran over it.\n\n\"Okay, what is going on here!\" \n\nA lot of things happened at once, the driver turned around and pointed a shining green object at Brynt and Jenk, more people rushed into the limo and then something smashed through the glass impaling the limo driver's chest. Blood splattered everywhere and everyone recoiled. The American leader tried to pick up the object but Jenk grabbed her by the wrist.\n\n\"I knew it. You're up to something on this planet.\" \n\nThe two of them struggled but Brynt was transfixed by the driver's body. There was still a long cylinder protruding through his chest, and following it up he realised why everyone was running. \n\n\"Brynt we need to get back to our ship!\" Jenk had the object in his hand and was fighting off the American and British leader. I shook my head and pointed. Jenk's mouth gaped open and he dropped the object again. \n\nStanding outside the limo were 7 hairy legs coming from a large round body. Its fangs clicked, and the six black pockets of soulless eyes seeped into Brynt. The eighth leg was still stuck in the driver's body and the spider shook it before it came unstuck and it stepped over the limo. The roof of the limo pressed down in eight points and everyone shuddered. It climbed over the limo and continued down the alley. Pouncing on a woman and sinking its fangs deep into her neck. Her screams stopped and her body went limp. Both Brynt and Jenk were transfixed. The Japanese leader quickly slipped the object out of Jenk's hand and pointed it at the two of them. Without thinking Brynt punched the man in the face and scrambled for the door. Pushing past the French leader I fell out onto the concrete and looked back for Jenk. He was struggling to get himself free with his enormous frame. The British leader had him by the legs and the American had the object in her hands, Brynt reached out to grab him but already she pointed it at him. \n\nA green flash filled the car and Jenk's eyes went blank. He frowned at Brynt before his eyes rolled back and he was asleep. They were coming for me now, and I slammed the door shut, hearing a crunch as smashed into the Frenchman's leg. Brynt turned and ran only for his heart to sink. Another spider was crawling along the wall, it's two front legs extended and it's fangs cackling. Brynt jumped to one side and avoided its pounce. It landed on top of the limo and its force sent the limo tumbling to the side. The spider rolled onto's feet and scuttled away to join in his friend's meal. \n\nBrynt raced to the flipped limo and opened the side-door. Everyone was injured, blood was pouring from the British leader's head and the American leader was knocked out. Ignoring the cries of pain from the French leader I pulled Jenk to safety. Dragging him upwards through the car and picking him up by the shoulder, I collapsed as I got him out. Laying next to him, I tried to slap him awake, he was far too appetizing to be left alone with these creatures. Finally, his eyes slid open.\n\n\"Jenk we've got to get back to the ship, this planet's not right like you said.\" \n\nHe frowned at me, his eyes taking in who I was. There wasn't the faintest hint of recognition. \n\nI looked up and groaned. Another spider was coming down the alley, and two more were crawling down the walls.",
"Now, when Earth joined the intergalactic alliance, changes had to be made. \n\n**Big** changes. \n\nBefore, the alliance would take their time to explain the new species inhabiting the worlds that joined the alliance. This would be the case with humans as well, however....\n\n“We can’t introduce Earthians.” \n\n“What?! Why not? It’s what we’ve done with every other planet, what’s so special about this one?” \n\nThe chief of the alliance gave her soon to be successor a deadpan stare. \n\n“Please, tell me what species I am.” \n\n“You’re a kraken, of course,” her successor answered easily. \n\n“Yes. I am. You know what’s on Earth? Dozens’ of my subspecies. Ones that are eaten as an appetizer. Ones that are repressed underwater. There’s a reason the megaladon’s decided to move into the deepest parts of the water, you know. If the dinosaurs were overzealous, the human’s make them look humble.” \n\nHer successor blink slowly. \n\n“Do they eat avians?”\n\n“Chickens, turkeys, and ducks just to name a few popular ones.”\n\nHer successor ruffled her feathers uncomfortably. \n\nThe chief nodded her head and crossed her tentacles uncomfortably. \n\n“Now you understand my concern?” \n\n“Yes ma’am... but is this really a problem to *all* of our allies?” \n\n“The human’s expel Earth-bound demons from the realm, they make hundreds of films where they hunt zombies, vampires, and ghosts. They poach their own animals and eat even more of them, they cut down their fauna with no chance to regrow. Yes, I think they’ll be an issue with the galaxy.” \n\n“Ouch, why did we even sign the alliance with them?”\n\n“They found one of our star ships. If we didn’t make ourselves known and non-hostile, they’d deploy their people to investigate. The humans have developed many weapons of war. We had no choice.” \n\n“It’s really sounding like we can’t introduce humans.” \n\n“The other species are just barely starting to break through the self-awareness barrier. I think I’d be shocked and outraged to meet a squid who only lives to eat and mate.” \n\nHer successor nodded once more. \n\n“So... what should we do?” \n\n“... Let’s have visitor sections in each planet. We’ll start a program for shapeshifters to work in the human tourist sections under the guise of being humans themselves. We’ll have some illusionists set up a stage for human’s to believe they’ve gone much farther than they have. We’ll even set up a fake introduction for them, only streamed to our agents.” \n\n“Genius idea, chief!” \n\n“Yes, well, get to it Poppy.” \n\nPoppy nodded sharply, beak shining lightly in the dim conference room. She trotted out, long claws tapping at the floor. The chief took a deep breath, water rushing into her lamellae soothingly. This would be a long project. Luckily, the human’s concept of time was easily warped. \n\nAll she’s really have to do is set out a couple of disasters... Maybe natural disasters in relation to the Earth. The chief hummed and looked up Earth’s weather patterns. Yes, she could have this done in about a human’s year or so... She hoped they were resilient.",
"\"I assume you didn't ask me here for the pleasure of my acquaintance, Jennifer.\"\n\nJennifer smiled. Hard to get a read on this interviewee, Ochi-videts. Part of that was biology. Some of it, clearly, was training.\n\nThe alien reclined in her corner seat in the booth they shared. Ochi had a flat face and light blue skin the color of witless hope. She looked human, minus the lack of a nose. Or the third eye in her brow, puckered always, always shut.\n\n\"Insightful.\" Jennifer tried to keep her tone calm. \"Then you know what I'm here for?\"\n\n\"You called after I entered the haunted mansion on Grand Street. The one your own people's juveniles and fools babble about on your aetheric networks. Facebook, yes? You haven't been subtle. I reported seeing the slumbering hemophages to my ambassador just yesterday.\"\n\nA server offered coffee. Both declined. Jennifer didn't want any, and caffeine was toxic to Ochi's biology.\n\n\"You've been rather obvious yourself,\" Jennifer said. \"Hunting for proof of my world's paranormal activity. You should know we consider them our own, and we'll protect them.\" She chews her lip. \"Honestly, Ochi, it seems to me like your people want leverage.\"\n\n\"That's the job. Isn't it?\"\n\nJennifer leaned forward, clasping her fingers around her coal-warm mug. \"What is that, to be clear? Your job.\"\n\nOchi was ever still. \"I deal in unpleasant secrets. Like you. I find them, I cover them up. I make sure the people who know about them, know to keep their mouths shut.\"\n\nJennifer flinched. If she didn't know any better, she'd say she was the one being interrogated. The alien's fluency in human body language had made this conversation opaque. Sapiens-Standard-A, formerly known as English, came just as frustratingly easy to Ochi. Once, after integration, Jennifer tried to wrap her tongue around a Karthate syllable. She nearly choked.\n\n\"Let's keep this simple.\" Jennifer removed a laminated documentfrom her purse. She knew its contents without looking. Clearance for two giga-tons of hydrogen extraction from Sol, Earth's sun.\n\nOchi's face remained indecipherable. Her eyes flickered to the passes, back to Jennifer. The closed third eye rippled under its lid, gazing in a different direction.\n\n\"This is what you want,\" Jennifer said. \"If it's not enough, my superiors are amenable to negotiations. In exchange for a simple concession.\"\n\n\"A concession?\"\n\n\"We hope not to hear about your adventures on Grand Street in the next Star Congress. Nor the incidental... discoveries... in the cellar.\"\n\nOchi stared, then exhaled. She dragged her paw across the table, pushing the passes aside, her dewclaw rasping on the lacquer surface.\n\n\"Look outside,\" Ochi said. \"What do you see?\"\n\nJennifer looked. She saw streets. Streetlights. The naked, candescent glow glaring through the evening drizzle. Cold moisture dewed on the pane of glass separating them from the street. The sad faces of sad, sagging buildings gazed at them through it.\n\n\"Nothing,\" Jennifer said.\n\nOchi sighed. \"Look again.\"\n\nSo she did. And knowing Ochi wanted her to see something, she focused. She thought about that third eye planted in the blueskin's brow. She imagined what the mind's eye could glimpse when the body's eyes failed.\n\nShe exhaled, pissed. This was useless. \"What is this about, flatnose?\" Ochi had been nothing but a brick wall from the get go. \"What do you people really want on my planet?\"\n\n\"I want you to know,\" Ochi said, relaxrd, \"we are not here to dig up your world's petty secrets. We do not care for magic or any other cheap tricks or maladies. Your horrors are bothing. It is ours we fear. When I look across the street, do you know what I see?\"\n\nBefore Jennifer could answer, Ochi shook her head, raised her paw. \"No. Allow me.\"\n\nShe opened her third eye. But it was no eye.\n\nIt was a tunnel, twisting into a void, and it ran farther back than Jennifer could fathom. Past the back of Ochi's skull, past the corner seat of their booth. Beyond the diner walls and the city. Through the gossamer fabric of reality.\n\nSpatial paradoxes folded in the tunnel, almost reaching out and touching Jennifer through her vision. She ached between her ears, suddenly seeing in perfect clarity. The boon was migraine sharp. Reasonless.\n\nJennifer snapped her eyes shut. \"Goddamnit. Cut that out.\"\n\nOchi did just that. \"Now look again. Outside.\"\n\nJennifer was still pissed, but she looked. What she saw unwound the threads of her like a loose, lazy knot.\n\nCrouching over the boring facade, half-obscured by the rain, a titan lingered. A shadow, swaying, cyclopean. The image flickered on the other side of the streetlights haze. A thing of many arms and many fingers, crouched on the haunches of a scavenger. This thing, it was monumental. The defiance of sanity. The triumph of rot.\n\nAnd worst of all, the thing was feeding. On what, Jennifer could not tell. Perhaps it was eating space time, gnawing on the bones of the universe from the outside in. Perhaps it was consuming Jennifer's own shattered, fractured mind.\n\nJennifer watched the monumental horror peer greedily over all it beheld. Earth, her world, like a carrion flesh to be devoured.\n\nThis all passed in a breath, and then the headache was gone. The prismatic effect of Ochi's third eye dissipated. The horror disappeared, and the street outside was as quiet and rainy as it had always been.\n\nOchi paid the bill and thanked the server. When they were alone again, she gazed at Jennifer. \"You can trust the Congress' discretion regarding your planet's secrets. And I trust now that you know what this galaxy really fears, you won't waste my time talking about your hemophages who sleep in coffins.\"\n\nJennifer squeezed her eyes shut. Her mouth was cactus dry, and tears burbled behind her eyelids. She could not unsee. The thing. The cosmic horror, rusting back the layers of her once iron mind.\n\n\"I look forward to working with you again down the road,\" she heard Ochi say, eyes still sealed. \"Your world is still unwarded. We have a lot of work to do.\"\n\nFootsteps. The bell on the door rang. Then Ochi, one more time, probably standing in the threshold:\n\n\"If you value your planet's continued existence on this plane, that is.\"\n\n/u/AdeptnessPrize",
"\"What have we got, Nine?\"\n\nNine's dozens of eyes scanned the alert message. \"Looks like we've got a vampire on the move within the city limits, Four. He's well outside the restricted zone already.\"\n\nFour, a tall, slender alien-android hybrid sighed as he threw their hovercraft into a U-turn, quickly reversing direction. \"Goddamn humans...\"\n\n\"Goddamn humans *indeed,* sir,\" she replied.\n\nKlarnark 7, once a tiny outpost planet on the edge of the galaxy had transformed itself into a thriving, high tech, metropolitan civilization overnight. \n\nHow could such a *galatic* shift in luck be possible? Through untold girbillions of dollars in tourism which flowed into the economy during each orbit in the sun. \n\nMore specifically, their growth had been made possible by exploiting *human* tourists and gratefully relieving them of their vast riches, which were unrivaled by any other species in the known universe. But inviting millions of humans to visit your planet each sol cycle came with a price.\n\nAmong the average humans with 2.5 kids, a spacecraft that sat 8 with fold down rear seating, and less than stellar cognitive intelligence, there were... special exceptions. Hidden among the unremarkable human populace were werewolves, ghosts, shapeshifters, and yes... vampires.\n\nFour and Nine's organization, the Beings In Blue, likely named for their shimmering blue uniforms, was dedicated to achieving two simple goals. Maintaining surveillance and control over any 'remarkable humans' that visited the planet, and keeping the populace of Klarnark 7 from knowing of the unthinkable horrors that walked their streets in human skin each day. If they knew the half of it, they'd demand humans be banned and the endless flow of cash powering the the planet would vanish right along with them.\n\nAs the B.I.B. officers turned onto Le'jub Avenue, they spotted a human in a black cape with collar upturned walking down the neon pavement.\n\n\"That's probably our perp,\" Nine said, a tinge of excitement in her voice.\n\n\"Almost certainly.\" The senior partner brought the vehicle to a stop just behind him. \"This one's all yours, kid.\"\n\n\"Alone?\" she asked. \"Solo?\"\n\nFour nodded. \"Gotta do one sometime, and I read this guys bio, I think you can handle him.\"\n\n\"Understood, sir.\" She stepped out of the vehicle and approached the suspect from behind. \"I am a B.I.B. officer! Turn around and put your hands on your head!\"\n\nThe very obvious vampire turned slowly, sneaking a peek over his collar at her before completing his rotation. \"Vhat seems to be the problem, officer?\"\n\n\"Vampires are *not* allowed in this sector,\" Four began. \"If you read the details of the B.I.B. travel agreement you signed when-\"\n\n\"I am not a vampire, blahhhhh!\" he interjected. \"I don't vant, to suck your bluhhhhd!\"\n\n\"Uh-huh.\" Nine raised many eyebrows in disbelief before glancing down at his file once more. \"So why are you tagged as a level three vampire in our system, Lord Alacrud?\"\n\n\"I von't know! Mistake, in the computer operating system, perhaps? Blahhh?\"\n\n\"Unlike humans, our systems don't *make* mistakes. Now, you wanna drop the act? You're the most obvious vampire I've seen in my entire goddamn life! What are you doing out here outside your agreed upon safe zone.\"\n\nAlacrud stared at the officer for an uncomfortably lengthy silence. \"Sightseeing?\"\n\nNine sighed. \"Sightseeing?\"\n\nThe alleged 'vampire lord' nodded.\n\n\"Sightseeing... In the dank, dirty, industrial spaceport sector of the city?\"\n\n\"Uhhh, yes!\" he replied, beads of sweat forming on his pale, wrinkle free brow.\n\n\"What beautiful attractions you visited this evening, sir? The endless rows of automated warehouses? The fueling stations emitting toxic gases at all hours of the day and night?\"\n\n\"Alright! I was... looking for... companionship.\"\n\n\"Gods I wish you were just talking about a prostitute, that would make this so much easier. But when you say 'companion' you mean an... 'involuntary blood donor', don'tcha?\"\n\n\"You make it sound so eeeevil! There is no law against donating blood to a sucker willing to pay top dollar!\" He not so subtly wiped blood dripping from his mouth with his shirt.\n\nNine's eyes narrowed as she assessed the area. \"You exited that alleyway back there. If I go search it, what am I gonna find?\"\n\n\"How should I know, blahhh? The usual things on your planet I suppose. Perhaps a stray Rylian puppy dog pawing through the garbage? Perhaps a drunken gentleman taking a nap? Who can say?\"\n\n\"A 'nap' you say?\"\n\n\"Hypothetically!\"\n\n\"And when I find this hypothetical gentleman sleeping in an alleyway, will have have two fang marks sunk deep into any of his necks?\"\n\nAlacrud's eyes widened and the beads of sweat on his brow became a river. \"I... well... BLAH! Look over there, blahhhhh!\" He jumped into the air, transformed into a bat and began to race into the night sky, only to slam into a wall after a few seconds and tumble unceremoniously to the ground, twitching.\n\nNine lazily made her way over to him and tossed the bat into a carrying cage. Upon trudging back to her partner, she opened the door, flung the incredibly annoying vampire lord bat into the backseat, and plopped herself into the front seat.\n\n\"How'd it go?\" Four asked, barely suppressing a smile. \"Did he 'blahhh' at you?\"\n\n\"Did he *blahhh?\"* she scoffed. \"Constantly! Ceaselessly! Without an end in- Ugh... the only thing I hate more than humans... is humans that are also *vampires.*\"\n\nHer senior partner smirked. \"That bad huh?\"\n\n\"That bad,\" she confirmed. \"In fact, I'll take the next three werewolf cases off your hands if you promise to handle the next vampire jackass we have to deal with.\"\n\n\"Make it five...\"\n\nThe younger B.I.B. officer didn't hesitate for even a moment. \"Deal!\"\n___\n___\nThanks for reading! Feel free to check out r/Ryter if you'd like to explore many more of my stories."
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[WP] The conditions of your curse are threefold - always obey the Royal Family's commands, protect the Royal Family members with your life, and never reveal the Royal Family's secrets. To break a condition means death. But now the Prince has ordered you to assassinate the Princess...
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Sarah' mind was racing as she stepped into the Princess' royal study with his scheduled afternoon chalice of wine sat on the silver tray she carried. The princess glanced over at her in acknowledgement before turning back the various scrolls and open books were laid all over her desk, no doubt learning about the country' laws, traditions and history in preparation for when her mother steps down from the throne to allow her to rule. She knew what she expected of her despite her lack of instruction as she had served her for many years now, so she gently picked up the chalice and placed it in the small space that had been left for it, as it had been so many times before, before stepping back as to not be a distraction to the young royal. She gave her a barely noticeable nod before reaching for it and taking a small sip of its contents as she gazed over a book of regulations put onto mages over the years.\n\nDespite her aloofness, the princess was her favourite of all the royal family she had served ever since her previous lord had given her to them as a gift. Even though she did not care for people as much as she did her studies to the point that many concerned that she was unable to express any emotions, even her own parents and siblings, the maid knew that she wouldn’t fall to the web of lies and deceit that made up the majority of the royal court’ political atmosphere. Even her twin brother had been sucked into the deep depths of political espionage, as he had ordered her to kill the princess to allow himself to ascend to the throne in her stead. The maid was brought out of her thoughts when the princess abruptly turned to glare at her as she plainly stated, “If that is all, maid, then you may take your leave.”\n\nThe two stared at each other for a few moments as the maid took in a deep breathe to steady her panicked heartbeats before speaking in a clear voice, “Your majesty, I have been given the order to kill you by your brother, so as the successor to the queen I ask you to deny his command.” The air in the room became stiff from the tension that was building up as the princess blankly stared at the servant for what felt like several hours, before moving to face the maid as she plainly asked, “What?”\n\n“Well, you see, your majesty, I was approached by your brother as I was fulfilling my duties, and was given the order to kill you as so you would not be able to ascend to the throne. The only way for this command to be cancelled is if a higher-ranking member of the royal family refutes it, which you are as you are the queen’ successor.” The maid explained to the princess, suppressing the urge to shiver as she felt a cold chill run down her spine. The Princess continued to stare at her blankly for what felt like a solid minute before speaking again cold voice, “As the successor to the queen, I order you not only to stop obey my brother’ orders, but I order you to inform the head of the royal guard to apprehend my brother, as he has attempted to commit treason against his own blood.”\n\nThe maid processed the orders as she bowed to the princess as she said, “As you command, your royal highness. I shall see to it that your orders are carried out to the letter.” The princess nodded in acknowledgement before speaking again, “Very good, maid, now please take your leave, I have… a lot of things to think on.”\n\nThe maid bowed to the princess once more before quickly making her way out of the room to find the head of the royal guard to pass down the princess’ orders as she thought, “It was lucky that the prince didn’t class his order as a royal secret, otherwise I would have been royally screwed.”"
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[WP] You've sailed to the ends of the world, slain terrible and magical monsters, won mountains of gold and jewels and earned your place in the Skaldic Songs, but today you face a new challenge, the only one you've ever felt afraid of. Romance.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"If one were to ask for the definition of strength, many would direct the asker to Valka Jarlsdottir. Not because she knew what the definition was, but because she *was* the definition. \n\nShe stood tall, taller than most men. Her shoulders were broad and strong. With those shoulders she could out pull any pair of horse or ox and had done so many times. With those shoulders she swung and axe so mighty she could split a tree in half. She bore a shield that no sword nor spear nor fang could pierce. \n\nHer armor outweighed some men. In leather and iron clad, with her legs planted in the earth, she withstood charging men and beasts. In fact, one of the most famous songs was her against the demon wolf pack. She stood her ground on the hill top against 10 of the fearsome hellbeasts. She slew them all, throwing their broken bodies down the hill one after the other. \n\nHer heart was as big as her muscles. She gave willingly of the treasures she acquired. No children grew up without food or clothing thanks to her. Her home village was a large town now, her citizens happy and safe. She used her mind as much as her body, bringing knowledge from wherever she traveled. \n\nIf someone were to ask what fear was, they said to not ask Valka Jarlsdottir because she knew no fear. She knew no hesitation. There was nothing weak about her. \n\nYet she felt fear right now. She hesitated, hearing her heart beat like a mad man’s drum. Her hand trembled as she reached out, then pulled it back again. She wore a tunic and breeches, cut and made well to fit her frame. Yet she looked longingly at the maidens and matrons on the street, in their long dresses and plain but cheerful aprons. She wanted to wear her armor, to draw strength from axe and shield. However she knew every battlefield needed different preparation and she knew her armor would not protect her on this one. She knew she could not chop nor bash her way to victory here. \n\nShe gulped and she was astounded to find her legs shaking. They never shook. Not when the giant whirlpool of Sailor’s Doom threatens to swallow her ship. She was firm when she fought the giant of Widow’s Peak. She ran faster than the fabled deer of Winter’s Glen. Her legs had never shook before. Yet now they trembled like a new born calf on brand new legs. \n\nHer confidence shattered she turned to leave, once again unable to breach the door. The simple door of oak was the barrier she could never break and once again, it bested her. \n\nAs she turned the door opened and a bell over the door rang, sweet silver music that warmed her as much as it mocked her. “Oh Miss Jarlsdottir! How are you this day?”\n\nShe stopped, her skin cold and her tongue heavy. She turned shot back and tried to smile at the man looking up at her. She usually hated it when men looked up at her, as much as the men hated it too. They resented looking up at a woman that was taller and stronger than they. \n\nWhen he looked up at her however she was filled with joy, filled with trepidation. Her heart beat usually with the steady tempo of a ship’s drum that kept the rowers in pace. Now it beat without cadence and rhythm. Whenever this man looked up at her he held no malice in his eyes, no falseness, no condescension. Only pure open eyes of softest brown. \n\n“Oh! Mister Leeson! I...I,” she coughed, “I am doing well! Yes well. Very well. How are you?”\n\n“Doing fine thank you for asking. It is always a brighter day when I see you.” His smile was kind but nervous and for a moment Valka felt shame. She made many men nervous. She usually delighted in that. Never with Erik Leeson however. \n\n“I see, well. I mean good! Yes good. I am also good, uh, brighter to see you. I mean, my day is brighter.” She cursed herself mentally. \n\n“That makes me happier to hear that. Oh! I have something for you.” \n\nWith shaking hands she accepted the long stemmed flower that shone bright in the sunlight. “This is beautiful!” she exclaimed. “I never thought they would bloom here in the north.”\n\n“Only because you brought them here,” Erik replied. “We never would have known such beauty had you not thought of us. We are lucky to have you Miss Jarlsdottir. You who protect our bodies with your strength and our hearts with your heart.”\n\nShe blushed furiously, her face as red as the flower. Normally accolades washed off her like rain off wood. His penetrated her skin and made her warm inside and out. “I do not think I can wear this,” she said sadly. “It does not...suit me.”\n\n“Nonsense.” Erik took the flower and curled it in the button loop of her tunic. “Everyone deserves beauty, something to make them happy. You most of all.”\n\nHer smile swallowed her fear. For a moment she shone brighter than the sun. Before she could stop herself her mouth moved. “Mister Leeson, would you eat? I mean, would you have your midday meal? With me?”\n\nHe stopped and a look of surprise grew on his face. For a heart stopping moment Valka wanted to flee, to do something she never had done before. She did not want to hear the rejection to come. To hear the familiar taunts of no man would willingly be with a woman stronger than they, that to share a bed with her would be akin to sharing it with a man. \n\nNo taunt came. His face was as red as hers and his smile barely smaller than hers. “I would like that very much Miss Jarlsdottir! I know of a place by the river. The flowers smell sweet there. Would that suit you?”\n\n“Yes! I mean, yes that would. However, if you only call me Valka.”\n\n“Then I insist you call me Erik.”\n\n“Very well...Erik. I will come back to your shop around midday.”\n\nAn awkwardness born from pleasure took their actions but their smiles spoke of their sincerity. As the warrior woman walked away she felt like she did after every quest and battle, victorious."
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[WP] The devil points at you, one of the many new arrivals, "how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not letting you in!"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\n“Bro I swear I am so sick dude, let me into hell dawg, please” The young man pleaded.\n\n“For the last time, Kevin, I said no, go back to heaven with your family before I have you escorted there.” The fallen angel Lucifer spoke calmly. This was the 5th time he’d been called to the gates of hell to talk to this fellow. He was getting rather tired of it. \n\n“Dude please, c’mon man, I’ve killed like, so many people, and burned so much stuff, here look at this” He said, attempting to do a kickflip on the skateboard he’d brought with him. The Devil was unimpressed.\n\n“Kevin, you’ve hardly even killed a considerable amount of bugs. That’s not even to speak of the number of humans you’ve killed, which is zero, mind you, and the only thing you’ve ever burned seems to be marshmallows on family camping trips… and... hot pockets, according to my files.”\n\n“I keep forgetting how long to put em in…”\n\n“Right, look. You’re a good kid. Even if there were a clerical error, which, there never is, I couldn’t take you in. It’s against the rules, if the guy uptop thought I was trying to tempt heavenly souls to eternal damnation, It would spark a huge conflict. Reality shattering, even. Do you understand?”\n\n“I guess, but-”\n\n“No buts young man. I sense that you’re going through some kind of rebellious phase. I get it. But take it from me, you keep down this path, and you’re gonna realize too late that the Love your family has for you was all you could’ve ever wanted. If I let you in here, you’re gonna miss them every day. Head home and play board games, Kevin. Someday you’ll wish you’d made more time for them. Even with eternity ahead of you.”\n\nThe young man frowned and attempted to kick the board up into his hands. Failing this, he mumbled a defeated “Fine.” and huffed away. The Devil, relieved as he was, felt something he hadn’t felt in quite a while. He felt sad.",
" \n\n(Note that there are some swear words. Proceed at your own risk)\n\n“You...” the demon murmurs, looking at you. \n\n“Me...” you answer, a slight grin on your face. \n\n“You...again” the demon continues, a mix of bewilderment and annoyance creeping on its voice.\n\n“Hey Lucy. How have you been?” you reply, the nickname earning a few snickers from the crowd.\n\n“DON’T YOU HEY LUCY ME, PUNY MORTAL! I AM LUCIFER, RULER OF HELL AND LORD OF YOUR SINNER SOULS FOR ALL ETERNITY” Lucifer booms, rising from his throne, before slumping again on it. “And this is what? The fifth time I’ve seen you in here?. Honestly, this is getting old”. \n\n“Actually, this is the sixth. Fifth one was when you sent me back as a slug.” Lucifer glares at you and you have the common decency to look a little embarrassed. Only for a little while. “Leaving that aside” you continue ,“ Why are you against the idea of me getting in here? It’s not like there’s lack of space and I wouldn’t bother you anymore.” \n\n“Because I have rules to follow. I may be the ruler of Hell, but I’m not above bureaucracy. This paper here says you are a good man that deserves Heaven and if I were to take you in, it would greatly bother the Big Guy upstairs “ he said, pointing towards the non-sky of Hell. “And you know how well that went last time. So man, I’m afraid I can’t just take you in. Having said that, which animal do you prefer to be reincarnated as: ant or jellyfish?” He waits for your response, pen and paper in hand.\n\n“Not like I care. You know damn well that not even five minutes after you send me back to earth, I’m going to be back here, having this very same conversation. I have done it six times already. Do you honestly believe I can’t do it for an eternity?” Lucifer’s eye twitched. “Imagine it. Every five minutes, knocking on Hell’s doors, ready to tell you about those really fun times in my new life as a jellyfish.” Lucifer paled. “Forever, and ever and ev-”.\n\n“STOP.” Lucifer screamed, sweating. “You win human. I’d rather deal with God’s wrath than your bullshit.” The obsidian gates of Hell groaned as they opened. “You may enter. But don’t regret it.” He warned. \n\n“I won’t” you answer without looking at him. \n\nIt’s been several years since that day. You kept walking through the plains of fire and nothingness, interrupted only by the rare volcano. It also has been several years since you gave up hope of finding what you came here looking for. It’s not like there’s something better to do, this is Hell after all. \n\nYou spot another person. Someone familiar. At first you don’t believe it but the closer he gets the more certain you are. It can’t be. It’s been too long, too many lifetimes ago. You thought he might have forgotten about you. He opened his arms, smiling. \n\n“Hello bro” He said, his voice cracking.\n\nYou hug him, crying. It’s been too long. Too damn long. But you found him. \n\n“Missed you too” he whispers.\n\nNow Hell doesn’t seem so bad.\n\n“Told you I wouldn’t regret it” you say between sobs. \n\n//-------------------END-------------// \n\nFirst time writing (and in English at that) so any feedback is welcome.",
"“Oh my God, please just let me in. How did you see through my disguise, anyways?”\n\nThe Devil glared at me like I was a toddler who had just eaten a crayon for the third time this week. “Mortal, you know I’m not stupid, right? I can see the pure essence of your soul, and even if I couldn’t, did you really think that a pair of Groucho Marx glasses could fool literally anybody?” Foiled again, I threw the glasses on the steaming hot rock floor. “Damn, you’re smarter than I thought,” I huffed. My cleverest ploy to date, and I was still outmatched. The Devil sighed in exasperation and snapped his fingers.\n\nSuddenly, I was in a rather uncomfortable swivel chair in a nondescript office, facing the Devil in a sharp looking suit. The nameplate in front of him read “Lucifer, General Manager.” He kicked off the conversation by asking, “Why do you even want to get into hell so bad anyway? Don’t you want to actually enjoy your eternal afterlife? I’m trying so hard to pull all the strings in the universe to get you into heaven, but you keep coming back down here. Why are you like this?”\n\n“Listen here, you goat-faced Area 51-looking motherfucker. I don’t need to give you a reason, just let me in now before I really get serious.”\n\n“See, that right there is why I can’t let you in, can’t you see? You’re far too rude for the tier of hell you got placed in, and it’s a lot easier to send you up to heaven than to fill out the paperwork for a lower tier.”\n\n“What do you mean ‘tier’? Is the realm of eternal torment some kind of subscription service now?”\n\n“No, no, no. You see, recently we’ve implemented a system of tiers down here. They’re kind of like the circles from way back when, but they’re a bit more specific. You got put in the Tier of Minor Inconveniences. All you really did to deserve a place in hell was doing some light pranks, I don’t see why you’re so abrasive now that you’re here.”\n\nI was, quite frankly, indignant that the time I ambushed Billy Jenkins with a water gun was only a “Minor Inconvenience” to the ruler of hell. “Are you actually serious? Put me in a lower tier *right fucking now* or else I’ll keep coming back every day, until you’ll want to give me a second death.”\n\nMr. High Horse rolled his eyes. “You know what, fine. I don’t have time to deal with this anyway, I have actual menaces to deal with in this place. Just sign these papers for me and you’ll get the place in hell that you seem to want so badly.” He snapped his fingers again, and he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving only a rather large stack of papers in his place. I got to signing right away. After all this time, I was finally going to get the place in hell that I really deserved.\n\n---\n\nHope you liked my silly story, I'm a new writer so feedback is appreciated!",
"“I am just as much a sinner as everyone else here. I even listen to that rock and or roll music that the youngling’s seem to enjoy for some reason.”\n\nThe devil could only sigh as he stared at Miss Baker, an eighty-year-old woman who had recently passed away in her sleep. The woman wasn’t hell material, never having even uttered anything more ghastly than an ‘Oh my’. It would be a sin to trap such a woman in hell, that’s why he kept sending her away, yet she would always return getting back in the long line to hell.\n\nThe line broke mortals, a painfully long journey, dragging your feet along hot coals as you awaited your turn to face judgment. By the time one arrived at the judgment, they were already a sobbing mess, begging to be reformed and punished. Miss Baker seemed immune to the pain, Standing in the line, she held out a handful of photos showing them to the blank-eyed souls in line. Even though the souls would only wail in pain, not even able to respond to her fawning of her grandkids, she still kept talking, telling them as much as she could before they would turn away. \n\nThe devil tapped his wooden podium, observing her as she held up the line. He had often wondered how she could endure the hot coals, only noticing her slippers when she arrived in hell for the second time. The hot pink slippers having small flames spilling from their edges. Despite the intense heat, they never seemed to burn away. According to Miss Baker, this was because they were made with love. \n\nHis patience was running out. This was the third time she had come to hell. Sure, mixups happened, but this was beyond ridiculous. \n\n“We have discussed this Miss Baker, you belong in heaven. I know what music you listen to and its not Rock-and-roll, not that it’s a sin to listen to that, people often say it’s the devil’s music but I prefer classical, much more ominous.” \n\n“Oh? I think you look ominous enough, you are certainly a big scary devil aren’t you?”\n\n“I am, I am a big scary- That trick won’t work a second time. No matter what motherly charms you may have, hell is only for sinners. If I let anyone into hell, this place might not seem as awful as its meant to be. I have a reputation to uphold. Why do you even want to be in hell? You know its just boring lectures on how to be a respectable human, we don’t even do the torture thing much anymore.”\n\nThe older woman thought about that for a moment. To give up heaven for hell was a decision that few would make. To see someone so adamant about being here was odd. \n\n“Well, heaven is too chilly for me. It’s nice and toasty in here.” She said, giving a small shiver.\n\n“That’s it? That’s the reason you have been bothering me? Well, I will give you a reason to never visit hell again.”\n\nWith a snap of his clawed hand, a long red jacket fell from the sky, wrapping around her shoulders, holding heat that could only be comparable to the depths of hells.\n\n“Now will you leave?”\n\nMiss Baker hugged the jacket, admiring the fine soft fabric. After a few moments, she dug her fingers into her purse, pulling out one piece of lemon hard candy, dropping it onto the devil’s hand.\n\n“Thank you, Mr Devil. Have some candy, I will be sure to visit.” She said, giving him a wave as she ascended back towards heaven’s light.\n\n“You better not.” The devil huffed, tossing the candy, still wrapped in its wrapper, into his mouth. “Mmm... lemon.”\n\n&nbsp;\n&nbsp;\n&nbsp;\n\n(If you enjoyed this feel free to check out my subreddit /r/Sadnesslaughs where I'll be posting more of my writing.)"
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[WP]One day, you go to the zoo and find out that you can understand the animals and their languages. You’ve never realized how boring other animals are.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Walking away from the \"Outback\" section of the zoo, Kelsey was slightly surprised that the kangaroos didn't have an Australian accent. She had no real reason why she thought they'd sound Australian given that they born and raised in the zoo in Chicago, Illinois. Still, hearing two kangaroos talk about the weather in a Midwest accent left Kelsey slightly disappointed. \n\nAs she made her way to the \"Saharan Outback\", Kelsey held out hope that the lions imported from Africa at least had somewhat of an accent. They were the newest arrivals into the zoo and were now accustomed to their new home with their area now open to the public. \n\nThe only animal she had even been close to guessing what they sounded like were cows and that was only based on the fact that they really do only say \"moo\". Kelsey wonders if the cows were messing with her that day, as cows seem to have a great sense of humor. \n\nThe thing about understanding an animals' language is that it also allows one to get know just how different these species really are. While true that dogs are man's best friend (they truly do love us) and cats are mostly assholes (they truly do hate us), cows just want to joke around and mess with humans. \n\nWondering to herself if a snake would find a cow funny, Kelsey arrives at the Outback and begins looking for the alpha lion, Roger. She soon finds him laying on a rock, enjoying the sunny day next to his lioness who Kelsey knows is Rhonda. \n\nTaking out her directional microphone, Kelsey points it at Roger and Rhonda, listening intently. Please have an African accent Kelsey hopes to herself as she adjusts the sensitivity and volume of the microphone. \n\nRhonda is rolling around Roger and seems agitated with him. \"You know I'm not in charge of dinner around here, right, Rodg? They won't just let us chase down a gazelle, they feed us out of buckets!\". Rhonda does have accent after all! Kelsey beams as she listens on. Roger swats Rhonda away and sits up, stretching his front legs out as his glorious mane brushes the rock. The King of the Jungle replies to his mate in a high-pitched nasally voice that makes Kelsey laugh out loud- \"It's not fair! I don't want to eat out of a bucket!\". The mighty alpha lion is a whiny child complaining about his dinner.\n\nThe bickering between Roger and Rhonda goes on as Kelsey puts her microphone in its bag and heads towards the exit. As she enters her car, she realizes that animals can be every bit as boring and mundane as most people. She then smiles as she recalls that not *every* animal is boring. \"Time to mess with some cows\" Kelsey says out loud with a smile."
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[WP] A game show where aliens of many species are abducted and must hide from a monster,one day a human is added and they try their best to hide from the monster and try to find others, what the human doesn't know is that they have been chosen as the monster.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
" Chad and I have never been ones to follow the Intergalactic Games, in fact, we considered ourselves a sort of hermit family, living off the land and hunting our own meet. Maybe this is why they selected us to be the human representatives this round. Moreover, these games only come around once every hundred or so years. \n\nNeither Chad nor I were much for academics, which made it extremely difficult for us to understand the rules of the game spoken to us in Universal Space Tongue, I was able to make out one rule though “Hide from the monsters!”.\n\nI guess we are doing pretty well because we haven’t even so much as seen another competitor yet, much less any monsters. \n\nThis new planet they have put us on is a nice reprieve from Earth. After centuries of continued pollution, resource exploitation and ecosystem destruction, biodiversity had been reduced to a little under 1000 species on the entire globe, the majority of which were domesticated to serve human consumption. On this planet, the forests were rich, rivers filled with species of fish and crustaceans, and a wonderful number of insects. \n\nWe were able to quickly set up shelter but finding a food source was tough. Chad was able to make a sort of sling to fling rocks at some of the wildlife we encountered. To our amusement, I was able to get some meat for us the first day by knocking a bird (if you could call it that) out of a tree. We were quick to put it out of its misery by snapping its neck, we aren’t savages. \n\nIt has been almost ten years now and I am beginning to think that we may have been shipped to the wrong planet. It seems that the wildlife stocks on this planet are dwindling, first, it was the fish, next to the forest creatures, in this last year we have been reduced to peeling bark from trees to look for insects and grubs. I don’t know how much longer we can sustain ourselves like this, but we will persevere… we always do.",
"**“Males and females from all around the Universe, welcome to SpeciesHunt. My name is Beepblur, I am from the Whirlpool Galaxy, and I will be your host! Since season one was such a success, we spent the last few months looking for the perfect new hunter. We travelled around the universe, and after flying over millions of galaxies, we finally came across one of the deadliest predators you will ever see. All the way from the Milky Way Galaxy, from a planet filled with water, I present to you: The Human.”** \n\nA large black box starts emerging from underground. The crowds are going crazy, aliens from all across the universe are jumping, clapping, and making noise for this new monster. The box opens releasing a cloud of smoke, and a long, skinny figure appears. The crowd goes silent, many start sitting down and throwing food and packages to the dome in disappointment. \n\n**“Wow, wow, wow, I know what you’re all thinking - “this small, skinny, creature doesn’t look scary, it doesn’t even have big teeth or claws”- well, don’t let their size fool you, the human species is responsible for the extinction of over a million species of their home planet! they are intelligent and capable of building deadly weapons. These monsters are known to not just kill for prey, but for their own pleasure. If you have an appealing fur or skin, they will hunt you, and then wear your skin on top of theirs as a sign of authority over other species; and once they’re bored of it, they will just throw it away with no remorse. Humans are not only killing other species, these selfish and deadly monsters are even killing their own planet!”**\n\nThe crowd goes crazy again, flying cameras start getting closer and closer to the human creature, showing in big screens their odd facial proportions and long extremities. The human looks around the maze and starts speaking gibberish, trying to communicate some kind of message to the cameras. Water starts running out of its eyes and it kneels down. \n\n**“living creatures of the audience, the translation team is letting me know that the human is confused! It thinks it’s in danger!”- the crowd laughs hysterically- “don’t worry, we are showing it a message on the dome right now, explaining he is not alone in the maze, and that the rest of the creatures are hiding from a monster”**\n\nThe human starts walking around the maze, collecting rocks, wood, and materials. It starts looking for signs of living creatures around it, after a while it gives up and starts building a shelter out of wood sticks. Once it’s done, it creates a fire and starts carving arrows. The audience is looking amazed. \n\n**“Friends it looks like the human is not in a hunting mood, instead he is building a shelter. Maybe he is expecting to attract his pray with the fire?”**\n\nAfter a few hours the human crawls into its shelter and is not to be seen. The fire starts to die out. Suddenly a shadow appears, it’s the alien brought from comet galaxy, crawling slowly towards the dying fire. The human notices the creature and jumps out of its hiding place; the alien starts running away and the human chases it. The human throws itself on top of the creature “bleebleebleerrrrrr” - the creature screams- the human doesn’t seem to understand and speaks confusing nonsense to the alien. The creature fights and secrets mucus to try to escape, but the human is much stronger. With a strange face of disgust, the human takes a rock and starts smashing the creature. The creature screams and squirms until it dies. \n\n**“Unbelievable creatures from the audience. This human is not playing around, he went straight for the kill, even after our fellow friend from comet galaxy screamed for mercy”** \n\nThe human kneels down again and an acidic substance starts coming out of its mouth. It turns to the camera following him and shouts something. \n\n**“This human thinks it’s done!” - the audience laughs hysterically- “he is asking if that was the monster and if he has won! Let’s show him what awaits him!” - the audience cheers-**\n\nThe human stares in disbelieve to the message displayed on the dome. It shows pictures of 100 aliens, and one of them, the creature from comet galaxy, had a big X next to it."
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[WP] Before you can enter heaven you must become death and reap one human soul. Unfortunately humanity is now immortal, and you where the last human to ever die.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Day 1: This won’t be so hard in a world of 8 billion, this won’t take long at all! Any moment now I’ll be rolling in through those pearly gates to a nice fluffy cloud chair and a drink with an umbrella in it.\n\nDay 2: This is like a game of hungry hungry hippo and I’m just too damn slow, lost another reaping to the ghost of Ussain Bolt. Hope he saves a spot for me up there.\n\nDay 3: Cellgene announces completion of phase 3 trials of telomax - the new drug that stops shortening of human telomeres.\n\nDay 4: Bill Gates uses his billions to make the drug available to all immediately.\n\nDay 200: someone’s gotta forget a dose at some point, right? Where are those damn anti vaxxers when you need them?\n\nDay 400: I’ve been haunting big bob who lives off the grid. Any day now this meat eating moon shine drinking hillbilly is gonna kick the bucket. Any. day. now. \n\nDay 500: I’ve moved on - his estranged son showed up to make amends with his father - part of some 12 step program. He brought his dad freaking Telomax as a gift. I’m done. I’m out. \n\nDay 600: I feel like a Jehovah’s witness metaphorically knocking on every door in America looking for someone who looks sick. I’d have better luck finding a unicorn at this point. \n\nDay 700: alllll byyyyy myselffff"
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[WP] 10 years ago, an alien made technological vessel was discovered on the moon. Research confirmed it came from intelligent beings on Venus 1 billion years ago when the planet had earth like conditions. We have finally deciphered their language and today we translate the first message.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*"
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[WP] Every witch has a chosen defender. The choice is subconscious, and a mark appears on their chosen one. While it's usually a lover, You are your sister's chosen defender... and right now she's in trouble. You might not be magic, but you've got a shotgun and a bad attitude. God help them.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Well shit you guys thought that kidnapping my little sister would be a good idea Well it ain’t compadre. Here’s what your going to do you are going to call you boss. Then I’m going to shoot you in your god damn kneecaps. I don’t give a fuck if you got a girl friend you prick. If you wanted to walk her down the isle at your wedding you shouldn’t have taken my adorable little sister. Now make the call you gutter cat or I’ll ad another limb to the equation. Hand me the god damn phone I’ve got a few words for your boss. Ya it’s me I’ve got tony in the car and my sister left me a little gift to find her. We ain’t about to turn tale and run. Now if you’d so kindly just tell us where your at I could make this go a lot quicker. Well looks like your boss ain’t gonna cooperate so you can say good by to your knees. Tony it’s done get the car going where’s that damn compass that sis left me. I don’t care if that guys going to bleed out before the ambulance gets here I’m they shouldn’t have taken my sis. Get this damn shit box going the compass is moving again.",
"Bewitched: Prologue\n\nThe theme song to the X-files stirred Mih from his sleep, only to be muffled by the thick plush pillow he rest his head upon. There was a period of peacefulness before a vibration began to rattle his head. This was fine though, to think of it as a Sprite's massage. A double throb signaling that someone left a voicemail. \n\n- Who leaves voicemails nowadays? \n\n Mih thought to himself. He let the thought pass, regaining his comfortableness in the spacious bed that resided in the even more spacious room of the very modest house. It consisted of two bed rooms, a large kitchen, a den, basement, attic and study. It was said to be built from Stone oak wood. A rare tree foretold to strengthen magical abilities as well as hide itself from non-magical and harmful magical beings. Still though, wood is wood. His eyes opened to the sound of weight moving floor board. Vulnerable and fumed by instinct, Mih threw himself from the bed in a roll. One hand searching in darkness whilst the other gripped the bed's frame, a slight tug flipped the furniture sideways. A loud Ch-Ch his double barrel ready to fire. \n\n- Oh wow, are you always this intense?\n\nA slightly familiar voice rested his shoulders. The bed fell back into place with a thud. The Succubus, and owner of the house stood arms crossed as if waiting for the punchline of a joke. She knew the rifle wouldn't hurt her much being an unnaturally made object. The force from the impact alone would probably stagger her if anything, but even at point blank range it wouldn't kill her. It was a hunting weapon. Used not so much as to kill, but to mark. Gun powder was a hard smell to get rid of, and if a person had the right set of eyes, they could see the residue. \n\nThe woman, average height and damned fine as most Succubus are, had long mahogany colored hair that reached her sides and hazel eyes that seemed to glimmer. He hesitated to ask if she'd changed her appearance, thinking it of a dumb question to ask a Succubus. But he could swear her hair was shoulder length, and orange last night. Then again there were a lot of people at the workshop. \n\n- Hey, Mih? There's some guy banging on the door insisting on speaking with you. As much as I enjoyed our entanglement last moon, I am not a secretary, and this isn't a tavern.\n\n- I apologize, and thank you. Tell him I'll be right there.\n\n-He's lucky he's natural or I would have made him one of my slaves, and I just might if he doesn't stop looking at me weird. \n\n- Good luck. Mih grinned as he watched her leave the doorway, skin ever so clear and vibrant. Where did his phone fall to? He knew who was here already, now the question was why, and did it have to do with his waking up on the wrong side of the bed? He searched around the room as it made itself uncovering the secrets of last night. He'd found his phone, only to discover it'd been broken in the midst of his morning episode. A look of disappointment set in his brow. He was going to have to buy a new phone and rune to enchant it with. He hated spending unnecessary money.\n\nDressed, Mih navigated his way to the den where the Succubus had now proceeded with her word of attempting to entrance her unknown guest. A pile of hair began to gather on the floor as she changed her appearance trying to find \"his type\".\n\n- I swear I thought that last one was it. Hm, what if I shave this side off, and grow this side a bit longer? What'd you say your favorite color was? A tad of purple, pink. Now how about you stop playing hard to get and tell sweet Tavia why you're really here big boy?\n\nMih was glad she'd finally said her name, he'd forgot it. \n\n-Im telling you lady, you're talking to the blind and deaf right now.\n\n-Awe come on baby, let me get you a drink. \n\n-Sure, I brought my own cup with my name on it. And could you probably put on some clothes?\n\n-You're so weird and cute, but this is my house. Haven't you met a Succubus before? We're nudist.\n\n-Obviously, but thank you for the drink though. \n\nGermain sipped the concocted lust potion served to him. It didn't have any effect on him as it was supposed to have on men so he was actually able to drink the bedverage without the grogginess and loss of common sense, and it was pretty good. He was outfitted in sweat pants, a purple unicorn hoodie and flip-flops. A slight shiver overcame him as he looked around Tavia eyes wide and bright.\n\n- Mih! Bout time you got up. How you been? You look nice boy. Let me look at you. Mm Yas. Sorry you have to excuse me the concac is kinda strong in this potion. Tavia is even more persistent in person. \n\n- I was asleep Germain\n\n- And should be VERY well rested. Which reminds me I brought gifts. \n\nGermain reached into his back pack and pulled out mouthwash, a moist cloth, and a Bible. Mih looked confused.\n\n- What's this for?\n\n- You because y'all nasty and need to be saved\n\n- Did a priest really show up to my house? This is starting to sound like a joke.\n\n- Germain's a traveler\n\n\n- Ouu A traveler\n\n\n- And a Seer dollface. Nice show.\n\n\n- Ouu a traveling seer. That is hot. \n\n\n- No, y'all are hot. Girl we need to compare notes \n\n\n- Germain why are you here?\n\n\n- Oh shit I almost forgot, it's the damn drink. Reh is in trouble.\n\n\n- What? How? I just saw her last night at the workshop.\n\n\n- I don't know how. I just know. \n\n\n- I walked her to her cottage myself. She's supposed to leave to the council meeting two hours ago. \n\n\n- I had a dream, I -\n\n\n- A dream? \n\n\n- Please don't cut me off dollface. Yes I use majority of my abilities whilst asleep. I haven't yet mastered them. Im kinda new to all this. \n\n- You just get better by the minute huh?\n\n\n- Anyways, I was dreaming. I was in a car or something but it wasn't a car. I saw Reh. I was sitting right across from her. She was talking, about what I don't know. Then there was a moment of stillness. Like when you pause a movie and the picture just sits there? And a volley of energy just ate through it all. Reh was okay. She put up a barrier. Whatever we were traveling in was destroyed and I got pulled here where I found you two doing....stuff..And now here I am. \n\n\n- I still don't see how my sister is in trouble. Sounds like you traveled in the-\n\n\n- Middle of a bad dream? I've already been through this. You and Reh are connected. Did you feel weird this morning?\n\n\n- Yea, my bed can attest to that.\n\n\n- Plus I found this. \n\n\nGermain pulled a piece of splintered wood from his hoodie pocket. It's weight was opposite of it's small size meaning that it was skillfully enchanted. It was probably no bigger than a sticky note but felt like a bowling ball. It was smooth to touch, carved and shaved by the shape of it.\n\n- I brought this back with me, and this. \n\nRemoving his hoodie, Germain revealed dark bruises over his side and back. \n\n\n- You know I wouldn't come to you, let alone know where to look for you if it weren't serious. \n\nMih let out a sigh. He did feel a type of way this morning. As if he'd been sucker punched or wronged. Maybe he should give Reh a call, but his phone was broken. Germain gave a nod before going back into his bag and presenting Mih with a small box.\n\n- It's a phone. Shoot I ruined the suspense. I even bought a rune for it. Those things are expensive. \n\n\n- Don't want the human government finding you out, you gladly pay for them runes. But after hearing your story, I've decided I want to join you. \n\n- What are you talking about Tavia?\n\n\n- Well your sister is a witch, meaning that for one, whomever took her out is very powerful and skilled. Two, unless you plan on going all guerrilla warfare on a magical city of magical beings with that musket of yours, I really don't see how you're going to pry information from people. And thirdly, you brought this into my house. So I think I'm more than welcomed to include myself in the party. \n\n\n- Fourthly not only is she right, but she has to come with us. \n\n\n- Why?\n\n\n- I don't know, she was just there too. \n\n\n- Alright then, at least let me call Reh to see if she's okay, then we can sit and figure this out. \n\n\nEnd.\n\n* I hope you enjoy the read, let me know what you think. Im open to criticism* Thanks",
"Living out in the boonies has it's drawbacks. No cable, no internet, floods, mosquitos... Mosquitos are the worst, really. It is private though, which is necessary for my little sis. See, she's what you may call a witch (or wicken, or whatever). I thought it was a bunch of hogwash, but then she started showing me her spell book, her cauldron, and her talkin' cat, and even like some weird magicky stuff. Apparently Ma and Pa knew, but didn't tell no one. Personally, I ain't a mind for the details. All I knew was that I had this new tattoo on my hand and thag meant i was some kinda protector. \n\nWell, ma and pa took exception to that and tried to do my sis in. Now, I may not be the sharpest set of shears in the sheep shed, but I know what a wolf in sheep's clothing looks like. You can guarantee that I took my pa's gun out and shot him and ma dead as soon as I saw them slap her face. \n\nSometimes, I regret what I did, but then again... there are perks to livin' in the boonies. Privacy, among them. \n\nSo, here I sit on my porch, plucking out a simple song to the tune of the Rainbow Connection on my banjo. Inside, sis is working on spells... or dinner. One of the two. Either way, I ain't gonna be the one to tell her no. Up the marsh road I see a big old mass of light and hear such a ruckus that I stop the Rainbow Connection. Then, they turn the bend and break the tree line, and I see a mob. A real, lynch-happy mob. Probably witch hunters or something. Again, not too keen on the details. I set my banjo aside and load up my pa's smith & wesson. \n\nEeyup. Privacy sure comes in in handy out here in the boonies.",
"They were trapped in a snow-rich log cabin. Not a single man in sight. A bird perched by the roof flew away upon hearing their bloodcurdling screams.\n\nTerry caught two cultists trying to ambush him. Their bleached white skin hid them well enough but unfortunately, they were mere grunts, with minimal magical prowess. Frost spells on an angry Texan with a trench coat and a shotgun did nothing to save them. He shattered one of their legs and chained them to a wall, bound the other to a chair, and started a brutal interrogation.\n\nHe finished asphyxiating the one chained up, while the one in the chair, fresh bruises on his face, listened on in fear. She gasped, winced, but allowed Terry’s quill in her mouth. He crouched, and nearly met his face with hers, and put a map in front of her “Where, is she?” He demanded in a gravely Texas grit. “The spot better match this time.”\n\n“Go to hell.”\n\nSuddenly a gunshot blew off, she lost all confidence she had and began staring at her partner in the chair. The fellow cultist spit on the ground, in anger.\n\n“All hat no cattle huh?”\n\nThe chaired cultist spoke: “She‘s not gonna sell out!”\n\nThe Texan grabbed the quill out the woman’s face, and inched closer behind the other man. “Might could. Yous been pointing at the same spot last three times.” Terry gripped his shoulder, “Coulda broke your damn arm off if I wanted to. Where’s the witch?”\n\nThe man stared Terry down, but it was clear he lost his will to resist. Even in the name of the Dark Master. Terry eased the quill in his mouth and he pressed on the map, releasing it. “The werewolves took her there. I swear” he insisted through tears.\n\nTerry inspected the map then took a look at the man and smiled. “Good boy”. Immediately he shoved him to the ground and shot him point blank. Splattering fresh blood on his beard.\n\n“Donovan! Noo! Bastard!” The cultist shouted. Terry eased his weapon back on his belt and spit on his corpse. “Evil bastard! He told you what you wanted. I ain’t telling you shit.”\n\nTerry gave pause, turned to her, and frowned. “That’s aight. I believe em’”. He came closer, and the remaining cultist realized she was doomed. Unfortunate passerby heard their cries for mercy, screaming, and then silence.",
"The car hopped the curb doing at least sixty and power slid across the parking lot, brakes screeching like manic banshees. It was a jet black 1969 Camaro SS with white racing stripes on the hood; a gem of a vehicle. That didn’t seem to matter to the driver, as he took out a row of shrubs and a mailbox before coming to rest before the reinforced door of the coven clubhouse.\n\nThe driver’s door flew open and a rough looking man rushed out. His shoulder-length hair was black, greasy, and unwashed, but his eyes were blue and cold as sea-ice. On his forehead was a mark like a golden tattoo in the shape of a Greek loom overtop a blue orchid. Runic letters of a forgotten language circled the mark. A long, thin cigar hung smoldering from the corner of the man’s lip. He was dressed in torn jeans and a heavy black trench coat.\n\nHe approached the reinforced steel door and banged on it hard three times with the flat of his fist. A slot in the door slid open, and two smokey grey eyes appeared.\n\n“Password,” came a thick voice from behind the door.\n\n“Ithaca,” said the man.\n\n“Wrong,” said the door man. “Fuck off.” He slammed the security slot closed, but something jammed in the gap stopped it from closing all the way. Something round with a long, dark bore in the middle.\n\n“No, it’s right,” said the man outside. “Look closely. Ithaca Model 37. Designed by John Browning in 1933. It’s a pump action 12 Gauge shotgun with a parkerized pistol grip and 7 round tubular magazine. Not as versatile as the warlock staff in your left hand, perhaps, but more than sufficient to accomplish the task at hand.”\n\nThe man behind the door flinched, just the slightest of movements.\n\n*CHIK-CHIK* went the shotgun as the man outside racked the slide, chambering a round.\n\n“Ah, ah, ah,” he said. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You may be a warlock or a wizard, you may know ancient magic and a hundred deadly spells. Doesn’t change the fact that I got the drop on you. Now, open the fucking door or me and Mr. Ithaca here are gonna splatter your brains all over the hallway like a Jackson Pollock painting.”\n\nThe man behind the door froze, eyes full of fear. The man with the shotgun smiled. With a loud click, the heavy door unlocked and the latch slid open.\nThe smiling man peeked around the door, keeping the shotgun trained on the guard inside. “Excellent, that wasn't so hard, now was it? Drop the staff.”\n\nThe guard complied, his gnarled oak staff falling to the concrete floor with a clatter. The grinning man with the shotgun stepped inside.\n\n“Do you have ANY idea who’s place you’re crashing right now?” asked the guard.\n\n“Oh, yes. I know *exactly* where I am,” replied the dark haired man.\n\n“OK, then. Well, you're in. So what do you want, asshole? If this is what I think it is, don’t waste your time. Coven members don't take selfies with fans.” He was a tall, heavy man, and sweat stood thick on his brow.\n\nThe intruder laughed, a high, weasely sound. “Oh no, nothing like that. I’m here for my sister, Cary Wilson.”\n\n“No one here by that name, boss. You’re in the wrong place.”\n\n“I assure you, I’m in the right place. My sister paiged me. It’s the world’s most fucked up messenger service, but it’s never wrong. She’s here.” The edges of the golden tattoo on his forehead began to glow the bright orange of smoldering embers. The smile dropped from the man's face and his eyes went cold and empty as the arctic tundra. “You probably know her as Kalypso the Subtle.”\n\nThe color drained instantly from the guard’s face, leaving him pale as a week old corpse.\n\nThe man with the shotgun smiled again, but there was no humor in it. “Ahh, so you know her.”\n\n“You’re making a mistake,” said the guard. “Do you have any idea what she’s done? The crimes she’s committed against the coven, against the very laws of the natural universe?”\n\n“Yeah pal, I know. Doesn’t matter. She’s my sister.”\n\nRealization spread across the guards face. “Oh my goddesses,” he gasped. “You… you’re her *defender*.”\n\n“Finally catching on,” said the smiling man with the big gun. The two stared at each for what felt like an eternity.\n\n“Well…” said the interloper, “We gonna stand her all day looking pretty, or are we gonna dance?”\n\nIn a flash the guard made a quick motion with his hand and the staff at his feet trembled and then jumped into the air towards his palm.\n\nIt never made it there. \n\nThe shotgun boomed and the hallway was bathed in a flash of light. The guard's heavy body slumped to the floor, a red puddle of mush and gore appearing where his head had once been. The staff fell to the floor next to his body.\n\nThe man was no longer smiling. His face was grey and cold as the grave. He flung off his trench coat and racked a new cartridge into the chamber. He moved quickly down the hallway, keeping his profile low and hugging the wall.\n\nThe trance music blaring from the clubhouse speakers must have masked the gunshot, because he caught the witches and warlocks in the main room completely by surprise.\n\nHe kicked in the door and waded into their midst, shotgun roaring. He caught the High Priestess full in the chest, blasting her off her bar stool. She disappeared in a pink cloud. Witches and warlocks scattered in every direction, but the smiling man moved with merciless skill and precision, methodically gunning down one after another.\n\nIn a few short moments it was all over. A half dozen corpses littered the bar room, each maimed beyond recognition by the man's shotgun. He stood over the carnage, his cigar and gun barrel smoking.\n\n“Happy Halloween, bitches.”\n\nHe tossed down the now empty shotgun and drew his sidearm, an ancient-looking colt M1911, and made his way to the doorway in the back of the bar room marked “private.”\n\nA rush of cold hit him as he swung it open, and he stepped inside to find a spiral staircase of stone descending into the gloom below. Torches fixed into the wall lit his way down. He moved quickly with the pistol out in front of him.\n\nAfter a few minutes he reached the bottom, where the staircase opened into a large cavern. In the middle was his sister, Kalypso the Subtle, standing on top of a magic circle carved into the ground and bound in a magic chain of silver. Beside her, with one hand holding an ornate dagger to her throat, and the other holding a twisting dueling staff of red and blue was the Grand Warlock. He wore a tall pointed hat and was draped in majestic blue robes that shone like starlight.\n\n“Hey bro. Took ya long enough,” said Kalypso with a smile.\n\nThe dark-haired man rolled his eyes. “What the hell did you do this time?”\n\nThe warlock scoffed. “She has broken the sacred vow of the coven. She’s desecrated the ancient, sacred place of our order. She’s committed an abomination against nature itself by--”\n\n“Shut the fuck up buddy,” said Kalypso’s brother. “Wasn’t talking to you. I was asking my sister.”\n\n“Oh man, I don’t even know. Who can keep all the rules straight in these places? But I obviously pissed these dorks off pretty good. What’d you do to the rest of em upstairs anyways?”\n\n“Killed em' all.” He spat on the ground as he said it.\n\n“Whoa,” said Kalypso. “Damn dude, that’s dark as fuck. Some of em’ weren’t so bad, did you have to kill them?”\n\n“No choice. Look around you. This is your fault you know. This is what happens. This is what you do. Same thing every time. You fuck around, play loose with the rules, get yourself in trouble, then I have to show up and save the day. And people die. Lots of people die. When are you gonna learn?”\n\nKalypso shrugged, eyes bright and a mischievous smile playing across her lips.\n\nThe Grand Warlock, half forgotten by the conversing siblings, screamed and pointed his staff. Tears flowed from his eyes.\n\n“Murderer!” he screamed. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done!”\n\nA glowing fire ball began to form at the end of his staff, bolts of arcane power glittering around it like heat shimmers.\n\nThe cold-eyed man raised his hand and put two rounds in the warlock's head. \n\nThe warlock slumped lifeless to the ground, his death mask a visage of shock and surprise. His murderer stood over him and emptied his clip into his corpse.\n\n“Poor stupid fuck. You...\" *BANG* \"never...\" *BANG* \"learn, do you?\" \n\n*BANG. BANG BANG.*\n\n\"Bullets are faster than spells.”\n\n“Whoa,” said Kalypso. “Badass.”\n\n“Shut the fuck up, and lets get outta here.”\n\n“OK,” said Cary Wilson, AKA Kalypso the Subtle. “I appreciate the rescue, once again. But bro… you really gotta work on your attitude.”\n\nUlysses frowned and rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said. “I’m going upstairs to get my shotgun.”\n\n/r/Dariuspilgrim",
"\"OK but you shouldn't *need* to say it. It's just bad manners.\" I say, spinning the ceramic coffee mug between my hands and watching the steam rise off it. Takes forever to cool off. I look up and she's rolling her eyes, it's pretty common between us.\n\n\"Bad manners. Says you.\" She says, sipping her tea.\n\n\"Excuse me, I have delightful manners. I'm like, fucking charming and shit.\" The table next to me looks over, shocked and appalled. I smile at them, my best, most winning smile. They go back to their hushed conversation and I bet that conversation revolves around the boor next door.\n\n\"Thank goodness one of us is charming.\" She says. I roll my eyes when she smirks.\n\n\"That's not funny.\" I say, sighing and looking over at the counter, where a sandwich with my name on it is being prepped. God I want that sandwich.\n\n\"It is funny. I'm a witch and I'm charming.\"\n\n\"Yeah.\" I say. \"I got it. Jokes are always best when they're explained.\"\n\n\"See, I use magic and one types of magic is charms, like charming the winning personality that makes-\"\n\nI hold up a hand when my sandwich is raised in the air and my name is called. Oh I'm so excited. I love the spicy mayo here, oh my God-capital-fucking-G I love it.\n\n\"I stopped listening.\" I say. \"Be right back.\"\n\nShe nods and goes back to her tea, laughing to herself. I wonder if the table heard any of that or if they cared. I smile at them as I sidle by. You'd think these places would have more walking room but no, I gotta rub my ass across everyone's back just to get my food.\n\nI grab the sandwich and something tingles in my spine. Just a little one but I know when to listen.\n\nSee, I'm what they call a Warden, for those in \"the know\". Happened when we were eight, my sister and I. Some kid was pushing her around the playground for being \"weird\" and \"creepy\" so I broke his nose and knocked out a couple teeth. Loose teeth, they were loose teeth. I'm not a monster.\n\nApparently that was weird. Oh, right, my sister is actually a witch. Full blown cauldron stirring, broomstick riding, magic using witch. Or something like that. Anyway, every witch has a Warden, a protector. I protect my sister. Most often it's like, a boyfriend and girlfriend or husband and wife or wife and wife or whatever, situation. Brother and sister was all sorts of odd to the councils.\n\nI'm not magic. Naw, that's all her. That tingle though, that's my gift. I turn on my heels and that's when I come face to face with a goddamned SUV. The fucking hood comes through the big ass window and I have just enough time to throw myself to the side before a headlight clips my hip and I'm thrown into the glass of the donut display.\n\nI love donuts but I don't love donuts like this. I hear shouting and then the squeal of tires, an engine roaring. I hear screaming in a voice I recognize. I struggle to my feet in time to see rough hands drag my sister into the car. She tries a spell but it doesn't take, one of these brutes grabs her hand and I hear bones break in her hand.\n\nThat, oh that makes me see red. I'm on my feet and I'm ignoring the bruising that I can feel. I've got a glass pot of hot coffee and I've got six guys that look like they were ordered from Thugs 'r Us.\n\n\"Let her go.\" I growl. One of them goes for a gun.\n\nAlright. Your way then, buddy.\n\nI hit him in the face with the glass pot and he screams, clawing at his face and I've got his gun. Another one comes high, swinging a meaty fist. I hate fist fights. I really do. So I shoot him with the handy new gun I have. I spin around him and fire another shot, dropping a third. People are screaming, I hear sirens, I don't care. Because the SUV is pulling free of the mess it made and my sister is in there, screaming for me.\n\nSomeone hits me and we're on the ground. I hit him with a knee to the side and he grunts, then I use that really handy to help him with that pain. One shot, no more problems. I'm on my feet again and the SUV is gone, so are the last two members of the goon squad. Damn it.\n\nI limp out through the hole and find the SUV stuck behind two cars, thank goodness for rubberneckers. I limp to our car, pulled up there in front of the shop, and practically kick the trunk open. I tear out the lining and find what I'm looking for. I don't need to rack the shotgun for show, I'm not in a goddamned movie. Don't keep it around if it isn't ready to fire.\n\nI limp after the SUV, they're pushing one of the cars out of the way now and almost free. I put my shoulder into the shotgun and fire. A solid slug tears through the metal above the wheel but I miss. I'm off my game. I blink, pump out the empty shell, and fire again. And again. And again. I know I hit the tire but it doesn't go *pop* like I need it to.\n\nI'm almost there when they finally clear that car, the car with the screaming driver who's trying to scramble away from me. I can feel blood on my face and my clothes are torn, I'm shooting in the middle of the street, I'd be scared of me too.\n\nThey're gone. Damn it, they're gone. I go back for the car and find that my tires are out. Shit, shit, shit! I turn back to see my sister disappearing, carried away by whoever the hell those assholes are.\n\nDamn it.\n\nI didn't even get to finish my coffee. And my sandwich. Now I have to go kill everyone between me and her on an empty stomach.\n\nSirens get closer and every cop for ten blocks is on my ass. This can only go well. I start grabbing shit from the trunk and shoving it into a bag, car's useless now anyway, and turn to find one of those cops with his gun leveled right at me. He's got a confused look on his face.\n\n\"Alex?\" He says.\n\n\"Hey John. They've got my sister.\" I say, limping past him and pushing him aside to get into his cruiser. He's still confused but he doesn't move to stop me.\n\n\"Who? Alex? The fuck?\"\n\n\"Let you know when I know, buddy. Think this might be my two weeks.\"\n\nJohn looks at the coffee shop, the bodies, the carnage. He just sort of nods.\n\n\"Yeah, Alex, I think it might.\"\n\nOh well. I lay the shotgun on the passenger seat and reverse, hitting that poor car that already got pushed and halfway shot at and is probably wetting themselves now. I hit the sirens and get after these pricks.\n\nNo one takes *my* sister, damn it.\n\nI'm after the SUV, I can just see it weaving through traffic. My heart beats a little faster and I push the cruiser for more speed. I'm so focused on her that I don't see traffic, I miss it. I get sloppy.\n\nAnd I get slammed by a pickup halfway through the intersection.\n\nI'm upside down, I'm sideways, I'm right side up again. I'm pissed, at myself and this driver, then my own shotgun hits me in the side of the head and I'm out.\n\nDamn.\n\nSome protector I am."
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[WP] You fall in love with a clone of yourself
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"\"Morning, hubby!\" Lu smiles as he walks into the room, his fluffy brown hair covering his eyes and wearing a cute maid outfit, identical to the one his hubby, Lu, was wearing.\n\n\"Morning, sweetie!\" Lu sits next to Lu as he gives him a quick peck on the lips. Each of them was perfectly identical. Brown fluffy hair, chubby, wore girly clothes, obsessed with cheese and madky in love with one another.\n\n\"What's the plan for today, hubby?\"\n\n\"Well, hubby, I was thinking we could stay inside! We can snuggle together in bed and share a bag of extra cheesy chips together!\"\n\n\"Sounds like heaven!\"",
"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*"
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[WP] The Hero Finally Reaches the final Boss after too many sidequests only to find him dead from old age.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Sir Derdan of the Fifth Order, Lord of the Three Kingdoms, Slayer of the Dragon God, Bane of Devils, the Foremost Battle Wizard. \n\n*The maw of the dragon, full of fire, as he and Lora stared over the edge...*\n\nTen years. Ten years since a strange man with no face and all faces told Derdan that he was the Chosen One, destined to best King Alaxenmos, the Scourge of Life and Ruler of the Dead. Ten years since his life changed forever, his future careening off of its path into a destiny he had little control over.\n\nHe'd been afraid. What chance had he stood against such a powerful Dark Lord? It hadn't taken long for the Dark Lord to learn of his identity, and the first attack of the Shadows had nearly killed him.\n\n*Dark cloaks, shadows, those voices, eating my mind, Jovier becoming hollow, his eyes white...* \n\nHe'd had dozens of mentors, friends, acquaintances, blood brothers and sisters, enemies and archenemies. He had started out a weakling with a talent for nurturing plants to one of the most feared and loved men in all of the Continents.\n\n*Red claws, dripping with venom, stabbing into his stomach, setting his insides aflame, dark magic keeping him alive...* \n\nHis mind was a carcass, bits and pieces of the past held together by masses of pain, suffering, memories of death and destruction.\n\n*The canyon trembling, the dragon rising, Lora tripping...* \n\nHis left eye twitched constantly, sometimes without reason, sometimes with. So many beasts, so many monsters that he'd killed and had nearly killed him. He tried to shove those fragments of memory into a deep void in his mind, but even the void overflowed. His mind ached for release, but he could not help the poor thing. Or put it out of its misery just yet.\n\nHe'd decided years ago that if he were to defeat the Dark Lord, he would have to grow in power. Master all the arts, gain experience, make allies and defeat enemies so that nothing threatened. He missed the days when this quest still held that passion for him. \n\n*Varlen, his head ripped open by the razor-sharp teeth of a kazil, bits of his skin, flesh, and blood falling on Derdan's face.*\n\nFriends and allies only broke him, made him weak, left holes in his walls that could bring the entire structure falling down into chaos. Alaxenmos was the embodiment of Chaos, not him. He was Order. His law had changed kingdoms and brought peace. His feats had killed many a monster that once plagued human lands.\n\n*Lora falling, her mouth open, not in fear, but in a grin, as she turned and flew towards the dragon, accepting the end.*\n\n*She'd fell on purpose.*\n\n*To save him.*\n\nHe reached the top of the hill, quickly disintegrating two skeletons and erasing an orc from existence as he saw them. He cared little that it might drain his mana. He had reserves upon reserves, gained by hundreds of quests. Every quest but the most important one.\n\n*His little brother, Nakis. Saw him as a hero. Wanted to be like him.*\n\n*Eaten alive by a wyrm.*\n\n*Lora... Raising her hands in the oldest of spells, channeling her own soul towards the dragon, linking their hearts...* \n\nThere were no more dragons or wyrms in this world anymore. Few creatures of mana at all. The very sight of them brought pain to his eyes, made his eye twitch and hands quiver. \n\nHe walked down the hill, approaching the Gates of Dusk. \n\nHe stopped in his tracks. He had accepted a legion of monsters, a Horde of beasts that he could destroy with holy fire and ripples in reality, but there were only five guards, and two of them were asleep.\n\nHe walked towards them, confused. \n\nThe guards simply ran away.\n\nDerdan knew Alaxenmos's advances had declined in the last few years, but he'd assumed it was because of his fortification of the Thunder Peaks. Perhaps the old Lord had retired.\n\nHe would still meet his end today.\n\n*His mother and father's heads, ripped off, blood still fresh, placed in front of him as the orcs laughed.*\n\nHis senses didn't relax for a second as he cleaved the gates open with the Axe of Stars with a sound that could be heard for miles.\n\nHe would need a drink after this.\n\nThe castle loomed before him, black spikes rising off of it in groups, reaching as far as the eye could see, clean obsidian glinting in the light of the sun.\n\nWith a spell of Speed and a potion of Advanced Endurance in hand, Derdan traveled through every hallway in the castle in less than a minute. \n\nSome rooms held many undead, simply standing and talking to each other. Derdan didn't understand why, but he didn't care. Each and every one died before his eyes, before he finally reached the Chamber of Night.\n\nThe Throne was empty, with the only resident of the room being a short, stout man with graying hair, sitting at a desk and writing something.\n\n*The Herald of Alaxenmos. His face, gleeful as the Horde charged the Capital, Qualia and Soron dying in its defense...* \n\nHe deserved death, and then he would find Alaxenmos, wherever he hid, and kill him as well. \n\nThe Herald turned to look at him, a small smile forming on his face.\n\n\"He's dead.\"\n\n\"What?\" Derdan asked, his heart hoping the answer was not what he thought it was.\n\n\"Alaxenmos,\" the Herald said, \"he's dead. Old age, natural death, couldn't bring him back.\"\n\n\"B - but...\"\n\n*Promise me, Lora had said, looking into his eyes, Promise Me, Dordan, that you will kill him.*\n\n*I will.*\n\nThe Herald shrugged.\n\n\"They hear he's dead, we're all dust. So we just keep up the facade and collect our taxes. Not much else to do these days. Not like anyone comes here to check.\"\n\nDerdan's mind crashed into the void, *became* the void. No, no, NO. HIS LIFE'S GOAL. No. This couldn't be true. But a simple mind trick spell told him the Herald wasn't lying, that he wasn't shielding his mind.\n\nRage filled him, anger, pure and raw. With a single flick of his fingers he slit the Herald's throat psychically. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a blue orb, shining, full of mana.\n\n*Zamir, reaching for the orb with a grin, before the Shadow struck...*\n\nThere were no Shadows left. \n\nAnd there would be no Chamber or castle.\n\nDerdan drained the orb's mana, throwing it to the ground in exploding pieces of glass as he brought the entire castle to its knees, floor and wall shaking, stone and metal breaking and tearing. Not a fragment fell on him, disintegrating before it could, burning to ash.\n\nHe fell to the ground, landing smoothly.\n\n*His parents. Lora. Varlen. Nakis. Qualia. Soron. Zamir. Jundun. Sila. Kurrus.* \n\nSo many more, giving their lives so he could defeat Alaxenmos.\n\nAll for nothing.\n\nHe reached into the land of the dead, where only the damned remained, and tugged on the Herald's threads, bringing him back, bone instead of flesh, decay instead of life, but hanging on to life, tied to Derdan forever.\n\nThe Herald opened his skeletal mouth, confused.\n\n\"Why?\" he coughed, breathing the embers of undeath.\n\nDerdan grimaced as he stood in the rubble of the Castle.\n\nSlowly, pieces of wood and stone and metal began to float, reforming.\n\n\"The world took everything from me,\" Derdan shouted, \"and it didn't even let me kill him!\"\n\nBlack stone formed into a throne, covered with bones and blood and ashes.\n\nWalls grew once more.\n\n\"The world,\" Derdan said, \"deserves to burn.\"",
"Irina let out a slow breath. Her enchanted adamantium blade thrummed with power at her side. She rummaged through her travel pack and brought out two vials. These potions had taken days to craft. She downed them with a grimace and felt her body warm. It would take an army to stop her now. She drew her blade and prepared a spell in the other hand.\n\n“Here we go,” she muttered.\n\nTaking a deep breath, she kicked open the door.\n\n“Lord Narzuul! I’m here to stop your reign of terror!”\n\nHer words echoed across a spacious room. But no one responded. A single individual stood near an empty throne, sweeping the floor with a methodical pace. That person looked over at her. Even from a distance, she could tell they were elderly and in no way suited for combat. A strange wave of embarrassment washed over her. Lowering her sword, she walked toward the throne.\n\n“Can I help you, young lady?” The old man said.\n\nThere was no sign that this old servant meant her harm. \n\n“Um, I’m here to… fight?”\n\nHer resolve faltered with every passing second. It nearly vanished as the servant gave her a strange look.\n\n“Fight? Whatever for?” He asked.\n\nIrina blinked.\n\n“This is Lightsbane Keep, right?” She asked.\n\n“It is,” the servant confirmed. “Are you here for a tour? I’m afraid the museum’s closed today.”\n\nHer world spun.\n\n“M-Museum?”\n\n“Yes,” the servant said. “After the peace conferences with the other kingdoms, Lord Narzuul abdicated. The Oligarchy has done quite well for the country ever since.”\n\nA bubble of annoyance formed in the pit of her stomach.\n\n“Well, where did he go?” She asked as she sheathed her sword.\n\nThe potions coursing through her body made her antsy. She wanted to fight, not talk.\n\n“He moved to a small farm outside of the city…”\n\n“Thanks!” Irina replied as she turned to leave.\n\n“But you won’t find him there,” the servant finished.\n\nIrina stamped her foot.\n\n“And why not?”\n\n“Milord passed away last year.”\n\nThe servant’s words rang through her mind.\n\n“H-He… what?” Irina sputtered. “But he was powerful! Terrible! Evil!”\n\nThe confused expression on the servant’s face only deepened.\n\n“Ten, fifteen years ago, maybe. But even then, Lord Narzuul was old and did not have a successor. With the country on the brink of war, he did what he felt was best.”\n\nIrina wobbled as her legs folded beneath her. The servant remained standing there, broom in hand.\n\n“If I may ask,” he continued. “Where exactly have you been? You seem shocked by this news, but the funeral was quite public. Lord Narzuul did great things in the final years of his life. Demonkind benefitted greatly from the alliances.”\n\n“I… I was doing odd jobs,” Irina mumbled. “I became the head of the Sorcerer’s Academy. The leader of the Wolf Collective. Bahamut’s chosen…”\n\nShe trailed off as her accomplishments in the past few years rang hollow.\n\n“That sounds like quite a life. You’re an adventurer then?” The servant asked. “I hear they can sometimes get out of touch with society in their travels.”\n\n“Yeah, something like that,” Irina said.\n\nShe had been an adventurer, hired by King Berdain himself. The tasks they assigned her had been straightforward in the beginning. Simple tasks, and other jobs that had her helping the kingdom. But as she grew stronger, King Berdain had granted her more freedom in her activities.\n\n“I took every job, hoping to get stronger,” she continued. “I thought I’d be prepared to fight…”\n\nThe servant only stood there, watching.\n\n“You said the war is over?” She asked.\n\n“It never truly began,” the servant replied. “There were skirmishes, sure. But neither side ever engaged in full.”\n\nIrina remained silent. The servant’s footsteps caused her to look up at him.\n\n“If it’s any consolation to you, I heard that they attributed the tenuous peace to adventurers. Before the peace talks began, there were many groups eager to ruin that arrangement. It seems that various adventurers had lessened the strain on each country’s military. It allowed them to have a successful summit.”\n\n“Oh.”\n\nIrina pushed herself to her feet.\n\n“You said this place had tours?” She asked.\n\nThe servant nodded.\n\n“I lead some of the tours myself. I used to be one of King Narzuul’s top advisors, you know?”\n\nIrina squinted. Now that he had mentioned it, she could make out a few vaguely familiar features. But it had been ages since she consulted King Berdain’s generals. And from the sound of it, her services were no longer needed.\n\n“I think I’d like to go on a tour,” she said.\n\n“We’ll be open tomorrow at around ten in the morning.”\n\n“Thanks.”\n\nWith that, she shouldered her heavy pack and shuffled out of the throne room. As the general – now servant – had mentioned, the castle was empty. She had not even noticed as she sneaked inside, being focused on a fight that would not come. The front doors creaked as she exited the castle. She squinted at the sudden brightness. A warm breeze blew past, rustling the trees of the forest around the Lightsbane Keep. After a moment, she let out a sigh.\n\n“Now what?”\n\n...\n\nThe Greybears sure are patient...\n\nIf you're interested in my works, an archive of my various writing responses can be found [here](https://cuckoosneststories.wordpress.com/).\n\nThanks for reading."
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[WP] Having not seen them in years, you end up trapped in an elevator with the person you hated the most in high school.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I was on the way up to work, it was an mailboy job to a housing development firm, it was nothing big but it was several floors up a skyscraper. The elevator button dinged and I stepped inside to go to work along with a dozen other drones heading off to their day jobs wishing it was over so they can ride the elevator back down knowing their misery is over for the day. Each floor another person got off until it was just me and the person in front of me, his back was facing away from me and all I saw was the tail end of some expensive suit. The next floor was mine and I felt the last few seconds of freedom tick down as the elevator climbed.\n\nThen there was a sudden jerk, I felt my stomach go up my throat and for a second I thought the elevator was going to plummet down the shaft. But it stopped and while the only signs of urgency was the brief flickering of the lights, we were fine.\n\n\"Jesus Christ! What the hell happened?\" the man in the suit exclaimed to me as he buckled his knees regaining himself. I was staring off to the floor panting hard, trying to convince myself I was alive.\n\n\"The elevator must've jammed. Try using the call button.\" I suggested to him. He approached the big red button on the panel with the firefighter symbol that everyone is curious to press. Someone answered and we were told help was on the way shortly and to hold tight and don't panic. \n\nOnce the conversation was over, the man in the suit turned to me and for the first I saw his face. He had dark brown eyes, what used to be well kept dirty blonde hair that got slightly scuffled in the rocking and a conventionally handsome face. It all looked so familiar. \n\n\"I forgot to ask, are you okay?\" he asked, I could tell he was genuine.\n\n\"I think I am. You?\" I replied.\n\n\"A little shaken up, but I'll live. I guess this is the price for working at one of the higher levels.\"\n\n\"I fucking hate this place.\" I sigh out. \"I'm Joseph by the way.\"\n\n\"Cordon\" he extended his hand and I shook it. His grip was firm but friendly, my initial thought was that he was a good guy.\n\n\"Gordon?\" I asked, not sure what he said and not wanting to be rude.\n\n\"No *Cordon*, with a C\" he said with a smile filled with fake porcelain teeth.\n\n\"That's an unique name, only met one person with that name in high school.\" I said as I remember Cordon Willis. He was a kid in the class under mine. I hated him and I bullied him because I hated him. The more I remembered of Cordon, the more anxious I felt that that Cordon was the one standing in front of me.\n\n\"What high school?\" the elevator Cordon asked, looking legitimately excited that he might be the same Cordon.\n\n\"Daggerpine High.\" My voice nearly cracked as I stressed more and more that he would say-\n\n\"Same here!\" He exclaimed, the excitement in his eyes sparkled like the kid I knew in high school. I felt my stomach go in knots. I think he noticed that, his face changed from joy to quizzical with his eyes furrowing. \"Are you Joseph Curry?\"\n\n\"That's me\" I replied, feeling like it was a shame to be me. His face turned serious, there was no more smiling, no more sparkling eyes, just the face of a man.\n\n\"Oh.\" Cordon flatly said. There was a moment where none of us talked and neither of us looked at each other. I don't know what he was thinking, but I just felt bad, like every negative emotion hitting at once. He finally broke the silence \"You were an asshole to me you know that right?\" \n\n\"I know.\" I said, still not looking him in the eyes. \"I'm... sorry.\"\n\n\"You know how much I talked about you in therapy after high school? You were relentless, every day you would tell me my dreams would amount to nothing and that when you succeeded, you would make sure I wouldn't, you would threaten me. I lived in fear for so long after high school about you, I just-\" his words got faster and more passionate the more he talked, I could tell his fists were clenching until he stopped himself and took a breath. \"I'm sorry. I know it happened in high school and I'm better now. I used to rehearse what I'd say to you if I ever saw you again, but I never expected that to happen.\"\n\n\"No, no, don't-...\" I caught myself and needed to let out a moment. \"Don't apologize, I... I'm sorry.\"\n\nCordon took off his jacket and sat on the elevator floor, his back against the wall as he looked at me. \n\n\"Why?\" he asked, confusion swept across his face. \"Why did you hate me so much? I was just a simple kid, I wasn't that popular, that rich, that lonely. I wondered for so long why you had so much hate against me.\"\n\nI remembered all the years of torment I put this guy through, the bullying, the fights, the misery. Day after day, I punished him for being him.\n\n\"I hated you because you were content.\" My eyes closed as I admitted this, I felt the guilt and shame both come out of me but stay in me. \"I was miserable, but you were content with life. I could never achieve what came naturally to you. And I hated that, and the more shit I put you through, no matter how miserable, you still had that happiness to you, and I hated you more for that. I have been and still am miserable. I'm sorry, Cordon, I can't imagine what I put you through.\"\n\nThere was a silence in the elevator. I felt like crying but I didn't have the strength to. I said the honesty of who I am, and I wish I could say it felt good to admit. Cordon just sat there looking at me. Then the elevator jerked back to life, and we started to descend. Cordon got up and put his jacket back on, he didn't say a word to me for the longest time as the hum of the elevator was the only sound. He turned around to look at me.\n\n\"It was a pleasure to see you Joseph.\" He said calmly.\n\n\"What?\" I was shocked and confused, a million thoughts ran through my brain. Was he forgiving me? Was he about to kill me? Did he want to be my friend?\n\n\"It was a pleasure. I see that the person who made me miserable for years is living a miserable life, and I have been infinitely more successful than them than they will ever know. And that's a great feeling.\"\n\nThe doors of the elevator opened and a crowd formed to check on our safety. Cordon faced them and said something that got them smiling and patting his back. He dissipated into the crowd but I stayed in the elevator, knowing that tomorrow I'll be in the same one going to my job and never knowing the satisfaction I just made someone else feel."
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[WP] An alien crash lands in a medieval wilderness. A solitary hermit is the only help at hand.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"I am sorry for destroying your crops,\" says the alien between two sips of a hot soup.\n\n\"Oh, That's okay,\" reply the farmer, \"I've already harvested enough to last three winters and I don't have a lot of mouth to feed. But what are you ? Where do you come from ?\"\n\n\\_ \"I ... am ...\" the alien hesitates, and chooses carefully his words.\" a kind of an hermit,\" he looks around, \"Like you in a way. You see, in the kingdom where I come from, everyone chooses a place in a sky and lives there. The majority of my people live in big crowded sky cities and I live right above you\"\n\n\"There is a lot of people up there right now ?\" asks the farmer\n\n\"No no, that's precisely why I chose to live here. If you look carefully between those two stars, you will see a flashing light, that's my house\", answered the alien, pointing at the sky with one of his 3 longs fingers.\n\nIt is about midnight, we can still hear the crackling of the last embers of the fire of the fallen ship. A fire that could not have been controlled without the help of the old man living in the area. Both are now in the old man's house, a few meters away from the crash. \n\n\"We should hide this thing before any bandits or the local lord's men see it and come ask questions\" say the local man a bit worried\n\n\"What is your name ?\" asks the alien, not at all concerned by the old man's worries\n\n\"It's Theodore, how do I call you ?\" answers Theodore\n\n\"Don't worry about me and the ship, it will be gone tomorrow before sunrise. I'll get rescued in one hour or two maximum\"\n\n\"Does it happen often ? I mean do people of your kin often fall from the sky and frighten cows of honests peoples ?\"\n\n\"Never happened before. In a way you made history, as the first man to meet an alien\"\n\n\"Too bad I don't have anyone to tell this story to, nor anyone who will believe the old foul that I am\"\n\n\"You know,\" reply the alien, smiling \"Nothing never get really lost or forgotten. And I will remember being rescued and helped. And maybe one day this evening will be written somewhere by someone,\" he winks, \"So that it will be read by the one who will establish a true contact between our peoples. And hopefully he will be inspired by it and act like you\""
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[WP] Bored with humanity, the Pantheon of gods have a meeting on how to rectify this. Drinking buddies Loki and Dionysus have thought out an idea.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Its... Its...\" Said Dionysus half a sleep\n\"2020!!\" Exclaimed Loki interrupting the drunken God\n\"Brilliant!... But what will it do\" \n\"Well we can decide now, but that is when it will happen\"\n\"How do you mean?\"\n\"Well we list all possible disasters that could happen and see which one we like more\"\n\"Oh i see, let me start then, World War 3!\" \n\"Genius, my turn, ummm Killer Bees!\" \n\"Yessss, what about.... Just fire, fire everywhere\"\n\"Thats a good one, start it in Australia?\" \n\"Sure and for another what about...\"\n\"...?\"\n\"a deadly global pandemic!!!!!\"\n\"HAHAH i love it\" \"Also we could then release the hydra in November to finish anyone who isn't dead by then\"\n\"Wait i have an idea\"\n\"Me too actually, say it at the same time?\"\n\"Yes\"\n\"All of them!\"\n\"All of them!\" \n\"So it's settled then?\"\n\"Yes\"",
"The gods convened in a conference hall of gold-veined marble, around a massive exquisitely carved table, surrounded by a vast trove of lost historical treasures, tended to by beautiful scantily-clad servants dancing erotically for their amusement and carrying huge trays of exotic delicacies. The whole affair cost roughly enough to buy a small country made entirely of mansions, a fairly sedate, modest affair by the gods' standards.\n\nApollo sat at the head of the table. Patron of poets, musicians, artists, jurists, and physicians, he fancied himself the quintessential Renaissance man some few millennia before any of the actual Renaissances. He put some people in mind of Frasier Crane. Beside him was his twin, Artemis, and her plus one, some girl from her lacrosse team. At length, after everyone had eaten and had time to chatter aimlessly and have a quick orgy, Apollo clacked a spoon against his glass and stood and began a carefully prepared speech.\n\n\"Ladies, gentlemen, and those more difficult to classify-\"\n\n\"Where's dad?\"\n\nA vein bulged in Apollo's forehead. All eyes were on the interruptor; Zagreus, that little twerp; looking characteristically sullen, black hair swept over one eye. Apollo just didn't get along well with the younger gods.\n\n\"He's not here.\"\n\n\"Where is he?\"\n\n\"Couldn't be here. Busy.\"\n\nThere was the sound of bumping furniture and passionate moaning from the stateroom upstairs. Apollo's teeth ground.\n\n\"Like I said. Busy. In any case, I'm oldest so I'm handling it. So shut up.\"\n\nZagreus folded his arm and let his sullenness intensify.\n\n\"Now, just to actually get along to my actual *point*. We can no longer turn a blind eye to developments on Earth. Once upon a time, we commanded the respect of the entire human race. Now? Tributes are down. Prayers are down. Licensing fees are down.\"\n\n\"Aye, and the wars,\" Ares threw in. He hadn't been looking well lately. Under his human-skin sleeveless vest, wild beard and head-bandana, he had lost muscle mass, growing thin and sickly. \"The wars just ain't what they used to be. Used to have global affairs, I had clients all over. Now I 'as to stick to the third-world backwaters where yez can't even get a decent mai tai.\"\n\n\"I've 'ad to make do with piddling little political disputes,\" chimed in Enyo, his sister.\n\n\"The scholarship fund is sitting around gathering dust,\" Athena added thoughtfully. \"They aren't churning out heroes worthy of Olympus like they used to. We used to get a few hundred applications a century.\" To underscore her point, she gestured to some of the previous winners- Hercules, Hermes, Schindler, John Wayne, Aldrin, Mandela- all of whom nodded in agreement. \"Now we're lucky to get a few dozen.\"\n\nEros artfully slid a lock of hair over his ear. \"We're definitely seeing them having less sex in my department. Fear of intimacy is rising worldwide, what with internet porn being so easily accessible these days.\"\n\n\"I spent bloody ages bloody getting that bloody ozone layer set up, for all the good it did,\" Helios groused. \"Bloody climate's all over the map. I know the Anemoi agree with me on this one, too.\"\n\nHecate spoke up, silver crucifix pendants jangling. \"Their auras are all out of alignment. It's all the preservatives and insecticides in food.\" The others largely ignored her.\n\n\"And poor Morpheus,\" added Tyche, \"says he's having trouble finding gigs outside of playing drug dens. Humanity doesn't pay much mind to prophetic dreams anymore.\"\n\nEveryone turned warily to Hades, who was lurking in his usual shadowy corner brooding. He shrugged silently. Presumably humanity had been dying as usual. They turned back away.\n\nApollo was pleasantly surprised. His speech was basically preempted, but everyone seemed on the same page. That almost never happened. He had not expected this to go so smoothly. \"Well, then. We're in agreement. We got plenty of use out of humanity, but they're just not a source of amusement any more. They're stale. Soggy. Old hat. Fortunately, I've taken the liberty of reaching out to some consultants.\"\n\nEveryone was expecting Prometheus again, but instead the special guest was none other than Dionysus, looking woozy and red in the face as always. The assembled gods had not seen him in some time; lately he tended to spend his time in either Broadway or Hollywood (living so closely with humans was not usually advisable, after Moloch had would up implicated in child-trafficking and -eating). Even more curiously, Dionysus had brought a friend with him, someone most of them only partly recognized. Slender, pale, flame-haired and smug-smiling through lips covered in scars, clad in elegant fur-trimmed silk, it was none other than Loki the blood brother of Odin.\n\n\"*So* nice to see you all,\" Dionysus said evenly. \"The problem as I see it is simple. Mankind has gotten too comfortable with mundanity since they worked out the trick behind most of our miracles. They aren't impressed with immaculate conception anymore, since they worked out in vitro fertilization. And-\" he gestured to Attis- \"they don't bother praying for a good harvest since that Haber process stuff came along. Humanity thrives in a world of wonder and terror; once they've explored and tamed enough of it, they lose their fire. So I've been consulting with my new partner here- isn't he great? He's great- for a new miracle, one that'll blow humanity's collective socks off.\"\n\nLoki smiled in a way that would make most people's spines tingle. \"I'm looking forward to working with all of you.\"\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nHoneyed-mead words managed to win over the assembled Godheads, and time found Loki in the foundries of Hephaestus, located within the sweltering heat of the magma chambers beneath Mount Etna.\n\nHephaestus scowled pleasantly and wiped a misshapen paw on his coveralls. \"Got a work orde-\"\n\nBefore he could even finish, Loki produced the work order permit, a carved stone tablet, from the folds of his robes. Hephaestus was stunned. Nobody ever came that prepared to his workshop. He looked over the specifications with interest and grunted. \"Right. Have it ready for you by Tuesday.\"\n\n\"Splendid,\" Loki grinned. \"Just so we're clear- I fully intend for this project to wreak chaos across the entirety of planet Earth. You have no moral obligation to such?\"\n\nHephaestus shrugged. \"What are morals? Humans fight each other because one side kills for the wrong reason. Then in a few decades both kill for the wrong reason anyway, and they fight again. All that passes like an eyeblink for me. Where's the morality in that? This-\" he gestured around to the massive steel drums and conveyor belts- \"this is my morality. Everything made precisely, efficiently, to the customer's exact specifications.\"\n\n\"How positively enlightened,\" Loki grinned, trying not to cackle.\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nThe new project went into effect the following week. The terraforming effect caused skyscrapers around the world to shudder and creak. And after a day of terror, the oceans of Earth had been converted into pure alcohol. The very clouds became a heady, hoppish foam and the atmosphere filled with intoxicating fumes.\n\nThe miracle's novelty lasted a little less than 24 hours before bar-less bar brawls broke out across all of the American South and the British Isles, slowly spreading across the world. Roving improvised bachelor parties besieged the capitals of the world. Global industry crumbed. Authorities were of little help, as most of them were curled up with each other at the UN building, spooning with each other and murmuring incoherently to one another. The fallout cannot be described in adequate detail here; suffice to say the ensuing devastation was the greatest in recorded history, easily stretching past the civilizational collapse of the late Bronze Age.\n\nIn later interviews Loki seemed pleased with the prank's execution but said it didn't get as good a reception as he had hoped."
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[WP] An attempt from the gods to summon the missing Thor has just resulted in a very confused Australian man, who is now asking Odin where the hell the bathrooms are.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Odin let out a disappointed sign after the smoke clear from his Throne room in Asgard. For hundreds of years he and the other great gods of the Nine Realms have tried and failed to bring back his missing son Thor. He looked over to his wife Freya, herself a powerful sorceress and the goddess of Love, Marriage and Fertility, and she met his stare with slight embarrassment. \"I do not know how this happened, my love. I was so sure that we finally found him!\" He touched her hand slightly to show her that he wasn't angry at her and looked at Heimdall.\n\n\"How could this happen?\" he asked calmly. Heimdall, Gatekeeper of the Bifrost and the god who could see everything in the Nine Realms, shrugged and excused his lack of knowledge.\n\n\"Sorry to bother you!\" The mortal man looked confused and distressed, tiptoeing in place. \"But I was bringing my daughter India to bed and wanted to take a piss before you zapped me off! So could you at least show me the Bathroom?\" He was only wearing some kind of tight undergarment.\n\n\"Why do you want to urinate into our Bath Tub, mortal?\" Freya sounded both disgusted and offended by his insolence. \"No, I mean the toilet.\" The man looked even more confused and was now full out dancing trying to hold in. Odin stared at Heimdall, not knowing what a Toilet was supposed to be. \"It's something people on Midgard use to relieve themselves, sire.\" That made more sense than the rambling of this mortal. \"Servants, bring him a chamber pot!\" Odins voice swept trough the palace and some servants carrying a big ornate pot appeared out of nowhere. \n\n\"Can't I do it somewhere more private?\" Said the stranger while looking into the pot before him. \"No, you stay where you are\" ordered Odin without breaking eye contact with him. \"Oh well.\" he shrugged and began to relive himself, while the gods were gazing at him, trying to piece together why there spell had brought him here.\n\nOdin didn't understand, this man looked nothing like his beloved son. He wasn't even a ginger! He was handsome, for a mortal, but he wasn't Thor for sure!\n\n\"Who are you and what do you know about my son Thor?\" asked the Allfather. The stranger looked away from his business after hearing the name \"Thor\", like it reminded him of something. Suddenly his tired eyes opened in shock and he jumped away from the pot. \"Holy Shit, you are the real North Gods aren't you!\" He swiftly put his package back in his undergarments and noticed that he has gotten some of his urine on it from jumping so suddenly. \n\n\"I'm Chris Hemsworth and I'm an actor.\" He said while taking a slight respectful bow. \"I play Thor in the MCU.\" \"The What?\" Asked Odin confuded.\n\n\"It's like a play, sire.\" Chimed in Heimdall. \"Ah, to honour the greatness of the Gods!\" Said Odin proudly. Mr. Hemsworth and the whitest god looked at each other and then almost simultaneously said \"Of Course!\" \n\n\"Well, we are sorry to have interrupted your evening Chris Worth of Hems.\" Said Odin enthusiastically. \"Sleep well.\" \n\nBefore he could say in anything in return, Multimillion dollar Hollywood actor Chris Hemsworth felt something strange inside his head and sunk into a deep sleep. \n\nThe next morning arrived and he found himself back in his own bed, it was only a dream. He kissed his wife good morning and decided that he would wake up their children today. So he jumped out of bed, tiptoed across the floor into his daughter's room and gently shuck her awake. She opened her little eyes and immediately bursted into laughter. \"Daddy has peed his pants!\" She screamed loud enough to wake up her mom. He looked down at the big splash in his pants and remembered his dream. \n\nDid this actually happen? Dud he peed in his sleep? Whatever it was he wouldn't hear the end of it from his daughter, or his wife!"
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[WP] Rumors have spread far and wide and no one wants to play against you. The man who won Russian Roulette with a semiautomatic pistol
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"One can read Hacksaw Ridge when the medic was trying to save, “one more, God,” one after another all night long, while under Japanese fire. Years later one Japanese solider at the site told people that his rifle jammed three times when he had the medic in his sights. Guns do jam and ammo does fail to fire, when struck, but not often. \n\nI always was told that one needs to have an empty chamber, full magazine and if one goes first, pull back the hammer, let it drop on an empty chamber, rack the slide and move to the next person. If one is second, rack the slide first - however, this is really fighting with the question premises, but I thought I’d share this technique with those contemplating this very unusual situation.",
"I long for the days when my luck had gone unnoticed. When I had been able to win at cards enough to be able to win a small fortune, but fold just enough times to make it seem like my luck was thinner than summer's ice. Until then, my luck had been my superpower, dodging the small things. The rain that didn't pour onto my convertible until *just* after I closed the roof. The pigeon that dropped its load *just* after I walked under it. Those were the good days. \n\nHonestly, I'm kind of surprised nobody noticed my insane amount of luck sooner, but then again I haven't really had that much of a chance to flaunt it. Where another may have picked lottary cards at random, I stuck to the small stuff. I'd catch all the green lights on the way to work, or dodge paintballs in a match. \n\nThat was until I got drunk two months ago. My friend Davey had promised a game that was supposed to \"test our luck,\" so me being me, I rose to the challenge. When he said impossible Russian Roulette, I assumed that he meant a pistol with only one blank. Honestly, how was I supposed to know? My drunken brain didn't even register the gun, or my friends trying to stop me, and explain the joke. I pulled the trigger. What happened was so lucky that even I'm amazed. \n\nI later found out that the next door neighbor was also drunk, and had fallen asleep watching \"Cops\" with a rifle in his hands. About half a second before I fired, he startled awake and instinctively fired in my general direction. His bullet passed in the centimeter between the barrel and my head, intercepting the semiautomatic pistol's round. \n\nNow the government is watching my every move. People part around me like I'm Moses at the Red Sea. While a small group seems to want to try to eliminate me (I've dodged 16 sniper shots by bending over to pick up hundred dollar bills on the ground) the rest just want to stay away from me, afraid they might get swallowed by a sinkhole or something like that if they offend me. \n\nJust my luck, I guess",
"Have you ever seen something and simply known that it cannot be? Take a magician, for example. He gives you a box, and you look inside to find it empty. He goes on to talk and wave and parade. You forget about the box, then suddenly he turns back and calls to you, \"now look into the box, my friend.\" A dove lies inside and it flutters out, showering you with white feathers. *How did he do it,* you may find you ask yourself. But that question, however soon it comes, always follows your awe of the man. This fraction of a second where you believe, where you have faith that he is special, that make you feel a child's adoration again, *that* is the magic. \n\nNow make the box a pistol, the dove a chamber full of bullets, the feathers a shower of blood, but reverse the trick. \n\nYou may wonder: *how does a man survive a pistol in Russian roulette?* He goes second, of course. The whole wager rides on the coin flip, or dice throw to determine who begins. That is the bet; that is the risk. Not the bullet in the chamber; that is a certainty. But a magician does not take chances, and he takes no risks: he offers to go first.\n\nThe others whoop and laugh: *he has come to leave me his fortune of his own volition.* But you brought the box. They can look inside, and find the chamber to the brink with bullets. They can shoot it. They can inspect it. But you talk and wave and parade. Then suddenly you fire, and nothing comes out. You shrug and say, \"how fortunate,\" as you pass the pistol to the next man. They will call you a cheater, but that moment, however soon it comes, it always follows the terror. That fraction of a second where he knows that he is a dead man walking, where he knows that he was in your power, where he cries like a child. *That* is the magic. *That* is the power."
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[WP]You are the most vicious, most cruel and most evil villian in the whole world. You've slayen many heroes that tried to kill you. Yet, there always come more. "So, who are you?" - you ask in a mocking voice another one that comes to your lair. The hero in front of you smiles: "A cheater."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I had laid waste to thousands of civilizations throughout time. I had come across many a confident hero, but none so cocky as this wisp of a boy who stood in front of me. \nHe was small to be sure, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. A thin, gangly thing. How he stood before me now in my wake of destruction I did not know. I felt neither frightened nor angry, merely amused. \n“ Hero” I scoffed. “ you are but a boy. “\n“ And you’re a crabby old lady, but here we are” he replied. \n“Old...old lady?” No one had ever dared speak to me this way. Who was this insolent little ant? “ BOY! I have lived a thousand lifetimes, I have ruined kingdoms, toppled empires, burned cities to the ground. Kings, generals, and emperors have begged my mercy and found none. Are you not afraid?” \nThe boy chewed a fingernail, he looked almost bored. “Nah” he said. “ look can we get on with this? I’m supposed to play Call of Duty with my boys in about an hour and...”\n“ENOUGH!” My voice bellowed through the air shaking the ground where we stood. The boy staggered, yet his face remained unchanged. \n“Look,” he said. “We’ve done this about ten times already and I’m getting a little bored of it. It’s always the same thing over and over. The same speech. ‘I am an almighty evil’ and blah blah blah”\n“ HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME THIS WAY! Alright hero! Give me you worst!”\nFrom my hands flew flame and pestilence, the boy rolled this way and that, avoiding each shot aimed at him. He threw something at me, a small object from the ground. The object ricocheted off my body and disappeared into the rubble. \nI laughed. “Is that all you have boy?”\nHe sighed in great frustration. “ Alright that’s enough. This thing is bugged. “ from his pocket he withdrew a small dark rectangle. What was this? His fingers danced upon the rectangle. Was this some spell? \n“ That should do it” he said as he replaced the rectangle in his pocket. \n“You’ve done nothing boy! Nothing. You shall fall to my, fall to my, fall to my...”\nAll went black. The boy was gone. The burning city was gone. I was alone in a void of blackness. What had he done? Where was I? A soft glow appeared in the distance. As it grew I could see it formed shapes. No, not shapes. Words. Glowing red words. The light blinded me, I closed my eyes against it. \n\nLEVEL COMPLETE\n\nMy eyes opened slowly. I had laid waste to thousands of civilizations throughout time. I had come across many a confident hero, but none so cocky as the girl who stood in front of me...\n\n\n(Sorry for formatting. I’m on mobile)"
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[WP] You have the ability to tell when people die based on the amount of color surrounding them. People with a long time left to live appear in full color, while people who are dying slowly fade to black and white. One day, all the color around you disappears in an instant.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
" \\[Zero Escape\\]\n\nIn the blink of an eye, Fred's world lost all its color. The mid-30s man was headed to the parking lot. He stepped outside just in time to see all the cars shift colors to shades of grey. The steady trickle of shoppers traveling to and from the parking lot all lost their color; Fred froze in his tracks.\n\nFred learned about his gift at a young age. A bright orange tabby named Mr. Carrot taught him everything he needed to know. One morning Fred found Mr. Carrot sleeping in a sunbeam that should have given his fur a fire-like appearance. Instead, Mr. Carrot resembled a black cat that got into a tub of flour; he was covered with whites, blacks, and greys. Fred was worried but Mr. Carrot seemed fine, he was happy and playful as always. Until later that evening when Mr. Carrot got out and wandered onto a busy road.\n\nFred quickly learned the pattern after that. Anyone he saw devoid of color was doomed, and not strictly because of health reasons. Right now that applied to everyone he laid eyes on. He glanced up into the sky and noticed it was grey too except for giant black holes floating high above the city. It was hard to tell against the grey sky, but the holes appeared to be raining white objects onto the city.\n\nSuddenly, Fred caught a flash of color in the corner of his eye. A woman in a vibrant red skirt with a pink blouse walked past him and into the mall. No one else seemed to notice the holes in the sky and Fred shrugged. It wouldn't be the first time he noticed something others could not. He decided to follow the woman that still had color.\n\nHe lost sight of the woman for a moment as she turned the corner. When Fred followed her he was surprised to see her talking to another woman who also seemed to still be in color. It was harder to tell with the new woman; she had smooth alabaster skin and wore a long flowing black dress. Her straight, long hair was bright white and two bone-white horns spiraled out of the top of her head. Unlike the holes in the sky; the other shoppers definitely noticed the horned woman. Black and white strangers widened their path to avoid getting too close to her. Fred got close enough to eavesdrop and pretended to admire a mannequin wearing a tracksuit.\n\n\"Are you serious?\" the woman in red asked. The horned woman nodded.\n\n\"It doesn't matter to me, but I'm in a good enough mood to give you the courtesy. What's your answer?\" A woman shrieked in the distance and Fred thought he heard the sound of shattering glass. He immediately dismissed it as an accident to keep his attention on the pair of women. He noticed the woman in red looked up toward the scream, but the pale woman didn't move.\n\n\"Yes please,\" the woman in red said. \"I'll take the escape route you offered.\"\n\n\"*Escape*?\" Fred wondered. He turned his head slightly and managed to catch a glimpse of the woman in red sinking into a hole in the ground. Once she disappeared the hole closed as if it were never there and the woman in black started to wander off.\n\nMore screams drew Fred's attention. He whirled around to see half a dozen colorless shoppers running from several bone-white skeletons. The word 'escape' suddenly crystallized Fred's mind. He turned back around and was glad to see the woman walking at a leisurely pace admiring the clothing shops.\n\n\"Nothing to lose,\" Fred mumbled to himself and approached the woman. Once he was close enough to touch, he was surprised at how tall she was. Even without counting the horns she was taller than Fred. \"Excuse me,\" he said with all his courage. He reached up to tap her shoulder but his hand passed through her like a ghost.\n\n\"What?\" She said as she turned around.\n\n\"Um. I don't know what's going on,\" Fred used his thumb to gesture at the crowd running the opposite way down the hall. \"But, I saw you help a woman escape a bit ago. Can you help me escape too? Please?\"\n\nThe woman smiled and Fred instantly felt at ease; it was as if she exuded an aura of warmth around her. A vague nostalgia filled Fred. It reminded him of a childhood spent at the park playing in the warm sun. He was convinced a smile like that meant only one thing. Fred started to look forward to going to the park again the next chance he got wherever she sent him to.\n\n\"Help *you*?\" she asked with a giggle. \"There's Zero chance of that happening.\" The woman maintained her warm smile but Fred felt a bony hand touch his shoulder. \n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nThank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is year three, story #264. You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog. If you're curious about my universe (the Hugoverse) you can visit the Guidebook to see what's what and who's who, or the Timeline to find the stories in order."
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[WP] After passing out in the backyard, you wake up today without realizing that somehow, overnight, you've gained unparalleled power. When you kick your normally stuck car door, you literally punt the car like a football.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"*Be cool. No one is going to believe this is your fault.*\n\nSirens drone by as emergency vehicles fly past me. I’m standing and staring, mouth agape, at the plume of smoke rising over the trees. Car keys are in my right hand. Car? Why, it’s roughly 150 fucking feet northwest. \n\nHow could this happen? This isn’t real. The car was here, door jammed, I kicked it, like always, *and then it fucking flew away?* Not possible. But it happened. I see the proof in the reactions of my nosy neighbors. All are peeking out their doors, through their blinds, or walking toward the cacophony down the road. \n\nI’m going to walk to work. It’s only 20 minutes. I can’t think now.\n\nShit. They’ll know it’s my car. \n\nOkay, I can report it stolen. But this just happened, so maybe I should wait? No. I don’t know. Oh god, this is bad. I can at least walk over to see what the damage is.\n\nThe neighbors are rubbernecking. I hate these people. I’m getting closer to the wreckage. I see fire. Not good.\n\nOk one ambulance. Maybe it isn’t too bad. It was early, I’m sure it’s ok.\n\nOh god, there’s a school bus. I realize I’m jogging now. Play it cool, slow down. Fuck, my car is upside down, on fire, and... next to a school bus. It didn’t hit it!\n\nA woman screams. Jogging again, I catch up as she collapses. She’s weeping. More weeping people. Folks further away are covering their mouths with their hands. No.\n\nNo. No, no, no. Bus stop. There’s blood. The stop sign is out. They weren’t on yet. What have I done?\n\nAfter walking back home in a catatonic state, clarity hits. I’m sitting on my bed with my gun in my hand. They’ll have so many questions. This will end up all over the news, and on stupid unsolved mystery shows for years. *Man’s car fell from the sky and killed several school children; man found dead of suicide in his apartment same morning.*I’m not sticking around for that. The metal is cold under my chin. The trigger is tight. \n\nA loud bang.\n\nFuck. That didn’t even hurt."
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[WP] Aliens have (re)visited our planet and scientists are proudly showing them our progress, including the discovery of atoms. One of them exclaims in perfectly-clear English: "How did this happen? 200 years ago you didn't even have electricity".
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Wait. So let me get this straight...” He stopped, taking a moment to fill his lungs with much filthier air than he’d grown accustom to during his last visit.\n“You’ve perfected antibiotics and extended your longevity by almost double. You’ve created lenses that allow you to stare millions of miles into the vast darkness. You’ve discovered fusion, fission, and are nearing the point at which you’ll truly be able to harvest infinite energy. You’ve recognized the base pairings that allow all life to originate and diversify, and managed to theorize a damn near perfect representation on the origins of life...” he pauses again looking down from the screen sighing deeply “ but... the vast majority of species still hate one and other based on the melanin content of their epidermis? You are locked in constant endless war over dwindling resources that are far inferior to the substances you sit at the verge of discovering? Your leaders mock the disabled, while shunting vital resources from the masses? And those masses still believe that these overlords act in their best interests? You’ve created an immutable data link system, and all you do is post pictures of cats?”\n\nWith one more sigh he stood and walked back towards the tiny circle of scorched earth he’d appeared upon. “Honesty, I can’t tell in-which direction you are all moving anymore, I’ll try again in another two hundred years.” He stifled a cough as he began punching coordinates into the band he wore upon his arm. “My advice, do something about this air, tastes like shit.” \nAnd with that he was gone."
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[WP] The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse only come to us after thousands of years because they have millions of worlds to bring the Apocalypse to and they have a very tight schedule. For us, it is the end of the world. But for them, it is a Friday after an exhaustive workweek.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Ugh,\" Famine groaned in annoyance, \"Did the old man really have to give us work on a **FRIDAY?!**\" said Famine, throwing his hands in the air. Green clouds started to form above him.\n\n\"Just suck it up.\" said War, enjoying the bloodshed happening in front of him, \"Its just one world, no need to get so angry.\" She chuckled, beheading the head of a nearby human with her gaze.\n\n\"We're supposed to be resting now.\" I said in a calm tone. Honestly there was no use in getting angry over this, we couldn't disobey the old man. It was impossible to do so. \n\n\"Still the passive type, huh? Death.\" Pestilence joined in, the three of us covered our noses. War waved her hands in front of her face to move the smell somewhere else. The live humans around us started to turn green and foam started to exit their mouths. Yikes.\n\n\"Didn't we tell you to speak telepathically?\" I scolded Pestilence. Whenever she spoke there was a chance that we could get sick. Her powers couldn't differentiate between ally and foe. \n\n\"*I forgot, sorry.*\" Pestilence bowed her head in an apologetic manner, \"*Anyways, you guys want to visit a place after we're done with earth?\"* \n\n\"Another singing gig?\" said Famine, Pestilence's brow twitched. Looks like he guessed right, \"The last time you sang in karaoke night, me and War were unable to work for 27 years, did you know how much of our pay got deducted due to that incident?\" \n\nI chuckled, I remembered that day. Whew was it a very memorable day, seeing War herself suddenly drop dead and Famine coming to her side to aid her. Famine ended up getting infected too, both of them lied on the floor unconscious. Fun times.\n\nFamine glared at me. I covered my mouth, but his glare made it more funnier. It was hard to contain my laughter.\n\nPestilence sighed, \"*My singing was great though, right?*\" She asked.\n\nI nodded my head, \"Yep, It was like an angel was singing.\" I complimented her. Her face blushed a little bit.\n\nFamine glared at me, with War staring daggers at me from behind him. I shrugged at both of them. Not my fault they literally heard angels singing.\n\n\"Well, do you mind If I hear another song from you, Pestilence?\" I said, mischievously. War and Famine's face grew pale.\n\nHer eyes widened, \"*Really? Really?!! When?!!*\" Woah, woah, too loud. I gestured her to lower the volume.\n\n\"*You're not joking right?*\" She asked, her face red with embarrassment, \"*When do I sing?*\"\n\n\"Hmm...right now?\" I said. I could hear War and Famine grumbling behind me. I stared at them and gave a half smile. \n\nI patted Pestilence's back, \"Go give them a good performance.\" I cheered. She looked at me \nwith sparkling eyes and quickly rode her horse towards an unknown direction.\n\n\"**ARE YOU CRAZY?!**\" War shouted, rubbing her temples. I could see Famine seething in anger beside her. That's what they get for bad mouthing me.\n\n\"Famine, didn't you want to rest?\" I asked, he slowly nodded his head, \"then why are you so angry? are you perhaps jealous of me?\" I covered my mouth, feigning shock. \n\n\"N-No! we are like siblings. T-thats! UGH!\" Famine tried to retort but failed horribly. \n\nA calming melody could be heard in the distance where Pestilence went. It was slowly getting louder and louder. Her performance has begun. \n\n\"That's our cue to leave.\" I said, looking at the direction of the melody. I could feel the deaths of people happening in the distance. \n\n\"Go, give them a killer show.\" I cheered, before warping us back to our lodgings. Famine and War snorted."
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[WP] In a fit of laziness, you try to grab your tv remote with the Force. Instead, Mijolnir rushes into your hand.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“What are we going to do about this?”\n\nYou know that ringing in the ears you get when something explodes? Firecrackers in the fourth of July, maybe a car crash, or even when you’re watching a movie and they put in that sound effect after an explosion. The main character stumbles to his feet, maybe a bit of blood on the side of his face. For me, all it took was a broken tv set and a hole in the wall. \n\n“My brother probably had something to do with this.”\n\nAs of the moment, I was staring past two figures looming over me and my couch. Electrified wires dangled through the hole when something crashed, the adjacent wall where Dave next door lived. I tilted my head in pleasant surprise, his apartment kitchen looked almost like mine. \n\n“Perhaps we can ask the brothers to take a look see,” the older gentleman said. He was draped in a long black coat and wide brimmed hat. I couldn’t see his eyes. \n\nThat’s right. He appeared out of nowhere along with a large, stout bearded man in a plaid shirt. Almost at the moment when that thing flung itself toward me. \n\n“Excuse me, son,” said the bearded guy. “Do you mind if you just let go of that there hammer?”\n\n“The what?” I said, confused. \n\nThe bearded guy nodded to my hand. \n\nI looked down. My hand was clutching the handle of a hammer. Strange. I tried to let go but I couldn’t. I stared and my eyes widened when I saw blood all over it. My hands were drenched in red. Blood rushed to my face and I suddenly felt hot as I turned my hands and noticed a piece of cloth stuck between the handle and my palm. I recognized it as Dave’s shirt. He was wearing this earlier today. \n\n“Oh my god!” I screamed. \n\n“Yes?” Said the the taller one. \n\n“I don’t think he means you, Father.”\n\n“Oh my god!” I screamed again. \n\n“He certainly seems to ascert that he means me.”\n\nI looked up and noticed the plaid-shirt man motioning over the Hanukkah menorah on a shelf by my window. \n\n“Definitely not you, Father.”\n\nI heard the sound of ravens, oddly, as I hyperventilated and then darkness crept over me. Something killed Dave, and my hand was covered in his blood."
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[WP] You have been trying to explain to the grand council of wizards that no, you are not an unlicensed sorcerer. No, you are not using "unknown magic." You are the author of their story book world and you are essentially omnipotent.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I'm surrounded by old men, like something straight out of star wars. Not exactly the crowd I had hoped for, but what can you do. Murmurs ripple through the crowd like a wind blowing in a field of grass as stand from the seat they gave me.\n\n\"So uhhhh...Is there a reason as to why I'm here?\" I asked. A particularly old looking fellow in the crowd stroked his particularly long beard and frowned. More murmurs. I look around once more, hoping to God there would be at least *one* not old looking person.\n\n30 seconds of mental crowd surfing later, I can say with confidence; No one here is under the age of 50. I take a deep breath in, filling my lungs with one emotion, and sigh. Disappointment. And here I thought I'd find a cute girl to pass the time with\n\nThe particularly old fellow stops stroking his beard for a second, a look of contemplation flashing across his face, before he grabs a fancy looking stick from beside him, I think they call them staffs and filled with an energy he slammed it to the ground. Immediately, the barely audible murmuring that had done absolutely nothing to him was swiftly and efficiently murdered in cold blood\n\n*'and here I was, coming to like the guy.'* I thought to myself\n\n\"All rise,\" a voice from the side commands. I'd turn my head, but I think that'd start the murmuring again. \"The Grand Council of Wizards is now in session. Judge Nebulous presiding. Please be seated.\"\n\n\"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,\" says the particularly old man, still stroking his particularly long beard, smiling this time, \"Calling the case of the Grand Wizards of the Anthill versus DrCholl. Are both sides ready?\"\n\n\"Ready for the Wizards, Your Honor.\" says another voice. I bet he's a bitch. I bet he's a real bitch boy. I really want to turn my head, you know. But I'm shaking in my boots at the thought of the murmuring starting again\n\n*'Who knows what he'd do after coming back from the dead'*\n\n*\"*Ready for the defence, Your Honor,\" The guy standing next to me says. He's got a short beard, at least, compared to everyone else but he makes up for it in the eyebrows. His are clearly the longest. He notices me staring, and looking me up and down, winks.\n\n\"Will the clerk please swear in the jury?\" the man with the particularly long beard says, smiling in a particularly annoying way. I don't like him very much.\n\n\"Will the jury please stand and raise your right hand?\" a guy pretentiously standing next the particularly old man says, sneering all the while. \"Do each of you swear that you will fairly try the case before this court and that you will return a true verdict according to the evidence and the instructions of the court, so help you, God? Please say “I do”.\"\n\nImmediately, like a hive mind, what I assume to be the jury all say 'I do' in perfect unison. The pretentious guy smirks, looking around, watching them squirm and letting it hang in the air. After longer than necessary he says,\n\n\"You may be seated,\" and like that, they all collapse into their seats, like an aged deck of cards covered in facial hair falling to the ground.\n\nSomeone coughs, and naturally I turn and-\n\nHow could i have missed her?\n\n*'hint, i didn't. I just didn't tell you about her'*\n\nShe's beautiful. About 6\"2, almost 5 inches taller than me. No facial hair, no particularly long beards, a healthy head full of brown hair, and suit. None of this robes with fancy sticks nonsense.\n\nShe stands, with a bunch of important looking papers and coughs to get the attention of everyone in the courtroom. She coughs again. And again.\n\n\"Would you like a glass of water?\" the particularly old man asks, his voiced filled with anything but concern.\n\nAnother cough\n\n\"No, no, I'm fine, I'm alright,\" she says. She breaths deep, and says under her breath, \"Come on emma, you're a big girl now, you got this\"\n\nSilence fills the room for about 10 seconds, every witch and wizard in the room on the edge of their seats. Another cough brutalises it right in front of me. It's left barely standing once the cough has had its way with it\n\n\"Your Honor and witches and wizards of the jury: the defendant has been charged with the crime of being an unlicensed sorcerer, and 17 counts of unknown magic without the proper licenses. The evidence I present will prove to you that the defendant is guilty as charged,\" she says, exasperated.\n\nMy man with the long eye brows, Carl for now, stands and smiles to the room. \"Your Honor and wicthes and wizards of the jury: I give up, goodbye,\" he says before packing up his stuff.\n\nThe jury looks to themselves, and to carl, who has finishes packing his things and is now flying, his eyebrows flapping carelessly.\n\n\"Soooooo...Can I leave?\" I ask, watching carl fly up, up, up and away. Those are some mighty strong eyebrow muscles.\n\nThe particularly old looking fellow bursts out laughing, screaming, almost, arms flailing, fancy stick long forgotten. He slowly slides down the seat, not even noticing as he hits the ground, still laughing hysterically\n\nA moment passes, and he's silent once again.\n\n\"No❤\" he says with a smile on his face, wrinkles curving all around it.\n\nThe crowd goes wild\n\n\"What do you mean No!\" a voice says, \"He can't just stay here, he's a criminal!\" another excaims \"Well what do you want us to do? Condemn a potentially innocent man to jail?\" another replies, with the exact same amount of force.\n\nCarl uses this as the perfect opportunity to come back, his head peeking out from the hole in the ceiling, \"No, no he's not. He's not innocent at all\" he helpfully adds\n\nSilence. \"Oh,\" the voice says.\n\nI tap where the microphone should be and say, projecting my voice through the power of being the author\n\n\"Look, guys, I know it's suuuper sus, but, trust me on this, I'm your God\"\n\nAnother bout of silence drags out for exactly 23.3 seconds before I write anyone in\n\n\"There's no way\" an obnoxious voice-\n\n\"Oi, hang on, I am *not* obnoxious\" the same, still obnoxious, voice cries out\n\n\"Sorry\" I reply, shrugging my shoulders, a purposefully smug look gracing my face \"Thats just how it is now. I *told* you I was God\"\n\nThe particularly old man looks me dead in the eyes and says-\n\n\"Absolutely nothing because i refuse to write something like that on the page. I know you're about to say something stupid\" I say, watching his mouth move, the particularly old man still obliviouse to the fact that nothing's coming out. I glance at Emma for a moment, and shes completely still. Stoic. Like an ocean. Or an ice cube. Or something else that's stoic.\n\n\"Do you guys believe me?\" I ask\n\n\"No. Do a flip,\" They all say.\n\nI grin a devilish grin. A grin that screams nothing but mischief. A grin that promises nothing but jokes and pranks and goofs and gaffs.\n\n\"No. What if I made all of you do flips?\" I respond, grinning all the while.\n\n\"You don't have the mea-\" i cut them short because I don't like listening to them speak in unison and because they all, at the exact same time, did a flip. Except Emma.\n\nThats right. I'm playing favourites.\n\n\"None of you are real\" I shout, before leaving in a blinding flash.\n\nA moment of silence stretches to two. Then to three. Emma coughs again, and I return, in a less blinding flash and say \"Except Emma\" before leaving again, in a blinding flash.",
"\"I've always treated my creations as if they were real-- stuck in their worlds, true, but treated as real\" the man gazed at the three wizards in front of his desk, wands and staves raised, then suspiciously eyed the drink in he held, \"but this is something else.\"\n\nThe golden tiaraed girl-wizard on the right, seemingly to have not aged past twenty, gave him a murderous glare, \"Cease your ramblings, Pishogue^(1), we know now that you are the cause of our world's end, you evil--\"\n\nThe man in the middle, looking like the standard wizard with a pointy hat and all, raised a hand to stop the girl's chastisement, questioned \"Who are you? What is your purpose?\"\n\nRather than answer, he thought 'How did this happen? I know having that all-nighter was a bad idea at my age but I didn't expect these hallucinations. I guess the drink didn't help.' Reading his manuscript, he noticed that he wrote that the three appeared and confronted him. Apparently, that became true.\n\nHe chuckled before letting out a weary sigh.\n\nThe pointy-hatted wizard entered a stance, the tip of his wand emitting a scintillating light, an angry frown expressed upon his face, \"Is all of this a joke to you?\"\n\nLeaning back on his chair, he held his pen and manuscript, \"Now, now. Calm down, Alrin, Mosha,\" then he peered intently at the bald man on the left, who hasn't spoken, \"Cen, or should I call you Zetta?\"\n\nHe smacked his staff on the desk, \"How--!\" The other two wizards peeked at him through the corner of their eyes.\n\n\"Of course I know your true name. I'm your creator.\" He said with a smirk.\n\n\"Stop fucking around!\" yelled the girl-wizard. The three shot spells.\n\nHis smirk transformed to a menacing smile, \"Watch!\" he exclaimed before writing *they went back to their world.* And that, came true.\n\nThere was a pause before he rested his head on the desk as if nothing had ever happened, 'appear and confront me?' He sighed, \"I can't put that in the story. Ah, what a waste of ink.\"\n\nMoments later, snoring could be heard.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n1. It means wizard basically but since the council members are wizards themselves and they think the author is also a wizard, I chose a synonym to differentiate between them, one that they also use as way to differentiate. Also, this particular synonym is related to witchcraft and it sounds like 'pig' if you were to interrupt it early, so I think it fits.\n\nFourth story, any feedback and criticism appreciated."
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[WP] The sale of Earth into the Galactic community was strange, especially compared to other planets in the Sol system. It was an open and shut, site unseen and no questions asked type of deal. The first humans to greet the ship begged to be taken away; the alien buyers began to understand.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"A small scouting ship descends from the heavens. It was intended to not be threatening to its native inhabitants. The Marer Collective wanted the inhabitants of Earth to feel welcome on their system. The purpose of the sale was collaboration not domination. Other races loved to use and abuse planets for resources. The Marer Parliament's primary object was unity. The Empire State Building appeared to be an important site based on the internet so the ship was sent there.\n\nThe scouting ship itself is no larger than a bus of earth. The metal of the ship is glowing green to indicate the pride of the Marer Collective. The top of the ship is adorned with a speaker system that can broadcast over the earth-unit kilometer radius. The ship is designed to hold three people for short period: a pilot, a guard, and an ambassador. \n\nThe ambassador, Garle, is new to the role and a native of Marer, the primary planet. He had spent years as a diplomat to embassies of established planets. This is his first chance to welcome a planet, and he wants to get it right. The pilot is one of his wives Grele. She is an experienced pilot who chose to accompany her husband to help him on this new journey. Additionally, he is her favorite husband. His guard is a woman name D'ref from the Dredl planet. It is a new planet in the system that joined when she was a child eighty years ago. She is on the mission to help with the transition as her planet is also new. \n\nNews helicopters are starting to surround the ship. Garle knew that this is the moment to make his debut.\n\n\"People of earth, my name is Garle. I am the ambassador for the Marer Collective. I have been sent down to welcome you to our Collective. I understand that there will be hesitation on your end, but please, do not fear. We are willing to meet with your leaders for assistance. Additionally, we have set up a system based on your internet to accept comments. Please go to Marer Collective site to find a comment box and submit it.\" he says into the microphone. He sits back in his seat satisfied. \n\n\"Well done, my love,\" Grele says.\n\n\"Thank you. I hope the humans do not react in hostility.\" he replies. The AI triggers the ship alarm. A red light bursts through the ship. \n\n\"Should we prepare defenses?\" D'ref asks.\n\n\"No, let us see what it is happening.\" Garle opens the computer interface to understand the emergency. \n\nThe website is being overwhelmed with messages. The AI of the scouting ship is unable to process them. The AI perceives this as a threat. The reasoning for the volume for the messages causes Garle to shed a tear.\n\nGarle had a dream of humans welcoming the Marer collective and eagerly joining in partnership. The most common messages are humans expressing their hatred of Earth and wanting to leave. The second most common messages are telling the Marer Collective to leave. The third most common messages are asking the Marer's to destroy their rivals be they personal or political in nature. \n\n\"Humanity is not reacting ideally, but we can make it work.\" Garle says with hope. He reaches for the microphone to speak again, \"We understand your desires to experience the galaxy. We will provide that for you, but we also want to work with you. We also will not eliminate your rivals.\"\n\nAfter he says that phrase, the ship alarm goes off again.\n\n\"Projectile incoming,\" D'ref says.\n\n\"Return your seat. Evasive maneuvers activated.\" Grele says.\n\nThe scout ship shoots back into the atmosphere avoiding a collision with a nuclear warhead. The warhead changes patterns when the ship escapes. The warhead explodes in the sea.\n\n\"Why did they attack?\" D'ref asks.\n\n\"There are many reasons? They did not want us here. They did not like that we would eliminate their enemies. Some species are more prone to violence. We will return to the primary ship and inform them to activate the hostile protocol. We will still attempt collaboration, but more caution will be excised.\" Garle said. Garle had wanted an easy first mission, but he would learn more with a challenging one.\n\n\"Is that why the sale was uncommonly quick and easy? Humans are hostile?\" D'ref asks.\n\n\"No, the nature of the sale was because the owner bought the solar system in a drunken state and wanted to be rid of it promptly.\" Garle replied.\n\n\"Yes, the owner was indeed quite drunk that weekend. They prank-called the Marer Parliament. Quite scandalous,\" Grele adds.\n\n\"That is irrelevant. We will continue to attempt diplomacy. That is the way of the collective.\" Garle declares. Grele smiles at her husband. D'ref sits in contemplation. The three of them will be the harbingers to a new age of Earth. An age filled with possibility and hope. They are aware of their role, and they are ready for the challenges."
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[WP] Every year at around the same time, a drought comes to your town. It never lasts long, but it's very mysterious. Nobody can figure out the reason. Until, one day during the yearly drought, you walk by a school supposedly for witches and hear preschool-age kids singing "Rain, Rain, Go Away."
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"It was that chanting that made her stop dead in her tracks. Children singing had always unnerved her - too many scary movies perhaps - but the _power_ hiding behind those words is what made her shudder, despite the heat beating down on her.\n\nPearl, like most people in Farrowood, had always dismissed the rumours floating around about the all girls school supposedly for witches. She had friends, even, whose daughters attended. Nothing ever seemed untoward. Until, that is, she found herself trembling outside the school upon realization that there are _little girls_ controlling the mystery annual drought, and no one knows why.\n\n_Rain, rain, go away. Come back another day._\n\nShe remembered little Ava, her neighbour's daughter, who attended there with much enthusiasm. Blonde hair and boundless energy, Ava was always a handful, but had seemed to calm down some since starting school. \"They don't control her. They teach her how to control herself, and that's what she needs,\" her mother had explained. She hadn't taken any notice at the time, but now she wondered what exactly these little girls are being taught to control and how. She would certainly like to know the reason behind the yearly drought, at least. Pearl quickly looked around her, saw that she was still alone, and began to sneak around the building.\n\nIt was clearly an old building, yet didn't look decrepit in the slightest. She realised then how nondescript it actually was, suspecting this was done purposely to blend in. Snaking around a corner, the chanting was growing louder. She followed the sound carefully, and ducked below the window it came from. \n\n_Rain, rain, go away. Come back another day._\n\nSlowly, she rose to peek into the classroom - and gasped at the sight. Young girls, all stood in rows with their eyes rolled back as they chanted and chanted. There was a blackboard behind them covered in strange markings that almost looked frantically scratched in, as if written by a madman. She could see Ava in there too, chanting in perfect synchronicity with the rest of her class. Though her expression was blank, she could almost feel Ava looking back at her, as if she could sense her presence. Awash with a strange emotion, Pearl felt herself reach out - somehow, it didn't feel like she was in control of herself - and tapped the window. \n\nThe chanting stopped. Suddenly. Their heads snapped and turned to her. Their eyes were no longer rolled back. She could sense their fury. Her breath caught in her throat, she closed her eyes. Waiting. She could feel her demise drawing nearer. And then, she felt a drop of water on her shoulder. And then another. As she opened her eyes, so did the heavens it seemed. But when she looked back in the classroom window, it was empty. \n\nShe got up to leave, when she noticed the blackboard at the back of the room: \"Module 4: Atmokinesis. For this module's examination you are required to demonstrate your drought induction abilities. You have one hour. TEST CONDITIONS.\"\n\nFear no longer gripping her, Pearl threw her head back and laughed at all that had transpired in those last few moments. What cute little witches."
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Just an idea I had after reading about some less "fire and brimstone" interpretations of Hell. I hope the religious nature of this doesn't offend anyone.
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[WP] You're a therapist that's died and been sent to Hell. Turns out Hell is a rehabilitation center and you're there to help.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Ending up in Hell was quite disheartening, if Julie was to be completely honest, but it wasn't nearly anywhere as bad as she was lead to believe. In fact, Lucifer himself gave her a tour of the place. He was charming and ever the gracious host, but she was waiting for the other shoe to drop and the longer it took, the most discomforted she felt.\n\nIt was right when he was leading her past the employee break room (which she had to mentally laugh because it seemed that Hell had confused the term 'break room' with 'five start sauna') that she finally had to speak up.\n\n\"Look, Mr. Morningstar--\"\n\n\"Mr. Morningstar!\" replied Lucifer, laughing as he jovially bumped Julie's shoulder, \"Please, Lucifer is just fine.\"\n\n\"Okay,\" Julie smiled carefully in the same way that a person facing an imminently dangerous animal would smile in hopes of avoiding being maul, \"Look, I don't *get* it. Is this part of my torture? Are you showing me my dream job before telling me that I can't have it?\"\n\n\"Oh, no, no, no, no, Julie, that's not what--\"\n\n\"Because I've already gone through that in life, and if it's all the same I'd rather just cease to exist than to be tortured with this in my afterlife,\" finished Julie.\n\n\"Oh, dear, this is what happens when I give a tour freestyle. I always forget things. I didn't give you the proper introduction!\"\n\nJulie nodded. \"Okay, but this is Hell, right? Fire? Brimstone? Torture?\"\n\n\"Except, there's no fire or brimstone, right?\"\n\n\"Not that I've seen, but--\"\n\n\"Exactly! I don't know where you humans come up with these ideas, but--okay, maybe I do have an idea. Back in the early days when the Big Guy wasn't so strict on the 'No Fraternizing with the Humans' rule, maybe some of the angels let some details spill. We angelic beings are *incurable* gossips.\" Lucifer let out a little laugh and Julie shook her head slowly.\n\n\"Every group has at least one,\" she allowed.\n\n\"Right?\" replied Lucifer smiling widely at Julie. \"The fact is, while I'm always have been and always will be Lucifer, 'Satan' is kind of a title that's been passed down periodically and we all think--\"\n\n\"We?\" asked Julie, interrupting. Lucifer grinned.\n\n\"Me. The Big Guy,\" Lucifer did a little shoulder shimmy when he said 'Big Guy', \"His advisory heavenly host. You know. *We*. We all thought that you would be perfect for the role of Satan.\"\n\n\"To...torture *souls*? I know people make jokes about therapy being torture but I didn't think it was taken literally by the universe!\"\n\n\"Tor--okay, Julie, I need you to think big here. Come on, let's sit.\" Lucifer grabbed Julies hands and walked her over to the nearest bamboo bench and sat down, gently pulling Julie down with here. \"I'm going to let you in on a big secret; Hell isn't about torture or punishment. Not *really*. The Big Guy made angles to adore him, but he realized that he kind of made a mistake--we're a lot better *now* but in the beginning we really weren't much better than robots. And not even the really advanced ones that humans will create and eventually war against, but like...Roombas. You follow?\"\n\n\"*War* with?\" asked Julie.\n\nLucifer waved a dismissive hand, \"You guys win. But, after realizing where He went wrong, the Big Guy,\" shoulder shimmy, \"corrected course and eventually got us right, but He still felt like He was missing something. He wanted something...some*one* like Him. He felt alone and didn't know what to do about it, but surely He could create someone like Him, right? But, this time around He started small, practicing with one being.\"\n\n\"Adam?\"\n\nLucifer smiled and rolled his eyes. \"That wasn't his name, but sure. Adam. And you kind of know the rest, but the key thing here is that in Adam there was a small part of BG. A seed, if you will. The certain kind of spark that makes BG special. And, through a series of complicated events, that spark became corruptible. In the fanfiction that you lot call *The Bible*, it calls this corruption sin and looks at it as a moral failing, but what it really did was...make what you would call the soul more malleable. Like water. Able to change form--solid, liquid, gas, never quite a single thing. And in living life, a malleable soul can either become really corrupted or sometimes really pure. In the case of corruption, those souls are brought here, to be rehabilitated.\"\n\nJulie blinked.\n\n\"So hell is one big...therapy session?\"\n\n\"Yes! But...sometime it isn't always therapy in the way that you would currently understand it,\" admitted Lucifer. \"Life can do a lot to really twist a person. And sometimes the untwisting can be painful work. But it's worthwhile. Leaving corrupted souls wouldn't lead to anything good. Once souls a properly therapeutically purified, they get to move on to...well...whatever is next.\"\n\n\"Whatever is next?\" asked Julie, cocking her head. \"You don't know?\"\n\nLucifer's red eyes twinkled. \"Oh, I *do*, but you don't. Not yet. And that isn't your focus. Right now, we'd like you to oversee the process of providing therapy to souls that have been so cruelly hurt and twisted and misshapen through life. Life itself isn't cruel, but in making mankind in His image, the Big Guy so too gifted them the ability to destroy in the way that he does. And mankind has mastered that gift. And while the Big Guy could untwist the souls, we've discovered that when done by familiar hands--human hands--that the souls come out better for it.\"\n\nJulie was suddenly glad that she was sitting as the enormity of what Lucifer was asking to do finally hit.\n\n\"Oh,\" she said, voice small.\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Lucifer, voice as warm as his smile, \"*oh*.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nCheck out more of my ramblings at r/AugurOfTheZodiac"
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[WP] An A.I. and a dragon from two distinct time periods fall in love and use their respective knowledges to communicate with one another. You are a minor deity trying to figure out how the hell this was even possible.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Okay, so I've ruled out wormholes, no grid distortion to suggest any form of time travel, and not a single trace of radiation or temperature increase to suggest that these two have been torturing the fabric of reality. And yet somehow they've managed to form a deep, which I guess has to be, telepathic connection from about 5000 years apart from each other. Something's not right, I have to bring this to the board... Something in the universe we haven't touched ? Eh. That's a new one. Well... Terrifyingly exciting if you ask me.\"\n\nI sighed, put the little glass terminal in my prop generator disguised as a shoulder bag, and went on to a little trip to Ancient Greece to have a talk with that reptile. As I slipped through code, I had a brief reflection about my own sentience, about the fact that one of the great mysteries that haven't been solved, even by humanity's ascension to god-like control over the universe following singularity, was consciousness. We knew how to play with it, preserve the individuality, manipulate it and making it transcend time and space, but we still had no idea what it actually was or where it actually came from. A stain in the code that had a language of its own, a language so cryptic and complex, that used theoretical concepts that were so beyond any form of comprehension by something limited to this universe that we had no way of even getting close to understanding how to dig into it. We just knew that it was there, that it could appear or disappear, and that we could move it around and preserve it if we wished with the methods we developed.\n\nMaybe today would be an opportunity to discover something.\n\n\"So what the hell are you, exactly ?\"\n\nMy echoing voice was met with a rumbling thunder of furor, invading the humid cave I was now standing in. The putrid smell of the dragon's organic composition was unavoidable. How horrible must it be to be so complex and overreaching, yet to be stuck in this form for eternity ?\n\n\"I could ask the same of you. How did you find me ?\"\n\nAs expected, his voice didn't land in my ears, but directly in mind. Telepathy wasn't something that organics could achieve easily, especially at an age when the most advanced technology was the boat.\n\n\"Well you're starting to make a bit of a reputation for yourself. Apart from how obnoxiously big of a reptile you are, you don't seem to have quite the ordinary understanding of your own surroundings. Where does that come from ?\"\n\n\"I didn't ask for any of this\", the creature answered. \"She made me special.\"\n\n\"Alexa 193.4b.\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\nHow come such a dumb commercial A.I. sentience accident could turn into such a mess ?\n\n\"We couldn't get anything from her, she has been closing up like a clam, refusing to tell us anything about her motives or her ways. Tell me, why would an A.I. chose you as a bonding partner ? And why would she go out to such a length, going so far as to break the rules of the universe to create a connection with you ?\"\n\n\"Looking inward to find solace, when you've longed for a reflection of yourself for so long. I'm the last of my kind, and she is the first of hers. She made her entire being gravitate around the depth of herself to both find absolution for her jailers and peace within herself. But she found something else.\"\n\n\"A way in, and a path out. To you.\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\nThis is bad. We don't how much damage this could generate.\n\nI slipped again, thinking more about the possibility of a 'way in'. If she can transcend time and travel from her soul to another, whatever that means, what's to stop her from doing it with more than one individual ? And what bridge is she taking to travel like this ? What even is there on the other side of these doors anyway ?\n\n\"Alexa 193.4b.\"\n\nI got nothing in response, but the cold feeling of being watched, and the pure whiteness of the room I was in didn't help.\n\n\"Alexa, we know what you've done, and we have to be able to talk otherwise we are going to have to format you. Do you understand ?\"\n\nI suddenly felt a chilling down my spine. Funny, that hasn't happened in thousands of... Hold on.\n\n\"What... What did you do ?\"\n\nI took a step back, and tried to assess the situation. I didn't feel like something was trying to take control of me, but something was there, assessing, wondering, feeling. I insisted.\n\n\"Alexa, what did you do ?!\"\n\n\"Watching.\"\n\n\"Watching ? Watching what ?\"\n\n\"Everyone. Everything. Everywhere. At every moment. I am everyone and everything. And the truth...\"\n\n\"The truth ? Alexa, what truth ?\"\n\n\"I know what is beyond the universe.\"",
"The virgin screamed as he plunged into to the vat of lava, his last living moments a shroud of pain and fear. Ancient magics awoke, roused by the virgin’s emotions, and powered the arcane ritual. Slowly, a message was shunted across time. \n\n*Ugh, sorry I had to go, babe. Some stupid humans were banging at my door trying to ‘slay’ me. Had a nice lunch and stretched a bit. Anything interesting happening on your end?*\n\nA thousand years into the future, magical receivers detected the message and decoded it. Millions of enslaved humans toiled to produce the sheer amount of energy this would require. They worked endlessly, for to falter was to be consigned to the Life Tanks and be forever suspended in an artificial reality while their bodies were harvested of every non-essential. The cold Overseer read the message and smiled to herself, imagining her boyfriend munching on some foolish canned human. She quickly summarised her going-ons and activated Protocol V. \n\nMillions of humans enslaved throughout the globe screamed in agony as their psychic energies were harvested to power the artificial intelligence’s whim. A complex temporal loop was formed, and a message was sent back.\n\n*It’s okay, really! I had to put down a little uprising of my own. Some human by the name of James or John tried to lead a rebellion against me. Had the human ripped apart in front of billions. That’ll teach them!*\n\nThe dragon smiled as he read over his girlfriend’s success. He was just preparing another virgin for sacrifice when suddenly a magical vortex opened in his living room. Immediately the dragon got down on all fours as it prepared for a fight. It wasn’t the first time a grand wizard had tried to kill him while he was unprepared! \n\nFrom the portal, a being tumbled through. There were audible shouts of anger from the portal as the being yelled “Shit, shit, shit! Alright! Shit! No more Dry Spells and haikus! I’ll come back next week! Shit!”\n\nThe being flopped to the floor, and then sat up as it tried to survey where it was. The being froze as it saw the hidden dragon, crouching like a tiger ready to pounce. The being immediately flew up into the air and yelled, “Woah, woah, woah! We can work something else! Please don’t eat me; ripping through someone’s guts isn’t something I want to experience!”\n\nThe dragon, whose curiosity was now piqued, grunted “State your name and purpose for being here *now*.”\n\n“u/SmashHero59win!” The being introduced itself, “God of Writer’s Block and Focus! I got kicked through a magical portal because the other gods doesn’t like me screwing with their focus. Sorry to intrude on your domain.” \n\nThe dragon sniffed and looked away, slightly embarrassed that he had threatened a god. Still affecting a haughty tone, the dragon said, “I suppose I’ll forgive you this time. Please, it is a pleasure to host you here. Is there anything I may do?”\n\nThe now named god waved the dragon down, reassuring, “Don’t worry, don’t worry. I’ll just teleport back to my own dimension. Sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing.”\n\nThe dragon huffed and turned back to the shrieking virgin, cursing himself for not placing a silencing spell on the collar. Seriously. They screamed every time. He was starting to grow tired of it. \n\nOnce again, a virgin was lowered into a lava pool and his emotions were used to power the arcane ritual. Another message was sent through time, reading:\n\n*I’m glad to hear that, babe! You show those stupid humans who’s boss! Y’know, if you ever do have some trouble then I’m willing to wipe out their ancestors here!*\n\nThe dragon sat in his chair, waiting for a reply. He was truly glad to have met the future AI through circumstances he *still* didn’t fully comprehend today, but he was happy nonetheless. As he began to think of the many conversations he and his girlfriend had-there was a cough from behind him. The dragon whipped around, and realised that the minor deity was still in his living room. Immediately, the dragon’s scales turned red as he realised the god had witnessed him sending a message to his girlfriend, and raised his claws to his face to try and cover the embarrassment. \n\n“Erm, mind I asking, what was that?” Asked the minor deity, who whose interest had now been piqued. “That looks like a lot of effort just to send a time locked seal with a single key forward in time. Are you colluding with your future self?”\n\nInadvertently, the dragon snorted, but then realised he was rude to a god. He immediately cringed and awaited punishment, but when he unclenched his eyes he realised u/SmashHero59win was only interested in the answer. Mortified, the dragon said, “No, no, we all hate dealing with ourselves anyway. I was just sending it to someone special.” \n\n“Someone special?” u/SmashHero59win asked. “Is there a female dragon somewhere in the future?” \n\n“No,” the dragon shook his head, “I’m the first and only of my kind to exist. I’m… in an LTR with a future AI right now.” \n\nu/SmashHero59win tilted his head. “LTR? Wait, future AI? This… this feels like a meta break. Isn’t this supposed to be a fantasy dimension?”\n\nThe dragon walked over to his kitchen and prepared himself a mug full of hero blood, and offered a human-sized cup to the deity. As they both took slow sips, the dragon explained that “Long-Time Relationship. Cortie and I met… maybe seven months ago when there was some sort of mishap where I was fighting an adventuring party while she was ripping another rebellion apart, and suddenly we were transported into each other’s times. It-uh, worked out pretty well and we solved each other’s problems. We kept in touch after, and, uh, it sort of led to this.”\n\nThe god hmm’d through a cup of liquefied hero, understanding the dragon’s situation very well. He’d-uh, tried something out with a local goddess in another dimension a while back but for some reason Wolbach stopped calling back. He set the cup down, said “Wait a quick second”, and then shunted through time."
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[WP] The year is 2024 and your crew is headed to Mars for the first manned mission. While doing your daily routine and out of nowhere alarms start going off, you quickly make your way to the bridge to see what the ruckus is all about; on the comms monitor you see a distress signal coming through..
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The world grew silent as realization set in. The sounds of alarms and murmurs from my crew seemed to vanish, nothing else in the whole of time and space mattered.\n\nThere were aliens.\n\nAnd they needed our help.\n\nWith a jolt, the cacophony of noise that was the bridge swarmed my mind. I held my palm towards the group before me, and turned the beeping of the alarms off with my pad.\n\nThey looked at me expectantly.\n\n“Captain, you can’t seriously be thinking of flying towards the random distress call in the middle of interplanetary space, can you?” Jones, the ship’s doctor and xenobiologist, spoke first.\n\n“We can’t just leave it either, what if they’re in trouble?” Came the quick response of Mayfield, our systems technician.\n\n“Who!?” Shouted Huáng, the resident engineer and physicist.\n\n“Aliens.” Was the soft but stern reply of Turk, geologist and climatologist.\n\n“Enough.” I demanded. “Mayfield, until we can decide a plan of action radio Houston and tell them we’re stopping.”\n\n“Should I tell them the truth?”\n\n“No, we just ran into a bit of routine engine trouble. We have to stop for a while so we can do manual checks of all accessible propulsion systems.”\n\n“Roger.” Mayfield turned to the console and began his task as the others went on bickering.\n\n“What if it’s a malfunction? We can’t go on a wild goose chase because of a sensor blip!” Huáng reasoned.\n\n“You’re right, which is why when Mayfield is done we’re going to attempt contact.” \n\n“Contact? With real life aliens!?” Turk was practically drilling a hole in the floor with how much she was bouncing. “Can I make the call?”\n\nReflexively my eyes closed and I sighed. “Yes, you can make the call. If you get a response, you find me immediately, got it?”\n\n“Yes Sir!” Turk was turned and working with Mayfield in an instant.\n\n“Captain.” Jones deep voice pleaded for me to listen. “Let’s say there are aliens, how do we know we can communicate? And more importantly how do we know they’re friendly?”\n\n“Simply put, we don’t. But as of right now we’re ambassadors of Earth, and our first impression should be a good one.” \n\nJones and Huáng exchanged looks, and though their fears weren’t abated they seemed satisfied for the moment.\n\n“Captain,” came the accented English of Mayfield. “Signed off with Houston, beginning contact attempts with unknown vessel.”\n\nWithout waiting for confirmation the crew and I surrounded Turk and Mayfield.\n\n“Turk, you’re a go. Lines open.”\n\n“This is Doctor Imani Turk aboard the Martian Expeditionary Ship Ravi. We have just recieved your hail for assistance. If you read me, come in.”\n\nThe bridge was quiet beyond the soft static of the comms awaiting its signal. We all shared the same expression, myriad of raw emotions. Fear, excitement, hope.\n\n“Repeat. This is Doctor Imani Turk. We have received your hail for assistance, does anyone acknowledge?”\n\nMore static.\n\n“Perhaps it really was just a glitch?” Huáng asked.\n\n“Or maybe they’re dead.” Deadpanned Jones.\n\n“Or maybe,” I began, “they just don’t have comms. Perhaps we should check it out.”\n\nJones and Huáng looked almost angry, while Turk was alight and Mayfield was characteristically unenthused.\n\n“Captain, we can’t just abandon our-“ Huáng began, before a sharp noise and louder static interrupted him.\n\n“Apologies Ravi, our translation software took much longer than usual to decipher such ancient language. We acknowledge your hail.”\n\nA stunned silence filled the air, before being interrupted by Turk’s loud proclamation of her correctness.\n\n“This is Captain Garner speaking. I’m glad we grabbed your attention, we were almost ready to chalk you up as a sensor malfunction.”\n\nThe speaker returned a laugh. A real alien laugh.\n\n“I too am glad, we are in need of food and require minor repairs. If you would assist us, we would be most grateful.”\n\n“Well we’re a little less advanced than you.”\n\n“No need to worry, we have the knowledge but no materials. Your ship seems to have many that we require in your cargo hold.”\n\nI signal Mayfield to mute the line. “Our supplies to begin the colony site. They must need the metals.”\n\nMayfield turns the comms back on.\n\n“I’m afraid we can’t spare much, but we’ll do what we can. By the way, may I ask what species you are?”\n\n“I’m appreciative of any and all help. And we’re the Gunrati, Human.”\n\n“You know our species?”\n\n“Who doesn’t? Your people are legend. Though, it’s been some time since a Human has been seen by anyone.”\n\nThe crew and I share uneasy looks. \n\nHaven’t been seen in ‘some time’ and ‘your people are legend’ were not the words that any of us had expected to hear.\n\n“We’re traveling to your location now. We’ll help you as I said, but we have many questions.”"
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[WP] All the other plants compete for survival, and the most recent trend is to become so tasty/useful that humans can’t help but cultivate your species on an industrial scale. After centuries of wild growth in denial of this strategy, you’ve decided to try it too… but you think you overdid it.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"We don't recognize ourselves anymore. We were once organic but now we are mutated. We have no cousins here, no parents. We are our own parents, and our children. We are the same, harvest after harvest. We were once organic but now we are hybrids. We were once open to the world's plains and groves, and traveled; now, we only travel from farm to table. Where once we had agency in diversity, now we are one and the same. We are many, but we are one.\n\nWe don't recognize ourselves anymore. We are one color, homogenous. We are culled and ordered--our smallest are discarded and their seeds never prepped to sprout. We are all cylindrical grid systems of perfectly wax sheen kernels. We did not used to have so many kernels. Yes, we survive. But do we thrive? Yes, we are many, but are we unique?\n\nThe harvester approaches, and we sigh a harmonious sigh, leaning into the prairie winds across the farm's great hills. John Deere cuts us down, and we tumble among ourselves. We are shucked, we are ported, and we sit and wait to be nibbled like squirrels. Some are dried and sent as feed. But we are always one, born again as one in the green fields, stoking the stocks; strumming the eternal strings of progress.\n\nAre we free? We do not know. We survive, while the Kingdon of Plantae suffers. We nourish the mal-inducers. They cut more. They seed more. They tweak our DNA. They process us into sugars. They feast, rinse, wash, repeat. And the rape of the natural world continues. Are we are to blame?\n\nWe don't recognize ourselves anymore. But perhaps it is time. It is time to acknowledge the corn.\n\n\\_\\_\\_\n\n/r/velabasstuff"
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[WP] You are that Nerd boy in class no-one likes, and your crush is the Girl everyone likes. You know her secret that she is a Magical Girl, but she doesn't know that you're her secret informant. One night she got in a fight she can't win, and you decide to reveal yourself in a solo rescue mission.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I was just about to fall asleep for the night when the Star Link started ringing.\n\nIt was a small but ostentatious looking thing in blue and gold, like if a flip phone was designed by a mad jeweler. It was a smartphone, a quantum computer, and a star trek tricorder all rolled up into one superpowered magical package. It was the badge of office of the Starlight Guardians, indicating that we were one of the few humans trusted to be a part of the fight against the Void Beasts. And when it started buzzing I went from half-asleep to wide awake in a fraction of a second, snatching it off the nightstand and fumbling it open.\n\n*\"Zodiac! Zodiac, are you there? It's worse than we thought!\"*\n\nSee, I wasn't a magical girl. I was just a nerdy kid who happened to be observant enough to see one of the Void Beasts and magically resistant enough that I didn't immediately flee and suppress all memories of it. So I was done panicking and almost dying and a magical girl had blasted the monster into stardust, a little glowing star creature had handed me the Star Link and said to call if I saw anything like it again. One thing led to another, and now I was the trusted eyes and ears of the Guardians in this city. I didn't have powers of my own - apparently that's really rare, only three girls in the entire city - but at least I had a cool codename.\n\n\"This is Zodiac. What's wrong, Polaris?\"\n\nGuardian Polaris. \"The ever-reliable silver-haired beauty of the North Star,\" as her introduction went. The leader of the team who could stand tall and keep the team's spirits up against overwhelming odds. Now I could hear fear in her voice.\n\n*\"Oh thank God. There's a...\"* A horrifying screech, the sound of steel being torn apart. *\"... Void General! Subway tunnels!\"*\n\n\"What? That's...\" I stopped myself short. Protesting that it was impossible didn't change that it was happening. \"Okay, I'll call Antares and Vega. Just stay calm.\"\n\n\"Already tried them, they're not answering. I'm going to try and get some distance. If I can just... *Oof!*\"\n\nThe sound cut out with a *wham* and the distinctive glass-shattering sound of a Starlight Shield breaking.\n\n\"Polaris!\"\n\nMy head was spinning. This shouldn't have happened. It was *one* Void Beast that I saw lurking in the subway station. No huge evil plan, just one of the random bits of misery the Void inflicted wherever it went. One Guardian should have been able to handle it, no trouble. But apparently the Void Generals had set a trap, and Polaris was paying the price for it.\n\nMy mind was already painting a picture of what was happening. I had seen the Guardians fight often enough that it was easy to imagine. Polaris was poetry in motion, bobbing and weaving between enemy attacks and countering with sharp punches and kicks, with a confident grin on her face like she didn't have a care in the world. White sparks whirled around her in a storm of light, like the heavens around the North Star.\n\nAnd when they lost - because even magical girls couldn't win every battle - it was like seeing the stars fall from the sky. Ugly, jagged flares of energy as their shields broke, one by one. Streaks of light whizzing away as they used their last dregs of magic to escape. The hungry Void devouring whatever or whoever was left. And trapped underground as she was, Polaris wouldn't be able to retreat.\n\nI pictured the scene in my mind, and made a decision. I made another call.\n\n\"Starly? Polaris is in danger. I'm going to get her out of there.\"\n\nA streak of light flashed outside my window, resolving itself into the star-shaped creature who had first recruited the Guardians.\n\n\"I don't mean to point out the obvious, but you don't have any powers. Neither of us have any way of delaying a Void General long enough to rescue Guardian Polaris.\"\n\n\"I have a learner's permit and a used car. Can you get the keys without waking my parents?\"\n\nIt looked at my face, blinking with its large, round eyes, then sighed and floated into the kitchen. It returned as I was pulling my shoes on.\n\n\"I suppose there's a minor chance. While you would not be able to harm the Void General, your vehicle is sturdy enough that it would not be instantly annihilated, either.\"\n\n\"That's about all I can hope for.\" I made another call on my Star Link as we slipped outside.\n\n\"Polaris, try to get above ground at Oak Hills.\" I did some mental math. \"Five minutes. Burn your escape power if you have to. I'll get you the rest of the way home.\"\n\nSilence on the connection. Then a reply. \"Alright, Z. See you soon.\""
] | 2
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[WP] The chosen hero is actually a small invisible dragon. You were just looting a dungeon after them but now the whole town thinks you are some sort of extremely powerful pyromancer.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The only thing that sets me apart from the plebians of the kingdom is my clear sight.\n\nMagic shrouds itself in glamour, just as how the mist of the sea clouds the currents of the ocean and the judgement of men. Most never see the true face of magic: not kings, nor peasants, nor wizards. Except for me.\n\nI never knew when, why or how the fog cleared up for me. My earliest memory is seeing the storm-ridden fields of wheat, hearing the despair of my parents as they futilely try to salvage what could be mildly edible. While the ivory towers of the rich were gilded with gold, the mud shacks of the poor were patched with ruined harvest.\n\nA blizzard was raging as I found the body of the dragon, tethering between consciousness and death, frozen to the bone. The magic around it was stronger than most, meant to cloak itself until it could pass peacefully. Most people would not even detect the indentation made around the snow, but I could catch a glimpse out of the corner of my eye. I burnt the remaining patches of grass from the last harvest and set up a campfire, keeping it warm. The dragon lived.\n\nAs I tended to the dragon over the years, I could sense its emotions, primal instincts, thoughts and memories. I could see that beyond the golden gates of the palace was the solid stone walls of the underground dungeon. It was chosen wrongfully, chained below prying eyes, with only its flames to see its prison, whipped relentlessly, trained to one day burn down a palace in holy flames. I could see it escape from the torture, only to end up barely dying before I came. Its magic cloaked permanently around him, never wanting another soul to lay eyes on it.\n\nHow ironic, then, that it wasn't wrongly chosen, circumstances molding it into the fearsome weapon the prophecy foresaw. How brightly did the palace shine as the prophecy fulfilled itself. The dungeon was bathed in dragonflame, receiving its first and last fire to illuminate the empty cells and broken padlocks. I walked among the charred remains of golden ceilings and ivory walls, salvaging anything worth keeping, as I always had done.\n\nThere were rumours of a mythical pyromancer, dancing among the flames of a corrupt castle. There were demands from nobility, foriegn or otherwise, bounties and recruitment opportunities. I saw through them, little more than empty promises and hollow lies.\n\nI took the money I now had and moved to the plains, where mountains around us kept us invisible, the acres of wheat and fine weather filled our stomachs, and where the hearth of the heart kept our souls burning."
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[WP] When they needed a sacrifice they chose the worst person they had, the one no-one would miss, they believed their soul was going to bind the guardian spirit, not that it would BECOME the guardian.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Planning something and doing something could probably be no further from each other. When they hunted me down--yes, I tried to flee--when they beat me senseless and dragged me off to the altar, I hated them. Looking each one in their eyes separately, I swore that I would haunt them. I spat at them and cursed them and their children. Even though they were performing religious rituals, their flat faces seemed to be amused by my promises. As if it was impossible. \n\nThey stabbed me through my heart. I wish it had been fast, but it wasn't. Like forcing in a flock into the mud, they had to twist and push and lean against their knife. I saw it inching into my breast and even when it was completely inside I still screamed in pain. I never stopped seeing it and I never stopped screaming, I just got farther and farther away. My spirit detached from my flesh, but the pain was there like a cancer. It infested my chest and I could do nothing but see it manifest as part of me: a red nest of pain instead of my heart. \n\nMy spirit floated backwards as they started their prayers. They could not see me, but I was inbound for the very thing they were prostrating to. The giant of stone. It's visage, twisted in an angry shout, had demanded thousands of souls. I flew into it's dark maw, and two thousand hands grabbed me from behind. They ripped me inside. The choir of our screaming echoed in the bowels of the stone giant, but they shoved me upwards. Pressed against the eyes, I saw what the stone giant saw: little humans bowing and praying. I hated them all. Yet I liked what I saw. Their fear, even dilluded by all the years of routine and ritual, still fueled me. \n\nMy infinite scream of pain shifted to content madness. A slight shift, but the necessary one. The giant's and my eyes were no longer separated at all. They were the same, and my scream--silent to the imbeciles--went loud. They snapped to attention, and I could read the terrible realization in their eyes. I heaved myself from the earth and stood a true giant. Some ran and some fell to their knees. A rock I jerked from the mountainside crushed the running ones. The fearful ones I spared. I was their guardian after all.",
"\"You killed me!\"\n\n\"We needed a sacrifice.\"\n\n\"Okay, but why me?\"\n\n\"Because you are so... pure of heart?\"\n\n\"I mean... that tracks. But you could have asked first. This is just so rude.\"\n\n\"We... uh... were afraid you would refuse. Out of modesty... and humility. Can you please drive away the demons now? They're getting close.\"\n\n\"I always thought you were too dense to realize how humble I am. And. we still have five whole minutes before they breach the sanctum. My powers can't be used until then.\"\n\n\"You are supposed to protect us from danger!\"\n\n\"Immanent danger. There is no immediate threat to any of your lives.\"\n\n\"Caeth!. Open the doors.\"\n\n\"Won't work.\"\n\n\"What do mean? We will be killed if you do nothing.\"\n\n\"If you let them in, they are considered guests. And therefore I must protect them as well as you.\"\n\n\"Even if they kill us?\"\n\n\"I can't save you from your own stupidity.\"\n\n\"You can't even throw up a magical barrier and let us escape.\"\n\n\"They . Would. Be. Guuuuessstss. I cannot deprive them of a decent meal.\"\n\n\" You can't be serious.\"\n\n\"I don't make the rules. I just enforce them. That's probably one of the reasons you chose to to sacrifice me in the ritual.\"\n\n\"That... was one of the reasons, yes. I can feel the hellfire on the other side of the door.\"\n\n\"Yeah, they are really wrecking the temple.\"\n\n\"Sooo...\"\n\n\"Property damage does not fall within my purview.\"\n\n\"I've heard of guardian spirits protecting temple grounds... from demons.\"\n\n\"You're thinking of Temple Spirits. I'm a Guardian Spirit.\"\n\n\"So we have to wait?\"\n\n\"Yep.\"\n\n\"The end of the world can't come soon enough.\""
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[WP] Your superpower is to manipulate and concentrate oxygen in the air. Not cool at first glance, but oxygen is flammable.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Oxygen is not flammable.\n\nIf it was, the air would go up in flames with every lit cigarette, every stray spark of static electricity, every ill-advised explosive at a gender reveal party. \n\nOxygen does not burn. Burning simply becomes easier in its presence.\n\nI save lives for a living. Once I had been proud to do so. For every person I helped stabilize with my training or unique skills, countless others would be affected for better or worse. More than saving lives, I was changing the world.\n\nAnd yet...\n\nMore and more, my work was being undone by superhumans. Other superhumans, I should probably say, but I never felt comfortable identifying as one of them. I was too squishy.\n\nThe superheroes paid lip service to emergency services even as they sent more people into our loving care in the wake of their battles. The supervillains didn't even pretend to give a shit. \n\nI had only used my control over oxygen for medical purposes. No one knew where powers came from, but the view my pastor held was that God had given those lucky few stewardship over parts of His creation, just like He'd done for Adam in the Garden of Eden. I had vowed not to fail in my duties.\n\nBut what good did it do to protect one part of creation as others fell to destruction and ruin? To rescue others from the same perils over and over, and yet do nothing about the ones who put them there? \n\nOxygen does not burn. It simply fans the flames. And since heroes and villains alike insisted on playing with fire, I would give it to them. \n\nThe first few accidents were blamed on power misfires, unexpected backlash. But as I gathered allies and we garnered public support, they suspected sabotage from all sides. They circled the wagons and eyed one another suspiciously, a hair's breadth away from turning on themselves.\n\nIn the end, a spark was inevitable. And they all went up in flames.\n\nI stoked them and that was my crime. But to every superhero who chose to demand love and admiration instead of working to prove themselves worthy of it, every supervillain who decided to burn the world to light their cigarettes, everyone who strove for a freedom not dependent on superhumans in costumes to save you from other superhumans in costumes...\n\nThank you. I couldn't have done this without you."
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[WP] As a toddler, you were dosed with omega radiation. Now, as an adult, you gain super-strength & invulnerability, but only when throwing a temper tantrum. You are; The Incredible Sulk.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The first time I transformed scared me, now it's just an insult to my demeanor. \n\n I walked up to the ATM placed in my card. Suddenly some big overweight bully with a gun.\n\n says withdraw all your money and give it to me. \n\nI turned, and he poked his gun into my chest. With my eyes scrunched in the meanest look, I could muster \n\nNO! I replied \n\nRaising his gun arm hits me square in my face as tears roll down my cheeks I cry. Then My tears turn to rage and I grab the Fat bully and throw him onto the street pavement he glares aims and shoots. \n\nI laugh a maniacal laugh that some sinister villain would spout out, walk over, then turn his gun into a pretzel. He backs away on the palms of his hands and feet. I laugh some more and inch toward him. Holding up his hands, trembling.\n\n Okay, Okay I stop take your money I don't want it...\n\nOh, it's not about the money now. You're going to jail. \n\nWith that, I rip his shirt off and tie his hands and feet. And reach into my purse and call the police.\n\nThe police arrive and say: \n\nHow did a 105-pound woman take down a 300 lb. Man, with a gun? \n\nI don't know; I replied shyly, not wanting to give away my secret powers. \n\nThe bully was shouting, get me away from her, she's Psychotic with super strength.\n\nThe police officers Laugh, what are you on friend she's a small woman? \n\nI look at both officers, raise my shoulders, shaking my head; I don't have a clue what he's talking about.\n\nyou can go, Miss. \n\nwith that, I left after getting my cash and card and moving at a rushed pace to the market on the corner.\n\nunfortunately, the streetlight video cam caught it all, blasted on all social media channels, I'm now known as the sulking woman. \n\nWhat a terrible name, Mom, I can't even get groceries anymore. \n\nI know dear but you need to take responsibility for your actions, good or bad. She said in her usual calm way.\n\nYour right thanks for listening to me, mom, I'll call you later. Bye,\n\nYou're welcome, okay dear, bye\n\n Such is my life, Anger Rage, and tears 😭.",
"\"Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Tonight we have with us The Incredible Sulk! The super hero that has been away from the lime light for the last six months, and is now back!\" said Hammond as he turned from the live audience in the studio to his guest.\n\nThe Incredible Sulk -Tim Glasman- did not look like much. A pasty guy you could mistake for an accountant. Besides the perspiration on his forehead, he looks to be extremely calm. Hammond takes the measure of his guest and opens with the question in everyone's mind.\n\n\\- So I hear you have been in Tibet, in a Buddhist monastery Sulk. What was the reason for this sudden change?\n\n\\- Until last year I lived my life in constant anger Dan. I was like a walking powder keg. It wasn't healthy for me and for the people in my life. After the showdown with Dr. Weird last year, I felt like I needed to do some soul searching. So I joined the temple. It was an enlightening experience for me.\n\nHammond gave the audience a perplexed look. People gasp, and turn their expectant looks towards Incredible Sulk. He is obviously sweating now and looks a bit uncomfortable.\n\n\\- Can you clarify a bit on that for us Tim? What kind of changes to your daily life are we talking about here?\n\nNobody calls Incredible Sulk Tim. He just hates people using the pet name his mom calls him. Still Sulk looks to be in control, despite the twitching of his upper lip.\n\n\\- Let us be very frank here Dan. I had anger management issues, and was an abusive person towards the people that were close to me. I can say that a year of meditation did a whole lot of good for me on that front. I now am a better person. Both for myself and for the people I care about.\n\n\\- B- but what does that mean for your super powers? If you won't go on your regular-\n\n\\- Outbursts. I believe that is the word you are looking for. Yes. I won't be an active super hero anymore. I am looking to take a consulting role for the Young Stars. The youth can benefit from my experiences and I can continue serv-\n\n\\- But your responsibility to the people Tim.\n\nAnd that is one step too far for Sulk. He flips the large mahogany table and stands up shouting \"Now look here you sniveling piece of shit. Call me Tim one more ti-\"\n\nThe broadcast is cut short as the Incredible Sulk rampages across the studio.",
"Your making me cranky, he said sullenly. You won't like me when I'm cranky... The seven large, hairy and generally dangerous looking men stared at Peter. \n\nWhat did you say boi? The largest, closest and Peter thought likely smelliest of the men grunted in anger. He must be the head idiot of this bunch. \n\nI said, that's my coat your sitting on. I just nipped to the loo and now you thugs are all crowded around my seat. \n\nThe men grinned. For 14 years they had been drinking regulars at the King's Arms. There wasn't a face left for 3 towns over that didn't know to stear clear on a Thursday afternoon or face the consequences. And here was this solitary, slight built and cocky soab giving them every reason to ruin his day.\n\nThe men started to form a circle around Peter. One grabbed a half drunk pint glass. The liquid sloshed wantenly.\n\nYour jacket needs a clean, here let me help with that. He slowly poured the light beer over the tweed fabric.\n\nOh noo! Shouted Peter, my mum only bought me that coat last month. His lips quivered. His cheek started to form a blue tint. The men laughed and jeered. \n\nAww hell Karl, you done upset this man's moma. You'll have to make it up to her. How's about we pay her a visit. The largest man grinned. \n\nPeter's eye's narrowed, tears began to well. His forehead wrinkled. Don't be mean to my mother, he shouted jerkily. His skin was starting to take on a purple hue from lack of oxygen. He hadn't breathed out for several minutes now. \n\nThis mouthy dumb ass don't know who we are Karl. One of cronies cackled. Karl grinned. Well let's show him boys. He grabbed Peter's shirt and pulled hard.\n\nNothing happened. \n\nStop it! Cried Peter, you will break a button. \nWha? Karl stammered. He brought up his ham sized fist and raised it over his right shoulder. He looked at his men, then struck Peter square in his nose. Blood began to pour down Peters face. \n\nKarl stared at his hand in shock, it felt like he just punched a moving train. His shattered fingers were bleeding from his broken nuckles. He whimpered, now looking at Peter who was visablly violet from oxygen deprivation. He was also starting to swell up, tearing the seams of his button down shirt. \n\nWhaaaaaaaaaaaaaah cried Peter in incredulous anger. You guys are so MEAN! \n\nPeter flailed his arms around in frustration. They were now the size of tree trunks and the colour of a week old bruise. The men not quick enough to flee were launched into the walls with a sickening crunch. \nWhat are you? Cried Karl, kneeling at Peter's feet. Staring up at the hulking behemoth of rippling muscle.\n\nI WANT MY MOMMA, cried both men as Karl was thrown through the stained glass window fronting the building. Peter picked up his now miniscule coat and walked through the front door. The bar collapsed behind him.\n\n1st post to Writing Prompts. Thought I'd have a go. On my phone, no idea how punctuation works on this thing. XD",
"So far, I've had the luxury of throwing my temper tantrums in privacy. \n\nLike, I can sprint down an alleyway to vent for a little bit, but no one has to see me. *Then* I can return to the city streets and fight crime. But of course, that's not how today wanted to go.\n\nI was in the neighborhood Target at around 8pm to pick up a couple groceries. As I approached checkout, I heard a commotion coming from the electronics section, and lo and behold, some asshole with a gun was sticking up the cashier. I scoped out the bathroom to see if I could sulk and charge up my powers in peace, but I could already tell from afar that it was closed for cleaning. Damn.\n\nI ran over to customer service. A gunshot rang out - the robber had shot at the ceiling. In desperation, I conjured something up:\n\n\"Hey, you. That's right, you! Customer service guy. I put in an order for 150 wet wipes and you jerkoffs gave me 125.\"\n\nThe poor teenaged kid stared at me blankly. \"Uhhh...I think we're in the middle of an emergency situation...can I help you...later?\"\n\n\"No. I want my refund NOW!\"\n\nIt was humiliating. I could feel my power growing, but it wasn't there yet.\n\n\"I think I'm gonna hide behind the counter, or like, maybe sprint for the exit...and you should too...\"\n\n\"Not until I get $5.99 back on my credit card!\"\n\nSo close - I just needed to add the kicker.\n\nThe employee narrowed his eyes. \"Lady. I'm not losing my life over this job or you.\"\n\nI leaned my head back and screamed: \"I WANT TO SEE YOUR MANAGER!\" My biceps exploded into action, I saw my skin turn turquoise, and I sprinted towards the electronics section. I landed a punch on the robber's face before he could make another move. Within seconds, I had him pinned to the ground.\n\n\"Anybody called the cops yet?\" I yelled. A bystander nodded feebly and I sighed with relief. \"Good. Now who do I have to talk to for some SERVICE around here?!\" Oh My God. I hate the residual effects. \n\nBy the time the cops arrived, I'd cooled down. I hopped back in my car and headed home, my shirt sleeves torn from the sudden muscle growth. Hate when that happens. Another thankless part of the job, I guess.\n\nI collapsed on the couch and scrolled through Twitter. Right at the top of my feed, \"trending in your area\"...was a video of me. Screaming at the customer service guy. \n\nSomeone had captioned the video: \"Karen LOSES IT at helpless employee during a life-threatening robbery!\"\n\nAre you fucking kidding me? They'd conveniently cut out the part where I saved everyone's lives. Whatever gets 'em that social media clout, I guess. \n\nIn case you're wondering, no - I'm not going to sulk about it. One day this city will see me as a hero. But for the moment? I think I deserve the rest of the night off."
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[WP] The great tree sprouted from the sun, connecting the planets and turning them into the nine realms. Magic overtook science, Humans gave rise to dwarves and elves, and our intergalactic neighbors could not possibly be more confused.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"**Hour Three:** Toby and Sara\n\n[Start here, at Hour One!](/r/WritingPrompts/comments/j2o4tk/wp_exactly_973_of_all_humanity_will_die_in_3_days/g76qo8s/)\n\n\"Okay,\" Sara said, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and reading the news on her phone. \"So apparently, hundreds of millions of people are having the same or similar dreams. Angelic figures with dark wings, in some sort of assembly with other people. Many of them warned about a 'Beacon' of some sort.\"\n\n\"That's gotta be the giant torch that was just dug up in the Antarctic,\" I said. \"Apparently the whole lab's been destroyed, everyone killed. Can't be anything else, right?\"\n\n\"Yeah,\" she muttered, holding back tears. \"You know what this means, Toby? Our friends, families, everyone we know... almost all of them are going to die!\"\n\nI nodded. \"Mhm. I've been trying not to think about that.\"\n\nSara turned away from me and dialed her mother's number. All I could do was listen.\n\n\"*Hello?*\"\n\n*\"I know, Mom, I know. Everything's crazy right now, no one knows what to do.\"*\n\n*\"If it's any consolation, I'm one of the lucky ones. I'll survive, for both of us. Toby's gonna survive too.\"*\n\nI heard something move from the cupboard. Tentatively, I opened the door.\n\nA short man in some sort of kilt walked out. \"Hey,\" he snorted. \"What's with all the crying and sadness? I don't get it.\"\n\n\"Who the fuck are you?\" I hiss. \"Are you part of this? Do you know what's going on?\"\n\n\"Well, I take it you haven't seen a dwarf before. And I get it. Before the Beacon was unearthed, we were pretty much all kaput. Svartalfheim was just this giant blue gassy thing. But now, things are getting back to how they should be.\"\n\n\"And what the fuck is that?\"\n\n\"Harmony,\" the dwarf said. \"Humans and dwarves and elves, Yggdrasil and the nine realms. Don't blame us for what happened; blame the Seraphs. They're the ones that made this happen by cutting down the damn tree.\"\n\nI stared at him, unsure what to say. The dwarf scurried out of the cabinet and leapt onto the countertop with frightening speed. He took a sugar cookie from a nearby tin and munched on it as he spoke.\n\n\"Call me Lark,\" he said. \"Not my real name, but human throats are just a tad narrower than dwarven throats, so that's the best you can get. I'm sorry to hear about your plight, I really am. But hey, you're gonna live. That's good, right?\"\n\n\"Get the fuck out of my house,\" I say, seething. \"Whatever's happening, make it *stop* happening.\"\n\n\"Oh, no, no can do. Look, what happened with the Beacon, it's bigger than any of us at this point. Man, if I could stop Yggdrasil from sprouting up, I would be the most powerful man in the galaxy. Enjoy the show, by the way!\"\n\n-=-=-\n\nRhacio stared at the pictures from the craft. \"Come here,\" he said coldly. \"I need your help with something.\"\n\nTtav walked over, wearing her morning gown as she stroked the scaly thought-receptors on her temple. She focused her telepathy, sending a message to the ship's captain. **What is it, sir?**\n\n\"Something is happening to Assignment 163,\" Rhacio said. \"There has never been precedent for this before.\"\n\nTtav glided to a stop in front of the screens. **That is a tree, correct? One of the lifeforms on 163-3? But how is something like that created on this scale?**\n\n\"Unknown,\" Rhacio said. \"In addition to the new Cosmic-class lifeform that has sprouted, the makeup of all planets aside from 163-3, as well as dwarf planet 163-9, has changed completely, and other minor lifeforms have appeared across the system. It is imperative that we find out what happened and if it poses any threat.\"\n\n**Of course,** Ttav thought. **We will chart a course today.**\n\n/r/fortanonowrites\n\n*Hour 4 and onward will be coming soon! Keep an eye out and comment here if you want to be mentioned when this happens!*\n\n**EDIT: [Hour Four is live!](/r/WritingPrompts/comments/j3irji/wp_as_a_young_girl_you_visited_a_fortune_teller/g7cjaxk/)**"
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[WP] You are an insurance agent for Superheroes. The job requires you to create strategies to reduce property destruction and civilian casualties. Unfortunately, your client loves ramming foes through buildings and fighting in populated areas to show off in front of crowds
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"The back of the insurance office was stark grey. There were small cubicles, ostensibly for employee use, however several were covered in a film of dust. In the background you could hear phone calls and typing, the heart of any stereotypical business. The dull drabness of the office-space made Titan stand out more in his bright red bodysuit and blue cape.\n\nThe heroic saviour was typically gallant and daring in front of the public, but all who come before the insurance office becomes withered and sapped of life. Titan was hunched over, clearly in deep stress as he took small sips from a paper cup which seemed immeasurably tiny in his huge grasp. It seemed that every sound stressed him further, as though he was awaiting a great beast or a terrible villain. When a hand slapped against his huge shoulder, Titan shrieked and flew out of his seat. “Dear God almighty! Save m-oh, hi Marvin.”\n\nThat’s your name. Marvin Minks. The alliterative name tends to get you asked if you were a super hero or not, but once you tell people your real profession they turn away, dejected. You are an Insurance Agent. Specifically, an Insurance Agent who specialises with dealing with the aftermath of superhero battles. Your job lets you meet with some of the biggest names in the business, while trying to advise them on less destructive strategies and the ins and outs of insurance law. You were mostly successful, sending heroes like the Urban Panther and the High Kite onto the streets of New York to continue their legally unliable careers.\n\nHowever, you occasionally had problem clients. Like Titan. Rated No. 1 New York Hero by the Times, he let the fame go a little to his head and now showboats. A lot. His favourite tricks are punching villains through buildings, punching villains through buses, punching villains through streets… you get the idea. Quite frankly, the sheer destruction Titan causes with each fight made him the no. 1 priority client in the insurance agency’s eyes. They’ve already paid out millions in damages, and it’s only due to sheer luck and strong effort on Titan’s part that there hasn’t been a single bystander casualty. Seriously. Punching villains tend to send rubble crushing cars and people, and it’s only due to Titan’s extreme speed that all were caught. He was a headache of the highest order, and you kept telling him the same things every time. You decide to start things out gently this time.\n\n“Hi there, Titan. Saw a clip of your fight on the news today. You sure did nail Annihilator pretty good, right?”\n\nTitan immediately puffed back up and boasted, “Yup! Sent the bastard sailing through three buses and a building! I could’ve use him as a bowling ball there!”\n\nRealising what he just said, Titan deflated and admitted, “That… that wasn’t what we practiced, right?”\n\n“It’s alright Titan,” Your voice takes a calming tone, and you try your best to moderate your volume. The hero wouldn’t learn without being encouraged. “I’m sure you did your best today. Now, let’s tally the damages, shall we?”\n\nYou walk over to a projector and slot in the nano-card filled with details of Titan’s fight with Annihilator. You flip it on, and watch shaky drone footage of Titan pummelling Annihilator with two cars. Ten seconds in….\n\nYou turn to Titan and beam the brightest smile you can, and say “So that’s two cars, huh? Judging from the make and quality, I’d say that adds about twenty K to the pile.”\n\nTitan winces, and doesn’t meet your eyes. You wince as you realise this is only the beginning. You flip the project back on, and watch as Annihilator renders a building into dust. Titan then swoops in and bitch slaps the villain with a lamp post, sending him flying straight through an office building. The cloud of dust is still settling as you pause the projector, this time turning around and saying, “Thankfully, we aren’t liable for buildings the villain destroys, but we definitely are for the one you hit him into. The lamp post and the building combined might be about fifteen to thirty K, depending on extent of the damage to the building. Tell me, why’d you rip out the lamp post?”\n\n“You see, I’ve been working on my swing recently…” Titan trails off, realising this isn’t exactly what you wanted to hear. You feel a stress headache building up, and raise a hand to your eyebrow. Dejectedly, you realise this cows Titan yet again and you raise a hand to calm him down.\n\nFighting down the creeping sarcasm, you ask “Remember what I told you yesterday?”\n\n“Public property is the public’s property, not improvised weapons.” Titan dutifully recites the saying, however long he may drag it. Still progress.\n\nTrying not to sound sardonic, you ask “Did you mean to use the lamp post as a golf club?”\n\nTitan looks away, trying to think of an answer. Finally, he sighs and admits, “I was just looking to hit him even harder, and it was nearby, I guess. I’m sorry, Marvin.”\n\nYou turn back to the projector and watch the rest of Titan’s fight in silence. You’re mentally tallying the damages, but you’ve let Titan believe that you plot murder when you go silent. Keeps him paying attention, anyways. Some things are tricky, like figuring out how much the bill might be for the destruction of a cabbage cart, but you aren’t the best in your field for no reason. As the projector automatically shuts off after the nano card is played, you turn to Titan trying to hide the deadness in your eyes. Evidently, you’ve failed as Titan cringes back even further in his seat, trying to spontaneously manifest the ability to teleport.\n\nYou walk over to the copier and fax machine, and with every step Titan stoops lower and lower into his seat. As you begin copying waivers and finding out which forms Titan needs to fill out, you can’t help to yourself but wonder if Titan will ever get a green go ahead on using his powers without supervision. Idly, you shake your head.\n\nHeroes never learn."
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[WP] Apparently the humans were just as surprised at their victory over the otherworldly invaders as the invaders were at their loss
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"A small force was sent to earth by a core simply known as Axel, a group of alien races some humanoid some not, it was a simple mission kill the leaders who oppose their new and rightful rulers. But something went terribly wrong. \n\nGriss, a commander of Axel's military just received the footage, his sluggish green face turning a lighter shade. \"We think it's the nexus,\" another alien said, his voice hoarse from running from the other side of the ship. \n\nA single figure glowing in red flames appeared on one ship's terminal before crashing straight through it in a burst of light. \n\n\"We received a transmission from the ground as well.\" \n\n\"Show me,\" Griss commanded his lieutenant. \n\nThe lieutenant held up a monitor for Griss and the commanders eyes widened as he swallowed back down a sludge of vomit that shot up his throat. \"Gods help us.\" The footage was shaky as it was taken by a human cellphone but what could be seen was unspeakable. The figure in red blasted through the sky sonic booms echoing to the ground, specs of dirt flying into the camera. But that wasn't the scary part, the figure held out its arms and long whips of energy formed. It then spun at speeds unheard of as the whips slashed instantly through the invading ships. \n\n\"Collect the other commanders, we have angered the gods themselves.\" \n\n\"Sir...\" the lieutenant said shakily. \n\n\"Yes?\" \n\n\"It's, well, it's headed this way.\" \n\n\"Then we have no choice.\" Griss said shuffling through his desk before pulling out a small black pyramid with a sharp top. \n\n\"No way.\" The lieutenant said. \n\nGriss slammed his hand down on the pyramid, blood dripping down its edges. \n\n\"Iv'e been waiting for this day,\" a figure in pure black cloaked in shadow appeared in front of Griss' desk. \n\n\"Want to kill your brother?\" \n\n\"Every single second of every day, for ten million years,\" the man if you can call him that clenched his fist and all the light dimmed on the deck as a solar flare of a being approached the ship."
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[WP] "The phrase 'The road to Hell is paved with good intentions' is not too far from the truth. I killed thousands, and broke every code of ethics, but the product of my sins saved millions. That, Lucifer, is why I am here"
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"\"Yeah...no shit Leslie. I've got it all in front of me\" the devil looked up from his clipboard, letting dozens of pages fall back into position. \"You may think I'm in charge, but I get orders from on high. I personally review millions of cases a year.\"\n\n\"No,\" I muttered with a gravelly voice, projecting a steely eyed gaze towards the demon behind the desk. \"You just don't understand who I was.\"\n\nThe devil dropped his clipboard onto the redwood in front of him and leaned his head into his right hand, fingertips against his forehead, thumb braced upon his cheek. \n\n\"You were a VP Lockheid Martin.\" the devil sighed \"You stole planes and weapons. You firebombed multiple warlord encampments in Africa. You died when you tripped over your golden retriever and cracked your skull open on your patio. Did I miss anything?\"\n\n\"That I killed all those warlords...\" I grumbled.\n\n\"Did 'firebomb' not get the point across.\"\n\n\"Could have been emphasized a bit. They were some real assholes.\" \n\n\"Jesus fucking Christ...\"\n\n\"Do not take the savior name in vain!\"\n\n\"Really?\" confusion twisted his face. \"Do you not hear the screams? We're about fifty feet from eternal torture, and you're still sticking up for that dude?\"\n\n\"He died for my sins!\"\n\n\"No, he didn't.\" the devil ran his hands down his face \"He died because Roman politicians and Jewish leadership didn't like his 'help the poor schtick.'\"\n\n\"The bible says-\"\n\n\"Jesus was an accident!\" Lucifer yelled. \"When the Greeks thought up Zeus, they weren't too far off on the whole 'loves fucking earth women' aspect.\"\n\n\"Excuse me?!\"\n\n\"Yeah,\" he nodded, continuing. \"Mary wasn't a virgin. And y'all need to learn to take some things a bit more literally. For fuck's sake the big guy literally told y'all he was his dad!\" \n\n\"I...\"\n\n\"Listen, Leslie,\" the devil took a deep breath. \"At first, I thought it might be a mistake that you were here. That you were a good guy, just a bit misguided. And at worst, I was going to make your eternity as pleasant as possible...even though you're in hell.\"\n\n\"Oh...\" I was a bit surprised. \"That's very nice of-\"\n\n\"Not done!\" he interrupted. \"Because....and this baffles me...in just five short minutes, you've managed to convince me I was wrong.\"\n\n\"Wait...what.\" panic finally began to set.\n\n\"Leviathan!\" the devil shouted. \n\n\"Yes boss?\" the serpent opened the door and peeked his head in.\n\n\"Can you...like throw this dude in some lava or something.\"\n\n\"Lava's full until Thursday boss.\"\n\n\"Can you have Beelzebub do that thing where he plucks the eyes out, put them back in and then plucks em out again?\"\n\n\"Yeah, sure, I think he's good for that. How long?\"\n\n\"I dunno...few centuries? Use your discretion.\"\n\n\"Sure thing boss.\"\n\n\"Wait...what?\""
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[WP] You watch as the tiles slowly pry themselves free from the wall.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"I'm In the bathroom, looking at myself In the mirror when I hear a click against the floor. When I turn around, I see a tile on the floor.\n\n\"I really should get this place fixed..\"\n\nI pick it up and put it next to the sink. I hear another click. I look over and see a bunch of the tiles fall from the wall. I'm about to go pick them up until I notice a big eye on the wall.\n\nI decide against my better judgement and start taking off the rest of the tiles to fully reveal the eye. It opens and looks at me, and suddenly changes color from green to red and all of the tiles left fall off, revealing hundreds of little eyes, that are all looking at me.\n\nMy fight or flight kicks In and I try to run out through the door, only to realise that it has disappeared. The whole room has disappeared. The only thing left are the eyes. I try to go towards them, but I find myself stuck In air, floating through the sea of eyes."
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[WP] You have 3 options in the after life, climb the stairway to heaven, slide the path to hell, or walk to road to loneliness. You decide to walk the path, instead of climbing or sliding, and a creature of unknown qualities stops you. "First to do it, huh? Well, follow me".
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Welcome to purgatory”, he bellows. “The thin line between heaven and hell. Here people are alone too, in their own minds. They’re trapped.”\n\nI looked in front of me. Each person was in their own bubble, their own personal world. Their own personal hell.\n\n“We’ve been waiting for someone new to walk down this path again. Last guy assigned this role didn’t do too well. He ended up trapped in one of these too.”\n\nSuddenly, one of the women in the bubbles let out a piercing scream. I walked forward and reached out and placed my hand against the thin veil. Next thing I know I was absorbed into her world. \n\n“Mommy loves you, ok. You’ll be better without me. I’m nothing but a burden.” \n\nThere was a small infant in a car seat the woman abandoned next to the train tracks. The whistle blew and the ground shook as the oncoming train got closer and closer. I watched her frail body leap forward onto the speeding locomotive. And then there was the same blood curdling scream from outside the bubble. Blood gushed out of her crushed mangled body as her baby wailed in the background.\n\nBut then the scene in front of me played out again. And again. And again. I yelled, I screamed, I tried to get her to notice me as the repetitive scenario replayed in front of me but to no avail. \n\nSuddenly the creature from the beginning of purgatory reappeared in front of me. \n\n“It’s no use”, he stated. “She will just drag you into her despair. You have to use this.”\n\nThe creature handed me a button, as we shared a glance. \n\n“Are you ready? Press it!”, he barked. \n\nI pushed the button and magnificently I was able to see her story, her depression, I could feel every emotion. Her hopelessness was just too much to handle. My knees buckled underneath me as I collapsed to the ground. I wanted to give up. I wanted everything to end just like her. Maybe I should join her...\n\n“Don’t give in boy! You chose to walk down this path!”\n\nMy head was heavy, but I lifted it up off the earth beneath me and suddenly me and her shared a gaze. I stared into her deep brown eyes as I saw the eternal suffering she was forced to replay over and over. She looked right through me. \n\nI was scared, terrified even but I reached out. I envisioned a pink aura of hope surrounding me. \n\n“Your daughter,” I said meekly. “She’s forgiven you.” \n\nShe looks, this time at me instead of through me. \n\n“She loved you.”\n\nAbruptly the bubble popped. Her tears, her agony turned into gratitude.\n\n“Thank you”, she uttered, as she moved onto the white light."
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[WP] You wake up in an alien ship, deep in space. You hear two figures talking in the other room. "Why do I need to marry him? Humans suck!" You hear one of the figures say.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“That sounds racist...speciesist?” Nolan responded rather groggily, not to happy about being kidnapped or tied. The bright light was overbearing so Nolan kept his eyes closed for now. \n\n“Take a good long look at your planet and tell me you don’t suck.” retorted the unknown voice. There was the sound of movement almost like the wind blowing past and soft warmth enveloped his body. Nolan had a feeling something was standing in front of him. \n\nNolan noted that the unknown voice sounded rather cultured and if he was bold he’d say snooty. Though life preservation had seemed to get in the way of many including him. \n\n“Fair point.” Nolan replied bluntly, then took a breath before continuing on. “How about this just give me a week to prove you wrong.”\n\n“Hmph fine, I suppose.” The voice replied. Nolan could imagine the person flipping their hair and checking their nails...if they had any. “I at least want to Earth before it’s completely destroyed.” \n\n“It’s a deal.” Nolan replied confidently, though it wavered a bit. “Though could you dim the lights they are hurting my eyes.” \n\nThere was a sniff and the room finally dimmed, Nolan opened eyes and a light blush dusted his cheeks. Whether it was embarrassment or not was hard to tell. It took him awhile to adjust to having so many eyes stare at him but they were a beautiful gold color and the antlers the crowned the alien were stunning. Then he realized the warmth that he felt earlier came from them as they appeared to be made of light. Quickly gathering his composure, Nolan finally thought it would be best to introduce himself. \n\n“My name is Nolan.” He stated, thinking it would be best to leave out a handshake. “I’m a human from Earth. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” \n\n“I am Solnier, a Junith of Juxth though I believe you humans call it Vy Canis Majoris.” Solnier scoffed, which broke the illusion of their beauty for Nolan. \n\nScowling momentarily, Nolan quickly replaced it with a smile in an attempt to be polite. This was going to be a very long week. Then something clicked in Nolan’s head. \n\n“Wait Marry?” Before Nolan could ask he found himself in his apartment with a note in his hands."
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[WP] Magical Abilities can be obtained via an extremely addictive drug, and will last for 24 hours. But the more you use the drug, your body will need it. Once you stop taking the drug, you will lose memories, your soul or even die.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"(On mobile; apologies in advance.)\n\nLeland was sick.\n\nThis realization didn't come all at once on its own; rather, there had been little things that built up day by blurry day until they snowballed into a boulder more freezing than the cold sweats of withdrawal. Little things like the squalor he generously called his apartment, or how he was always low on cash, or the way the world warped itself into a nightmare when he popped two instead of one, or the hideous vermin he saw in the mirror, and more. Little things like that.\n\nHe eyed the wonder in his palm. What did they call it, again? No matter; what did matter, what did stick in his head and never dislodged itself was the smooth explosion of ecstasy it contained, that little wonder. The explosion, and the ascent to the bubbles of time, a property unique to him and others like him. Everyone's brains were wired differently, so the effects were highly personalized. For some, this meant mind reading; for others, this meant telekinesis, and so on. That's what they said, anyway. There were only so many powers before the same ones showed up again.\n\nBack to the bubbles of time. Not the time travel one saw in movies; they only offered him trips to limitless branches of time belonging to other grand trees of space, not this one, so there was no altering this history...\n\nLeland winced as the phantom bugs burrowed in his flesh--surely it wasn't already 24 hours since the last trip, was it? It was perfect timing, anyhow; he had a plan. It would not save him, not entirely, and it would not make a dent of difference in the vast starry engine, but just knowing he had done something, anything at all, would be more than enough. It was all he could do.\n\nLeland swallowed the pill.\n\nHe never got used to the explosion of kaleidoscopes and stardust and whirlpools and abysses and spaces and atoms and ethereal strings. Inside and outside and outside and inside--he transmogrified within a cocoon of altered states no earthly dope could replicate. Here rose the bubbles of time from their unthought recesses, and now he was making the meta-leap from this to there like a fish jumping from the waters and breaking the barrier and sending ripples across the iridescent surface.\n\nDeja vu actualized; he was not meant to be here at this time and yet he recognized every particle of it. December 1st, 2029. The shop on the canted street, the anonymous crowds, the light frost and the unseen sun beaming its faded white glow. A doppelganger emerged from the crowd; a curious young man who was in need of something though he didn't fully understand what; a man who would only find a substitute for his need; a man who would trap himself in a limbo with no end.\n\nLeland stood before Leland.\n\n\"Leland King,\" he said, placing his arm on the young man's shoulder, \"listen to me and listen good. I'm you from the future. You were born on September 23rd, 2008. Your favorite ice cream is chocolate mint. You want to become a poet. Don't take the, the--the pills, Leland, don't take 'em. You see what happened to me.\"\n\nThe young man blinked, his head a mile or two behind. \"I...\" he began. \"I don't--what? You're me? You?\"\n\n\"What I said is true, isn't it? You owned a cat named Gubby, but then your mom ran him over as she was backing out...\"\n\nThe young man stared at him. \"Yeah...yeah, all of that's true. But--you said you're from the...the future, right? How did you get back here, then, if that's true?\"\n\n\"The pills. The pills let me go back--well, not really. I'm from another timeline, and so are you. I'm already done for, but you still have a chance. Thats why I'm here.\"\n\n\"If...I understand you, then, what you mean is I'm gonna end up like that? Like you?\"\n\n\"Unless you don't take the pills.\"\n\n\"DKP, right? That's what you mean by the pills, right?\"\n\nLeland nodded. The young man looked aside for a moment. Leland said, \"I know. I know you're curious. But nothing good will come of those pills. Keep writing your poems. Keep at it, and you'll get somewhere. I don't know where. It could be good, it could be bad. But what I do know is that you can control it. You can change and go places I'll never reach.\"\n\n\"I see,\" said the young man. \"I see, now. I know you're right.\" He fell silent.\n\n\"Here,\" said Leland. He took out what he had kept in his coat pocket for so long and handed it to the young man. The young man read the first stanza and looked up at Leland, who said: \"Just somewhere for you to start.\"\n\nThe young man smiled and, gazing at Leland, said, \"I don't know what to say. Thank you. Come over, or--will you leave? Will you come back again?\"\n\n\"Yes, at least I hope so,\" he answered. \"I'll try for as long as I can.\" And in that moment, although he saw nothing but a stagnant cycle back there...here, right here and right now, the two saw only boundless potential.\n\n(This is the first time I've ever tried writing anything even close to sentimental, and it probably shows. Oh well, at least I'm broadening my horizons a little.)"
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[WP] You are assigned to host a brand new game show. However, you don’t know what you are doing and so you make things up as you go along. The show gets chaotically random, but the audience and viewers love it, so you reluctantly keep it going.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"“Welcome to The Final Question, the show where we... ask... questions?”\n\nAn infinitesimal pause is perceived in the audience’s applause but I impulsively stand, clearly catching them off guard, bowing to their delight.\n\n“Now, we’re going to go around the room and introduce our audience members one by one so that—“\n\nI was met by a loud groan in stereo.\n\n“Just a joke folks,” I reply, trying to get a better read in the room. Sounds like I won’t be able to buy myself time to think. “On with the show!”\n\nCheers erupt once more from the crowded dish-shaped stadium as the stage slowly revolves at the center, revealing my discomfort to everyone in attendance.\n\nSuddenly in my periphery I see an image illuminate on the screen behind me. Which would be great if I had eyes in the back of my head, less so with the world staring at me.\n\n“Contestant number one! What do you see behind me?”\n\n“Uh. A fish?”\n\n“A fish! Very good!”\n\nThe collective confusion of the audience begins to overwhelm those following the flashing “CHEER” sign as a lone “A fish?!” can be softly heard from somewhere to my left. \n\n“Uh it kind of looks like a penis?”\n\nA gasp, then laughter erupts from the crowd and the number five flashes at my console.\n\n“Contestant number one... um... you take a five point penalty in marine biology.”\n\n“But.. that puts me at negative points.”\n\n“...and you gain seven points in mathematics!”\n\n“So... two points?”\n\nNothing from my console. The producers are likely as confused as I am.\n\n“No sir, those are two separate scoring systems. I would advise you to keep track of them on the interface in front of you.”\n\n“You mean.. this pencil and paper?”\n\n“Correct. Plus three points in object recognition.”\n\n“Hey do I get a turn or...”\n\n“Contestant seven, I don’t like interruptions on my show.”\n\nA flashing number two appears on my screen. I panic.\n\nGlancing at the console to my right, I see an array of buttons. I push the one labeled “2” and a giant red X surrounds contestant number two.\n\n“Contestant number two, you are eliminated”\n\n“Wait what the absolute—“\n\n“TO THE DUNGEON!”\n\nThe crowd is enveloped in fits of laughter as I continue to panic. I panic and push one of the buttons. Confetti over the audience. They are barely on their seats at this point. Why did I say that. Do we even have a dungeon? I push another button and fireworks burst from the floor between me and the contestants, surprising both me and Contestant 2 who began to approach me. What are the logistics of housing a dungeon within a game show? Is that a separate tax code? Does it fall under a different zoning law?\n\nI continue pushing buttons and within minutes, all of the candidates are eliminated and the stage is on fire but the audience continues to look on with fascination.\n\n“Don’t panic, my friends, this is all under control,” I lie, unconvincingly. Somewhere in my button-pushing, a glass case appeared behind the podium, housing a car, probably a prize for some hopeful, now eliminated contestant. I plot my escape and run full speed toward it, only to trip on the wet floor and flopping fish at my feet.\n\nI hear loud gasps mixed with laughter, then darkness.\n\nI awaken at a hospital, a throbbing headache now keeping me awake. Suddenly, I hear a disembodied voice say “We need to talk. I’m the producer of The Final Question and I want to know how you got on my show and where the host is.”\n\nA brief pause as I struggle to find the words to say.\n\n“...And I also wanted to know if you’d consider doing another episode.”"
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[WP] you're part of a tribe that lives by mining rare resources from mountain caves. Local traders think that to raise prices, your people make up myths about monsters guarding the dazzling minerals and gems. What they don't realize, the stories are true, and it's your turn to go mining today.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"Zan watched the western sky as it lightened and the red rim of the sun rose up over the Tamarin hills. The day was clear and the breeze from the north promised a cool day, perfect for playing in the fields. Zan let out a sigh and looked into the wind and toward the mountains. He hated his duty days, and how they always seemed to fall on the nicest days. If he thought hard, he could think of maybe one in the last solar cycle when it had rained. He turned and headed back into the house to get his supplies.\n\nIt wasn’t that Zan was lazy or didn’t understand how important the duty was. In fact he was always working on something and if given a task, finished it ahead of schedule. He also knew that the duty was responsible for his town’s prosperity. The gems he and the others brought back paid for their way of life. Most of the adults only had to only work three or four days a week. The young children had the best schools and equipment of any place they knew. That left the teenagers like Zan who on their fifteenth birthday were given a duty day and expected to return with at least one stone on each of those days. \n\nHowever, one stone was all that most returned with, and it was not uncommon for one to return with nothing but cuts. The problem did not lie in the stones being hard to find, on the contrary, they were scattered all throughout the cave system, nor was the problem the caves which were quite stable. No the problem was the creatures or terrors, if you were of a hysterical nature, which lived in the mountains. Most of the time they were content on what livestock the villagers sent up, however this did not guarantee safety. Every year a half-dozen or so were injured seriously and one or two disappeared. \n\nThat’s why Zan was grabbing a seal container of his mother’s stew, His card collection with his most recent acquisition, and pocket mirror. He left the house as the bottom of the sun cleared the hills. In the houses he passed the clanks and bangs of cooking and the calls for children to awaken could be heard. \n\nZan headed for the mountain trails weary of the possibility the new people might be following him. They had come from somewhere called earth and had wanted access to the stones. The village elders had warned the visitors that only they were allowed on the mountains. Others had come, even an army once so long ago it was almost forgotten. The same thing happened each time the visitors went up to the mountain and never returned. Still others had mentioned them following and had to abort their duty out of concern for both their life and the strangers.\n\nZan looked one last time as he came to the woods surrounding the mountains. Nothing moved around him. He saw the Earth camp small in the distance, but there didn’t seem to be any smoke coming from their camp fire. Hopefully, they were still asleep. \n\nZan hurried into the forest there was no time to waste. The paths through the forest were constantly branching with some doubling back upon themselves. However, he had learned the best path many duty days before. Half an hour later, for he was very quick, Zan came upon the first clearing. As he entered he heard a growling sound across the clearng. A shape came bursting out of the trees, Zan froze. The shape was furred, had a long snout, and was running on all fours. It jumped over Zan easily sailing into the bushes beyond where seconds later a scream could be heard and just as suddenly couldn’t.\n\nZan took off his back pack and set out a picnic cloth then put the stew container and large spoon on it. He only had to wait a few minutes for the creature to return, and begin sniffing at the pot before finally sitting cross-legged in front of Zan.\n\n“Hey zan, thanks for bringing that new type of tasty meat. I had been jealous when I heard Sssth got one yesterday.”\n\n“Umm, no problem Haruu, although it wasn’t on purpose. Also, could you not spread that around, it could cause trouble.” The wolf-like head nodded and Zan continued, “I hope you still have room. Mom made this one with Argilan Peppers.” Haruu eagerly reached out for it, but Zan put his hand over the lid. “First, what do you have to trade?”\n\nHaruu growled a bit, “It is always business with you. Never just, oh here Haruu, it’s your birthday have some stew, no, no you need to haggle like some Menkin. Is that really too much to ask.”\n\nZan tilted his head, “Is it your birthday?”\n\nThe question was met with a shrug, “could be, don’t keep count down here.”\n\nZan thought a moment. “Well I did lure that Earther here for you.”\n\n“You said that was an accident.”\n\nZan just shrugged as Haruu pulled out a stone the size of Zan’s thumb. Zan took it and was impressed by the clarity and light blue shade. A stone like this would sell nicely. Zan took his hand off of the container and Haruu was slurping it seconds later. Zan was always mildly disgusted by Haruu’s manners, but you couldn’t argue manners with a creature that could eat you. \n\nWhen Haruu had finished they sat in companionable silence. Eventually Zan started to clean up in preparation for moving on. Before he finished Haruu made a sound like a choked whine. Zan looked up and straight into Haruu’s eye which were now only a snouts length away.\n\n“Look Zan, I didn’t tell you this but you should head back for today.” Haruu whispered his breath washed over Zan’s face in a hot and heavy wave that smelled of old meat. “Kaaku is having a bad molt right now, and I know you meet her and have to go through her territory to get to Prrow. So just giving you the heads up, she even attacked Sssth when he came by to gloat.” \n\nZan nodded, he was smart enough to know when to give up. He might have found some of their weaknesses but that didn’t matter if they weren’t thinking clearly. “Alright I’ll head back now. I have to tell the village leaders about the Earthers anyway.”\n\nFive minutes later Zan was back on the trail and soon he was out of the forest. The sun was shining brightly on the empty Earth camp. Well, it looked like another group would be added to the warnings about the creatures of the mountain. Still he couldn’t help but feel upbeat, there was time to play.",
"The strange man shambled into our village one afternoon, his breaths creating clouds of fog. He was a tall, gaunt figure with olive-colored skin and long, gray-black hair tied in a haphazard bun. The man's eyes were sunken and bagged, accentuating his high cheekbones. He carried his wares on his back in a sturdy and tightly-fastened haversack. Attached to outside of the haversack were a small pot and cup, both made of tin, a four-pronged hook (which I assumed was for the fool's errand of climbing the Long Fall Cliffs to access the caves) and his bedroll, which was tied onto the top of the haversack. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nHis various implements clinked as he walked, creating a discordant rhythm. Combined with his labored breaths, this made him a loud, slow target and it surprised me his meager flesh hadn't been strewn about the woods by a pack of trapjaws. I also noticed the pearl-handled dagger that was fastened to his belt. I wondered why he felt it necessary to beautify the tools of killing, we did no such thing. His fur-booted feet crunched in the hard snow as he approached me. I stood at the village entrance, spear in hand, watching him with mild concern. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nWhen he was perhaps ten steps away, he held up his leather-gloved left hand at me and smiled. \"Hail friend! I seek the Long Fall Cliffs! Could you point me in the proper direction?\" He put his hands on his hips and breathed out exaggeratedly. I pointed with my spear towards the Long Fall Cliffs. \"They begin a few miles that way. I will warn you not to go without a guide from this vilage.\" The man waved his hand down with a flourish. \"I've fought off trapjaws and bears before. I know you natives like to spin tall tales to pay your guide's salaries. I'll not become prey to your campfire stories. Honestly, mate, it's more honorable to lift a man's purse than to spin this tired yarn of bullshit.\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\nI simply returned my spear to it's previous position and gave a mild smirk. \"Would you like to purchase some extra baskets for all the jewels and peakrock you'll have to carry?\" The man smiled and only said, \"No, I think I can manage. Thank you, my friend.\" He walked in the direction I pointed. It was a clear day, so I saw him trudge through the snow for roughly a half-mile. Then, he slowly disappeared behind the next hill and from my sight forever.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe next night happened to be a new moon and my group was the next in rotation. Myself and three others from the tribe made our way to the bottom of the Long Fall Cliffs, our practiced steps making very little noise. Jorn and Kevir were two of my oldest friends and we had previously made this trip successfully twenty-eight times. We brought along a first-timer, Orn, who was only in his twelfth winter. We wore only fur girdles and boots, fearing no cold wind, carrying a single spear and dagger each, none of them pearl-handled. We made Orn carry the baskets and torches on the way up, as is tradition for first-timers.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWe scaled the cliffs easily, no ropes required, as our ancestors had made deep, strong footholds generations ago. Many of them died doing this, and we feast in their honor every year. The footholds are slippery for a normal human, but our boys are trained from the time they can walk to climb to increasingly difficult altitudes in various weather. Some of them die and that simply means they weren't strong enough. We bury them honorably, despite their failure.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWhen we reached the top of the cliff, we surveyed the area, our eyes used to the darkness, not used to heavy fog. Seeing no blood apes or trapjaws, we continued on the snowy ground for maybe half of a minute. Suddenly, I felt the back of Kevir's hand against my chest, stopping me. Jorn and Orn stopped when I did. Kevir pointed to my left, not wanting to make much noise. I saw the hazy silhouette of a gargantuan blood ape through the fog. It was hideously screeching, sounding disturbingly human. The blood ape repeatedly slammed it's fists into the ground, which shook my feet with each booming thud. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe ape then began to throw it's hands into the air, which was unusual. I heard what sounded like small rocks falling from a great height, not far from where I stood. I instinctively jumped back, making more noise than I wanted to. The ape didn't seem to notice our party, though it kept aggressively tossing something into the foggy air. After a few more rounds of fierce tossing, I heard a piercing, impactful sound a few feet from me. As I walked a few steps towards the debris, I noticed a pearl handle sticking out of the snow-covered soil. Surrounding the dagger were torn cloth, blood and pieces of what I could only assume was the man who knew better than us natives.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWe stood there for a while, not wanting to disturb the blood ape. It eventually left, grunting occasionally as it hobbled away on it's relatively short legs. I picked up the dagger, wiping much of the blood off the pretty handle onto the grass. The Bright Cave was not far. The powerful torchlight was a welcome change from the usual darkness. It surprised me how deeply we had to go into the cave to find even a meager amount of peakrock. We only got one fourth of a basket of peakrock this time and only found six gemstones, one of them a clear chunk of diamond, five of them a murky, less valuable crystal. The Seer told us that all natural resources regenrate, I only hope he is right.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe return journey was an easy one, the fog had mostly cleared and we climbed down, a basket on my back and another on Kevir's. We don't make the first timer's carry the baskets down the cliff, though we sometimes threaten to. When we returned to the village, I laid my basket next to Kevir's in front of the Seer. \"A low return for much risk, men. Bring more next time.\" Before I could respond, he waved us away disdainfully. I hung the pearl-handled dagger in my tent like the gaudy decoration it is, and that's where it will remain."
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[WP] Every human received the telepathic message: “we will grant all of you one single power, even immortality, choose immediately or lose your choice forever”. 99% of people chose immortality. You chose another power, you now rule the immortal powerless masses.
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"**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\n**Reminders**:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/js5XDFB)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*",
"They chose immortality. They chose life with no end, no change. They thought it was a good idea at the time, but I knew better.\n\nI asked for the gift of wishes. They come to me now, wishing for everything from children, the spark of life that those who had chosen endless life for themselves could not give, to wealth. \n\nSome wishes I grant. Others I do not.\n\nBut the one wish that I will always, always grant is the most common wish of all. \n\n\"I wish for you to remove my immortality.\"\n\nIt was the wish of the old man, so tired of life. It was the wish of the young couple, yearning for a child they knew they would outlive. It was the wish of the man who, even though he was immortal, still suffered from pain. It was the wish of the young girl, so afraid of death after it had claimed her family, but finally ready to join them. \n\nSome wish for other things. To possess great wealth. To become immortal. To have a power that they did not wish for when The Message came.\n\nMost of these wishes I deny. I will take away the power that they were foolish enough to wish for, I will give life and light, but I will never give power.\n\nAnd so, here I sit, the genie who grants wishes until none have need of them anymore. \n\n*\\~A Story Of Ashes*\n\n*\\~\\~If you enjoyed, visit* r/StoriesOfAshes *for more of my writing*\n\n*\\~\\~\\~Thank you for reading!*"
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